Three new coronavirus cases reported on Nantucket Friday for second time this week - The Inquirer and Mirror
Three new coronavirus cases reported on Nantucket Friday for second time this week - The Inquirer and Mirror |
- Three new coronavirus cases reported on Nantucket Friday for second time this week - The Inquirer and Mirror
- Quarantined in San Angelo: local woman shares her story amid the COVID-19 outbreak - Standard-Times
- Coughing Up Phlegm: What The Color Of Your Sputum Says About Your Health - Medical Daily
| Posted: 28 Aug 2020 03:34 PM PDT (Aug. 28, 2020) Three new confirmed cases of coronavirus were reported on Nantucket Friday, raising to 59 the total number of positive tests on the island. Three cases in a single day is the most reported in a single day since testing began, and the second time this week that many have been reported. The only other time was July 2. None of the new cases were linked to the recent party at Ladies Beach that has resulted in four positive COVID-19 tests to date, town health director Roberto Santamaria said. Click here for story. All were visitors to the island who contracted the virus before arriving, he said. Eight confirmed cases have been reported on the island in the past week. Despite the recent uptick, Nantucket continues to have one of the lowest COVID-19 rates in the state per 100,000 population, and the fewest confirmed cases of any county in Massachusetts. Nantucket Cottage Hospital staff collected 102 nasal swabs for testing Friday, and 6,507 since testing began. In addition to the 59 positive tests – 0.92 percent of the total number returned – 6,349 have come back negative, and 99 are awaiting results. Forty-five new coronavirus cases have been confirmed on Nantucket since June 22, as overall testing volume increased and visitors flocked to the island in the summer months. Forty-five of those who tested positive have recovered, hospital officials said. Thirteen patients are in isolation at home and one, a man in his 80s with a preexisting medical condition, died April 5 at Nantucket Cottage Hospital. No coronavirus-positive patients are currently hospitalized on Nantucket or in mainland facilities. The total number of tests include symptomatic patients, asymptomatic individuals who registered for testing or were sponsored by their employer, as well as patients admitted to the hospital and those required to be tested prior to a medical procedure or surgery. The town health department will not provide individual demographic information about patients who test positive, citing a directive from the state Department of Public Health. Nantucket Cottage Hospital officials have also refused to release any information about those patients who test positive, citing privacy concerns. The majority of those who have tested positive on Nantucket – 56 percent – are under 40, according to data provided to the Select Board last Wednesday by Santamaria. Sixty-one percent of them are men. Santamaria has declined to comment on the origin of most COVID-19 cases, but did say that the vast majority of positive tests were either visitors or seasonal residents who contracted the virus on the mainland and then tested positive at Nantucket Cottage Hospital. There had been almost no community spread until last week's beach party, attended mostly by young people, including many island students, he added. The Board of Health in late June issued an emergency order requiring everyone downtown and in Sconset to wear masks or face coverings while on any public street, sidewalk, in restaurants or retail establishments, except while eating. Gov. Charlie Baker late last month issued a statewide order requiring anyone from states with high coronavirus activity to register before entering Massachusetts and quarantine for two weeks once they get here, unless they can provide a negative COVID-19 test administered within 72 hours of arrival (Read story here). An analysis of Nantucket's wastewater for the presence of COVID-19 Aug. 2 indicated there are an estimated 80 people on the island with coronavirus. The sewage test follows one July 5 estimating 110 people with COVID-19. A June 22 test found no traces of the virus, two weeks after a June 8 analysis indicated there were an estimated 160 people on-island with coronavirus. For David Gray, director of the Nantucket Sewer Department, the June 8 data came as a surprise after no presence of COVID-19 was detected in Nantucket's sewage in three prior tests dating back to April. It also stood in stark contrast to the number of positive tests recorded at the hospital, even since testing has increased. In addition, 162 Nantucket nursing-home and senior-living community residents and staff from Our Island Home and Sherburne Commons were tested for coronavirus in early May through the state's mobile-testing program. All 162 tests came back negative. Prior to June 22, the most recent case of coronavirus on Nantucket was reported May 19. Additional cases were confirmed May 3, April 26 and 27. Before that, 22 days passed without a positive test on the island.Public-health officials continued to emphasize the need to abide by the state and federal social-distancing and