COVID-19 Updates: June 18, 2020

UNC coronavirus study shows why it’s important to wear a mask that covers your nose

Originally posted by Herald Sun, Matthew Diasio (June 17, 2020)

One of the most confusing aspects of COVID-19 is its tendency to spread when people don’t have symptoms, but a new study from researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill may explain why that happens and help doctors prevent the worst cases of the disease.

The study found that the coronavirus infects the cells in the nose much more easily than those in the throat and lungs.

Scientists are still working to understand the ways people can catch COVID-19. An important clue to Dr. Richard Boucher, one of the senior researchers at the UNC School of Medicine, is that many people with COVID-19 lose their sense of smell. Previous research suggests that over half of patients with COVID-19 partially or completely lost their sense of smell while sick.

This suggested that the coronavirus could be especially active in the nose even when people don’t show classic nasal symptoms like sneezing, runny nose, or congestion.

As a pulmonologist, Boucher sees many people with chronic lung problems get sick when germs from the mouth or nose accidentally fall into the lungs with fluids like saliva or mucus. This could mean that instead launching a direct assault on the lungs, the coronavirus camps out in the nose, building up and waiting for some lucky drips to carry it down the sinuses and throat.

Orange County Face Coverings Requirement

The UNC team compared how easily the coronavirus infects the cells lining different parts of the respiratory tract, from the nose to the lungs. The cells in the nose turned out to be the easiest to infect, followed by cells in the throat and then those in the lungs. This mostly matched up with the relative concentrations of a protein in our bodies that the coronavirus uses to get inside cells.

The researchers also examined the lungs of people who had died from COVID-19. If they got the coronavirus directly from breathing it in the air, it would be evenly spread out in the lungs. “You would expect the lung to look like it had one big veil of COVID-19 coming down over it,” Boucher said.

Instead, spots of severe infection were next to healthy tissue. This supports the theory that the lungs are infected when mucus and other liquids are aspirated into the lungs.

“If you get a teaspoon down the wrong way, it’s going to go preferentially down a few airways,” Boucher said.

Most of the infected patches were in the lower lungs, another sign of a falling liquid. These findings matched with X-ray observations of COVID-19 patients showing more diseased patches lower in the lungs.

The UNC study helps explain why it’s so easy to spread COVID-19 even without showing symptoms, Boucher said.

“Your nose is used to filtering out a lot of things and seeing a lot of things. It’s the first line of defense” and catches things like viruses in hair and mucus. You might feel fine if the coronavirus is only in your nose, but breathing or sneezing can send coronavirus particles into the air.

Some people are more likely to aspirate fluid into their lungs, which can explain why certain groups are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

“As you get older, as you get chubbier, or if you have diabetes,” Boucher said, the reflexes that prevent aspiration tend to be less effective. As a result, higher amounts of coronavirus get into the lungs, where the most harmful symptoms develop.

If the nose is where the coronavirus prepares to attack the rest of the body, we can fortify our nasal defenses to stop it from gaining ground in the first place.

Clinical trials are looking into whether rinses can flush the coronavirus out from the nose. With less virus, aspiration is less likely to infect the lungs.

It may also be possible to trick the nose into thinking it’s already under attack before a person is exposed to the coronavirus. This primes a broad immune response that can help fight off viruses generally before the body is able to produce targeted defenses against COVID-19.

Wearing a mask, even a non-medical one, blocks most large virus-carrying droplets that come out of the nose, like from a sneeze. And if the coronavirus is most likely to infect someone by getting into the nose, covering it makes the nose a harder target.

Wearing masks “really is a two-fer,” Boucher said. “You’re protecting yourself and you’re protecting somebody else from you transmitting something in an asymptomatic phase.”

