Saturday, November 28, 2020

Technical solutions against SARS-CoV2

Dear reader,

instead of a long, thorough analysis what actually went wrong fighting the second wave in various countries, here's just a compilation of links which show innovative technical solutions against airborne infections like SARS-CoV2. Some of those links also include information of 'reluctance' of policy makers to implement those solutions. (either because of lacking funding or just plain ignorance) Thousands of lives could have been saved already if governments cared more about providing high quality respirators for citizens meeting with others, especially indoors.

As communicated to some European military & civilian leading authorities, not all countermeasures against the spread of the highly contagious virus based just on controlling human behavior will be sufficient to tackle the problem. 

Especially considering all factors including active sabotage by people who are very busy persuading others not to wear masks or keep the necessary distances. And according to some scientists/governments this current virus pandemic is far from over even when vaccinations commence:  Swedish Government Says Vaccine Won’t Make Pandemic Go Away: DN [Bloomberg]

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst...

Just one additional comment: from the very beginning of the crisis emerging in Northern Italy, governments should have take precautions ("plan B", "failure is not an option") for more effective battle against the spread of a new, airborne virus under the assumption of a worst case scenario, instead of holding on to the misguided believe that keeping a distance of 1 or 1.5 or 2 meters will be sufficient to interrupt the chain of infection. Why not trying to mass produce /provide optimal protective gear (99-100 % airtight, with very good filter performance) for medical staff first and vulnerable parts of the population second ? BTW: Just from watching various footage of medical staff (interviewed or passing by/filmed on duty) in COVID-19 wards in different countries it's no wonder nurses and doctors have been also infected with COVID-19. Especially women wore N95/FFP2 masks which were just too big for their faces, so those masks didn't seal properly ("one size fits all") An observation in Canada: during 1st wave During 2nd wave (European observations) ICU bed scarcity occurred because medical staff shortages due to infections or quarantines of suspected infections.   

It's not rocket science and the recommendations including to wear scarfs or other simple pieces of cloth may have been legitimate at the very beginning of the crisis but not anymore ! It will take months, maybe even year, to reach some kind of 'herd immunity' by mass vaccination. Thousands more will die / get very sick unnecessarily ! Just like the Japanese people we should learn that it's much better to be prepared for very rare, but inevitable disaster events like earthquakes: Disaster Prevention Day. [Wikipedia] Unlike earthquakes European governments had more than six month during late Spring/Summer 2020 to prepare for a second wave of SARS-CoV2 infections. 

Very important: protecting people / large parts of the population from getting killed or seriously sick should have never become a political issue, except perhaps for the (imaginary!) "National Darwinist Party"

EZR endorsed:  EU4Health: MEPs pave the way for an effective EU health programme [europarl.europa.eu , Nov 13 2020]

Starting from November 28 the link compilation will be updated at least twice a week. Please note that at time this list was compiled all links worked, but there's no guarantee that websites remove or alter their content. Based on various research papers / outbreak analysis it's fair to say that protecting the airflow through nose/mouth into the lungs(superspreader events) is much more important than preventing infections resulting from contaminated hands/fingers touching the face. (current hand hygiene guidance sufficient) 


All commercial products listed here are just a 'proof of concept' and not tested or recommended by EZR. Always use a search engine for similar products and better pricing.

importance of preventing the virus entering/exiting the human body

Coronavirus: Which face covering works best? Scientists test 14 masks - and find one actually increases risk of infection [Sky News, Aug 26 2020]

Unmasked! The effect of face masks on the spread of COVID-19 [Voxeu, June 22 2020]

Face masks considerably reduce COVID-19 cases in Germany [PNAS, Dec 3 2020]

Speech can produce jet-like transport relevant to asymptomatic spreading of virus [PNAS, Oct 13 2020]

‘A Smoking Gun’: Infectious Coronavirus Retrieved From Hospital Air [NYTimes, Aug 11 2020]

What ICU doctors have learned about COVID-19 — and how they're prepared for a 2nd wave [NBC, June 13 2020]

Evidence of Long-Distance Droplet Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by Direct Air Flow in a Restaurant in Korea [JKMS, Korea, Nov 23 2020]

 

Waar komt die blinde vlek vandaan? “Enerzijds omdat de WHO, net als het Nederlandse OMT, vooral uit medici bestaat. Die kijken naar situaties als intubaties of operaties waarbij virusdeeltjes vrijkomen; daar begrijpen ze de risico’s van. Het zijn alleen geen fysici die het transport van deeltjes begrijpen, of ingenieur die feeling hebben met ventilatiesystemen”, legt Bluyssen uit. “Anderzijds, als de WHO onderkent dat dit risico er is, dan betekent dat nogal wat voor landen waar ze de middelen niet hebben voor goede ventilatie.”

