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| Review: ‘Frontline’ Traces the Footsteps of Covid-19 | Review: ‘Frontline’ Traces the Footsteps of Covid-19 |
| (14 days later) | |
| “The Virus: What Went Wrong?,” a 90-minute installment of PBS’s “Frontline” premiering Tuesday, resurfaces the story of the pandemic that felt like an inescapable catastrophe just three weeks ago. Making no mention of protests or police, it’s like a courier with an urgent message who lost his place in line. | “The Virus: What Went Wrong?,” a 90-minute installment of PBS’s “Frontline” premiering Tuesday, resurfaces the story of the pandemic that felt like an inescapable catastrophe just three weeks ago. Making no mention of protests or police, it’s like a courier with an urgent message who lost his place in line. |
| This is the third consecutive “Frontline” film about Covid-19, following “Coronavirus Pandemic” and “Inside Italy’s Covid War.” (They can be streamed at the “Frontline” website.) The Italian episode, an intimate, hit-and-run portrait of doctors and nurses at a hospital in Cremona, was a moving example of one “Frontline” approach. | This is the third consecutive “Frontline” film about Covid-19, following “Coronavirus Pandemic” and “Inside Italy’s Covid War.” (They can be streamed at the “Frontline” website.) The Italian episode, an intimate, hit-and-run portrait of doctors and nurses at a hospital in Cremona, was a moving example of one “Frontline” approach. |
| “The Virus” exemplifies another: the sweeping synthesis, a digestible chronological overview of a complicated and still evolving story. Appropriate to its subject, the episode is shot inside a Catskills house, where interview subjects like Dr. Robert R. Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control, and the health care expert Jeremy Konyndyk appear on the computer screen of the correspondent Martin Smith. (Sharing writing and directing credit, as well as the house, is Smith’s wife, the “Frontline” producer Marcela Gaviria.) | “The Virus” exemplifies another: the sweeping synthesis, a digestible chronological overview of a complicated and still evolving story. Appropriate to its subject, the episode is shot inside a Catskills house, where interview subjects like Dr. Robert R. Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control, and the health care expert Jeremy Konyndyk appear on the computer screen of the correspondent Martin Smith. (Sharing writing and directing credit, as well as the house, is Smith’s wife, the “Frontline” producer Marcela Gaviria.) |
| If “The Virus” doesn’t grab hold like some other “Frontline” tick-tocks — “America’s Great Divide: From Obama to Trump” being a good recent example — it may be because we followed the coronavirus news as it happened more closely than we did less immediately dangerous events like transfers of power and impeachment trials. There isn’t a lot in the report that a relatively attentive person won’t already know. (There’s also no practical information on face masks or immunity or how to social distance.) | If “The Virus” doesn’t grab hold like some other “Frontline” tick-tocks — “America’s Great Divide: From Obama to Trump” being a good recent example — it may be because we followed the coronavirus news as it happened more closely than we did less immediately dangerous events like transfers of power and impeachment trials. There isn’t a lot in the report that a relatively attentive person won’t already know. (There’s also no practical information on face masks or immunity or how to social distance.) |
| The reminders are valuable and often absorbing in their own right, though. Along with Redfield and Konyndyk, Smith enlists several doctors and a couple of New York Times reporters in recounting the Covid-19 story, beginning with its appearance in Wuhan, China, fatefully timed to the mass migrations of the lunar new year. Short segments cover the contrasting Chinese and South Korean responses to the disease and the deadly outbreaks in Iran and Italy. | The reminders are valuable and often absorbing in their own right, though. Along with Redfield and Konyndyk, Smith enlists several doctors and a couple of New York Times reporters in recounting the Covid-19 story, beginning with its appearance in Wuhan, China, fatefully timed to the mass migrations of the lunar new year. Short segments cover the contrasting Chinese and South Korean responses to the disease and the deadly outbreaks in Iran and Italy. |
