June 18,  2020 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• On the bleeding edge of the COVID-19 fight (San Diego Union-Tribune) Coronavirus: Dexamethasone proves first lifesaving drug (BBC)
• Record spikes in new coronavirus cases, hospitalizations sweep parts of U.S. (Reuters)
• Hydroxychloroquine: FDA pulls emergency use of malaria drug touted by Trump to treat the coronavirus (USA Today)
• 7 Things to Know About Hand Sanitizer (AARP)
• What to Do If You Have Coronavirus and No Caregiver to Help(AARP)
• What Experts Say You Can Do to Treat Yourself at Home If You Have a Mild Case of COVID-19 (Healthline)
• Why some nursing homes are better than others at protecting residents and staff from COVID-19 (Conversation)
• 1st-Known U.S. Lung Transplant For COVID-19 Patient Performed In Chicago (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Thousands of Tons of Microplastics Are Falling from the Sky (Scientific American)
• Microsoft won’t sell police its facial-recognition technology, following similar moves by Amazon and IBM (Washington Post)
• Tesla defied county orders so it could restart production. Days later, workers tested positive for the coronavirus.(Washington Post)
• Twitter has suspended more than 23,000 accounts it says were linked to the Chinese Communist Party (Washington Post)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

Source: SANDAG

June 17, 2020 (San Diego) -- As the San Diego region’s labor market continues to experience an historic decline, Black and Hispanic communities are most impacted, according to a new SANDAG Data Science and Analytics report, “COVID-19 Impact on the San Diego Regional Economy: Black and Hispanic Communities Hardest Hit.”

Research has shown that when face coverings are used properly, they reduce transmission of the novel coronavirus. Maintaining physical distance from other people does too.

The latest is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study of sailors at the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt which showed that sailors who used a face covering and practiced social distancing had a lower infection rate.

“We now have more scientific evidence that face coverings prevent the spread of COVID-19,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer. “When people are in public the risk of exposure is higher so they should wear a face covering, especially when they’re within six feet from others.”

By Helen Horvath

Photo by Miriam Raftery: Will Rodriguez-Kennedy at an election night party March 3

June 12, 2020 (San Diego) -- One of the 21 COVID-19 patients treated at the VA Hospital in San Diego was Will Rodriguez-Kennedy, Chair of the San Diego Democratic Party.  He was the first COVID-19 patient treated at the VA Hospital in San Diego. In an exclusive interview with ECM, he discussed COVID-19 and the impact the novel coronavirus has had upon his life.  

As COVID-19 quarantines cause disruptions worldwide, a survivor of a prior pandemic speaks out

By  Roger Coppock

Photo: A case of smallpox in 1886; public domain image via Wikipedia

June 10, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- It fell off me in the shower this morning.  I felt the brief pinch and saw it before it went down the drain.  The little piece of thin  plastic suture used to hold together a former pustule on my skin, hiding it. It has been more than a decade since I saw the last of its kind.  This may, finally, be the last of them all.

As a preschooler, I followed my late father to a research station in New Mexico along the border.  My father was an experimental psychologist who was trying to measure learning in bats.  It was a great adventure, until I caught one of the last cases of Smallpox in North America.

June 6, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) - East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen on important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• ‘Strategic’ well-orchestrated heists seen amid protest chaos (AP)
• Gun-toting members of the Boogaloo movement are showing up at protests (CNN)
• People are accidentally throwing out their stimulus check — because it looks like junk mail (NBC)
• Former Joint Chiefs Chairman Condemns Trump's Threat To Use Military At Protests  (NPR)
• Pandemic Puts A Crimp On Voter Registration, Potentially Altering Electorate (NPR)
• All four officers involved in George Floyd’s killing now face charges (CNN)
• George Floyd and Derek Chauvin Were Once Co-Workers, Ex-Club Owner Tells TV Station (NPR)
• Military leaders condemn Trump over protest response (CNN)
• FL Commissioner Says 'We Were Wrong' to Ban On-Field Protests (Newsweek)
• Democrats blast CDC report on minorities and COVID-19 (The Hill)

WORLD

• 'Your Pain Is My Pain': global anti-racism protests rage  (Reuters)
• Confirmed coronavirus cases are rising faster than ever worldwide (CNN)
• Bolsonaro threatens WHO exit as COVID-19 kills 'a Brazilian per minute'  (Reuters)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

Source: U..S. Customs and Border Patrol

June 6, 2020 (Washington D.C.) -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continues to identify and seize a large number of counterfeit, unapproved or otherwise substandard COVID-19 products that threaten the health and safety of American consumers.

