Health24.com | Coronavirus morning update: Reopening of schools ‘irrational’, top scientist backed, and rules for SANDF

Posted on 24/05/2020 by Boris Clair

The latest number of confirmed cases is 21 343.

According to the latest update, 407 deaths have been recorded in the country.

So far, more than 564 000 tests have been conducted, with more than 21 300 new tests.

Latest news:

The one-size-fits-all approach taken by the government in planning the reopening of schools is “irrational and arbitrary” and puts into danger the lives of pupils, teachers and families, according to the National Association of Parents in School Governance, also acting on behalf of the Congress of South African Students (Cosas).

The association has intervened in the DA’s court application to oppose the lockdown regulations.

It said the application should not only be dismissed, but there should also be no further easing of the lockdown and no reopening of schools without protective measures.

In an affidavit by Mahlomola Kekana, the association’s president, he said Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga’s plan to reopen schools was not only vague, but would put pupils and teachers in danger of succumbing to Covid-19.

About 50 members of the scientific community have come out in support of Professor Glenda Gray following a request by the health department to launch an investigation into her.

Gray is the president of the Medical Research Council (MRC) and a renowned HIV vaccine researcher.

The department’s deputy director-general, Dr Anban Pillay, called for an investigation into Gray following comments she made in an interview with News24.

According to GroundUp, Pillay said Gray’s comments eroded public support for behaviour change, adding he had also received calls regarding her conduct as MRC president.

There will be no carrying of groceries bags, taking photos or reacting to insults from the public for soldiers deployed to enforce national lockdown regulations, based on a new code of conduct issued by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

The code of conduct, published on Thursday, details how SANDF members are expected to behave in various scenarios during Operation Notlela, including during incidents of looting, drinking on private property, at roadblocks and other interactions with the public.

The mission-specific code of conduct comes after the suspension and investigation of soldiers present during the death of Collins Khosa, 40, who was allegedly beaten to death by members of the SANDF in Alexandra, Johannesburg, in March.

Lawyers on behalf of the family argued the ministers of police and defence had failed to take steps to prevent illegal action by law enforcement officials, adding their public statement had defended, downplayed and encouraged the use of force.

The National Prosecuting Authority has declined to prosecute about 25% of lockdown offences.

Acting Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions Rodney de Kock told the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services on Friday that 25% of the dockets of lockdown offences were not enrolled.

He said this means prosecutors are fair in their evaluation of the cases.

“They are dealing with these matters subject to the Constitution and the law and that will be our approach,” he said.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE REST OF THE WORLD

Cases update:

For the latest global data, follow this interactive map from Johns Hopkins University & Medicine.

Late on Saturday night, positive cases worldwide were 5.28 million, while deaths were more than 340 000.

The United States had the most cases in the world – closing in on 1.62 million, as well as the most deaths – almost 97 000.

Latest news:

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s most senior political adviser is under growing pressure to resign after it was reported that he broke coronavirus lockdown rules and was subsequently investigated by police.

Dominic Cummings drove 410km from London to his hometown, Durham, in late March to visit his parents, according to a joint report by The Guardian and Daily Mirror newspapers, published Friday night.

At the time, Cummings and his wife were displaying symptoms of the coronavirus, the reports said.

Days before, Prime Minister Johnson had tested positive for the virus, and he was self-isolating in Number 10 Downing Street.

When Cummings made the trip, official government advice was that no one should make any non-essential journeys and only leave home to buy groceries, exercise, and provide supplies to those vulnerable to the virus-like the elderly or disabled.

LATEST RESEARCH

There have been high hopes that the antiviral drug remdesivir might be an answer to the pandemic of Covid-19. But a major, new study finds the drug on its own won’t be enough to significantly curb cases and deaths.

The study, published May 22 in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that, “given high mortality [of patients] despite the use of remdesivir, it is clear that treatment with an antiviral drug alone is not likely to be sufficient.”

