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Catching Covid-19 twice may cut contagion

QuickTake Tonight
Bloomberg

Greetings, QuickTake readers! In this edition: Trump defends regular hydroxychloroquine use, Brazil jumps to global No. 3 in virus cases and CO2 emissions register biggest drop yet.

Reinfected patients not contagious

Patients who test positive for the coronavirus after fully recovering don't transmit the virus and may have antibodies that prevent them from falling sick again, research from South Korea shows. In a study of 285 Covid-19 survivors who retested positive, scientists from the Korean CDC found that none of them were spreading any lingering infection, and concluded a two-week quarantine was unnecessary in such cases.

The findings are a positive sign for regions looking to open up since healed patients would appear to present no risk under relaxed social distancing measures. They also suggest coronavirus relapses may simply be a testing fluke rather than a sign of reemergence, and may even offer some proof that the resulting antibodies provide immunity.

More:

  • Some coronavirus patients have tested positive again as many as 82 days after the initial infection, and almost all cases for which blood tests were taken had antibodies against the virus.

$ignificant figures

4.2%. U.S. GDP will increase by that much in 2021, more than previously projected, after slumping 5.6% this year, the CBO said, and unemployment will average 11.5% and improve marginally to 9.3% next year.

265,896. Brazil overtook the U.K. to become the country with the third-highest number of Covid-19 infections and the sixth-highest number of deaths. What's more, the country is quickly running out of hospital beds.

13%. One in eight museums worldwide could shutter permanently due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to UNESCO, which found some 85,000 institutions, have had to close at least temporarily.

Highly quotable

"Additional level of safety." Despite criticism from medical experts, Trump defended his regular use of hydroxychloroquine, saying the drug has "had a great reputation," and it's "an individual decision to make."

"Let hope be the antidote to fear." The WHO Director-General sought to rise above Trump's threat to end funding over "repeated missteps," saying "our focus is on saving lives," and "guided by science, we will overcome."

"So overcrowded." A passenger on an American Airlines flight from Fresno, California, to Dallas this week said she's "never felt so unsafe" because travelers on the plane "were packed in like sardines."

This is not normal

Danger ahead. Exceptionally warm waters in the Atlantic have put "all the puzzle pieces in place" for a "hyperactive" U.S. hurricane season on par with 2005, when a record 28 storms, including Hurricane Katrina, struck.

The future is now

Visionary view. London doctors are using Microsoft's HoloLens AR goggles that can send patient data to specialists outside the room, which has reduced the time workers are exposed to Covid-19 by up to 83%.

What's good

Historic dip. Carbon emissions fell 17% from last year to levels not seen since 2006 in what may be the largest worldwide drop in recorded history, as lockdowns kept flights grounded, highways empty and factories closed.

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BTW: Is WFH a literal pain in the neck? Check out an osteopath's top tips for nixing back pain, in and out of your home office.

Thanks for reading!
-Andrew Mach

 

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