Category: Corona Virus

The Foreign Office (FCO) is advising against all but essential travel to an increasing number of countries because of coronavirus. Some destinations have travel restrictions, quarantine measures, border closures and health screenings in place due to the outbreak. If travellers have recently been on another trip abroad to affected countries, entry to other destinations could be denied or travellers quarantined.

This article is being updated daily. It was last updated at 11pm, 16 March

The FCO is advising against all but essential travel to:

Europe: Albania, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Madeira and Porto Santo (Portugal), Romania, Serbia

Asia: Myanmar, China, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, North Korea, Daegu, Cheongdo and Gyeongsan (South Korea), Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam

North America: US

Central America and the Caribbean: Belize, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad & Tobago

South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay

Africa: Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Jordan, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Sierra Leone, South Africa

Cruise shipsThe FCO is advising against all travel on cruise ships for passengers aged 70 years and over or those with high-risk conditions. Some destinations are placing bans on cruise ships docking or passengers disembarking, including Australia, Chile, Colombia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro and Portugal.

The following countries have other restrictions and measures in place that may affect UK nationals (but the FCO is not advising against travelling there currently):

* EU proposes suspension of non-essential travel

The EU is proposing that all non-essential travel should be suspended to European Union for 30 days, the president of the EU commission has announced. This would affect travel from outside the EU, but the UK would be exempt.

AustriaThere are no direct flights between Austria and the UK, or direct air or rail connections from Austria to Italy, France, Spain or Switzerland. Any travellers coming from Italy by road will be stopped at the border and must present a health certificate stating that they are not affected by coronavirus. Ski resorts closed on 15 March in Tirol, Salzburg and Vorarlberg. Restaurants and shops open at limited hours.

Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Romania and SwitzerlandCultural and sporting activities are prohibited; large gatherings restricted; restaurants and bars are closed; shops likely to be open at limited hours; public transport limited; and health screenings on arrival likely.

Croatia and Bosnia and HerzegovinaSelf-quarantine for 14 days. Some borders are closed and flights schedules limited.

Cyprus and UkraineBan on entry for UK travellers.

GermanySelf-quarantine for 14 days for anyone who has been in Italy, Switzerland or Austria in the 14 days before arrival. Land border restrictions with Austria, Denmark, France, Luxembourg and Switzerland (ie cross-border commuters and deliveries only).

GeorgiaBan on all travellers for two weeks from 18 March.

HungarySelf-quarantine for 14 days for travellers who have recently been in China, Italy, Iran, Israel or South Korea. Cultural and sporting activities are prohibited; restaurants and bars are closed; shops likely to be open at limited hours; health screenings on arrival likely.

Isle of ManSelf-quarantine for 14 days.

PortugalLand border restrictions with Spain (ie cross-border commuters and deliveries only).

RussiaSelf-quarantine of 14 days for travellers who have recently been in China, Italy, Iran, France, Germany, South Korea or Spain. All borders closed except with Azerbaijan and Finland.

TurkeySome flights to Europe suspended. Ban on entry to travellers who have been in or transited through China, Iran, Italy or South Korea in the 14 days before arrival.

No specific warningsFor UK nationals, there are currently no travel warnings or restrictions (relating to coronavirus) in place to the following countries. However, some have confirmed cases of coronavirus, with health screenings likely on arrival and quarantine possible: Armenia, Andorra, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Liechtenstein, Sweden.

BahrainSuspension of visas on arrival scheme. Self-quarantine for 14 days.

BangladeshSuspension of visa on arrival scheme. Ban on entry to travellers who have recently been in Europe (not including UK).

Bhutan, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Turkmenistan Ban on entry to UK travellers.

BruneiSelf-monitor for 14 days.

Hong Kong, Israel, Macao, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan and Uzbekistan Self-quarantine for 14 days.

IndiaBan on entry to all travellers from the UK, EU, and Turkey from 18 March. All visas and e-visas invalid until 15 April. Quarantine of 14 days for anyone who has recently visited China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, France, Spain or Germany.

JapanBan on entry to travellers who have been in China, Iran or Italy in the 14 days before arrival.

Lebanon Direct flights suspended from affected countries on 17 March. Airlines flying into Beirut Rafic Hariri airport are being asked to refuse passengers who have been in the UK, France, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Germany or Spain. UK nationals are strongly advised to review travel plans here.

MaldivesBan on entry to travellers who have been in Bangladesh, China, Iran, Italy or South Korea (Gyeongsang) in the 14 days before arrival.

