Coronavirus
Technology Solutions
Two Passengers on a
Mediterranean
Cruise Ship
Tested Positive
for Covid-19.
Royal Caribbean
Also has Two
Positive Cases
Employers Need
to Upgrade
Ventilation
Systems for
Returning Office
Workers
India COVID Death Total Soars to Possibly 1.8
Million
Florida Group Donating Masks to India
Masks are What is Needed Now in India
Santa Barbara Residents Encouraged to Plan for
Poor Air Quality
Caused by
Wildfire Smoke
____________________________________________________________________________
Two Passengers on a Mediterranean Cruise Ship Tested Positive
for Covid-19.
Two passengers on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean have tested
positive
for Covid-19.
The pair were traveling on the MSC Seaside cruise ship and
disembarked with
their families
in Syracuse,
Sicily, on
Tuesday, MSC
told CNN on
Wednesday. The
two passengers
were
asymptomatic.
The cruise had previously docked in Malta but the passengers were
forbidden to
disembark as the
ship only made a
"technical"
call, according
to the cruise
operator, which
would not
disclose the
nationality nor
the total number
of passengers on
board.
All passengers traveling with
MSC must have a
Covid-19 test 96
hours before
departure,
another when
they embark, and
a third during
the cruise. MSC
does not require
passengers to be
vaccinated, but
the rules apply
to those who
have been.
Guests on board are required to
wear masks in
public spaces
and social
distance.
"Our protocol is working, if not
on board those
two people would
still be freely
circulating,"
said MSC
spokesperson
Michele
Curatolo.
The company has a contingency
plan for each
port of call,
added Cuartolo,
which meant that
a "protective
transfer was
immediately
activated" for
the two
passengers who
tested positive.
Luca Biondolillo, chief
communications
officer of MSC
Cruise, said
that three of
the company's
vessels are
currently at
sea, a number
due to increase
to eight by
August.
In August 2020, MSC cruises was
the first major
cruise line to
resume sailing
in Europe after
the first wave
of the Covid-19
pandemic
subsided.
The cruise line has been running
Italian sailings
on and off since
then, and
recently
launched the
UK's first
cruise in over a
year.
Those wishing to take a cruise
from the United
States have had
to put their
plans on hold
due to the
pandemic, but
there's hope on
the horizon.
Sailings on numerous cruise
lines are slated
to embark from
US ports within
the next month,
nearly 15 months
after a no-sail
order from the
US Centers for
Disease and
Control and
Prevention
brought cruises
to a halt.
Most ships are still awaiting
CDC approval to
sail. Since
October of last
year, the agency
has issued a
series of
evolving
requirements and
guidelines in
the form of a
Conditional
Sailing Order.
Royal Caribbean Also has Two
Positive Cases
Two passengers
on a Royal
Caribbean cruise
ship tested
positive for
Covid-19,
officials said
Thursday.
Celebrity
Millennium,
which is part of
Celebrity
Cruises owned by
the Royal
Caribbean Group,
was the first
cruise ship to
sail out of
North America
since the
coronavirus
pandemic began
in 2020,
Celebrity
Cruises said in
a news release.
"Today two
guests sharing a
stateroom
onboard
Celebrity
Millennium
tested positive
for Covid-19
while conducting
the required end
of cruise
testing," the
cruise line
company said.
"The individuals
are asymptomatic
and currently in
isolation and
being monitored
by our medical
team."
All guests were
required to show
a negative
Covid-19 test
and proof of
vaccination 72
hours before its
departure on
Saturday, the
company said.
Celebrity Millennium is
sailing with
fully vaccinated
crew and guests
and following
comprehensive
protocols that
align with our
destination
partners and
exceed CDC
guidelines to
protect the
health and
safety of our
guests,"
Celebrity
Cruises said.
"This situation
demonstrates
that our
rigorous health
and safety
protocols work
to protect our
crew, guests and
the communities
we visit."
The Celebrity Millennium is
a 7-day cruise
from St. Maarten,
the Caribbean
port of
Philipsburg,
with additional
stops in Aruba,
Barbados and
Curacao.
The Centers for Disease
Control and
Prevention gave
the go-ahead
to begin work
toward
restarting
cruises for the
first time in
over a year
after the
massive ships
became some of
the first
superspreader
locations for
the coronavirus.
Employers Need to Upgrade
Ventilation
Systems for
Returning Office
Workers
Because the
coronavirus is
thought to
spread primarily
through tiny, airborne droplets, employers should upgrade their
ventilation and
filtration
systems before
bringing workers
back, experts
said.
