Why more must be done to fight bogus Covid-19 cure claims

‘Fake and bogus cure claims are a longstanding, but neglected public health problem. Throughout recorded history, plagues have inspired anxiety and desperation. Time and again, this public nervousness has proved a fertile ground for false cures and claimants to thrive. In this sense, recent claims of COVID-19 cures and antidotes are no exception...Sadly, history is repeating itself in the context of COVID-19. False claims range from US president Donald Trump’s touting of anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a miracle cure to Madagascar’s herbal “cure” promoted by President Andry Rajoelina.’

Read here (IPS News, May 21, 2020)

Let’s remember that the coronavirus is still a mystery

‘I find a gulf in perceptions between experts and nonexperts. Many Americans believe that we are now emerging from the pandemic and that, as President Trump says, we can see light at the end of the tunnel. Yet many epidemiologists, while acknowledging how little they know, are deeply apprehensive about a big second wave this fall, more brutal than anything we’ve endured so far. That mix of humility and apprehensiveness seems the best guide as we devise policy to survive a plague. Hope for the best while preparing for the worst.’

Read here (New York Times, May 20, 2020)

China’s new outbreak shows signs the virus could be changing

‘Patients found in the northern provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang appear to carry the virus for a longer period of time and take longer to test negative, Qiu Haibo, one of China’s top critical care doctors, told state television on Tuesday. Patients in the northeast also appear to be taking longer than the one to two weeks observed in Wuhan to develop symptoms after infection, and this delayed onset is making it harder for authorities to catch cases before they spread, said Qiu, who is now in the northern region treating patients.’

Read here (Bloomberg, May 20, 2020)

Vitamin-D and Covid-19: Do deficient risk a poorer outcome?

‘A role for vitamin D in the response to COVID-19 infection could be twofold. First, vitamin D supports production of antimicrobial peptides in the respiratory epithelium, thus making infection with the virus and development of COVID-19 symptoms less likely. Second, vitamin D might help to reduce the inflammatory response to infection with SARS-CoV-2. Deregulation of this response, especially of the renin–angiotensin system, is characteristic of COVID-19 and degree of overactivation is associated with poorer prognosis. Vitamin D is known to interact with a protein in this pathway—angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)—which is also exploited by SARS-CoV-2 as an entry receptor. While SARS-CoV-2 downregulates expression of ACE2, vitamin D promotes expression of this gene.’

Read here (The Lancet, May 20, 2020)

Job affected by Covid-19? MDEC offers 3,800 free online courses

‘The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has urged Malaysians who have been affected by the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic and are looking for new employment opportunities to register for free online courses on digital and data skills.

‘MDEC Chief Marketing Officer Raymond Siva said MDEC, in a partnership with global online learning platform, Coursera via the “Let’s Learn Digital” under the #mydigitalworkforce initiative, is offering a total of 3,800 courses including Professional Training Certificate through applications until December 31 this year.’

Read here (The Malay Mail, May 20, 2020)

Testing rate here among highest in world - over 281,000 done so far

‘Over 281,000 tests for Covid-19 have been carried out on 191,000 individuals [in Singapore] so far, the Health Ministry's director of medical services, Associate Professor Kenneth Mak, said yesterday. This comes to around 49,000 tests per million people in the country...’

‘Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the task force, pointed out that the Republic has already drastically increased its volume of daily tests [from 2,000 to 8,000 a day]. "We're today already testing at a rate that's among the highest in the world, and we want to do even more beyond this. As we reopen the economy, as we resume activities, testing capability and testing capacity will be a critical enabler for us to do all of these things safely."

Read here (Straits Times, May 20, 2020)

Guide for Covid-19 prevention in schools

‘As we attempt to open schools and learn from the few countries that have done so, we must recognise that the key will be to try and create a bubble (a shield) in which students who go to school "live in" so as to minimise infection spread. This "bubble" also means that if one group has Covid-19 infection, only they are isolated and the rest of the school can probably continue.’

This guide by Amar-Singh HSS and Shyielathy Arumugam can be downloaded here.