Weekend Meals Available for OCS Students

Orange County Schools will continue to work diligently to ensure that children will continue receiving nutritious meals even when school is not in session. Free lunch meals, prepared by the OCS Child Nutrition Services Department, which meet the federal guidelines including a protein, fruit, vegetable, and milk, will be prepared and made available as follows:

Pick-Up Meals Sites — Meals will be available Monday — Friday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., via a “grab and go” drive through line, at the following locations:

Fairview Community Garden — Tulip Tree Road, Hillsborough, NC 27278 (11:00am — 12:00pm)
Cedar Grove Community Center — 5800 NC Highway 86 N, Hillsborough, 27278
Efland Cheeks Community Center — 117 Richmond Rd, Mebane NC 27302
Cedar Ridge High School — 1125 New Grady Brown School Road, Hillsborough 27278
Partnership Academy School — 1006 Storey Lane, Hillsborough 27278
Central Elementary — 154 Hayes St., Hillsborough, 27278
NEW Site — New Horizon Church — 100 Horizon Pl., Durham, 27705
NEW Site — Mebane Mobile Home Park 202 Supper Club Road Mebane, NC 27302

Please note, children do not need to be present in order for families to pick-up meals. We encourage anyone picking up meals to continue to practice social distancing.

Drop-Off Meals Sites — Drop-off meals (via an OCS vehicle) will be provided at the following locations:

Howe St., Durham, 27705 (in the parking lot near the row of mailboxes). Staff will be onsite to provide meals for pick up at this drop-off site between 11:30 am-12:00 pm.
New Horizon Church, 100 Horizon Place, Durham 27705. Staff members and church volunteers will be onsite to provide meals for pick up at this drop-off site between 11:00 am-11:30 am.
Supper Club Road, Mebane 27302 (across the street from 205 Supper Club Rd. near grey mailboxes). Staff will be onsite to provide meals for pick up at this drop- off site between 11:00 am — 12:00 pm.
Dixie Avenue, Hillsborough 27278 (at entrance) from 12:00pm — 12:30pm.
Torain Street, Hillsborough 27278 (near the park) from 12:30pm — 1:00pm.
Formax Drive, Durham 27705 (near the mailboxes) from 11:00am -11:20am.
Wilkins Drive, Durham 27705 (near row of mailboxes) from 12:15pm — 12:45pm.
Sunset Place, Durham 27705 (entrance) from 12:40pm — 1:00pm.
Arbor Hill Lane, Durham 27705 (entrance) from 11:30am — 11:45am.
Quick Silver Circle, Durham 27705 (entrance) from 11:50am — 12:10pm.
Jackson Fuqua Blvd, Durham 27705 (entrance) from 12:15pm — 12:30pm.
Gateway Village Apartments, Hillsborough 27278 from 11:00 am- 1:00pm.

If you can not attend during the scheduled time, please alert your school social worker as food may be made available. Additional drop-off sites will be added as needed. Please continue to check this document for updates.

Meals will be provided to children under the age of 18.
Families should remain in their car; staff will be onsite to provide you with the required number of meals.
Please note, children do not need to be present in order for families to pick-up meals.
OCS will do our best to provide breakfast meal options in each bag daily while supplies last.

For more information, please visit the OCS webpage.

This Friday, June 19th marks 'Juneteenth'

Originally posted by The New York Times, Derrick Bryson Taylor (June 16, 2020)
What is Juneteenth? On June 19, 1865, about two months after the Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Va., Union Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform enslaved African-Americans of their freedom and that the Civil War had ended. General Granger’s announcement put into effect the Emancipation Proclamation, which had been issued more than two and a half years earlier on Jan. 1, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln.

The holiday received its name by combining June and 19. The day is also sometimes called “Juneteenth Independence Day,” “Freedom Day” or “Emancipation Day.”

How is it celebrated? The original celebration became an annual one, and it grew in popularity over the years with the addition of descendants, according to Juneteenth.com, which tracks celebrations. The day was celebrated by praying and bringing families together. In some celebrations on this day, men and women who had been enslaved, and their descendants, made an annual pilgrimage back to Galveston.

Celebrations reached new heights in 1872, when a group of African-American ministers and businessmen in Houston purchased 10 acres of land and created Emancipation Park. The space was intended to hold the city’s annual Juneteenth celebration.