PakistanInternational flights are limited to Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore airports, and some borders closed.

TajikistanBan on entry to travellers who have been in or transited through, China, Iran, Italy or South Korea in the 14 days before arrival.

ThailandTravellers who have recently been in affected countries require a health certificate stating that they are not affected by coronavirus. Self-monitor for 14 days. Songkran celebrations postponed and other large gatherings likely to be cancelled or postponed.

No specific warningsFor UK nationals, there are currently no travel warnings or restrictions (relating to coronavirus) in place to the following countries. However, some have confirmed cases of coronavirus, with health screenings likely on arrival, and quarantined possible: Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Nepal and UAE.

ArubaBan on entry to UK travellers.

Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas and MontserratBan on entry to travellers who have recently been in China, Iran, Italy, Japan, South Korea or Singapore.

BarbadosQuarantine 14 days for any travellers recently been in Italy in the 14 days before arrival.

Bermuda and Canada Self-quarantine for 14 days.

Saint LuciaBan on entry to travellers who have been in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Italy, South Korea or Singapore in the 14 days before arrival.

Saint Vincent & the GrenadinesBan on entry to travellers who have been in China, Italy or Iran in the 14 days before arrival.

GrenadaBan on entry to travellers who have been in China, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea or Spain in the 14 days before arrival.

GuyanaSelf-quarantine for 14 days for travellers who have recently been in Brazil, China, Dominican Republic, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jamaica, Malaysia, Panama, Thailand, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Singapore, South Korea or US

Turks & CaicosBan on entry to travellers who have been in China, Iran, Italy, Japan, Macao, South Korea or Singapore in the 21 days before arrival.

No specific warningsFor UK nationals, there are currently no travel warnings or restrictions (relating to coronavirus) in place to the following countries. However, some have confirmed cases of coronavirus, with health screenings likely on arrival, and quarantined possible: Brazil, Cayman Islands, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Saint Maarten.

Australia, New Zealand and Solomon IslandsSelf-quarantine for 14 days.

FijiBan on entry to anyone who has been in China, Iran, Italy or South Korea.

French PolynesiaAll travellers require a health certificate stating that they do not have coronavirus.

Kiribati, Micronesia and TongaMust have been spent 14 days in a country without any cases prior to arrival.

NauruBan on entry to travellers who have been in or transited through China, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Macao or South Korea in the 21 days before arrival.

PalauBan on entry to travellers who have been in China, Hong Kong or Macao in the 14 days before arrival.

VanuatuBan on entry to travellers who have been in China, Hong Kong Japan, Macao, South Korea, Singapore or Taiwan in the 14 days before arrival.

No specific warnings For UK nationals, there are currently no travel warnings or restrictions (relating to coronavirus) in place to the following countries. However, some have confirmed cases of coronavirus, with health screenings likely on arrival, and quarantine possible: Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea and Samoa.

AlgeriaSuspension of all air and sea travel to and from Europe from 19 March.

Angola, Congo, Mauritius and SeychellesBan on entry to travellers who have recently been in China, Iran, Italy or South Korea.

Benin, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tunisia and UgandaSelf-quarantine for 14 days for travellers who have recently been in affected countries.

ComorosMust have been spent 14 days in a country without any cases prior to arrival.

EritreaQuarantine of 14 days for travellers who have recently been in China, South Korea, Italy, Germany or US.

GuineaVisitors must submit their passports for a 14-day monitoring period.

MadagascarNo commercial passenger flights with Europe for 30 days from 20 March. Self-quarantine for 14 days for travellers who have recently been in affected countries.

No specific warningsFor UK nationals, there are currently no travel warnings or restrictions (relating to coronavirus) in place to the following countries. However, some have confirmed cases of coronavirus, with health screenings likely on arrival, and quarantine possible: Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cte dIvoire, Eswatini, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Tom & Prncipe, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Read the original here:

Travel updates: which countries have coronavirus restrictions and FCO warnings in place? - The Guardian

An engineer from Charter, one of the largest phone and internet providers in the U.S., sent an email blast to a senior vice president and hundreds of engineers on Friday.

In the email, Nick Wheeler, a video operations engineer based in Denver,criticized his employer for not allowing its staff to work from home despite ongoing efforts to lock down vast swathes of the U.S. to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

The email was short. I do not understand why we are still coming into the office as the COVID-19 pandemic surges around us, he wrote.