Read here (Malay Mail, May 20, 2020)

Singapore schools to open in phases from June 2 after Covid-19 circuit breaker: How this will work

‘Students will return to school from June 2 over two phases as part of the easing of the coronavirus circuit breaker measures that are expected to end on June 1. Here are some of the adjustments planned for schools and pre-schools that the Government announced on Tuesday (May 19).’

Read here (Straits Times, May 19, 2020)

What Wuhan’s frontline medical workers can teach the world about the Covid-19 mental health battle

Key points: ‘The war against Covid-19 has left many Chinese health care workers suffering from depression, anxiety, insomnia and distress. Support from coworkers and the wider community provided a lifeline during the darkest of times.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 19, 2020)

The Guardian view on care work: A vocation that has been betrayed

‘The litany of government failures on social care during the Covid-19 emergency has become grimly familiar. But the mistakes bear repetition, as the latest figures record that close to 15,000 care home residents have died in England and Wales from the disease.

‘There is clear evidence that care homes were pressured into accommodating discharged hospital patients who had not been tested for coronavirus. Some turned out to be carrying it. Personal protective equipment was lethally slow to arrive. In some cases where homes did have functioning supply lines, these were commandeered to funnel PPE to hospitals. An absence of proper testing capacity meant care workers were operating in the dark as the virus spread. Access to hospital for residents was limited.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 19, 2020)

Scientists in China believe new drug can stop Covid-19 ‘without vaccine’

‘A Chinese laboratory has been developing a drug it believes has the power to bring the coronavirus pandemic to a halt. A drug being tested by scientists at China's prestigious Peking University could not only shorten the recovery time for those infected, but even offer short-term immunity from the virus, researchers say. Sunney Xie, director of the university's Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Genomics, told AFP that the drug has been successful at the animal testing stage.’

Read here (The Star, May 19, 2020)

Trump threatens to permanently pull funding from WHO and 'reconsider' US membership

‘President Donald Trump is escalating his threats against the World Health Organization, telling the agency he will permanently pull US funding if it does not "commit to major substantive improvements in the next 30 days."

‘Trump's letter -- in which he included a false description of when information about the virus was published in The Lancet, prompting the prestigious medical journal to publicly dispute his claims on Tuesday -- is the latest action he's taken against the WHO following his decision last month to temporarily halt US funding to the group.’

Read here (CNN, May 19, 2020)

Read response by The Lancet here (Twitter, May 19, 2020)

Unusual symptoms of coronavirus: What we know so far

‘While most people are familiar with the hallmark symptoms of COVID-19 by now—cough, fever, muscle aches, headaches and difficulty breathing—a new crop of medical conditions are emerging from the more than 4 million confirmed cases of the disease around the world.

‘These include skin rashes, diarrhea, kidney abnormalities and potentially life-threatening blood clots. It’s not unusual for viruses to directly infect and affect different tissues and organs in the body, but it is a bit unusual for a primarily respiratory virus like SARS-CoV-2, which is responsible for COVID-19, to have such a wide-ranging reach in the body.’

Read here (Time Magazine, May 19, 2020)

A wave of radicalised influencers is mainstreaming Covid-19 conspiracy theories

‘A growing group of Instagram models, influencers and so-called mommy bloggers have outed themselves as coronavirus skeptics or deniers. Akin to celebrities in the eyes of their audiences — with whom they’ve built up trust over time through streams of intimate, relatable content — these women are uniquely well-positioned to open people’s minds to dubious and false information. It’s a sobering sign of far-right ideologies creeping in from the fringes of social media amid a colossal “infodemic” that’s causing real-life harm.’

Read here (Huffington Post, May 19, 2020)

Covid underdogs: Mongolia -- ‘The best response in the world’

‘Starting in January, Mongolia executed a perfect public health response, and they have never let up the pressure since. COVID-19 did not just leave Mongolia alone. Mongolia kicked its ass. For this all this hard work, however, they get little credit. Nobody’s talking about the ‘Mongolian example’. Instead, we talk about total failures like Germany or Sweden. Like I’ve said, success is ZERO, and Mongolia is as zero as you can get...

‘...they don’t have a time machine. They just saw what was happening in Hubei, they coordinated with China and the WHO, and they got their shit together fast. That’s their secret, not the elevation. They just weren’t dumb.’

