Coronavirus: How can travel be more sustainable post-pandemic?

"The coronavirus pandemic has been a global shock moment that has led to a rethink in the tourism industry, which is so accustomed to success," said Martin Balas of the Center for Sustainable Tourism (ZENAT) at the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development.

‘Issues such as climate protection and overtourism, which were already major challenges for tourism before COVID, have now come into even sharper focus, Balas told DW. The German Travel Association (DRV) also sees the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity for more sustainability in the industry.

"Sustainable travel is a trend that has been around for years, and the travel industry has already responded to it and will continue to do so in the future," said Ellen Madeker of DRV. Several large travel companies are preparing awareness campaigns designed to increase travelers' awareness of the impacts of travel.’

Read here (DW, Mar 9, 2021)

Three concessions from the West at G7: Britain, France and US

1. Boris Johnson pledges surplus to poorer countries at G7. Read here (BBC, Feb 20, 2021)
2. Macron proposes sending 4-5% of doses to poorer nations. Read here (BBC, Feb 19, 2021)
3. Biden pledges $4 billion for COVAX vaccinations program. Read here (DW, Feb 18, 2021)

Vaccine hesitancy: Israel's much-publicised vaccination drive hits stumbling blocks

‘Prime Minister Benjamin Nethanyahu, who's made the vaccination campaign a major election issue, warned that more than half a million Israelis over the age of 50 have still not gone to get their jab. "I remind you of the most dramatic piece of data," he said this week. "97% of deaths and 93% of severe cases are in this group." Since the start of the pandemic over 5,400 people have died of COVID-19.

‘Overall, four million Israelis have been vaccinated so far, and about 2,6 million of them have received both shots. Since February, everybody aged over 16 has been called upon to get their shot. "We are trying to see what are the attitudes of people towards the vaccine. There is a tremendous amount of fake news in the public," says Dr. Boaz Lev, head of the vaccine task force at the Ministry of Health in Jerusalem. "This is worrisome, but it will take a while to know what the compliance is."

Read here (DW, Feb 17, 2020)

Germany: Ways out of the coronavirus crisis

‘Northeastern Germany has managed the crisis better than the rest of the country. As Rostock eases restrictions, it aims to be a model for other cities.’

View video here (DW, Feb 13, 2021) 

Covid has a dramatic impact on children

‘It was in December that Axel Gerschlauer noticed the crisis within the crisis. In the last three weeks before Christmas, the pediatrician found himself treating three minors who had slashed their lower arms. Three youths in three weeks — Gerschlauer says he usually sees this sort of thing about once every three to six months. "This kind of frequency,” he says, "brought the scale of the problem home to me."

‘And this at a time when Gerschlauer is not even getting to see all his regular patients. Some are avoiding his practice altogether for fear of infection. His phone, meanwhile, has hardly stopped ringing, as desperate parents seek his advice. "There has been a shift of emphasis towards psychological issues, ranging from anxieties to concentration disorders to sleep disorders. In recent months, mental health issues have increased massively."

Read here (DW, Feb 4, 2021)

Coronavirus antibody therapies explained

How do bamlanivimab and REGN-CoV-2 work?: ‘Both antibody treatments are designed to block the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and thus prevent the virus from attaching to and entering human cells. These identical so-called monoclonal antibodies are lab-engineered and designed to attack one specific virus in one distinct way.

‘Bamlanivimab contains one monoclonal antibody. REGN-CoV-2, in contrast, consists of two monoclonal antibodies. US pharma company Regeneron says its antibody cocktail lowers the viral load, which helps symptoms dissipate more quickly.

‘The advantage of Regeneron's drug cocktail is that by containing two antibodies, it increases the chance that at least one of them will prove effective during treatment, virologist Sandra Ciesek told German public broadcaster NDR.’

