Covid-19 News & Updates

[PeteC]

Don't be surprised when the numbers spike today or tomorrow.

40 new Covid cases confirmed in Yala

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... ed-in-yala

[HHTel]

It's going to be similar to Apr 25th when 42 cases were found in migrant detention centres. Pretty sure these 40 cases have been imported over the border. I wonder if the authorities will see t like that.

[HHTel]

Actually, this puts a whole new perspective on the cases in Thailand. AFIK until now, only people with symptoms have been tested which may account for the low numbers. These 40 were the result of random testing. All 40 that have been confirmed were asymptomatic! It begs the question on what the true numbers are here!
A scary part of that report is that it was stated that it could push a particular hospital to capacity and "The sooner we find these people the better!" They don't even know where they are!

[sateeb]

Thailand discovers 18 new coronavirus infections; government says 40 cases in Yala still unconfirmed

Thailand’s government said on Monday that it had discovered 18 new coronavirus infections bringing the total number of infected to 2,987.

All new infections were migrants in a migrant detention center in Songkhla province.

Seventeen of the new infections were women between the ages of 13-22 years of age and a 10-year-old boy.

Clarifying reports from Yala

Thai media reported on Monday that there were 40 new cases of coronavirus cases in Yala province in Thailand’s deep south. Local media reported that the cases stemmed from a wedding ceremony in Malaysia.

Thai government spokesman Dr Thaweesin Visanuyothin said on Monday that samples from the 40 people have tested positive in one local medical lab and negative in another. Therefore the samples will be tested in a national science laboratory to determine the truth.

“Rest assured that when we find out the truth, we will not hide it from the public,” said Dr Thaweesin Visanuyothin.(AKA Pinnochio) “As of right now we cannot confirm that they have coronavirus.”

[Big Boy]

[thecolonel]

'AKA Pinnochio"!

Sent from my Redmi Note 4 using Tapatalk

[Nereus]

False positives in 40 cases

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... n-40-cases

A second test found all forty of the newly suspected Covid-19 cases in Yala on Sunday turned out to be false positives, as the Public Health Ministry has decided to run another test at its main lab to leave no room for doubt.

Officials are also investigating what went wrong at the Yala lab as controlled test equipment was found to be contaminated.

Those cases which were uncovered during comprehensive testing or "active case finding" have attracted attention from both the public and health authorities who were alarmed by the spike in infections.

Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), said on Monday the second tests conducted by a lab at the medical science centre in Songkhla came back negative in all 40 cases.

But he said the result of those cases would not be confirmed until a third test is run, adding samples will be sent to the Department of Medical Sciences for testing.

"So, the 40 cases in Yala were not confirmed today pending an examination of the process," he told the press briefing, stressing there would not be a cover-up.

A source in the provincial health office, who asked not to be named, said on Monday an investigation is under way to find out what went wrong.

The source said there are several factors potentially contributing to false positives, including the possibilities that the equipment had trace samples from old tests or had had an unstable run.

The source said the Yala lab will not be used for testing for the time being and samples will be sent to the lab in Songkla instead.

Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha said on Monday a team of investigators has been dispatched to Yala to find out what happened during the testing.

"We must find an answer. It could be the solution liquids, the interpretation of test results or even a machine error," he said.

Supat Hasuwannakit, director of Chana district hospital in Songkhla, wrote on Facebook the virus was found in the "No Template Control" tube of the RT-PCR, which is supposed to be free of the virus.

But Dr Supat, a regular government critic, likewise said there is no cover-up in reporting the results.

The Yala provincial public health office on Monday reported no new infections, putting the number of confirmed cases at 126, with 99 of them discharged from hospital. Two deaths were recorded in the province.

Yala is a hotbed for infections among the southernmost provinces, with 126 confirmed cases. Its numbers are behind only Bangkok, Phuket and Nonthaburi.

Health officials in Yala are battling against Covid-19 during Ramadan in the hopes Muslims will be free to celebrate at the end of their holy month of fasting.

The province is conducting active case finding in all districts, targeting risk groups such as those who have had contact with returnees from neighbouring countries.

In Bannang Sata district, health officials have been conducting second active case findings on Monday and today target more than 800 people.
Ramadan, which started on April 24, has posed a challenge for officials, who decided not to do swab tests during the day, when Muslims are fasting. Ramadan is due to end on the evening of May 23.

"We cannot conduct the tests during the daytime as people are fasting, including the Muslim staff at the office," Yala public health chief Songkran Maichum said. "My [Muslim] staff also don't have the energy," he added.

Dr Songkran said cooperation from community leaders was key to success, adding only they can lead villagers to the designated locations where swabs will be taken for testing.

Meanwhile, the CCSA on Monday reported 18 new Covid-19 cases all of whom are illegal migrants detained in Songkhla's Sadao district.

It is reported that the new cases are Rohingya people including a 10-year-old child whose mother did not have the virus. The second floor of the detention centre has since been turned into a field hospital.

Monday was the first day since the outbreak that no cases had been reported among Thai citizens.

As of Monday the confirmed case tally nationwide stood at 2,987 and the death toll was 54.

But Sophon Iamsirithavorn, chief of the Communicable Disease Division, issued a stern warning that a rise in new cases could be seen over the next week now that some lockdown measures have been relaxed.

