The World in Turmoil

Posted on April 11, 2020 by Ken
A priest peers from a window in the door of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,
a place where Christians believe Jesus Christ was buried.
  
We all know about the COVID-19 pandemic and most of us are living under new restrictions
it has brought with it and a vast distraction from Easter this year. There is much fear and panic happening, from stockpiling common household items to rushing to the doctor asking to be tested. The world watched
as China suffered from its onslaught, yet we as a country did little to prepare for its arrival on our shores.
Our first biggest failure is the lack of test kits being available. These should have been readily on hand in
order to test contacts of those infected. By doing this, those contacts could be quarantined and tested, thereby, limiting the spread of this disease. Unfortunately, we missed this chance to contain the contagion. COVID-19 has been unleased and is now spread through community acquired transmission.
Though we now have more tests available, it is too late to coral this pandemic by tracking contacts alone.
People who are coming down with symptoms this week were probably infected last week when there was no way to test them. Now, to continue to offer testing to asymptomatic people or those with mild symptoms, is wasting supplies that is needed in hospitals for critically ill patients. It also putting more people to be at risk by being around others, even if just traveling to the testing site.
While most states now have stay at home orders from state governors, it only happened when the number of cases sky-rocketed. This means that there are many more people infected before these measures were put into place. We have no idea how many at this point because many people have mild, or even no, signs or symptoms. Yes, these regulations are completely necessary to save lives, but it should have happened sooner.
Panic buying wiped out many medical supplies that healthcare workers on the front lines
are now running out of. These workers are face-to-face with the pathogen on a daily basis. Everyone heard
of the dire shortage of N95 masks, the only ones that are effective in blocking transmission of the virus.
Even exam gloves are now a hard commodity to find. When people started depleting the supplies, there was
no increased production for those battling this disease. Governors are now begging the federal government for PPE (personal protective equipment) for their healthcare workers.
And the answers they receive are slow in coming.
Again, these supplies should have been redistributed to the battle zones weeks ago.
Hospitals are now in dire straits, running out of ICU beds and ventilators. Will we wait until we have to
let patients die before initiating a respond to these pleas? We are already weeks behind where we should be.
We need to set up field hospitals and get vents to the hardest hit areas, like NYC. We are approaching maximum capacity and still have weeks to maybe months to endure this pandemic.
Non-essential workers have been ordered home, not knowing how they’re going to able to afford to live.
Many have been instructed to file for unemployment, but how long will this take? People need these funds now. Will this be another failure of the system?
The POTUS claims he wants America to reopen by May. Yet, most medical experts say it will be months until this should happens. Other countries are now making tough decisions about who they can give life saving treatments to and who they need to leave just die because there are not enough resources available.
For example, in Italy, although deaths are on the decline -doctors are no longer ventilating
anyone over 60 years of age.

Do we want to be forced to make the same tough choices here?
The US healthcare system, as well as our political leaders, have failed to prepare for this pandemic that we witnessed played out in other countries before reaching our shores. We had several weeks heads-up to know what COVID-19 is and what it can potentially do. Yet, it reached us unprepared and we’ve been struggling to catch up ever since. We are still weeks behind where we should be in this war. Can we catch up?
Our system will tolerate no more failures; this is our breaking point.

So, why did this happen?

The main reason is our inexperience.
In the United States, we have never had to deal with Coronavirus. These healthcare workers were thrust into a position of treating something we are just learning about. There were no protocols in place at that time so these healthcare workers were not adequately protected. To be fair, we are facing a new threat that guidelines have had to be developed retrospectively.
Casting blame is not going to help us reach a solution to this rising spread of a disease that many of us never expected would show up within our borders. We all need to come together and discuss the faults in the system and ensure this never happens again and Trust in Jesus Christ our Savior
and remember the sacrifice he made for us on that cross.

Remembering Jesus This Easter Weekend.

What year was Jesus Christ born?
The Bible does not explicitly teach the exact day or even the exact year in which Jesus was born.
It does, however, provide many historical details that can help determine a specific time period during which He was born.

Both Matthew and Luke describe the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus. Matthew 2:1 states Jesus was born during the days of Herod the king. This Herod died in the spring of 4 BC, indicating the latest time at which Jesus could have been born on earth. Further, Matthew 2:16 notes Herod commanded all male children two years old and younger to be put to death in his attempt to kill Jesus. This would further provide details that place the birth of Jesus to around 6-4 BC.

Luke’s account provides many additional details. Luke 2:1-2 states, “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.” Caesar Augustus reigned from 27 BC to 14 AD. Quirinius required one known census in 6-7 AD, though the census mentioned in Luke seems to be unmentioned in existing literature. The use of the Greek term protos (translated “first”) could also be translated “before” and may have referred to the time period before the census of Quirinius. Another option is that Quirinius served two times as leader in this area and ordered a census during his first reign. In either case, Jesus’ birth between 6-4 BC still agrees.

In Luke 3:23, we are also told Jesus began His public ministry at “about thirty years of age.”
The details provided in Luke 3:1-2 limit the start of His ministry to between about 27-29 AD,
also fitting a birth between 6-4 BC.

Further defining the window during which Jesus was born becomes more difficult based on the available evidence. Because Jews were required to travel to their ancestral towns for a census, it is unlikely that this census took place during the planting or harvest seasons (spring or fall). The most likely time period would have been following the harvest when residents had income to pay taxes and were not involved in the harvest, indicating a time period from late September to the end of the year, likely late 5 BC to early 4 BC.

The later connection of December 25 as the date of Christ’s birth was developed long after the New Testament period. While it serves as the day Christians have chosen to celebrate the birth of Jesus,
the exact date of His birth is unknown.

Others have attempted to use the priestly cycles of the Old Testament to date the birth of
John the Baptist and therefore Jesus to the autumn of 5 BC. This is possible, but impossible to determine
for certain. Others have focused on the “star” spotted by the wise men from the east in an attempt to more specifically date the birth of Christ. However, the fact that these men visited Jesus in a “house” rather than the manger and arrived days or weeks after His birth make any chronology impossible to determine with certainty. Others even seek to calculate the birth of Jesus based on the “70 Weeks” in Daniel 9, but a variety of factors make these findings uncertain. Still others argue a summer birth due to sheep in the field at night
(Though sheep are actually outside year-round in the Middle East.).

While the birth of Christ in the last half of 5 BC is most likely, the evidence can only be given to support
6 to early 4 BC as the window of time for the birth of Christ. Yet the birth of Christ is of utmost importance and worthy of celebration on Christmas and every day. He came to live, die, and rise again to prove
Himself as the Messiah, God’s One and only Son (John 3:16).

When Did Jesus Die? The Year, Day & Time!!
Doug Bookman, New Testament professor at Shepherds Theological Seminary,
explains the consensus among biblical scholars about the year Jesus died.
“It comes down to this. We can discern quite narrowly that Pilate was prefect in Judea Samaria 26 A.D. – 36 A.D. So that’s our window. The next question becomes: On what day did Passover fall in the year Jesus died?
In the minds of most, it fell on Thursday/Friday. It started on sundown on Thursday and went through sundown on Friday.  Given all of that, most scholars will agree it drives you to one of two conclusions:”
Theory 1: Jesus died in 30 A.D.
Theory 2: Jesus died in 33 A.D.
Bookman says at this point, “the argument becomes quite technical.” He also says, “With regard to every one
of the chronological questions, there is a case to be built on both. I am persuaded of 33 A.D.
It’s within that construct that I teach the life of Jesus.”

3 Significant Events Shortly After Jesus’ Death
Matthew 27: 51-54, “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
1. The temple curtain was torn in two.
This curtain separated worshippers in the temple from the Ark of the Covenant and it’s top – the Mercy seat, where God would meet only the High Priest only once a year with an atonement sacrifice. We know from Old Testament regulations that entering God’s presence was serious. After two men died attempting it incorrectly, the Lord gave Moses specific instructions in Leviticus 16 on how to approach him without dying.
The fact that this curtain was destroyed symbolized Jesus Christ’s finished work on the cross that removed the barrier between sinful mankind and holy God by becoming the ultimate High Priest and the ultimate sacrifice. Further, the fact that the curtain was torn “from top to bottom” symbolized that it was torn by God himself,
not by effort of any man. 
2. An earthquake opened tombs, and dead saints were raised to life.
According to John Gill’s commentary,
“this was a proof of Christ’s power over death and the grave.”
As Jesus raised himself to life on the third day after he died, he defeated the power of death and the permanency of the grave. Gill went on: “These saints, I apprehend, continued on earth until our Lord’s ascension, and then joining the retinue of angels, went triumphantly with him to heaven, as trophies of his victory over sin, Satan, death,  and the grave.”
This event is significant not only because of its bold claims, but also because it is a story foreshadowing Christ’s second coming to gather all the rest of his people. This event reported in Matthew also fulfills a prophecy in Isaiah 26:19, “But your dead will live, LORD; their bodies will rise— let those who dwell in the dust
wake up and shout for joy— your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.”
3. Jesus is resurrected from the grave.
This passage in Matthew glosses over such an astonishing event, but Christ’s resurrection
is recounted with more detail in Matthew 28 (as well as in Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20).

JERUSALEM (AP) — Christians are commemorating Jesus’ crucifixion without the solemn church services
or emotional processions of past years, marking Good Friday in a world locked down by the coronavirus pandemic.   A small group of clerics are to hold a closed-door service in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead. They will then walk the Via Dolorosa, the ancient route where he is believed to have carried the cross before his
execution at the hands of the Romans.
In ordinary times, tens of thousands of pilgrims from around the world retrace Jesus’
steps in the Holy Week leading up to Easter. But this year, flights are grounded and religious sites
in the Holy Land are closed as authorities try to prevent the spread of the virus.
The new virus causes mild to moderate symptoms in most patients, who recover within
a few weeks. But it is highly contagious and can be spread by those showing no symptoms.
It can cause severe illness and death in some patients, particularly the old and infirm.
In Rome, the torch-lit Way of the Cross procession at the Colosseum is a highlight of Holy Week,
drawing large crowds of pilgrims, tourists and locals. It’s been cancelled this year, along with all other
public gatherings in Italy, which is battling one of the worst outbreaks.

The virus has killed nearly 19,000 people in Italy and over 102,000 worldwide. 
Instead of presiding over the Way of the Cross procession, Pope Francis will lead a Good Friday ceremony in
St. Peter’s Square without the public. Ten people — five from the Vatican’s health office and five from a prison in Padua, in northern Italy, where infections are particularly widespread — will participate in the procession, which will circle several times around the obelisk in St. Peter’s Square. On display in the square will be a wooden crucifix, famed for being carried in a procession during the plague that ravaged
Rome in the early 16th century.
The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, nearly destroyed by fire a year ago, is holding a special Good Friday ceremony in the charred, gutted interior of the medieval landmark. But the event is closed to the public for two reasons: France’s strict virus confinement measures forbid religious or any other gatherings, and the cathedral remains too structurally unstable
to let parishioners inside. “We wanted to send a message of hope” through the ceremony,
Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit told reporters this week.

“The message of hope is especially important for our compatriots at a time when we are particularly
affected by the coronavirus, which is sowing anguish and death,” he said.
In the Philippines, Asia’s bastion of Catholicism, masses and other solemn gatherings have
been put on hold, including folk rituals that feature real-life crucifixions and usually
draw thousands of tourists and penitents. The annual procession of the “Black Nazarene,”
a centuries-old statue of Jesus, through downtown Manila, has also been canceled. 
Churchgoers have been told to stay home and remember Jesus’ suffering through family prayers,
fasting and by watching masses and religious shows on TV or online. 
Related Truth:

What is the importance of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ?

Why do Matthew and Luke have different genealogies of Jesus?

Why doesn’t the Bible say much about Jesus’ childhood?

What were the key events in the life of Jesus?

Is belief in the pre-existence of Jesus biblical?

Return to:
Truth about Jesus Christ
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The Science of Compassion

Posted on April 10, 2020 by Ken
The pandemic triggered a wave of good deeds as Canadians pitch in to inspire others 🙂
    By Vivien Fellegi | April 8, 2020

Teiya Kasahara leans over their balcony in Toronto, with her diamond-strong voice
slicing through the cold breeze to reach neighbors across the street. The opera singer
and multidisciplinary performer raises their arms in supplication as they sing Ave Maria, accompanied by pianist Andrea Grant two floors down. Summoned by the serenade, condo dwellers venture onto their balconies, and joggers stop in their tracks and look up. Kasahara waves.   Their performance that March day was the first of 19 shows; the total number of performances is inspired by the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.
“I wanted to do something positive in this panic,” who uses the pronoun “they.” 
Kasahara’s compassion has helped them cope with the shock of lost gigs and income due
to COVID-19.  Though the performer battled icy blasts and faulty acoustics outdoors, the audience’s response made the effort worthwhile; strangers refueled the singer with surprised smiles, rapt attention and honking horns. This interplay of intimacy continued long past each show, as videos of the concerts went viral on social media, and Kasahara was inundated with muffins, chocolates and grateful emails from new fans. “It’s heartwarming and powerful to know that we can still connect on something as simple as a …song,” they say.  

BARCELONA, April 10 – The coronavirus death toll curve in Spain flattened further on Friday as the government discussed different strategies to start phasing out one of the world’s strictest lock downs. Spaniards have been off the streets since mid-March, but a slowdown of the COVID-19 disease’s spread and its death toll has enabled officials to start discussing a gradual easing. “Any step towards de-escalation of such an intense lock down must be done with extreme caution,”
Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias told local TV channel TVE. 

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said the formal lock down will probably continue into May, however, some restrictions may be lifted as early as Monday to breathe life into a paralysed economy. Two weeks ago, the government banned all non-essential workers from the streets, effectively shutting down most businesses. From Monday, though, some job categories such as construction workers will be allowed out of their homes again. Though many people were to return to work, social distancing should be maintained, Maria Jose Sierra, the deputy head of health emergencies,
said at a virtual news conference. 
“We will give a series of recommendations:  The most important is if there is a person who shows the slightest symptom, they should contact the health system and remain in self-isolation,” she said. The number of daily deaths fell again on Friday to 605, the lowest figure since March 24, the health ministry said. The rate of increase has dropped to 4% down from 20% two weeks ago. “We are seeing the curves are on the decline, even though there are still many cases,” Sierra added. 
                           
 News to stay informed. Advice to stay safe.  
  Bing COVID-19 tracker: Latest numbers by country and state 
Health care workers share video diaries of fighting COVID-19!!!
 
Science Behind Virus: Potential treatments for coronavirus
The virus typically causes respiratory illnesses like the common cold.
A new study found the virus may have originated in bats and then spread to humans via
a snake or pangolin.  Then eventually from Humans to Tigers. Richard Ebright, a professor
of chemical biology at Rutgers University, said in an interview with The Washington Post:
“Based on the virus genome and properties, there is no indication whatsoever
that it was an engineered virus.” 
The Washington Post reported most countries have abandoned their bioweapons programs after years of work did not yield satisfactory results. The Scripps Research Institute released a study that rejects the notion that the virus was man-made. Researchers concluded that if the virus were engineered, its genome sequence would more closely resemble earlier and more serious versions of the coronavirus.
“If someone were seeking to engineer a new coronavirus as a pathogen, they would have constructed it from the backbone of a virus known to cause illness,” the report said. “But the scientists found that the SARS-CoV-2 backbone differed substantially from those of already known coronaviruses and mostly resembled related viruses found in bats and pangolins then into humans and tigers.”
A statement in the Lancet, a medical journal, written by public health officials who have
been following the progression of the virus also asserted that animals are the likely source: “Scientists from multiple countries have published and analysed genomes of the causative agent, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and they overwhelmingly conclude that this coronavirus originated in wildlife.” 
 The statement referenced multiple academic and government sources that supported the Lancet article’s conclusion. These sources include the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; Nature; U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine; the New England Journal of Medicine; the Chinese Medical Journal; and the medical journal Infection,

Genetics and Evolution.
Researchers who analyzed the genome of the coronavirus found its sequence shared a very high resemblance to a coronavirus in bats, but it’s possible other animals may have been involved in the transmission process. “2019-nCoV is 96% identical at the whole-genome level
to a bat coronavirus,” a study published in the science journal Nature said.
Another study published in the Lancet found results based on samples collected from nine patients who had contracted the virus corroborated the theory that the virus had come from bats. Researchers concluded the genome sequences of the coronavirus “was closely related … to two bat-derived severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-like coronaviruses.”
Although scientists say they believe bats were likely the original host, it’s also very possible,
the study notes, that the virus was transferred from a bat to another animal that may have been at the seafood market in Wuhan.  Overwhelming scientific evidence suggests the coronavirus originated in nature, and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise.
Our fact-check sources:
– Statement from The Lancet 
– A study published in the science journal Nature  
– Lancet: Genomic characterisation and epidemiology of 2019 novel coronavirus: implications for virus origins and receptor binding 
– Washington Post: Experts debunk fringe theory linking China’s coronavirus to weapons research 
– South China Morning Post: Chinese research lab ‘badly hurt’ by man-made coronavirus rumours
– NY Post: Don’t buy China’s story: The coronavirus may have leaked from a lab 
– Fox News: Bannon on coronavirus fears impacting global economy 
– Rush Limbaugh 
– Fox News: Tom Cotton on coronavirus origins
– Sen. Tom Cotton’s Twitter
– Science Daily: COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic has a natural origin 
– National Academies 
– Vox: The conspiracy theories about the origins of the coronavirus, debunked 

The origin of the Wuhan virus has been a hotly debated topic, with initial theories
ranging from bats to bio-labs. 

China ‘appoints its top military bio-warfare expert to take over secretive virus lab in Wuhan’,
sparking conspiracy theories that coronavirus outbreak is linked to Beijing’s army.
The truth is, all we really know is that it began in China and I have little desire to speculate beyond that until we get more information. With that said, Sen. Tom Cotton was asking for answers very early on about the origin, wondering why China was seemingly lying about everything and whether Wuhan hosting China’s largest bio-lab had anything to do with it. Cotton was roundly savaged for even suggesting we look into what happened. 

(This is what we know.)
A documentary showing a Chinese virologist catching wild bats in mountains have fueled a conspiracy theory, which suggests that the novel coronavirus may have originated in Wuhan’s disease control authority.
 The seven-minute film features the centre’s researcher Tian Junhua, who has visited dozens of caves in Hubei province to capture the flying mammal. It has sparked a fresh round of speculation over the origin of the coronavirus, with some people again suggesting that pandemic could be a man-made crisis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLwG2ekEEw0  

EXCLUSIVE: Coronavirus Expert Says Virus Could Have Leaked From Wuhan Lab!!!
By Andrew Kerr 
A molecular biologist who has been quoted as a coronavirus expert by The Washington Post and MSNBC said Thursday in no uncertain terms that the novel coronavirus could have been unleashed due to a leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
China’s top virologist on bat-borne viruses, Shi Zhengli, has sworn on her life that the virus did not leak from her Wuhan lab, saying that its spread was “nature punishing the human race for keeping uncivilized living habits.”  The “Bat Lady” work gave a head start to the scientific research community’s understanding of the origin of the new coronavirus?
And while Shi now tells those who question whether her lab could be connected to the release of the coronavirus to “shut their stinking mouths,” she previously said she lost sleep worrying about the possibility that her lab in Wuhan could have been responsible for the virus’s release. Shi, known by her colleagues as the “bat woman” because of the 16 years she has
spent hunting for viruses in bat caves, told Scientific American in March that she frantically searched for any evidence that her laboratory’s records were mishandled upon learning of the virus’s outbreak in Wuhan in late December.

“Could they have come from our lab?” Shi recalled thinking.
“I had never expected this kind of thing to happen in Wuhan, in central China,” she noted, saying that her studies had shown that southern China posed the greatest risk of coronaviruses jumping from animals to humans. Shi said she breathed a sigh of relief when results came back showing that the sequences of the coronavirus did not match the viruses she and her team had sampled from bat caves. “That really took a load off my mind,” Shi said.
“I had not slept a wink for days.”
Shi and her colleagues at the Wuhan Institute of Virology reported in early 2017 that after five years of surveying they had discovered 11 new strains of SARS-related viruses in horseshoe bats from China’s Yunnan Province. The virologist said at the time that the 11 strains contained all the genes to make a SARS coronavirus similar to that of the 2003 outbreak. Shi contributed to a study published in February reporting that the novel coronavirus is 96.2% identical to a viral strain that was detected in horseshoe bats from the Yunnan Province.

However, two Chinese researchers noted in a separate paper in February that the horseshoe bats that are known to carry the nearly-identical viral strain live 600 miles away from Wuhan. The researchers also cited testimonies from nearly 60 people who lived in or visited Wuhan saying that the bat “was never a food source in the city, and no bat was traded in the market.” “The killer coronavirus probably originated from a laboratory in Wuhan,” the two Chinese researchers noted in their paper, which was uploaded to Research Gate on Feb. 6.
The paper was removed from Research Gate on Feb. 14 or 15, according to internet archives.
“The content was  uploaded to ResearchGate by a user who later removed it from the platform.
Beyond this, we cannot disclose information about individuals who use our platform,” Research Gate spokesman Dan Noyes told the DCNF. The paper’s lead researcher, 
Botao Xiao, didn’t return the DCNF’s emails on Thursday seeking comment. Ebright,
the Rutgers University molecular biologist, told Beijing-based news outlet Caixin Global in February that while there is “no basis to suspect the virus was engineered,”
the available data indicates that the virus’s introduction into human populations could be attributed to either natural causes or to a laboratory mishap.
The Washington Post and MSNBC have quoted Ebright saying that theories about the virus being a bio-weapon should be “firmly excluded,” but neither outlet included his belief that the possibility that the virus entered the human population through a lab accident “cannot–and should not–be dismissed.”   Shi has furiously denied that the novel coronavirus could have leaked from her lab at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
“The novel 2019 coronavirus is nature punishing the human race for keeping uncivilized living habits.
I, Shi Zhengli, swear on my life that it has nothing to do with our laboratory,” she wrote on a Chinese
social messaging app in early February, according to Caixin Global.
 Deadly viruses have a history of escaping from Chinese laboratories.
The SARS virus escaped twice from the Chinese Institute of Virology in Beijing in 2004, one year after the virus was initially contained. The Chinese government has been widely criticized for misleading the world about the novel coronavirus outbreak from its earliest stages. One of the first doctors in Wuhan to raise the alarm about the spread of a SARS-like virus in the city was detained by police in December and told to “stop making false comments.” 
That doctor, Li Wenliang, died from coronavirus in February.

  Whistleblower Silenced by China could have stopped the global coronavirus spread |
60 Minutes Australia   

Another Chinese doctor, Ai Fen, claimed she was silenced by her bosses when she tried
to warn about the virus during its early stages.  Dr. Ai Fen, the courageous Chinese doctor
credited with being one of the first persons to reveal to the world the existence in Wuhan
of the killer disease now called COVID-19, has gone missing in China. Ai’s whereabouts as
of Sunday are currently unknown, according to 60 Minutes Australia, sparking fears that
she has been detained.

And on Wednesday a top Chinese health official announced that the country will begin counting coronavirus cases from patients that show no symptoms, a tactic acknowledgment that Beijing had under reported its official tally of known coronavirus cases since
the start of the pandemic.
 (RELATED: Chinese Government Finally Acknowledges Underreporting Coronavirus Cases)
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas told the DCNF on Wednesday it is wholly appropriate to question whether the coronavirus outbreak originated from labs in Wuhan that were studying coronaviruses. “The reason I have raised these questions from the very beginning is because of China’s statements and their actions,” Cotton told the DCNF. “After concealing the virus for many weeks in December and then minimizing its severity for most of January, they then peddle an origin story about the food market in Wuhan.” “Given their dishonesty and the proximity of these labs, which we know were working with coronaviruses, it is only reasonable and responsible for us to ask the question and demand the answers.”
With criticism I always offer up some  treatment information…. unlike double talking politicians that point fingers?
Dr Danny Pulido a Pulmonary & Critical Care Specialist at Baptist Medical Center Beaches ….Dr. Pulido says he successfully treated a COVID 19 patient using a similar drug called Plaquenil… you posted this outcome to facebook this weekend and so far it’s been shared more than 6 thousand times….this is giving people some hope. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSd6vRFtz3w 

 University of Alberta materials engineering professor, Hyo-Jick Choi, has come up with
an innovative solution that turns the masks into virus killers. Existing masks and respirators may trap virus-laden droplets but the virus is still infectious on the mask. Choi took on the challenge of improving the masks, using a simple weapon: salt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8EgAOoY4Gg

Edgy Edge — Hope everyone is safe during this coronavirus pandemic! A lot is going on daily, but I thought to make this video on this potential coronavirus treatment/medication regimen. Although currently, there is no FDA approved treatment for coronavirus (Covid-19), there are a handful of medications that researchers and sceinetists are hopeful. In this video, I talk about Zinc and Chloroquine and how these 2 medications have potential to treat and manage patients infected with the coronavirus. These 2 medications have not gone through a randomized control study/trial, however they show merit to be considered for further study.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdKSR_SHZmY  

In this video Minh D. Ta will examine carefully the clinical evidence concerning the usage
of hydroxychloroquine in combination with zinc in the treatment of Covid-19.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FbEwpj1vJw   

 In this video, Dean Willis, Lecturer in Neuroscience, Physiology & Pharmacology at University College London about ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatory drugs and their
effect on our body. To contact The Physiological Society: pressoffice@physoc.org
Transcript: Stories have been circulating online about the use of ibuprofen in the treatment
of coronavirus. But what is ibuprofen and how does it work? Ibuprofen is a class of what’s known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories.

These are drugs that help to reduce inflammation. Inflammation is the body’s immune system’s response to an irritant, such as a virus or bacteria. And ibuprofen acts to block your body’s production of certain natural substances that cause inflammation, which in turn can help to relieve pain. To learn more about inflammation and what happens when it does wrong, we spoke to Dean Willis, Lecturer in Neuroscience, Physiology & Pharmacology at University College London Inflammation is absolutely required for the continued well-being of an individual. We require an optimal immune reaction, both innate and adaptive and an optimal inflammatory response.

The problem is, is inflammation itself can also cause damage when inappropriate. And we see this characterised in many inflammatory-type diseases, a classical example is things like rheumatoid arthritis, where we see inflammation associated with the joints initially, in asthma, where it’s in places like the lung. So for most people inflammation is a process our body uses to deal with infection, or injury, but for some people,
inflammation can cause problems.

So do we use anti-inflammatory drugs to treat these people?
We can inhibit inflammation but the downside is that we always have some degree of increased susceptibility to infections and this is the major problem. So with something like COVID-19, you may want to increase the activity of the immune system, or anti-viral system to try and clear the virus, however at the same time, an over-activation of your immune system, leading to more inflammation, can actually be quite serious, and it’s a delicate balance which, to be honest, it’s difficult to address. For the time being, there is currently no strong evidence that ibuprofen can make coronavirus (COVID-19) worse. But until we have more information, the UK Government advise taking paracetamol to treat the symptoms of coronavirus, unless a doctor has said paracetamol is not suitable.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vQfmZqSPp4  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzEivjm7YtU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvbyRdRRb7o
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The Silent Wonder

Posted on April 9, 2020 by Ken
By DR JENNA MACCIOCHI LECTURER IN IMMUNOLOGY

How you can strengthen your defence against Covid-19 with these easy-to-follow tips from
an academic who’s studied the wonders of the human immune system for 20 years 

Organic produce has a much more diverse bacteria population that can help 
Sunshine is also good for immunity and can significantly improve your health
A bad night’s sleep can be terrible for the immune system so try and get rest 
Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
If Dr Jenna Macciochi’s behaviour is a barometer of how wary we should be about
the immediate threat of coronavirus,  It’s natural, when in the grips of a global pandemic, 
to want to grasp onto things you can do in order to shield yourself from harm.
Dr Jenna Maccioch, a lecturer in Immunology at the University of Sussex and author of
new book Immunity: The Science Of Staying Well, understands why people are wanting
to do all they can to protect themselves.
“People are desperate,” she says on the latest episode of Women’s Health’s podcast,
 Going for Goal. “There is so much uncertainty – it’s completely understandable that people
will cling to something that makes them feel as though they have some control in what is,
ultimately, an uncontrollable situation.”

