Two and a half years into the pandemic, China is rapidly losing its battle to maintain its “zero COVID” goal. The government’s total lockdown of Shanghai, its largest city and financial hub, has created economic chaos and engendered social backlash from tens of millions of residents who have been prevented from going outside, even to obtain food or to seek health care. Despite such protocols, the government was unable to prevent hundreds of thousands of new cases from emerging in the city during the lockdown, while causing much unnecessary hardship and suffering. Now a similar problem threatens the capital itself. Unwilling to acknowledge the changing nature of the virus, the Chinese government continues to claim that it can outrace the virus through extreme containment measures, even amid growing popular discontent.

For all countries, COVID-19 of course remains a public health problem. But for China, the chief risks of the virus have become less epidemiological than political and economic. As the experience of other countries has shown, with appropriate strategies in place the Omicron variant can be managed and contained. But the Chinese government insists on maintaining policies that are unsustainable and have little grounding in science. In doing so, it has shown an increasing willingness to put China’s economy, and even its social stability, at risk.

For Chinese President Xi Jinping, the stakes could not be higher. The all-important 20th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Congress is scheduled for later this year, and the purported success of Beijing’s COVID-fighting strategy has been a central part of state propaganda almost since the pandemic began. If Beijing loses the trust and support of the public on this core issue—at a time when the Chinese economy itself is suffering from continual lockdown shocks—a regime once known for its technocratic efficiency could soon face a growing legitimacy crisis.

Farmers in Hazmat Suits

From the outset, Beijing’s approach to this spring’s outbreak in Shanghai has been governed by fidelity to party policies rather than best public health practice. Blaming Shanghai’s targeted approach for causing the surge of new cases, the central government not only imposed a harsh new version of its zero-COVID strategy but also parachuted in officials from Beijing to supervise the city’s response. As a result, Shanghai’s 26 million residents suddenly found themselves under the world’s most stringent lockdown, which has now been repeatedly extended, for more than six weeks.

Enforcement of zero COVID in the city has been accompanied by heavy-handed measures that have little basis in science or even common sense. In order to ferret out new COVID cases, for example, the government favored the invasive and costly PCR tests over rapid antigen tests. (Although rapid tests can provide good indicators of when an infection is contagious, the government prefers the PCR method, because it facilitates government control and better serves zero-COVID goals.) Whenever a single new positive case has been detected, the patient’s entire residential community—perhaps as many as 200,000 residents—has been sealed off for an additional 14 days; in some neighborhoods, residents of entire apartment buildings have been relocated to quarantine centers. Infected residents with mild or no symptoms have been required to go to makeshift hospitals for isolation; then, public health workers have come to their homes and sprayed large amounts of disinfectant on walls, floors, and personal possessions, even though numerous studies have shown that it is very rare for the infection to spread through contaminated surfaces, and that the virus is unlikely to survive outside the human body for longer than a very brief period. 

During much of the Shanghai lockdown, residents in areas under full measures were prohibited from going outdoors except when they were corralled to receive PCR tests; the mass testing events only spread the virus further. Meanwhile, since most health-care workers had been mobilized to provide PCR tests and treat asymptotic or mild cases, very few were available to provide routine or emergency health care. And with wholesale markets and grocery stores closed, the city government scrambled to distribute food to residents in lockdown, many of whom faced shortages not just of food but also of medicine and other key supplies.

China’s leaders have refused to make any fundamental changes to their original COVID strategy.

Worse, the vast lockdown has done nothing to remedy one of China’s greatest vulnerabilities: its failure to adequately vaccinate its elderly and at-risk population. For almost two years, the government did not prioritize vaccination of the elderly because of a dearth of clinical data about any possible side effects in that age group. And for a long time, the zero-COVID policy, by shielding the vulnerable from exposure to the virus, also created a false sense of safety among the elderly, reducing the incentives to get vaccinated. With the rise of Omicron and far larger numbers of cases in China, that calculus has changed. But the use of health-care workers to enforce lockdown testing measures has left very few people to administer COVID vaccines to the at-risk population, which should have been the main priority. As of mid-April, some 38 percent of Shanghai’s over-60 population had not received more than one dose of the vaccine.

By adopting a zero-tolerance policy in China’s largest city, the central government has sent a powerful message around the country. Watching the Chinese leadership ratchet up the pressure on Shanghai, local officials elsewhere have doubled down on their own similar strategies, fearful that they will be blamed if their measures are not severe enough. In my hometown in the eastern Jiangsu Province, the local government required mass PCR testing of the entire population in the absence of a single known COVID case. Other cities have imposed lockdowns after only two or three cases were detected. By April 18, about 45 cities across the country, representing nearly 30 percent of China’s population and 40 percent of its annual GDP, were under full or partial lockdown. In some rural areas, outsiders have been banned from entering villages; farmers have had to receive permission to go to their fields, and even then have been required to wear hazmat suits. To enforce a lockdown in Qian’an, in Hebei Province, local officials have asked residents to hand in their keys so that volunteers could lock the door from outside.

The effects of these measures on local populations are becoming clearer by the day. In Shanghai, horror stories about the lockdown—often tinged with black humor—have filled social media feeds. There have been accounts of residents who died by suicide for not being able to cope with the pressures of the lockdown; patients who died not because of COVID-19 but because they were denied access to emergency health care; citizens in their 90s who were dragged by faceless people in hazmat suits to quarantine centers at midnight; a nursing home who sent a 75-year-old COVID patient to a morgue even though she was still alive.

Accelerating in Reverse

Fueled by stories like these, Shanghai residents have become increasingly vocal in criticizing the government. In some areas, they have scuffled with police who allegedly ordered them to surrender their homes to COVID patients; staged protests from their balconies, banging on pots and pans to demand basic necessities; and even confronted Shanghai’s party chief, Li Qiang, when he was paying an inspection visit. Until now, few of these acts of defiance have been violent, and much of the outcry has focused on material needs. Moreover, not all dissenting voices have explicitly blamed central government leaders or the zero-COVID policy itself. But it is hard to deny that the public response in Shanghai has reached a turning point. Where the Chinese leadership’s COVID policies were generally supported during the first years of the pandemic, there is now growing distrust of the government among the middle class. Commenting on the lockdown measures in a conversation recorded on China Digital Times, an online news site, one Shanghai resident said, “We are not coming to a halt. We are driving in reverse while stepping on the gas.”

One of my friends in Shanghai, who has long held a pro-government stance, described her attitude during the lockdown as having gone “from helplessness to disappointment to desperation.” Zhang Qiang, a Shanghai doctor turned entrepreneur, said that until the lockdown he did not believe the stories about the 1959–61 famine caused by the Great Leap Forward, in which tens of millions of Chinese starved to death; now he understood that “there can be food shortages even in Shanghai.” Such sentiment is shared by some leading pro-government commentators, including Larry Hsien Ping Lang and Liu Liu. In the Financial Times, Shan Weijian, the chair and CEO of a leading Asia-focused private equity firm, observed that popular discontent in China is at its highest point since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Shanghai residents have become increasingly vocal in criticizing the government.

