Measures enacted to slow the spread of the new coronavirus also appeared to reduce hospitalizations for asthma, a new study finds. Researchers compared weekly data on hospitalizations at 272 hospitals in Japan in the first five months of 2020 to the same period in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Asthma hospitalizations in 2017-19 and 2020 showed similar trends until week eight, but in 2020 hospitalizations began to decline in week nine, the study found. Hospitalizations for COVID-19 were first recorded during week seven of 2020. Further analysis found a significant decrease in the average number of asthma hospitalizations during weeks nine to 22 of this year compared to 2017-19. The findings were published Oct. 13 in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. “Asthma hospitalizations usually indicate that an individual’s asthma is not currently under control,” corresponding author Dr. Atsushi Miyawaki, of the University of Tokyo, said in a journal news release. “This would suggest that asthma control improved during the pandemic. It illustrates the importance of environmental factors when it comes to treating and managing patients with asthma.” One possible explanation is that increased hygiene to prevent COVID-19 would also reduce exposure to asthma triggers, according to the researchers. Enhanced precautions — such as frequent cleaning and reduced smoking — by people concerned that COVID-19 may trigger asthma may also have helped reduce…  read on >

TUESDAY, Oct. 20, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Seeking to slow the spread of coronavirus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended on Monday that face masks be worn by everyone in all public transportation settings. That includes both passengers and people working in stations, terminals and airports across the country, CBS News reported. So far, the Trump administration has not issued any national mandate on face coverings, instead leaving that decision to state and local leaders. In the new interim guidance, the CDC called masks “one of the most effective strategies available for reducing COVID-19 transmission.” Wide use of masks helps protect those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 as well as workers who frequently come into close contact with other people in airports, bus terminals, train stations and seaports, the guidance stated. Most U.S. airlines, Amtrak and many other transport companies already require passengers and staff to wear masks, CBS News reported. The CDC urged passengers and workers on all airplanes, ships, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis and ride-shares to follow suit. For months, research has shown that face masks help curb the spread of COVID-19. In the new guidance, the CDC said everyone “should wear masks that cover both the mouth and nose when waiting for, traveling on, or departing from public [transportation]. People should also wear masks at…  read on >

Three weeks after becoming the first big urban area to reopen public schools since the pandemic began, New York City is not seeing a feared surge in cases among students and staff. Instead, health officials are seeing a surprisingly small number of COVID-19 cases, The New York Times reported. Of 15,111 staff members and students tested randomly in the first week of its testing regimen, the city has gotten back results for 10,676. There were only 18 positives: 13 staff members and five students, the Times reported. Even better, when officials put mobile testing units at schools near the Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods that have had new outbreaks, only four positive cases surfaced in more than 3,300 tests conducted since the last week of September, the newspaper said. New York City is facing fears of a second wave of the virus fueled by local spikes in Brooklyn and Queens, and official have closed more than 120 public schools as a precaution, the Times reported. Still, the sprawling system of 1,800 public schools is a bright spot as the city tries to recover from a pandemic that has killed more than 20,000 people and severely weakened its economy. When the city reopened its school system in September, roughly half of the city’s students opted for hybrid learning, where they are in the building some days, but…  read on >

The number of new U.S. coronavirus cases topped 60,000 on Thursday, a tally not reported since early August, as health experts worried the coming winter might push the toll even higher. The latest numbers have also sent the country’s total COVID-19 case count past 8 million, the The New York Times reported. The surge is nationwide, with cases multiplying across the country: Forty-four states and the District of Columbia have higher caseloads now than in mid-September, and the new coronavirus is spreading across rural communities in the Midwest, the Upper Midwest and the Great Plains, the Washington Post reported. On Thursday, Wisconsin set a record with more than 4,000 new cases reported, the newspaper said. Illinois also reported more than 4,000 cases on Thursday, breaking records that were set in April and May. Ohio set a new high, as did Indiana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Montana and Colorado, the Post reported. “We know that this is going to get worse before it gets better,” Wisconsin Department of Health Services secretary-designee Andrea Palm said during a briefing Thursday, the Post reported. “Stay home. Wear a mask. Stay six feet apart. Wash your hands frequently.” Some hospitals in the Upper Midwest and Great Plains have become jammed with patients and are running low on ICU beds, the Post reported. Montana reported a record 301 hospitalized COVID-19 patients…  read on >

The nation’s top infectious diseases expert warned Wednesday that Americans need to consider canceling family gatherings for Thanksgiving because coronavirus cases are now surging in 37 states. Dr. Anthony Fauci told CBS News that those surges might worsen if families across the country travel and gather for the beloved holiday. “That is unfortunately a risk, when you have people coming from out of town, gathering together in an indoor setting,” he told CBS News. “It is unfortunate, because that’s such a sacred part of American tradition — the family gathering around Thanksgiving. But that is a risk.” Asked what his advice would be to Americans making plans for the November holiday, Fauci had this to say: “I think people should be very careful and prudent about social gatherings, particularly when members of the family might be at a risk because of their age or their underlying condition. You may have to bite the bullet and sacrifice that social gathering, unless you’re pretty certain that the people that you’re dealing with are not infected.” Fauci noted that his own family’s Thanksgiving “is going to look very different this year.” His children, who live in three different states, will not come home for the holiday to protect his health since he is 79 and considered high-risk. “They themselves, because of their concern for me and my age,…  read on >