mask-wearing guidelines while restrictions are slowly and methodically loosened. If the number of positive tests begins to rise, the restrictions could be tightened, Santamaria said. Nantucket Cottage Hospital does not have an intensive-care unit and only five ventilators. CEO Gary Shaw has said patients in need of acute respiratory care would be transferred to mainland hospitals if at all possible. The hospital this spring expanded its testing criteria, and will swab anyone with symptoms of viral respiratory syndrome at its daily drive-up testing site. Asymptomatic testing is also available by appointment.The criteria for drive-up testing includes at least one of the following signs or symptoms consistent with a viral respiratory syndrome: subjective/documented fever, new sore throat, new cough, new runny nose/nasal congestion, new shortness of breath, new muscle aches or anosmia (new loss of sense of smell). Drive-up testing is available 7 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, and 8 a.m.-noon Saturday and Sunday. For more information about symptomatic and asymptomatic testing, click here. "Ambulatory testing criteria at our drive-through evaluation site at the main entrance of Nantucket Cottage Hospital have been expanded to include all patients with active COVID-19 symptoms. With the criteria expanded, we are encouraging island residents with any of these symptoms to come to our drive-through for an evaluation by our clinical team," hospital public-information officer Jason Graziadei said. Click here to sign up for "Above the Fold," The Inquirer and Mirror's twice-weekly newsletter, bringing you both the news and a slice of island life, curated with content created by Nantucket's only team of professionally-trained journalists. For up-to-the-minute information on Nantucket's breaking news, boat and plane cancellations, weather alerts, sports and entertainment news, deals and promotions at island businesses and more, Sign up for Inquirer and Mirror text alerts. Click Here |
| Quarantined in San Angelo: local woman shares her story amid the COVID-19 outbreak - Standard-Times Posted: 29 Mar 2020 12:00 AM PDT CLOSE  SAN ANGELO — Courtney Frizell, 32, has struggled with health issues her entire life. The outbreak of COVID-19, or coronavirus, that swept across the globe from China before it made its way into San Angelo last week alarmed Frizell, whose heart rate isn't steady due to hypothyroidism. There are days, too, when she grapples with taking a simple breath. "I had lung surgery at age 3 due to fungal pneumonia," Frizell said. "They tried treating (me) with antibiotics but ... it didn't work." Respiratory issues keep Frizell from running, but she and her husband own a treadmill that she walks on for 30 minutes each day to stay active. Before March 16, 2020, Frizell said she felt her usual, normal self. Then things changed. "I began quarantine on Tuesday, March 17," Frizell said. "It might have been Monday night. It's all very hazy." What Frizell can remember clearly though are the symptoms she said appeared "out of nowhere." "I had severe body aches, chills, nausea, and some sinus pressure with a fever of 101.5 degrees," Frizell said. "By the next day, I still had a fever and developed a shortness of breath and a slight cough." More: Here are the most commonly asked questions about the coronavirus and San Angelo Frizell decided to ask for a doctor's opinion using Shannon Medical Center's On Demand online and telemedicine services. Frizell said there appeared to be some confusion in getting tested for COVID-19. "When I used Shannon On Demand, the doctor I spoke with told me to wait in the parking lot and they would come out to screen me... They didn't," Frizell said. "I called Shannon and they told me to just go into (the ER) and that 'no one should have told you that.'" More: Shannon offers online service to diagnose potential coronavirus cases What to expect getting tested for COVID-19To get tested for COVID-19, patients have a long Q-tip inserted through their nose to reach what's known as the nasopharyngeal region, from where cells are collected. "If you were to open your mouth and say 'Ahh' and look straight back, that's the region, right where the respiratory (tract) meets the back of your mouth,'' said Kirsten Hokeness, an immunology expert who teaches at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. "The virus likes to latch on there and start replicating.'' Once the sample is taken, it is put into a sterile container and sent to a lab, where a chemical is used to pull the cells off the swab and turn the sample into a liquid form. That liquid is then put into a machine that goes through hot and cold cycles to make multiple copies of the virus' ribonucleic acid (RNA), which carries genetic information. The machine looks to match the person's RNA with the coronavirus RNA to determine a positive or negative result. Dwayne Breining, executive director for Northwell Labs in New Hyde Park, New York, said the test is extremely accurate and can detect even low levels of the virus. False positives are highly unlikely, he said, though false negatives may result from poor-quality swabs or if the instrument is blocked by mucus. Those factors might have been at play in a number of false negatives initially reported. Patients who continue to have symptoms after a negative test are advised to get retested. San Angelo woman had choice: hospital or self-quarantineFrizell said a doctor performed a screening for COVID-19, then medical staff asked if Frizell wanted to go home and self-quarantine for 14 days or stay at the hospital. Frizell chose to go home. At home is where Frizell enjoyed leading a relatively normal life helping small businesses with their social media and marketing campaigns. She read books and was 78 days into teaching herself Korean. Frizell, up until she got sick, had started reading Dante Alighieri's "The Divine Comedy." With her fever at 101.5 degrees, Frizell now journeyed through her own private hell. She continued to accumulate symptoms that included shortness of breath, body aches, a dry cough, and the fear that she may have COVID-19. San Angelo woman kept diary of symptoms while in self-quarantineFrizell chose to keep a diary of her symptoms while in isolation under self-quarantine. Medical staff at Shannon told Frizell to call them if her symptoms became worse, and she felt compelled to record what was happening to her. The following are excerpts from what Frizell wrote: Day 1: Happened at night
Day 2 (March 17)
Day 3 (March 18)
Day 4 (March 19)
Day 5 (March 20)
Day 6 (March 21)
Day 7 (March 22)
Day 8 (March 23)
San Angelo woman hasn't been able to hold her husband or hug her motherFrom March 24 - 26, Frizell said her daily life was stuck resting in bed. "I (couldn't) make it to the kitchen and back without feeling fatigued," Frizell said. "Every time I shower, it feels like I might faint. I wish I had a shower chair. But still, (I'm) getting better day by day." "(Thursday) was the first night I had a full 8 hours of sleep. No matter how tired I was, the discomfort, lack of breath, and sinus issues, and eventual throat pain made it impossible to sleep for more than 2 hours a night," Frizell said. More: San Angelo mayor writes Gov. Abbott, senators to avoid economic ruin, massive homelessness Despite gradual improvements to her health, Frizell said things have been especially hard because she hasn't been able to get near her family out of fear they will get sick too. Frizell's husband has remained healthy so far while they both practice social distancing. "We (kept our distance) during the worst time, which was difficult because you want comfort, but it's necessary to safeguard everyone in the house," Frizell said. "We haven't hugged or anything — not even my mom who lives with us because she's immunocompromised and has COPD." "It's really a tough time for everyone," she said. On Saturday, March 28, Frizell said she heard back from medical staff at Shannon about her test results for COVID-19. Frizell tested negative. "(They) said my test came back negative but my symptoms fit and (they) think I went in too early so the results showed negative," Frizell said How accurate are COVID-19 tests?One potential pitfall of COVID-19 testing is that samples are collected from the nose and throat — part of the upper respiratory tract — but the virus mainly causes a lower respiratory tract infection in the lungs. That means it's possible not to collect enough samples of the virus from the upper respiratory tract, even if a patient is infected. "No test is ever perfect," said Erin Graf, co-director of Microbiology at Mayo Clinic Arizona. "Sometimes if the level is too low, we might get a false negative result." The reason samples aren't collected from a person's lower respiratory tract, or lungs, is because doing so is a lot more challenging, according to Graf. If a patient continues to be ill and doctors have ruled out other illnesses, they could choose to collect and test samples from the lower respiratory tract. Another potential shortfall of the test is how sensitive it is. "Because the test is so exquisitely sensitive, a small amount of contamination ... could really impact the testing," Graf said. There is always the possibility that the virus could mutate. If a virus mutates in the parts targeted by the test, it could render current tests useless. All viruses mutate, according to Dr. David Engelthaler, the co-director and associate professor of the Pathogen and Microbiome Division at TGen North in Flagstaff, Arizona, so it's expected there will be some changes to this virus in coming months. 'Your life just stops' says San Angelo womanFrizell's self-quarantine ends March 31, but her doctor wants her to stay in quarantine until her last symptom doesn't present itself for 3 additional days, and Frizell's cough hasn't stopped yet. Until then, Frizell said her life has been put on hold. "It's as if your life just stops," she said. "You can do things at home, but that furniture I wanted to refinish? Shopping for fixing up the new house? None of it's possible now." Frizell cannot see her nieces and nephews, hug her family, or kiss her husband. She remains isolated and alone with only a mobile device as her connection to the outside world. "Everything feels surreal," Frizell said. "I often ask myself 'Is this really our life now? Is this really happening?' And of course it is but it seems so absurd ...it's an experience I never thought I'd have nor ever wanted." More: COVID-19 BLOG: How San Angelo is affected by the coronavirus John Tufts covers enterprise and investigative topics in West Texas. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com. Consider supporting West Texas journalism with a subscription to GoSanAngelo.com. Read or Share this story: https://www.gosanangelo.com/story/news/2020/03/29/san-angelo-woman-shares-story-living-quarantine-amid-covid-19-coronavirus/2926564001/ |