The study of 1 063 Covid-19 patients was led by Dr John Beigel and Dr Clifford Lane at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The researchers found that remdesivir, delivered by infusion, did help ease the illness: Patients who got the antiviral recovered after an average of 11 days versus 15 days for those who hadn’t received it.

Patients who were so sick they required supplemental oxygen, but did not need a ventilator to breathe, appeared to benefit most from remdesivir.

But the difference in the overall death rate – 7.1% of patients on the drug vs. 11.9% of those who didn’t get it – did not reach statistical significance, the researchers said.

HEALTH TIPS (as recommended by the NICD and WHO)

• Maintain physical distancing – stay at least one metre away from somebody who is coughing or sneezing

• Practise frequent hand-washing, especially after direct contact with ill people or their environment

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, as your hands touch many surfaces and could potentially transfer the virus

• Practise respiratory hygiene – cover your mouth with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Remember to dispose the tissue immediately after use.

READ MORE: Coronavirus 101

^{Image credit: Getty Images}

A patient who proved everyone wrong

Posted on 24/05/2020 by Boris Clair

Mary Blessington was discharged then soon deteriorated, showing that the path to recovery can be long and hard.

Coronavirus: Which health claims are circulating online?

Posted on 24/05/2020 by Boris Clair

A wide range of false and misleading health claims continue to spread on social media.

Coronavirus: Care homes could ‘go to the wall’ as costs rise

Posted on 24/05/2020 by Boris Clair

Thirty out of 102 care home providers contacted by the BBC said none of their staff had been tested.

Death payment for families of Scottish care staff

Posted on 24/05/2020 by Boris Clair

Care workers who test positive for coronavirus will be given enhanced payments in future.

Coronavirus: ‘Baffling’ observations from the front line

Posted on 23/05/2020 by Boris Clair

Doctors on the front lines are observing things that they have never encountered before – and it’s a challenge.

Health24.com | Remdesivir will not be enough to curb Covid-19, study finds

Posted on 23/05/2020 by Boris Clair

The study, published May 22 in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that, “given high mortality [of patients] despite the use of remdesivir, it is clear that treatment with an antiviral drug alone is not likely to be sufficient.”

Patients who were so sick they required supplemental oxygen, but did not need a ventilator to breathe, appeared to benefit most from remdesivir.

But the difference in the overall death rate – 7.1% of patients on the drug vs. 11.9% of those who didn’t get it – did not reach statistical significance, the researchers said.

Combinations trialled

The study does suggest that early treatment works best. “Our findings highlight the need to identify Covid-19 cases and start antiviral treatment before the pulmonary disease progresses to require mechanical ventilation,” the researchers said.

Early evidence had suggested that remdesivir might help fight coronavirus illness, so the US Food and Drug Administration gave it “emergency use authorisation.”

The new trial is significant because it is the first double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to test the drug in patients. Double blind means that neither doctors nor patients knew whether remdesivir or a placebo was being used in a particular case.

Already, combinations of remdesivir and other drugs are being tried, to see if dual-drug treatments might boost outcomes even more.

For example, one federally funded clinical trial is combing remdesivir with a potent anti-inflammatory drug called baricitinib, while a trial from biotech firm CytoDyn is pairing it with an antiviral called leronlimab.

Vaccine efforts continue

Meanwhile, the search for an effective vaccine goes on. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Thursday it would provide up to $1.2bn to the drug company AstraZeneca to develop a potential coronavirus vaccine from Oxford University, in England.

The fourth, and largest, vaccine research agreement funds a clinical trial of the potential vaccine in the United States this summer with about 30 000 volunteers, The New York Times reported.

The goal? To make at least 300 million doses that could be available as early as October, the HHS said in a statement.

However, many experts have said that the earliest an effective, mass-produced vaccine would be available won’t be until sometime next year, and billions of doses would be needed worldwide.

The United States has already agreed to provide up to $483m to the biotech company Moderna and $500m to Johnson & Johnson for their vaccine efforts. It is also providing $30m to a virus vaccine effort led by the French company Sanofi, the Times reported.

Image Credit: Getty Images

Managing Your Echo Chamber

Posted on 23/05/2020 by Boris Clair

Is it a good idea to suffer fools?

Perhaps you think of it as tolerance, mercy, or compassion. But is it really?

When you hold a low opinion of someone, is it better to keep them in your life and do your best to be tolerant and forgiving? Or should you simply dismiss such people from your life and move on?

Perhaps you’re concerned that you’re life will become too much like an echo chamber, filled only with people who share similar opinions and lacking in diversity.

Over the years I’ve tested different approaches to this, and presently I find that it’s best not to suffer fools. Once my opinion of someone drops below a certain threshold (which can be admittedly arbitrary, although Trump supporters qualify en masse), I find it most productive to disengage when possible.

I note that such a relationship will virtually never recover once it passes a certain point of no return. While I can think of the person compassionately from a distance, up close I’m most likely to feel some disgust or annoyance. So it doesn’t seem rational to cling to such a relationship, which can be unnecessarily distracting.

Letting go frees up trapped energy, which can be put to better use elsewhere. When I surrender a misaligned connection back to the simulation, and I let it dissolve, I usually feel a sense of relief and peace – and optimism about what new energies can flow in to replace the old.

Does this create an echo chamber effect? Absolutely, and I submit that this is a good outcome. When you dismiss the irritating and irrational from your life, your echo chamber can become richer in rational, sensible, and intelligent people.

Would you rather experience rational echos or irrational ones? Would you rather fill your life with thoughtful echos or ignorant ones? Would you rather be influenced by purposeful echos or distracting ones?

Consider that you’re always inside some kind of echo chamber. Your social world is just a tiny fragment of the larger world of possibility. Some echo chambers are more harmonious and interesting while others can be frustrating or distracting.

Have you ever thought about consciously creating a more desirable echo chamber than the one you’re experiencing now?

I don’t want my echo chamber to constrict me, but I do want it to stretch, challenge, and support me. I want it to be rational and purposeful. I want it to be well-aligned with my core values. I want it to be rich in honest and honorable people who care and who seek to contribute. I want it to be full of curious, growth-oriented learners who trust life.

I don’t want my echo chamber to be invaded by angry, irrational, suspicious, or violent people. I don’t want it to be occupied by the clueless and confused. I don’t want religious zealots or conspiracy theorists moving in. And Trump supporters? I’d rather give myself a paper cut and pour lemon juice on it.

A good echo chamber creates harmonious yet growth-inducing echos. It reflects back your desires and aspirations. It challenges you to stretch and grow. And it allows sufficient room for diversity and options.

A good echo chamber helps you advance.

A bad echo chamber keeps you stuck, wallowing in misalignments that don’t help you progress.

You’re always in an echo chamber, so take charge of it. Purge it of obvious misalignments first. Then deliberately invite what you want. Close some doors. Open others.

Market and promote the open doors. Post guards at the closed ones.

A poorly managed echo chamber will continue to be infiltrated by further misalignments. Chaos will invite more chaos. But a well-managed echo chamber can continue to attract aligned people while repelling the misaligned.

There are many creative types inside my echo chamber, including writers, artists, musicians, designers, programmers, course creators, filmmakers, performers, entrepreneurs, etc. There are many fellow vegans within, although it’s not exclusive to vegans. My echo chamber is also LGBTQ-friendly and open relationship friendly, so such people are welcome inside.

I love my echo chamber because it’s empowering and encouraging. It does a good job of echoing growth challenges, inspired ideas, and stimulating invitations. I feel happy and fulfilled within it. It’s a chamber rich in action and activity. And it’s far from static, always shifting and changing.

Now and then something grody sneaks in through the doors of social media (which can be more porous than I’d like), but that’s manageable as long as I promptly disinfect.