The CDC guidelines are clear. The CDPHE guidelines are clear. The WHO guidelines are clear. The science of social distancing is real. We have the complete ability to do our jobs entirely from home, he wrote, reeling off the advice from several state and federal government departments and international health organizations. Coming into the office now is pointlessly reckless. Its also socially irresponsible. Charter, like the rest of us, should do what is necessary to help reduce the spread of coronavirus. Social distancing has a real slowing effect on the virus that means lives can be saved.

A hazard condition isnt acceptable for the infrastructure beyond the short-term. Why is it acceptable for our health? wrote Wheeler.

Hours later, he was no longer an employee.

Just a few minutes after Wheeler sent the email, he was summoned to a vice presidents office to a conference call with human resources. In a call with TechCrunch, Wheeler said his email was described as irresponsible and inciting fear. He said it was hard to understand why Charter had not implemented a work-from-home policy after the coronavirus outbreak was upgraded to a pandemic.

Wheeler said he was given an ultimatum. Either he could work from the office or take sick leave. Staff are not allowed to work from home, he was told. Wheeler offered his resignation, but was sent home instead and asked to think about his decision until Monday.

Later in the day, he received a call from work. Charter accepted his resignation, effective immediately.

I do not understand why we are still coming into the office as the COVID-19 pandemic surges around us.Nick Wheeler, former Charter employee

Although Charter and others have pledged not to charge late fees or terminate its services to customers during the pandemic, employees are internally expressing frustration that their health and safety appear not to be a priority.

Wheeler is going on the record because he said it was unacceptable that Charter is, unlike other companies, not employing a work-from-home strategy in an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Just on Monday, the San Francisco Bay Area was put on lockdown, and both New York and Denver where Wheeler lives announced the closure of bars and restaurants and the banning of public gatherings of more than 50 people to limit the viruss spread. Shortly after, the White House said it is advising against gatherings of 10 people or more, and that Americans should continue to practice social distancing.

If I can understand and do this at a human level, Charter should be able to do it at a larger level, he said.

Cameron Blanchard, a spokesperson for Charter, said the company does not discuss individual employee circumstances. In a broader statement, Charter said its continuing our normal operations but that its reviewing our business continuity plans daily as conditions are changing rapidly.

Charter finds itself largely alone in mandating employees to work from its offices as its rivals push ahead with advising staff to work from home where possible.

AT&T said in its guidance that its asking employees who are in jobs that can be done from home should do so until further notice. Verizon, which owns TechCrunch, also said its encouraging employees to work remotely. Comcast is reportedly testing a number of work-from-home scenarios.

TechCrunch spoke to several Charter employees, whom we are not naming as they fear retribution from the company. The employees said they had seen Wheelers email. One described the email as speaking what was already a bubbling of concern among employees.

The employees said that Charters leadership has long disallowed working from home, and that management decides on a case-by-case basis and only when theyve seen a doctors note. The employees said that in absence of a work-from-home policy, employees are expected to burn through their sick leave.

Staff are given a week of sick leave a year, which accrues over time, but current government guidance is to self-quarantine for two weeks after symptoms subside, meaning some staff would have to take a portion of unpaid sick leave.

But Charter has shown little sign of backing down. In an all-staff email sent Saturday and seen by TechCrunch, Charters chief executive Tom Rutledge doubled down on the policy.

You may have heard that some companies are instituting broad remote working policies for some of their employees. While we are preparing for that possibility by geography, Charter is not doing the same today, said Rutledge. We provide critical communications services and we believe our approach to supporting front line employees is the right way for us to operate at this time to continue to deliver those important services to our customers.

The email said that the 15% of its employees who perform back-office work and management are expected to continue coming into the offices.

Stay home if you are sick, or caring for someone who is sick, but continue to report to your usual work location if you are not, the email said. While some back office and management functions can be performed remotely, they are more effective from the office, said Rutledge.

One of the employees we spoke to described the email as tone-deaf.

The employees said two or three staff had been tested for coronavirus, according to internal emails from Charters human resources, but that their test results had not been disclosed, compounding their fears about having to continue to go into the office.

Wheeler is not alone in his concerns. At least two other emails allegedly sent by employees, which were posted anonymously to Reddit but TechCrunch is unable to verify their authenticity, criticized Charter for putting its employees under harm and risk.

One of the employees we spoke to agreed. Theres no reason why the back-end staff cant be working from home, they said.

Continued here:

Staff angered as Charter prohibits working from home despite spread of coronavirus - TechCrunch

The level of debt in Americas corporate sector amounts to 75 percent of the countrys gross domestic product, breaking the previous record set in 2008. Among large American companies, debt burdens are precariously high in the auto, hospitality and transportation sectors industries taking a direct hit from the coronavirus.