| Coughing Up Phlegm: What The Color Of Your Sputum Says About Your Health - Medical Daily Posted: 09 Sep 2015 12:00 AM PDT It's not uncommon when you develop a hacking cough from deep down in your lungs to cough up a gel-like substance known as phlegm, or sputum. While you may think nothing of it, simply associating it with your sickness, the color of the mucus can tell you some things about the pathogens invading your body. The body is a mucus-making machine, producing about 1 to 1.5 liters of phlegm every day, even when you're healthy. "In health, phlegm/mucus is mostly clear and minimal," Dr. Matthew Exline, a pulmonologist and critical care specialist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, told Medical Daily in an email. "If you are coughing up significant amounts of phlegm you could have an infection or allergies." Read More: Coughing Up Blood: 5 Possible Causes, And What To Do While coughing up only a little clear phlegm is considered normal, larger amounts of phlegm may indicate a developing infection. This occurs as a result of the respiratory tract becoming inflamed, which also leads to coughing. In turn, this coughing speeds up the rate for which the infection affects a person. So, now that we've gotten clear phlegm out of the way, what do other colors of phlegm mean for our health?
White or Gray PhlegmCoughing up white or gray phlegm is often an indication of an upper respiratory tract infection or sinus congestion. Dr. Steve Okhravi, an emergency physician and founder of DocChat and Emergency Medical Care, says this type of phlegm drains from the sinuses. "Normally, your sinus doesn't drip, but when there's inflammation, either viral or bacterial, it can cause a drip from your sinus into your throat," he told Medical Daily in an email. You might have heard consuming dairy products can cause white mucus to develop. This isn't true. However, dairy can make it thicker, and therefore more troublesome for the body to drain. This causes the mucus to stagnate and dry out, leading to a white discharge. Meanwhile, coughing up gray phlegm may be a sign that the body is trying to get rid of resins or tars that accumulated from excessive smoking or inhalation of large amounts of air pollutants like smog or dust. Read: 5 Things Your Fingers Say About You, From Penis Size To Sexuality Green or Dark Yellow PhlegmA thick and dark yellow phlegm may be a sign of a viral or bacterial infection, sinus infection, or lower respiratory tract infection. Typically, this occurs when the immune system sends white blood cells, known as neutrophils, to the area of infection. These cells contain a green protein, which, when present in large quantities, turn the mucus into a greenish hue. A 2011 study published in the European Respiratory Journal, however, found that green or yellow phlegm does not always signify an infection. After some tests, researchers found only 59 of every 100 samples of green phlegm contained bacteria while only 46 out of every 100 samples of yellow phlegm contained bacteria. "Contrary to popular belief, having greenish mucus does not necessarily mean you have a bacterial infection," Exline said. Read More: Chronic Throat Clearing Damages Your Vocal Cords Brown PhlegmPeople who smoke tend to produce more brown phlegm, which often comes out combined with saliva in a grainy texture. Excessive smoking can cause phlegm to turn brown because of all the resin, tar, and other particulate matter in cigarettes, which the body tries to cough back up, according to Exline. When cigarettes aren't the culprit, people may cough up brown phlegm because of the foods they're eating, including chocolate, coffee, and red wine. Pink PhlegmPink-colored phlegm is anything but pretty. Coughing up pink phlegm is an indicator of pulmonary edema, also known as fluid in the lungs. It can also be a sign of bleeding when seen in small amounts, which show up as a stain or streak. This type of phlegm can also have a frothy texture, which usually occurs in people with pre-existing heart problems, according to the UK's National Health Service. Bloody PhlegmBlood found in phlegm is known as haemoptysis, while streaks of blood in phlegm is a benign sign of bronchitis. Coughing up a significant amount of blood could also be a sign of tuberculosis, pneumonia, cancer, or pulmonary embolism, Okhravi said. If there's excessive bleeding, more blood than phlegm, or it doesn't stop, you should seek medical attention immediately because it could mean you're dealing with a more serious health problem. See Also: |
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