The current COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent stay-at-home and social distancing directives might have played a major role in romance scams losses reaching record levels in 2020, the US Federal Trade Commission said in a report last week. From a report: Total losses were estimated at a record $304 million, up about 50% from 2019, with the average loss last year…
Tag: social distancing
How effective are coronavirus vaccines at stopping transmission?
Several studies suggest that coronavirus vaccines can significantly reduce transmission of the virus, but not halt it completely – so social distancing is still necessary Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2266330-how-effective-are-coronavirus-vaccines-at-stopping-transmission/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Simulating space
While most ESA personnel work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, essential activities continue to take place on site across Agency establishments while following social distancing protocols. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-01-simulating-space.html…
Feedback’s comedy award ceremony: The strange year that was 2020
Awards for Seer of the Year, Correction of the Year, Innovation of the Year and Social Distancing Measure of the Year are all dished out in Feedback’s review of 2020 Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24833131-300-feedbacks-comedy-award-ceremony-the-strange-year-that-was-2020/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Electoral College Certifies Biden’s Victory, As Trump Still Refuses To Concede
The Electoral College gave Joe Biden a majority of its votes Monday, confirming his victory in last month’s election in state-by-state voting that took on added importance this year because of President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede he lost. The Associated Press reports: California’s 55 electoral votes put Biden over the top, clearing the 270-vote mark that affirmed he will be…
Evidence Builds That an Early Mutation Made the Pandemic Harder to Stop
As the coronavirus swept across the world, it picked up random alterations to its genetic sequence. Like meaningless typos in a script, most of those mutations made no difference in how the virus behaved. But one mutation near the beginning of the pandemic did make a difference, multiple new findings suggest, helping the virus spread more easily from person to person…
In the Last Week America Experienced 1 Million New Coronavirus Cases
The total number of U.S. coronavirus cases since the pandemic started has now surpassed 12 million, CNN reports — “an increase of more than 1 million cases in less than a week.” Researchers at John Hopkins University calculate that over a quarter of a million Americans have now died from the disease. Almost every state has reported a rapid surge in…
Evolution explains why social distancing due to covid-19 is so hard
Hugs, handshakes and air kisses serve the same crucial purposes as animal greetings like sniffing, eye poking and buttock grabbing Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24833080-900-evolution-explains-why-social-distancing-due-to-covid-19-is-so-hard/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
College President Resigns After 712 Students Test Positive For Covid-19
CNN reports: The president of the State University of New York at Oneonta has resigned, as the school grapples with hundreds of reported Covid-19 cases within the university since the beginning of the semester… SUNY Oneonta has reported 712 student cases of Covid-19 since residence halls opened on August 17… The resignation of the sitting president of SUNY Oneonta comes after…
A Man Caught Coronavirus Twice — and It Was Worse the Second Time
According to a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, a man in the U.S. caught COVID-19 for a second time and had a worse bout of illness. MIT Technology Review reports: The 25-year-old man tested positive for the first time on April 18, after experiencing several weeks of symptoms including sore throat, cough, headache, nausea, and diarrhea. He felt fully…