Course related readings

1918 influenza (note some of these site require a subscription, short term they may be free)

In 1918, There Was An Anti-mask League In San Francisco


A Labrador Inuit village and the Spanish Flu – All things Arctic blog

How cities flattened the curve with 1918 influenza

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/03/how-cities-flattened-curve-1918-spanish-flu-pandemic-coronavirus/

Cholera in Canada

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/cholera

COVID-19 transmission articles

Inactivation of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 by WHO-Recommended Hand Rub Formulations and Alcohols

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/7/20-0915_article

Persistence of coronaviruses on inanimate surfaces and their inactivation with biocidal agents

https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(20)30046-3/fulltext

Aerosol and Surface Stability of SARS-CoV-2 as Compared with SARS-CoV-1

https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMc2004973

Evidence shows COVID-19 is almost exclusively spread by droplets

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/letters_to_the_editors/2020/05/09/evidence-shows-covid-19-is-almost-exclusively-spread-by-droplets.html

Experiment shows human speech generates droplets that linger in the air for more than 8 minutes

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/experiment-shows-human-speech-generates-droplets-that-linger-in-the-air-for-more-than-8-minutes/2020/05/13/7f293ba2-9557-11ea-82b4-c8db161ff6e5_story.html

Coronavirus Infections: Talking Can Generate Droplets That Linger Up to 14 Minutes 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/experiment-shows-human-speech-generates-droplets-that-linger-in-the-air-for-more-than-8-minutes/2020/05/13/7f293ba2-9557-11ea-82b4-c8db161ff6e5_story.html

What We Know About Your Chances of Catching the Virus Outdoors

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/15/us/coronavirus-what-to-do-outside.html

Indoor transmission of SARS-CoV-2 | medRxiv

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.04.20053058v1

It’s Not Whether You Were Exposed to the Coronavirus. It’s How Much.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/29/health/coronavirus-transmission-dose.html

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Domestic Cats

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2013400?source=nejmtwitter&medium=organic-social

Origins of Coronavirus

Epidemiology of Covid-19 (natural reservoir)

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2005157?query=RP

The origin of COVID-19: WHO weighs new mission to China to pinpoint the source

Murky mystery of COVID-19’s origins takes back seat in Canada to easing crisis

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/murky-mystery-of-covid-19-s-origins-takes-back-seat-in-canada-to-easing-crisis-1.4924081

COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic has a natural origin

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200317175442.htm

We don’t yet know the origin story for SARS-CoV-2 – Virology Down Under

https://virologydownunder.com/we-dont-yet-know-the-origin-story-for-sars-cov-2/

What We Know So Far About SARS-CoV-2 – The Atlantic

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/03/biography-new-coronavirus/608338/

Testing, Immunity, and vaccines

1 in 5 New Yorkers May Have Had Covid-19, Antibody Tests Suggest https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/23/nyregion/coronavirus-antibodies-test-ny.html

Government considering ‘health certificates’ if proof of immunity established by new antibody test

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/05/14/government-considering-health-certificates-proof-immunity-established/

Coronavirus in Wuhan: Inside China’s Plan to Test 11 Million People

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/14/world/asia/coronavirus-testing-china-wuhan.html

Coronavirus may ‘burn out naturally’ before any vaccine is developed, former WHO chief claims

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-vaccine-immunity-uk-who-karol-sikora-oxford-trials-transmission-a9518986.html

How Does Antibody Testing Work? We Went Behind the Scenes to Find Out

https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000007102893/coronavirus-antibody-testing-process.html

Developing a National Strategy for Serology (Antibody Testing) in the United States

https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-work/publications/developing-a-national-strategy-for-serology-antibody-testing-in-the-US

The race for coronavirus vaccines: a graphical guide

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01221-y?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_content=organic&utm_campaign=NGMT_USG_JC01_GL_Nature

Government considering ‘health certificates’ if proof of immunity established by new antibody test
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/05/14/government-considering-health-certificates-proof-immunity-established/

WHO says ‘no evidence’ that recovered COVID-19 patients cannot be re-infected

https://globalnews.ca/news/6867902/coronavirus-who-patients-reinfected/

New data suggest people aren’t getting reinfected with the coronavirus

Mitigation strategies (note see assignment 4 for provincial/territory migitation strategies)