As long as I keep the echo chamber relatively clean, it works wonderful. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just harmonious enough to play beautiful music.

Yesterday I did an interview for a friend’s podcast, and we talked for more than four hours, which has to be the longest interview I’ve ever done. We covered many fascinating subjects from character sculpting to polyphasic sleep to open relationships. I also love and appreciate that he was supportive of my intention to write a novel this year – he’s written three – and he shared some insights into what it was like to create fiction. My life is rich in this kind of mutual support, and I think it’s largely because the echo chamber is aligned with this flow of support.

Raise the standards for your echo chamber. Drop the disharmonious and misaligned, so you can invite more of the aligned. Then instead of fussing over the misaligned, you get to deal with the benefits – and the challenges – of aligned support.

I think one reason people wallow in grody echo chambers is that it’s easier in a way. Harmonious echo chambers aren’t just peace and oneness. They’ll challenge you to grow in ways that a misaligned echo chamber never will. Life doesn’t really get easier when you have abundant support. It gets harder. It’s like training with heavier weights. Sometimes it feels easier though because you’ve grown stronger and can handle more responsibility.

Is it mean or harsh to dismiss those who irritate or annoy you? I can understand that mindset and used to feel that way myself. But I actually see this as doing a service to others.

If someone wants to explore conspiracy theories or some outdated religion or engage in behaviors I consider foolish, why stop them? They’re welcome to explore that. They’ll be better served by engaging in such explorations with an aligned echo chamber that fully supports them. I don’t belong in such echo chambers, so it makes sense to excuse myself.

If you’re dismissing someone from your reality, you’re really purifying their echo chamber of the impurity that is you. If you stick with them, you’re being obnoxiously clingy, even if they purportedly want you to stay. Give them a clean break to explore what they need to explore without your serving as social drag for them.

When I went down certain paths, others walled off their own echo chambers from me, so I wouldn’t be a “bad influence.” Good for them I say. I think it’s good for them to have a purer experience if that’s what they want. If and when they’re ready to move on to something different, they can open up again and start inviting fresh influences. But there’s a lot of value in pure experiences without social drag slowing you down.

What happens when you broadcast your goals within your echo chamber? Do you get echos of support or some other kinds of echos? If you’re not getting echos of support, I’d say you’re mismanaging your echo chamber, and you need to disinfect it.

When I shared recently that I wanted to write a novel, I received only support for the idea. No one suggested that I shouldn’t do it. Some people shared ideas for themes or topics. Some said they looked forward to reading it. This goal feels aligned to me, and my echo chamber reflects that. This helps me go faster. It makes it easier to actually write the book.

But if I shared a goal that was really misaligned for me, my echo chamber would catch and reflect that misalignment. People would indeed try to talk me out of it. That’s good too. You don’t want an echo chamber filled with unconditional yeses.

Managing your echo chamber is a lifelong endeavor. You can be sloppy with it, but you’ll pay a price for doing so. Rational management of your echo chamber provides many benefits, including faster progress towards your goals and desired experiences in life.

Health24.com | Coronavirus morning update: No final decision on cigarette, alcohol sales, and latest on lockdown arrests

Posted on 23/05/2020 by Boris Clair

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SA

Cases update:

The latest number of confirmed cases is 20 125.

According to the latest update, 397 deaths have been recorded in the country.

There have been 10 104 recoveries.

So far, more than 543 000 tests have been conducted, with just short of 17 600 new tests.

Latest news:

Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has told the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) that the sale of tobacco and alcohol should continue to be banned until the country reaches Level 1 of the lockdown.

News24 was reliably told that Dlamini-Zuma was supported by Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi when she told the NCCC this week that she believed it would be too much of a health risk to allow the sale of cigarettes and alcohol on 1 June when the country is expected to go to Level 3 of the nationwide lockdown.

This prompted a debate in the meeting, chaired by President Cyril Ramaphosa, with no resolution on the matter.

