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| Coronavirus Sweeps Through a San Antonio Nursing Home | Coronavirus Sweeps Through a San Antonio Nursing Home |
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| HOUSTON — A coronavirus outbreak at a San Antonio nursing home has infected 67 of the facility’s 84 residents, killing one, the largest spread of the virus at a Texas long-term care facility, city and county officials said on Friday. | HOUSTON — A coronavirus outbreak at a San Antonio nursing home has infected 67 of the facility’s 84 residents, killing one, the largest spread of the virus at a Texas long-term care facility, city and county officials said on Friday. |
| The outbreak at the Southeast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was described by local officials as “contained,” but they were scrambling on Friday to perform additional tests and to track down all of the facility’s 60 employees. Eight of the staff members have tested positive for the virus, and tracking its spread has been complicated by the fact that numerous employees also worked at other nursing homes in the San Antonio region. | The outbreak at the Southeast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was described by local officials as “contained,” but they were scrambling on Friday to perform additional tests and to track down all of the facility’s 60 employees. Eight of the staff members have tested positive for the virus, and tracking its spread has been complicated by the fact that numerous employees also worked at other nursing homes in the San Antonio region. |
| “This morning we launched an aggressive, multilayered response to try to get our arms around the extent of this local outbreak,” Charles Hood, the San Antonio fire chief, told reporters at a news conference. | “This morning we launched an aggressive, multilayered response to try to get our arms around the extent of this local outbreak,” Charles Hood, the San Antonio fire chief, told reporters at a news conference. |
| City officials on Friday amended previously issued emergency orders to prohibit nursing home employees from working in multiple facilities. Two of the eight infected employees worked in other facilities, and employees who have not been tested worked in at least seven nursing homes in the area. Such crossover of workers at multiple sites was one of the factors that contributed to a deadly coronavirus outbreak in nursing homes in the Seattle area, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a recent report. | City officials on Friday amended previously issued emergency orders to prohibit nursing home employees from working in multiple facilities. Two of the eight infected employees worked in other facilities, and employees who have not been tested worked in at least seven nursing homes in the area. Such crossover of workers at multiple sites was one of the factors that contributed to a deadly coronavirus outbreak in nursing homes in the Seattle area, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a recent report. |
| In San Antonio, medical-response teams were visiting the seven facilities where Southeast employees may have worked to test all residents and workers who show symptoms. Officials were also planning to visit and evaluate 34 nursing homes that have received the lowest federal ratings. | In San Antonio, medical-response teams were visiting the seven facilities where Southeast employees may have worked to test all residents and workers who show symptoms. Officials were also planning to visit and evaluate 34 nursing homes that have received the lowest federal ratings. |
| “In case anyone in San Antonio needed a wake-up call about the seriousness of Covid-19 to our community, this is it,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said on Friday. | “In case anyone in San Antonio needed a wake-up call about the seriousness of Covid-19 to our community, this is it,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said on Friday. |
| For weeks, Texas had been the largest state whose governor had not ordered all residents to stay indoors except for certain essential activities. But at a news conference on Tuesday, Mr. Abbott announced he had issued an executive order instructing Texans to “minimize social gatherings and minimize in-person contact with people who are not in the same household.” except when they were providing or obtaining essential services. | For weeks, Texas had been the largest state whose governor had not ordered all residents to stay indoors except for certain essential activities. But at a news conference on Tuesday, Mr. Abbott announced he had issued an executive order instructing Texans to “minimize social gatherings and minimize in-person contact with people who are not in the same household.” except when they were providing or obtaining essential services. |
| Those essential activities included health care, law enforcement, food and agriculture, energy, financial services, and holding in-person gatherings at houses of worship, as long as social-distancing guidelines were followed. | Those essential activities included health care, law enforcement, food and agriculture, energy, financial services, and holding in-person gatherings at houses of worship, as long as social-distancing guidelines were followed. |
| At first, the governor shied away from calling his new order a statewide stay-at-home mandate. “A stay-at-home strategy would mean that you have to stay at home, you cannot leave home under any circumstances,” Mr. Abbott told reporters. “That obviously is not what we’ve articulated here.” | At first, the governor shied away from calling his new order a statewide stay-at-home mandate. “A stay-at-home strategy would mean that you have to stay at home, you cannot leave home under any circumstances,” Mr. Abbott told reporters. “That obviously is not what we’ve articulated here.” |
| The next day, however, Mr. Abbott released a video message, clarifying, “I issued this executive order that requires all Texans to stay at home, except to provide essential services or do essential things.” And on Friday, asked if Texas was indeed under a statewide stay-at-home order, Mr. Abbott’s spokesman, John Wittman, said that it was. | The next day, however, Mr. Abbott released a video message, clarifying, “I issued this executive order that requires all Texans to stay at home, except to provide essential services or do essential things.” And on Friday, asked if Texas was indeed under a statewide stay-at-home order, Mr. Abbott’s spokesman, John Wittman, said that it was. |
| Updated June 30, 2020 | |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | |
| Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles. | |
| A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. | |
| The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. | |
| The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. | |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | |
| The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. | |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | |
| Of the San Antonio nursing home’s 84 residents, 11 have had their tests come back negative; those residents were being kept in a separate part of the building, and employees treating them were not providing services to those who are infected. Six residents’ tests were still pending or were inconclusive, officials said. | Of the San Antonio nursing home’s 84 residents, 11 have had their tests come back negative; those residents were being kept in a separate part of the building, and employees treating them were not providing services to those who are infected. Six residents’ tests were still pending or were inconclusive, officials said. |
| The eight employees who tested positive are in self-isolation away from the nursing home. Officials were attempting to test the other 52 employees — seven were tested on Thursday, 17 were scheduled to be tested on Friday and medical personnel were trying to contact the others. | The eight employees who tested positive are in self-isolation away from the nursing home. Officials were attempting to test the other 52 employees — seven were tested on Thursday, 17 were scheduled to be tested on Friday and medical personnel were trying to contact the others. |
| The nursing home, which is licensed for 116 beds and is owned by Southeast SNF LLC, according to state records, is listed on the federal government’s Medicare website as “much below average,” receiving one out of five stars. | The nursing home, which is licensed for 116 beds and is owned by Southeast SNF LLC, according to state records, is listed on the federal government’s Medicare website as “much below average,” receiving one out of five stars. |
| The facility was fined $62,016 by federal regulators last March. The fine by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services came after the staff failed to consult the doctor of a woman who did not have a bowel movement for 13 days. She was later hospitalized, according to federal inspection data. | The facility was fined $62,016 by federal regulators last March. The fine by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services came after the staff failed to consult the doctor of a woman who did not have a bowel movement for 13 days. She was later hospitalized, according to federal inspection data. |