Implementation of Mitigation Strategies for Communities with Local COVID-19 Transmission

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/community-mitigation.html

Distancing and masks cut COVID-19 risk, says largest review of evidence | Article [AMP] | Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-protection-idUSKBN2383T6

Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(20)31142-9.pdf

How South Korea Is Beating Coronavirus Without a Lockdown 

https://time.com/5830594/south-korea-covid19-coronavirus/

Seattle’s Leaders Let Scientists Take the Lead. New York’s Did Not | The New Yorker

ttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/05/04/seattles-leaders-let-scientists-take-the-lead-new-yorks-did-not

Taiwan’s COVID-19 Response

https://www.outbreakobservatory.org/outbreakthursday-1/4/30/2020/taiwans-covid-19-response

North China city of Harbin puts four districts on lockdown in bid to contain coronavirus | South China Morning Post

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3051915/north-china-city-harbin-puts-four-districts-lockdown-bid-contain

Estimating the burden of SARS-CoV-2 in France | Science

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/05/12/science.abc3517.full

Coronavirus: How ‘overreaction’ made Vietnam a virus success

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52628283

Is Sweden’s approach to covid-19 wise or reckless?

https://www.economist.com/europe/2020/05/16/is-swedens-approach-to-covid-19-wise-or-reckless?fsrc=scn/fb/te/bl/ed/herdonthestreetisswedensapproachtocovid19wiseorrecklesseurope

How New Zealand ‘eliminated’ COVID-19 after weeks of lockdown

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/how-new-zealand-eliminated-covid-19-after-weeks-of-lockdown-1.4914963

Social distancing vs. social bubbles, plus 4 charts that sum up COVID-19 in Ontario right now | The Star

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/05/26/social-distancing-vs-social-bubbles-plus-4-charts-that-sum-up-covid-19-in-ontario-right-now.html

Focus on washing hands, not washing groceries – Healthing.ca

Masks

History of masks-The Masked Man

Mixed messages on masks from leaders during pandemic has caused confusion for many

https://abcnews.go.com/US/mixed-messages-masks-critical-tool-slow-pandemic-slowed/story?id=70526293

Do face masks really reduce coronavirus spread? Experts have mixed answers.

https://www.livescience.com/are-face-masks-effective-reducing-coronavirus-spread.html

Respiratory virus shedding in exhaled breath and efficacy of face masks

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0843-2

Coronavirus Has People Asking: Are Masks or Respirators Really Effective, or Necessary?

https://ohsonline.com/Articles/2020/01/31/Coronavirus-Has-People-Asking-Are-Masks-or-Respirators-Really-Effective-or-Necessary.aspx?Page=2

To mask or not to mask: Modeling the potential for face mask use by the general public to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468042720300117

Experts say cloth masks need to be sanitized after each use

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/experts-say-cloth-masks-need-to-be-sanitized-after-each-use-1.4928613

Don’t Wear a Mask for Yourself – The Atlantic

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/dont-wear-mask-yourself/610336/

If Your Mask Has A Valve, It’s Half Useless | Lifehacker Australia

https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2020/05/if-your-mask-has-a-valve-its-half-useless/

Cloth Face Masks Could Get A Boost From A Nylon Stocking Layer, Study Finds : Goats and Soda : NPR

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/04/22/840146830/adding-a-nylon-stocking-layer-could-boost-protection-from-cloth-masks-study-find

Coronavirus: Which Mask Should You Wear? – The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/coronavirus-best-face-masks.html

10/3 podcast: How masks will change how we see ourselves and others – National Post

Student creates transparent masks for the deaf and hard of hearing community

Coronavirus Mask – Why Face Masks Are Going Viral – SAPIENS

Moving Personal Protective Equipment Into the Community: Face Shields and Containment of COVID-19 | Infectious Diseases | JAMA | JAMA Network

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2765525

Response to Greenhalgh et al.: Face masks, the precautionary principle, and evidence-informed policy | The BMJ

https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1435/rr-43

Disposable N95 Masks Can Be Decontaminated, Researchers Confirm https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/16/health/n95-masks-decontaminated-coronavirus.html

