Science Vs. Myths: New Study Outlines How Long Coronavirus Lives On Various Surfaces, In The Air

The New York Times: How Long Will Coronavirus Live On Surfaces Or In The Air Around You?
The coronavirus can live for three days on some surfaces, like plastic and steel, new research suggests. Experts say the risk of consumers getting infected from touching those materials is still low, although they offered additional warnings about how long the virus survives in air, which may have important implications for medical workers. The new study, published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, also suggests that the virus disintegrates over the course of a day on cardboard, lessening the worry among consumers that deliveries will spread the virus during this period of staying and working from home. (Mandavilli, 3/17)

Reuters: Coronavirus Can Persist In Air For Hours And On Surfaces For Days: Study
In terms of half-life, the research team found that it takes about 66 minutes for half the virus particles to lose function if they are in an aerosol droplet. That means that after another hour and six minutes, three quarters of the virus particles will be essentially inactivated but 25% will still be viable. (Emery, 3/17)

Vox: Coronavirus Lockdowns: How Long Do We Have To Live Like This?
Life in America — and in many countries around the world — is changing drastically. We’re physically distanced from our favorite people, we’re avoiding our favorite public places, and many are financially strained or out of work. The response to the Covid-19 pandemic is infiltrating every aspect of life, and we’re already longing for it to end. But this fight may not end for months or a year or even more. (Resnick, 3/17)

The Hill: US Plan Warns Coronavirus Pandemic Could Last 18 Months: Report 
A plan developed by the federal government to combat the coronavirus reportedly projects the pandemic will last 18 months or more and could feature multiple “waves,” The New York Times reported. “Shortages of products may occur, impacting health care, emergency services, and other elements of critical infrastructure,” the plan warns, according to the Times. “This includes potentially critical shortages of diagnostics, medical supplies (including PPE [personal protective equipment] and pharmaceuticals), and staffing in some locations.” (Budryk, 3/17)

NPR: Social Distancing May Need To Last Months To Beat Coronavirus, Modelers Say
The United States is facing a grim dilemma: either effectively shut down society for months to prevent transmission of the coronavirus, or see health care systems overwhelmed by people needing treatment for severe infections. That’s the conclusion of a influential new analysis by a well-respected group at Imperial College London that does computer simulations of outbreaks. (Greenfieldboyce, 3/17)

NPR: Social Distancing FAQ: What You Can And Can’t Do Right Now
By now, you’ve heard the advice that to slow the spread of coronavirus in the U.S., we need to practice social distancing. But if you’re confused as to what that looks like in practice, we’ve got some answers. On Monday, the White House announced new guidelines for the next two weeks, urging Americans to avoid gathering in groups of more than 10 people, to avoid discretionary travel, shopping trips, or social visits, and not to go out to restaurants or bars. (Godoy and Aubrey, 3/17)

Politico: Social Distancing From Space
Millions around the world are heeding the extraordinary pleas for keeping social distance to combat the coronavirus by avoiding landmarks, resorts and other large gathering places. That’s the unmistakable takeaway from a series of satellite images released Tuesday of highly trafficked locations from New York’s Central Park to Milan’s Cathedral and Moscow’s Red Squares. (Feldscher, 3/17)

The New York Times: The Coronavirus Myths You Should Not Fall For
As the coronavirus continues to spread across the globe, confusion and misconceptions about what can protect you are becoming as contagious as the virus. We spoke to doctors and experts in infectious diseases about whether there’s any truth to these common claims. (Blum, 3/17)

The New York Times: Is It OK To Take A Walk?
In a bygone era — last week, in other words — the best way to cut through New York City stress was, for many, a stroll to the nearest restaurant, bar or maybe (for the virtuous or vain) the gym. Not anymore. With Mayor de Blasio’s closure of the city’s restaurants (except for takeout), bars and gyms, which took effect this morning at 9 a.m., along with schools, movie theaters and any other place where people congregate, the stroll, it seems, is all that’s left. (Williams, 3/17)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Sick With Symptoms But Not Tested For Coronavirus? Isolate, Doctors And Experts Say. 
A Baton Rouge hotel front-desk manager with chills, body aches and walking pneumonia. A New Orleans casino cocktail server with a sore throat and a respiratory infection. Mothers caring for children with burning fevers. All have worried they may be spreading the novel coronavirus to others while being turned down for testing under strict criteria over recent weeks. (Stole, 3/16)

The New York Times: Watch The Footprint Of Coronavirus Spread Across Countries
As the new coronavirus shuts down countries around the world, the impact can be seen from space. A satellite that detects traces of human activity — tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks, fossil fuel burned in power plants and other industrial activities — shows striking reductions in pollution across China and Italy since the outbreak first started. (Popovich, 3/17)

The Washington Post: Mental Health Experts Offer Counsel On Staying Calm During Coronavirus Pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic is becoming a brutal psychological test. This is a dreadful moment with a potentially deadly pathogen on the loose. This public health crisis can take a mental toll on people, especially those struggling with anxiety, depression and other conditions. One common emotion that might not be immediately obvious: grief. (Achenbach, 3/17)

The New York Times: Tracking The Coronavirus: How Crowded Asian Cities Tackled An Epidemic
Two hours. That’s all the time medical teams in Singapore are given to uncover the first details of how patients contracted the coronavirus and which people they might infect. Did they travel abroad? Do they have a link to one of the five clusters of contagion identified across the city-state? Did they cough on someone in the street? Who are their friends and family, their drinking buddies and partners in prayer? As Western nations struggle with the wildfire spread of the coronavirus, Singapore’s strategy, of moving rapidly to track down and test suspected cases, provides a model for keeping the epidemic at bay, even if it can’t completely stamp out infections. (Beech, 3/17)

The Associated Press: Best Strategies Against Virus: Track, Isolate, Communicate
Singapore, a tiny city-state of less than 6 million people, had one of the earliest and biggest clusters of cases of the coronavirus in early February, before it began its rapid, inexorable expansion around the globe. Within weeks, the country’s tally of infections with the highly contagious virus that causes COVID-19 was overtaken by skyrocketing caseloads in South Korea, several European countries and the U.S. (Toh and Kurtenbach, 3/18)

The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Glossary: Key Terms You Need To Know
Efforts to stop the spread of the new coronavirus have people stuck at home and consuming news that may be confusing and alarming. Here, some terms used repeatedly by public officials and health-care experts to describe the situation as well as what those terms mean. Containment: Usually used at the start of an outbreak, it refers to actions taken to track the spread of a disease within a community by investigating travel histories and close contacts, and then issuing quarantines of sick individuals to stop its spread. (Camero, 3/17)