Wait, what? 

Courtesy of NBC News:

Dr. Joseph Fair, a virologist and epidemiologist who has been hospitalized with the coronavirus despite being in good health and taking precautions, said Thursday that he believes he contracted the virus through his eyes on a crowded flight.

Fair, 42, an NBC News contributor who has responded to multiple outbreaks around the world, got sick about three days after a flight to his home in New Orleans.

“I had a mask on, I had gloves on, I did my normal wipes routine … but obviously, you can still get it through your eyes,” Fair said on the “TODAY” show from his hospital bed. “And, of course, I wasn’t wearing goggles on the flight.

“That’s one of the three known routes of getting this infection that we just don’t pay a lot of attention to. We tend to pay attention to the nose and mouth, because that is the most common route,” he said. “But you know, droplets landing on your eyes are just as infectious.”

He said that the airline “had us packed in like sardines” and that, “instinctively, I probably should have gotten off.” But he didn’t.

I am literally kicking myself right now. 

For some reason I was not even thinking about contracting the Coronavirus through my eyes. 

And I should actually know better because for years I took care of a client who was HIV positive and was well versed on universal precautions and understood quite well how it was transported from one person to another, and yes eyes were identified as being an access point. 

And this information comes along with new information about how severely children may be affected by this virus. 

Courtesy of NYT:

Many are now convinced that unexplained strokes represent yet another insidious manifestation of Covid-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus.

The cases add to evidence that the coronavirus attacks not just the lungs, but also the kidneys, brain, heart and liver. In rare cases, it seems to trigger a life-threatening inflammatory syndrome in children.

“We’re seeing a startling number of young people who had a minor cough, or no recollection of viral symptoms at all, and they’re self-isolating at home like they’re supposed to — and they have a sudden stroke,” said Dr. Adam Dmytriw, a University of Toronto radiologist who is a co-author of a paper describing patients who suffered strokes related to Covid-19. The paper has not yet been peer reviewed.

Though many of those patients had diabetes and hypertension, none had heart risks known to increase the odds of a stroke. Many were under age 65. For some, stroke was the first symptom of coronavirus infection, and they postponed going to the emergency room, fearing exposure.

In other news, the CDC guidelines were finally released last night. 

Courtesy of NPR:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a set of documents on Thursday designed to provide guidance on how childcare centers, schools, restaurants and bars, and other establishments could begin the process of reopening in the face of coronavirus. The direction comes after calls from lawmakers and state officials mounted for the CDC to weigh in on how regions should reopen their economies.

The decision tools the agency released recommend that all workplaces hold off on reopening unless they are ready to protect employees at higher risk for severe illness, including those 65 and older and people of all ages with underlying medical conditions.

If an organization can protect workers and goes forward with reopening, the CDC recommends intensifying cleaning and sanitation and establishing health and safety actions “as feasible,” such as hand washing, wearing a cloth face covering and social distancing. The documents also advise employers to encourage workers to stay home if they feel sick.

Schools, childcare centers and camps should not reopen, the guidelines stipulate, unless they are able to implement coronavirus screening protocols, evaluating employees and children daily for symptoms and potential past exposures to COVID-19.

It should be noted that virtually none of the businesses that are now reopening have met the safety protocols laid out in this document. 

Which I imagine is why the Trump folks wanted to keep it under wraps.