The Ethics of Mask-Wearing During the Coronavirus Pandemic | Time

https://time.com/5815299/coronavirus-face-mask-ethics/

Disease transmission – Should the public wear masks to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2? | Science & technology | The Economist

https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2020/04/11/should-the-public-wear-masks-to-slow-the-spread-of-sars-cov-2

Jonathan Kay: The case for wearing face masks during COVID-19 was obvious a month ago – National Post

A history of pandemic masks: why doctors wore beaks during the plague

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/a-history-of-pandemic-masks-why-doctors-wore-beaks-during-the-plague-1.4890564

It’s now recommended that Canadians wear face masks

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/it-s-now-recommended-that-canadians-wear-face-masks-1.4946752

Masks: Everything you need to know but might be too afraid to ask

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/masks-covid-questions-answered-1.5580645

You’re Getting Used to Masks. Will You Wear a Face Shield? – The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/24/health/coronavirus-face-shields.html

Evidence shows cloth masks may help against COVID-19 – Brighter World

https://brighterworld.mcmaster.ca/articles/evidence-shows-cloth-masks-may-help-against-covid-19/

Notice of Retraction: Effectiveness of Surgical and Cotton Masks in Blocking SARS-CoV-2 | Annals of Internal Medicine

https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/L20-0745

Drive-thru restaurants in Alberta will soon be asking ‘Would you like masks with that?’ – National Post

Can a store make me wear a mask to shop? Your COVID-19 questions answered

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5590534

Vulnerable populations

Invisible deaths: from nursing homes to prisons, the coronavirus toll is out of sight – and out of mind? |

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/16/coronavirus-pandemic-deaths-grieving-invisible

Why is coronavirus taking such a deadly toll on black Americans?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/25/coronavirus-racial-disparities-african-americans

Virus heads upriver in Brazil Amazon, sickens native people

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/virus-heads-upriver-in-brazil-amazon-sickens-native-people-1.4943121

Packed With Migrant Workers, Dormitories Fuel Coronavirus in Singapore

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/28/world/asia/coronavirus-singapore-migrants.html

Coronavirus Finds Fuel in a World of Migrants https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/world/asia/coronavirus-migrants.html

Are some ethnic groups more vulnerable to COVID-19 than others?

Contacting tracing and other technologies

As the Nation Begins Virus Tracing, It Could Learn From This N.J. City – The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/21/nyregion/contact-tracing-paterson-nj.html

Helmet to check temp in Rome’s airport

Is It Safe to Come Out of Lockdown? Check the Sewer – The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/science/coronavirus-sewage-monitoring-lockdown.html

This U of T scientist says he’s invented a ‘cure’ for COVID-19. Will patients ever see it? | The Star

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2020/05/20/this-u-of-t-scientist-says-hes-invented-a-cure-for-covid-19-will-patients-ever-see-it.html

Outbreak Science: Using artificial intelligence to track the coronavirus pandemic – 60 Minutes – CBS News

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-outbreak-computer-algorithm-artificial-intelligence/

Vivek Goel’s COVID-19 podcast (Ep. 8): Contact Tracing

https://www.utoronto.ca/news/vivek-goel-s-covid-19-podcast-ep-8-contact-tracing

BlueDot used artificial intelligence to predict coronavirus spread

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/03/bluedot-used-artificial-intelligence-to-predict-coronavirus-spread.html

How Germany’s coronavirus contact tracers helped to ease its lockdown

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-first-wave-how-germanys-coronavirus-contact-tracers-helped-to-ease-its-lockdown-w7tw5ddjs

Treatment

‘How Can I Be Sick?’ Woman Who Took Hydroxychloroquine For 19 Years To Treat Lupus Still Got COVID-19 – CBS Detroit

Treatment with antiviral speeds recovery of COVID-19 patients, exploratory study finds

https://www.utoronto.ca/news/treatment-antiviral-speeds-recovery-covid-19-patients-exploratory-study-finds

NIH clinical trial testing antiviral remdesivir plus anti-inflammatory drug baricitinib for COVID-19 begins

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-clinical-trial-testing-antiviral-remdesivir-plus-anti-inflammatory-drug-baricitinib-covid-19-begins

Canada shouldn’t rush to approve promising new COVID-19 drug Remdesivir: experts