Featured Headlines

Nearly 50K Coronavirus Cases Reported at More Than 250 Colleges and Universities – NBC Chicago

Nearly 50,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported at more than 250 colleges and universities in recent weeks as students return to campuses while the pandemic rages on. NBC 5 Investigates is tracking cases at more than 250 colleges, universities and historically black colleges and universities most attended by Illinois students, including all schools within the state.

Europe Passes U.S. in New Covid Cases, Returning as Hot Spot – Bloomberg

Western Europe surpassed the U.S. in new daily Covid-19 infections, re-emerging as a global hot spot after bringing the pandemic under control earlier in the summer.

Experts affirm that coronavirus is ‘highly unlikely’ to be food risk – Food Safety News

It is highly unlikely that SARS-CoV-2 is a food safety risk, according to an international group of scientists. The International Commission for Microbiological Specifications of Foods (ICMSF) is a non-governmental organization and an observer to Codex Alimentarius. The chair is Martin Cole and members include Darrell W. Donahue and Lucia Anelich, as well as consultants Robert Buchanan and Jeffrey M. Farber.

Covid-19 scientific leaders share expertise in new MIT class – MIT

MIT course on the Covid-19 pandemic, available to the public online, brings together top experts to educate students on up-to-date science. As the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the globe, bringing everyday life to a screeching halt, researchers at MIT and its affiliates ramped down much of their lab work and stopped teaching classes in person, but refused to come to a standstill. Instead, they changed tacks and took action investigating the many unknowns of Covid-19 and the virus that causes it (SARS-CoV-2), organizing pandemic responses, and communicating with the public and each other about what they knew.

Coronavirus May Have Hit Los Angeles In December, Before Wuhan Outbreak Was Reported – Forbes

Covid-19 may have begun to spread in Los Angeles as early as December 2019, according to research from UCLA and the University of Washington, before the World Health Organization even knew about the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China.

Study shows COVID-19 exposure and viral carriage in health care workers – University of Birmingham

2.4% of asymptomatic health care workers at work in Birmingham were carriers of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and over a third of those individuals subsequently became unwell with symptoms of COVID-19, a new cross-sectional study by researchers at the University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has found. [Related Study BMJ]

As states lift restaurant restrictions, CDC report links dining out to increased COVID-19 risk – NBC

People who tested positive for COVID-19 were more than twice as likely to report eating or drinking at a bar or restaurant in the past two weeks.

How coronavirus took hold in North America and in Europe – Science Daily

Early interventions were effective at stamping out coronavirus infections before they spread, according to a new study. Combining virus genomics with epidemiologic simulations and travel records, the research shows that in both the United States and in Europe, sustained transmission networks became established only after separate introductions of the virus that went undetected.

COVID-19 Study Links Strict Social Distancing to Much Lower Chance of Infection – Johns Hopkins

Using public transportation, visiting a place of worship, or otherwise traveling from the home is associated with a significantly higher likelihood of testing positive with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, while practicing strict social distancing is associated with a markedly lower likelihood, suggests a study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.