Read here (Medium, May 18, 2020)

‘Only 30% would want to receive a new vaccine’ in the US

‘Recent surveys, that included 493 and 2200 individuals, suggest only 3 in 4 people would get vaccinated if a COVID-19 vaccine were available, and only 30% would want to receive the vaccine soon after it becomes available. Confidence in vaccines lies along a spectrum, and individuals who have hesitation about routine childhood vaccines have expressed various concerns. In their report on vaccine hesitancy, Edwards and Hackell identified 3 broad categories of parents’ concerns regarding childhood vaccines: (1) the necessity of vaccines, (2) vaccine safety, and (3) freedom of choice.’

Read here (JamaNetwork, May 18, 2020)

The fable of the Chinese whistleblower

‘While initial contact between the two CDCs [of the US and China] was interrupted by the New Year holiday, the coordination between the two countries’ public health officials was much closer – and, as WHO Disease Outbreak documentation verifies, the time lags were considerably shorter – than is widely believed in the West. The contrast with America’s response is striking. Whereas 27 days passed from Zhang’s initial report to the Wuhan shutdown on January 23, the US took exactly twice as long (54 days) to go from its first official diagnosis of COVID-19 (January 20) to Trump’s declaration of national emergency (March 13).’

Read here (Project Syndicate, March 18, 2020)

Fighting Covid-19 through solidarity and cooperation building a global community of health for all

In his statement at the virtual opening of the 73rd World Health Assembly, Xi Jinping, China's president, announced the following:

— China will provide US$2 billion over two years to help with COVID-19 response and with economic and social development in affected countries, especially developing countries.

— China will work with the UN to set up a global humanitarian response depot and hub in China, ensure the operation of anti-epidemic supply chains and foster “green corridors” for fast-track transportation and customs clearance.   

— China will establish a cooperation mechanism for its hospitals to pair up with 30 African hospitals and accelerate the building of the Africa CDC headquarters to help the continent ramp up its disease preparedness and control capacity.

— COVID-19 vaccine development and deployment in China, when available, will be made a global public good. This will be China’s contribution to ensuring vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries.

— China will work with other G20 members to implement the Debt Service Suspension Initiative for the poorest countries. China is also ready to work with the international community to bolster support for the hardest-hit countries under the greatest strain of debt service, so that they could tide over the current difficulties.

Read full speech here (Global Times, May 18, 2020)

South Korea says patients who re-tested positive after recovering were no longer infectious

‘Survivors of Covid-19 who re-tested positive for the disease after making a full recovery were no longer infectious or a risk to their loved ones, South Korea's health agency announced Monday, adding a new clue to the ongoing mysteries surrounding Covid-19 immunity.’

Read here (Forbes, May 18, 2020)

No exit strategy until high SOP compliance from Malaysians, says DG

Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said there needs to be a high compliance rate for the standard operating procedure (SOP) under the conditional movement control order (MCO) as well as a steady two-digit daily new Covid-19 cases before an exit strategy can be discussed. “Before we can discuss an exit strategy – and we are not discussing an exit strategy now, only loosening under the conditional MCO – Malaysians must comply (with the SOP). If they do not comply, we might extend the conditional MCO...’

Read here (Malaysiakini, May 18, 2020)

World Health Assembly: what is it, and what is the coronavirus inquiry proposal?

‘A key conference paper, already filed ahead of the assembly, and supported by 122 countries, including the members of the European Union and the African Group, the UK, Russia, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, calls for a systemic review of the world’s response to Covid-19. “Initiate, at the earliest appropriate moment, and in consultation with member states, a stepwise process of impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation ... to review experience gained and lessons learned from the WHO-coordinated international health response to Covid-19.”

‘The draft motion does not mention China or Wuhan (the city where the virus was first detected) by name. But it urges the global health community to: “... identify the zoonotic source of the virus and the route of introduction to the human population, including the possible role of intermediate hosts, including through efforts such as scientific and collaborative field missions.”

And the paper argues the response to the pandemic must be global. The motion: “… calls for the universal, timely and equitable access to and fair distribution of all quality, safe, efficacious and affordable essential health technologies and products including their components and precursors required in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic as a global priority.”

