COVID-19 Update, Wednesday, August 5

Re-opening updates, Summer Camp, Mental Health, Spain and Forecasts. This feels heavy today so wait till you're ready.

1. As schools begin to reopen around the country there have been a few bumps. In GA, 260 employees of one school district have tested positive or had direct exposure to someone who has. This is causing the district to need to delay their reopening. In MS a school opened on Monday and began quarantine by Friday. A school in IN made it two days before their first case. Cases and quarantines are to be expected as schools reopen.

2. A summer camp in GA had to shut down due to COVID. This is not, in and of itself, noteworthy. But we don’t have a lot of information about how COVID spreads among children, so it does provide some insight into that question. We do know that children 0-5 seem to have some level of protection. We suspect this is due to the freshness of their immunizations, and their physiology (the virus looks for specific cellular receptors and children tend to have less of these receptors). We have not been able to answer if they (children 0-5) are spreading it at a higher rate than others but we do know their viral load in the nose and throat is higher. Research continues in that area.

But 597 residents of GA + additional people from outside the state, attended summer camp where they were housed in cabins of about 15. They did not mask but did participate in lots of outdoor activities/sports etc, as one does at summer camp. The median age of campers was 12. The staffers ranged from 14-59 with the average being 17. 46% of those at the camp, who were residents of GA, developed COVID, 50% of those staying in cabins tested positive, 76% developed symptoms. The most common symptoms included fever, headache and sore throat. Over ½ (51%) of those who had COVID were aged 6-10 years old, 44% were 11-17 and 33% were over 18. People who came to the camp from outside of GA could not be tracked.

3. A study published in Science Direct found that 55% of COVID survivors had mental health implications as a result. Depression and Anxiety were most common but other findings included PTSD, obsessive compulsive disorder, and insomnia. This study was done on hospitalized patients and evaluated them one month after they were released from the hospital.

4. Spain is experiencing a second wave of outbreaks which began June 22, only 1 day after they lifted restrictions. But this wave is being seen more in younger patients (20’s) and the middle aged. Cases are milder and hitting neighborhood clinics more than hospitals and nursing homes as they saw previously.

5. The US will hit 5 million cases this week. Most likely sometime tomorrow, we hit 4 million on July 23rd.

FINAL THOUGHTS: In my youth I remember watching a Sally Fields movie (I don’t even remember what movie it was) where she had a stressful job (reporter maybe??) and she would drive out into a field and scream. This happened a couple of times during the movie and I remember thinking it was weird and not understanding it, but for some bizarre reason it stuck with me. Now I understand. Sometimes you need to scream. You need to just let all that frustration, grief, sorrow, anger, and angst out. We aren’t machines and our bodies can only take so much. We find ourselves mid-week and it seems like the weeks are getting harder, so today I want you to know that it is ok to need to scream. Go ahead. Let it out. Scream until your throat is sore and your anger and frustration are gone. Scream so that the heavens can hear you and small animals flee in fright. Scream until you have released it all. Because even Superheroes scream sometimes, often in some of the most poignant moments of their story. Just choose wisely when, where, and around whom. Find your field and let it out.