Sunday, March 1, 2020
Avoiding Coronavirus May Be a Luxury Some Workers Can’t Afford
Stay home from work if you get sick. See a doctor. Use a separate bathroom from the people you live with. Prepare for schools to close, and to work from home. These are measures the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended to slow a coronavirus outbreak in the United States.
Yet these are much easier to do for certain people — in particular, high-earning professionals. Service industry workers, like those in restaurants, retail, child care and the gig economy, are much less likely to have paid sick days, the ability to work remotely or employer-provided health insurance.
The disparity could make the new coronavirus, which causes a respiratory illness known as Covid-19, harder to contain in the United States than in other rich countries that have universal benefits like health care and sick leave, experts say. A large segment of workers are not able to stay home, and many of them work in jobs that include high contact with other people. It could also mean that low-income workers are hit harder by the virus.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/upshot/coronavirus-sick-days-service-workers.html?referringSource=articleShare
Coronavirus has been spreading in Washington State for more than six weeks
Coronavirus has been spreading in Washington State for more than six weeks and HUNDREDS could be undiagnosed, say experts as panic buying spreads and new cases are reported in Rhode Island and Illinois following first US death
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8062775/Coronavirus-likely-spreading-undetected-Washington-state-SIX-WEEKS-confirmed-cases-hit-8.html?
A scientist in Washington State believes coronavirus may have been spreading for six weeks before it was detected, and there could be a 'few hundred' people currently infected amid an 'already substantial outbreak'.
At least 74 confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been reported as of Sunday afternoon with the majority being on the west coast of the United States but new cases were confirmed in Rhode Island - where a patient in their 40s had traveled to Italy in mid-February - and Illinois where the third ‘presumptive case of novel coronavirus,’ was announced. Two people have made full recoveries in Illinois.
But anxious shoppers descended on supermarkets, stocking up on supplies like bottled water, canned food and Clorox wipes after more than half a dozen California residents were diagnosed with the disease in recent days.
The number of confirmed infections in Washington reached eight Sunday as two men in their 60s - both with underlying health conditions - were in critical condition. One was stable at Valley Medical Center in Renton, the other was at Virginia Mason.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8062775/Coronavirus-likely-spreading-undetected-Washington-state-SIX-WEEKS-confirmed-cases-hit-8.html?
Coronavirus Live Updates: Second Death From Virus Is Reported in the U.S.
The second death was a man in his 70s in the Seattle area with underlying health conditions.
Right Now
New York State reports its first case of coronavirus, in a woman in her late 30s who had traveled to Iran.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/world/coronavirus-news.html
First Presumptive Positive Case of COVID-19 Identified at RIDOH's State Health Laboratories
The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) is announcing the state's first presumptive positive case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The person is in their 40s and had traveled to Italy in mid-February. RIDOH is coordinating closely with the hospital where this person is currently being treated and all infection control protocols are being followed.
"The Rhode Island Department of Health has been preparing for weeks to ensure that we have a structure in place to, to the best of our ability, limit or prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Rhode Island. We fully anticipated having a first case of COVID-19," said Dr. Alexander-Scott. "We are not seeing widespread community transmission in Rhode Island, and the general level of risk for Rhode Islanders is still low. However, everyone in Rhode Island has a role to play in helping us prevent the spread of viruses, just like the flu. It is very important that people wash their hands regularly, cover their coughs and sneezes, and stay home if they are sick."
https://www.ri.gov/press/view/37818
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