McIlvaine Coronavirus Market Ale

Mountaire has Coronavirus Cases and is Now Issuing Masks

Midwest Center for Investigative Report has a Tracking System on All Meat Processing Plants With COVID 19 Cases

Flight Attendants are Both Victims and Transmitters of COVID-19

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Currently, stainless steel or plastics are used for sinks, counters, beds and other surfaces in health care environments, but while stainless steel and plastic are easy to clean (the main reason they're used in such places), they also demonstrably harbor far more bacteria and viruses than a similar copper surface does — and over time, small scratches, dings and holes can hide even more.

It's especially important that the most dangerous superbugs, responsible for the death and illness of already-sick people, are killed by copper. That includes methicillin-resistant staph (MRSA); other staph bacteria; adenoviruses; the flu virus (all types); and even fungus. In a study published in the International Journal of Food Microbiology, 99.9 percent of E.coli bacteria was killed after an hour on a copper table, whereas it survived for weeks on stainless steel.

Considering that last fact, it seems that copper tables and prep areas in restaurants and food-prep areas would be another place copper could make a dent in keeping the nastiest bugs away from vulnerable people.

Copper kills the variety of bacteria and viruses that it does because it works on several levels to disable the organisms. It binds to proteins that disrupt the basic function of the cell, it breaks down membranes that cause cell drying and then death, and it causes oxidative stress to any cells it comes into contact with, also destroying them.

We're used to seeing copper as a trendy metal in kitchens and bathrooms or used in pots and pans in kitchens — and using it in these places is beneficial. In fact, it would make sense to use copper, especially, in places that see a lot of hands and don't get washed often, like drawer pulls in the kitchen, or bathroom taps.

But the material could be used to save lives in far more fraught and dangerous settings, like hospitals, elder-care facilities, and places where the sickest and most vulnerable of us spend time. That's why there are already several hundred patents for health care surfaces and tools made from copper, though a materials transition will take time, especially where health care budgets are stretched thin or otherwise constrained

The new mask media is biodegradable, efficient in capturing virus and has low resistance.

Process engineer Thomas Rainey and his research team are stepping up work on a nanoparticle-removing new material they were developing for biodegradable anti-pollution masks.

“We have developed and tested a highly breathable nanocellulose material that can remove particles smaller than 100 nanometres, the size of viruses,” Rainey said. “I see many people wearing masks which are not tested for viruses. We have tested this material thoroughly and found it to be more efficient in its ability to remove virus-size nanoparticles than the high-quality commercially available masks we tested and compared it with.”

“By breathability we mean the pressure or effort the wearer has to use to breathe through the mask. The higher the breathability the greater the comfort and reduction in fatigue,” he said. “This is an important factor for people who have to wear masks for long periods or those with existing respiratory conditions. Our tests showed the new material was more breathable than commercial face masks, including surgical masks."

This new material has excellent breathability, and greater ability to remove the smallest particles. Rainey said the material could be used as a disposable filter cartridge in face masks.

This material would be relatively inexpensive to produce and would therefore be suitable for single-use. The cellulose nanofiber component is made from waste plant material, such as sugar cane bagasse and other agricultural waste products and is, therefore, biodegradable. It can be made using relatively simple equipment, and so we can quickly produce large quantities of the material.

“We have established proof-of-concept as a nanoparticulate filtration material and we are currently seeking industry partners," said Rainey.

The specifics of PPE use have been controversial since the pandemic first hit US shores. But once the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued the recommendation two weeks ago that everyone wear masks in public, hospital PPE policies began shifting rapidly. Many providers welcomed the change, and the number of healthcare workers being reprimanded for using their own PPE appears to have plummeted.

But rolling out new policies in the midst of a pandemic has created new problems: Frontline providers aren't always clear on current protocols. Institutional instructions on donning and doffing a wider variety of PPE sometimes lag behind or are completely lacking. And some medical organizations, including The American Association of Nurse Attorneys, have urged the CDC to reconsider its loosened standards, which allow for the use of bandanas in lieu of masks, saying they "will most likely result in the increased spread of the virus."

"Hospitals all over have greatly changed their practices around PPE use in response to existing shortages," said Eric Toner, MD, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security who conducted a new analysis on how much PPE may be needed. "And these will continue to evolve in response to local supply and demand mismatches."

I &E Technologies have been deploying hundreds of EBT (Elevated Body Temperature) Detection Systems in food plants, manufacturing plants, office buildings, hospitals, airports, retirement facilities, amusement parks, etc., for over a month now across the country to help screen individuals. While these thermal imaging instruments are not medical devices and do not replace conventional medical testing, they can be used to give an early indication when evaluating or screening a large population and are quick and effective at a safe distance.