Can a strong immune system resist covid-19?
Her take home message? Covid-19 – the name of the disease which is caused by the
coronavirus – is too large and too new to be fought off by any one individual action,
until a vaccine, currently in development, is made readily available.
“The immune system is the most complex system in the body,” Dr Macciochi explains.
“Try not to think of it as a binary ‘on-and-off’ switch, but rather as a whole series of switches
that turn on and off to calm and control and clear up any
 damage that’s been done by an infection.”
There are, some practical things you can do to build up your immune system’s strength.
Dr Macciochi’s number one? 
Why sleep is essential for a strong immune system!!!
“Sleep is the bedrock of your immunity, as lots of calibration happens when you’re sleeping
that allows your immune system to work optimally,” Dr Macciochi explains.
The time when you’re resting – and not really coming into contact with anyone – is when your immune system heals and repairs, ready for the challenges it will inevitably face when you’re up and about the next day.
And, yes, even if the sum total of your outside-the-house activity is maintaining social distance on your daily park jog – you’ll be coming into contact with far more germs than you do whilst asleep. So, you don’t get enough good quality sleep, you’re essentially expecting your body to heal and repair its defences while stripping its resources with which to do so. If you’re feeling tired and lethargic,
listen to the signals your body is sending you.
“That’s your immune system doing its job,” says Dr. Macciochi. “When fighting an infection,
it produces certain chemicals that act on our brains and direct us to change our behaviour that gives
us the best possible chance of recovering.”

What are the symptoms of coronavirus?
According to the NHS website, the primary symptoms of coronavirus are:
A fever
A new, consistent cough
Other coronavirus symptoms that have been reported include:
Tiredness or fatigue
A headache
Shortness of breath
A loss of smell or taste
Muscle pain

What should you do if you have symptoms of coronavirus?
The bad news is that there is no magic pill or miracle broth that will ‘boost’ our immunity against coronavirus overnight. The good news is there are many ways we can give our immune system
the best possible chance of operating at its optimum level.
When it comes to maintaining good health, the immune system is our most precious asset.
Yet we rarely appreciate our essential defences until something goes wrong. Most of the time our immune system works quietly away and we don’t even notice it. Deeply entwined with every aspect of our physical and mental health, it acts as a fortress and lays the foundations of our health and longevity. 
It is all that stands between us and 38,000,000,000,000 (that’s 38 trillion!) microbes in our body that threaten us constantly – although 99 per cent won’t hurt us. As our sixth sense, this system connects our health to our environment, feelings and emotions. 
 
 When it comes to maintaining good health, the immune system is
our most precious asset. 
Crucially, it’s as unique to each of us as our fingerprints – and with good reason,
as this diversity helps sustain the human race: if our immune defence systems were identical,
a single deadly disease could wipe us all out.
That’s why we all know someone who ‘never gets a cold’. They may have an immune system that
is perfect at dealing with the common cold, but they might fare worse when faced with
a different germ.
But while, broadly speaking, we are all different when it comes to immunity, there is evidence
that nowhere is the difference greater than between the sexes.
This suggests that men aren’t just being drama queens – man flu is real.
Indeed, we know that significantly more men than women die from infections.
The reasons are complex and only partially known, but one theory is that because women can pass bugs from mother to child during gestation, birth, or breastfeeding, they need a hardier immune defence against germs. Devastating outbreaks, such as infection epidemics like coronavirus, have all been caused by the smorgasbord of micro-organisms with which we share this planet.

Over the last decades, our fear of them has been realised, with outbreaks of swine flu, Zika, bird flu, ebola
and many others – each outbreak prompting new concerns about infection protection. But from birth to death we are silently bombarded, minute by minute, with an untold number of potential infectious threats.
And whether or not we get sick is decided by the integrity of our immune system.
Thankfully, there are ways in which we can help train and maintain it.
Searching ‘immunity’ online or among the aisles of health-food stores reveals an abundance
of nutritional supplements, cold remedies and fortified foods all promising to ‘boost’ our immune system.
But is there any scientific truth in these claims?
The notion of the immune system as some kind of internal force-field that can be easily
ramped up makes little sense scientifically and is one of the biggest misconceptions
I come across in my work.
True, researchers have looked at whether things such as echinacea, green tea, garlic and wheatgrass supplements can help see off germs. But evidence in support of a single immune-boosting nutrient or superfood is not strong.
If you are looking to strengthen your immunity, the best way is through a combined approach – by adopting these science-backed lifestyle tweaks and changes. They are in no way prescriptive, nor a magic bullet to health, simply a gentle nudge in a better direction…

GO ORGANIC
Organic produce has a significantly more diverse bacteria population, especially when eaten raw, since cooking would destroy these good bugs. Anecdotally, I’ve heard of many benefits from consuming fermented foods and drinks like kimchi, kombucha, kefir and sauerkraut which contain a natural synergy of many different types of yeasts and bacteria.

ENJOY SOME SUNSHINE
Sunshine is good for immunity and bad for viruses. One reason that flu is a winter problem is because the influenza virus is transmitted best at cooler temperatures and low humidity. But there are other reasons for seeking sunshine. Research suggests it makes disease-fighting cells in the skin move faster and work more efficiently. Sunlight also helps our bodies to make Vitamin D. The World Health Organisation suggests five to 15 minutes of casual sun exposure a few times a week (between 10am and 2 pm) is more than sufficient
to keep Vitamin D levels topped up.
The vitamin’s crucial role in immunity is not fully understood but ample levels can help
protect against a lengthy list of ailments, including multiple sclerosis, asthma, depression,
heart disease and cancer.
The World Health Organisation suggests five to 15 minutes of casual sun exposure
a few times a week is more than sufficient to keep Vitamin D levels topped up.
Public Health England advises that adults and children over the age of one should consider taking a
daily supplement containing ten micrograms of Vitamin D, particularly during autumn and winter.

BRRR… COLD SHOWERS!
There’s a growing – albeit still rather small – body of evidence that being cold can benefit
our immunity. In the right doses, exposure to cold temperatures can help reduce stress, which can have a detrimental impact on immunity. It won’t happen straight away but over time, our body can improve its resistance to stress. Research shows that people who take regular cold showers are almost 30 per cent less likely to call in sick to work than others, due to the improvements in immunity. At the end of every shower, turn the water to the coldest setting and stand underneath for about 20 seconds. Build up to as long as you can tolerate.

TAKE THE COUNTRY AIR
As well as getting microbes from our mothers and our diets, we get them from our environment.
The air we breathe carries bacteria, which together with organisms that come mostly from soil and plants, are deposited in our mouths and airways as we breath and swallow. These are known to have potentially beneficial immunological effects. That’s great if you live in the countryside, but less so if you live in an urban environment that is low on microbial diversity.
Urbanites are more susceptible to allergies and inflammatory disease, and there is also clear evidence that childhood exposure to outdoor microbes is linked to a more robust immune system. So city-dwellers should spend time in a garden, visit the countryside, go for a walk in the park, eat home-grown food or head to a local farmers’ market. Even just digging your fingers in the soil of a potted plant can improve your mood and nourish your immune system.

I’ve always found something about being in nature –
whether it’s the sound of the sea, the scent of a forest or an impressive countryside vista –
eases my stress and worry, and helps me to relax and think more clearly. Exposure to nature works primarily
by lowering stress – immune-cell function improves after walking in a forest for a few hours each day.
Nature, it seems, is particularly good for strengthening our main virus-fighting cells and cancer-surveillance system. Aromatic substances called phytoncides from trees and plants bring about these amazing health benefits. If you can’t get outdoors to decrease stress and assist with immune balance, you could put woody essential oils in a diffuser. Some of my favourites are sacred mountain, pine, cypress,
Idaho balsam fir and palo santo.

TRY PROBIOTICS
The official definition of a probiotic is: ‘a live micro-organism that when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit’. But few products meet this definition as it’s tricky to keep the organisms alive. Also, we don’t know if they are useful for everyone or which specific strains should be taken. In fact, most microbes from probiotics do not take up residence in our guts, but are transient, detectable only for a
limited time during frequent consumption.
This is not a reason to dismiss their health benefits though, as they can help improve the availability of nutrients from food and produce compounds that strengthen immunity.
One interesting piece of research suggested that taking probiotic supplements is linked to a reduced likelihood of getting colds, and making them shorter in duration and less severe.

SLEEP ON IT
One of our least valuable cliches is that we can sleep when we die. Much truer is: if we don’t sleep, we will die – sooner. While more sleep won’t necessarily make us invincible, lack of sleep almost immediately tips our immune system into imbalance, simultaneously dampening parts of it and empowering others. A single night
of poor sleep leads to a decrease of up to 70 per cent of our natural killer cells – our first-line defence against viruses and potentially cancerous cells.
Other research has shown that people who sleep for six hours a night or less are four times more likely to catch a cold when exposed to the virus, compared with those who spend more than seven hours a night asleep. No matter what your starting point to wellbeing is, I’d say sort out your sleep before anything else.
(See Dr Michael Mosley’s guide to a good night’s sleep).

EAT CHICKEN SOUP
In my line of work I’ve heard it all, from chicken soup for the sniffles to copper bracelets for arthritis.
The former was prescribed for colds in ancient Egypt considered a powerful remedy through the Middle Ages. The 12th Century Jewish doctor Moses Maimonides recommended it for everything from haemorrhoids to leprosy, leading to it becoming known as ‘Jewish penicillin’. Although not technically a supplement, chicken soup is one of the most effective feel-better foods.
This could be due to a number of substances in it, such as carnosine, which enhances the power of immune cells. And properties from the chicken released during cooking resemble the drug acetylcysteine, commonly prescribed for respiratory ailments.
If we listen to anyone about the pandemic, perhaps it should Dr Macciochi, therefore,
 Hannah Devlin speaks to Dr Jenna Macciochi about how our immune systems fight off infections such as coronavirus, and – answers per lots of your questions –
Listen to podcasts: Covid-19: what if I’m immunocompromised?
© Dr Jenna Macciochi, 2020

Ask the scientist: here’s what to do to boost your immune system!!!
Another quick watch and listen to is Sharon Stills, NMD, who is a primary care health practitioner who provides therapeutic and diagnostic services to women. Dr. Stills is also a member of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, the Arizona Naturopathic Medical Association and the Oncology Association of Naturopathic Physicians.
Dr. Stills develops content and reviews articles for Women’s Health Network and is a
sought-after lecturer and natural medicine consultant. Dr. Stills founded one of the largest
and most successful Naturopathic Clinics in the country and now sees patients in a unique retreat setting where they receive specialized one-on-one care in Tucson, Arizona.
She practices a comprehensive natural holistic healing system that promotes self-healing without the use of drugs. With conventional DEA pharmaceutical training & extensive experience compounding pharmacy prescriptions, Dr. Stills can help her patients with custom supplements, remedies and targeted formulations.

People Are Coughing on Food and Pretending to Have Coronavirus —
Why Would Someone Do That?

Coronavirus patient, 87, who was pictured watching the sunset with his doctor
in viral image recovers from the deadly disease!!!

When Lauren Rowello, a New Jersey resident, developed a mild cough in early March,
she didn’t think that it could be the coronavirus.
It’s been about a month, and the mom of two – lives in the epicenter of the pandemic
in the US – is still recovering from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Rowello regrets having not adequately prepared and outlined the things she wishes
she had done differently.

Immune System Boost, How to Stay Healthy,
Immunity, Nutrition, Health Tips, Sleep, Stress, Anxiety!!!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

“Three Little Birds.”

Posted on April 9, 2020 by Ken
Conrad Buchanan, died at 39 on March 26 after battling the coronavirus infection for nearly two weeks, 
with his wife Nicole Buchanan and their 12-year-old daughter, Skye. (Family photo)

Hundreds of young Americans have now been killed by the coronavirus, data shows.
Two weeks after her husband died alone in an intensive care unit in Fort Myers, Fla., Nicole Buchanan is quarantined at the home they shared with their 12-year-old daughter, wrestling not only with grief but
also with why and how the coronavirus could steal someone so young and healthy.

“My husband didn’t have diabetes, he didn’t have asthma, he didn’t have high cholesterol.”
He didn’t have anything,” Buchanan said. “There’s just so much I’ll never know, that I’ll never get the answers to.” Conrad Buchanan, who died at 39 on March 26 after battling the infection for nearly two weeks, was creative and goofy. A professional DJ, he could entertain huge crowds with his music. But at home, he was
fond of singing Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” to his 12-year-old daughter, Skye.
“He had an amazing sense of humor. He had a big laugh. He was so magnetic,” his 37-year-old widow said.
“He was our universe.” He also was among at least 759 people under age 50 across the United States who have perished amid the deepening pandemic, according to a Washington Post analysis of state data. These deaths underscore the tragic fact that while the novel coronavirus might be most threatening to the old and compromised, no one is immune.
For the very young — people under the age of 20 — death is extremely rare in the current pandemic. But it happens: The Post identified nine such cases. The risk appears to rise with every decade of age. The Post found at least 45 deaths among people in their 20’s. (It’s hard to give a precise number because of the divergent ways states present age groups: For instance, this figure does not include 15 deaths under the age of 30 in Louisiana and New Jersey.) As ages progress, The Post found at least 190 deaths among people in their 30’s,
and at least 413 among people in their 40’s.

The true number of deaths among young people is probably even higher.
Not all states provide data on coronavirus deaths sorted by age group. Some, like New Jersey and Texas, provided figures after being approached by The Post, while others, like California, did not. As a result, the figures above do not include data from some states, including several with sizable outbreaks. The percentage
of younger deaths, which The Post has defined as people under the age of 50, varies widely among states.
It is just 0.8 percent of all deaths in Massachusetts, but 8 percent in Louisiana and 9 percent in Illinois.