Hidden within the $16 trillion corporate debt market are many potential troublemakers, including the zombies. They are the natural spawn of a long period of record low interest rates, which has sent investors on a restless hunt for debt products that offer higher reward, with higher risk. Zombies now account for 16 percent of all the publicly traded companies in the United States, and more than 10 percent in Europe, according to the Bank for International Settlements, the bank for central banks. A look at the data reveals that zombies are especially prevalent in commodity industries like mining, coal and oil, which may spell upheavals to come for the shale oil industry, now a critical driver of the American economy.

Zombies are not the only potential source of trouble. To avoid regulations imposed on public companies since 2008, many have gone private in deals that typically saddle the company with huge debts. The average American company owned by a private equity firm has debts equal to six times its annual earnings, a level twice what ratings agencies consider junk.

Signs of debt stress are now multiplying in industries impacted by the coronavirus, including transportation and leisure, auto and, perhaps worst of all, oil. Slammed on one side by fear that the coronavirus will collapse demand, and on the other by fears of a supply glut, oil prices have fallen to below $35 a barrel far too low for many oil companies to meet their debt and interest payments.

Though investors always demand higher returns to buy bonds issued by financially shaky companies, the premium they demand on U.S. junk debt has nearly doubled since mid-February. By last week the premium they demand on the junk debt of oil companies was nearing levels seen in a recession.

Though the world has yet to see a virus-induced recession, this is now a rare pandemic. The direct effect on economic activity will be magnified not only by its impact on balky debtors, but also by the impact of failing companies on the bloated financial markets.

When markets fall, millions of investors feel less wealthy and cut back on spending. The economy slows. The bigger markets get, relative to the economy, the larger this negative wealth effect. And thanks again to seemingly endless promises of easy money, markets have never been bigger. Since 1980 the global financial markets (mainly stocks and bonds) have quadrupled to four times the size of the global economy, above the previous record highs set in 2008.

See the rest here:

This Is How the Coronavirus Will Destroy the Economy - The New York Times

Fame can afford a person a lot of privileges, but immunity to the coronavirus COVID-19 is not one of them. As some celebrities misguidedly don hazmat suits and face masks to protect themselves, others have begun wisely self-isolating as a preventative measure. And perhaps more important, several are using their platforms to urge everyone to stay informed and take this pandemic seriously.

But because no one is immune, several celebrities, athletes, politicians, and other public figures have been diagnosed. As the pandemic continues, we will keep this list updated. In the meantime, theres no time like the present for a refresher course in how to protect yourself.

This post has been updated.

See the original post here:

Every Star and Public Figure Diagnosed with COVID-19: A Running List - The Daily Beast

A passengers temperature is taken on arrival at MurtalaMuhammedInternational Airport. On 27 February, Nigeria became the first sub-Saharan country to report a COVID-19 case.

By Linda NordlingMar. 15, 2020 , 7:00 PM

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICALate on Sunday evening, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, in a televised address to the nation, declared that COVID-19, the respiratory disease spreading globally, had become a national disaster. The declaration allows his government to access special funding and instigate harsh regulations to combat the viral outbreak. Never before in the history of our democracy have we been confronted by such a severe situation, Ramaphosa saidbefore announcing a raft of measures to curb the virusspread, including school closures, travel restrictions, and bans on large gatherings.

So far, the official numbers seemed to suggest that sub-Saharan Africa, home to more than1 billion people, had been lucky. The interactive map of reported COVID-19 cases run by Johns Hopkins University shows big red blobs almost everywhereexcept sub-Saharan Africa.

But now the numbers are rising quickly. South Africa, which had its first case 10 days ago, now has 61. According to Ramaphosa, the virus has begun spreading inside the country. And just yesterday, Rwanda, Equatorial Guinea, and Namibia all reported their first cases, bringing the number of affected countries to 23. Some scientists believe COVID-19 is circulating silently in other countries as well. My concern is that we have this ticking time bomb,says Bruce Bassett, a data scientist at the University of Cape Town who has been tracking COVID-19 data since January.

And although Africas handling of the pandemic has received scant global attention so far, experts worry the virus may ravage countries with weak health systems and a population disproportionately affected by HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and other infectious diseases. Social distancingwill be hard to do in the continents overcrowded cities and slums.