A high-ranking insider with intimate knowledge of the meeting said Dlamini-Zuma had come prepared with academic papers that argued against the sale of tobacco and alcohol during the Covid-19 pandemic, citing health risks.

Internationally recognised epidemiologist and infectious diseases specialist Professor Salim Abdool Karim has weighed in on the debate about schools reopening in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said the country should expect small outbreaks in schools – although they would be handled and dealt with accordingly.

Karim stated this during an interview with broadcast channel eNCA, where he said there was no good reason for children not to return to school if there were health protocols – such as hand sanitisation and social distancing – in place to curb the spread of the virus.

He added scientific evidence showed children seemed to be infected at a much lower rate than adults and were less susceptible to the virus.

Almost 230 000 people have been charged for contravening lockdown regulations since they were enforced on 26 March, Police Minister Bheki Cele has revealed.

Cele, who briefed the media on Friday, said the number of people charged for breaking the regulations had almost doubled as the country started moving into Level 4 of the lockdown.

“At one point towards the end of April when we were still on Level 5, we had about 107 000 cases opened with 118 000 people charged for contravention of the lockdown regulations. In just over a month, this number has more than doubled and is almost at 230 000 for contraventions,” he added.

Cele said the provinces with the highest number of arrests almost mirrored the provincial infection statistics, with the Western Cape recording the most arrests and highest number of confirmed cases of Covid-19, followed by the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

The Western Cape is starting to see increased pressure on its hospital systems ahead of the coronavirus peak, but it has not yet reached peak capacity, the Premier’s office said on Friday.

It warned however that, while it was ready to meet current critical care needs, at the peak, “even in the best-case scenario, we will still fall short of ICU beds”.

“The public sector has an existing capacity of 2 162 acute beds, and an 1 428 additional care beds will be provided by temporary ‘field hospitals’ in the Western Cape, including the 850 additional beds at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, 330 beds at a temporary hospital facility in Brackengate, 68 at the Khayelitsha Thusong Centre, 150 at the Cape Winelands Sonstraal Hospital, and 30 additional beds at Tygerberg Hospital,” said Premier Alan Winde’s spokesperson Bianca Capazorio.

She said the 850-beds planned for the CTICC remained on schedule to be completed by the first week of June, and that work was “progressing well”.

The temporary hospital at the convention centre will cater for patients presenting with milder clinical signs, and who are in need of hospitalisation and treatment, including administration of oxygen, but not to those with severe clinical signs requiring intensive care treatment.

The CTICC agreed to waive the hiring costs of the venue, welcoming the opportunity “to be part of the solution”.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE REST OF THE WORLD

Cases update:

For the latest global data, follow this interactive map from Johns Hopkins University & Medicine.

Early on Saturday morning, positive cases worldwide were 5.18 million, while deaths were more than 336 000.

The United States had the most cases in the world – closing in on 1.6 million, as well as the most deaths – almost 96 000.

Latest news:

Brazil has emerged as a coronavirus hotspot, and President Jair Bolsonaro seems to be taking a page out of US President’s Donald Trump’s playbook to tackle the growing number of cases.

Over the past several days the country’s daily spikes of cases have grown. On Tuesday, the country recorded 1 179 fatalities. On Wednesday, Brazil has the largest spike of cases in 24 hours with close to 20 000 cases, about a fifth of the overall record 106 000 new global cases the World Health Organisation recorded.

The country holds the third-highest number of cases behind the US and Russia, with over 310 000 infections and more than 20 000 deaths.

Vox reported that Bolsonaro mishandled the outbreak from the start by “continuously downplaying the seriousness of the virus, vocally opposed state governors’ decisions to impose lockdown measures, personally attended anti-lockdown protests, and pushed for businesses to reopen despite the growing outbreak.”

LATEST RESEARCH

Hydroxychloroquine, a drug used to treat lupus and rheumatological disorder, has received a massive amount of publicity this year. The reason? Its role in the Covid-19 pandemic.