By far the largest number of such deaths have come in New York, which has the country’s biggest outbreak.
As of Wednesday, six New York residents under the age of 20, 33 people in their 20’s, 118 in their 30’s and 265 in their 40’s had died. Even more young people are getting cases of serious, dangerous disease that require a hospital visit to beat. In Colorado — where the state health department reports age data for both hospitalizations and deaths — 247 people under 50 have been hospitalized. Of these patients, nine have died. Data on more than 1,400 hospitalizations released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that just over 25 percent of people hospitalized with covid-19 were under age 50. Most of these young people suffered from underlying conditions such as asthma, diabetes and hypertension. But at least seven for whom the CDC had data had no outside health problems, underscoring that a small fraction of severe cases remain hard to explain.

Similarly, in New York, 64 percent of patients between the ages of 30 and 39 who died of the disease suffered from a preexisting condition, usually high blood pressure or diabetes. But that still leaves about a third of cases without such a possible contributing factor. Shawn Evans, attending emergency physician and director of resuscitation at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, said he and other doctors on the front lines of the epidemic have been “humbled” by how many young people have been hospitalized and ended up in the ICU during the outbreak.
“This is nothing like we had predicted based on the data from these other countries,”
Evans, who estimated roughly half the covid-19 patients in his ICU have been under 50,
said in an interview.
Evans said the vast majority of young people who contract the disease fare well and recover. But for a minority, it appears to cause a unique change in the blood’s oxygen-carrying hemoglobin cells. “Young people who are otherwise fit can tolerate this longer, but at the expense of their heart and their pulmonary functions,” said Evans, who likened some of the symptoms in younger people to prolonged carbon monoxide exposure. He said younger patients he has seen tend to come in later, after battling the disease at home for longer.

 But for those who take a tragic turn, it often happens quickly. “When they do deteriorate, they do so much more dramatically,” he said. In those cases, Evans said, the lack of oxygen makes the right side of the heart work extra hard, which leads to pulmonary hypertension. “The lungs clamp down, they can’t get blood flow into the lungs.” What has profoundly struck Evans and his colleagues is the seeming randomness of the type of young people who are unable to fight off the disease. “A very fit 30-year-old triathlete is just as vulnerable as a chess-playing, 45-year-old who gets no exercise,” he said. 

“We just don’t know who it is that this virus carries the master key to.” But he does have a message for any young people still under the impression that covid-19 is a disease that only seriously threatens the elderly and infirm. “Just because they are young doesn’t mean they aren’t vulnerable,” he said. “Nobody knows what immune protection they have at any given moment.” Jean-Laurent Casanova, an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and physician at Rockefeller University Hospital, suspects vulnerability to the virus among some young people may be partly encoded in their DNA. 
For more than two decades, Casanova has studied “inborn errors of immunity,” or genetic conditions that make people susceptible to certain diseases. These conditions — often caused by a single mutation in a single gene — can hinder the immune system’s response to a particular virus or bacteria, explaining why a subset of seemingly healthy young people get extremely sick. In 2015, his lab discovered a toddler with a life-threatening case of influenza had a mutation in the gene that codes for a specific type of immune protein that
warns cells of an attack. 
When the researchers genetically engineered mice to have that same mutation, they found the mice were significantly more vulnerable to the virus. Now, Casanova is collecting genetic material from young people in more than 100 countries who have fallen severely ill with the coronavirus. His hope is that the genomes will reveal “candidate” mutations that might explain susceptibility to the virus. “Step one is to understand,” Casanova said. But if he can identify a mutation and test it in the lab, “step two is how can you prevent it, how can you fix it.” Illnesses caused by inborn errors of immunity are helpful for understanding the behavior of a virus, he said, because they are “clean cases,” uncomplicated by age or underlying conditions.
And they can often provide clues in the search for a cure.

 For example, Casanova has found people are more susceptible to tuberculosis when they have a pair of mutations that cause low levels of gamma interferon, a protein that fights the genus of bacteria that causes TB. Fortunately, he said, gamma interferon has been available as a drug for more than 30 years, making it a promising potential treatment for the disease. “That’s a very good example of what you can do once you understand a condition in patients with the genetic disorder,” he said. Back in Florida, Nicole Buchanan said she hopes her husband’s death hammers home to young people that the coronavirus can kill without exception.
 “All I can hope is that it opens up someone else’s eyes,” she said. “I don’t want anyone else to have to go through the pain my daughter and I are in.” Buchanan said that each passing day gets harder as she settles into the realization that Conrad is not coming home. She still wrestles with her anger that he was initially denied testing for covid-19 because he was young and healthy and had not traveled overseas. She still struggles with the fact she was never able to see him again after dropping him at the emergency room and going to park the car.

 Before she knew it, he was being treated and put on a ventilator, and no visitors were allowed given the outbreak. Even grieving is a lonely exercise. Her two brothers and their wives can’t come inside because of social distancing, she said, but they come during the day to her backyard to visit and offer support from a distance. There has been no memorial gathering for Conrad yet, even as he was cremated this week. For now, Buchanan keeps replaying the moment when a nurse held the phone to Conrad’s ear not long before he died, so that his wife and daughter could say their goodbyes. Together, they sang him Marley’s “Three Little Birds.”  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFam5dt2G0M
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Battling the Coronavirus

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Ken
 Dr. Li Wenliang warned fellow doctors to wear protective clothing because of a new virus. 
A 55-year-old individual from Hubei province in China may have been the first person to have contracted COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus spreading across the globe. That case dates back to
Nov. 17, 2019, according to the South Morning China Post. 
That’s more than a month earlier than doctors noted cases in Wuhan, China, which is in Hubei province,
at the end of December 2019. At the time, authorities suspected the virus stemmed from something sold at a wet market in the city. However, it’s now clear that early in what is now a pandemic, some infected people had no connection to the market. That included one of the earliest cases from Dec. 1, 2019 in an individual who had no link to that seafood market, researchers reported Jan. 20 in the journal The Lancet. 
    The first case of the coronavirus was reported in Wuhan in December, and is thought to have originated at the Huanan Seafood Market, a wet market that sold live animals next to seafood and meat. By late December, dozens of cases began emerging, but scientists knew only that the sickness involved viral pneumonia, and that patients were not responding to normal treatments. Chinese officials did not alert the public at this point. On December 31, they released a statement to the World Health Organization and said the virus was
“preventable and controllable.”

The Huanan Seafood Market was closed on January 1.
Chinese authorities began an official investigation into the disease in early January, after
fear began spreading that this could be like SARS, another coronavirus that originated in China and killed
774 people in the early 2000’s. On January 7, Chinese authorities identified the illness to be a new type of coronavirus (called a novel coronavirus or nCoV). Four days later, on January 11, China recorded its first coronavirus death, a 61-year old man in Wuhan. On January 22, Chinese Health Officials held a press conference in Beijing to discuss what they knew about the outbreak. People were demanding answers.
At this time, it was acknowledged that the virus could spread form human-to-human contact. During the early stages of the outbreak, people began wearing masks to protect themselves, even though, for the average person, wearing a mask is not as effective as hand-washing and avoiding infected people. China began to impose screening precautions in Wuhan and began checking people for the virus at transportation hubs. Passengers traveling to other parts of Asia from Wuhan were targeted for screening at airports. Medics wearing Hazmat suits were seen scanning passengers arriving from Wuhan in Beijing on January 22.
As the death toll climbed to nine, the Chinese government urged people to avoid traveling to Wuhan and to stay away from public spaces — a warning that came just as millions of people were planning to migrate for the Lunar New Year. But according to the New York Times, an estimated 7 million people — thousands of them infected with the virus — traveled from Wuhan throughout the month of January. On January 23, the death toll grew to 17 and the city of Wuhan was put on official lock down. All transportation was stopped and wearing a protective mask became mandatory.

People in Wuhan stockpiled food and fuel. Streets in Wuhan were deserted.
As panic began to spread throughout China, videos surfaced of infected people being shoved into plastic boxes and tubes as authorities tried to contain the virus. Shortly after Wuhan, two other Chinese cities, Huanggang and Ezhou, closed down their transportation, as well. At this point, 19 million people were put on lock down. But the virus continued to spread. On January 24, as cases in China rose over 1,000 and the death toll climbed to 41, the government expanded the lock down to include 13 cities. Now 36 million people were restricted.
The virus had now spread to nine countries and authorities in Wuhan struggled to contain an influx of patients.
One doctor in Wuhan said thousands of patients had been left waiting hours for treatment, and that doctors were advised not to work over fears they could become infected. Protective gear and test-kits had become so sparse in Wuhan that people reportedly likened their chances to receiving them as “winning the lottery”.
On January 25, the Chinese government barred citizens from booking overseas flights, hotels, and tours.
By January 28, the number of cities under quarantine grew to 16, and an estimated 50 million people were
lock down in the Hubei Province.
On January 30, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “global emergency”
as cases in China rose in the thousands and multiple countries — including the US — reported infections. As hospitals struggled to treat an influx of new patients, the Chinese government announced plans to build two new hospitals in Wuhan within days. Huoshenshan Hospital was completed 10 days later, on February 3, and is located on the outskirts of the city. It has an area of 270,000 square feet, and is equipped with 1,000 beds, and 1,400 military medics of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army as staff.
The second hospital, Leishenshan Hospital, was built in 15 days to provide 1,600 extra beds for the city. On January 31, the US government announced plans to bar foreign travelers from entering the US if they have traveled to China within 14 days. And the Pentagon has started preparing quarantine facilities that can hold up to 1,000 people entering the US, if necessary. By early February, Chinese authorities began using extreme measures to quell the outbreak in Wuhan, including door-to-door searches, excessive sanitation,
and gathering sick people in quarantine centers.
Patients in Wuhan began to be admitted into makeshift hospitals, including a sports stadium, an exhibition center, and a building complex. Three such facilities were prepared to add 3,400 new beds. By February 13, more than 14,000 new cases were documented in the Hubei province, bringing the total to 48,206. Nearly 2,000 new cases a day were reported around this time. To slow the outbreak, China postponed all non-urgent medical care and made many doctor’s visits remote. They also walled off entire medical wards to exclusively treat coronavirus patients.

On February 7, a Chinese doctor, who was silenced by authorities in January for sounding
the alarm on the virus outbreak, died from contracting coronavirus and later honored as a martyr. By mid-February, hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers and volunteers were positioned around the country to restrict the movement of millions of people through blocking travel, and ensuring people stay in their homes.
China also began tracking people exposed to the virus through a mobile technology surveillance system that was developed during the SARS outbreak. On March 11, the WHO declared the outbreak a pandemic and China’s cases appeared to be dropping. At this time the country had more than 80,000 reported cases.
By March 19, China reported zero new local infections for the first time since the outbreak began.

On March 24, the government announced that the mandatory lock down in Wuhan would
be lifted on April 8, with some traffic control measures being lifted on March 25. Two weeks later, at midnight on April 8, the lock down was officially lifted allowing traffic to funnel in and out of the city. Residents are now permitted to leave Wuhan, but only if they have a mandatory smartphone application that monitors their health and determines how far they are able to travel. China has officially reported 82,718 cases and 3,335 deaths as of April 7. But many believe the real numbers are much higher and suspect the Chinese government worked to conceal the actual statistics and give false information throughout the outbreak. Public health experts worry Wuhan’s reopening could trigger a second wave of infections in China. “This day does not mark the final victory,” the Communist Party’s flagship newspaper People’s Daily said in in editorial. “At this moment, we still need to remind ourselves that as Wuhan is unblocked, we can be pleased,
but we must not relax.”

MORE THAN 20,000 CORONAVIRUS PATIENTS IN THE U.S.
HAVE RECOVERED FROM INFECTION.

51 recovered coronavirus patients test positive again in South Korea.

Are Viruses alive? Like trees require ground to grow like a parasite and viruses require human bodies to reproduce.   

   How Long Will This Coronavirus Pandemic Last? | Nobody Really Knows!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=56&v=iroxk7LDlrE&feature=emb_title  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRf_CG92KP8 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnoIFyMHd6I

Viruses are pH Sensitive 
Published on March 4, 2020

Solar light is another important factor producing viral
inactivation, through the action of UV radiation. Viruses
survive better in the dark than when exposed to sunlight.

Much like vitamin D: the most overlooked aspect of the coronavirus pandemic is the fact that most viruses are pH sensitive. pH medicine offers us a key to treating viral infections that is easy, safe and inexpensive. Shifting a patients pH, combined with high dosages of vitamin C, is the appropriate foundation treatments for at home and hospital care.
There are many additional treatments like vitamin D, glutathione, iodine and selenium, even hydrogen,
but the first thing we should reach for is sodium bicarbonate, which offers us control of oxygen and
 carbon dioxide levels.
Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in the US have uncovered the ‘Achilles’ heel’ of most viruses which plague mankind are on target, there are vulnerabilities that can be exploited but what they are looking at is not practical or helpful in our fight against viral infections. The so-called ‘Achilles heel’ (or vulnerable point) of most viruses is pH, cell voltage and oxygen levels. pH is a measurement for voltage and oxygen saturation. Coronavirus needs a slightly acidic pH to penetrate the cell.
The simple alkalinization of the blood reduces the cells susceptibility to the virus. The ability of influenza virus to release its genome under different acidic conditions is linked by medical science to the transmission of influenza virus. The threshold pH at which fusion is first observed can vary among different serotypes of membrane protein hemagglutinin (HA) and may correlate with virulence. The acid stability of HA has been linked to the successful transmission of virus between avian and human hosts.
Coronavirus infectivity is actually exquisitely sensitive to pH. The MHV-A59 strain
of coronavirus is quite stable at pH 6.0 (acidic) but becomes rapidly and irreversibly inactivated by brief treatment at pH 8.0 (alkaline). Human coronavirus strain 229E is maximally infective at pH 6.0. Infection of cells by coronavirus A59 at pH 6.0 (acidic) rather than pH 7.0 (neutral) yields a tenfold increase in the infectivity of the virus.
Data suggests that the coronavirus IBV employs a direct, low-pH-dependent virus-cell fusion activation reaction. “Fusion of the coronavirus IBV with host cells does not occur at neutral pH and that fusion activation is a low-pH-dependent process, with a half-maximal rate of fusion at pH 5.5.
Little or no fusion occurred above a pH of 6.0.”
Raising pH (to an alkaline state) increases the immune system’s ability to kill bacteria, concludes The Royal Free Hospital and School of Medicine in London. The viruses and bacteria which cause bronchitis and colds thrive in an acidic environment. Keeping our pH in the slightly alkaline range of 6.8-7.2 can reduce the risk and lessen the severity of colds, sore throats and bouts of influenza.
Conquering Cancer – A Course in Naturopathic Oncology by Dr. Sircus – Find Out »
When we thoroughly add alkalinity we invariably have mild attacks of viral infections and the same is true for bacterial and fungus infections. There is significant decrease in median number of colony forming bacteria and fungi in the lungs of pneumonia patients when sodium bicarbonate is used compared to saline.
Medical scientists have already concluded that a 8.4% solution of bicarbonate is safe inhibitory drug for respiratory bacterial, fungal, and mycobacterial growth. Slow infusions of NaHCO3 (bicarbonate) can also be used to treat non-anion gap metabolic acidosis and some forms of increased anion gap acidosis, a common enough problem in ICU patients with serious lung infections.
Viruses infect host cells by fusion with cellular membranes at low pH. Thus they are classified as “pH-dependent viruses.” Drugs that increase intracellular pH (alkalinity within the cell) have been shown to decrease infectivity of pH-dependent viruses. Since such drugs can provoke negative side effects, the obvious answer are natural techniques that can produce the same results. There is no pharmaceutical that can compete with sodium bicarbonate for changing the pH of the bodies fluids.
Fusion of viral and cellular membranes is pH dependent.

