Yahoo News shares an encouraging report from former Newsweek correspondent Andrew Romano: Until very recently, nationwide data about how many COVID-19 patients are currently receiving treatment in hospitals was hard to come by. It’s still incomplete and inconsistent. But on April 7, researchers at the University of Minnesota launched the U.S. COVID-19 Hospitalization Tracking Project, which is just what it sounds…
Tag: bay area
Stanford Begins America’s First Large-Scale Test For Coronavirus Antibodies
“Crowds flock to Santa Clara County test sites to learn if they have antibodies to COVID-19,” reports the Bay Area Newsgroup, citing long lines of cars forming at three Stanford research sites for the drive-through tests:
The 2,500 test slots on Friday and Saturday filled up within hours, as news of the project — the first large scale study of its type…
The Story of The Doctor Who Ordered America’s First Covid-19 Lockdown
Long-time Slashdot reader bsharma shared the story of doctor/public health officer who “went first,” ordering America’s very first coronavirus lockdown in six counties on March 16th after the identification of only the 7th known case of Covid-19 in the United States. The Bay Area Newsgroup reports that on January 31st, Cody’s cellphone rang at 6:49 a.m. “You’ve got your first positive,”…
Bay Area Group Pushes $1,000 Universal Basic Income For Everyone
“Gisele Huff is convinced universal basic income is finally having its moment,” reports the Bay Area newsgroup, describing the 84-year-old president of a nonprofit promoting universal basic incomes to honor their recently-deceased son, a Tesla software engineer:
While Huff’s organization is only a few years old, it has already made its mark in the Bay Area. Santa Clara County’s Board of Supervisors…
SF Businesses Decline Cash, Fearing it Could Spread the Virus
When customers step in for a cup of coffee at Ritual Coffee Roasters on Valencia Street, a sign informs them that cash is no longer welcome. The coffee shop wants customers to use contactless forms of payments to pick up their cups of joe, in an effort to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. More and more businesses are turning…
Facebook Will Donate 720,000 Masks and 1.5 Million Gloves to Healthcare Workers
The San Francisco Chronicle reports: Facebook plans to donate 720,000 masks — a combination of the coveted N95 respirators and more basic surgical masks — and 1.5 million pairs of gloves to health care workers around the world. Facebook officials said they bought the masks for their offices’ emergency disaster kits following wildfires in California. Facebook has already donated 375,000 masks…
Google Sister-Company’s Coronavirus Website Rolls Out To Confusion
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 New York Times reports: The website, created by Verily, a life sciences unit of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, fell far short of the…
As Coronavirus Spreads, 6 San Francisco-Area Counties Ordered To Shelter In Place
Six counties in the San Francisco Bay Area will be placed under a shelter-in-place directive by public health officials in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus, a move that will close virtually all businesses and direct residents to remain at home for the next three weeks. Los Angeles Times reports: San Mateo Mayor Joe Goethals said he believed…
Amazon Tells Employees In New York and New Jersey To Work From Home To Prevent Coronavirus Spread
Amazon on Monday asked employees at its New York and New Jersey offices to work from home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. This comes as the company told employees at its offices in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Seattle area to work from home, following reports that an Amazon employee in Seattle tested positive for the virus….
Are Virtual Conferences Better Than Real-World Conferences?
Fast Company’s Mark Sullivan argues that cancelling this year’s tech conferences could have a silver lining — by encouraging a movement toward virtual conferences: There are developers across the U.S. and around the world who get shut out when the conferences get sold out. Even more of them simply can’t afford the admission fee (last year’s WWDC was $1599) and travel…