A version of this story appeared in the June 2 edition of CNN’s Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction newsletter. Sign up here to receive the need-to-know headlines every weekday.
The vast brown rivers of sludge that gush into sewage treatment plants may help to identify new waves of coronavirus, scientists tell CNN.
In Germany, which has been held up as an example of how to curtail the pandemic, a research trial is sampling wastewater from large urban areas in an attempt to find evidence of the virus.
The goal is for almost all sewage plants to install these coronavirus early warning systems so as to track the spread of Covid-19.
“It would be the first test line,” said microbiologist Hauke Harms, one of the leaders of the study.
The concept seems fairly simple: Sewage contains remnants of the virus from human feces. If those concentrations suddenly jump, sewage plants would detect that and alert authorities to take action and begin targeted testing of the area in question.
It’s just one among a web of measures being developed to detect outbreaks in the long term, Frederik Pleitgen writes.
YOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED
Q: Should you fly yet?
A: While there is no way to make air travel 100% safe, there are ways to make it safer. One approach to your decision-making is to use what occupational health experts call “the hierarchy of controls.” This approach does two things. First, it focuses on strategies to control exposures close to the source. Second, it minimizes how much you have to rely on individual human behavior to control exposure. Of course, the best way to control exposure is to eliminate the hazard. But, since we cannot eliminate Covid-19 , ask yourself if you can eliminate the trip. Here’s what else an epidemiologist and an exposure scientist said about making the decision to fly.
Send your questions here. Are you a health care worker fighting Covid-19? Message us on WhatsApp about the challenges you’re facing: +1 347-322-0415.
WHAT’S IMPORTANT TODAY
Pandemic will cost US economy $8 trillion through 2030
Fallout from the coronavirus pandemic will haunt the US economy for the next decade, wiping out a devastating $7.9 trillion in growth, according to new projections released by the Congressional Budget Office.
Phillip Swagel, the CBO director, cautioned that “an unusually high degree of uncertainty surrounds these economic projections,” because it is not known how the pandemic will unfold this year, or how social distancing or any other future federal relief measures might affect the economy.
Dr. Anthony Fauci hasn’t spoken with Trump in two weeks
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the country’s Coronavirus Task Force, says he has not spoken to or met with Donald Trump in two weeks, and that his contact with the President has become much less frequent. But that doesn’t mean the pandemic is under control in America.
Washington, DC, reported a spike in cases, pushing back the city’s timetable for moving to the second phase of reopening. Yesterday, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner declared a day of mourning for those who lost their lives to Covid-19. Eight states, and Washington, DC, are holding primaries today, in the latest test for voting during the pandemic.
WHO warning on overuse of antibiotics
The World Health Organization has warned that the increased use of antibiotics to combat the coronavirus will strengthen bacterial resistance and lead to more deaths. The UN health agency said evidence shows that only a small proportion of Covid-19 patients need antibiotics to treat subsequent bacterial infections.
ICUs become a ‘delirium factory’
Doctors are fighting not only to save lives from Covid-19, but also to protect patients’ brains, Liz Szabo, of Kaiser Health News, writes.
Although Covid-19 is best known for damaging the lungs, it also increases the risk of life-threatening brain injuries — from mental confusion to hallucinations, seizures, coma, stroke and paralysis. The virus may invade the brain, or starve it of oxygen. To fight the infection, the immune system sometimes overreacts, battering the brain and other organs it normally protects. But the severity of the disease has left doctors and nurses with limited ability to prevent and treat neurological complications.
Rio is reopening as cases in Brazil climb
The Americas, especially Latin America and the Caribbean, are seeing a rapid increase in new coronavirus cases, according to the WHO. “Five of the 10 countries worldwide reporting the highest new number of cases in the past 24 hours are in the Americas: Brazil, USA, Peru, Chile and Mexico,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, yesterday.
In Brazil — the worst-hit country after the US — the number of confirmed coronavirus cases multiplied by five in the month of May, according to its health ministry. But as the infection rate climbs there, the city of Rio de Janeiro is starting to reopen some nonessential businesses and activities today, Mayor Marcelo Crivella announced. Crivella said he expects the city to “return to normal” in early August. Still, Rio’s famous Copacabana beach remains closed, Nick Paton Walsh reports.
ON OUR RADAR
- The US Food and Drug Administration will expand the kinds of companies that can make hand sanitizer, even if it means potential exposure to impurities.
- A quarter of US nursing homes have reported at least one coronavirus infection, and one in five had at least one death, according to the first official tally.
- Moderna’s announcement of positive, preliminary results from its coronavirus vaccine trial last month set off a frenzy on Wall Street. Now some are calling for an investigation.
- Residents in New Delhi, India, can now check the number of beds available in the city’s hospitals on a new mobile app.
- After more than a month of gradually easing lockdown measures, infections continue to steadily decrease in Italy. Tomorrow, the world-famous Uffizi gallery in Florence will reopen.
- “I did not intend to offend.” A Belgian prince with coronavirus has apologized for breaking quarantine and attending a party in Spain.
- “When you’re feeling confined and closed in and imprisoned, if at least you can take off your clothes that is some way to free yourself a little.” That may be one explanation for a rise in nudism during lockdown.
TOP TIPS
Stay six feet apart and, while you’re at it, wear a face covering. We may sound like a broken record, but that’s the latest advice based on the “most comprehensive study to date,” which found that physical distance and the use of a mask were the two best ways to prevent transmission of the new coronavirus.
The review of various published studies, paid for by the WHO, had three main findings:
- Physical distancing: The chance of transmission at a distance of less than 1 meter (3.3 feet) was 12.8%, while that fell to 2.6% at a distance of more than 1 meter (3.3 feet). Distances of 2 meters (6.6 feet) are most effective. The certainty of the evidence was “moderate.”
- Face masks: The chance of transmission without a face mask or respirator (like an N95 mask) was 17.4%, while that fell to 3.1% when a mask was worn. However, the certainty of the evidence was “low.”
- Eye protection: The chance of transmission without eye protection was put at 16%, compared to 5.5% with some form of eye protection as a face shield, visor, goggles or glasses. Again, the certainty of the evidence was “low.”
TODAY’S PODCAST
“They’re dying from Covid-19, they’re dying from poverty, they’re dying from police brutality.” — Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms
In a candid conversation on race, outrage and fears about the spread of Covid-19, Bottoms tells CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta that black communities are sick, tired and dying. Listen Now.