Read here (The Guardian, May 18, 2020)

Download the 73rd WHA, Agenda Item 3, ‘Covid-19 response’ draft resolution here

No shortcuts and people must get used to a new way of living, warns WHO's chief scientist

‘It is critically important for governments to present facts in a way that people really understand what the Covid-19 coronavirus is, and the logic behind some of the measures put in place, said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the World Health Organisation (WHO). When countries open up, their basic principle must be to test people with symptoms, identify the contacts and quarantine them until they are free of the risk of getting the disease, she said in an interview. "Those basic principles will have to be actually followed by governments and cities everywhere. There's no shortcut to that," she warned.

Read here (Straits Times, May 18, 2020)

What are President Trump's charges against the WHO? A fact check

‘US President Donald Trump says the World Health Organization (WHO) has mismanaged and helped to cover up the spread of the coronavirus after it emerged in China. But the WHO has defended its handling of the early stages of the pandemic. We've been looking at some of the charges President Trump has levelled against the WHO...’

Read here (BBC, May 18, 2020)

Guide for Covid-19 prevention in aged residential care facilities — Amar-Singh HSS, Vivienne Yong and Liew Tuan Hock

‘Older individuals in residential care need to be shielded from the risk of getting coronavirus infection. The key will be to try and create a bubble (a shield) in which the residents and staff live and operate, so as to minimise new individuals and infection entering the group. This guide and standard operating policy (SOP) aims to help offer ideas and initiatives that could be taken.

‘The guide covers the areas to consider with suggestions for improving Covid-19 prevention. It looks at policy, staff, residents, healthcare workers/therapists and visitors policies. The guide will be useful for nursing homes, old folks homes, retirement villages, palliative care facilities and also relevant to other residential care facilities for any age. It is relevant to non-governmental, private and governmental facilities.’

The full Aged Residential Care Facilities Guide is available for download and use from this link.

Read here (Malay Mail, May 18, 2020)

What does recovery from Covid-19 look like?

“Eighty to 85% of our patients who are infected do not need to be hospitalized, but they do require monitoring and medical care, most of which is now taking place with telehealth,” Dr. Ellman says. He says it’s typical for these patients to have a telehealth appointment, either on phone or video, at least every other day for 10 to 14 days from the onset of symptoms...

“Generally speaking, most patients can be managed outside of the hospital,” Dr. Sofair says. “But if you start to get sicker, early treatment can prevent complications. If you do need to be admitted to the hospital, that does not mean you will get really sick. Only a minority of patients end up in the ICU. We have had many good outcomes, and our doctors and nurses now have experience treating this.”

Read here (Yale Medicine, May 18, 2020)

China’s aggressive approach to coronavirus criticism ‘not working’

‘Observers call for Beijing to reflect on shortcomings of its engagement with the rest of the world as international sympathy fades. Mask diplomacy and bellicose statements need to go if global relations are to improve, they say.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 17, 2020)

There’s a hidden cost to coronavirus, and China is about to pay dearly

‘Covid-19 itself will not fundamentally reverse the fortunes of the Chinese economy but post-Covid geopolitics will. Beijing will find itself in a very different world, one dominated by an agenda of economic decoupling, disputes over the origin of the virus and compensation claims by the US and other countries.

‘As the US does not want to do business with China, its staunch allies, like Britain, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, have all followed suit. The US, EU and Japan are all planning to lure their companies out of China.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 17, 2020)

Coronavirus: Inside Wales’ largest hospital during pandemic

‘The constant low hum and whir of the ventilators keeping patients alive was punctuated by the urgent beep of monitors. Staff have to raise their voices to be heard here through the face masks and visors. They spend many long, hot hours in full PPE and leave with the marks of the shift on their faces.’

Read and view video here (BBC May 17, 2018)

The Covid-19 Chronicles: The changes we should aim to keep

‘...There are appreciable changes on a societal scale that we can maintain beyond Covid-19... First is the recognition of frontliners, health professionals and experts... The second are the transdisciplinary approaches i.e. all onboard problem solving that has become the necessary norm in dealing with Covid-19... Finally, the collaboration boom would not be possible without the unfettered use of the Internet for facilitating communications and processes.’

Read here (The Star, May 17, 2020)

Australia has dug itself into a hole in its relationship with China. It’s time to find a way out

‘Common sense should put a dampener on a belief that, at the wave of a wand, “supply chains” linking Australia and China can be remodelled. This sort of naive view loses sight of the fact that, for as long as it is possible to foresee, bulk commodities will form the staple of the trading relationship. Given this, Morrison would be advised to cease acting like a global traffic cop in efforts to hold China to account for the coronavirus pandemic...

‘What Australia should be doing – and should have done in the first place – is support international efforts to bring about an inquiry. It will have early opportunity next week when the World Health Assembly considers a European Commission resolution along those lines.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 17, 2020)

‘Normal’ life failed us. The coronavirus crisis gives us the chance to rethink a new economy

’The basics hardly involve a huge leap of imagination: to some extent, they mix what might be salvaged from recent Labour politics with ideas that have long been in circulation way beyond the traditional left. The lives of people at the bottom of most socio-economic hierarchies will soon need to be lastingly improved, perhaps via an initial minimum income guarantee of the kind embraced by the coalition government in Spain. Given that we are unlikely to be able to revive a featherweight labour market based around retail and services, the time ought to be ripe for the economy to be pushed at last towards a green new deal, and the revival of manufacturing.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 17, 2020)

Coronavirus and the prospect of mass involuntary euthanasia

‘In the now nearly half a century I have lived in the US I had never witnessed such a bold, vicious, cruel demonstration of the laws of the jungle ruling this country. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, one could now see in broad daylight the cruelty that was at work in the mass murder of Native Americans and the business of transatlantic slavery...

‘The once subconscious, now blunt and vulgar, desire to murder one's elders is the logical conclusion of a culture of perpetual consumerist youth. The elders of the tribe have long passed their usefulness and have become a burden on the economy.’ 

Read here (Al Jazeera, May 16, 2020)

Has the coronavirus crisis killed neoliberalism? Don't bet on it

‘...All of this is not to deny that the Covid-19 crisis poses a real threat to neoliberal orthodoxy. Physical distancing and enforced quarantine have disrupted the labour market, potentially shifting the balance of power between labour and capital in favour of workers... But given the persistence and adaptability of neoliberal ideology over the past 10 years, any sober assessment of the current situation needs to be attuned to the possibility of its survival (or successful mutation), as well as its possible demise.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 16, 2020)

China trying to divide and rule in Europe, EU foreign policy chief says

The European Union’s foreign policy chief has accused China of trying to exploit differences of opinion among the bloc’s 27 member states for its own ends, while promoting a unique version of multilateralism. Spaniard Josep Borrell’s comments came as President Xi Jinping said in a telephone conversation with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday that China “firmly supports the United Nations and World Health Organisation in fighting the pandemic” and was “ready to work with all countries” to control Covid-19, according to a report by Xinhua.

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 16, 2020)

Antimicrobial surface coating kills coronavirus for 90 days: US study

‘A specially formulated antimicrobial coating can keep surfaces clear of a human coronavirus for up to 90 days with just one application, a preliminary study said Friday (May 15), suggesting a new line of defence against Covid-19.

‘The paper by researchers at the University of Arizona (UA), which has not yet been peer-reviewed, found that the amount of virus on coated surfaces reduced by 90 per cent in 10 minutes and by 99.9 per cent in two hours.’

Read here (Straits Times, May 16, 2020)

Coronavirus leaves China to rule the world? Truth is, it’s neither ready nor willing

Key points: ‘It has become commonplace to suggest China will emerge stronger from the pandemic and try to fill the void on the global stage left by a retreating US. But media rhetoric aside, in this time of crisis Xi Jinping – like Mao 50 years ago – will be keen to prioritise the country’s own affairs.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 16, 2020)

Reviving the US CDC

‘But punishing the agency by marginalising and hobbling it is not the solution. The Administration is obsessed with magic bullets—vaccines, new medicines, or a hope that the virus will simply disappear. But only a steadfast reliance on basic public health principles, like test, trace, and isolate, will see the emergency brought to an end, and this requires an effective national public health agency. The CDC needs a director who can provide leadership without the threat of being silenced and who has the technical capacity to lead today's complicated effort.’

Read here (The Lancet, May 16, 2020)

When it’s time to go back to the office, will it still be there?

‘In a late-April survey among corporate real estate users by the trade group CoreNet Global, 94% of respondents said employees will spend more time working remotely even after the pandemic is over. And 69% said firms will use less real estate in the future as a result of remote work, up from 51% in March... “The supply and demand for office space may change significantly,” Warren Buffett said earlier this month at Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s annual meeting. “When change happens in the world, you adjust to it.”

Read here (Wall Street Journal, May 16, 2020)

Covid 19 coronavirus 'cure'? US biotech company claims it's found antibody to block virus

‘A California-based biotech company claims it has found an antibody that completely blocks the new coronavirus. Sorrento Therapeutics said its STI-1499 antibody stopped Covid-19 from entering 100 per cent of healthy human cells in their experiments, Fox News reports. The antibody is one of several the biotech company is planning to combine for a collaboration with Mt Sinai School of Medicine in New York.’

Read here (NZ Herald, May 16, 2020)

Asymptomatic spread makes testing key for Covid-19 fight

‘In Iceland, where a broad testing effort resulted in 5% of the country’s population getting tested for COVID-19, a lab study suggested that as many as 50% of people who have the disease show no symptoms. A study conducted in Singapore showed that patients with COVID-19 can spread the disease without showing symptoms themselves.

‘Here, Gigi Gronvall, an immunologist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, discusses the challenges of tracing the spread of coronavirus, the importance of testing, and the dangerous appeal of “immunity passports”.’

Read here (Futurity, May 15, 2020)

Singapore study finds overweight Asians three times as likely to need intensive care

The study of 91 Covid-19 patients under the age of 60 also found those with a BMI of 25 or higher were six times more likely to need supplemental oxygen. Asians are known to have higher disease risks at lower body mass index thresholds, the researchers said, possibly because of body fat distribution.

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 15, 2020)

Why China won’t be paying the West coronavirus reparations any time soon

‘Those in the West who blame China for the Covid-19 pandemic and demand reparations for the damage to their economies have probably done Beijing a favour. They have unwittingly – or perhaps unthinkingly – reopened a scar that is deep in the Chinese psyche and given the party more of the ammunition it needs to rally the people against what it has portrayed as hostile moves to put China down.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 15, 2020)

CDC publishes flowcharts to help communities and businesses weighing whether to reopen

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published six "decision trees" Thursday aimed at helping businesses, communities, schools, camps, daycares and mass transit decide whether it's safe to re-open. The one-page decision trees are much shorter than a much-anticipated, lengthy and detailed document that has been delayed at least once.

Read here (CNN, May 15, 2020)

• For workplace, download here
• For schools, download here
• For restaurants, download here
• For mass transit, download here
• For camps, download here
• For daycare, download here

Amsterdam trials ‘Covid-safe’ restaurant

As countries in Europe start to emerge from lockdown, they’re experimenting with ways to get people dining out again. An innovative solution in Amsterdam is currently being trialled and tested. It hopes it will provide a way to help people adjust from isolation to a degree of social contact.

View here (BBC, May 15, 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)

Preventing a Covid-19 food crisis

‘Nomura’s Food Vulnerability Index ranks 110 countries based on their exposure to large food-price swings, taking into account their nominal GDP per capita, the share of food in household consumption, and net food imports. The latest reading shows that of the 50 countries most vulnerable to a sustained rise in food prices, nearly all are developing economies that account for nearly three-fifths of the world’s population.’

Read here (Project Syndicate, May 15, 2020)

Trump Administration announces framework and leadership for ‘Operation Warp Speed’

‘Operation Warp Speed [the administration's national program to accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics (medical countermeasures)] is a public-private partnership to facilitate, at an unprecedented pace, the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 countermeasures, between components of HHS, including CDC, FDA, NIH, and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA); the Department of Defense; private firms; and other federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. It will coordinate existing HHS-wide efforts, including the NIH's ACTIV partnership for vaccine and therapeutic development, NIH's RADx initiative for diagnostic development, and work by BARDA.’

Read here (HHS, US Department of Health & Human Services, May 15, 2020)

US ‘Warp Speed’ vaccine effort comes out of the shadows

‘Conventional wisdom is that a vaccine for COVID-19 is at least 1 year away, but the organizers of a U.S. government push called Operation Warp Speed have little use for conventional wisdom. The project, vaguely described to date but likely to be formally announced by the White House in the coming days, will pick a diverse set of vaccine candidates and pour essentially limitless resources into unprecedented comparative studies in animals, fast-tracked human trials, and manufacturing. Eschewing international cooperation—and any vaccine candidates from China—it hopes to have 300 million doses by January 2021 of a proven product, reserved for Americans.’

Read here (Science Magazine, May 15, 2020)

‘A license for neglect.’ Nursing homes are seeking — and winning — immunity amid the coronavirus pandemic

‘Consumer advocates, industry watchdogs and personal injury attorneys say that providing legal immunity to thousands of private companies is dangerous. They contend the pandemic has exposed longstanding problems in the industry, such as staffing shortages and infection control violations, and that taking away its legal liability will make it harder to hold facilities to account now and in the future.’

Read here (Time, May 14, 2020)

You should have an advance directive

‘It’s hard to talk about end-of-life care. You should do it anyway...On this episode of Social Distance, James Hamblin and Katherine Wells talk with Edo Banach, the president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. They discuss how to create an advance directive and how to broach the topic in conversations with loved ones.’

Read here (The Atlantic, May 14, 2020)

Experiment shows human speech generates droplets that linger in the air for more than 8 minutes

‘Ordinary speech can emit small respiratory droplets that linger in the air for at least eight minutes and potentially much longer, according to a study published Wednesday that could help explain why infections of the coronavirus so often cluster in nursing homes, households, conferences, cruise ships and other confined spaces with limited air circulation.

‘The report, from researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the University of Pennsylvania, was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed journal. It is based on an experiment that used laser light to study the number of small respiratory droplets emitted through human speech.’

Read here (The Washington Post, May 14, 2020)

Coronavirus: How exposed is your job?

‘Millions of workers are doing their day jobs from makeshift set-ups in their living rooms and kitchens, while those in England who can't work from home are now encouraged to go back in if they can do so safely. But how exposed to coronavirus might you be in your job? And how does that compare to others? Data from the UK's Office for National Statistics, based on a US survey, puts into context the risk of exposure to disease, as well as the amount of close human contact workers had before social distancing and other safety measures were introduced.’

Read here (BBC, May 14, 2020)

The coronavirus slayer! How Kerala's rock star health minister helped save it from Covid-19

‘On 20 January, KK Shailaja phoned one of her medically trained deputies. She had read online about a dangerous new virus spreading in China. “Will it come to us?” she asked. “Definitely, Madam,” he replied. And so the health minister of the Indian state of Kerala began her preparations.

‘Four months later, Kerala has reported only 524 cases of Covid-19, four deaths and – according to Shailaja – no community transmission. The state has a population of about 35 million and a GDP per capita of only £2,200. By contrast, the UK (double the population, GDP per capita of £33,100) has reported more than 40,000 deaths, while the US (10 times the population, GDP per capita of £51,000) has reported more than 82,000 deaths; both countries have rampant community transmission.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 14, 2020)

A quarter of Covid-19 patients who died in England had diabetes

‘A quarter of people who died with coronavirus in hospitals in England had diabetes, officials say. People with dementia or lung problems are also among those most at risk of dying after contracting COVID-19, according to new NHS figures.’

Read here (Sky News, May 14, 2020)

Genetic engineering could make a Covid-19 vaccine in months rather than years

‘The established approach is to grow weakened viruses in chicken eggs—or more recently in mammalian or insect cells—and extract the desired pieces. The process can take four to six months to get the right antigens for familiar viruses that change every year, such as influenza. It can take multiple attempts over years for a new germ. That is far too slow to combat a virus that has already spread to pandemic proportions.

‘Instead labs are turning to gene-based vaccines. Scientists use information from the genome of the virus to create a blueprint of select antigens. The blueprint is made of DNA or RNA—molecules that hold genetic instructions. The researchers then inject the DNA or RNA into human cells. The cell’s machinery uses the instructions to make virus antigens that the immune system reacts to. Cells respond to the instructions as a normal part of their daily existence. This is the same trait infectious viruses exploit; they cannot reproduce on their own, so they use a cell’s machinery to make copies of themselves. They burst out of the cell and infect more cells, widening the infection.’