We really have no idea how COVID-19 will behave in Africa, says pediatrician and HIV researcher Glenda Gray, president of the South AfricanMedical Research Council. Last month, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is Ethiopian, said his biggest concern was COVID-19 spreading in countries with weak health systems.

Sub-Saharan Africa detected its first case only on 27 February, in an Italian man who had traveled to Nigeria. Most other cases since then were importedfrom Europe; fewer came from the Americas and Asia. But until today, there were no examples of community spread.

Thats not simply because of a lack of testing. More than 40 countries in Africa now have the ability to test for COVID-19, up from only two during the early stages of the outbreak in China. But the focus of African COVID-19 surveillance has been at countriespoints of entry, and testing has targeted people with a recent travel history to outbreak areas abroad. However, screening passengers for fever hasshown to be largely ineffective, because it doesnt catch people still in their incubation phaseup to 14 days for COVID-19. It also wont detect cases that occur in African communities. I do think that cases are slipping through the net. There is an urgent need to investigate and address this point, says Francine Ntoumi, a parasitologist and public health expert at Marien Ngouabi University in the Republic of Congo.

One way to find out whether the disease is spreading in the community is by looking at patients presenting with flulike illnesses at clinics and hospitals. The number of such patients isnt increasing yet in Durban, which is inKwaZuluNatal,the province with South Africas highest HIV infection rate, says Salim Abdool Karim, director of the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa. Nor are they seeing a rise in older patients with acute respiratory distress. Based on this, I feel reasonably confident that we do not have widespread community spread that is undetected, Abdool Karim says.

But he thinks its just a matter of time before imported cases of COVID-19most of whom would be relatively wealthy people who can afford to traveltrickle down to the countrys most vulnerable communities. Patients who came from Europe will likely have interacted with South Africans prior to their diagnosis, including household help, who often take crowded minibuses to their homes in low-income areasperfect conditions for COVID-19 to spread. I think it is inevitable that we will have a substantial epidemic, Abdool Karim says.

Another way to reality-check reported COVID-19 cases is to scour surveillance systems that track influenzalike illnesses for unusual spikes. The Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System is showing elevated levels for some African countries, says John Nkengasong, director of the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), which is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. But that might be for reasons other than COVID-19, he says, like improvements in the quality of surveillance data. Its also unclear how sensitive such detection methods are. In the United States, where the reported caseload is much higher than in Africa, scientists are seeing potential signals in data sets tracking influenzalike illness in older age groups, which are disproportionately afflicted by COVID-19, says Yale University epidemiologist Dan Weinberger. But whether that is disease or increased health care seeking is another matter, Weinberger tweeted in response to a question fromScience.

Africa CDC is working with countries to make suresamples sent to national surveillance sites that test negative for influenza or other known respiratory illness are screened for COVID-19 as well, Nkengasong says. That may help provide further clarity on the question of possible undetected cases.

We really have no idea how COVID-19 will behave in Africa.

Sub-Saharan Africa has one major advantage when it comes to COVID-19: Its average age is the lowest in the world. (The median age is less than20.) Children rarely get sick from COVID-19, and most young adults appear to suffer mild symptoms; older people have a significantly higher risk of severe disease and death. Only 3% of sub-Saharan Africas population is older than65, compared with about 12% in China.

Some scientists also think the high temperatures in many African countries may make life harder for the virus that causes COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Grey thinks thats plausible; South Africas flu season only starts in April when it gets colder. But whether COVID-19 will turn out to be a seasonal disease is still very much an open question.

Many other factors could make the pandemic worse in Africa. It will be hard to apply the interventions that have beaten back the virus to very low levels in China and have helped South Korea keep the epidemic more or less in check. Several countries have already introduced rules to thwart spread; Rwanda announced it would close places of worship, schools, and universities after its first case. But social distancing may be impossible in crowded townships, and its not clear how confinement would work in African households where many generations live together, Ntoumi says. How do you protect the elderly, how can you tell village populations to wash their hands when there is no water, or use gel to sanitize their hands when they dont have enough money for food? Im afraid it will be chaos, she says.

And many African countries simply dont have the health care capacity to look after severely ill COVID-19 patients. A 2015 paper found that Kenya, a nation of 50 million people that declared its first case a few days ago, only had 130 intensive care unit beds and only about 200 specialized intensive care nurses. Many other countries face similar constraints, says Ifedayo Adetifa, a clinical epidemiologist at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme: Broad-based population pyramid or not, with no universal health care and no health insurance, we simply cant afford to have many COVID-19 cases because we cant manage the most severe cases.

