(703) 924-3144There seemed to be some good news about the SARS‐CoV‐2 (COVID‐19) outbreak in our area over the past several weeks. New cases appeared to be declining and the mortality rate is decreasing as well. Therefore, some of the restrictions in our area are being eased. For example, Fairfax County Parks opened over the holiday weekend, naturally with some restrictions.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE continue with your social distancing, masks in public, cough into your sleeve, wash your hands frequently, and try not to touch your face. The success we are seeing in this area is due to these measures.
As you can see, over the past two weeks, there has been a trend downward in new cases per day in Fairfax County, there was a spike on May 21st and then again over the past two days.
One of the newer concepts coming out about infections indicates your risk of contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus is related to the dose or viral load exposure AND the length of time you have been exposed to the virus. There is little hard data, but the consensus is that 15 minutes of exposure or more has a higher risk of contracting the virus.
While there is not yet a treatment for COVID-19, Inova is hoping donated plasma will help patients currently fighting the virus. If you have tested positive for COVID-19 and you have been symptom-free for 14 days, you may be able to be a convalescent plasma donor.
There is an interesting article about what all of our increased screen time is doing to your skin. With our increased screen time, we are all getting a lot of blue light screen time. Blue light may increase pigmentation in people with darker skin. In addition, as the weather gets nicer and we spend more time outdoors, there is going to be increased UVA and UVB exposure. While many sunscreens are able to legally claim UVA and UVB protection, the best protection for both blue light and UVA/UVB light is a sunscreen that is tinted and contains iron oxides.
While we previously published some places to find free e-books, here are some of our favorite books to recommend: Fiction: Turn of the Key, Big Little Lies, 100 Years of Solitude, Dune, Beloved, To Kill a Mockingbird, Catch 22, My Lovely Wife, Darling Rose Gold, The Great Gatsby Nonfiction: The New Rules of War, The Panda’s Thumb, Outliers, From Good to Great, Sapiens, Mountains Beyond Mountains, Extreme Ownership. The free resources:17 Sites for Free E-Books in 2020, 15 Best Sites to Download Free E-books, 11 Places for Thrifty Bookworms to Download Free E-books
Eric Desman, M.D.