South Korea to issue guidelines for experimental use of plasma treatment for COVID-19 patients
South Korea says it will soon announce a guideline for hospitals on experimental coronavirus treatments using donated blood from patients who survived. Kwon Jun-wook, an official from South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday the guideline will draw from the country’s experience with similar treatments on patients who contracted the MERS virus during an outbreak in 2015.
Kwon said officials were examining recent recoveries of two elderly COVID-19 patients at a hospital in Seoul who had been infused with survivors’ plasma — the liquid part of blood that contains antibodies — after other treatment attempts failed to improve their conditions.
He cautioned there’s still no guarantee that plasma treatment will work, and that health authorities and civilian experts are continuing to debate its effectiveness. Similar trials have been carried in the U.S., at least on a very small scale. A Houston doctor told CBS News’ Dr. Jon LaPook late last month that he had injected plasma into two COVD-19 patients, and hoped to expand the efforts to “as many as possible” in short order.
–CBS/AP
Daily rate of new COVID-19 infections dropped Monday for 4th day in a row
The latest data from Johns Hopkins University shows there are at least 337,590 active COVID-19 cases across the United States as of Tuesday morning. That figure does not include about 20,000 patients who have already recovered from the disease, and almost 11,000 who have died of it.
The rate of new infections continues to rise across the U.S., but some major hotspots — New York in particular — have seen a “flattening” of the rate of newly recorded cases. The daily infection rate in New York has dropped by approximately 1% over each of the last four days, with an increase of about 7% on Monday.
Only two states, Connecticut and South Dakota, saw a daily rise of 20% or higher on Monday.
In both California and Washington state, where lockdown measures were implemented as some of the first outbreaks surfaced in the U.S., the rate of new infections on Monday was below 10%
India agrees to export hydroxychloroquine after “retaliation” threat from Trump
Hours after President Donald Trump warned of “retaliation” if Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi refused to allow the export of anti-malarial drugs, India said it would supply hydroxychloroquine to “nations that have been badly affected,” without naming the United States or any other country specifically. hid
“In view of the humanitarian aspects of the pandemic, it has been decided that India would licence paracetamol and hydroxychloroquine in appropriate quantities to all our neighbouring countries who are dependent on our capabilities. We will also be supplying these essential drugs to some nations who have been particularly badly affected by the pandemic,” Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava told the press.
The anti-malarial drug is being tested widely as a treatment for the COVID-19 disease caused by the new coronavirus. Mr. Trump has described it as a potential “game-changer” and touted its use even before it is approved to treat the new disease.
Last month India restricted exports of 26 pharmaceutical ingredients and medicines made from them to ensure sufficient stocks at home. Hours before India’s decision to allow the export, Mr. Trump said “there may be retaliation” if India refused to export hydroxychloroquine.
– Arshad R. Zargar
No deaths reported in China over last 24 hours
China on Tuesday reported no new deaths from the coronarivus over the past 24 hours and just 32 new cases, all from people who returned from overseas.
Another 12 suspected cases – also all imported – were being kept under observation, along with an additional 30 asymptomatic cases, officials said.
China said it has 1,242 confirmed cases in treatment and 1,033 asymptomatic cases under isolation and monitoring.
The country that gave rise to the global pandemic said it has recorded 3,331 deaths and 81,740 total cases. Numbers of daily new deaths have been hovering in the single digits for weeks, hitting just one on several occasions.
– Associated Press
First Rikers Island inmate dies after testing positive for coronavirus
An inmate housed at New York City’s Rikers Island died after contracting coronavirus, his legal team announced Monday. Michael Tyson, a 53-year-old with underlying health conditions, was being held at Rikers over an alleged parole violation, according to the Legal Aid Society.
Last week, the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Legal Aid Society filed a lawsuit against city and state officials calling for the release of inmates who are at a higher risk of serious illness from the virus. Tyson was one of 100 inmates named in the suit.
Miami launches antibody testing to measure spread of coronavirus
An ambitious testing program by the University of Miami began in South Florida on Monday. The goal is to clear up the chaotic picture of just how widespread the virus is, helping some governments plan their response.
The test looks for a person’s antibodies and the proteins the immune system makes to attack the COVID-19 virus. It doesn’t look for current infection; instead, it detects who has had it in the past.
