This week in Clipboard Academy’s Nursing News round up …
Quarantine and Lockdowns Helped Prevent 5 Million US Cases
A new study from the University of California at Berkeley showed that the nationwide lockdowns and quarantine policies in the United States helped to prevent at least 5 million and up to 60 million COVID-19 cases. The study also included looking at data from China, South Korea, Italy, Iran, and France, and showed similar results.
Repetitive Negative Thinking Linked to Faster Cognitive Decline
Repetitive negative thinking, or chronic patterns of having persistent negative thoughts often associated with depression or anxiety, could increase your risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s as you get older. Not only is repetitive negative thinking linked to a faster cognitive decline, but it also showed a faster rate of the brain protein deposits that are often linked to Alzheimer’s.
COVID-19 Infections Rarely Spread from Asymptomatic Positive Cases
Update 06/10/2020: The World Health Organization recently clarified its comments about asymptomatic positive cases rarely spreading infection. The organization said there is still much we don’t know about the virus or asymptomatic cases, and that many asymptomatic cases end up being very mild cases.
In its media briefing on Monday, World Health Organization (WHO) leaders addressed concerns about the rate that countries have been finding positive COVID-19 cases who are asymptomatic. The organization said that the data so far shows that those cases who end up being truly asymptomatic, as in they never show symptoms despite testing positive for the virus, very rarely spread the virus to others. WHO encouraged countries to focus on symptomatic cases instead of being worried about the true asymptomatic cases.
Coronavirus Can Spread Through Hospital Ward in 10 Hours
A new study says that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 could easily spread through almost half of a hospital ward in 10 hours, even if the virus started in a high-risk room meant for patients with COVID-19. The researchers in the study used DNA from a virus that can only infect plants but is similar to SARS-CoV-2 virus. They placed it on the railing of a hospital bed in a high-risk room, and when they went through the ward to test surfaces after 10 hours, they found it had already spread to 41% of the testing surfaces. Many of the surfaces still tested positive for the virus after five days.