| But the focus is on America, and on a series of missteps whose familiarity makes it no less tragic and maddening. Months of inaction by the government; the botching of test kits by the C.D.C. and their continuing unavailability; dismissive and contradictory statements by President Trump and his minions — it’s all there, just as we lived through it. | But the focus is on America, and on a series of missteps whose familiarity makes it no less tragic and maddening. Months of inaction by the government; the botching of test kits by the C.D.C. and their continuing unavailability; dismissive and contradictory statements by President Trump and his minions — it’s all there, just as we lived through it. |
| “The Virus” is judicious in its use of footage from Trump’s formerly daily news briefings. Hydroxychloroquine and detergent aren’t mentioned. There is a clip of the classic couplet: | “The Virus” is judicious in its use of footage from Trump’s formerly daily news briefings. Hydroxychloroquine and detergent aren’t mentioned. There is a clip of the classic couplet: |
| “What do you say to Americans who are watching you right now who are scared?” | “What do you say to Americans who are watching you right now who are scared?” |
| “I say that you’re a terrible reporter.” | “I say that you’re a terrible reporter.” |
| And there’s Trump’s false claim on March 6 that Covid-19 tests were widely available, which becomes one of Smith’s several opportunities to put Redfield on the spot. “I’m not going to comment on what I think the president believed or didn’t believe” may be Redfield’s lowest moment, rivaled by his bizarre decision to quote Theodore Roosevelt with regard to the administration’s efforts: “At worst we’ll fail by daring greatly.” | And there’s Trump’s false claim on March 6 that Covid-19 tests were widely available, which becomes one of Smith’s several opportunities to put Redfield on the spot. “I’m not going to comment on what I think the president believed or didn’t believe” may be Redfield’s lowest moment, rivaled by his bizarre decision to quote Theodore Roosevelt with regard to the administration’s efforts: “At worst we’ll fail by daring greatly.” |
| Updated July 7, 2020 | |
| The coronavirus can stay aloft for hours in tiny droplets in stagnant air, infecting people as they inhale, mounting scientific evidence suggests. This risk is highest in crowded indoor spaces with poor ventilation, and may help explain super-spreading events reported in meatpacking plants, churches and restaurants. It’s unclear how often the virus is spread via these tiny droplets, or aerosols, compared with larger droplets that are expelled when a sick person coughs or sneezes, or transmitted through contact with contaminated surfaces, said Linsey Marr, an aerosol expert at Virginia Tech. Aerosols are released even when a person without symptoms exhales, talks or sings, according to Dr. Marr and more than 200 other experts, who have outlined the evidence in an open letter to the World Health Organization. | |
| 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. | |
| 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. | |
| The absurd theater of the briefings is a sideshow, however, to the real tragedy, which the show places back in January and February, when virtually no preparations were being made in Washington despite the alarming news coming out of Wuhan and other parts of the world. The real story of Covid-19 in America, “The Virus” posits, was a lack of leadership that took the form of a failure of imagination. It was mediocrity rather than malfeasance. | The absurd theater of the briefings is a sideshow, however, to the real tragedy, which the show places back in January and February, when virtually no preparations were being made in Washington despite the alarming news coming out of Wuhan and other parts of the world. The real story of Covid-19 in America, “The Virus” posits, was a lack of leadership that took the form of a failure of imagination. It was mediocrity rather than malfeasance. |
| A quick programming note: ABC will carry a documentary about the 1992 Los Angeles riots while “The Virus” makes its national premiere on Tuesday night. The other major networks, meanwhile, have scheduled “World of Dance,” “Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back” and a rerun of “FBI.” Anyone looking for coverage of the ongoing protests will have to look outside network prime time — apparently the revolution still isn’t being televised there. | A quick programming note: ABC will carry a documentary about the 1992 Los Angeles riots while “The Virus” makes its national premiere on Tuesday night. The other major networks, meanwhile, have scheduled “World of Dance,” “Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back” and a rerun of “FBI.” Anyone looking for coverage of the ongoing protests will have to look outside network prime time — apparently the revolution still isn’t being televised there. |