The drug made headlines after being proposed as a preventative measure (prophylaxis) against Covid-19, as reported in the New York Times.

While hydroxychloroquine has generally fewer side-effects than its cousin chloroquine, which was also researched as a possible Covid-19 treatment, it was generally declared as ineffective against the novel coronavirus, based on several studies.

But, besides the fact that the hydroxychloroquine hype may cause those who really need the medicine for lupus not being able to find it, the drug can also have irreversible side effects, as discussed in the journal Nature.

As schools in South Africa are set to reopen for Grades 7 and 12, there is a debate whether children are less at risk from Covid-19 than adults and those with underlying conditions.

While the general consensus has been that children are not as severely affected by Covid-19 as the elderly, more severe cases in children have been recorded throughout the world.

A new report from paediatric anaesthesiologists, infectious disease specialists and paediatricians at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore and Albert Einstein College of Medicine describes some of the most significant clinical characteristics of children hospitalised with severe Covid-19.

This report was published in the Journal of Pediatrics and compared the cases of 46 Covid-19 patients aged between one month and 21 years. These patients were either admitted to the general unit or the Pediatric Critical Care Unit (PCCU) at Montefiore.

The Covid-19 crisis is sweeping across the planet, becoming “the greatest disruptor the world has seen in generations”, according to a statement by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (Union). But as the infection rate continues to surge, it should not result in other serious diseases, such as tuberculosis (TB), being neglected, a Union panel discussion on TB and Covid-19 on Wednesday concluded.

As of 21 May, South Africa has 369 confirmed Covid-19 deaths. Projections indicate that this figure could rise to more than 40 000 by November this year. However, according to the latest statistics by the World Health Organization (WHO), TB caused around 63 000 deaths in South Africa in 2018 (figures for 2019 are not yet available).

Following the recent release of modelling on the impacts of the initial Covid-19 response on TB – commissioned by the Stop TB Partnership in collaboration with the Imperial College, Avenir Health and Johns Hopkins University – key leaders in the Union panel discussed what the results of this modelling study mean, and how governments can all work together to prevent the potential 1.4 million TB deaths worldwide, caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

A major factor indicated in the study was an estimation that, globally, a three-month lockdown and a protracted 10-month restoration could lead to an additional 6.3 million people falling ill with TB and an additional 1.4 million TB deaths over the next five years. As a result, the world would face a setback of around five to eight years in the fight against TB.

HEALTH TIPS (as recommended by the NICD and WHO)

• Maintain physical distancing – stay at least one metre away from somebody who is coughing or sneezing

• Practise frequent hand-washing, especially after direct contact with ill people or their environment

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, as your hands touch many surfaces and could potentially transfer the virus

• Practise respiratory hygiene – cover your mouth with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Remember to dispose the tissue immediately after use.

READ MORE: Coronavirus 101

^{Image credit: Getty Images}

Trump drug hydroxychloroquine raises death risk in Covid patients, study says

Posted on 22/05/2020 by Boris Clair

Coronavirus hospital patients given hydroxychloroquine were more likely to die, medical journal study says.

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Category Archives: Mind Building

Health24.com | Coronavirus morning update: Reopening of schools ‘irrational’, top scientist backed, and rules for SANDF

^{Image credit: Getty Images}

A patient who proved everyone wrong

Coronavirus: Which health claims are circulating online?

Coronavirus: Care homes could ‘go to the wall’ as costs rise

Death payment for families of Scottish care staff

Coronavirus: ‘Baffling’ observations from the front line

Health24.com | Remdesivir will not be enough to curb Covid-19, study finds

Managing Your Echo Chamber

Health24.com | Coronavirus morning update: No final decision on cigarette, alcohol sales, and latest on lockdown arrests

^{Image credit: Getty Images}

Trump drug hydroxychloroquine raises death risk in Covid patients, study says