The high rates of other diseases could further complicate matters. The most important thing for us is to describe the natural history of COVID-19 in South Africa to see if TB and HIV makes it worse, Gray says. Chances are that it will, based on experience with other respiratory infections. Last week, the Academy of Sciences of South Africa warned that people living with HIV are eight times more likely to be hospitalized for pneumonia caused by the influenza virus than the general population, and are three times more likely to die from it.

If cases continue to increase in South Africa, its scientists stand ready to study potential therapies. The country has a wealth of expertise and infrastructure for running randomized placebo-controlled trials (RCTs), for instance of HIV and TB drugs and vaccines. What were doing is trying to quickly identify sites so that, if this thing takes off, the big hospitals that have the capacity to do RCTs are ready to participate in treatment research, says Helen Rees, executive director of the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand. Other research priorities for the country include finding ways to keep mild cases out of hospitalsto prevent the health system from becoming overwhelmedand finding the best ways topreventhealth care workers and other at-risk groups from becoming infected, Rees adds.

Read this article:

'A ticking time bomb': Scientists worry about coronavirus spread in Africa - Science Magazine

In addition to its severe cost to human life, the novel coronavirus has wreaked havoc on a number of industries including airlines, cruises, and conferences. As people and governments and public health experts stress the importance of social distancing as a way to stem the spread of the contagion, restaurants are seeing major declines in patronage. Meanwhile, newly announced city-wide closures of restaurants stand to make the trend more severe.

We used data from restaurant reservation system OpenTable to look at the year-over-year change in restaurant diner numbers on three consecutive Saturdays in February and March. You can see in the chart below the abrupt change in the number of seated diners. In New York City and Boston, patronage was down 64 percent on Saturday, March 14, compared with the same night a year earlier. Indeed, every major city appears to have felt a severe drop:

On Sunday, governments in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, New York, and Washington state officially announced bars and restaurants would be closed to sit-down diners and limited to takeout orders and delivery. When new data becomes available, the declines will likely look even worse. Other cities, such as Washington, DC, have placed restrictions on bars and restaurants. Among the various restrictions are mandates asking that these places only fill to half capacity or that tables and booths be separated by at least six feet so that diners are not too tightly packed. Many restaurants had already closed on their own accord, before these measures.

Heres what the decline in patronage looks like for a select few large cities over a longer period of time:

It remains to be seen how allowing takeout or delivery could help mitigate sales losses for restaurants in cities with restrictions.

More than 5 million people work in foodservice or related jobs in the US, and the foodservice industry is under particular strain from these closures, as many of its employees dont have paid sick leave or other ways to compensate them for declining business.

After facing criticism, Darden, the parent company behind restaurant chains like Olive Garden, recently instated a sick leave for its workers. There are still growing concerns that many smaller, independently owned bars and restaurants might not be able to do so.

When it released its data set, OpenTable provided some advice to diners albeit advice that could benefit its business. Please support your local restaurants during this turbulent time, as they are a vital part of our communities. Many operate on thin margins and fear staff layoffs and shut downs, the company said. Home delivery through the OpenTable app is a good alternative to dining out. Another option is to buy restaurant gift cards for future use.

Other industries like travel and retail will have to find their own solutions for dealing with loss of business from coronavirus. The timeline for dealing with the pandemic, including through social distancing, remains unclear, and it could be years before we comprehend the long-term economic impact of this crisis.

Read more here:

How coronavirus is affecting the restaurant business, in one chart - Vox.com

Coronavirus global map

As COVID-19 (coronavirus) spreads across the globe, it is helpful and interesting to track the transmission patterns through a coronavirus map.

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center has put together a fantastic visual, which maps coronavirus COVID-19 cases around the world.

If youre looking for up to date numbers on coronavirus in your area, this is a great resource to use. Please beware that there are quite a few sites out there that host a similar looking platform but contain malware or viruses. To learn more specifics surrounding the threat of visiting these scam sites and a shortlist of sites to NOT visit, head over to Thomas Brewsters article here.

COVID-19 cases through time.

As you can see in the figure above, the Johns Hopkins mapping platform provides several useful displays. Here we have the number of Coronavirus COVID-19 cases globally through time. While China initially experienced exponential growth, the number of new cases has slowed dramatically in recent days.

Conversely, the number of cases outside of China is at the early stages of an exponential growth pattern at the moment.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the United States broken down by state.

While the Johns Hopkins platform does not separate county-level COVID-19 cases, it provides a breakdown by state. In the FAQ, they state that the decision to update on the state level was to maintain accuracy and timeliness of updates, with the eventual goal to add county-specific information.