“Fusion depends on the acidification of the endosomal compartment.
Fusion at the endosome level is triggered by conformational changes in viral glycoproteins induced by the low pH of this cellular compartment.”[1] In membrane biology, fusion is the process by which two initially distinct lipid bilayers merge their hydrophobic cores, resulting in one interconnected structure. It has been suggested that the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects host cells through a pH-dependent internalization mechanism. This HCVpp-mediated fusion was dependent on low pH, with a threshold of 6.3 and an optimum at about 5.5.[2] When pH drops to 6 or below, rapid fusion between the membranes of viruses and the liposomes occurs.
Takeda Pharmaceutical is joining Gilead Sciences and AbbVie as the latest drugmaker to work on developing a coronavirus vaccine. The experimental drug would be derived from the blood of coronavirus patients who have recovered from the respiratory disease. “While we don’t know for sure that it will work, we think it’s definitely a relevant asset that could be of help here,” said Dr. Rajeev Venkayya, president of Takeda’s vaccines business. pH medicine will definitively work because viruses are pH dependent and sodium bicarbonate is available everywhere and costs almost next to nothing.

In hospitals bicarbonate is easily administered intravenously.
Inhibition of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) replication in LB cells by interferon (IFN) is
pH sensitive. Using sensitive intracellular pH (pHi) indicators, researchers found that IFN treatment significantly raised the pHi. The increase in pHi correlated with an enhancement of the antiviral activity of IFN by primary amines. These results indicated that the IFN-induced increase in pHi may be responsible for the accumulation of G in the TGN, thereby producing G-deficient virus particles with reduced infectivity. [3]

The foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) capsid is highly acid labile and tends to dissociate into pentameric subunits at acidic condition to release viral RNA for initiating virus replication.

Understanding Cell Voltage, pH and Oxygen Levels
Wherever the body has low voltage, the cells begin to have problems that get more serious the lower the voltage (pH) goes. The lower the voltage goes, the lower the pH goes, and the lower oxygen levels go, and that means CO2 levels are going south as well. Chronic disease is associated with loss of voltage, lower pH values (acid conditions), as well as low O2 and CO2 levels. This means that alkaline tissues have more oxygen in them.
Wherever the body becomes acidic, voltage drops as does tissue oxygen levels. What is pH after all?
It is ultimately a measure of redox potential. Redox potential is a measure of whether electrons are available in surplus (and thus are “electron donors”) or whether electrons are deficient (and thus are “electron stealers”). Electrons are necessary for life and are needed for health and in high quantities for healing and the growth of new cells.

Dr. David Brownstein wrote, “The human body is constantly removing old and injured cells and replacing them with healthy new cells. This process can only occur if the voltage of the cells is maintained at an optimal level. This process works more effectively when we are young as compared to when we are older. 
In the body (or in a solution), voltage is a direct reflection of pH, which is a measure of the degree of acidity or alkalinity of a solution, measured on a scale of 1 to 14. The human body’s pH level is a direct reflection of its voltage. A low pH reading (highly acidic) indicates a low voltage state.

Conversely, a high pH reading (highly alkaline) means a high voltage state.”
The amount of oxygen in cells is determined by voltage. If a cell has adequate voltage,
it will also have adequate oxygen. If cellular voltage is low, the amount of oxygen in the tissues will be low.
This applies to metabolism as well. When voltage and oxygen are low, metabolism becomes anaerobic,
which means that oxygen is unavailable.
Baking Soda – Sodium Bicarbonate 
https://klaire.com/v033-25-bicarb-formula

Understanding this Pandemic!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=trmW7zE4SPg&feature=emb_title  

The Coronavirus is nothing to take lightly. It is also nothing to panic about. Yes, some
will get very sick from it but keep in mind that people get sick and die from many things.
More information: Dosages and Treatments for Coronavirus Infections –
Viruses are pH Sensitive – https://drsircus.com/general/viruses-are-ph-sensitive/

Covid-19 death rate rises in counties with high air pollution, study says

U.S. sees deadliest day in COVID-19 outbreak

https://www.bing.com/videos/
search?q=a+virus+can+
replicate+on+its+own&FORM=HDRSC3 

https://www.bing.com/videos/
search?q=a+virus+can+
replicate+on+its+own&FORM=HDRSC3
 
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Should You Wear a Face Mask

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Ken
I Believe A Face Mask Prevents Someone That Has It From Expelling The Virus?

Should You Wear a Face Mask for Outdoor Runs During the Coronavirus Pandemic?
Renee Cherry 9 hrs. ago
  
Now that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends wearing face masks in public,
people have been getting crafty and scouring the internet for options that won’t take months
to ship out. Wearing a mask isn’t a huge hassle for the occasional grocery run, but if you’re running outside,
the new recommendation presents a bigger inconvenience. If you want to do your part to help slow the spread of COVID-19, but also hate the thought of running with fabric on your face, here’s what you should know.

(Related: Can I Run Outside During the Coronavirus Pandemic?)  

Should I wear a mask while exercising outdoors?
First off, the CDC’s guidelines around coronavirus protection don’t call for avoiding outdoor exercise, assuming you’re not feeling sick. Don’t hit up your running buddy, though. The agency has been stressing that everyone should practice social distancing by avoiding group meetups and trying to stay at least six feet away from other people. If you decide to go on a socially-distanced run, whether or not you need to wear a face mask depends on where you’re at. The CDC’s stance is that masks are necessary “whenever people are in a community setting, especially in situations where you may be near people,” like “grocery stores and pharmacies.” So if you don’t tend to pass people on your runs, it sounds like you can still run without one.
“The importance of the mask is to protect yourself [and others] in settings where people are around,” says microbiologist Dean Hart, O.D. “In a running setting, however, you are normally not running through crowds of people or in packed settings,” he explains. “It’s not necessary if you are running in desolate areas and maintaining social distance, but if you are going to be surrounded by people, I would suggest taking the precaution and wearing the proper mask.” (Related: Should You Start Making and Wearing DIY Masks to Protect Against the Coronavirus?)

Whatever you decide, don’t treat wearing a face mask as a substitute for social distancing. Keeping a physical distance from others is still the most important measure for slowing the spread of the coronavirus, Anthony Fauci, M.D. director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently clarified on Fox & Friends.

What are the best face masks for running?
With its new stance on face masks, the CDC is recommending the type of cloth face mask
that’s washable for everyday use. (FYI: Avoid buying up surgical masks or N-95s, which
health care professionals need for adequate protection on the job.)
The CDC also offers two sets of no-sew face mask instructions as well as a more advanced
DIY option. Each one is fine to run in, says Alesha Courtney, C.P.T., personal trainer and nutritionist.
Though running with a mask on can take some getting used to, since it can affect your breathing, she notes. “For beginner runners, this may be challenging and at-home workouts may be your best bet,” she explains. “Always listen to your body. If you find that you’re out of breath or cannot breathe easily, slow down, walk,
or for right now stick to home workouts.” 
Certain gaiters and balaclavas (aka ski masks) might also work if they fit snuggly and cover your nose and mouth, as recommended by the CDC. Just note that the agency suggests using multiple layers of cotton fabric in its homemade mask instructions. Traditionally, gaiters are predominantly made of spandex because of its elasticity. But non-cotton materials, in general, aren’t ideal for homemade masks; they might make you sweat more, dampening the fabric and, in turn, making it more porous for pathogens like SARS-COV-2 to get in, Suzanne Willard, Ph.D., clinical professor and associate dean for global health at Rutgers School of Nursing, previously told Shape. If you want to buy cotton gaiters, there are a few options on Amazon and Etsy,
like this 100% Cotton Knit Neck Scarf and this Cotton Face Mask.

If outdoor runs are the one thing that’s been saving you from cabin fever,
rest assured that the new face mask update doesn’t mean you have to stop. Whether you
should wear one boils down to how crowded your route gets. The information in this story is accurate as of press time. As updates about coronavirus COVID-19 continue to evolve, its possible that some information and recommendations in this story have changed since initial publication. 
We encourage you to check in regularly with resources such as the CDC, the WHO, and your local public health department for the most up-to-date data and recommendations.

Boston University Professor Talks About Coronavirus Research

John Kelly is director of data journalism for the ABC-owned television stations.
An ABC News joint investigation with its owned television stations sheds new light on the
likely flow of the coronavirus from global hotspots into the U.S. and provides a glimpse the
toll the virus has taken on some of the first Americans to interact with international travelers: airport workers. From December through March, as the outbreak ravaged China, more than 3,200 flights left the Asian nation on direct routes to at least 20 cities across the U.S., according to an ABC News analysis of more than 20 million flight records obtained from the tracking service Flightradar-24.

Bing COVID-19 tracker: Latest numbers by country and state
While it is unclear the precise number of passengers into the U.S. who were infected with the coronavirus, medical experts told ABC News such a huge pool of people virtually assures that a number had the highly contagious disease. “In the case of coronavirus, you have the interface of a virus that spreads this quickly,”
Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston’s Children’s Hospital and ABC News contributor said. Brownstein said that such massive travel meant that the flow of the virus into the U.S. and other countries probably came quickly after it began spreading quickly in China. “So our view is that even as early as January, we were seeing introductions of cases happening globally and specifically in the U.S.,” he said.

Disaster in motion: 3.4 million travelers poured into US as coronavirus pandemic eruptedAccording to travel data previously obtained by ABC News, those flights translate to more than 761,000 Chinese nationals entering the U.S. and Americans returning home from the People’s Republic during that critical period. The analysis of every individual flight record shows that more than 1,000 flights went to Los Angeles and nearly 500 each landed in San Francisco and New York – all three among the eventual hot spots of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. More than 100 flights from China arrived in each of six other American cities:
Chicago, Seattle, Detroit, Dallas, Washington, D.C., and Newark, N.J.
The flow of these passengers into these key cities, offer a window on how the virus may
have quickly spread across the U.S.Among the flights were 50 direct from Wuhan, the Chinese metropolis where the outbreak is believed to have started. Twenty-seven of those flights went
to San Francisco and 23 to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. The last flights from Wuhan came in early February, when the Trump Administration imposed restrictions
on flights from China to the U.S. But this new passenger and travel data obtained by ABC News revealed by the time the president took his action – which administration officials say saved lives – some of the damage had already been done.

The first coronavirus case in the U.S. was reported in Washington state in late January, before cases followed days later in Arizona and California. In each of those cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that the infected individuals had been in Wuhan recently. But the spread of the virus person-to-person domestically since has made tracing the origin of particular outbreaks in many American cities more difficult.
“The United States banned travel to China 12 days after the world heard there was an outbreak of severe pneumonia in Wuhan. … The problem was, it was too late,” said Dr. Todd Ellerin, chief of Infectious Disease at South Shore Health and an ABC News consultant. “Even though there had only been 12 confirmed cases in the U.S. on the day President Trump announces the travel ban, the reality was there were many more unconfirmed cases.”

The flights from China weren’t the only ones coming from airports in international hotspots
for the COVID-19 outbreak. ABC News also analyzed thousands more flights during the period from Italy and Spain, which had the highest numbers of cases outside the U.S. by the end of March. From December through March 30, 353,000 foreign nationals and Americans entered the U.S. from Italy. Another 456,547 came from Spain.
“Clearly, some portion of those were infected either with mild symptoms or asymptomatic.
We were seeding this epidemic in many places, but flying blind because we weren’t doing the adequate testing that was needed,” Brownstein said. More than 1,400 direct flights from Italy landed in U.S. cities from December to March, including more than 500 in February and March as that country was becoming an international focal point for the worldwide pandemic. Another 2,255 flights from Spain landed in U.S. cities.

The federal government shut down most flights from Europe in mid-March, but by then hundreds of flights from Italy had gone into New York and Miami. Nearly 100 of the Italy-to-Miami flights happened over six weeks in February and early March before the U.S. imposed restrictions. March’s flights from Italy also went
to large airports in Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Newark, Los Angeles and Columbus, Ohio.
Also in March, more than 400 flights left Spain for 12 American cities. Close to half of those flights landed at two New York City region airports: JFK and Newark Liberty. More than 100 went to Miami. Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles each took in at least two dozen direct flights from Spain in March.
The flights directly from China, Italy and Spain reached at least 15 states. Additionally, during the same period, the cities that took in at least 100 flights from China, Italy and Spain were the starting point for flights to every state in the country — potentially exasperating the domestic spread. And there is evidence that the travel flow may have had direct impact on the country’s airport personnel.

