There are different types of epidemiological models. Those that rely on understanding of how disease spread are most useful now that most states have passed their peak case numbers.
It’s not yet clear whether antibodies in the blood of patients who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 indicate immunity. Above: blood specimens for COVID-19 antibody tests.
(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
You’re heading to your first post-COVID-19 dinner party. How many guests is too many? Are hugging and handshakes OK now? And most importantly, should you bring your own cutlery?
The spread of diseases is akin to a maze of toppling dominoes.
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The US and its allies are demanding answers over how COVID-19 became a pandemic. But instead of pointing fingers at China, the inquiry should focus on scientific clues to help us thwart future disasters.
A woman walks past a graffiti by Anthony Kihoro in Kenya sensitising people about the coronavirus.
Dennis Sigwe/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Test, trace, maintain social distance, and keep travel bans and quarantines in place. These measures will help Australia keep the coronavirus in check as we gradually emerge from lockdown hibernation.
Remdesivir is an experimental medicine that is showing promise in clinical trials for COVID-19.
Photo by ULRIC PERREY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Countries aiming to flatten the coronavirus curve have one crucial aim: reduce the “effective reproduction number” of the virus to below 1. This means the spread is slowing, rather than accelerating.
At least two thirds of mobile phones are contaminated with bacteria or viruses, but most people never clean them.
Anthony Fauci, left, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks with Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, before testifying at a congressional hearing in March. Fauci has had a higher public profile during the coronavirus pandemic.
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Those who work in the background to keep everyone healthy — public health nurses, health inspectors, laboratory techs and epidemiologists — deserve recognition in the fight against COVID-19.
The steady rate of genetic changes lets researchers recreate how a virus has travelled.
nextstrain.org
Bert Ely, University of South Carolina and Taylor Carter, University of South Carolina
Every time the virus copies itself it makes mistakes, creating a trail that researchers can use to build a family tree with information about where it’s traveled, and when.
Professor of Epidemiology, Population Interventions Unit, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne