Emergence of a Deadly Coronavirus

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Australia's Chief Medical Officer Prof Brendon Murphy has said we can't make predictions about changes in the next 12 months because we don't know enough about the COVID-19 virus.

The level of uncertainty about COVID-19 means 2021 is likely to be about social distancing and face masks.....

Monoclonal neutralising antibody developed at the Israel Institute for Biological Research

https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/05 ... tment.html

Blood clots, strokes, dialysis in Covid is rare....but common enough to be a concern.

Most people who acquired Covid were somewhat like myself—had fever, chills; flu-like symptoms in general.

Though I didn’t get shortness of breath or loss of sense of smell/taste.

But ENOUGH people have severe symptoms or die from Covid for it to be a very serious public health concern—hence, the drastic measures taken.

The only possible sign I've had is lessened sense of taste, and that fluctuated rather than being at a constant level. As a matter of course I can go from 'this coffee is really sweet' to 'this coffee isn't very sweet' while having used the same number of sweeteners both times . There's been no fever etc .

/\I hope your ok.
Years ago I had a sinus infection that completely robbed me of smell and taste.The worst part was friends arrived with homemade chocolates and roasted nuts and I couldn’t enjoy them.

Houston man tests positive for COVID-19 three times over two months

"HOUSTON - Since March 19th, Christian Bermea has been battling coronavirus COVID-19 from his Houston-area apartment.

According to the 26-year-old, he tested positive for COVID-19 again on April 13th and May 1st. While he doesn’t feel as sick as he originally did more than 50 days ago, Bermea says he does still have some symptoms.

RELATED: Doctors say younger patients experiencing new COVID-19 symptoms

“I’m ready for it to be done,” said Bermea. “I definitely feel a lot better than I did at the beginning, but I’m still not at 100 percent. My smell isn’t as good as it used to be, fatigue, and shortness of breath.”

Despite not having a fever in several days, Bermea has continued self-isolation.

“Fifty-two days and counting,” said Bermea. “This virus isn’t just a physical process, it’s a mental one too. You’re almost stuck with your thoughts. I’m scared because there’s still a virus inside me.”

We brought Bermea’s questions to Dr. Eric Sandberg from Kelsey-Seybold Clinic. We asked Dr. Sandberg, if he thinks Bermea is still contagious without a fever, and 52 days after his initial positive COVID-19 test.

RELATED: COVID-19 testing in greater Houston area: how and where

“A patient like this raises many questions,” said Dr. Sandberg. “A positive test does not mean you’re able to infect other people. It means you have part of the genetic code in your body.”

More than 30,000 people in Texas have tested positive for COVID-19. So far, roughly half of those infected are estimated to have recovered.

THE LATEST: Coronavirus COVID-19 cases, deaths, recoveries in greater Houston area

We asked Dr. Sandberg if he worries about COVID-19 patients returning to their normal lives too soon.

“The way to answer that question is for us to find out how long someone can transmit the virus,” Dr. Sandberg responded. “I don’t think we have that information available yet.”

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Bermea says he plans to get tested again for COVID-19 later this week. If the results are positive, he says he’ll likely wait another month before taking another test.

“Even if it comes back positive, and you feel like you can’t infect anyone else, it’s better to play it safe than sorry,” said Bermea."


This man has self isolated and is continuing to do so. IF he continues to test positive in a week, and then IF he continues to test positive a month from now, then that would lead me to conclude this virus remains in the body and for all we know possibly for life like herpes viruses or HIV does.

My nephew tested positive twice, when he was trying to get clearance to fly home.
The tests were about three weeks apart.

*He's still there - he gave up trying to return*

^ In the interest of gathering and sharing factual and reliable data on this virus we know little about, governments should continue to ask people who have tested positive to continue to volunteer for periodic testing. Testing every few months for a year or until there are numerous monthly tests in succession that come back negative.

Massachusetts data as of yesterday. People under the age of 60 (or even 70) are at virtually no risk of dying from this.



https://www.mass.gov/doc/covid-19-dashb ... 0/download

New York's governor Cuomo ordered nursing homes to take in coronavirus patients.


Pataki slams Cuomo, calls for investigation into nursing home deaths amid coronavirus

Former Gov. George Pataki is criticizing the current governor of New York and calling for an investigation into nursing home deaths amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Pataki told The New York Post on Friday that Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “handling of the nursing homes has been a disaster” that may have caused “thousands” of unnecessary deaths. Nearly 20,000 people have died in U.S. nursing homes and long-term care facilities; more than a fifth have occurred in New York state, according to the Associated Press, including at least seven facilities with more than 40 deaths.

Pataki, who served as NY’s governor from 1995 to 2006, told the Post that the state Health Department should never have issued an edict requiring nursing homes to accept coronavirus patients, when sick and elderly people are most at risk from COVID-19.

https://www.syracuse.com/coronavirus/20 ... virus.html

A Department of Homeland Security analysis has concluded that China hid the early spread of the coronavirus so it could hoard medical equipment, keeping it from other countries that would have bought it if they had known of the danger that was coming their way from Wuhan.

Specifically, DHS found, with 95% statistical confidence, that changes to China's personal protective equipment import and export behavior were highly abnormal and not random.

Early warnings from China about the scale of the coronavirus outbreak and its threat of becoming a pandemic could have given other countries time to take actions that would have saved lives. It looks like the Chinese government deliberately misled the world so that it could stockpile crucial supplies.

For those of us who have been chronicling China's mendacity on the coronavirus for months, this revelation is not surprising. But it is certainly outrageous.

China's lies are piling up rapidly. It lied about the virus being capable of transmission between humans. It threw whistleblower doctors in prison. It refused to let the World Health Organization and other authorities such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention see early data. It stopped tests and had test samples destroyed. It allowed its citizens to travel from Wuhan to other parts of the world, taking the disease with them, and then had the gall to complain when foreign nations (belatedly) restricted travel from China. The tyranny continues to restrict international scientific access to Wuhan, and it sells faulty coronavirus tests, masks, and protective equipment across the globe.

The virus has exacted a terrible cost throughout the world. This suffering is the shame of Chinese President Xi Jinping. We do not believe the virus is a manufactured bioweapon gone wrong or that China deliberately let it leak from its probable source, a research lab in Wuhan. But it did deliberately deceive the world and did deliberately let the virus infect the rest of the world, either as the primary aim or secondary result of disgraceful policy decisions. Its enduring malignancy and concealment of the truth proves that we are most certainly not all in this together, as Beijing's propaganda would like us to believe. We, by which we mean the rest of the world, are all in this against communist China's regime.

Source: China's coronavirus lies pile up

Wow! This might be a Game Changer!

Though there is currently no known scientific cure for the disease known as COVID-19, researchers have created a [MAN MADE] antibody "that neutralizes SARS-CoV-2" in cells, offering the potential for prevention and treatment.

The study notes the antibody, known as 47D11, was created in a lab environment and was able to inhibit the spike protein found in SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as SARS-CoV.

"Our data show that 47D11 neutralizes SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 through a yet unknown mechanism that is different from receptor-binding interference," the researchers wrote in the study. "Alternative mechanisms of coronavirus neutralization by RBD-targeting antibodies have been reported including spike inactivation through antibody-induced destabilization of its prefusion structure17, which may also apply for 47D11."

The 47D11 antibody is known as a monoclonal antibody, which has been used for cancer drugs previously, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Monoclonal antibodies are defined as "laboratory-produced molecules engineered to serve as substitute antibodies," the Mayo Clinic added.

It's early in the development process of any potential drug, but it's promising nonetheless, the researchers noted.

"...This is the first report of a (human) monoclonal antibody that neutralizes SARS-CoV-2. 47D11 binds a conserved epitope on the spike RBD explaining its ability to cross-neutralize SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, using a mechanism that is independent of receptor-binding inhibition," the researchers wrote.

The researchers continued: "This antibody will be useful for development of antigen detection tests and serological assays targeting SARS-CoV-2. Neutralizing antibodies can alter the course of infection in the infected host supporting virus clearance or protect an uninfected host that is exposed to the virus. Hence, this antibody – either alone or in combination – offers the potential to prevent and/or treat COVID-19, and possibly also other future emerging diseases in humans caused by viruses from the Sarbecovirus subgenus."

The study was published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

Source: Man-made antibody 'neutralizes' coronavirus for first time, study shows

Mounting evidence suggests that the novel coronavirus can be transmitted from presymptomatic or asymptomatic individuals, a new review from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. The agency looked at reports pertaining to presymptomatic and asymptomatic transmission that was published in PubMed from Jan. 1 to April 2. The instances of such transmission included reports of China, Germany and Singapore.

Source: More evidence suggests coronavirus spreads from asymptomatic, presymptomatic individuals, CDC says