More than 320 Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection personnel have tested positive for coronavirus, according to data obtained by ABC News.
The number of affected airport security workers corresponds with hotspots, though it’s unclear if the workers contracted the virus from their duties or from other person-to-person contact. 
Of the Customs and Border protection personnel that tested positive, 52, were from New York ports of entry, twenty were from Miami and Ft. Lauderdale airports and facilities,
10 from Los Angeles work sites and 10 from New Jersey.
The analysis of international flights excluded more than 1,000 routes by cargo haulers and hundreds of additional flights into Alaska, where it could not be determined with certainty whether the flights –
mostly from China – carried cargo, passengers or both.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Know The Nature 0f The Beast

Posted on April 7, 2020 by Ken
At 90, she said her final goodbyes as doctors prepared her to die from coronavirus.
Then she survived By Sara Sidner, CNN

New Irish study says vitamin D could help prevent Covid-19 infection.
Geneva Wood knew her life was about to end. She could feel it with every strained breath.
She was well aware her 90-year-old lungs were filling with fluid. She was drowning from the inside out. The coronavirus had taken hold and she had one last request. “I said to the doctor, this is the end.
I’m not gonna make it and I want to see my family,” Wood told CNN. “And that was my only wish and desire was to be able to talk to my children again.” Her doctor agreed.
She was dying. Her children were called to see their mom alive one last time.
With so little oxygen in her lungs, Wood was losing the ability to talk.

Her daughter, Cami Neidigh, drove to the hospital.
“They didn’t think that she was going to make it, and that we should go ahead and come on down while she can still talk to us,” her daughter said. The news was doubly devastating for the family. Wood had been recovering from a stroke. “It was kind of cruel, you know,” Neidigh said. “She had just learned to live again.” Wood’s family had chosen to send her for rehab to the nearby Life Care Center of Kirkland, Washington, after her stroke. When Wood arrived months earlier, she couldn’t talk. She couldn’t walk. She couldn’t speak well enough to be understood.
The staff cared for her until she could do all those things.
“All I could do was jabber and they taught me to live again,” Wood said. “I went there for therapy, which they provided. What the staff did for me was great.” But as she regained her strength, the coronavirus spread through the Life Care Center of Kirkland. It became the first place in America to have a major deadly outbreak of the novel coronavirus. Only nobody realized it at the time. The virus was spreading like a deadly plague inside the facility long before people switched to elbow bumps instead of handshakes, and before self-distancing and stay-at-home orders became the norm.
Geneva Wood suddenly found herself infected like 80 other patients there. She was rushed
to the hospital where the virus began taking her breath away. “I coughed a lot.” Wood said
“I had trouble breathing, I was just tired. I just wanted to sleep, rest and be left alone.”
She had never felt the kind of exhaustion that came with Covid-19. The spitfire of a great-grandmother says she survived the flu dozens of times while raising her children and survived the Great Depression and World War II, but she never wanted to give up until she got the coronavirus.

But her body fought it. And she survived, with her humor intact.
“I’m not dead yet,” Wood quipped to the nurse who she asked to bring her water. Wood was
one of the lucky ones. Fifty-five people associated with the Life Care nursing home died, many younger than her. Now Wood is home and able to speak with her family, who she once feared she might never see or talk to again. She snuggled up next to her daughter in her big comfortable chair and marveled at how happy she was just to be home. “I love it here.
One of the things I fought for was to be able to be with my kids. To give them a hug or a kick
or whatever they needed,” Wood said.
Her daughter cracked up. Her feisty, strong-willed mother was back.
“That’s, that’s what I’m here for.” Wood laughed. “To take care of their needs. If they need a
hug that’s what they need and if they need a kick in the rear, that’s what they get.” 
Her daughter is relieved to hear her mom joke again. “It’s been a brutal roller coaster ride,”
she says. And Neidigh wants anyone who is writing off the elderly as those who can be sacrificed to coronavirus for the sake of others or for the economy to remember people like
her mother. She says nobody should get to choose who gets to live or die and that the world could
used the wisdom of the elderly. They still have something to give.

“You can’t put a price on life like that,” Neidigh said.
See Related Story: Jen Babakhan Survived Coronavirus—Here’s What I Want You to Know.

J.K. Rowling suffers ‘every symptom’ of coronavirus and reveals what cured her!!!
The Harry Potter author said she had not been tested but used a breathing technique to get
air in to the bases of her lungs. J.K. Rowling has said she is “fully recovered” after suffering
“all symptoms” of coronavirus. The Harry Potter author said she had not been tested but used
a breathing technique to get air in to the bases of her lungs and shared a video of a doctor
advising how to do it.

She wrote on Twitter: “Please watch this doc from Queens Hospital explain how to relieve respiratory symptoms. “For last 2 weeks I’ve had all symptoms of C19 (tho haven’t been tested) & did this on doc husband’s advice. “I’m fully recovered & technique helped a lot.”
In the video the doctor shows how to take deep breaths, hold the breaths and then cough, before lying flat on the stomach to allow air into the lungs. He says: “While you have an active infection you need to get a good amount of air into the bases of your lungs and the only way you are going to do that is by having a technique.
“I want you guys to start dong this if you have the infection right from the beginning,
if you want to do it before you even pick up the infection, good idea. “Take five deep breaths in, hold the breath for five seconds, on the sixth deep breath you will take it in and do a big cough, covering your mouth. “Do this twice and then lay flat on your bed (on your stomach) with a pillow in front of you and taking slightly deeper breaths for the next ten minutes. “The majority of your lungs is on your back,
not on your front, so by lying on your back you’re closing off your smaller airways and this is not good during a period of infection, it’s very important that you guys understand this.”  

SEE: Coronavirus breathing technique used by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowlin.

COVID-19: Here’s everything you need to know about the novel coronavirus!!! 
 
Why does the CDC only list three novel coronavirus symptoms?

“It’s because these are the most common symptoms in the U.S.,” says Richard Watkins, M.D., infectious disease physician and professor of internal medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University.
Fever: This is by far the most common sign of COVID-19, and is defined by having a 
temperature of 100.4° F or higher.
Cough: Experts say patients typically develop a dry cough, meaning you’re coughing but nothing is coming up, like phlegm or mucus.
Shortness of breath: This symptom often presents in more advanced cases and can range
in severity. Some people simply feel winded by otherwise normal activities, while others end
up having trouble breathing on their own. “It feels like you’re not getting enough air,”
says David Cutler, M.D., a family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center
in Santa Monica, Calif. That said, several studies have shown a solid number of people infected with COVID-19 have no symptoms. “We are likely missing many cases in the U.S.,” Watkins says.
The CDC maintains those big three are the symptoms of novel coronavirus, but the World Health Organization (WHO) has a more extensive list that includes 14 different symptoms detected in people with mild cases of COVID-19.  That’s a big deal, since “most people infected with the COVID-19 virus have mild disease and recover,” per a February report of a joint World Health Organization-China mission. In fact, that report found that 80% of confirmed patients had mild to moderate disease.  

What are the mild symptoms of novel coronavirus?
In the WHO report, the organization analyzes nearly 56,000 cases of COVID-19 in China
and breaks down a wide range of “typical” symptoms, as well as how often people
with the virus experienced them:

Fever (87.9%)
Dry cough (67.7%)
Fatigue (38.1%)
Sputum production (33.4%)
Shortness of breath (18.6%)
Sore throat (13.9%)
Headache (13.6%)
Muscle aches and pains (14.8%)
Chills (11.4%)
Nausea or vomiting (5.0%)
Nasal congestion (4.8%)
Diarrhea (3.7%)
Coughing up blood (0.9%)
Red eyes (0.8%)

A lost sense of smell wasn’t on the WHO’s list, but several organizations—including the
British Rhinological Society, British Association of Otorhinolaryngology, and The American Academy
of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS), say it’s a possible symptom, too.
Below, what you need to know about the mild symptoms that didn’t make the CDC’s list:
1. Lost sense of smell
This “has been seen in patients ultimately testing positive for the coronavirus with no other symptoms,” the AAO-HNS said in a statement. “It could potentially be used as a screening tool
to help identify otherwise asymptomatic patients, who could then be better instructed on
 self-isolation.” According to a joint statement from the British Rhinological Society and British Association of Otorhinolaryngology, two out of every three people with confirmed cases of COVID-19
in Germany had a lost sense of smell, and 30% of patients in South Korea who
tested positive experienced the same thing.
“Viruses are a common cause of changes to the sense of smell or taste that can occur with an upper respiratory infection,” says Rachel Kaye, M.D., assistant professor of laryngology-voice, airway, and swallowing disorders at Rutgers University. “Viral infection can result in both inflammation and swelling of the nasal cavity lining, leading to nasal congestion, which in
turn causes a change in smell. Furthermore, there is also some evidence that viral infection
can lead to neurologic damage in the smell receptors.”
2. Fatigue
It’s not shocking that a viral infection would cause people to feel completely wiped out,
says Susan Besser, M.D., a primary care physician at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore.
“Your body is working hard to fight the virus, and that requires a lot of energy,” she says.
“It doesn’t leave much energy left over for you.”
3. Sputum production
Sputum production, a.k.a. excess mucus that you may cough up, isn’t super common with
COVID-19, but it’s common enough that more than a third of patients have experienced it.
Dr. Cutler points out that sputum production is common with plenty of other respiratory conditions, like the common cold and allergies, so you shouldn’t rush to assume you have coronavirus if you’re experiencing this.
4. Sore throat
Because COVID-19 is a respiratory virus, you may have postnasal drip (where excess mucus
drips down the back of your nose and throat) and that can cause irritation in your throat,
Dr. Besser says. Also, constantly coughing can be tough on your throat in general.
5. Aches, pains, and headaches
These are common symptoms with viruses, Dr. Cutler says. “When you get a viral infection,
often you get a fever and that fever response can cause the body to feel achy all over,”
he explains. “We see that with the flu and other infections as well.”
6. Diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting
There’s no clear reason to explain why this is happening in some people, Dr. Besser says,
but she has some theories. “It’s possibly due to increased drainage from postnasal drip into
the stomach—that can cause issues,” she says. It could also just be the way the virus itself
behaves in some people, she says.
New research in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, found that a “unique sub-group” of COVID-19 patients develop digestive symptoms.
“In some cases, the digestive symptoms, particularly diarrhea, can be the initial presentation
of COVID-19, and may only later or never present with respiratory symptoms or fever,”
the researchers wrote.
They believe these symptoms may occur because the virus enters your system through
“a receptor found in both the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract where it is expressed
at nearly 100-fold higher levels than in respiratory organs.”
What should you do if you think you have novel coronavirus symptoms?
If you’re experiencing multiple symptoms of COVID-19, get your doctor on the phone.
You should not go to the hospital, because you could potentially spread the virus if you
do have it or pick it up if you actually don’t. Once you discuss your symptoms, your doctor
will be able to determine if you qualify for a COVID-19 test and go from there.
However, there is no specific cure for novel coronavirus and most people are being advised
to treat mild symptoms with over-the-counter remedies while isolating at home for at least
14 days, Dr. Watkins says. “Many people have symptoms for two weeks—some longer and others a shorter duration,” he adds.
For a fever, aches, and pains, have acetaminophen (Tylenol) on hand and follow the label’s dosage instructions. Turn to cough medicine or tea with honey to relieve your cough or sore throat. Plenty of rest and fluids are also recommended. If you notice your symptoms getting worse, though, call your doctor again about next steps. And if the following occur, the CDC says it’s your cue to head to the hospital: 
Trouble breathing
Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
New confusion or inability to arouse
Bluish lips or face
Other severe or concerning symptoms (like a fever that won’t die down)
When can you leave your home after experiencing novel coronavirus symptoms?
The CDC has guidelines that depend on whether you have access to a COVID-19 test.
If you will not have a test, the CDC says you can leave home after these three things happen:
You don’t have a fever for at least 72 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.
Your symptoms have improved.
At least seven days have passed since you first had symptoms.
If you will have a test, you can leave home after the following:
You no longer have a fever without the use of fever-reducing medication.
Your symptoms have improved.
You received two negative tests in a row, 24 hours apart.
When in doubt, call your doctor to be on the safe side.

Related video:  How to Tell the Difference Between Coronavirus Symptoms and Allergies 
[via MSN.com]

Two Different World Outlooks Dealing With The Conoravirus!!!
New Zealand isn’t just flattening the curve. It’s squashing it.
Coronavirus? Pandemic? For many in Sweden, life goes on as usual.

New data on New York coronavirus deaths:
Most had these underlying illnesses;
61% were men.

THE NEW WONDER DRUG!!!
Cuba has mobilized its medical corps around the world to distribute a new “wonder drug”
that officials there say is capable of treating the new coronavirus despite the United States’
strict sanctions that continue to pressure the communist-run island. The drug, called Interferon
Alpha-2B Recombinant (IFNrec), is jointly developed by scientists from Cuba and China,
where the coronavirus COVID-19 disease outbreak first emerged late last year.
 Already active in China since January, the Cuban Medical Brigades began deploying to
dozens of nations, providing personnel and products such as its new anti-viral drug to battle
the disease that has exceeded 400,000 confirmed cases across the globe. As of Tuesday, over 100,000 people have recovered from the infection and more than 18,000 have died.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_uFC1WNBEg
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South Korea flattened its coronavirus curve

Posted on April 6, 2020 by Ken
Tom Streetman works as a marketing manager at a gaming company in Seoul.
By Grace Moon / NBC News 

SEOUL, South Korea — It took Thomas Streetman two hours to walk out his front door,
take a cab to the public health center, get tested for the coronavirus and make it back to his apartment. Streetman, 32, an Ohio native — who had a slight fever — was greeted with blue tents scattered across a surprisingly barren street. Medical staff clad head to toe in hazmat suits conducted screenings as
another staff member fogged the sidewalk with disinfectant spray.
“It was almost militaristic,” said Streetman, who has lived in the South Korean capital for almost a decade. “They stuck a long swab up my nose pretty deep. It felt like a button poked my nerves and released my sinuses.”
Streetman, who works as a marketing manager at a gaming company in Seoul, received his negative results
in less than 24 hours and is now one of more than 327,000 people out of the country’s 51 million-strong population to have been tested for the coronavirus in South Korea since the country confirmed its first case
Jan. 21. The U.S., which confirmed its first case the same day, is suffering from the repercussions of a weeks-late start in obtaining test kits.
Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
Since March 11, South Korea has seen a general decline in the number of new coronavirus cases, some as low
as 74 and 76 each day — a stark comparison to its peak of 909 cases Feb. 29. The U.S. is one of many countries that has followed South Korea’s lead by beginning to install drive-thru testing hubs at CVS, but the slow installations come at a time of national panic with over 80 million Americans already under lock down.