“One thing you
can do before
you go back to
work is simply
ask them what
they’ve done,”
Dr. Allen said.
“And if you hear
things like,
‘Yes, we’re
meeting code,’
then that’s a
flag that
something’s not
right. They
should be going
above and beyond
the bare minimum
ventilation and
filtration
rates.”
Although the ideal
ventilation rate
varies, in
general,
employers should
maximize the
amount of fresh
air coming in
from outdoors,
he said. In a
relatively small
space — say, the
size of a
typical school
classroom —
employers should
aim for four to six air changes per hour, meaning that the air
inside the space
is being
completely
refreshed every
10 to 15
minutes. Opening windows can also improve air flow.
High-quality air
filters, like
those that are
rated as MERV 13 or higher, can
trap a majority
of airborne
viral particles.
Some commercial
buildings are
not equipped for
these heavy-duty
filters; in
those offices,
portable air
purifiers,
equipped with
HEPA filters,
can be
effective,
experts said.
“These types of
portable units
can do a great
job of taking
particles out of
the room,” Dr.
Huffman said.
“And the next
level is even a
desktop level
HEPA filter,
where you have a
really small
unit that
provides clean
air into your
direct breathing
zone.”
These personal
units may be
particularly
helpful in
poorly
ventilated
offices,
although experts
stressed that
employers, not
employees,
should bear the
burden of
improving indoor
air quality.
Experts warn against adding
chemical
disinfectants to
the air. And in
most ordinary
workplaces,
wiping down
one’s desk with
bleach is likely
to do more harm
than good.
While
ventilation and
filtration are
crucial,
employers and
building
managers should
stay away from
foggers,
fumigators, ionizers, ozone generators or other “air cleaning” devices that
promise to
neutralize the
coronavirus by
adding chemical
disinfectants to
the air. “These
are all really
terrible ideas
of things to do
to indoor air,”
said Delphine
Farmer, an
atmospheric
chemist at
Colorado State
University.
The compounds
that these
products emit —
which may
include hydrogen
peroxide,
bleach-like
solutions or
ozone — can be
toxic, inflaming
the lungs,
causing asthma
attacks and
leading to other
kinds of
respiratory or
cardiovascular
problems. And
there is not
rigorous,
real-world
evidence that
these devices
actually reduce
disease
transmission,
Dr. Farmer said.
“A lot of employers are now
— and school
districts and
building
managers are now
— thinking that
they have solved
the problem by
using those
devices,” Dr.
Farmer said. “So
then they are
not increasing
ventilation
rates or adding
other filters.
And so that
means that
people think
that they’re
safer than they
actually are.”
Surfaces pose minimal risk for coronavirus transmission, and
disinfectants
needlessly
applied to them
can also wind up
in the air and
can be toxic
when inhaled. So
in most ordinary
workplaces,
wiping down your
desk with bleach
is likely to do
more harm than
good, Dr. Farmer
said. (Some
specific
workplaces —
such as
hospitals,
laboratories or
industrial
kitchens — may
still require
disinfection,
experts noted.)
Nor is there any
particular need
for special
antimicrobial
wipes or
cleansers,
which may fuel the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria and
wipe out
communities of
benign or
beneficial
microbes. “As
tempting as it
may be to try to
sterilize
everything, it’s
never going to
happen, and
there may be
some real
serious
consequences,”
said Erica
Hartmann, an
environmental
microbiologist
at Northwestern
University.
In the early
months of the
pandemic,
plastic barriers
sprang up in
schools, stores,
restaurants,
offices and
other shared
spaces. “They
can be great to
stop the bigger
droplets —
really they’re
big sneeze
guards,” Dr.
Huffman said.
But the
smallest,
lightest
particles can
simply float
over and around
them. These
barriers “may
not provide
enough benefit
to justify their
costs,” said
Martin Bazant, a
chemical
engineer at the
Massachusetts
Institute of
Technology. They may even raise the risk of
disease
transmission, by
encouraging
riskier behavior
or impeding air flow.
There are some environments
in which these
kinds of
barriers may
still make
sense. “It can
be a really good
idea for people
who would
otherwise have
very close
face-to-face
contact, like
grocery store
workers at cash
registers,” Dr.
Farmer said.
“But past that,
in offices where
you’re sitting
for a lengthy
period of time,
there is no
benefit to
putting yourself
in a plexiglass
cage.”
