Month: September 2020

Matthew Irvin, 26, died in early July at his apartment in Yamhill County. Officials at the time said it was likely from COVID-19. MCMINNVILLE, Ore. — An Oregon family was left with suspicions after their son was listed as the state's youngest coronavirus victim. Matthew Irvin, 26, died in early July at his apartment in Yamhill County. Officials at the time said it was likely from COVID-19 because he had several symptoms.  But according to the family and Oregon Medical Examiner's Office, Irvin didn't actually have the virus. ...

As the COVID-19 pandemic has progressed, medical experts have used several different methods for slowing the spread of the virus. By now, wearing a face mask, practicing social distancing, and regularly washing your hands have practically become second nature. But the use of one other potentially effective preventative measure has hit major snags in the U.S.: contact tracing. In fact, one new study found that half of COVID patients failed to report their close contacts after testing positive. The research, which was published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, focused on a set of patients infected with COVID-19 in North Carolina during a period of "high incidence" of the disease in June and July, during which cases increased 18...

According to 2020 data published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia, there are currently about 5.8 million people aged 65 years or older with dementia in the United States alone. And researchers expect that number to increase to roughly 13.8 million people by 2050—more than double what it is today. While that fact more than warrants the attention of anyone who hopes to stay healthy as the age, the average person knows surprising little about dementia and other cognitive health conditions. And as is often the case, a vague understanding of something often leads to misconceptions and false information accepted as fact. That's why we're providing some clarity, so you can get your facts straight once and for ...

This article is republished here with permission from The Associated Press. This content is shared here because the topic may interest Snopes readers; it does not, however, represent the work of Snopes fact-checkers or editors. A Massachusetts construction worker’s love of black licorice wound up costing him his life. Eating a bag and a half every day for a few weeks threw his nutrients out of whack and caused the 54-year-old man’s heart to stop, doctors reported Wednesday. “Even a small amount of licorice you eat can increase your blood pressure a little bit,” said Dr. Neel Butala, a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital who described the case in the New England Journal of Medicine. The problem is glycyrrhizic acid, found in black licorice and in many other foods and ...

Press release from the Humboldt County Joint Information Center: One new case of COVID-19 was reported today, bringing to 490 the total number of county residents who have tested positive for the virus.  On Tuesday, the Health Care System Capacity alert level, one of three categories that indicate the county’s capacity to respond to and manage an increase in COVID-19 cases, moved from green to yellow, due to a recent increase in COVID-19-related hospitalizations. All three categories in the overall Alert Level Assessment Tool now stand at level 2, or yellow. There have been 30 hospitalizations since the pandemic began, seven of those in September alone.  Over the past week local hospitals reached an inpatient census of five COVID-19 patients, with four patients currently hospi...