Popular discontent, of course, can be fleeting. But the excessive lockdown in Shanghai—experienced by 26 million citizens, including many members of the urban middle class—could contain the seeds of future political transformation. For one thing, the growing distrust and discontent with the party’s COVID policies contributes to a government credibility crisis, and, as Xi has acknowledged, the inability to please or placate Chinese society is a prelude to losing “the ruling foundation” and “the ruling status” of the CCP. For another, the measures that have caused such frustration in Shanghai and in many other cities have also damaged one of the other pillars of the regime’s legitimacy: its reputation for sound economic management.

For years, Chinese leaders have managed to hold on to popular support by maintaining high economic growth rates. Indeed, Beijing’s initial success in controlling the spread of COVID-19 enabled China to become the only major economy that registered positive economic growth in 2020. But that growth engine is rapidly losing steam, as the total lockdowns in Shanghai and other major cities have upended supply chains, stifled domestic consumption, and weakened the country’s growth outlook. By analyzing trucking data, scholars from the Chinese University of Hong Kong found that even before Shanghai launched partial lockdown at the end of March, economic activity in the city was down 40 percent below normal levels. Now, because of the shutdowns of Shanghai and other industrial centers, businesses are holding back, fearful of the uncertain economic outlook, and there is a plummeting demand for business loans. Net new yuan loans in April dropped by 79 percent from the previous month, and were less than half what they had been a year earlier. The International Monetary Fund has reduced China’s growth forecast for the second time this year, to 4.4 percent, well below the CCP’s 5.5 percent target.

Citing the Shanghai lockdown, some China watchers portray an even bleaker picture. According to Shan, the Chinese economy is currently “in the worst shape in the past 30 years.” Daniel Rosen noted in an April Foreign Affairs article that “zero growth or even economic contraction” in China should not be ruled out this year. And in late April, Stephen S. Roach, the Yale economist and former chair of Morgan Stanley Asia, declared that “the China cushion has deflated” and that “the world can no longer rely on China as a source of resilience.” Yet rather than change course, the Chinese government has seemed all the more determined to stick to its existing policies, no matter the consequences.

Too Autocratic to Fail

Despite the high social and economic costs, China’s leaders have refused to make any fundamental changes to their original COVID strategy. For months, it has been clear to epidemiologists that the current situation has changed dramatically since COVID first spread in Wuhan in early 2020: the dominant Omicron variant is much more contagious than the original COVID strains, but its infection tends to be less severe, and the existence of effective vaccines and treatments have limited the risk of severe illness and offered new ways to manage it. Indeed, 0.09 percent of positive cases in Shanghai have led to death, which is below the approximate case fatality rate of seasonal influenza. A recent study jointly conducted by Chinese and American scientists found that administering effective vaccines on all eligible elderly people alone would lead to a 54.1 percent decrease in hospital admissions and a 60.8 percent decrease in mortality. Yet the Chinese government has been intransigent. Rather than recognizing the new reality, top government epidemiologists continue to highlight the danger of the Omicron variant. Ma Xiaowei, the head of China’s National Health Commission, has asked public health officials to take a clear-cut stand against the “wrong thinking” of coexistence with the virus—treating it like a flu-like disease that people should learn to live with. On May 16, with many Chinese cities already locked down, Ma called instead for even more stringent “prevention and control measures,” including building more COVID isolation hospitals, as well as so-called “permanent makeshift hospitals” and “quarantine centers.”

Although many people in rural areas and smaller towns continue to support zero-COVID policies, the hardening approach has begun to shift popular perceptions of the government in China’s large cities. At the start of the pandemic, Beijing’s success in fighting COVID seemed to demonstrate the resilience and resourcefulness of the Chinese state. But the government’s obstinacy in the Shanghai lockdown has shown that its political system has become more rigid and resistant to change than ever. In part, this is a result of self-reinforcing mechanisms within the government administration itself. Two years into the zero-COVID strategy, many government agencies, as well as PCR testing companies, public health officials, and others involved in the zero-COVID effort have a deep stake in maintaining the current approach and have helped make the political system resistant to any significant shift in policy. But opposition from vested interests alone cannot explain the current approach, given both the social discontent and the serious damage to the Chinese economy.

Like Putin’s Russia, Xi’s China appears to be caught in what one journalist recently called an “authoritarian feedback loop,” in which a long-ruling, insulated leader is surrounded by advisers who have no interest in challenging his views. Indeed, even as the lockdowns are sapping China’s economy, Xi has told officials to ensure that China outperforms the United States in GDP growth this year. As an unnamed government policy adviser suggested in the Financial Times at the end of April, making China’s top decision-maker understand that the Shanghai lockdown is both counterproductive and unsustainable has become a “key challenge for the system.”

For Chinese President Xi Jinping, the stakes could not be higher.

In turn, rigidity at the top has hampered decision-making further down the chain. In the absence of lively and informed policy debate within the central government, there is ever more pressure on local officials to fanatically pursue a zero-COVID policy, no matter the social and economic costs. A growing number of liberal-minded scholars in China are concerned that zero COVID has also provided a fresh blueprint for a state that, once when the pandemic is over, will seek to control every facet of people’s lives. “To tell the truth, I am scared,” a well-known financial commentator said on WeChat. “I venture to assert that even after the end of the pandemic, the management-and-control methods that treat people like pigs, dogs, and criminals will be retained.” A political science professor in Fudan University predicted that, rather than be relaxed, the extreme social measures “will be tightened” in a post-COVID future. For many Chinese, such a merciless and omnipresent state has not been seen since the days of the Cultural Revolution.

Fears of growing social controls have already caused many well-off people to consider leaving. Amid the Shanghai lockdown this spring, WeChat Index, which measures search popularity on the social media platform, recorded a sevenfold jump in searches with the word “immigration.” Many foreigners who have been in China during the pandemic have left or have plans to do so. A recent survey of 950 foreigners in Shanghai found that nearly half plan to leave China in the next 12 months. Taking notice of signs that multinationals are seriously considering pulling out of China, a Canadian researcher wrote that “Beijing’s zero-COVID policy does what Trump’s trade war could not.”

Of course, it is still possible that the social and economic shock of the Shanghai lockdown will cause the Chinese leadership to think twice before repeating the same mistakes, perhaps in Beijing itself. With some effort, China could choose a better course based on more effective vaccines and therapeutics, workable protocols for screening and triage of COVID patients, and targeted non-pharmaceutical interventions. But the government’s behavior so far indicates that it is unlikely to change course, which would involve acknowledging, at least implicitly, that its policies are doing more damage than good. Its recent decision to cancel hosting the summer 2023 Asia Cup indicates that the government has no plan to end zero COVID next year. Instead, it seems likely to stake everything on its current approach, even at the risk of cutting itself off from the world and eroding its support at home.

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Dozens of bedbugs and their eggs and fecal material on a metal bed frame. Jerome Goddard

Bedbugs are back with a vengeance. After an absence of around 70 years, thanks to effective pesticides such as DDT, they’ve been popping up in fancy hotels, spas, department stores, subway trains, movie theaters – and, of course, people’s homes.