Social distancing may still
have some
benefits; if an
employee is
exhaling
infectious
virus, people
sitting directly
in that person’s
breathing zone
will quite
likely be
exposed to the
highest doses.
“If you were
sitting at a
shared table
space, two feet
away from
someone, then
there could be
some potential
value to moving
away a little
bit further,”
Dr. Huffman
said.
But aerosols can
stay aloft for
hours and travel
far beyond six
feet, so moving
desks farther
apart is likely
to have
diminishing
returns. “Strict
distancing
orders, such as
the six-foot
rule, do little
to protect
against
long-range
airborne
transmission,”
Dr. Bazant said,
“and may provide
a false sense of
security in
poorly
ventilated
spaces.”
In offices in
which most
people are
vaccinated and
local case rates
are low, the
benefits of
distancing are
probably
minimal,
scientists said.
Higher-risk
workplaces may
want to consider
de-densification
or reducing the
number of people
— any one of
whom might be
infectious — who
are present at
the same time.
“That, to me,
has been the
biggest benefit
of this social
distancing
indoors,” Dr.
Farmer said.
“It’s just
having fewer
potential
sources of
SARS-CoV-2 in a
room.”
Companies could
allow a subset
of employees to
work at home
indefinitely or
on alternating
days or weeks.
They could also
consider
“cohorting,” or
creating
separate teams
of workers that
do not have
in-person
interactions
with those who
are not on their
team.
Creating these kinds of
cohorts could
also make it
easier to
respond if
someone does
contract the
virus, allowing
the affected
team to
quarantine
without having
to shut down an
entire
workplace. “When
we think about
reopening, we
need to think
about what do we
do when,
inevitably, we
see a case?”
said Justin
Lessler, an
infectious
disease
epidemiologist
at Johns Hopkins
University.
“There are
creative ways to
lessen the
impact.”
In offices in which most people
are vaccinated
and local case
rates are low,
the benefits of
distancing are
probably
minimal,
scientists said.
But higher-risk
workplaces may
want to consider
de-densification.
Regular
hand-washing,
which can reduce
the spread of
all kinds of
pathogens, is
always a good
idea. “The
messaging at the
beginning of the
pandemic about
washing your
hands and
washing your
hands for at
least 20 seconds
— that is
totally valid
and still really
important,” Dr.
Hartmann said.
And when your office itself
needs cleaning,
a mild detergent
will generally
do the trick,
she added: “Soap
and water is
great.”
Masks, too,
remain
effective. “If
you’re someone
who’s vaccinated
and still
feeling anxious
about going back
to work, the
best thing to do
is continue to
wear a mask for
the first couple
of weeks until
you feel more
comfortable,”
Dr. Allen said.
Scientists recommended that
unvaccinated
workers continue
to wear masks in
the office. But
for those who
are eligible,
the most
effective risk
reduction
strategy is
obvious, Dr.
Allen said: “The
No. 1 thing is
to get
vaccinated.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/11/health/coronavirus-reopening-office.html
India COVID
Death Total
Soars to
Possibly 1.8
Million
India’s daily
tally of
coronavirus
deaths has
reached more
than 6,000 after
a single state
dramatically
revised its data
for fatalities
during the
second wave,
increasing fears
that the
country’s toll
is much higher
than reported.
While the daily
total would be a
global record
for a single
day, it appears
that Bihar’s
addition of
approximately
4,000 extra
deaths after a
court challenge
accounts for
deaths that
occurred
throughout
India’s
devastating
second wave of
infections.
The new total
comes as
official figures
for nationwide
infections in
India showed a
third day under
100,000,
suggesting the
latest surge may
be declining.
According to
health ministry
figures, 6,148
people died in
the previous 24
hours, taking
total fatalities
to almost
360,000, the
world’s third
highest. The
previous world
record,
according to an
AFP tally, was
5,527 in the US
on February
12th, although
this was also
because of an
upwards revision
of earlier
deaths.
The revision
came amid
allegations that
the state of
Bihar had
undercounted its
death toll,
which had led
the high court
in Patna to
order a detailed
audit that now
includes those
who died from
Covid
complications
after recovering
from the
disease, and
also those who
died on the way
to the hospital.
Similar
accusations have
been levelled at
other state
governments
after a recent
coronavirus
surge resulted
in crematoriums
being
overwhelmed in
many places and
hundreds of
bodies being
dumped in rivers
or buried in
shallow graves.
With
record-keeping
poor even in
normal times,
many experts
believe India’s
death toll is
several times
higher than the
official number,
meaning it could
be more than a
million, which
would make it
the world’s
highest.
