Coronavirus: 1000 Deaths Per Day, First Infected Lung Transplant Survivor and Concerns Mount Over Farm Worker Safety

The coronavirus continues its grip on the United States with the country hitting 2 million infections, according to Johns Hopkins. Over 27,000 new cases were found on June 10 and over 113,000 Americans have died from the virus.

Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, tweeted concern about the rise in cases. The rise contrasts with the states that have continued to reopen and loosened restrictions to help stop the spread. “The pandemic is still here. Between 800 and 1,000 people are dying a day,” Jha tweeted. “We can’t become immune to this. We can’t.”

A young woman received a lung transplant at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago the first week of June after her lungs were destroyed by the coronavirus. The transplant was the first of its kind and could become a treatment option for those with irreparable damage. Dr. Ankit Bharat, the chief of thoracic surgery and surgical director at the hospital’s lung center told the New York Times, “I want to emphasize that this is not for every Covid patient. We are talking about patients who are relatively young, very functional, with minimal to no comorbid conditions, with permanent lung damage who can’t get off the ventilator.”

And the virus continues to spread among agricultural workers, including in Washington, California and Florida. There are 600 cases of COVID-19 in Yakima County, Washington, 62% of which are apple industry workers or warehouse employees.

Officials are concerned that this could cause disruptions and infections similar to the meat industry‘s widespread rate of infection in April and May. U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow put forth legislation that provides PPE and equipment grants to help prevent the spread of coronavirus as harvest season approaches. “You can get ahead of this, which is what didn’t happen in the meatpacking situation,” Stabenow told Reuters. “The best way to protect our supply chain is to keep workers safe.”

Read more about protecting yourself from coronavirus. Check the CDC website for more information on how to protect yourself and check our latest article to learn how COVID-19 differs from the flu.

Scientists believe that the spread of COVID-19, or coronavirus, started at an exotic animal market in Wuhan, China. You can help stop the incidence of viruses like these by signing this petition to ban the wildlife trade.

This is a good time to reconsider our intake of animal products to stay healthy. Eating more plant-based foods is known to help with chronic inflammation, heart health, mental wellbeing, fitness goals, nutritional needs, allergies, gut health and more! Dairy consumption also has been linked to many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer, prostate cancer and has many side effects.

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Catch up on our latest coronavirus coverage in One Green Planet, check out these articles:

• • How Coronavirus and the Wildlife Trade are Linked
  • Coronavirus Update: States Start Relaxing Social Distancing Orders
  • New Guidelines for Pet Owners from CDC
  • Plastic Waste Soars During Coronavirus
  • Coronavirus Update: Many Patients in New York are People Who Didn’t Leave their Homes
  • Company Makes Face Masks from Ocean Plastic

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