I’m a public health entomologist. In the course of my work, I’ve studied these little bloodsuckers, even letting bedbugs feast on my own appendages in the name of science. No one likes dealing with bedbugs – and there are ways to minimize your chances of needing to.

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Colorized scanning electron microscopic image reveals the underside of a bedbug, including the proboscis (purple) and two eyes (red). CDC/Janice Haney Carr, CC BY

Know thy bedbug enemy

The common bedbug, Cimex lectularius, has been a parasite of humans for thousands of years. Historically, these tiny bloodsuckers were common in human dwellings worldwide, giving the old saying “sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite” real meaning. They had nearly disappeared in developing countries until the mid-1990s, when they began making a comeback because of restriction or loss of certain pesticides, changes in pest control practices and increased international travel. In many areas around the world, they are now a major urban pest.

A bedbug extends its beaklike proboscis to feed on human blood. Jerome Goddard

Adult bedbugs are less than a quarter-inch long (about 5 mm), oval-shaped and flattened, resembling unfed ticks or small cockroaches. Tucked backward underneath their head they have a long proboscis – a tubular mouthpart they can extend to take a blood meal. A bedbug needs only between three and 10 minutes to consume up to six times its weight in blood in a single meal.

A yellowish-white first-stage bedbug nymph is tiny. Jerome Goddard

Adults are reddish brown, while the babies are extremely tiny and yellowish-white in color. They hide in cracks and crevices, generally within a few feet of a bed, coming out only to feed on an unsuspecting host. Then they run back to their hiding places, where they mate and lay eggs.

Houses can become infested with thousands of the little bloodthirsty pests in the mattress and box spring, where they leave telltale black fecal spots. In severe infestations there may be thick feces, hundreds of shed skins and eggs several millimeters thick.

Biggest health impacts may be psychological

Their principal medical impacts are related to nuisance biting and the associated itching and inflammation. The most common bite reactions are itchy red spots at feeding sites that usually go away in a week or so. Some people have complex skin reactions, including hives and blisters, or allergic responses.

The marks from bedbug bites can persist on human skin for several days. Jerome Goddard and Kristine T. Edwards

Then there’s bedbugs’ emotional and psychological effects on their victims. Run-ins with these parasites can trigger nervousness, anxiety and insomnia. Bedbugs commonly come with a side effect of constant worrying and feelings of shame. One distressed Canadian expressed it this way:

“To be honest, until you go through [an infestation], you have no idea just how horrifying it really is. It is just natural for you to become paranoid; you lose sleep, you end up dreaming and thinking about bedbugs – they just consume every fiber of your being.”

One study of people exposed to bedbugs found about half reported sleep difficulties and social isolation associated with the infestation.

My colleague and I analyzed 135 internet posts concerning bedbug infestations. The majority, 81% of the posts, reported three or more behaviors commonly associated with post-traumatic stress disorder – reactions like reexperiencing the event through intrusive memories and nightmares, startle responses and hypervigilance. Six posts detailed intense and repeated cleanings of homes or offices. Five posts reported persistent avoidance of people, activities and places that might lead to transmission of insects or arouse recollections of the original encounter. And five posts detailed suicidal thoughts or attempts. There are other anecdotal reports of suicides or drug overdoses by people struggling with bedbugs.

You can check for the telltale marks of a bedbug infestation on a bed’s mattress and box spring. H.J. Harlan, U.S. Armed Forces Pest Management Board, CC BY

How to protect yourself from bedbugs

Not every hotel room has bedbugs, but some do. Simple precautions can help protect you and your belongings from infestation.

Leave all unnecessary items in your vehicle, such as extra clothing, gear and equipment. When first entering your hotel room, place luggage in the bathroom until you have had a chance to inspect the place. Pull back sheets and check the mattress and box spring for live bedbugs or black fecal spots. If any bugs or suspicious signs of infestation are found, go to the front desk and request another room. Because bedbugs don’t usually travel far on their own, other nonadjacent rooms may be perfectly clean of the parasites.

Keeping bedbugs out of houses and apartments can be difficult, especially if you travel a lot. After traveling, unpack luggage outside or in the garage, and wash all clothing from the luggage in hot water and dry on high heat if possible. A dryer is a great tool in the fight against bedbugs. Bedbugs can also hitch a ride into your home on used furniture or items purchased at secondhand stores or garage sales. Be sure to disinfect – more precisely “dis-insect” – those kinds of items. It’s a good idea to never purchase used mattresses or beds, no matter how good a bargain.

What can you do if you are forced to confront these bloodsuckers? A bedbug infestation found in a hotel room should immediately be reported to management. If you find bedbugs in your house or apartment, or in secondhand purchases, it’s best not to try to spray them yourself with over-the-counter pesticides. My recommendation is to contact a competent pest exterminator, who will treat the space with pesticides, use complex heat systems or both to kill the bugs.

Try not to panic. Keep in mind that bedbugs are only insects. They’re not magic. Believe me, they can be killed and eliminated from a dwelling.

Jerome Goddard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Beginner’s guide to composting

Beginner’s guide to composting

Composting—the act of recycling organic matter, from food to lawn clippings—keeps biodegradable materials out of the waste stream while adding beneficial nutrients to the soil. Food, which occupies the largest space-by-volume in landfills, can break down in your backyard to help plants grow, increase moisture retention in the ground, and lower our carbon footprint by reducing emissions associated with hauling trash to landfills and the methane produced therein.

For all these reasons, Pela put together a 10-step beginners’ guide to composting that will get you started turning your food scraps and yard waste into “black gold.”

Leftover food and yard waste make up more than 30% of residential trash, despite being biodegradable and beneficial to soil and plants. Composting works by speeding up the natural decay process. While all the organic matter that we throw away will decompose, items in a landfill are packed too tightly together for sufficient airflow to break down. That leads to anaerobic decomposition, which creates significant amounts of methane gas. Methane gas is more than 25 times as powerful as carbon dioxide when it comes to trapping greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere.

By providing ideal conditions for decomposing organisms to thrive, home composting is faster than traditional hands-off methods and leaves behind nutrient-rich soil that can help fruits, vegetables, flowers, and trees to grow. And unlike artificial or natural fertilizers, backyard compost is free, plentiful, and comes without any additional packaging or chemicals. The process involves separating compostable materials from other garbage and then aerating them in oxygen-rich containers or piles that are turned, watered, and finally added to garden beds or around any number of plants.

Composting can be achieved with the help of worms, black soldier fly larvae, fenced-in piles in your yard, or in rotating tumblers from your local hardware store. Those without space for compost can save food scraps in bins under the sink or in the freezer to be donated to a local community garden. Whether you live in the city or country, a house or apartment, and with or without a backyard, keep reading to discover how you can get started composting at home.

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Identify a space for a backyard compost or a neighborhood dropoff location

It’s essential right out of the gate to pick a good location for your compost bin—or, if you don’t have a yard, to determine where you will deliver the organic matter you collect.

Since compost piles and bins are likely to smell some of the time and attract insects or other wildlife, it’s important to have your compost decomposing in a tumbler, tiered bin system, or fenced-in pile well away from an open window of your house. Flat ground with good drainage is essential for any runoff (do not situate your compost area directly alongside a body of water—be mindful of buffers).