Read here (DW, Jan 29, 2021)

Indonesia's Covid vaccination campaign prioritises workers

‘Indonesia has decided to prioritise vaccination for people aged 18-59, arguing the workforce needs to be protected first to boost the economy... The first two phases of Indonesia's vaccination campaign started on January 13 and are expected to run concurrently until April, according to the Health Ministry. The first shots will go to health workers and support staff. This will be followed by members of the public workforce, including public servants at ports and stations, electric companies, banks, water companies and any officials providing community services.’

Read here (DW, Jan 22, 2021)

After coronavirus: Our relationship with meat and the next pandemic

‘All pandemics in recorded human history have come via the animal kingdom. With mutations abounding and our interaction with wildlife widening, when are we finally going to address the sick animal in the room?...

‘To be precise, three out of four of those "new diseases" come from animals, and the frequency with which they have emerged has been accelerating for over 40 years... [Delia] Randolph was the lead author of a joint International Livestock Research Institute and UNEP report published in July looking into the reasons for this acceleration. Research from dozens of scientists spanning the globe came to one conclusion: human behaviour, i.e., the way we interact with and consume animals, is the main driver increasing the prevalence of zoonotic disease. 

‘The report lists seven "human-mediated factors" behind the emergence, with numbers one through three as follows: 1) increasing human demand for animal protein, 2) unsustainable agricultural intensification, 3) increased use and exploitation of wildlife.’

Read here (DW, Nov 20, 2020)

Coronavirus: Fact checks on immunity and related matters

‘A large study out of the UK suggests immunity after a COVID-19 infection reduces fast, especially among older people. This is a quick fact check on the following: (1) How long am I immune after a COVID-19 infection? (2) Why does research on immunity differ? (3) Do people who have recovered from a COVID-19 infection continue to use protective measures? (4) Do some people, who have had a COVID-19 infection, show no immunity?’

Read here (DW, Oct 28, 2020)

Anthony Fauci calls White House event ‘superspreader’, tempers presidential praise of an experimental drug

‘The US government's top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci has said the event held at the White House Rose Garden on September 26 was a "superspreader" event that led to multiple people, including President Donald Trump, being infected. "I think the data speak for themselves. We had a superspreader event in the White House," Fauci told CBS News Radio. "And it was in a situation where people were crowded together and were not wearing masks," he added.

‘Asked about the president's praise for an experimental COVID-19 treatment he received as "a cure," Fauci said calling it such would be misleading as it still hasn't been proven. "We don't have any indication – I think you really have to depend on what you mean by a cure because that's the word that leads to a lot of confusion," he said.’

Read here (DW, Oct 10, 2020)

White House blocking strict guidelines for vaccine approval

‘The White House has blocked new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines that would have likely prevented a vaccine from being approved before next month's presidential election, the New York Times and the Associated Press reported, citing Trump administration officials.

‘The FDA had proposed stricter guidelines for the emergency approval and release of a coronavirus vaccine. One such requirement involved following vaccine trial candidates for two months to ensure there were no side effects and that the vaccines provided lasting protection from the virus. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn has previously said that scientists, not politicians, will decide whether the vaccines work and are safe.’

Read here (DW, Oct 6, 2020)

Pope says capitalism failed humanity during coronavirus pandemic

“The fragility of world systems in the face of the pandemic has demonstrated that not everything can be resolved by market freedom... It is imperative to have a proactive economic policy directed at ‘promoting an economy that favors productive diversity and business creativity’ and makes it possible for jobs to be created, not cut.” The pope also restated the past calls for the redistribution of wealth, saying those with much should “administer it for the good of all.” But he clarified that he was “not proposing an authoritarian and abstract universalism.”

Read here (DW, Oct 4, 2020)

Can European countries avoid a second lockdown?

