Month: July 2021

A handwashing station at the Exmoor Zoo in Barnstaple, England, in a photo taken June 11, 2020Photo: Harry Trump (Getty Images) Staying clean might not be as bad for your immune system as is sometimes believed, researchers in the UK say. In a new paper this week, the authors argue that claims about the so-called hygiene hypothesis are overblown and people do benefit overall from keeping their home environment relatively clear of germs. But we do need regular contact with our microbial neighbors, they say—just in specific contexts, like being outside in nature. The hygiene hypothesis, first put forth by epidemiologist David Strachan in the 1980s, argues that a relative lack of early childhood exposure to microbes can help cause certain immune-related conditions like allergies. The th...

A Humboldt County resident has died with COVID-19. Twenty-two new cases of the virus were reported today, and a person in their 40s has been hospitalized. The total number of county residents who have tested positive now stands at 4,608. The resident who died was over the age of 80. The Humboldt County Departmental Operations Center staff extend their condolences to the person’s friends, family and caregivers.  Since the last weekly update on June 28, Humboldt County has seen 53 cases of COVID-19. Ten children between the ages of 0 and 9 tested positive for the virus over the last week. The 30 to 39 age group represented the largest increase with 13 cases reported in that time. Four county residents have been hospitalized in the last week, including three people in their 40s and one pers...

Robert Downen,  Staff writer July 6, 2021Updated: July 6, 2021 3:25 p.m. A COVID-19 particle is pictured in this image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (CDC/TNS)CDC, MBR / TNSMultiple cases of the Delta variant have been traced to a COVID-19 outbreak at a camp hosted by a Houston-area church last month, Galveston County officials said Tuesday. All told, the Galveston County Health Authority has confirmed that 57 people — most of them older than 12 — were infected by COVID-19 at a youth church camp hosted by Clear Creek Community Church in League City. Officials said Tuesday that another 90 people have self-reported positive cases that are believed associated with the camp. Of the cases examined by...

For the first time in nearly 16 months, Illinois has gone a full day without losing a resident to COVID-19. The Illinois Department of Public Health reported no new COVID-19 fatalities Monday, which hadn’t happened previously since March 16, 2020 — a few days before Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered residents to stay inside their homes as much as possible to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. It’s still possible one or more fatalities could eventually be added to the rare zero-total. Officials often adjust daily figures based on delayed reports from hospitals, especially after a holiday. And the grief is far from over. The state reported 11 deaths over the weekend, and another 16 Tuesday. But for now, the end of a miserable 476-day stretch with viral deaths is the latest ...

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