An area that receives regular sunlight is ideal, as the heat will help to speed decomposition. Convenience is also key; since you’ll have to take your food scraps out there at least weekly, you’ll want easy access. It’s worth considering placement that is within the same area composted soil will end up, like the back corner of a garden or on the far edge of your yard where you might be planting some trees.

If you don’t have a yard for compost, be sure to arrange where the compost will get dropped off. Some cities now offer compost pickup—but most local farms and community gardens welcome regular food scrap and yard waste dropoffs.

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Decide which method is best for you

Once you know where you’ll process your compost, you can determine the best composting method to suit your needs and lifestyle.

The most common is open-air composting, which is just what it sounds like: creating a pile with food scraps and other biodegradable matter that is regularly turned or rotated. Direct compost is similar except that instead of a specific pile, biodegradable materials gets added directly to the ground (either around plants or trees or put into holes); in this method, it’s recommended only fruit and vegetable scraps be used (no meat or dairy products) so animals are less likely to dig into it. Fences are also highly recommended if you have dogs or other animals regularly in the yard.

Some other methods of composting involve vermicompost (which involves worms), tiered compost, the utilization of black soldier fly larvae, and compost tumblers that can be spun every time food or yard waste is added. For those who are composting indoors, vermicompost and Effective Microorganisms—a mixture of microbes that will help break down your organic matter—composting are both popular options. Adding bokashi, a type of fermented organic matter, to your food waste is the most common system using EMs.

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Know the difference between brown vs. green items

It’s important to have a balance of green and brown items in your compost pile—a ratio of 4 to 1 green-to-brown ratio is ideal. Green items are the leftover food scraps that come out of your kitchen like wilted lettuce leaves, broccoli stalks, and apple cores. However, when you only put food scraps in, it’s easy to get nitrogen-heavy compost, which can heat up too quickly.

A good way to balance a backyard compost is to add brown items—shredded brown paper bags, sawdust, cardboard, strips of newspaper, dead leaves, and other dried plant matter like corn stalks. These items are carbon-rich and serve as food sources for soil-dwelling organisms that work with microbes to break down the contents in the compost. They also add reduce any smells and lower bulk, which helps air filter through the compost pile.

lomiso // Shutterstock

Avoid composting items that can attract vermin

No one wants rats, flies, or other critters getting into your compost.

To avoid vermin, you can keep dairy and meat products out of your pile. You can also utilize bins or tumblers, which will keep organic waste off the ground and enclosed, or chicken coop fencing to keep animals at bay.

Keeping compost moist can also deter animals from seeking a dry refuge. Turning compost with a shovel or rake regularly ensures plenty of oxygen to help speed up the decomposition process—turning will also break up any potential nests.

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Find the right storage for your scraps

Of course, depending on what your house or apartment is like, daily trips to the compost pile or community garden may not be realistic. In virtually all compost setups involving food scraps, it’s essential to have a storage container in the kitchen that you empty out at least every week.

Storage bins can take the form of a container with a tight-fitting lid kept under the sink, a bowl on the kitchen counter (if emptied daily), or a store-bought compost container with filter and air vents. If cleaning out a just-emptied compost container isn’t your thing, there are biodegradable, compostable bags that can be tossed out with your compost.

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Compost items beyond food scraps

You can compost a number of things beyond food scraps. Garden trimmings, hay, and straw can be composted. So can shredded newspaper and uncoated paper. You can also compost sawdust and wood chips.

Biodegradable straws and toothbrushes, to-go boxes, shredded junk mail, and even what you sweep up off the floor can all be composted. Human and pet hair are also fit for your compost pile.

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Take your compost’s temperature

As compost breaks down, it produces heat. And the more heat, the faster the decomposition. The ideal temperature for the center of a pile of compost is between 135 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit. In this range, you maintain good bacteria while maximizing the pile’s efficiency. Too hot and you stand to kill the good bacteria; too cold and you’re likely to attract parasites and flies.

You can check the temperature of your compost by putting a finger into its center to gauge its warmth, buy a compost thermometer, or turn it regularly to ensure aeration and heat distribution. Compost that’s warm enough will show significant decomposition over the course of a few months at a minimum.

Christine Norton Photo // Shutterstock

Turn the compost frequently

To get enough heat and air to your compost, you need to turn it regularly. In a tumbler setup, turning can occur every time you deliver organic matter to it. Tiered systems get left alone as new tiers or piles are added and finally raked out or flipped; other setups can be raked every few months.

Bringing materials at the edges of a compost collection to the center oxygenates the pile. This aeration will also help keep odors at bay. With any new compost pile, be sure to wait at least two weeks before turning for the first time. This allows the pile to heat up at the center and decompose.

larisa Stefanjuk // Shutterstock

Pay attention to hydration levels

It is also important to pay attention to the amount of water you have in your compost pile.

Water helps with keeping the temperature of the pile regulated and it also helps with decomposition. If you have too much water, the pile might decompose too quickly and smell; not enough water, and the compost may not break down quickly enough.

Compost piles should be between 40% and 60% water. The best way to know if you have a good level of water is to take a handful of compost and squeeze it. If no water comes out, the pile is too dry. If water gushes out, the pile is too wet. It should feel like a wet sponge that has been wrung out.

Jurga Jot // Shutterstock

Look for dark, crumbly soil after a few months

Once you have picked your location, your container, added a mix of green and brown, turned your pile, and maintained good levels of hydration, soon you will have wonderful, nutrient-rich compost you can use in your garden. So how do you know when it’s ready?

The amount of time it takes for compost to be ready depends on a number of factors, some of which have already been discussed, like the location of your bin, how frequently you turn it, what you put in it, and what kind of bin you use. It also depends on how big the pile is. However, your compost likely won’t be ready for a few months. To see if it is ready, you can look at its color and texture; it should be dark, crumbly soil that is free of any offensive odors.

This story originally appeared on Pela and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

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But it’s not just young children, the elderly, and those with preexisting conditions who must take all necessary measures to ward off respiratory diseases this winter.

It’s rare for a young, well person to die of the flu but “it does happen”, warns Dr Karen Price, president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.

“Look, there was a quite lovely, brilliant doctor from our year who died when he was 28, a fit, well young man, from influenza, with no comorbidities,” Price says. “It was shocking and awful.”

On top of this, Barr says many people in the community have become blasé about illnesses “that have had a bit of a holiday and [have now] come back in various forms”.

“COVID’s taken all the limelight,” he says, overshadowing not only the flu, but respiratory syncytial virus, which frequently leads to bronchiolitis and pneumonia in young children and is now spreading fast.

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Not to mention whooping cough, adds Pearce, otherwise known as the “100-day-cough”. “I just did a study showing whooping cough is probably six times more common than reported,” he says. “We do not tend to test for it.” The virus is potentially fatal for babies in the first few months of life. He urges all Australians to be vaccinated against it.

What else can we do, to help ourselves this winter?

You might want to use a high-efficiency particulate absorbing (HEPA) filter in your home or office “appropriate for the volume of the room”, Barr says, to help reduce the viral load of particles in a room. “But they need to be running constantly so they can filter enough of the air to make a difference,” he says.

