It now seems that I now need to keep doing a weekly linkfest solely dedicated to the coronavirus pandemic. You can read last week’s edition here. Please be careful and stay safe.


Masks

Jason Kottke, “Why WHY WHY!!!! are we still talking about this? There’s no credible evidence that wearing a mask is harmful, so at worse it’s harmless.”  (kottke)

A new study shows the compulsory use of face masks reduces infections by 40%.  (Marginal Revolution)

Masking wearing has to be the part of any attempt to curb a second wave of infection.  (Reuters)

30-45% of infected people have no symptoms – so behave as if you are infected.  (Washington Post)

Home made masks are most effective for ‘source control’ not protection.  (Ars Technica)

How does behavior change when everyone is wearing a mask?  (Vox)

Blood

How researchers are using different blood markers to identify patients most at-risk of fatal Covid-19.  (Science Daily)

People with O-type blood seem to have a lower risk of contracting the coronavirus.  (FT)

Antibodies

Antibody treatments could be available as early as this Fall.  (Reuters)

A lot of progress is being made on the antibody as treatment front.  (Science)

Spreaders

Why we need to care about the asymptomatic transmission of the coronavirus.  (Marketwatch)

On the race to identify superspreaders before they do their damage.  (Fast Company)

Risks

There was a time that people were opposed to mandatory seat belts: on the parallels to face masks.  (Calculated Risk)

A survey of epidemiologists on what activities they will resume first.  (NYTimes)

How an ER doctor thinks about the relative risks of activities.  (Slate)

A good thread on the relative risks of various activities.  (@Bob_Wachter)

Is it safe to go to the dentist?  (NYTimes)

Mixed media

What experts should you listen to in a pandemic?  (Scientific American)

Go easy on the Vitamin D to prevent coronavirus talk.  (NYTimes)

Earlier on Abnormal Returns

Coronavirus links: reopening and relapsing.  (Abnormal Returns)

Coronavirus links: testing and safety. (Abnormal Returns)

Acceptable risks in a world full of uncertainty. (Abnormal Returns)

Having no plan is just as bad as not following the plan you have. (Abnormal Returns)