"Catastrophic," "disastrous," and "devastating" — the words European leaders are using to describe the consequences of a second lockdown are more than clear. In order to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the spring of this year, public life across Europe was brought almost completely to a halt. In the summer, many places relaxed those restrictions. For weeks now, however, infection rates have been rising in almost every European country. According to the World Health Organization, Europe is registering between 40,000 and 50,000 new coronavirus cases each day. That increase is down to more than just more widespread testing. The numbers from September "should serve as a wake-up call for all of us," said the WHO's regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge. The weekly infection numbers have even exceeded those reported in the first phases of the peak in March, the WHO says.’

Read here (DW, Sept 21, 2020)

Spread of coronavirus fake news causes hundreds of deaths, thousands of hospistalisations

‘A study has revealed a so-called "infodemic" exacerbated COVID-19 suffering through the spread of rumours and conspiracy theories. The research looked into false notions such as drinking bleach and eating cow dung. 

‘Misinformation about the coronavirus has led to the deaths to at least some 800 people and possibly more, a newly published study in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene showed. The results revealed that roughly 800 people died from drinking highly-concentrated alcohol in the hope of disinfecting their bodies, while 5,900 citizens were hospitalized after consuming methanol, with 60 people going blind as a result.’

Read here (DW, August 11, 2020)

German sniffer dogs show promise at detecting coronavirus

‘Scientists at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover have found that trained sniffer dogs could be used to detect COVID-19 in human samples with a relatively high rate of accuracy, a study published on Thursday revealed... The animals were able to positively detect SARS-CoV-2 infected secretions with an 83% success rate, and control secretions at a rate of 96%. The overall detection rate, combining both, was 94%.’

Read here (DW, July 23, 2020)

Why stock markets are so calm amid global economic turmoil

‘Those numerous analysts who warned of a dead-cat bounce have so far been proved wrong. A survey by CNBC found that a fifth of global Chief Financial Officers think the Dow Jones will continue to rally, without major declines along the way. However, more than half now believe the index will soon crash below its March low of 18.591.

"There's going to be a meaningful correction once people realize this is going to be a U-shaped recovery," Nouriel Roubini, professor of economics at New York University's Stern School of Business, told New Yorker magazine last month. "If you listen carefully to what Fed officials are saying — or even what JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are saying — initially they were all in the V camp [V-shaped recovery], but now they're all saying, 'well, maybe it's going to be more of a U'."

Read here (DW, June 4, 2020)

Look into my eyes: Communication in the era of face masks

‘Wallraven's research at Korea University in Seoul focuses on facial expressions. "The greatest source of non-verbal information comes from our mouths," he said, explaining that facial expressions, especially in the lower part of the face, reveal nuances in the spoken word. But face masks hide much of these facial expressions. This makes it difficult to put things that are being said into the right context, which may lead to uncertainty, Wallraven said. "Is that person smiling or grinning sarcastically? You just can't tell."

Read here (DW, May 22, 2020)

Coronavirus contact-tracing apps put users at risk, EU lawmaker says

‘These "tracing apps" are less effective in containing infections than human tracing because many people do not use these apps at all. It is completely illusory to assume that 60% or more of the population would use such an app. In Singapore, which has experience with tracing apps, only 20% of the population has downloaded it, in Austria only 5%. That makes the app's usefulness highly questionable. And it also poses very clear threats to privacy and our fundamental rights.’

Read here (DW, May 15, 2020)

Covid-19: The second wave (12-minute video)

‘Lockdowns may be easing in many places around the world, but experts are warning that vigilance will be key to avoid a second - and possibly worse - wave of COVID-19.’

View here (DW, May 13, 2020)

How the novel coronavirus attacks our entire body

‘Of course, the lungs and airways are the main focus of attention with the COVID-19 respiratory disease. Since the new SARS-CoV-2 pathogen mainly attacks the lower respiratory tract, infected persons who experience a moderate or severe course of the disease have a dry cough, shortness of breath and/or pneumonia. However, there are now numerous indications that the new coronavirus also attacks other organs on a massive scale and can severely affect the heart, blood vessels, nerves, brain, kidneys and skin.’

Read here (DW, May 11, 2020)