If you’re “particularly unwell”, don’t just assume you’ve got COVID and test only for it, but instead ask your doctor for a respiratory multiplex text, says Barr. This will test you for COVID plus other viruses.

Because if you do have the flu – and it’s detected within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms – you can be prescribed antiviral medication that can reduce the severity and length of the illness. Antivirals, says Barr, are vastly underused in the community.

And if you do get sick, regardless from what virus, it also wouldn’t hurt, says Price, to clean your toothbrush, inhaler or cosmetics with soap and water or an alcohol wipe to help prevent germs from re-entering your system.

And, she adds, people should know that all the measures we’ve become used to during COVID – like masks and coughing into your elbow – are also useful to protect us from other respiratory viruses.

“We’ve all noticed the open-mouthed cough in a closed space with people; do we not understand germ theory yet?” says Price, with a note of exasperation.

And don’t forget the simple but effective measure of disinfecting your hands, especially before touching your mouth or nose.

“There’s not one occasion when I touch a surface that I won’t use a bit of alcohol on my hands,” says Ranganathan.

Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox every Monday.

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Originally Appeared Here

Potential health risks related to floods

DR6YDEN, ONTARIO  ~~~~~   June 5, 2022 (LSNews)  The Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry – Dryden District is advising area residents that a Flood Watch is in effect in the district until Friday, June 10, 2022.

Residents in the Wabigoon, Eagle and Forest Lake watersheds, Agimac Lake Watershed and surrounding areas throughout the district should exercise extreme caution around less travelled roads, bridges, water-crossings, lakes, rivers, and areas of high runoff or erosion potential.  Although water levels have receded in some areas, they remain extremely high. Precipitation will continue to have an impact on water levels and will slow the rate of recession.

The ministry is closely monitoring the weather and developing watershed conditions. Further updates will be issued as appropriate.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Description of Current ConditionsSignificant rainfall over recent weeks, combined with melting snow, have resulted in high stream and lake levels. Water levels across the district are at maximum outflows. With received and forecasted precipitation, the water levels could take longer to recede.

DEFINITIONS

• WATERSHED CONDITIONS STATEMENT – WATER SAFETY: indicates that high flows, melting ice or other factors could be dangerous for such users as boaters, anglers and swimmers but flooding is not expected.
• WATERSHED CONDITIONS STATEMENT – FLOOD OUTLOOK: gives early notice of the potential for flooding based on weather forecasts calling for heavy rain, snow melt, high winds or other conditions
• SHORELINE CONDITIONS STATEMENT – WATER SAFETY: indicates that along the Great Lakes shorelines high water, melting ice or other factors could be dangerous but flooding is not expected.
• SHORELINE CONDITIONS STATEMENT – FLOOD OUTLOOK: gives early notice of the potential for flooding along the Great Lakes shorelines based on weather and lake conditions, and water safety information.
• FLOOD WATCH: potential for flooding exists within specific watercourses and municipalities.FLOOD WARNING: flooding is imminent or occurring within specific watercourses and municipalities.

Potential health risks related to floods

Much of our region is experiencing ongoing flooding due to the rapid snow melt and heavy rainfall. Northwestern Health Unit (NWHU) reminds the public that with floods, come potential health risks to those impacted by flood water. Some of those risks include:

• Flood waters can contain pollutants such as agricultural waste, chemicals, or raw sewage. Visit Health Canada’s Floods and Your Health webpage for information about the potential dangers of flood water.

• Where flood waters impact buildings, prolonged wet or damp conditions can cause mould growth.
  • People who are sensitive to mould may experience allergic reactions such as asthma, and other allergy-type symptoms. Chronic or severe exposure to mould can cause symptoms like eye, skin, nose and throat irritation, headaches, poor concentration, and fatigue.
  • For general information about mould and cleaning up mould, visit Health Canada’s webpage on Mould.
• Flood waters can also impact private drinking water wells. If a well has flood water pooling around or over it, there may be contamination of the ground water in the well. In this case:
  • Use a different source of water for drinking, preparing food, and brushing teeth; or bring water to a rolling boil for at least 1 minute before using. Please visit our Boil Water Advisories webpage for more information.
  • When the flood waters recede, take a well water sample to make sure that your water is ok to drink again. Wells that have been contaminated with flood water may require disinfection before they can be safely used.
• Food that has been in contact with flood waters or has been stored in basements or other areas that have been flooded should be discarded, except for undamaged canned goods.
  • Labels from undamaged cans should be removed, and wash and disinfect the cans before they are opened.
• Structural and electrical safety concerns can also exist when dealing with flood conditions. Please visit Canada’s After a Flood webpage for more information about safely re-entering your home and cleaning up after a flood.

If you have questions about flood-related health risks, please contact Northwestern Health Unit and ask to speak with a public health inspector.

-30-

Photo by Jess Miller
Water starting to come on the highway
502 at Crowe Rock Landing road

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Originally Appeared Here

Your 20s are all about discovering yourself – what you like, what you’re passionate about, where you would like to build a future, and how you can manage to live independently. With this shift comes an important decision that every one of this age faces – moving into a new house on their own. It could be because you’re relocating for a new job, or future education or you’re getting married and want a space of your own. Whatever the circumstances, emptying your family nest can be exciting and scary at the same time. Keyur Zaveri, Vice President of an online furniture rental startup, shares a few tips for setting up a new house, and a checklist of sorts, to help you:

Living Room: A new living room really boils down to just choosing the right furniture which is functional and aesthetically appealing. Here’s what you need to complete the living room set-up:

· Coffee table

· Area rug
· A couple of mini stools

· Cushions

· TV unit

· Bookshelf or Chest of drawers

Kitchen & Dining: Setting up your kitchen first thing after moving is one of the best moving hacks because we all end up tired and hungry after the moving process. A quick cup of coffee or the first meal in your house can really uplift your mood. Here’s what you need the most in your new kitchen:

· Plates

· Coffee mugs

· Saucepan

· Rice cooker

· Frying pan

· Strainer

· Ladles

· Salt, sugar, spices and oil

· Storage containers

· Mortar & Pestle

· Rolling pin and board

· Cutlery – spoons, forks, butter knives

· Set of knives

· Kitchen rags

· Towel holder

Bedroom: The most important investment your room needs is a quality mattress which will promise you good sleep for a long time. Other than that, your sacred space needs:

· Pillows

· Pillowcases

· Duvets

· Bedspreads

· Night lamp

· Clock

· Curtains

· Bed runner

· Mirror

Bathroom: So you’ve just moved in, and we assume it’s been a sweaty and grimy process, with lifting and moving heavy objects. The first place you’d like to hit is the shower – and here are the items which make a well-stocked bathroom:

· Buckets

· Mugs

· Toilet brush

· Bath mats

· Shower curtain (if required)

· Clothes-hanging-hook

· Trash bin

· Toilet paper

· Handwash

· Toothpaste

· Toothbrushes

· Soap/bathing gels

· Shampoo + conditioner

· Towels

· Razors

· Nail-cutters

· Scissors

· Air freshener

· Laundry basket

Cleaning Essentials: Living with your family almost never required your attention to cleaning supplies required for a house. The most necessary items on this list are:

· Broom

· Mop

· Dustpan

· Disinfectant liquids

· Laundry detergent

· Dishwashing sponges and soap

· Cleaning rags

· Tissues

· Trash bags for your dust bins.