source: huidige-ventilatierichtlijnen-niet-voldoende-in-de-strijd-tegen-corona/ [NETHERLANDS, Prof. Bluyssen TU Delft]

 


Public health measures in various countries (mask mandates, etc)

Coronavirus: Masks made mandatory outdoors across Italy [ITALY, Oct 8 2020]

Bremer Senat setzt bei Verteilung von FFP2-Masken auf Solidarität  [GERMANY, Butenunbinnen Nov 12 2020]

Nog maar helft van gratis mondmaskers van federale overheid opgehaald [BELGIUM, VRT, Sep 28 2020]


 

Petition fordert kostenlose FFP2-Masken für Risikogruppen und alle ab 60 [BELGIUM, BRF, Dec 7 2020]

Bürgermeister von Goch verlangt demnächst FFP2 Masken für Besuch im Rathaus [GERMANY, Rheinische Post, Dec 7 2020]

advanced research methods to detects outbreaks

Italy sewage study suggests COVID-19 was there in December 2019 [Reuters, June 19 2020]

Filtering masks for personal protection

https://www1.wdr.de/nachrichten/rheinland/laschet-besucht-vliesfirma-100.html [GERMANY, WDR]

Falsche FFP2-Masken: Wettbewerbszentrale zieht vor Gericht [GERMANY, Apotheke adhoc, Nov 19 2020]

Minderwertige FFP-2-Masken Weniger Schutz vor Corona-Viren [GERMANY, ZDF(video), Oct 26 2020]

Bremer Senat bestellt weitere 1,5 Millionen FFP2-Masken für Senioren [GERMANY, Butenenbinnen(NDR), Nov 16 2020]

Face masks developed in Ireland could help meat-plant workers [IRELAND, Irish Times, Aug 10 2020]

“Virus Terminator” Mask developed at Thessaloniki University [GREECE, KeepTalkingGreece, Dec 7 2020]

apanese Engineers Develop a Mask with Built-in Speaker, Microphone, and Translation Software [JAPAN, Tech Times, Jun 29 2020]

Corona-Schutz mit CE-Kennzeichnung [GERMANY, Dekra]

Notified bodies Nando [EUROPA database)]


QUALITÄTSMERKMALE VON FFP ATEMSCHUTZMASKEN [GERMANY, Moldex Gruppe(comm) ]

Qualität erkennen Welche FFP2-Masken sind sicher? {GERMANY, StuttgarterNachrichten, Dec 3 2020]

#Faktenfuchs: Warum Klarsichtmasken umstritten sind [GERMANY, BayrischerRundfunk, Dec 3 2020]

Pilotstudie: Umstrittene Klarsichtmaske bietet keinen Schutz [GERMANY, BayrischerRundfunk, Dec 8 2020]

Wann gibt es die FFP2-Masken für Risikopatienten? [GERMANY, Bayrischer Rundfunk, Dec 4 2020]

Dräger öffnet eigenen Online-Shop für FFP-Masken [GERMANY, MedEcon, Dec 8 2020]

People not heeding advice 

(so other people have to wear protective filtering masks)

10% of travelers won't wear a mask on public transport [NETHERLANDS, NL Times, Dec 14 2020]

re-usable PPE

Austria:


fixed/mobile filter systems for rooms, buildings, vehicles

Raumluftfilter: „Im Skiurlaub zieht man sich ja auch warm an“ GERMANY,Henstedt-Ulzberger Nachrichten, Nov 24 2020]

Kein Dauerlüften mehr: Schule baut Abluftanlage selbst [GERMANY, WDR, Nov 26 2020]

Universität der Bundeswehr München legt Schulstudie vor: Covid-19-Kriterien erfordern Luftreiniger mit H14-HEPA-Filter [GERMANY, Presseportal, Sep 23 2020]

Mobile Raumluftfilter – die Winter-Wunderwaffe? [GERMANY, Der Spiegel, Oct 30 2020]

Luftreiniger schützen besser als Lüften [GERMANY, N-TV, Aug 6 2020]


Ons ventilatiebeleid (NL-Duitsland:0-10) en oplopende cijfers (geen paniek) [Netherlands, MDH, Sep 25 2020]

Het grote belang van luchtreiniging bij de bestrijding van COVID-19​ [Netherlands, Maurice de Hond]

Ventilatie, Bestrijdingsmaatregelen [The Netherlands, Maurice de Hond, various articles]

 

Daimler Buses: Veel luchtverversing met actieve filters verhoogt veiligheid in bussen [Omniplus (commercial)]