This is how South Korea flattened its coronavirus curve.

Early testing, detection, prevention

News that China had reported its first case of the coronavirus was enough reason for South Korean leaders
and medical staff to brace themselves for the worst. “Acting fast was the most important decision South Korea made,” said Hwang Seung-Sik, a professor at Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Public Health. 
By early February, the first test had been approved. Active collaboration among central and regional government officials and medical staff took place before cases began piling up, enabling South Korea’s current testing capacity
of 20,000 people a day at 633 sites, including drive-thru centers and even phone booths.
The collaborative effort was underway just 11 days after “Patient 31,” a member of a
secretive religious group called the Shincheonji Church, caused an explosion of infections in Daegu,
a major city 170 miles southeast of Seoul. Early testing meant early detection of infections
in South Korea, where a relatively larger proportion of patients showed either no symptoms or very mild ones,
according to Hwang.
“Among Shincheonji members, there were many 20- and 30-year-olds who were infected. Many of them may have never even known they were carrying the virus and recovered easily while silently infecting those around them,” Hwang said. “Early testing is why Korea hasn’t reached its breaking point yet.”  Under South Korea’s single-payer health care system, getting tested costs $134. But with a doctor’s referral or for those who’ve made contact with an infected person, testing is free. Even undocumented foreigners are urged to get tested and won’t face threats due to their status.

Extensive tracing and mapping

South Korean leaders have amped up efficiency for overwhelmed hospitals by digitally monitoring lower-risk patients under quarantine, as well as keeping close tabs on visiting travelers who are required to enter their symptoms into an app. Sites like Corona Map generate real-time updates about where current patients are located and inform proactive Koreans focused on protecting themselves. 
That people are willing to forgo privacy rights and allow the publication of sensitive information underlines the willingness to pay the digital cost of state surveillance in the name of public safety, said professor
Ju Youngkee, who teaches health and data journalism at Hallym University. According to a survey conducted last month by Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Public Health, 78.5 percent of respondents agreed that they would sacrifice the protection of their privacy rights to help prevent a national epidemic.     
Public spaces transformed into PSA venues
The refusal by some Britons to follow the government’s social distancing measures in the United Kingdom prompted the closings of thousands of pubs, cafés and restaurants last week, leaving many to consider layoffs and shutting for good. In South Korea, however, reminders from the government aren’t delivered in the form of blanket lockdowns. Commuters wait at platforms and in subway cars as announcements are played in different languages, including English and Chinese. 

A female voice lists tips such as “blocking” your mouth when coughing.
The broadcasts are one of many upgrades from the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak — a failing of the South Korean system that cost 38 lives and amounted to 186 cases, the highest number outside the Middle East. Now, hand sanitizer bottles are placed in front
of nearly every entrance and elevator for public use. And of the 1,000 people who took part in
a study by Seoul National University, 97.6 percent responded that they at least sometimes wear a mask when they are outside, 63.6 percent of whom said they always wear one.

Download the NBC News app for full coverage & alerts about the coronavirus outbreak
“Wearing masks or self-monitoring alone isn’t foolproof to people in Korea, but taking part in these practices
as a group is believed to have an impact,” said Michael Hurt, who teaches cultural theory at Korea National University of the Arts. “This says that your individual choices may not have immediate benefit to you as an individual but will benefit the herd — that it doesn’t work unless everybody is in the game.”

Cautious hopefulness
Despite its apparently swift recovery from the coronavirus, South Korea may only be entering the beginning stages of what experts suspect may be a long ride ahead. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 80 percent of COVID-19 cases can be categorized as mass infections. A call center in southwestern Seoul was at the center of a local outbreak this month that generated more than 156 infections.

About 90 cases were traced to a Zumba class.
“Even though the number of reported cases is declining, this may be painting an illusion of recovery,” Hwang said. “All 210,000 Shincheonji members have been tested, which may account for the decline we’re seeing, but local infection clusters are emerging every day in churches, hospitals and other mundane spaces.” South Korea has already started new testing on all arrivals from Europe, according to local news reports, preparing for a “second wave” of imported clusters. Even those who test negative are required to self-quarantine for 14 days. “We are proceeding with cautious hopefulness,” Hwang said.

South Korea’s return to normal interrupted by uptick in coronavirus cases.
South Korea has been held up as a paragon for containing the coronavirus, lauded by the
world for successfully flattening its curve, it is now bracing for a possible second wave.  
But two worlds have emerged in South Korea. In one, everyday life resembles something
closer to normal: There are lines outside restaurants during lunchtime; streets are busier;
some wear masks and some do not.  https://www.pnas.org/content/114/35/E7348

The other world, however, keeps its eye firmly on the slight daily uptick in the country’s number of cases. Despite methods like early testing and digital tracing, South Korea is bracing itself for a second wave of infection. The government recently pushed back the new school year, opting for April 6 as the start date. Despite efforts to protect children from being infected with the coronavirus, With over 83 percent of South Korea’s Hwajeong Poly School — test prep centers for students — remain open.
With many parts of the world wondering what a slow return to normal life will look like,
South Korea’s situation offers a warning: The curve doesn’t necessarily stay flat. The first wave of the coronavirus struck South Korea in mid-February after a “superspreader” from
the Shincheonji Church in Daegu, a major city southeast of Seoul, infected worshippers
during a service — a single case that infected more than 6,000 people.
Since then, with the swift implementation of nonpharmaceutical initiatives, like refraining from handshakes and diligently wearing masks, South Korea significantly reduced its number of daily cases from a peak of 909 in late February to as low as 76 and 64 in mid-March. Despite this general decline, 125 new cases were reported last Monday — a slight increase from the previous day, at 78. The new stats also showed a rising death toll.
Local infection clusters have continued to set South Koreans on edge as case numbers fluctuate.
Most recently, a hospital in Daegu, the center of South Korea’s outbreak, experienced another cluster infection, with at least 62 cases. Mannim Central Church in southwestern Seoul confirmed more positive tests, increasing their number to 33. With these slight upticks, it’s clear that South Korea hasn’t fully contained the virus yet.

But local clusters aren’t the only problem.
South Korea is simultaneously coping with an influx of travelers from Europe and the U.S., which has resulted in more than 518 imported cases. How widespread an infection cluster has to be to be considered another “wave” varies. Some local media refer to South Korea’s first confirmed case on Jan. 20 involving a traveler from Wuhan to be the “first wave” and the Shincheonji outbreak to be the second. Dr. Ki Moran, a professor at the National Cancer Center’s Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy, said that even the slightest loosening
of social distancing fosters the danger of triggering another mass wave.
“A wave occurs when you see an increase followed by a decrease in the number of cases,
not just once, but the pattern should repeat itself again, which in this case it has,” Ki said.
“Right now our greatest jeopardy is becoming complacent.” In efforts to push back against
this doubled burden, every new arrival as of April 1 will be placed in mandatory quarantine
for 14 days, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
Those who fail to comply with regulations are subject to imprisonment for up to 1 year or may be fined
up to 10 million won, whereas foreigners risk facing deportation. 

Reassessing the realities
How long can South Korea and the rest of the world live in isolation? In the United States alone, more than 3.3 million people filed for unemployment in a week, highlighting the toll this virus has taken on those who cannot afford isolation. Ki said that South Korea is already planning ahead, brainstorming ways the country can practice “everyday distancing” that would introduce more sustainable lifestyle changes rather than temporary campaigns.
For instance, instead of having all children arrive and leave school at the same time, an alternative
would be conducting half of the coursework online and half in-person to reduce
the number of students in class. Rearranging lunch tables so students sit in a zig zag rather
that adjacent to each other is also being taken into consideration. But South Korea’s decision
to further move back the start of the school year points to the continuous disruption that
the coronavirus has inflicted.
“We can’t just delay the entire educational system for a year,” Ki said. As of March 31, 9,786 total cases were confirmed in South Korea, moving the country down to 14th on the list of countries with COVID-19 cases. “Hoping that a vaccine will be developed soon is too optimistic, ” Ki said. “We have to acknowledge the reality of the situation we are in and make a plan.”

Arirang News – [LIVE]
S. KOREAN GOV’T BRIEFING ON COVID-19 (2020-04-04, 11:00 KST)

How contagious is the coronavirus?
New research finds that people are most contagious early on in their illness, before symptoms fully ramp up and the best way to defend it is through a strong immune system. A lab study at the University of Illinois found that vitamin D helps mucus membranes provide a stronger barrier to viruses by increasing the antimicrobial compounds in them.   With coronavirus  becoming a threat only in recent months,  researchers have not yet
had time to test vitamin D directly against it. 
 
Related Links: 
Why The Death Rate From Coronavirus Is Plunging In China.
Coronavirus seems to mutate much slower than seasonal flu.
Tiger tests positive for COVID-19 at New York City zoo, officials says.
Answers to Common Questions About Coronavirus and the Food You Eat.
12 ways Italians are keeping spirits high during the coronavirus pandemic.
6 Mild Symptoms of Coronavirus You Shouldn’t Ignore, According to Doctors.
Most people recover from Covid-19. Here’s why it’s hard to pinpoint exactly how many.
Will warmer weather help fight coronavirus? Singapore and Australia suggest maybe not!!!

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A Real Game Changer

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Ken
U.S. Sees Virus Peak in Some Cities Next Week as Global Toll Climbs
By Melissa Korn & Newley Purnell  

Confirmed coronavirus cases shot past 1.1 million globally, with the U.S. firmly at the center
of the global pandemic and bracing for the country’s hardest weeks. White House coronavirus coordinator Deborah Birx said during a White House briefing that modeling shows New York, Detroit and New Orleans— and the areas around those cities—will likely reach the peak of their outbreaks in the next six to seven days.
She declined to predict how many people could
perish in those cities, noting that each place is different. 

But she said that New York has seen several hundred deaths per day and officials there have said that figure could increase into the range of 500-700 people per day. “That’s very concerning to us,” Dr. Birx said. Government officials are closely monitoring an uptick in cases in Pennsylvania, Colorado and Washington, D.C., she said, explaining that experts are hopefully social distancing in those places could prevent those areas from seeing the same level of spread as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and part of Rhode Island are having.
“The next two weeks are extraordinarily important,” she said.“This is the moment to do everything that you can,” Dr. Birx said later at the briefing, “Doing everything you can to keep your family and your friends safe.”“There will be a lot of death unfortunately,”
President Trump said at the briefing. But he added there would be less death than there would have been without the federal government’s response to stop the spread of the virus.
The U.S. has more than 300,000 cases, and New York state is hardest hit with nearly 114,000 as of Saturday. Upward of 8,100 people in the U.S. have died from Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, according to Johns Hopkins data. Roughly half of those are in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “It is like a fire spreading,” Mr. Cuomo added on Saturday. Most states now have stay-at-home orders, with governors in Alabama and Missouri announcing such restrictions Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday evening recommended that all people wear face coverings in public, especially in hot spots with high transmission rates. 
Officials urged people to reserve N95 surgical masks and respirators for medical first responders and instead encouraged the use of scarfs, bandannas or other cloth coverings.
Mr. Trump called the mask advisory “voluntary,” and said he didn’t expect to wear one himself. Meanwhile in New York City, crematoriums are now running 24 hours a day, and the city put out a wireless emergency alert on Friday asking any licensed medical personnel to volunteer to fight the virus. Tens of thousands from outside the state had already done so before that call went out, and they and local medical professionals who volunteered are now being paired with hospitals requesting assistance, Mr. Cuomo said.
The governor warned New York is probably about a week away from its caseload apex, when hospitals, health care workers and supplies will be stretched thinnest. The state now has 113,704 cases, up by nearly 11,000 in the past day, Mr. Cuomo said. The death toll rose to 3,565, a one-day jump of 630. New York state has been struggling to amass enough ventilators, the most in-demand hospital item in the fight against the virus. The Chinese government helped facilitate a donation of 1,000 ventilators, which would arrive on Saturday, Mr. Cuomo said.
He also thanked the federal government for its help converting the Javitz Center in Manhattan into
a 2,500-bed hospital for Covid-19 patients.
At the White House news briefing Saturday, Mr. Trump said 1,000 medical military personnel were being sent to New York to help with the coronavirus response. He said he had dispatched them and that they would go “where they’re needed the most.” The president also again criticized many states for asking for too much federal aid, saying that the federal government was there to serve as a “backup” to states.
New Jersey now has more than 34,000 confirmed cases, followed by Michigan, California and Massachusetts. At a news conference Saturday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said the coronavirus death count now eclipses the death toll from the terrorist attack on 9/11 by more than 100. He asked people to continue to practice social distancing, despite desires to congregate for Easter and Passover in the coming week. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Saturday the state would increase testing. So far, 126,700 people have been tested, a number that Mr. Newsom said isn’t enough. The state has more than 12,600 confirmed cases, the governor said Saturday.
News to stay informed. Advice to stay safe.
Click here for complete coronavirus coverage from Microsoft News 

  The state has a new partnership with the University of California, Davis and San Diego, to create a minimum of five to seven testing hubs throughout the state. “I have a responsibility as governor to do better, and do more testing in the state of California,” Mr. Newsom said at a news conference Saturday. U.S. medical experts and the White House have estimated the national death toll from the coronavirus pandemic could reach 100,000 to 240,000.
At the same time, governments around the world further tightened limits on social activity, as the death toll surpassed 63,900 world-wide.
In Spain, 124,736 people have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to data updated Saturday morning, more than anywhere else after the U.S. So far, 11,744 people are known to have died there. But in Italy, long the center of the outbreak, the rate of infection is slowing. There were 119,827 confirmed cases of infection as of Friday evening, a 3.9% increase from the previous day, a sign that the strict social-distancing measures introduced more than three weeks ago are having an impact.
Italy’s official death toll, however, remains the world’s highest, with 14,681 people confirmed dead. But as elsewhere, many people—infected and dead—aren’t being counted. China, where the new virus first emerged late last year, is slowly returning to normal after lifting one of the world’s longest and most stringent lockdowns.
According to Johns Hopkins data, the country has recorded more than 82,500 cases—now surpassed by those in the U.S., Italy, Spain, Germany and France—and the rate of spread has slowed. President Xi Jinping and other leaders gathered Saturday in Beijing to observe three minutes of silence as part of a national day of mourning for Covid-19 victims.  
Write to Melissa Korn at melissa.korn@wsj.com 
and Newley Purnell at newley.purnell@wsj.com

Coronavirus COVID-19 Stay at Home Survival Guide 
by Gene DellaSala — March 15, 2020 

How I’m Managing My COVID-19 Symptoms
I recently tested positive for COVID-19 after struggling with what I thought at the time was a stomach bug or flu on and off for 8 straight days. It wasn’t until I got the call from a business associate who visited my home to demo the new RBH Sound SVTRS system that I learned that his colleague and his wife were hospitalized from illness due to COVID-19. I immediately coordinated with my doctor and the health department to get tested and less than 48hrs later (03/10/20), I was diagnosed and ordered to be quarantined in my home with my family for the next two weeks or until I produced two negative consecutive test results. My first test comes this Monday and I sit here with fingers crossed for a successful negative result though with symptoms like chest tightness, and headaches persistent, I remain cautiously optimistic. 
I remain hopeful NOT to infect my wife or youngest daughter. I’ve read the research. Somehow children seem to be less symptomatic than adults but are still carriers. COVID-19 seems to target men more than women but my wife has severe Asthma so I pray she doesn’t get this.
I pray for everyone right now and that we get through this not only as a nation but as a race.
I hope that good will come of this as people realize we are all connected,
and we are all stewards of this planet.