Curious what state has the lowest number of reported cases of COVID-19? West Virginia at this time has zero reported cases of the novel coronavirus. After that, it is a tie between North Dakota and Alaska, with only 1 confirmed case throughout each state. Washington state, on the other hand, has the highest number of recorded coronavirus cases at 769.

Coronavirus map with numbers on cases, breakdown by country, etc.

Taking a look at the entire platform youll see tons more information, including the total number of cases globally at 174,884. These statistics are updated as of this morning, 3/16/2020 at 9:13 AM.

Of those 174,884 cases, there have been 6,705 deaths, equaling an average death rate of 3.8%. Nearly half, 44%, of the people with COVID-19 have recovered, most of which are from Hubei, China.

Statistics on total confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) as well as deaths and recoveries in ... [+] the United States.

Zooming into specifically the United States you can see there have been 3,813 reported cases thus far. Of those 3,813 cases, there have been 69 deaths and 12 recoveries.

The death rate in the United States is significantly lower than the global death rate thus far, at 1.8% compared to 3.8% globally. Keep in mind that the death rate will lag the rapid onset of cases in the United States, thus the lower death rate in the United States may go up with time.

Excerpt from:

Coronavirus Map: How To Track Coronavirus Spread Across The Globe - Forbes

SAN FRANCISCO A website intended to facilitate nationwide testing for coronavirus that was promoted by President Trump in a news conference on Friday quickly reached capacity when it went live in a small pilot project late on Sunday night.

The website, created by Verily, a life sciences unit of Googles parent company, Alphabet, fell far short of the wide-ranging capabilities administration officials described on Friday. In its initial rollout, it was meant to point people to testing locations in two San Francisco Bay Area counties.

It ran into two issues: First, it was telling people with symptoms of the virus that they were not eligible for the screening program. And second, they were asked to create an account with Google or log in to an existing Google account and sign an authorization form.

Still, within a few hours of launching, Verily said it could not schedule any more appointments at the time because it had reached capacity.

Daniel Hom, 77, a pharmacist who lives in Berkeley, Calif., and works in nursing homes, said he filled out the survey on Sunday night around 8 p.m. and found out that he qualified for the test. He said he thought his age was the primary factor for becoming eligible, because his son, who is in his 30s and also works in health care, was not selected.

On Monday morning, Mr. Hom said he drove to the parking lot of the San Mateo County event center where he got a nasal swab. They stuck it way up there, he said. Mr. Hom was told that results should arrive within four days by email depending on how quickly Quest Diagnostics can process the test.

I was impressed how organized they were, considering it was the first day, he said.

Verily said it was trying to help public health officials expand access to testing in areas with a high volume of known cases. The new site is supposed to direct so-called high-risk individuals to newly opened testing centers in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, which include Silicon Valley.

The first issue appeared to be a result of what the site was intended to do. It started with an initial survey asking whether people were currently experiencing severe cough, shortness of breath, fever or other concerning symptoms. If they selected yes, the site abruptly ended the survey and said in-person testing through the program is not the right fit. In smaller font, Verily suggested seeking medical help.

Responding no to the symptoms led to more questions to gauge eligibility for testing by asking age, location and other factors. This caused confusion among people trying to use the site.

When reporters and users asked if disqualifying people with symptoms was done in error, Verily said it wasnt a mistake.

The initial question is meant to ensure that anyone who is seriously ill does not come to our sites because they are not prepared to provide medical attention, said Carolyn Wang, a Verily spokeswoman, in a written statement. We are early in this pilot and are going to be learning more that will help us refine this COVID-19 risk screening and testing.

Once deemed eligible and depending on availability, people were directed to a mobile testing center run by Verily in conjunction with local health officials. The actual coronavirus test will be a nasal swab conducted by nurses and nurse practitioners with oversight from the companys clinical research staff.

Ms. Wang declined to say how many tests were being performed. As more testing sites come online, the program aims to cover the entire state, Verily said.

Verily is rolling out its virus-screening tool at a moment when its parent company, Google, is facing intense scrutiny for it push to acquire and analyze health data. A group of U.S. senators is looking into a deal that Google made with Ascension, the nations second-largest hospital system, which gave the tech giant access to millions of medical records without patients explicit knowledge or consent.

Verily said that having people sign in with their Google account would allow it to connect people with tools like electronic screening that it has built for Project Baseline, its research effort to collect comprehensive health data and map human health. The company also said it would not connect peoples virus screening data with their Google account data without explicit consent.