Extras: The remaining things you need in your new house are:

· Welcome doormat

· Shoe rack

· A toolbox or kit for handy repairs

· Clocks

· First aid kit

· Extension cords

· Flashlights

· Spare light bulbs

We hope we’ve managed to cover most of the necessary items, if not all, in this exhaustive checklist of ours, to help you move. Worry not, as your list can gradually increase as you adapt to the daily routine in your new house.

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Originally Appeared Here

Sebastian Rubino / [email protected]

Ridgefield is now home to a new dog boarding business, which opened on May 9.

Camp Bow Wow is owned by Dan and Jamie Campbell. It’s part of a dog boarding brand that has locations across the country.

Thanks to the couple’s interest in dogs, the Campbells jumped at the opportunity to open up shop.

“My wife and I have both raised dogs all our lives, and she’s worked in the long term health care industry, and I had various jobs in the military and that kind of thing,” Dan said. “You just have to go with your gut and use your instinct. We had no clue as far as how to open up a dog boarding facility successfully, which is why we went with a franchise like Camp Bow Wow, where we talked to the people who do know how to do this stuff and helped guide us.”

Dan said his philosophy in dog care is to provide quality care to dogs, while also making a profit.

“It might sound kind of cold, but if we don’t make money, we don’t get to take care of the dogs, and the dogs come first,” he said.

The business goes through a vetting process to ensure they hire worthwhile employees, so the dogs are not just well-fed or groomed, but also get opportunities for socialization and exercise.

Since Camp Bow Wow opened, Dan said the reception from the community has been “unbelievable.” Over 600 people have already requested their services.

“I think we’re meeting a need in the community is what it comes down to,” he said.

As the business establishes itself, Dan said they plan to add more services like home visits and other offerings suggested by the community.

“We have a lot of happy people that are just happy to have some place to take their dog where it’s not ‘dog storage,’ but it’s actually doggy care,” he said. “When they come to our place, they just can’t wait to come to our play yards and get socialized.”

To be accepted into the facility, Dan said each dog needs to be up to date on vaccinations and must be healthy. They also put the animals through a socialization process to make sure they mingle with the other dogs comfortably.

The Campbells said Camp Bow Wow has proved to be a great match for what they hope to accomplish.

“For example, some of the other franchises talked about crating dogs and we don’t do that,” he said. “We invested over $100,000 in what we call ‘cabins’ that have solid walls so you don’t have fence fighting and the pups are not put in crates. Camp Bow Wow just matched our philosophy in how you care for a dog.”

Besides the cabins, there are cameras located throughout the facility, which allows dog owners to check on their pets from their phones at any time. There’s also a luxury suite for dogs to stay in when their owners are on extended vacations, which comes with a TV for the dog.

The staff are also monitored by the cameras to ensure the safety of the dogs.

“It’s not Big Brother so much as it is making sure that the dogs are safe, protecting the dogs as well as ourselves,” Dan said.

To keep the dogs active, each indoor play area leads to an outdoor area with artificial turf the staff regularly cleans with hospital-grade disinfectant. The outdoor areas include a high fence and a roof to protect the dogs from the elements. Disinfectant is also used to clean the cabins each morning when the dogs are out playing.

Camp Bow Wow is located at 5810 S. 11th St., Ridgefield. The business can be reached by phone at 360-883-5730.

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Originally Appeared Here

Texas A&M University

When pet owners think about protecting their animal from parasites, the first creepy creatures that come to mind are often fleas, ticks, and heartworms. But one less well-known parasite to watch out for is Giardia, which has strains that infect dogs, cats, and even people.

Dr. Meriam Saleh, a clinical assistant professor at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, offers advice for protecting pets from this protozoan parasite.

Giardia infections can cause diarrhea, gas, abdominal discomfort, nausea, and vomiting.

While it tends to be more of a threat in other countries, Giardia is also regularly seen in the United States.

“Last year, across the U.S., about 1 in 15 dogs (6.7%) and 1 in 25 cats (4.1%) that were tested for Giardia infections at their vet’s office were positive,” Saleh said.

For context, this makes Giardia more common than some other parasites like whipworms, which were detected in 1 out of every 200 dogs tested at veterinary clinics last year, or roundworms, which were found in 1 out of every 50 dogs, according to the Companion Animal Parasite Council.

Giardia has two lifecycle stages—mature parasites that live in an animal’s intestine and cysts that are shed in feces.

“Cysts are immediately infective when passed in the feces,” Saleh said. “Even very small or microscopic bits of feces can have cysts in them and contaminate objects in the home, the outdoor environment, and the pet’s own fur. If the dog or cat has some feces on their paws and then walks around, paws at its food/water bowls, or scratches its side, the microscopic cysts are contaminating those areas.”

If a pet ingests infected feces or cysts that have spread to another object, Giardia will infect its new host and begin the cycle again.

Even though the parasite can infect multiple species, it usually uses different strains to do so.

“Generally, dogs are infected with canine strains of Giardia and cats are infected with feline strains, but in very rare cases dogs and cats may have strains that have also been found in people,” Saleh said.

While the risk of the parasite spreading to owners, or pets of a different species, is very low, it is still important to take precautions.

“The risk increases in households with a severely immunocompromised person who might be more susceptible to new germs, but it can be decreased by practicing good hygiene for both pets and people, such as washing your hands after picking up or petting your dog or cat,” Saleh said.

While some pets infected with Giardia experience diarrhea and problems digesting food, others show no symptoms at all. Therefore, it’s important to have a pet tested if there is a chance it came into contact with cysts.

“If your dog or cat tests positive for Giardia, your veterinarian will prescribe an oral medication to treat the infection,” Saleh said. “Treatment is usually given anywhere from three to 10 days, depending on the drug being used. In some cases, your veterinarian may prescribe a combination of two or more drugs that are effective against the parasite.”

Fortunately, most pets recover well from Giardia infection with standard treatment. To ensure the parasite is completely removed from the pet’s environment, serious cleaning will be necessary.

“Your veterinarian will recommend that you pick up after your pet and dispose of the feces; use a disinfectant to wash and clean objects and hard surfaces that your pet comes into contact with; and bathe your pet toward the end of treatment to prevent reinfection from any Giardia cysts in their fur,” Saleh said.

Unlike fleas, ticks, and heartworms, Giardia cannot be prevented with a monthly medication. Instead, prevention comes down to maintaining a clean environment and paying attention to the other animals a pet interacts with.

As long as these precautions are taken, your dog or cat safe should be able to avoid infection with this pesky parasite.

Pet Talk is a service of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University. Stories can be viewed on the web at vetmed.tamu.edu/news/pet-talk. Suggestions for future topics may be directed to [email protected].

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Originally Appeared Here

Ca. has $ 100 billion surplus money, don’t know how or if they will spend it on us tax payers. We need water spend it to fix the problem. Sacramento Delta water going out into ocean.

