Tagged: 2019-nCov

Featured image: After ‘Flatten the Curve’, we must now ‘Stop the Spread’. Here’s what that means

After ‘Flatten the Curve’, we must now ‘Stop the Spread’. Here’s what that means - Infectious Thoughts

Siouxsie Wiles • Mar 14, 2020 •

Spinoff cartoonist Toby Morris and I recently introduced you to the concept of #FlattenTheCurve. Now we want to get you thinking about a more ambitious idea: #StopTheSpread. But first, a quick recap. During an outbreak, if we can’t control the spread of the disease, then the number of sick people quickly rises. For Covid-19 we know this: about two out … Read More

Featured image: The three phases of Covid-19 – and how we can make it manageable

The three phases of Covid-19 – and how we can make it manageable - Infectious Thoughts

Siouxsie Wiles • Mar 09, 2020 •

In a post last week, I showed you a picture of how the Covid-19 outbreak has played out in China. It was a graph of the number of cases reported each day, something we call an epidemic curve. It looked a bit like this. We can use the epidemic curve as a visual way to think about how Covid-19 … Read More

Featured image: How to get rid of Covid-19 from surfaces the right way

How to get rid of Covid-19 from surfaces the right way - Infectious Thoughts

Siouxsie Wiles • Mar 07, 2020 •

This week several more people in New Zealand have been confirmed to have contracted Covid-19, and the number of confirmed cases globally is approaching 100,000. We’ve been talking a lot about how this coronavirus is droplet spread so here’s the answers to a few questions people have been asking about that. But before I get on to that, I just … Read More

Featured image: Can you catch Covid-19 from someone without symptoms?

Can you catch Covid-19 from someone without symptoms? - Infectious Thoughts

Siouxsie Wiles • Mar 05, 2020 •

The Ministry of Health yesterday announced a second person in Aotearoa New Zealand has tested positive for the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. Just like our first, this person has contracted the virus overseas. This time it was during a trip to Northern Italy. The woman, in her 30s, had travelled with her partner, who has … Read More

Featured image: COVID-19 has now reached New Zealand. How prepared is it to deal with a pandemic?

COVID-19 has now reached New Zealand. How prepared is it to deal with a pandemic? - Public Health Expert

Public Health Expert • Mar 04, 2020 •

Michael Baker, University of Otago and Nick Wilson, University of Otago New Zealand joined 48 other countries affected by the novel coronavirus last week when health authorities confirmed the first COVID-19 case. The news prompted panic buying of supplies in some places, but it had long been expected. The management of the case seemed exemplary. Shortly after … Read More

Featured image: Coronavirus update: spread outside China and a new name

Coronavirus update: spread outside China and a new name - Infectious Thoughts

Siouxsie Wiles • Feb 16, 2020 •

With over 69,000 confirmed cases and 1,600 deaths, here’s your round-up of the latest coronavirus news. New disease and virus have now officially been named On the 11th February, the WHO Director General announced a new name for the disease: COVID-19 which is short for coronavirus disease 2019. The naming follows the WHO’s commitment not to call diseases after … Read More

Featured image: The numbers are the numbers, except when they’re not.

The numbers are the numbers, except when they’re not. - Physics Stop

Marcus Wilson • Feb 14, 2020 •

I’m not quite sure of what to make of the new figures for COVID-19 (as we must now call the novel coronavirus – though I’m not sure the capitalisation is correct) from Hubei province: Image from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51495484  The spike yesterday is a consequence of a using a different way of defining a case – one based on a clinical diagnosis (i.e. Read More

Featured image: Getting Through Together: Ethical Values for a Pandemic

Getting Through Together: Ethical Values for a Pandemic - Public Health Expert

Public Health Expert • Feb 14, 2020 •

Ruth Cunningham, Charlotte Paul, Andrew Moore Public health responses to infectious diseases such as COVID-19 require us to draw on our common humanity and be explicit about our values. Recognising this will help us make good decisions in difficult situations so that, for example, the need to impose restrictive measures and to protect ourselves does not conflict with fairness, respect, … Read More

Featured image: What’s in a name? Why the coronavirus needed its own

What’s in a name? Why the coronavirus needed its own - Lately, In Science

Sarah-Jane O'Connor • Feb 12, 2020 •

As of today, the novel coronavirus spreading in China is called COVID-19. Why does it matter? Around the office, we’ve had several conversations over the past few weeks about how 2019-nCoV needed its own name. First, it was getting annoying calling it by the above designation, and ‘novel coronavirus’ doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue either. And it was … Read More

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