Coronavirus digest: Won’t recommend vaccine unless proven safe, says WHO
Vaccine developments
The World Health Organization has said it will not recommend any coronavirus vaccine unless it has been proven to be effective and safe, even as Russia and China have started using their experimental vaccines before large-scale trials were conducted.
The UN health agency also welcomed the fact that a “considerable number” of vaccine candidates have reached the final stage trials. “In terms of realistic timelines, we are really not expecting to see widespread vaccination until the middle of next year,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said.
The president of the United Nations General Assembly has warned that a vaccine for COVID-19 must be made available to everyone who needs it.
He said that even if just one country is left out, the world will still face a crisis from the coronavirus.
“Inclusion is key because without inclusion the suffering of those who are already left behind, will continue and we cannot guarantee peace in that kind of a context,” said Tijjani Muhammad-Bande.
Europe
Germany‘s Ministry for Education and Research has approved additional funding of €252 million ($298 million) to German pharmaceutical company CureVac for the development of a coronavirus vaccine.
The company says its request for additional funding has been approved as certain milestones are reached.
Germany’s state-owned KfW bank has already taken a 23% stake in CureVac for €300 million.
In Greece, authorities say coronavirus checks will be carried out on all care homes for the elderly throughout the country within the next 10 days
Read more: Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi hospitalized with coronavirus
Americas
United States President Donald Trump has urged citizens to “remain vigilant” over the Labor Day weekend amid concerns of a spike in cases during the holiday. He added that “we need everyone to be careful” and to “apply common sense” in the interactions with others.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert has said the Midwestern states should particularly be vigilant during the holiday weekend as they have witnessed recent jumps in caseloads.
Previous holidays, including the Memorial Day and the US Independence Day, were followed by an increase in coronavirus cases.
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Coronavirus rules: How much physical distancing is enough?
Keep your distance, please!
These are the coronavirus rules as we know them: Keep a distance of 1.5 to 2 meters (5 to 6 feet) from others, observe good hygiene and wear a mask. But this does not do justice to the complex reality of how aerosols spread, researchers from Oxford and London (UK) and Cambridge MA (US) have now written in an analysis published in the British Medical Journal.
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Coronavirus rules: How much physical distancing is enough?
This much? Or more?
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tried to show schoolchildren how it should be done. But what does his gesture mean exactly? Do his fingertips have to be 1.5 meters away from the fingertips of another person? That would be a reasonable interpretation of the regulations. But two arm lengths alone measure 1.5 meters, so distances of 4.5 meters or more could easily result.
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Coronavirus rules: How much physical distancing is enough?
Are sheep lengths better?
The Icelandic Association of Sheep Breeders has established its own rules: Two sheep lengths are appropriate to avoid infection. One may wonder if face masks are also supposed to be knitted from real sheep’s wool. This young shepherd in Senegal may be trying to find out how long a sheep is by pulling its hind leg. The Icelanders already know — exactly 1 meter.
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Coronavirus rules: How much physical distancing is enough?
Natural spacers
Of course, this could also work. The standard length of a dog leash corresponds pretty exactly to the current coronavirus rules. Could it be a coincidence that a six-foot leash is usually prescribed for places where leashes are compulsory?
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Coronavirus rules: How much physical distancing is enough?
Where does the 2-meter rule come from?
The authors led by Lydia Bourouiba, an expert in fluid dynamics and disease transmission at MIT, writes that the rule is outdated. Two meters was the distance recommended by the German physician C. Flügge in 1897. Visible droplets that he had caught within this distance were still contagious. A 1948 study showed that 90% of streptococci coughed out in droplets flew no further than 1.7 meters.
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Coronavirus rules: How much physical distancing is enough?
Two meters are not enough
The 1948 study was published in the American Medical Journal. It also showed that 10% of streptococci flew much further: up to 2.9 meters. If that were the case, perhaps the people on this lawn on the banks of the Rhine in Dusseldorf would be safe — if every other circle remained free. But wait a minute — we are not dealing with streptococci (bacteria) here, but with viruses.
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Coronavirus rules: How much physical distancing is enough?
Viruses spread via aerosols
Viruses are much smaller than bacteria, so they can float around for hours and spread better in the air. This is why the researchers recommend that the distance between people should not be the only safety criterion but that other factors should be considered, too: How well a room is ventilated, whether people are wearing masks, and whether they are silent, speaking softly or singing and shouting.
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Coronavirus rules: How much physical distancing is enough?
Do not sing or cough
Numerous studies have also shown that coughing can propel veritable parcels of viruses up to 8 meters through the air. Speaking or singing loudly also spread a lot of aerosols and droplets about the room. If, however, people only speak quietly, as in a library, and sit in the fresh air, safe distances can be smaller again.
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Coronavirus rules: How much physical distancing is enough?
How long should I stay in the room?
The duration of a stay in a contaminated room and how many people are in that room are also decisive factors when assessing the risk of infection. The researchers have used those factors to develop a traffic light model. The clear result: In rooms with a high occupancy, you should generally stay only for a short time, make sure they are well aired, wear a mask and speak quietly.
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Coronavirus rules: How much physical distancing is enough?
No mask needed here
Here, however, the traffic light of the UK-US research team would show green. Outside, people can be safe for long periods of time even without a mask, provided there are few people around, everything is well ventilated and no one talks much. But even so, will the distance between deck chairs being measured here be enough?
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said on Friday that he will be tested regularly for coronavirus during his election campaign against Trump. He also said that he has been tested at least once so far.
Biden told reporters about the testing protocol at a press conference where he once again criticized Trump for downplaying the virus.
Read more: US won’t join WHO-led effort for coronavirus vaccine
Several states in Mexico have run out of death certificates, a grim reflection of the number of deaths related to the coronavirus. The federal forms started running out about 15-20 days ago in three states; Baja California, the State of Mexico, and Mexico City, officials said.
One million new forms have been printed and are being distributed, authorities said.
With 66,851 deaths, Mexico has the fourth-highest level of COVID-19 fatalities in the world.
Brazil’s indigenous and environmental organizations launched a contact tracing app on Friday to help indigenous communities curb the spread of the coronavirus in their lands.
The app, dubbed “COVID-10 Indigenous Alert,” aims to help people identify the areas with high infection rates using data from the country’s health ministry, indigenous health system, leaders of indigenous organizations, and the Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB).
“The application maps and periodically updates the situation regarding the pandemic in cities within a 100-kilometer radius of indigenous lands” COIAB and the Amazon Environmental Research Institute said in a statement.
Asia
India has become the world’s third country to surpass 4 million coronavirus cases, behind only the United States and Brazil with over 6.3 million and 4.1 million cases respectively.
The South Asian country on Saturday registered a record daily increase in cases with 86,432 confirmed infections.
From 3 to 4 million cases in just 13 days, the surge in coronavirus cases in India is now faster than the US and Brazil.
The government has eased lockdown restrictions in a bid to revive the economy.
As of Saturday, 69,561 people have died of COVID-19 in the country.
Read more: Coronavirus: India’s economy braces for lackluster recovery
shs,adi/dj (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)
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