Coronavirus Special Coverage

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COVID-19: key developments for Friday, May 22, 2020

1 Comment on COVID-19: key developments for Friday, May 22, 2020

There are ~5.28 million global cases.  The US has over 1.64 million cases. Cases have grown by over 21,000 in the US since yesterday, with over 1,100 deaths in that same period. There have been over 338,000 deaths around the world.

An academic from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business asserts that more than 40% of recent layoffs may be permanent. Now if this turns out to be the case the US will have an unemployment rate of about 14%, which is basically the highest the Bureau of Labor Statistics has recorded since its inception.

Hundreds of thousands of cruise ship workers are still stuck at sea. This is almost unimaginably high number of stranded people. These people need to be rescued and repatriated before more commit suicide:

A large study from Lancet with almost 100,000 study participants shows hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are associated with a higher risk of death and an increased chance of serious cardiac events in COVID-19 patients. Not only do these drugs not confer benefit, they potentially harm patients. Risks were even higher when given in tandem with an antibiotic. This was not a randomized, controlled trial (RCT), however. There are a number of RCTs currently pending that are testing these drugs and drug combinations on COVID-19 patients.

Be prepared to self-isolate if you’re traveling to the United Kingdom:

Do lockdowns work? Yes, it seems they do. But public fear of contagion also works. This article cites several good studies and sources on the effects of lockdown and social distancing policies in the US and around the world. Some contrarian perspectives are thrown in for good measure.

DeSantis says it’s cool to send your kids to summer camp in Florida. And group sports have gotten the OK, too. (We don’t recommend it, yet). He adds that no kids have died in Florida from COVID-19.

Bars are back up in Austin, TX. Ostensibly, they’re at 25% capacity. Nary a mask was to be seen last night.

95 different vaccine programs are currently underway. The consensus is that we’re still 12-18 months away from a limited release. It could be 2 years or more before these programs can be globally scaled. Slow is better, as fast-tracking vaccines could cause more harm than good.

Excess mortality numbers show us that there are many who have likely died from COVID-19 who have not been counted. Deaths are being under-counted, not overestimated.

Rapid and repeated testing can help nursing homes and similar facilities arrest virus spread:

Hertz is biting the big one:

Have we got it under control? Imperial College London says half of US states have an R above 1:

Stephanie Arnold | cosmicpixle

Stephanie Arnold is an advanced practice psychiatric nurse and a doctoral candidate in UA Tuscaloosa’s DNP program. Stephanie moonlights from time to time at UCLA teaching mental health nursing. She also likes making cold-process soap.

  • 1 Comment
    • Jan Foselli May 25, 2020

      Why don’t you do some research into inflation, and possibly hyperinflation, and prepare us for that?  Oh, and can you put at least 1 bit of happy news in your daily reports?  And yes, if you look for them, there are happy stories out there.  Like the kid in TX who made his own hand sanitizer and is selling it like a lemonade stand, or the 92 year old woman who had covid and LIVED!  I find you negative spin on everything actually quite exhausting which is why I turned off from this blog.  I thought I would gain more insight.

      Your articles pre-covid are helpful which I appreciate.

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