Beijing dismissed as “ridiculous” a Harvard Medical School study of hospital traffic and search engine data that suggested the new coronavirus may already have been spreading in China last August, and scientists said it offered no convincing evidence of when the outbreak began. From a report: The research, which has not been peer-reviewed by other scientists, used satellite imagery of hospital…
Tag: outbreaks
Crops sprayed with ‘barcoded’ spores could help trace food poisoning
Food poisoning outbreaks could be traced by spraying crops with microbial spores that have DNA ‘barcodes’, which have been shown to persist for months Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2245361-crops-sprayed-with-barcoded-spores-could-help-trace-food-poisoning/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Second Waves Are Plaguing Asia’s Virus Recovery
An elderly woman with no travel history. An unexpected flare-up in a nightclub. A swelling cluster in towns near international borders with no discernible source. After containing their outbreaks through measures from strict lockdowns to rapid testing regimes, the Asian economies that have seen some of the most success quelling the coronavirus — Hong Kong, South Korea and China — are…
Fauci Warns ‘Little Spikes’ of Coronavirus Might Turn Into Outbreaks if States Reopen Too Soon
Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday warned of serious consequences if governors reopen state economies prematurely, saying he fears spikes in coronavirus infections could morph into further outbreaks of the disease. From a report: Testifying by videoconference before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, ticked through the criteria that the White House said…
Paris Tries AI That Counts How Many People are Wearing Face Masks
“France is integrating new AI tools into security cameras in the Paris metro system to check whether passengers are wearing face masks,” reports the Verge:
The software, which has already been deployed elsewhere in the country, began a three-month trial in the central Chatelet-Les Halles station of Paris this week, reports Bloomberg. [Alternate source] French startup DatakaLab, which created the program, says…
Amazon Told Workers Paid Sick Leave Law Doesn’t Cover Warehouses
Amazon workers in southern California’s industrial heartland say the company’s policies are forcing sick employees to work and that warehouses are refusing to comply with a state paid sick leave law meant to prevent Covid-19 outbreaks. From a report: In the Inland Empire region outside Los Angeles, Amazon workers told the Guardian they fear losing their jobs if they are ill…
What are zoonotic diseases and what can we do about them?
Infectious diseases that leap from animals to humans are called zoonotic diseases. Covid-19 is an example of a zoonotic disease caused by a coronavirus. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/what-are-zoonotic-diseases-coronavirus-covid19…
Apple, Google Ban Use of Location Tracking in Contact Tracing Apps
Apple and Alphabet’s Google on Monday said they would ban the use of location tracking in apps that use a new contact tracing system the two are building to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. From a report: Apple and Google, whose operating systems power 99% of smart phones, said last month they would work together to create a…
Tesla’s Stock Drops Billions After Elon Musk’s Tweetstorm Friday
Friday Techcrunch reported Elon Musk tweeted to his 33.4 million followers that Tesla’s stock price “was ‘too high’ in his opinion, immediately sending shares into a free fall and in possible violation of an agreement reached with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last year.” Tesla’s shares plummetted nearly 12% over the next 30 minutes, which reduced Tesla’s valuation by over…
WHO Lauds Lockdown-Ignoring Sweden As a ‘Model’ For Countries Going Forward
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Post: The World Health Organization lauded Sweden as a “model” for battling the coronavirus as countries lift lockdowns — after the nation controversially refused restrictions. Dr. Mike Ryan, the WHO’s top emergencies expert, said Wednesday there are “lessons to be learned” from the Scandinavian nation, which has largely relied on citizens…