The Count

News

With unemployment exploding and the US surpassing China with 82,000 cases of Covid-19, members of Congress and the Trump Administration seek to blame China, while Italy turns to China, Russia, and Cuba for help. Public Health scientists push for a massive expansion in testing and Italian researchers find an association between Covid19 infections and problems with taste and smell.

• Democrat Seth Moulton withdraws support for a bill co-sponsored by Indiana Republican, Jim Banks, which would have condemned China for deliberately downplaying risks and spreading misinformation about the outbreak.
• At 3.3 million, unemployment filings are almost 5 times the previous worst week ever recorded.
• The Administration is developing a system for classifying counties nationwide based on their risk level for a Covid19 outbreak as part of an overall plan to control the epidemic.
• Researchers urge a massive increase in the number of people tested using newly developed anti-body screening tests that will be faster and cheaper than existing tests and can help control the spread of the disease..

Science and Medicine

• Italian researchers found that a third of patients with Covid19 report disorders of taste and/or smell. Women were twice as likely as men to report this effect.
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From my blog: Misinterpretation of a recent paper on the viability of the Covid19 virus in the environment has contributed to a belief that this is an airborne virus. The evidence says no.Read More Covid19- Ground Zero

Notes from Seattle

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