Thread by @undarkmag

Some of the latest #Covid19 updates from the publications, journalists, and experts Undark is following. Friday, August 21, 2020, 4:30 p.m. (EDT). 🧵 #UndarkCovid19

The new policy stunned many health experts and laboratories because of its timing. Some public health experts warned the shift could result in unreliable coronavirus tests on the market. (By @lauriemcginley2 and @yabutaleb7 for @washingtonpost) (1/15)

washingtonpost.com/health/2020/08…

What makes the wildfire-pandemic combination uniquely devastating at both a societal and a personal level is that the two disasters demand opposite responses. (By @jdkstern13 for @theatlantic) (2/15)

theatlantic.com/science/archiv…

Moderately ill patients saw their condition improve after a 5-day course of remdesivir, but a 10-day course did not show a benefit, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (By Deena Beasley for @reuters) (3/15)

reuters.com/article/us-hea…

For more than a dozen years, critical businesses like meatpackers have been warned that a pandemic was coming. (By @MichaelGrabell and @bmyeung for @propublica) (4/15)

propublica.org/article/meatpa…

Fire managers are adapting their plans for crowded fire camps in the hope of preventing outbreaks that could sideline crews and weaken the nation’s firefighting infrastructure. (By @mattvolz for @khnews) (5/15)

khn.org/news/covid-pla…

Despite rules on masks and distancing, fears are growing that the end of the summer travel season will bring a wave of infections. (By @MarcSantoraNYT for @nytimes) (6/15)

nytimes.com/2020/08/21/wor…

In our weekly news roundup: universities struggle with coronavirus spread, Venezuela cracks down on citizens, and more. (By Michael Schulson for @undarkmag) (7/15)

undark.org/2020/08/21/abs…

As universities across the United States move to reopen campuses, a number of them have asked students to sign compacts agreeing to their Covid-19 policies. Some students are taking issue with the language. (By @k_langin for @newsfromscience) (8/15)

sciencemag.org/careers/2020/0…

Researchers call for more rigorous clinical trials as rumors abound that U.S. regulators are considering widening access to the potential therapy. (By @heidiledford for @naturenews) (9/15)

nature.com/articles/d4158…

Counties say the ripple effects of the state’s Covid-19 data failures are impeding their ability to slow the spread of the coronavirus. (By @annabarryjester and @ahartreports for @khnews) (10/15)

khn.org/news/californi…

Earlier this week, the Maltese government closed nightclubs again, limited gatherings to 15 people, and mandated mask-wearing in public places indoors with a 100-euro fine. (By Stephen Calleja for @ap) (11/15)

apnews.com/0dc638a51a17e8…

With classes set to start Monday, the University Daily Kansan’s scathing editorial accuses school officials of not telling students the truth about reopening the campus. (By @valeriestrauss for @washingtonpost) (12/15)

washingtonpost.com/education/2020…

The situation in Kenya’s public hospitals is so dire that thousands of doctors, nurses, and laboratory technicians in at least three counties walked off the job this month. (By @Lattif for @nytimes) (13/15)

nytimes.com/2020/08/21/wor…

Families of prisoners declare public health and human rights catastrophes as officials resist calls to evacuate as virus spreads. (By @SamTLevin for @GuardianUS) (14/15)

theguardian.com/us-news/2020/a…

Tens of thousands of people received plasma for Covid-19. It played out as a one-on-one decision between physicians and patients, not a population-scale experiment designed to elicit knowledge about its efficacy. (By @jetjocko for @wired) (15/15)

wired.com/story/97000-pe…