According to Eric Fritz, I.E, president “Systems that claim to effectively scan groups of people at once as they pass by the camera, we believe will lead to a less accurate screening process and ultimately could put the facility and it's personnel at risk of "false-positives" or worse, "false-negatives". Due to many parameters that affect temperature measurement accuracy with any thermal imaging camera, it is important that the targets remove any glasses to open the view to the tear ducts, the cameras are in focus, the target is at the correct distance, the camera has the correct resolution and field of view for the distance, the camera has the correct frame rate, the system collects accurate, repeatable, and reliable temperature data, and the system accounts for other elements like environmental temperatures inside/outside, stabilization of the target, etc., to minimize interpretation of the data being collected.

The French-based beverage company behind Evian and other bottled water has closed its factory in Wuhan, China - its second largest market - as a result of COVID-19. But other plants are compensating .

Danone SA sales in the first quarter rose, driven by Europe and North America, while it withdrew full-year guidance due to the coronavirus.

The French food company said sales came in at 6.24 billion euros ($6.78 billion) compared with EUR 6.14 billion in the previous year period. Sales rose 1.7% on a reported basis and 3.7% on a like-for-like basis.

"First-quarter like-for-like sales growth is ahead of the expectations set by the company earlier in the year," Danone said.

The growth was partly attributed to a sales rise in March, boosted by the short-term effects of both a shift to at-home consumption as well as pantry loading in Europe and North America.

Danone's water division registered a decline of 6.8% like-for-like, while the essential diary and plant-based business grew 4.6%. Specialized nutrition recorded a growth of 7.9% on a like-for-like basis.

§ Hourly workers will receive a premium payment equivalent to 15% of their base hourly rate for all hours worked.

§ If a worker contracts coronavirus or must stay isolated at home because they have been in close contact with someone with the virus, they are eligible for up to 80 hours of paid quarantine leave.

§ Workers who have childcare needs are eligible to utilize any state, city or provincial paid sick leave where applicable.

In an early-release research letter in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, researchers said they found that 10 people who were sitting near one another at a restaurant in China in January got COVID-19, and that it likely spread because of the restaurant's air conditioner.

· Three seemingly healthy families were struck by COVID-19 after dining at neighboring tables in a windowless restaurant in Guangzhou, China, in January.

· Researchers studying the case think that the restaurant's air conditioner blew the viral droplets of one person who was asymptomatic farther than they might have normally gone. Nine other people across the three families later got sick.

· The researchers described their findings in an early-release research letter published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases earlier this month.

Patient A1 was infected with COVID-19, but asymptomatic when they dined with their family (A2-5) on January 24.
The AC picked up air droplets from the breath of patient A1 and blew them around the room. Water droplets usually don't travel more than a meter without assistance.
Nine other people (four members of A, three of B, and two of C) later tested positive for COVID-19 and were traced to A1.
"The key factor for infection was the direction of the airflow," a group of scientists from Guangzhou wrote in a letter published in the Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal. "Droplet transmission was prompted by air-conditioned ventilation."

· It's a frightening prospect for people who are trying to keep a healthy distance from others. However, in a potentially hopeful finding for the locked-down restaurant industry, none of the 73 other diners and eight employees in the restaurant at the time got sick, the researchers said.

· "To prevent the spread of the virus in restaurants, experts recommend increasing the distance between tables and improving ventilation.

· For the struggling restaurants desperate to reopen in the coming months, the researchers' findings are evidence that work will not just return to normal after the pandemic, but there might be ways to limit the risk of spreading the virus. There will likely be caps on how long patrons can spend eating, restaurants will operate at lower capacity, air conditioning or heating may have to stay off, and employees might be advised to wear masks.

· McIlvaine comes to a different conclusion relative to the air conditioning. HEPA filters should be installed and air flow directed from ceiling to floor and designed as much as possible to capture any virus clouds and remove the virus as it passes through the AC system. Turning off the air conditioning system will still allow virus clouds to follow air currents. The result could have been transmission of the infection to D,E, and F tables and even more infections.

More Coronavirus Outbreaks at Meatpacking Plants Than Previously Estimated

The number of coronavirus outbreaks at dozens of meatpacking plants across the nation is far more extensive than previously thought, according to an exclusive review of cases by USA TODAY and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.

And it could get worse. More than 150 of America’s largest meat processing plants operate in counties where the rate of coronavirus infection is already among the nation’s highest, based on the media outlets’ analysis of slaughterhouse locations and county-level COVID-19 infection rates.

These facilities represent more than 1 in 3 of the nation’s biggest beef, pork and poultry processing plants. Rates of infection around these plants are higher than those of 75% of other U.S. counties, the analysis found.

And while experts say the industry has thus far maintained sufficient production despite infections in at least 2,200 workers at 48 plants, there are fears that the number of cases could continue to rise and that meatpacking plants will become the next disaster zones.

"Initially our concern was long-term care facilities," said Gary Anthone, Nebraska's chief medical officer, in a Facebook Live video Sunday. “If there's one thing that might keep me up at night, it's the meat processing plants and the manufacturing plants."

Workers can stand too close together in certain areas of a meat packing facilities, enabling the spread of coronavirus. This is a look inside a chicken processing plant, but the process is similar no matter what type of meat is being processed.