Build the large pipes with pumps to divert the water into Ca aqua river to send water to Southern Ca. Several Ca. governors have talked about this but it never gets done. Also I heard that all of the run off water that goes into the “ L.A. river “ and runs out to sea if recovered would be enough to supply L.A. area.

How many people will comply with only watering lawns 2 times a week for not more than 10 minutes. I also want to see the cities, business, and apartment buildings stopping wasting water. What about our rich politicians with big properties and large lawns will they cut back and let their beautiful landscapes die ??

Well here we are $6 + gas prices. I saw some priced at $8 in L.A. Government wants the high price so people will by electric cars. How are all of you electric car owners going to charge them when we already have power shortages especially in summer with all of the air conditioners going? Buy a hybrid car (gas/battery) as they charge your battery while driving.

I went to serve jury duty this morning at the Lancaster Calif Antelope Valley courthouse on Ave M.

When I arrived there was a large sign on the window facing the parking lot stating mask wearing as voluntary. Paperwork taped next to the entrance (only 1 entrance open) there was the ordenance from 2021 (second part ending in GEN023-00) stating anyone entering the courthouse must wear a mask.

My estimate is about 2/3rds of those waiting in line were maskless. The only employee I saw wearing a mask was a female security guard running the metal detector.

I was asked to take a small screw driver I keep in my bag back to my vehicle.

I don’t know anyone who has died from a 3inch screw driver.

I have a list of people who have died from covid.

Including those they left behind with long term covid.

I’m old and know how to get out of jury duty. If that had been my goal. But that requires me getting to a court room. Until that time, Myself/AV jurors will be exposed to a forced air system with more than half of the courthouse population not wearing masks.

No covid protocols of any being enforced. One can only imagine that any extra disinfecting or cleaning has also been sidelined. That makes the air possibly deadly. And I’m being asked to sit in it.

Adds a whole new dimension to the term “civic duty.”

As a civilized society we are failing. We have way too many differences that we cannot agree on how to resolve. All you need to do is look at some of the major issues facing the nation: Sensible gun control, abortion rights, voting rights, immigrant reform, public medical health insurance, student loan forgiveness, affordable child-care assistance, and climate change.

Neither, the conservatives or liberals can come together on these issues. Following are some interesting facts and statistics:

More than half of Americans want stricter gun laws. This includes 83 percent of gun owners who support expanded background checks on the sales of all firearms, including 72 percent of all NRA members.

Sixty percent of Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Eighty percent of Americans support voter ID rules. However, fewer are worried about voter fraud.

Seventy one percent of Americans feel voting should be easier and not harder and that voting should be as easy and accessible as possible.

There are over 10.4 million undocumented immigrants working and living in America. Over fifty percent are considered essential workers who work in health care, agricultural workers, delivery drivers, and grocery clerk who help kept the country afloat during the pandemic.

Undocumented immigrants pay almost 80 billion dollars in federal taxes and another 41 billion in state and local taxes.

Sixty-eight percent of Americans would support a public health insurance option.

More than sixty-four percent of Americans support some student loan debt forgiveness.

Sixty percent of Americans favor a stronger government role in helping families with reliable and affordable child-care. Seventy percent of Americans support increased congressional funding for child-care and early childhood education.

Sixty percent of Americans believe human activity is responsible for global warming.

Another school shooting and it is time for politicians to grandstand against guns. They refer to the AR-15 as a “Assault Weapon” and a “Weapon of War” both of which are wrong. =List one military, you know the guys and gals who go to war, which uses the semi-automatic AR-15? One would think if it were a weapon of war, it would be used in war. Google “what type of weapon is used more often in mass shootings, handguns or AR-15’s”. The answer is handguns.

For a brief period over the week end I thought maybe we can get some legislation that will better regulate these weapons but then Biden says we must ban 9MM handguns because these high caliber, high power, popular handguns are a problem with no mention of how many mass shootings they have been use in. The only gun control legislation that stands a chance of passing is those that regulate not ban.

I have supplied a Google reference for assault rifle ttps://www.britannica.com/technology/assault-rifle: “Assault rifle, military firearm that is chambered for ammunition of reduced size or propellant charge and that has the capacity to switch between semiautomatic and fully automatic fire”.

Note the AR-15 is not a military firearm nor can it switch between semiautomatic and fully automatic. The makers of air soft guns better hope Biden do not find out about them.

President Biden said we need “Common Sense” gun laws – has there been a more ambiguous statement?

Why is the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) even considering limits that would prevent new customers from putting solar on their homes? My guess is because they are in the pocket of SCE, PG&E, and San Diego Gas and Electric. Gov. Newsom needs to put his big boy pants on and replace the entire CPUC.  

Mark your calenders for June 15th, 8:30 am. On this fateful day, the CA Fish and Game commission will vote on whether to list the Western Joshua tree under CESA (CA Environmental Species Act).

If voted no, they will be developed wild west style with no mitigation except for possibly planting one in a gas station or fast food joint.

Only smaller patches with no ecological continuity will remain but with habitat loss. Human life depends on millions of these ecosystems. Our growth and development is a bigger threat to the WJT than climate change.

Please write letters to CA DFG Commision urging a YES vote! Yes to CESA for our beloved WJT. Thank you.

America has become a nation of experts, experts in every field who study data and analyze statistics on man made problems never finding real preventive or proven solutions. We have put a man on the moon and next is Mars and beyond while ignoring earths man made social problems.

Could mans technology be mans down fall in trying to answer all of mans problems therefore denying the existence of God. One can only gauge our technological advances in the last 25 years and compare them to mans inhuman violent treatment towards our fellow man and draw a comparison.

Children are very impersonate I believe part of the problem is children of today are being indoctrinated exposed and stripped of their innocence at such a young age by in Hollywood, athletics, liberal politicians, teachers with their personal beliefs. Parents mainly fathers need to take charge of their children on what they are being taught outside of the home and in public schools.

Im sure many adults and parents my age have noticed the out of control culture of today of 10-20 years ago. Many say “change is good” call me old fashion I say not rightly so. Children need time to mature as they age in their own time not societies exhilarated pace with out morals limits or rules.

I am a strong believer in parental rights and with it parental responsibilities. For those who disagree I bet most are non parents I ask….who’s children are they any way. Im reminded…..knowledge serves no one if one is not willing to share it.

What’s wrong with people?

So the dopey White House spokeshole, Karine Jean-Pierre, says the even more clueless Joe Biden believes “guns are the problem” and that hardening the schools is not the answer. More laws, that is more than the current 26,000 on the books and gun bans are the answer.

I’m curious why the president, anyone in Congress or any democrat would say that. The same people that say “it’s the guns” and “walls don’t work” now say fences/walls and armed security at schools are not the answer. Well, they are hypocritically consistent.

All of them have heavily armed security, fences or walls around their workplaces and homes, because, maybe those things work? Worked pretty good for the last two or three thousand years.

So it’s security and walls for me but not for thee. We are supposed to relinquish our guns so the police can protect us? Like in Uvalde, Texas? When seconds count, the police are minutes away. Like maybe even waiting in the parking lot for 48 minutes?

