CORONAVIRUS INFO PROVIDED BY DR. JIM HARRIS – 10/14/2020

October 14, 2020

Harrison County has 12 new cases, Gregg has 16 and Smith 18.

From the MNM: Marshall Independent School District reported one new COVID-19 cases, on Tuesday, at David Crockett Elementary School. The school district also saw an additional recovery, which was at Marshall High School. David Weaver, MISD public information officer, said the district now has a total of 13 active cases.

FROM JOHNS HOPKINS:

1. SURVIVAL ON SURFACES While respiratory transmission is generally understood to be the primary driver of the COVID-19 pandemic, a study published in the journal Virology has raised new concerns for fomite transmission. Researchers from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness analyzed the survival of SARS-CoV-2 virus on various surfaces under controlled laboratory conditions. They found wide variations in survival time based on surface type and temperature. Most notably, infectious virus survived on glass, stainless steel, and paper and polymer bank notes (ie, paper currency) for at least 28 days at 20°C (68°F). In contrast, viable virus was detected on cotton cloth after only 14 days. As temperature increased, the survival time of infectious virus decreased. At 40°C (104°F), infectious virus lasted less than 24 hours on cotton and less than 48 hours on all other surfaces.
The researchers inoculated the surfaces using a viral load and fluid matrix designed to mimic a typical COVID-19 patient. Humidity remained relatively standard at 40-50% during the tests, and the experiment was conducted in darkness to negate the effect of UV light, which can kill the virus. While the study illustrated that SARS-CoV-2 could potentially survive on surfaces for longer than previously thought, it is important to note that these standardized conditions do not necessarily represent real-world conditions. Additionally, the virus titer did reduce by 50% on all surfaces within 3 days and by 90% on all surfaces within 10 days, which illustrates that fomite transmission risk decreases over time, even without effective disinfection practices.

‘What are we so afraid of?’
(J. Harris: A Dallas story, but it could have been from any city in the world. Of course, it couldn’t happen to me and mine?)

WHAT ABOUT LEGAL LIABILITY AND COVID?J. Harris: Perhaps some of our readers with a legal background might have something to say about this or have some references. Some of the athletes entertaining in vacuous stadiums full of paper dolls are on display in order for their sponsoring organizations to make money from broadcasts. Even at the High School level players are likely to become ill and to spread the virus to their teammates with whom they are in close physical contact. They will also inevitably spread , to their classmates and families and communities. Statistically, a small percentage of these sick athletes will develop chronic maladies and symptoms, including heart disease. Should these “exploited victims” consider litigation in the future? Will they?

Of course, they will.

It’s hard to sue public and state schools, but not private schools, professional teams, and the various athletic associations, organizations, and leagues. As I understand it, the concept of sovereign immunity does not protect officials if they are “negligent.” So, if I make my employees play football, or take dictation, or take out the trash under unsafe conditions, am I negligent?

A very good lawyer explains it like this: “State, municipalities, school districts, state agencies all are immune from liability. They can be sued only where they have consented (by statute) to be sued. The simple answer is that the likelihood of any lawsuits against any state entity is virtually zero. … there is virtually no danger to private businesses either. Even if negligent, the plaintiff must prove causation and there is no way a person can prove where the virus he is infected by came from.”(J. Harris: Perhaps with the ability to track different mutant strains, viral tracing and liability could evolve as an interesting study.)