Untersuchung des Ansteckungsrisikos im Reisebus [GERMANY, Technical University-Berlin] 

Erste Fahrzeuge bereits im Einsatz Antivirale Filter im Padersprinter [GERMANY, Westfalenblatt, Oct 19 2020]

surface disinfection  

Meet the Romanian robot which kills the coronavirus with UV light [ROMANIA, EBRD, Oct 19 2020]

miscellaneous infection prevention  

COVID-19: Nasal-Spray Preventive / WHO on Minks / Neutralizing Antibody Test [NEJM/jwatch, Nov 8 2020]

Nasal Spray Prevents Covid Infection in Ferrets, Study Finds [NYTimes, Nov 5 2020]

rapid tests / mass testing 

Options for the use of rapid antigen tests for COVID-19 in the EU/EEA and the UK 

  • ECDC agrees with the minimum performance requirements set by WHO at ≥80% sensitivity and ≥97% specificity.

[EUROPE,ECDC, Nov 19 2020]

South Korea's elite contact tracers show the world how to beat Covid-19 [KOREA, Straits Times, Jul 27 2020]

Westen startet Massentests bereits Anfang Dezember [AUSTRIA, Kurier, Nov 25 2020]

Massentests: 4.000 Infizierte bei zwei Millionen Tests [AUSTRIA, Kurier, Dec 14 2020]

Südtirol: Viele Freiwillige halfen mit [ITALY, ORF, Nov 23 2020]

Corona-Massentest "Testen. Erkennen. Isolieren." [ITALY, RAI (inGerman), Dec 10]

COVID-19: Liverpool councillors go door to door encouraging people to get tested [UK, Sky News Nov 28 2020]

Slovakia's Second Round of Coronavirus Tests Draws Large Crowds [SLOVAKIA, VOA Nov7 2020]

FDA authorizes first fully at-home, over the counter COVID test [USA, The Hill, Dec 15 2020]

Evaluation of the accuracy and ease-of-use of Abbott PanBio - A WHO emergency use listed, rapid, antigen-detecting point-of-care diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2 [medrxiv, Nov 30 2020]

Freiburg University Hospital and Siemens Healthineers reduce COVID-19 infection risk for employees in radiology and drive quality improvements [GERMANY, SiemensHealthineers , Jun 19 2020]

Initial results of rapid antigen tests for COVID-19 very promising [Netherlands, RIVM, Aug 10 2020]

Sneltest corona blijkt ook geschikt voor testen zonder klachten [Netherlands, NOS, Dec 4 2020]

Covid: NHS rapid test use defended amid accuracy concerns [UK, BBC, Dec 6 2020]


mobile ICU wards/beds (better prevent infections!)

French state-of-the-art mobile hospital frees-up beds for Covid-19 patients in southwest [FRANCE, RFI Nov 14 2020]

Robots for patient care and other tasks

The pandemic has been good for one kind of worker: robots [National Geographic, Sep 3 2020]

Robots are joining the fight against coronavirus in India [INDIA, CNN, Nov 12 2020]

COVID-19 robot patrol rolled out in Belgian hospitals [BELGIUM, Reuters, Jun 29 2020]

Look inside the hospital in China where coronavirus patients were treated by robots [CHINA, CNBC]

Coronavirus: Robots use light beams to zap hospital viruses [CHINA, BBC, Mar 20 2020]

Monitoring blood oxygen levels 4 vulnerable people at home

Using hotel rooms for isolation

Travellers from South Korea taken to isolation hotel in Wellington [NewZealand, Radio New Zealand, Jun 26 2020]

South Korean-style Covid-19 hotels could help to stop Britons flouting self-isolation rules amid fears only 15% are fully complying, SAGE expert suggests [UK, Daily Mail, Dec 8 2020]

VIP quarantine: Vietnam luxury hotels double as isolation quarters [Vietnam, Nikkei.com, Aug 25 2020]

Der Marburger Bund fordert deswegen nun schnelle Lösungen: „Um die Infektionen im häuslichen Umfeld zu reduzieren, sollten positiv Getestete das Angebot bekommen, die zehntägige Quarantäne in einem Hotelzimmer zu verbringen.“ Das Angebot sollte freiwillig sein und nur für Menschen gelten, die gar keine oder nur schwache Symptome haben, so Johna.

source:Deutschland am Corona Limit - Kommt die Quarantäne im Hotel ?  [GERMANY, Morgenpost, Nov 6 2020]

Corona tracing apps

A bit tricky, since they only work properly (as intended) when embedded into a a good testing & isolating scheme as explained in detail here: Contact tracing apps [EZRsecurity, Dec 25 2020]

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Document created:  Nov 28  2020

Document updated: Jan 25 2021

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