I respect and appreciate our police and sheriffs but they are only human and cannot be everywhere, but we all have a God-given and Constitutional right to protect ourselves, families and others — not just in our homes and with a water gun.

The democrats want open borders, to defund the police across the country, close lots of prisons, do away with bail and not prosecute criminals. By taking away guns? What the hell is wrong with these people?

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Originally Appeared Here

NewsDesk @bactiman63

Canadian health authorities report investigating an outbreak of norovirus and gastrointestinal illnesses linked to the consumption of spot prawns.

Image/Public Health Agency of Canada

As of June 1, 2022, there have been 48 cases of norovirus and gastrointestinal illness reported in the following provinces: British Columbia (11), Alberta (12), Manitoba (19), and Ontario (6). Individuals became sick between mid-May and late-May 2022, and no deaths have been reported. Although not all cases of illness have been tested, laboratory testing has confirmed the presence of a norovirus infection.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is continuing its food safety investigation into the spot prawns associated with the illnesses under investigation. A food recall was issued on May 31, 2022 for several lot codes of live spot prawns that are associated with the illnesses under investigation.

Spot prawns contaminated with noroviruses may look, smell and taste normal. The following safe food-handling practices will reduce your risk of getting sick:

• Do not eat, use, sell, or serve the recalled spot prawns. Check to see if you have the recalled spot prawns at home. If you do, throw them out and wash your hands.
• Avoid eating raw or undercooked spot prawns.
• Eat spot prawns right away after cooking and refrigerate leftovers.
• Always keep raw and cooked spot prawns separate to avoid cross-contamination.
• Do not use the same plate or utensils for raw and cooked spot prawns.
• Wash your hands well with soap before and after handling any food.
• Be sure to clean and sanitize cutting boards, counters, knives and other utensils after preparing raw foods.

Noroviruses can be transmitted by ill individuals. Cleaning and disinfecting practices are the key to preventing further illnesses in your home.

• Thoroughly clean contaminated surfaces, especially after an episode of illness.
• After vomiting or diarrhea, immediately remove and wash clothing or linens that may be contaminated with the virus (use hot water and soap).
• If you have been diagnosed with norovirus illness or any other gastrointestinal illness, do not prepare food or pour drinks for other people while you have symptoms, and for the first 48 hours after you recover.

Symptoms

People with norovirus illness usually develop symptoms of gastroenteritis within 24 to 48 hours, but symptoms can start as early as 12 hours after exposure. The illness often begins suddenly. Even after having the illness, you can still become re-infected by norovirus.

The main symptoms of norovirus illness are:

• diarrhea
• vomiting (children usually experience more vomiting than adults)
• nausea
• stomach cramps

Other symptoms may include:

• low-grade fever
• headache
• chills
• muscle aches
• fatigue (a general sense of tiredness)

Most people feel better within one or two days, with symptoms resolving on their own, and experience no long-term health effects. As with any illness causing diarrhea or vomiting, people who are ill should drink plenty of liquids to replace lost body fluids and prevent dehydration. In severe cases, patients may need to be hospitalized and given fluids intravenously. If you have severe symptoms of norovirus, consult your healthcare provider.

Raspberry recall in Canada due to norovirus

Toronto reports 5 confirmed monkeypox cases, 5 more under investigation

H5N1 avian influenza reported in Ontario, Canada poultry flocks

Norovirus outbreak linked to raw oysters from British Columbia over, Final tally is 339 cases

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Originally Appeared Here

Chances are that at some point in early spring, you have noticed fire hydrants being flushed and releasing large amounts of water into the streets. While it may appear that hundreds of gallons of good clean water are going to waste, flushing of fire hydrants is essential to keep your water safe and maintain the integrity of a pipe network. Flushing hydrants not only benefits the fire department by testing the fire flow capacity in the event of a fire, but it also removes sediment and rust from the water, and maintains proper chlorine concentrations in your area.

Water main flushing is an important preventative maintenance performed by the local water department. The activity verifies proper operation of the hydrant, evaluates the available water flow to the hydrant, removes mineral and sediment build up in the water mains, and allows utilities to deliver the highest quality water possible to their customers.

While there are several water facilities in the area, the Westerly Water Department is one of the largest providers. The Westerly Water Department water supply comes from 12 gravel-packed wells located at seven well fields within the Pawcatuck River Aquifer Region. The well fields are located on Bradford Road, Old Carriage road, Pound Road, and White Rock Road in the Town of Westerly. The total system production capability is 7.43 million gallons of water each day.

Locally, the Westerly Water Department services 901 working fire hydrants in Westerly and Pawcatuck. This does not include hydrants that are privately owned by commercial properties such as shopping centers or large residential properties. While the town of Westerly provides the water for the private hydrants, the owners are responsible for installing, servicing, and maintaining them.

Distribution mains, or pipes, convey water to homes, businesses, and hydrants in your neighborhood. According to the annual Water Quality Report presented by the Westerly Water Department, the water entering the distribution mains is high quality. However, despite its high quality, the report explains that water quality can deteriorate in areas of the distribution mains over time. Water main flushing is the process of cleaning the interior of water distribution pipes by sending a rapid flow of water through them.

Over time, water settles and is affected by a thin layer of microorganisms that grow on the inside of the distribution piping. Each of these factors affects the quality and taste of the water, so it is important to flush the water out of the mains through the hydrants regularly. Flushing moves water through areas of the distribution system that have low water use, since the older water may no longer have the desired chlorine residual.

Flushing the hydrants maintains water quality in several ways. Flushing removes elements like iron and manganese which can affect the taste, clarity, and color of the water. Hydrant flushing can be necessary if water becomes stagnant in pipes, or water becomes contaminated. Sediments, rust, and even chemicals can sometimes leach into a water system from broken pipes or even the linings of the pipes themselves. Engineers recognize this risk and determine key locations where hydrant flushing will increase water quality.

Additionally, sediments can shield microorganisms from the disinfecting power of chlorine, contributing to the growth of microorganisms within distribution mains. Flushing helps remove stale water and ensures the presence of fresh water with sufficient dissolved oxygen and disinfectant levels which results in acceptable taste and smell.

During flushing operations in your neighborhood, some short-term deterioration of water quality is possible. Although it is safe to use, you should avoid tap water for household use at that time. If you do use the tap, allow your cold water to run at full velocity for a few minutes before use, and avoid using hot water, to prevent sediment accumulation in your hot water tank.

From a fire department perspective, a very important reason that hydrants must be flushed is to test or record flow values. Certain codes indicate the necessary fire flows from hydrants in order to maintain safety in the event of a disaster. Pressures and flow rates at hydrants can be drastically affected by other users’ usage of water, or even possibly a burst pipe. Periodical testing ensures that there is enough water supply, which also can affect home and business owners’ insurance rates.

If you see a fire hydrant open and running with a water department vehicle in the vicinity, rest assured the town is not just wasting water. For more information about the quality of the water in Westerly, contact the Public Works Department at 401-348-2561. For other towns, please contact your Town Hall for more information.

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Originally Appeared Here