Page 28 - Florida Sentinel 8-14-20

COVID News
Nearly 11,000 Florida Inmates Have Contracted Coronavirus
7 Ways You're Catching Coronavirus Without Realizing It
With a major increase in infections reported Friday, nearly 11,000 state prison inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 and 63 have died, according to the Florida Department of Cor- rections.
An additional 1,154 in- mates had tested positive in numbers released Friday, bringing the overall total to 10,975.
Also, the number of in- mates who had died from the virus increased from 60 on Thursday to 63 on Friday.
Prisons hit hardest by the virus are Columbia Correc- tional Institution, which has had 1,317 inmate cases; Low- ell Correctional Institution, which has had 909; Santa Rosa Correctional Institu- tion, which has had 793; Graceville Correctional Fa- cility, which has had 656; and Taylor Correctional In- stitution, which has had 561, according to the department.
Also, 1,946 corrections workers had tested positive as of mid-day Friday, up from 1,911 on Thursday.
With the coronavirus out- break still going full speed, one thing doctors like me know for sure is that COVID- 19 is very good at infecting people—even those who show no symptoms, but could spread it to you. Here are 10 ways you are catching the virus without realizing it. Read on, and to ensure your health and the health of oth- ers, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had Coronavirus.
1. You've Gone Shop- ping and Mixed with Other People
COVID-19 spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes small droplets with the virus into the air. If you breathe them in or you touch the surface they have landed on, you may develop infec- tion. That is why social dis- tancing is very important and many shops are enforc- ing it. Please do everything you can to have your food de- livered—and if you do go
shopping, keep at least six feet from others, including when waiting in line, and fol- low my advice in the next slide.
2. You're Touching Objects Without Protec- tion
Supermarkets and gas stations provide an ideal set- ting for virus spread as many people touch and replace items, swipe credit cards, press parking lot ticket ma- chine buttons, ATM ma- chines and paper receipts. Despite recent headlines say- ing the CDC changed its stance about the transmis- sion of viruses on surfaces, they later clarified: "Trans- mission of SARS-CoV-2 to persons from surfaces con- taminated with the virus has not been documented," but "current evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 may re- main viable for hours to days on surfaces made from a va- riety of materials."
3. You're Buying Fresh Fruits and Vegeta-
bles in Shops
Fresh groceries could have been handled by any- one so it is important for un- wrapped fresh food to be washed thoroughly under running water (without soap!) and left to dry.
4. You're Getting Home Deliveries
Home deliveries are less risky than a supermarket shopping however there is still a risk of possible con- tamination of the surface of any food or package or from the delivery driver. The best practice is to wipe over sur- faces with simple diluted bleach—or with a Clorox Wipe—which will inactivate the virus within seconds.
5. You're Ordering Take-Out
Many good restaurants are offering take out food now and they have imple- mented the best hygienic food preparation practice to minimize risk. In the current circumstances, it is better to order hot, freshly cooked meals rather than cold or raw food. The biggest risk comes from packaging. It can be minimized by removing food from the container into a re- fuse bag and washing your hands before you eat.
6. You're Taking Pub- lic Transport
Using public transport provides one of the biggest risks of getting COVID-19. Apart from the possibility of breathing in the droplets of the virus from the air, there is a risk of getting infected by touching surfaces. COVID-19 can survive on the surfaces for up to 5 days. Handles, seats, ticket machines are touched by thousands of people every day and they can contribute to massive virus spread.
7. You're Selling and Buying Used Things On- line
There are still some sites open where people can trade used, new or unwanted items. The buyer or seller can be infected and spread this infection during item collec- tion or drop off. The virus can stay on the surface of the item and when you touch it you can get infected.
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