The Brick Castle: COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News update 16th June 2020.

COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News update 16th June 2020.

The UK added 1,279 cases today and now has reported a total of 298,136 positive cases of COVID-19. We completed 113,107 tests yesterday. 5,254 people are in hospital, down from 6,282 this time last week. 385 people are being treated with a mechanical ventilator.

In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we lost another 233 people who have tested positive to COVID-19. We now very sadly have a total of 41,969 losses of life in all settings.

England 157,545 / 37,524

Northern Ireland 4,854 / 541

Scotland 15,697 / 2,448

Wales 14,869 / 1,456

Rep. Of Ireland 25,334 (+13) cases and 1,709 (+3) losses of life.

There have now been a total of 8,183,815 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 441,180. Already 4,268,049 people have recovered.

Quarantine loneliness World Health Organisation advice

"If we treat 8 patients in intensive care with this drug, we'll save 1 life, and the total cost of treating all 8 patients is only about £40. This is really remarkable."

Professor Peter W Horby, University of Oxford. UK RECOVERY Trial leader.

Boris has announced that school meal vouchers/free lunches in England will continue for all eligible children throughout the Summer. This is in direct response to a campaign by 22 year old Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford. Nice one Marcus.

European countries are beginning to open borders, and have removed quarantine requirements for some countries. The UK have been excluded from this pretty much universally. I wouldn't want to go to any country which just let people from the UK step off a plane right now. Being brutal.

The UK's RECOVERY Trial has come up with some excellent results. A low dose of corticosteroid Dexamethasone, at a cost of only around £5 per patient, significantly increases chance of survival for patients needing oxygen or ventilation. (It has no notable effect on less seriously ill patients.)

It is the first drug to be found which increases survival from COVID-19 for patients with respiratory complications, and it's affordable to all countries. It's a win. It's a flipping massive win, and it will save many lives straight away, as it is long term tried and tested, on the WHO's list of Essential Medicines and available everywhere. People are regularly prescribed it for Asthma, rheumatism, skin conditions etc.

"A total of 2104 patients were randomised to receive dexamethasone 6 mg once per day (either by mouth or by intravenous injection) for ten days and were compared with 4321 patients randomised to usual care alone.

Among the patients who received usual care alone, 28-day mortality was highest in those who required ventilation (41%), intermediate in those patients who required oxygen only (25%), and lowest among those who

did not require any respiratory intervention (13%)."

Dexamethasone reduced deaths by one-third in ventilated patients and by one fifth in other patients receiving oxygen only.

"Based on these results, 1 death would be prevented by treatment of around 8 ventilated patients or around 25 patients requiring oxygen alone.

Given the public health importance of these results, we are now working to publish the full details as soon as possible."

Today's UK briefing was with the actual Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK Science Chief and Professor Peter W Horby, from University of Oxford (I can guess what he wants to tell us about).

Boris reassured people with children that it is safe for them to return to school, and they should do if eligible. It remains your own choice.

He said how happy he was to see everyone shopping and mostly following social distancing in English towns.

Then he told us how proud he was of British scientists, thanked patients who volunteered and ensured us we have supplies of dexamethasone for the UK, even in the event of a second peak.

Pat then explained about the clinical trials and Pete (who looks like Skeletor, someone give that man a pie) told us about dexamethasone. "Overseas it costs pennies." Even better. 10 days treatment reduces risk of death in ventilated patients by about 35%. In patients requiring oxygen, it reduces risk of death by about 20%.

Remember - although this is fabulous news, it doesn't stop you catching COVID-19, and for every life this saves, there will still be 7 people who don't go home.

Public asked about the 2m rule and can we reduce it. Boris said it was our scientific advice, but as we get the numbers down, we will review measures.

Who advice address concerns together with children

There has been more severe fighting on the border between India and China, and troops from both sides have now lost their lives. Senior military officials from both parties are said to be meeting in a bid to calm the situation. Fingers crossed, neither country needs this right now.

Donald Trump on Monday during a White House event said:"If we stop testing right now, we'd have very few cases, if any." Presumably he then hid behind a pillow and said "Where Donald go?".

Obviously Mr Trump's statement is true, if you don't test, you definitely don't have as many cases noted on your reports (the UK or Brazil are good examples of that), but COVID-19 cares not for the law, and will still actually exist, even without evidence. It's really just called 'pretending'.

New Zealand wasn't Covid-19 free for very long. Two women from the UK were given special permission to visit and spend time with a dying relative (involving a 400 mile each way drive), while remaining in an isolation hostel for the rest of their stay. They should have had a negative test before being allowed out, but this didn't occur. After a week in New Zealand they have now both tested positive. Jacinda Ardern said:

"We have continuously highlighted that New Zealand will have cases of COVID-19, particularly obviously at the border. There are 8m cases worldwide, we still have New Zealanders returning home. What this does prove, is the importance of a rigorous system at our border. Of us continuing to be very, very cautious in our management, and taking the cautious approach that we have continued to take as a government."

I bet she feels really let down.

China really are very unhappy about their new outbreak in Beijing's largest food wholesale market, and working very hard to stamp it out. Contact tracing is in full swing, and local markets are being tested. They have imposed testing and lockdown measures in whole neighbourhoods of Beijing, and barred anyone from leaving any areas deemed 'high risk'. Around 90,000 people are affected by the new restrictions. China has reported 106 new cases since the outbreak was confirmed on Friday. 20 million people live in Beijing.

Rebekah Jones, who was fired by Florida's Department of Health for refusing to manipulate COVID19 data on the state dashboard, has created her own dashboard. Her data shows 83,270 cases & 3,022 succumbed, the state dashboard reported 75,568 total cases and 2,931 succumbed.

AdoptionUK has a fabulous article which talks about children 'catching up' on their education. It points out that children have been working and learning this whole time, but what some of them are learning more than anything else are life and emotional skills - how to fend for yourself, how to amuse yourself, how to deal with boredom, what it's like to live in a household who are scared, what it is to be bereaved. They say:

"What children need – in fact what society needs – after the pandemic is not ‘catch up’. It is ‘recovery’."

It's Loneliness Awareness Week, and loneliness really is something we should be aware of right now. Shielded people and those living alone might feel especially lonely, but so might people living in a house full of others. You don't have to be by yourself to feel alone.

There is always someone out there to talk to.

Some numbers. Every one of them a person on our tiny little world:

Countries / Cases / Losses of life (some states /provinces yet to report):

USA 2,190,315 (+7,365) 118,533 (+250)

Brazil 904,734 (+13,178) 44,657 (+539)

Russia 545,458 (+8,248) 7,284 (+193)

India 347,983 (+4,957) 10,033 (+118)

UK 298,136 (+1,279) 41,969 (+233)

Spain 291,189 not yet reported today 27,136

Italy 237,500 (+210) 34,405 (+34)

Peru 232,992 not yet reported today 6,860

Iran 192,439 (+2,563) 9,065 (+115)