Today, while some celebrations take place among families in backyards where food is an integral element, some cities, like Atlanta and Washington, hold larger events, like parades and festivals with residents, local businesses and more.

Galveston has remained a busy site for Juneteenth events over the years, said Douglas Matthews, who has helped coordinate them for more than two decades. He said the city usually has about 15 events, including parades, barbecues, musical performances and a beauty contest, beginning in the first week of June. Combined, the events draw about 10,000 people in total, he said.

“This year, there’s only probably about two or three events because of the coronavirus epidemic,” he said. “We’re just happy with the significance of our Juneteenth anniversary.”

Would it ever become a national holiday? In 1980, Texas became the first state to designate Juneteenth as a holiday, though the recognition is largely symbolic. Since then, 45 other states and the District of Columbia have moved to officially recognize the day. In 2019, New Hampshire became the latest state to declare Juneteenth a state holiday. On Tuesday, Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia said he would propose legislation to make Juneteenth a paid state holiday.

Also this month, Twitter and Square, a mobile payment company, designated Juneteenth as a company holiday. Jack Dorsey, the chief executive and a founder of Twitter and Square, said the day was for “celebration, education, and connection.” Vox Media, Nike and the N.F.L. have also made similar announcements, joining others in making the celebration a paid day off.

Why has Juneteenth become so important this year? Following the filmed killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man who died in the custody of the Minneapolis Police last month, thousands of people around the U.S. have poured onto the streets in protest. Mr. Floyd’s name, as well as the names of Ms. Taylor, Mr. Arbery, David McAtee and others, have become rallying cries for change across the country, effectively re-energizing the Black Lives Matter movement.

That change has come in waves. In Minneapolis, officials banned the use of chokeholds and strangleholds by police, and said officers must intervene and report any use of unauthorized force.

Democrats in Congress unveiled sweeping legislation targeting misconduct and racial discrimination by the police. The bill is the most expansive intervention into policing that lawmakers have proposed in recent memory.

Companies across the business spectrum have voiced support of the Black Lives Matter movement and have either suspended or fired employees who mocked Mr. Floyd’s death or made racists remarks.

Mark Anthony Neal, an African-American studies scholar at Duke University, said there are some comparisons between the end of the Civil War to current unrest, adding that this moment feels like a “rupture.”

“The stakes are a little different,” Mr. Neal said. “Many African-Africans, black Americans, feels as though this is the first time in a long time that they have been heard in a way across the culture.”

“I think Juneteenth feels a little different now,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for folks to kind of catch their breath about what has been this incredible pace of change and shifting that we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks.”

North Carolina COVID-19 Cases

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) reports 48,188 COVID-19 cases, 1,175 deaths, and 857 hospitalizations, as of June 18, 2020. For more information regarding live updates (NCDHHS updates the site every morning at 11 a.m.), please visit the NCDHHS website.

Orange County Health Department also has a COVID-19 dashboard webpage, with information on COVID-19 data in the county. The dashboard will be updated every Tuesday and Thursday.

There are currently 497 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Orange County, and 40 deaths.

COVID-19 Community Resources

For more information on COVID-19 community resources in the county, please visit our webpage. Resources on specific topic areas, such as food access, education, housing, and others, are all accessible on our website, or at the links below.

Contact Information

For general questions (not urgent) about 2019 Novel Coronavirus, contact NCDHHS at: ncresponse@dhhs.nc.gov or 1-866-462-3821 to address general questions about coronavirus from the public.

If you are an individual or a medical practice with questions about COVID-19, call the Orange County Health Department at (919) 245-6111 to leave a message. This phone number is being actively monitored by staff Monday through Friday and they will promptly return your call.

Contact Kristin Prelipp, the Orange County Health Department’s Public Information Officer at: kprelipp@orangecountync.gov or 919-245-2462

Orange County Health Department:
Web: www.orangecountync.gov/coronavirus
Phone: 919-245-2400
Email: covid19@orangecountync.gov
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