The newly
reported deaths
had occurred
last month and
state officials
were
investigating
the lapse, a
district health
official said,
blaming the
oversight on
private
hospitals.
“These deaths
occurred 15 days
ago and were
only uploaded
now in the
government
portal. Action
will be taken
against some of
the private
hospitals,” said
the official,
who declined to
be identified as
he was not
authorized to
speak to the
media.
Suspicions have
been heightened
by the fact that
death rates in
many countries,
for example in
Brazil and the
US, are several
times higher
than in India.
While India’s
official
Covid-19 death
toll stands at
359,676,
C-Voter, an
Indian research
and polling
agency,
estimated last
month that at
least 1.8
million Indians
may have died
from Covid-19.
If these numbers
are accurate, it
would mean that
India has been
by far the
worst-hit
country.
“Under-reporting
is a widespread
problem, not
necessarily
deliberate,
often because of
inadequacies,”
said Rajib
Dasgupta, head
of the Centre of
Social Medicine
and Community
Health at New
Delhi’s
Jawaharlal Nehru
University. “In
the rural
context,
whatever states
may say or
claim, testing
is not simple,
easy or
accessible,” he
said.
The government
dismissed those
estimates as
exaggerated. But
the main
opposition
Congress party
said other
states must
follow Bihar’s
example and
conduct a review
of deaths over
the past two
months. “This
proves beyond a
doubt government
has been hiding
Covid deaths,”
said Shama
Mohamed, a
Congress
spokesperson,
adding that an
audit should
also be ordered
in the big
states of Uttar
Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh and
Gujarat.
F
lorida Group
Donating Masks
to India
The COVID-19
crisis continues
to impact some
of the most
vulnerable
countries like
India, which has
now surpassed
353,000 deaths
and more than 29
million cases of
the deadly
virus, according
to the Johns
Hopkins
University
Center.
In Central
Florida, the
Indian American
Chamber of
Commerce is
collecting face
masks, hand
sanitizer and
cleaning wipes.
Two weeks ago,
IACC delivered
more than 500
oxygen
concentrators.
“You don’t see
the pictures of
what’s really
going on in the
rural areas. You
really only see
in the bigger
cities. It’s
actually worse
in those areas
because they
don’t have any
doctors they can
go to, any
hospitals they
can go to
nearby,” IACC in
Orlando
president Jay
Shah said.
Shah recently
lost an uncle to
the virus. He
said the most
difficult part
was not being
able to give him
a proper burial
and attend the
14-day ritual.
Due to the
pandemic, those
traditions have
been altered and
loved ones are
cremated
quickly.
“We believe in
reincarnation so
that ritual is
also part of
them being
reincarnated to
come back in a
better life form
in the future
and you’re not
getting that
proper ritual,”
Shah said.
“(The) situation
is completely
out of control.
Nobody was
prepared for
that. Nobody
thought it would
spread like
this,” Parth
Trivedi said.
Shah said the
goal right now
is to get as
much personal
protective
equipment to
rural areas in
India.
Masks are What
is Needed Now in
India
The second wave of Coronavirus is far
more deadly and
aggressive than
the first. India
is currently
drowning under
the surge of
cases and
increased
fatality rate.
During these
trying times, it
has become all
the more
important to
follow COVID-19
protocols.
Continuing
social
distancing, and
other
precautionary
measures like
the use of face
masks, and
handwashing,
could possibly
help in limiting
the spread of
COVID-19.
Now, researchers have found under which
conditions and
in which ways,
masks actually
reduce
individual and
population-average
risks of being
infected with
Covid-19 and
help mitigate
the coronavirus
pandemic.
The study, led by researchers from the
Max Planck
Institute for
Chemistry in
Germany’s Mainz,
showed that in
most
environments and
situations, even
simple surgical
masks
effectively
reduce the
transmission of
SARS-CoV-2 and
the effective
reproduction
number for
Covid-19.
“For the airborne transmission of
SARS-CoV-2, we
find that
usually just a
minor fraction
of exhaled
respiratory
particles
contains
viruses. Most
environments and
contacts are
under
virus-limited
conditions,
where face
masks, including
simple surgical
masks, have a
high efficacy in
preventing the
spread of
Covid-19,” said
Yafang Cheng,
the head of the
Minerva Research
Group at Max
Planck.
In environments with potentially high
airborne virus
concentrations
such as medical
settings and
densely occupied
indoor spaces,
masks with
higher
filtration
efficiency
(N95/FFP2)
should be used
and combined
with other
protective
measures such as
intensive
ventilation.
