Lee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to registerThe Weather Authority: Stay alert – chance of showers and storms on Sunday
LEE COUNTY Lee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to register WINK News Anchor Corey Lazar goes on patrol with Lee County Deputies in search of transient sex offenders who don’t register.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Know your risk Hurricane season starts on June 1st, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated the week of May 5 through May 11 as National Hurricane Preparedness Week. Each day, Meteorologist Lauren Kreidler will be highlighting ways to stay prepared ahead of this year’s hurricane season.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Stay alert – chance of showers and storms on Sunday Hot, humid, and more rain for parts of Southwest Florida on Sunday.
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
The Weather Authority: A wet Saturday evening as storms move through Southwest Florida A rainy Saturday evening across much of southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Lee Health Touch-A-Truck event educates families on Trauma Awareness On Saturday morning, sirens were ringing to celebrate Lee Health Trauma Center’s 30 years of service and to provide the public with trauma education and prevention methods.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (CBS) CDC says bird flu viruses “pose pandemic potential,” cites major knowledge gaps Bird flu continues to appear to pose a “low risk to the general public” for now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. But the agency’s scientists ran into roadblocks investigating a human case of this “pandemic potential” virus this year, they said in a new report.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Bay Street Yard set to open in late May A new place to hang out in Downtown Fort Myers is opening this spring.
Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers Aetna has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discriminating against LGBTQ+ customers in need of fertility treatment.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn This week’s segment of Wink Neighborhood Watch features an armed robber, fraud at a pawn shop, and possession of child pornography.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Sun, clouds, humidity, rain – it’s all in your weekend forecast Saturday afternoon will be hot and humid, with a mix of sun and clouds.
LEHIGH ACRES Chaotic lake getting fence and security Now, with all the negative attention it has gotten, some think putting up a fence is a great way to keep that bad activity out.
FORT MYERS Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first time For many young people, COVID stripped away one of their greatest rites of passage: graduation.
Deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County Authorities are at the scene of a deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County on Friday afternoon.
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.
LEE COUNTY Lee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to register WINK News Anchor Corey Lazar goes on patrol with Lee County Deputies in search of transient sex offenders who don’t register.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Know your risk Hurricane season starts on June 1st, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated the week of May 5 through May 11 as National Hurricane Preparedness Week. Each day, Meteorologist Lauren Kreidler will be highlighting ways to stay prepared ahead of this year’s hurricane season.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Stay alert – chance of showers and storms on Sunday Hot, humid, and more rain for parts of Southwest Florida on Sunday.
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
The Weather Authority: A wet Saturday evening as storms move through Southwest Florida A rainy Saturday evening across much of southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Lee Health Touch-A-Truck event educates families on Trauma Awareness On Saturday morning, sirens were ringing to celebrate Lee Health Trauma Center’s 30 years of service and to provide the public with trauma education and prevention methods.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (CBS) CDC says bird flu viruses “pose pandemic potential,” cites major knowledge gaps Bird flu continues to appear to pose a “low risk to the general public” for now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. But the agency’s scientists ran into roadblocks investigating a human case of this “pandemic potential” virus this year, they said in a new report.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Bay Street Yard set to open in late May A new place to hang out in Downtown Fort Myers is opening this spring.
Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers Aetna has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discriminating against LGBTQ+ customers in need of fertility treatment.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn This week’s segment of Wink Neighborhood Watch features an armed robber, fraud at a pawn shop, and possession of child pornography.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Sun, clouds, humidity, rain – it’s all in your weekend forecast Saturday afternoon will be hot and humid, with a mix of sun and clouds.
LEHIGH ACRES Chaotic lake getting fence and security Now, with all the negative attention it has gotten, some think putting up a fence is a great way to keep that bad activity out.
FORT MYERS Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first time For many young people, COVID stripped away one of their greatest rites of passage: graduation.
Deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County Authorities are at the scene of a deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County on Friday afternoon.
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.
via CNN Many patients with severe cases of COVID-19 have been shown to have extremely low levels of oxygen in the blood. Others who have tested positive find themselves experiencing shortness of breath. Perhaps that’s why people are so interested lately in pulse oximeters, medical devices that measure the saturation of oxygen in red blood cells. Pulse oximeters were sold out on the websites of CVS and Walgreens, a search on Friday showed. US sales of pulse oximeters spiked on Jan. 20 when the country’s first COVID-19 case was confirmed, and again in mid-February, according to Quartz. While the rate of increase has slowed, sales have continued to grow each week since, the outlet reported. Meanwhile, Google searches for “pulse oximeters” spiked in early April and reached a peak in recent days, after emergency room physician Richard Levitan published an op-ed in The New York Times suggesting that the devices could provide early warnings about a need for treatment against COVID-19. So, should you go out and buy one? Here’s what to know. What a pulse oximeter is A pulse oximeter is a medical device that measures the saturation of oxygen in a person’s red blood cells. It typically clips to your finger, though it can also be attached at the ear, forehead, nose or toes. The device works by shining a light through the skin, which is then analyzed to determine how much oxygen is being carried in the blood. Physicians and other medical professionals use pulse oximeters on patients experiencing shortness of breath or those who have a lung or heart conditions to determine if they’re getting enough oxygen. Health care professionals routinely use them in hospitals and clinics when checking vital signs. Pulse oximeters are occasionally used in home settings for people who have underlying health conditions. They can also be found on Amazon, in pharmacies and in medical supply stores, although prices and quality can vary widely. One doctor suggests widespread screening Levitan, who spent 10 days in New York treating pneumonia caused by the coronavirus, wrote in The New York Times that pulse oximeters could detect a form of oxygen deprivation in which patients don’t experience shortness of breath, despite low oxygen levels and pneumonia readings through chest X-rays. According to Levitan, the devices signaled to two emergency physicians he knew that they needed treatment early on, and both went to the hospital and recovered. “Widespread pulse oximetry screening for COVID pneumonia — whether people check themselves on home devices or go to clinics or doctors’ offices — could provide an early warning system for the kinds of breathing problems associated with COVID pneumonia,” he wrote. But you probably don’t need one, experts say Experts with the American Lung Association and the American Thoracic Society said that for most people, having a pulse oximeter at home wouldn’t be particularly helpful in detecting the virus. “If the question is, ‘Would it be a good early indicator if somebody has COVID-19 infection?’, I would say probably not,” said Dr. J. Randall Curtis, a professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Washington. That’s because low oxygen levels are a relatively late indicator that a person has COVID-19, Curtis said. People who potentially have the illness will likely experience other symptoms, like fever, dry cough, body aches or fatigue, that would prompt them to seek medical attention days before they noticed a drop in their blood oxygen levels. It’s also possible that people using pulse oximeters at home could see inaccurate readings. Nail polish, artificial nails, cold hands and poor circulation are all things that can interfere with the light used by the devices and result in false numbers, says Dr. David Hill, a pulmonary and critical care physician and a spokesman for the American Lung Association. “One reason not to encourage everyone to go out and get one is there’s a higher likelihood of having falsely low readings in a normal population,” he said. “Then those people are going to be calling physicians or going into emergency rooms that are already busy for potentially something that’s nothing.” There are instances when it would make sense to use pulse oximetry at home, both Curtis and Hill said. People who have already tested positive for COVID-19 and are recovering at home might want to consult their doctor about using a pulse oximeter to monitor whether they need oxygen or more supportive care. But those who are healthy and aren’t experiencing symptoms can probably just save the $50 or so that they might otherwise spend on the device, Hill said. The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.