As of June 1, CBP had seized more than:

- 107,300 FDA-prohibited COVID-19 test kits in 301 incidents;

- 750,000 counterfeit face masks in 86 incidents;

- 2,500 EPA-prohibited anti-virus lanyards in 89 incidents; and

- 11,000 FDA-prohibited chloroquine tablets in 91 incidents.

“The arrest of George Floyd should not have been a death sentence. What you saw when you looked at the video of the killing was a policeman who was the judge, the jury, and the executioner.” – Rev. Shane Harris, People’s Alliance for Justice, in an exclusive interview with ECM

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy of Rev. Shane Harris, shown on Hennepin Bridge in Minneapolis

May 30, 2020 (San Diego) -- The brutal killing of George Floyd, an African-American man, by a white police officer in Minneapolis has sparked protests and civil unrest nationwide. The Washington Post has compiled video from multiple sources, documenting that after a store clerk alleged Floyd used counterfeit payment at a store, Officer Derek Chauvin handcuffed Floyd and later knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, ignoring gasps of “I can’t breathe!” Three other officers failed to intervene.

Four nights of protests  in Minnesota ensued, including rioting and burning a police station.  Minnesota’s Governor has called in the National Guard, declaring that most protesters are outside agitators. Officer Chauvin has been charged with third degree murder and manslaughter; all four officers were fired. But many believe more must be done for justice to be served.

Reverend Shane Harris, a national civil rights leader and founder of the People’s Alliance for Justice (PAJ) based in San Diego, flew to Minneapolis on Friday and provided an exclusive phone interview to ECM on Friday night.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Drive-up testing, courtesy of San Diego County News Service

May 29, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) – COVID-19 tests are now widely available to everyone. There are several options for testing across our region.  

People who are showing symptoms of COVID-19 should contact their health care provider and arrange for testing, or call 2-1-1 if you don’t have a doctor. 

For those without symptoms, call 2-1-1 for a referral to one of the many testing sites countywide, including drive-up test sites. All require an appointment through 2-1-1.  

Or you can get a free test by signing up on the state website (in East County, free state testing is available at Grossmont College).

By Miriam Raftery

May 29, 2020 (San Diego) –  Just in time for summertime weather, beach towels and chairs can be brought to local beaches for lounging on the sand starting Tuesday, June 2nd. But some restrictions remain under the new rules announced yesterday by the County’s Health and Human Services Agency.

Sitting or sunbathing together is only allowed with people in your own household. You must maintain six feet of social distancing from others, and wear a mask if you come within six feet of anyone such as when passing someone while walking or jogging.  Parking lots and piers are still closed, so plan on walking to reach those sandy shores. Group activities such as volleyball or football remain prohibited.

All beach communities have agreed to these eased restrictions, however cities have the power to determine how to enforce the guidelines and whether to reimpose limits if people don’t follow the rules.

By Duane Cameron

May 27, 2020 (San Diego) - In mid-March as our country, and the world, was dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, it was clear to Dr. Patrick A. Frias, President & CEO of Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, that they were facing an unprecedented challenge. Cases of COVID-19 were rising in San Diego County, requiring the hospital to enact strict distancing measures and virtual doctor visits to protect its immune-compromised young patients. Additionally, California’s shelter-in-place order requiring all non-essential workers to do their jobs from home threatened to overwhelm Rady Children’s online systems, which are crucial to all aspects of the hospital’s operations, from medical equipment to security.

By Kendra Sitton

“The quarantine has created a lot of problems…A safety plan is no longer available [for some victims].” – Dilkhwaz Ahmed, License to Freedom

May 26, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) — After weeks of stay-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, two local organizations supporting victims of domestic abuse are seeing a sharp rise in people seeking services for the first time. 

Nationwide, unemployment rate is 14.7% -- worse than during  the Great Depression -- and San Diego has double the national rate.

By Miriam Raftery

May 24, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) – An Employment Analysis by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) shows unemployment countywide is at 30.1%, an all-time high.  Of the more than half million (510,000) unemployed residents, nearly 460,000 lost their jobs after the COVID-19 pandemic began March 7.

That’s far higher than the national average of 14.7% -- and with 39 million Americans out of work as of last week according to the Department of Labor, the national unemployment rate is now the highest it’s ever been, even worse than during the Great Depression.