Health Highlights: March 16, 2020

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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

U.S. Distilleries Making Hand Sanitizer

Some U.S. distilleries have started using their alcohol to make free hand sanitizer for Americans.

The coronavirus pandemic has led to panic buying of hand sanitizers and high prices for the products in stores. While it’s possible to make hand sanitizer at home, some ingredients have become difficult to find, CBS News reported.

That’s led some distilleries to use their in-house alcohol to make hand sanitizer.

For example, Atlanta’s Old Fourth Distillery is offering free hand sanitizer to anyone who stops by its facility, and said that more than 600 people visited with empty bottles to fill up on Friday, causing a temporary shortage of the sanitizer, CBS News reported.

North Carolina’s Durham Distillery said it will use its alcohol to create a sanitation solution that will be donated to local businesses in need.

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N.Y. and Colorado Ask Former Health Care Workers to Return to Workforce

Former health care workers in New York State and Colorado are being asked to return to the workforce to help health systems under pressure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that having health care facilities well staffed is “just as important” as ensuring those facilities have enough equipment and tests. Colorado Governor Jared Polis said he’s “particularly concerned” about how the coronavirus will affect health care workers “who are already being put to the test. CBS News said.

Former health care workers include anyone who’s currently working in another occupation or is retired, but whose medical license is still active or can be reactivated, Polis said.

New York is asking former doctors and nurses to “reconnect” with their past employer to create a reserve workforce of health care professionals who are “on call” for coronavirus response, Cuomo said.

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Visitors Banned from U.S. Federal, State Prisons

Visitors and volunteers have been banned from the United States’ 122 federal prisons and many of the 1,700 state prisons in an attempt to prevent coronavirus outbreaks among inmates and staff.

The ban was announced Friday by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, matching actions taken by most states and some counties in their own prisons and jails, CNN reported.

Federal prisons have also generally banned lawyer visits for 30 days, a measure not taken by most state facilities. However, federal prisons will allow confidential legal calls and lawyers can request exceptions.

The coronavirus could spread rapidly inside prisons, as seen in 2019 mumps outbreaks in Texas and New Jersey jails, CNN reported.

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