Like everyone else, I’m spending more time than ever on the internet looking for information about the expanding COVID-19 pandemic, and friends and colleagues keep trading articles they find useful or interesting. Below I have curated a list of articles that have caught my attention in the past few weeks. I hope you find them useful and interesting as well.

Understanding COVID-19 Spread

As a medical professional, I find this pandemic interesting. As human being, I just wish everyone would recover and the world would revert to normal. If those two criteria were met, then the science behind the pandemic would be captivating. If you are intrigued by the science of the pandemic, Massive Science has an article for you.

Soap is King

The Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) number one recommendation for keeping your hands clean is soap and water. The New York Times published an article on why soap and water are kings when it comes to hand sanitization.

Sanitizing Objects

In the past few weeks, I have attended at least 10 webinars on COVID-19. One of my favorites was sponsored by the New York State Veterinary Medical Society, featuring Dr. Alison Stout of Cornell University’s Whittaker coronavirus laboratory. As part of her presentation she listed everyday items that could harbor coronavirus. These items, which are commonly found at home or in a veterinary hospital, included: tables, benches, desks, computers, microscopes, paper records, money, checks, pens, pencils, stethoscopes, magazines, and coffee maker buttons. This webinar made me realize I had not cleaned the buttons on the coffee maker and rushed home to do so. While cleaning the coffee maker, I realized I had neglected the switches on the under-cabinet lighting. In short, Dr. Stout said clean, clean, clean.

Making Homemade Masks

The Center for Disease Control is now recommending cloth face coverings for all when we are out in public and may not be able to social distance properly. I have read several articles on homemade face coverings, partly because I like to sew and partly because it seems like something useful I could do. The Philadelphia Enquirer has a balanced article about the pros and cons of homemade masks and some patterns for those who want to sew. Masks would be an excellent skill builder for someone just learning to sew as part of a home-school curriculum.

Hopeful News

I am going to end this blogpost on a note of hope. Sporadic reports of pets infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 have come from overseas. However, three major American veterinary companies released data to suggest SARS-CoV-2 is not having a large impact on our pets. Idexx Laboratories, a veterinary laboratory company, reported tests from 3500 canine and feline samples; no samples tested positive for the virus. Antech Diagnostics, another veterinary laboratory company, reported similar findings from their surveillance data. Trupanion, a pet health insurance provider, confirmed no unusual increase or change in the frequency of illnesses in their pet health database. These three press releases give me some reassurance that our beloved pets will still be around to comfort us through this most difficult of times.