So, what do you do to pass the time while in isolation? I’m literally stuck between my theater room (not a bad place to be) and the guest room with our Bearded Dragon who looks at me in confusion as to why I’m not picking him up and playing with him as usual. I must look pretty funny to him wearing a face mask and having a mouthpiece when doing nebulizer treatments. Isolation is important. 

Whomever your caregiver is, make sure they ALWAYS wear gloves and a mask while interacting with you if you have COVID-19. 

You should wear a mask, preferably the N95 rated, for all interactions with quarantined family members even if they are asymptomatic. Paper plates & cups are a good idea, to cut down on washing dishes and the exposure to the virus since they thrive on hard surfaces.
Your clothes and trash should be contained in bags and handled with gloves. Take no chances.
It’s been reported that COVID-19 can live on surfaces for days.

Living with Coronavirus (COVID-19) Symptoms & Treatments
Survival: The first order of business is to control your symptoms to be comfortable.
I’ve had excellent luck with Tylenol 8hr taken twice/day to control fevers and body pains. Thankfully I haven’t had a fever in the last 3 days but the Tylenol still partly helps with the migraines. How about a Nebulizer treatment every 4-6 hours help to relieve chest tightness which is a common symptom of those afflicted with COVID-19.
Any asthma sufferers will definitely want to be vigilant with their breathing treatments.
Hot Green Jasmine/Mint tea works wonders to hydrate and make you feel good. I discovered better results with warm beverages. Hydration is key. Coconut water also helps maintain energy levels thanks to high concentrations of electrolytes. 
Keep eating. I feel for my wife having to prepare meals as I’m forbidden from the kitchen
but you need your energy so don’t deprive yourself of food, especially proteins and fiber. 
Avoid irritants like coffee and alcohol (two things I love but don’t even have a desire to consume right now).  Boost your Vitamin D3, Vitamin B, C, etc.
There are good resources online to expand upon this just a Google search away.
Note: Stocking up on basic supplies to last you two weeks is a good idea such as items like milk, eggs, proteins, bread, canned items, batteries, toilet paper and paper towels.

COVID-19: 1 Month Still Infected, What Now?

The Idle Mind is the Devils Playground
Keep your mind occupied. I can’t sit in total silence very long without going crazy. Believe me it gets quiet in an acoustically controlled room all by yourself. I always have music going in the background but now is a great time to literally chill out and do some critical listening.
 I’m finding myself rediscovering music and movies that I haven’t listened to
or watched in some time.
♫
♫  Peter Gabriel: Security   ♫
♫♫
Classic albums like Peter Gabriel   Security sounds pretty awesome up mixed in Dolby Surround. Give it a try, crank up the “Rhythm of the Heat”. You will thank me. “Wallflower”
is one of those songs that you just listen to alone and reflect. A bit prophetic in this case
but enjoyable, nonetheless.
♫
♫  Steely Dan: Gaucho DTS CD  ♫
♫♫ 
This album is a treasure and represents an era of music long gone but not forgotten. I know it’s a bit overplayed but who could ever get tired of Donald Fagen’s vocals in “Third World Man” especially while being enveloped in discrete 5.1 bliss?   
♫
♫   Genesis: Trick of the Tail SACD  ♫ 
♫ ♫ 
It’s no secret Genesis is one of my all time favorite progressive rock bands. Trick of the Tail
was arguably  their musical peak. With Gabriel gone, Phil Collins really had to step up not only as their masterful drummer, but as lead vocals. The album starts off strong with
“Dance on a Volcano”. Few bands today can play at this level of musicianship or impact.
  “Entangled” is mesmerizing thanks to the wonderful Mellotron of Tony Banks and brilliant vocal track laid out by Phil Collins. Again pop this track on and thank me later. After going through withdrawal symptoms of finishing all 9 seasons of the Office, I was looking for a way to entertain myself on Netflix when suddenly
I went into classic Star Trek mode.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Set in the late 23rd century, Captain Kirk goes on his last official mission to escort the chancellor of the Klingon Empire to a peace accord when he’s framed for murder. Christopher Plummer gives a superb performance as a the Klingon antagonist. I almost forgot what a Klingon looked like from the trash CBS Show Star Trek Discovery. This movie is pure sci-fi gold and perhaps only rivaled by STII TWOK from the the same director Nicolas Myer.

Apollo 13 (Full Movie)
This is about the best feel good American patriotic movie one can watch and it’s starring Tom Hanks, a fellow COVID-19 sufferer, so it’s an appropriate watch in this situation. Apollo 13 has everything you can want including great acting, great storytelling and great directing by Ron Howard. If we can bring the crew of Apollo 13 home from a failed space craft heading to the moon using nothing but slide rules and computers less sophisticated than those found in a fitbit, we can surely come up with a vaccine for the coronavirus. Go science! 
                                 
Dodgeball A True Underdog Story Full Movie _Ben Stiller Movie
Dodgeball is a silly comedy that has so many quotable moments thanks to Ben Stiller’s
brilliant performance as Wight Goodman. This is a movie I often come back to when I need
a lighthearted feel good comedy or if I ever need a refresher of the 5 D’s of Dodgeball (dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge!) These are useful life lessons we should all have instilled upon us.
Here’s to taking the bull by the horns White Goodman style.
Are you team Average Joe’s or team Globo-gym?

COVID-19: Dealing with Retest, Isolation & Recovery YouTube Video

 It’s Gonna Get Better
One thought I must keep going in my mind is that things are going to get better.
We will prevail over this virus. Our economy must recover, and humanity will survive.
It’s easy to go negative fast on this, especially me being a glass half empty kind of guy.
I’m in the middle of our most ambitious project in our 20-year history, the building of the Audioholics AV Smart Home where my goal is to document everything from soup to nuts
on our YouTube channel. I absolutely must make this work and I know with the support of our sponsors and my friends at HD2020, we will prevail.
In the meantime, if you feel sick, don’t go out. Stay home and isolate. Practice good hygiene.
Follow the advice of the medical professionals. They know what they’re doing.
Be kind to anyone you know that has COVID-19. We are still human.
We need the help, support and understanding of everyone.
I’d like to thank ALL of our readers for their prayers and support they’ve given me since I was diagnosed.
The positive energy has been invaluable to my healing.
   Source:>  https://www.audioholics.com/editorials/
the-covonavirus-covid-19-survival-guide 
  ^ This video is so valuable for the whole world.^
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‘We’re not Sacrificial Lambs’

Posted on April 3, 2020 by Ken
‘I’m not dead and each day is slightly better:’ The story of a senior coronavirus survivor.  
By Scott Fallon North Jersey.com

The first sign that Greg Foudy had been infected with coronavirus came in an unrelenting wave of chills that made him blast the heat in his Cresskill home until “it felt like an oven.”
It was late on March 10 and Foudy’s temperature had already risen above 102.
Over the next two weeks, the 65-year-old retiree would become as sick as he’s ever been. With growing frustration, he and his wife navigated a complicated and fractured health system seeking help. And finally, on the road to recovery, he dedicated himself to helping others avoid a disease that “knocked the hell” out of him.
Coronavirus hits older people especially hard. Eight out of 10 deaths reported in the U.S. have been among adults 65 and older, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control. And while Foudy is at the youngest end of that demographic, he still counts himself lucky.
“I’m not dead and each day is slightly better so I can’t feel too bad for myself,”
Foudy said with a chuckle.

 Retirement and recovery
The owner of a commercial refrigeration repair company, Foudy shut down his business in January after decades of servicing restaurants, bakeries and stores throughout New York. 
He was just sinking into retired life when he became sick. 
The fever that began on March 10 was not going away. Electric blankets, a raging radiator and copious amounts of Tylenol did only so much to manage his chills.
“I knew something was serious,” he said.
He suspected it was coronavirus and he mentioned it when he spoke to his family doctor of
30 years by phone. The doctor told Foudy he might have the flu, but cautioned him from coming into the medical office or going to the hospital just yet. 
Foudy considered himself in pretty good health, but like many men his age took daily medications for blood pressure and cholesterol.
The aches and pains came next, followed by near-crippling fatigue.
Taking a short walk to the hallway bathroom wiped him out.  
“All the little things you do that you take for granted were lost,” he said.
“Walking up and down the hallway felt like I was running a marathon.”
Foudy soon isolated himself from his wife, Dale Kopel, and their two grown children,
by staying in a guest bedroom.
He often slept for more than 20 hours a day — a welcome respite from the aches,
chills and uncontrollable cough that had developed. 
“I felt like I’d rather be asleep than being awake and feeling that way,” he said. “Your brain
kind of shuts down. I might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer but it felt like my brain turned to mush.
It was hard to concentrate on anything.”
Foudy ate nothing for days. He only drank water. He ended up losing 23 pounds.
“This is not how you want to lose weight,” he said. “Going from 165 to 142 pounds at my age
is not what I wanted to do.”
Foudy pressed his doctor to give him a prescription so he could get a coronavirus test.
On March 18, he had his nose swabbed at a drive-up site in Englewood Health hospital’s 
parking lot. 
Foudy said he was told he would get the results in 24 hours.
It took 12 days — and came back positive.
“Of course it was,” he said. “I thought it was obvious. It ran the classic course of COVID-19.”
By then Foudy had been feeling a lot better, even though he had a bout with bacterial pneumonia that antibiotics quickly cleared up. 
“I was angry that it took so long to get tested and then get the results, but then I did a
mental reboot and realized they’re trying to put out a fire with a Dixie cup,” Foudy said.
His wife was also frustrated that it took so long and questioned whether the lag time was
giving the public an inaccurate account of how far infections had spread. 
“The overall numbers are so off because people aren’t allowed to be tested and there’s
a huge lag in getting the results,” said Kopel.
Kopel said she felt mild flu-like symptoms for about two days.
“I suspect I might have it, but I don’t know,” she said.
Foudy isn’t sure when he was infected, but he suspects it was at a dinner party about a week before his symptoms started. At least one other person at the dinner, attended by about 50, came down with symptoms.

How recovered patients can fight the disease.
Mount Sinai Health System in New York is appealing to those who have fully recovered
from COVID-19 to donate blood plasma to help those with severe cases.
Plasma from recovered patients is rich with antibodies that fight against the virus.
The antibodies will be transfused into critically ill patients with the hope that they can neutralize the virus.
The procedure was used successfully in China, which reported that some patients improved within 24 hours, with reduced inflammation and viral loads, and better oxygen levels in the blood,
a report by Mount Sinai researchers said.
Foudy says he wants to make a donation as soon as he can.
“I feel fortunate that I didn’t die or infect anyone else,” he said.
“I also was lucky,” he said. “I had all my ducks lined up in a row when it came to closing my business and retiring. I didn’t have to worry about not having an income because I would have had to shut the business down. So I want to do everything I can to help those who may not be as fortunate.”
Any recovered patient wishing to join the Mount Sinai effort can sign up here.

Hosted by Risa Morimoto               
On March 12th, my daughter came home with a fever and headache.
That was the first time when I realized that this pandemic was real and was going to affect a lot of people.
I had lost my job that week as well so the pressure and stress were extraordinarily high. Many of us have gone into self-quarantine, canceled events, canceled travel, work from home, look suspiciously at anyone
who sneezes or coughs.

When I sneeze, I look up coronavirus symptoms on Google.
Is it like Ebola, Zika virus, Parainfluenza, h1n1 virus?
It is a viral infection. Is it an airborne disease? Well, the coronavirus has hit home for us.
My daughter had it and now my husband has it. They were put into self-quarantine where they are
in their own separate room. Self-isolation is one of the ways to contain the disease.
We have had to make many adjustments in our routines but so far,
I have managed to stay healthy.
In this video, my daughter and I share some of things we did to treat her illness in hopes
that it can provide some support for you if you are experiencing something similar.
There is a lot of debate as to whether or not my daughter had the Coronavirus.
I tired to get her tested but was refused at my multiple requests. I then decided that whether
or not shehad COVID-19 didn’t really matter because there is no vaccine or cure for Coronavirus.
So we hunkered down at home and treated her as we would have for a bad flu.
If you need help with finding healthy meals to eat to keep your immune system strong,
try SPLENDID SPOON – a plant-based meal delivery service with healthy smoothies,
soups and grain bowls.    

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czDv1IECerE
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