Month: November 2020

A COVID-19 infection can spread quickly and easily in a household, but there are some measures that will help stop the transmission of the bug, a new study says. “Persons who suspect that they might have COVID-19 should isolate, stay at home, and use a separate bedroom and bathroom if feasible,” according to the study which was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The isolation should take place immediately even before getting tests results, the study says. “Delaying isolation until confirmation of infection could miss an opportunity to reduce transmission to others,” the authors wrote. The authors also recommend that everyone in the house wears masks when they are within the same space. The study found that 75% of secondary infections were identi...

article PHOENIX - Arizona's coronavirus outbreak worsened Oct. 31 as the state reported about 1,900 new cases and 45 deaths, the biggest spikes in months. The rise in the number of confirmed infections was the largest single-day increase since Aug. 1, following increases that have been growing over the past few days — from 1,044 on Oct. 28 to 1,315 on Oct. 29 and 1,565 on Oct. 30. The deaths were the most reported in one day since Sept. 3. The state Department of Health Services has reported a total of 245,946 cases and 5,979 deaths since the pandemic began. The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick. Coronavirus in Arizona: Latest case numbers ...

Photo: Mario Tama (Getty Images) It feels like whenever I cough these days it triggers a mini-panic attack that I promptly try to quash with a steady stream of chamomile tea. Thankfully, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have figured out a way to gauge whether a person has covid-19 just from the sound of their cough, so I may soon get to put my inner hypochondriac to rest. The tool uses neural networks that can detect the subtle changes in a person’s cough that indicate whether they’re infected, even if they don’t have any other symptoms. Asymptomatic people infected with covid-19 are a vector for the virus that’s particularly tricky to manage, in part because they’re less likely to get tested because, duh, why would they if they’re feeling fine, right? Thus, ...

We're making this important information about the pandemic available without a subscription as a public service. But we depend on reader support to do this work. Please consider joining others in supporting independent journalism in Alaska for just $3.23 a week. PALMER — For much of the coronavirus pandemic, the Mat-Su region largely escaped the rising case counts and testing shortfalls despite a lack of mask mandates or any other restrictions. As of this week, cases in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough were doubling every seven to eight days — the state’s fastest growth rate, along with the Kenai Peninsula, according to Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer. State data shows that Mat-Su residents have Alaska’s highest test positivity...