[PeteC]

This puts an entire new slant on things. It's a BBC World Service Newsday broadcast at link. If he's correct, or even if he isn't, I would think stories about this development will be raging shortly on other media.

The French doctor who found an early covid-19 case

On New Year’s Eve a cluster of cases of pneumonia were first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan - and the world became aware of covid-19.

But now an intensive care doctor working in Paris has retested old samples from pneumonia patients and found one that was positive for covid-19 dating back to December 27th – four days before those first reported over in Wuhan.

Newsday’s Christophe Pons spoke to Dr Yves Cohen who made this discovery. He is head of Intensive Care Units at the Avicenne and Jean Verdier Hospitals in Paris.

(Photo: A biologist works on screening samples suspected of being COVID-19 positive in France. Credit: AFP)

Release date:05 May 2020

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08c8pph

[sateeb]

Thailand discovers only one new coronavirus infection; the lowest total since the outbreak began

Thailand’s government said on Tuesday that it had discovered one new coronavirus infection bringing the total number of infected to 2,988.

It is the lowest number of infections over a 24 hour period since the outbreak began.

There were no new fatalities with the death toll still at 54.

Seven more patients have recovered from the virus bringing the total number of discharged patients to 2,747.

https://www.thaienquirer.com/12673/thai ... eak-began/

[HHTel]

Actually, 18 yesterday were all from quarantine/detention which gave a net of ZERO new cases locally.
ONE today.

I'm really looking forward to a game of pool, but I guess that'll still be a while yet.

[HHTel]

But now an intensive care doctor working in Paris has retested old samples from pneumonia patients and found one that was positive for covid-19 dating back to December 27th – four days before those first reported over in Wuhan.

The Thai government won't like that. They like to be first at everything, usually in a field nobody else wants to be first.

Edit: The next conspiracy theory will be that it started in France!

[Big Boy]

[PeteC]

Ideas like this spread, especially now that it's been published here.

India's Delhi imposes 70% 'corona tax' on booze to deter crowds

https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/19129 ... ter-crowds

NEW DELHI: Officials in India's capital imposed a special tax of 70% on retail liquor purchases from Tuesday, to deter large gatherings at stores as authorities ease a six-week lockdown imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Taxes on alcohol are a key contributor to the revenue of many of India's 36 states and federal territories, most of which are running short of funds because of the lengthy disruption in economic activity caused by the virus.

Police baton-charged hundreds of people who had flocked to liquor shops when they opened on Monday for the first time in a relaxation of the world's biggest lockdown, which is set to run until May 17.

The Delhi state government announced the "special corona fee" in a public notice late on Monday.

"It was unfortunate that chaos was seen at some shops in Delhi," said Arvind Kejriwal, the state's chief minister.

"If we come to know about violations of social distancing and other norms from any area, then we will have to seal the area and revoke the relaxations there," he added.

Other states, such as southern Andhra Pradesh, where people also violated social distancing measures to queue up in their hundreds for alcohol, also hiked prices.

The increases come as India reported 3,900 new infections on Tuesday for its highest single day rise, taking the tally to 46,432. The death toll stood at 1,568, the health ministry said.

Health experts said the daily increase shows India remains at risk despite a severe lockdown that has confined its population of 1.3 billion to their homes since late March, with all public transport halted and economic activity nearly frozen.

"The curve has not shown a downward trend. That is cause for concern," said Dr Randeep Guleria, director of New Delhi's premier All-India Institute of Medical Sciences.

The biggest spikes were recorded in the western states of Maharashtra, home to India's commercial capital of Mumbai, and Gujarat as well as Delhi. These densely populated urban centres drive India's economy, powered by armies of migrant workers.

Government officials said the lockdown had helped avert a surge of infections that could have overwhelmed medical services, however.

Now cases are doubling every 12 days, up from 3.4 days when the lockdown began, said Lav Agarwal, a joint secretary in the health ministry.

"Lockdown and containment are yielding results, the challenge is now to improve on the doubling rate," he added.

[GroveHillWanderer]

A similar effect was found in the SARS vaccine during testing and SARS is quite a close match to this coronavirus.

Not all SARS candidate vaccines suffered from that problem. There were dozens developed but according to my reading of the medical literature, only two of them led to the phenomenon of "vaccine-induced enhancement of inflammatory response" in animal studies - one in mice and one in ferrets.

In fact, according to the paper linked to below:

... the overall picture for SARS-CoV vaccines shows no particular reason for concern with vaccine enhancement of disease. In the cases where it has been reported, it appears to be confined to a particular expression system rather than specifically related to any antigen. In the vast majority of studies, immunogenicity has been elicited without any negative impact on health after challenge with the virulent pathogen.

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/706717_8

[sateeb]

Awkward handshake question for UK PM

One of the documents just released could raise an awkward question for Prime Minister Boris Johnson. It spells out how behavioural scientists were advising the UK government to stop people shaking hands or hugging.

They cite "evidence about the importance of hand hygiene,” in their report of 3 March.

“A public message against shaking hands has additional value as a signal about the importance of hand hygiene.

“Promoting a replacement greeting or encouraging others to politely decline a proffered hand-shake may have benefit.”

Yet on that very day, at the daily government briefing, Mr Johnson declared that he was continuing to shake hands with people.

He described how he was “at a hospital the other night” where there were coronavirus patients and he “shook hands with everybody, you’ll be pleased to know - and I continue to shake hands”.

That went well didn't it Boris?