Global outbreak causes pandemic fears as cases jump outside of China
Fears of a global pandemic grew over the weekend as cases jumped in countries outside of China. Fifty people have died in the Iranian city of Qom from the coronavirus this month, according to Iran’s ILNA news agency. Iran had originally reported its death toll at 12. The 50 deaths date back to Feb. 13. Also, Italy is considered Europe’s first major outbreak and the largest outside of Asia as the number of Italian cases jumped to 152, compared to 10 just three days ago. Milan and Venice, Italy, have seen outbreaks and soccer matches have been canceled due to coronavirus. Meanwhile, cases in South Korea have jumped to 763, with more than 160 people infected in the past 24 hours. South Korea now has the third-largest infected total behind China and Japan. Read more here.
Oil, metal prices tumble and gold soars among renewed anxiety of coronavirus causing global harm
Anxiety that the coronavirus will cause global harm hit the commodity markets Monday as oil and metal prices tumbled, and gold soared toward $1,700 an ounce. Central bankers from the world’s largest economies have said they see downside risk persisting as the virus spreads worldwide. Oil fell more than 3% in London and New York on Monday. Industrial commodities were also hit hard with copper falling about 1% on the London Metal Exchange and rubber declining more than 2% in Singapore. This reflects a larger market sell-off as the spread of coronavirus scares investors outside of China. Howie Lee, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore, told Fortune, “The spread of COVID-19 to Italy and South Korea is threatening the rebounds in asset prices and that fear is driving gold prices higher.” Read more here.
Gilead’s remdesivir may be effective against coronavirus
Gilead Sciences’ antiviral remdesivir may be effective against the coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Remdesivir is an investigational antiviral drug that has yet to be approved for use anywhere globally. However, Gilead has been working with global health officials responding to the coronavirus outbreak and experimenting with remdesivir. The FDA, CDC, National Institute of Allergies and Infection Diseases, DOD, the China CDC and WHO have all participated in trials with Gilead. It has initiated two clinical trials in China with health authorities there. One is evaluating remdesivir in patients with confirmed disease who have developed more severe clinical complications like a requirement for supplemental oxygen. The other is evaluating remdesivir in coronavirus patients who have been hospitalized but are not significant manifestations of the disease. Read more here.
U.S. hospitals unprepared for coronavirus outbreak, writes former Harvard med school professor
William Haseltine, a former Harvard Medical School professor and chair and president of ACCESS Health International, a global health think tank, shares that U.S. hospitals are unprepared for a coronavirus outbreak in an op ed for the Los Angeles Times. Haseltine chaired the 9th U.S.-China Health Summit in Wuhan in September 2019. He says hospitals in the U.S. are already so overburdened, and their staffs so overworked, that one bad flu season is enough to push them over capacity. Haseltine goes on to say if an outbreak occurs in the U.S., the healthcare system must do its best to treat patients in their homes, which requires leveraging telehealth capabilities of local clinics for remote diagnosis of emergent coronavirus cases. Read more from Haseltine here.
Alabama balks at housing coronavirus patients
A federal plan to house cruise ship passengers who tested positive for the coronavirus at a facility in Alabama was met with a resounding no by Alabama state officials. The plan called for the FEMA Center for Domestic Preparedness (Anniston, AL) to be used as a coronavirus quarantine center for some American passengers evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. Most evacuees are now housed at military bases in Texas, Colorado and California. HHS said the Alabama center was chosen for its unique facilities and only patients with minor or no symptoms would go to the center under than plan. Any evacuees who became ill would be taken to pre-identified hospitals. The plan drew a negative response from Anniston’s mayor, Alabama’s governor and multiple Alabama representatives. Read more here.
Outbreak in China could cause shortages of 150 drugs in U.S.
Sources familiar with an FDA list of at-risk drugs told Axios that China’s role in supplying the ingredients used in medications means that decreased Chinese production capability amid coronavirus outbreaks could threaten supplies of drugs, including antibiotics, generics and branded drugs in the U.S. The FDA did not comment directly but stated that it was aware that the outbreak could impact the medical product supply chain and is working to identify potential vulnerabilities. Read more here.
More coronavirus resources from The Journal of Healthcare Contracting:
- Day-by-day Timeline of major events
- FAQ/Insights – Helpful and relevant links to help you keep track of the ongoing epidemic