The rapid spread of the epidemic has aroused widespread concern in the international community. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐COV‐2) was first reported in China, with bats as ...the likely original hosts and pangolins as potential intermediate hosts. The current source of the disease is mainly patients infected with SARS‐COV‐2. Patients in the incubation period may also become sources of infection. The virus is mainly transmitted via respiratory droplets and contact, and the population is generally susceptible. The epidemic has progressed through the local outbreak stage and community transmission stage due to exposure at Wuhan's Huanan wholesale seafood market and is now in the stage of large‐scale transmission due to the spread of the epidemic. The basic productive number (R0) at the beginning of the epidemic was 2.2, with an average incubation period of 5.2 days. The proportion of critically ill patients was 23.4%, the mortality rate was lower than those of SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome, and 96.5% of deaths occurred in Hubei Province, where the outbreak occurred first. Among them, elderly men with underlying diseases had a higher mortality rate. Chinese medical staff have summarized a set of effective strategies and methods in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease that are worthy of reference for their international counterparts. With powerful government intervention and the efforts of Chinese medical staff, China's outbreak has gradually improved.
Research Highlights
The current source of the disease is mainly patients infected with SARS‐COV‐2. Patients in the incubation period may also become sources of infection.
The virus is mainly transmitted via respiratory droplets and contact, and the population is generally susceptible.
The proportion of critically ill patients was 23.4%, the mortality rate was lower than those of SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome. Among them, elderly men with underlying diseases had a higher mortality rate.
This study aims to evaluate impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic on merchant ship activities and corresponding atmospheric pollutant emissions in Shanghai port waters. Comparing AIS data from February ...2019 and from February 2020, it is found that the merchant ship count and utilization frequency are reduced during the epidemic period. The epidemic could result in longer ship turnaround times because of more operation time for berthing and anchoring activities. Ship emission comparison results reveal that the cargo ship emissions are significantly reduced while container ships and tankers produce a slightly decreased emissions resulting by strict COVID-19 quarantine measures. In addition, the unit ship emission intensity is greatly reduced for ships which are under the normal cruising status while berthing and anchoring operations are associated with increased ship emissions. This implies that it is urgent to promote the use of shore power equipment for merchant ships during the epidemic period.
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•To evaluate impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic on merchant ship pollutant emissions•Strict COVID-19 quarantine measures cause more emissions from container ships.•The unit ship emission cost is greatly reduced under the normal cruising status.•Berthing and anchoring operations are associated with increased ship emissions.•It is urgent to promote the use of shore power equipment during the epidemic period.
This Viewpoint identifies several barriers to ending the HIV epidemic and urges increasing expertise in HIV medicine in underserved areas like the South challenging legislation designed to keep ...students ignorant.
The quantification of transmissibility during epidemics is essential to designing and adjusting public health responses. Transmissibility can be measured by the reproduction number R, the average ...number of secondary cases caused by an infected individual. Several methods have been proposed to estimate R over the course of an epidemic; however, they are usually difficult to implement for people without a strong background in statistical modeling. Here, we present a ready-to-use tool for estimating R from incidence time series, which is implemented in popular software including Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington). This tool produces novel, statistically robust analytical estimates of R and incorporates uncertainty in the distribution of the serial interval (the time between the onset of symptoms in a primary case and the onset of symptoms in secondary cases). We applied the method to 5 historical outbreaks; the resulting estimates of R are consistent with those presented in the literature. This tool should help epidemiologists quantify temporal changes in the transmission intensity of future epidemics by using surveillance data.
By April 2, 2020, >1 million persons worldwide were infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. We used a mathematical model to investigate the effectiveness of social distancing ...interventions in a mid-sized city. Interventions reduced contacts of adults >60 years of age, adults 20-59 years of age, and children <19 years of age for 6 weeks. Our results suggest interventions started earlier in the epidemic delay the epidemic curve and interventions started later flatten the epidemic curve. We noted that, while social distancing interventions were in place, most new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths were averted, even with modest reductions in contact among adults. However, when interventions ended, the epidemic rebounded. Our models suggest that social distancing can provide crucial time to increase healthcare capacity but must occur in conjunction with testing and contact tracing of all suspected cases to mitigate virus transmission.
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