But some privacy experts said requiring a Google account for the virus screening could create barriers to participation or dissuade people concerned about what the company might do with their information. A free self-assessment tool for coronavirus offered by government health services in Alberta, Canada, for instance, does not require any login.

What we need are substantive and absolute promises of care, loyalty and confidentiality that will keep participants safe and convince them that this project is being done entirely for public health purposes, said Woody Hartzog, a professor of law and computer science at Northeastern University in Boston.

The website has been mired in controversy from the start. In a news conference on Friday, Mr. Trump said Google had 1,700 engineers working on the project, claiming that the company had made great progress.

The website was actually the work of Verily and Sundar Pichai, Alphabets chief executive. Mr. Pichai said a planning effort" was underway in an internal memo a day before the White House news conference. The project was limited to the Bay Area and the 1,700 engineers hailed by Mr. Trump appeared to be the number of Google employees who had volunteered to help Verily.

A Verily spokeswoman has said there is no current timetable for a national rollout of its screening program. The website became publicly available one day before a Monday deadline that Verily had announced.

Separate from Verilys efforts, Google announced that it was working on a nationwide website to provide information on virus symptoms and testing sites. The company had made no mention of that project on Friday when it directed all inquiries about Mr. Trumps website announcement to Verily.

Daisuke Wakabayashi reported from San Francisco and Natasha Singer reported from New York.

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Coronavirus Testing Website Goes Live and Quickly Hits Capacity - The New York Times

Since the first U.S. case of the coronavirus was identified in Washington state on January 21, health officials have identified thousands of cases across the U.S. By March 16, the virus had expanded its presence from several isolated clusters in Washington, New York, and California to 49 states and the District of Columbia. To date, there have been over 70 deaths across the country.

Social distancing is widely seen as the best available means to "flatten the curve of the pandemic," a phrase epidemiologists use to describe slowing the spread of infection. This approach can save lives by keeping local health care systems from being overwhelmed.

In response to mounting cases, states have begun closing schools, banning large gatherings, and urging people to stay home when possible. On Monday, President Trump announced new guidelines recommending Americans avoid gathering in groups of more than 10 people, discretionary travel, and going out to eat.

To avoid spreading the disease, the CDC also recommends basic precautions like hand washing and cleaning frequently touched surfaces every day.

Globally, the respiratory disease has spread to dozens of countries and killed several thousand people since it was first reported in Wuhan, China in December.

Warnings issued by the CDC recommend avoiding nonessential travel to dozens of countries with outbreaks of COVID-19, including China, Iran, South Korea, and much of Europe. The government has banned travel from Europe, although the ban makes exceptions, including for American citizens and legal permanent residents.

Follow NPR's ongoing coronavirus coverage.

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Map: How Many Cases Of Coronavirus Are There In Each US State? : Shots - Health News - NPR

In the United States, the sense of being cut off increasingly seems to apply to the states themselves, as Washington has been slow to produce either promised aid or a coherent strategy and President Trump advised governors some of whom were shocked that they should look to buy their own ventilators and respirators, which are in desperately short supply.

On Monday, health officials ordered millions in six counties in the Bay Area to shelter in place, one of the most significant restrictions yet to American life in the race to stop the coronavirus outbreak from surging in the United States.

The order, which goes into effect Tuesday, is expected to disrupt life for millions of residents in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties. The City of Berkeley also issued the same order.

And families were left to worry about lost wages, about inadequate supplies of medicine and protective gear, about leaving the ill and elderly even more isolated and vulnerable, and about jobs, institutions, relatives and neighbors that might vanish and never return.

Scientists tracking the spread of the coronavirus reported Monday that, for every confirmed case, there are most likely another five to 10 people in the community with undetected infections. These often-milder cases are, on average, about half as infectious as confirmed ones, but responsible for nearly 80 percent of new cases, according to the report, which was based on data from China.

The researchers modeled the viruss natural spread in China before the government instituted a travel ban and an aggressive testing policy. During that time, from December of last year through late January, about 6 in 7 cases went undetected. That situation is analogous to the current state of affairs in the United States and other Western countries, where tests are not widely available, the researchers said.

If we have 3,500 confirmed cases in the U.S., you might be looking at 35,000 in reality, said Jeffrey Shaman, an epidemiologist at Columbia University and the senior author of the new report, which was posted by the journal Science.

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Live Coronavirus Updates and Coverage Globally - The New York Times