Emergency Brake to Curb COVID-19 Surge

California has announced a series of "emergency brake" measures to contain the pandemic resurgence.

According to a statement issued by Newsom's office on Monday, 41 of California's total 58 counties, which comprise over 94 per cent of the state's population, would be labelled as the 'purple tier' and measures against the pandemic corresponding to the level could be effective Tuesday, reports Xinhua news agency.

Coronavirus
Coronaviruses infect animals, humans, and birds. Human coronaviruses, such as SARS, MERS, and 2019-nCoV cause respiratory distress and even death. The S protein is the infectious agent of the virus.

‘California hits an emergency brake to curb coronavirus surge. California's overall caseload and death toll have increased to more than 1,400,000 and 18,277, respectively.’

Tweet it Now

Last week, 13 counties were in the state's most restrictive tier.

When counties are in the 'purple tier', indoor operations for places like museums, houses of worship, gyms and restaurants are not allowed.

The state authority usually adjusted its county tiering system on Tuesdays, however, Newsom noted that the government must accelerate the assessment procedure due to the "Covid-19 cases sharply increase across the country and California".

New Drug Against COVID-19 Discovered
New drug compounds that target the protein complex – SKI complex, responsible for the replication and survival of coronaviruses, have been discovered.

The Governor disclosed that the number of confirmed cases had doubled in the past week, with 10,968 new cases on Monday, saying that is the fastest rate of rise the state had seen during the pandemic.

He also said that there had been a 48 per cent increase in hospital beds occupied by coronavirus patients in the past two weeks alone while the number of ICU patients with the fatal disease had risen 38 per cent over the same period.

Teeth Grinding and Facial Pain Raise Due to COVID-19 Stress
50% of Israeli women suffer from excessive teeth grinding and/or pain in facial muscles due to pandemic-related stress and anxiety, as per the Tel Aviv University study.

"We are sounding the alarm," the statement said, adding: "California is experiencing the fastest increase in cases we have seen yet - faster than what we experienced at the outset of the pandemic or even this summer.

"The spread of Covid-19, if left unchecked, could quickly overwhelm our health care system and lead to catastrophic outcomes."

Delaying Valve Replacement During COVID-19 can be Deadly
Patients with severe aortic stenosis should undergo valve replacement surgery within 2 weeks. This results in better clinical outcomes if patients are infected by coronavirus in future.

The statement indicated that California is also strengthening its face covering guidance to require individuals to wear a mask whenever outside their home, with limited exceptions.

Source-IANS