cov-19, 4-9-20

4-9-20   In recent days, authorities in Pakistan and India have launched massive manhunts for attendees, trying to test or quarantine them to slow the spread of COVID-19.

  In Pakistan, about 20,000 Tablighis are now in quarantine facilities. More than 600 have tested positive for the coronavirus. A health ministry official said that of the country's 4,067 coronavirus cases, some 1,445 were linked to that gathering (in New Delhi).

Around 40 percent of Malaysia's COVID-19 infections have been linked to the Tablighi event, which was held near the capital Kuala Lumpur. Infections in a number of other locations - including Gaza, Indonesia, Cambodia and Brunei - have been linked to the congregations. …

 Tablighi preacher Naeem Butt said the Pakistani gathering ended early after authorities raised concerns, though at the time of the March 12 congregation, organisers had blamed rainy weather for the closure.

'We stopped our rally when the authorities asked us,' he said. 'The virus is everywhere, so why accuse us.’…

  Founded in northern India in 1927, the movement has grown since the death of founder Mohammed Ilyas Kandhlawi in 1944, and has millions of followers.  The group - which follows Sunni Islam - is generally considered apolitical, but its social and cultural influence has grown in recent decades.    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8205135/Islamic-missionary-movement-blamed-spreading-coronavirus-Asia.html

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Researchers in Shanghai hope to determine whether some recovered coronavirus patients have a higher risk of reinfection after finding surprisingly low levels of Covid-19 antibodies in a number of people discharged from hospital.

A team from Fudan University analysed blood samples from 175 patients discharged from the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Centre and found that nearly a third had unexpectedly low levels of antibodies.

In some cases, antibodies could not be detected at all.

“Whether these patients were at high risk of rebound or reinfection should be explored in further studies,” the team wrote in preliminary research released on Monday on Medrxiv.org, an online platform for preprint papers.  https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3078840/coronavirus-low-antibody-levels-raise-questions-about

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4-10-20  “I strongly protest the accusations today that Taiwan is instigating racist attacks in the international community. Taiwan has always opposed all forms of discrimination. For years, we have been excluded from international organizations, and we know better than anyone else what it feels like to be discriminated against and isolated,” Tsai wrote on Facebook in English.

“I want to take this opportunity to invite Director-General Tedros to visit Taiwan and experience for himself how committed the Taiwanese people are to engaging with and contributing to the world, even in the face of discrimination and isolation,” she said.

Taiwan’s medical workers and volunteers can be found worldwide, Tsai said.

“We have never let our inability to join international organizations lessen our support for the international community,” she said.

Meanwhile, the ministry demanded that Tedros issue a correction and apologize to the Taiwanese public for his “baseless accusations.”  https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2020/04/10/2003734334