In
most situations,
even simple
surgical masks
are effective.
“The combination of high-efficiency
masks with other
protective
measures is
particularly
important for
hospitals,
medical centres,
and other indoor
environments,
where high-risk
patients may
encounter high
virus
concentrations,”
said Christian
Witt, head of
the Research
Area Pneumology
at the Charite
Universitatsmedizin
Berlin.
“Masks will remain an important
protective
measure against
SARS-Cov-2
infection — even
for vaccinated
persons,
especially when
the protection
provided by
vaccination
decreases over
time,” Witt
said.
For the study, published in the
journal Science,
the team used
observational
data and a novel
quantitative
model of
airborne virus
exposure to
elucidate how
the efficacy of
face masks
depends on
characteristic
regimes of
airborne virus
concentration.
The approach can be used to assess
protection
against more
infectious
mutants of
Covid. It is
also applicable
to a wide range
of respiratory
viruses and
diseases,
including
coronaviruses,
rhinoviruses,
and influenza.
The findings showed that aerosol
transmission
does not
necessarily lead
to very high
reproduction
numbers as
observed for
measles, and
that relatively
low reproduction
numbers do not
rule out
airborne
transmission.
Santa Barbara
Residents
Encouraged to
Plan for Poor
Air Quality
Caused by
Wildfire Smoke
The Santa Barbara
County Air
Pollution
Control District
and Santa
Barbara County
Public Health
Department offer
tips to decrease
particulate
matter from
smoke and ash.
The tiny
particles can
harm the lungs
and heart and
cause coughing,
wheezing,
difficulty
breathing, chest
pain, nausea,
and in severe
instances,
premature
mortality.
People with heart
or lung disease,
seniors,
children and
pregnant women
are especially
sensitive to
smoke.
The air pollution
control district
and health
department say
the best
protection
against wildfire
smoke is to stay
indoors.
To further protect
your family, the
district and
department
suggest these
steps:
— Pick a HEPA
(High-Efficiency
Particulate Air)
purifier to
reduce
particulate
matter indoors
by 90%. These
can be purchased
at hardware
stores or online
retailers.
— Make sure that
the HEPA doesn’t
create ozone.
Find a list of
safe options at www.arb.ca.gov/research/indoor/aircleaners/certified.htm.
— Check your
windows and
doors, and make
sure the room is
sealed tightly
so smoke from
the outdoors
does not get
pulled inside.
— Replace the
filter as
directed in the
owner’s manual.
Filters need to
be replaced more
frequently if
used during a
wildfire.
A do-it-yourself
version of an
air purifier can
be a more
affordable
option, with
materials
costing around
$40. Such a
version has been
found to reduce
harmful
particles
indoors in a way
similar to that
of a HEPA
purifier.
Here’s how to make
your own
purifier.
— Use tape
to attach a
20-by-20
MERV-rated air
filter — like
what you would
use for your
HVAC system — to
the back of a
20-by-20 box
fan. Attaching
to the back of
the fan creates
a better seal.
— Use a
filter with a
MERV rating of
13.
— Check the filter
for the
direction of the
air flow marked
on the side of
the filter.
— Check your
windows and
doors, and make
sure the room is
sealed.
— Replace
the filter more
frequently if
used during a
wildfire.
— As needed,
disassemble the
box fan to wipe
away any
accumulated
dirt.
For safety, follow
these
precautions with
your filters:
— Use a box fan
that is from
2012 or newer
because of added
safety features.
— Don’t leave the
device
unattended.
— Turn off the
device while
sleeping.
— When the fan is
modified in this
way, use the
device as an air
cleaner, not as
a fan to cool
your home.
The air pollution
control district
and health
department also
give these tips
about minimizing
particles
indoors.
— If advised to
stay inside,
keep windows and
doors shut and
sealed tightly.
— If temperatures
are high and
there is no way
to keep the home
cool with
windows and
doors shut,
consider
temporarily
moving somewhere
with better air
quality.
— Upgrade your
filter in your
HVAC system to a
MERV filter with
a rating of at
least 13. Check
with your HVAC
professional to
see what MERV
rating your HVAC
system can
handle to ensure
proper
functionality.
— Do not smoke or
burn firewood,
candles or
incense in the
house.
— Use your range
hood while
cooking,
especially when
using a gas
stove.
— Consider using
professional
services for a
blower door test
to detect air
leaks. This
service can help
you know how to
properly seal
your home.
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