Read here (Scientific American, May 14, preview of June 1, 2020 issue)

From green backlash to reimposition of border controls, pandemic is accelerating tensions that could unravel the EU

‘EU leaders should not slacken in their efforts to tackle climate change. The east-west rift is alarming and cannot be resolved by tolerating disrespect for the rule of law. As for the north-south divide, the ECB may be able to do enough to keep Italy and other southern member-states in the eurozone. But the politics of an unresolved rift may turn very nasty, increasing anti-EU sentiment across the bloc – and could even trigger a country leaving the EU or the euro,’ says Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform.

Read here (The Guardian, May 14, 2020)

Too soon, too loud: Chinese foreign policy advisers tell ‘Wolf Warrior’ diplomats to tone it down

“The aim is to promote the Chinese political system as superior, and to project the image of China as a world leader in combating a global health crisis,” Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University of China, said during an online seminar arranged by the college on Friday.

“But the problem is, [these efforts] have failed to recognise the complexities that have emerged on the global stage during the pandemic, and they are being done too hastily, too soon and too loudly in tone, so there is a huge gap between what is intended and what is achieved,” he said.

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 14, 2020)

Where are all the patients? Addressing Covid-19 fear to encourage sick patients to seek emergency care

‘Emergency department volume is down nearly 50% as the United States struggles with the Covid-19 epidemic. There is increasing evidence that patients with medical emergencies are avoiding the emergency department because of fear of contracting Covid-19, leading to increased morbidity and mortality.

‘Here, the authors describe efforts taken in a community hospital to understand and combat this public health concern by using human-centered design. They share interview themes, the brainstorming process, and implementation of prototypes, as well as challenges faced in the early stages of implementation. They show that addressing patient fears by dividing the emergency department into respiratory and non-respiratory pods and through targeted messaging can result in increased visits to the emergency room. Time will tell if this results in improved health outcomes for community members.’

Read here (New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst, May 14, 2020)

Coronavirus may never go away, World Health Organization warns

‘The coronavirus "may never go away", the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned. Speaking at a briefing on Wednesday, WHO emergencies director Dr Mike Ryan warned against trying to predict when the virus would disappear. "It is important to put this on the table: this virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities, and this virus may never go away," Dr Ryan told the virtual press conference from Geneva. HIV has not gone away - but we have come to terms with the virus."Dr Ryan then said he doesn't believe "anyone can predict when this disease will disappear".

Read here (BBC, May 14, 2020)

Expect more cases of strange coronavirus syndrome in kids, doctors warn

‘Parents, hospitals and clinics should expect to see more cases of a mystifying condition that seems to be affecting children after a bout with Covid-19, doctors said Wednesday. The condition, called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, appears to be a post-viral syndrome, said Dr. Jeffrey Burns, a critical care specialist at Boston Children's Hospital who has been coordinating a global group of doctors who compare notes on the condition. Doctors are investigating cases in at least 150 children, most of them in New York. But a CNN survey finds hospitals and clinics in at least 18 states and Washington, DC are checking into suspected cases. "This multisystem inflammatory syndrome is not directly caused by the virus," Burns told CNN. "The leading hypothesis is that it is due to the immune response of the patient."

Read here (CNN, May 14, 2020)

How to make sense of all the Covid-19 projections? A new model combines them

‘The [University of Massachusetts Amherst] team unveiled the first version four weeks ago and ever since has been adding in more forecasts and updating the projections weekly. The latest update — released Tuesday — incorporates eight models, including some oft-cited ones, such as those built by the Imperial College London, the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Columbia University and Northeastern University. (The team also sends each week's release to the CDC, which publishes a version with a slight time lag.)

‘The projections vary substantially — with the most pessimistic forecasting a total death toll of 120,000 by June 6 and the most optimistic forecasting 103,000 deaths by that date. But the models have been inching closer to each other. Over the past several weeks, the distance between the highest and lowest estimates has halved from a gap of 36,000 deaths two weeks ago to a gap of 17,000 deaths in the most recent update released Tuesday.’

Read here (NPR or National Public Radio, US, May 13, 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)

‘Dangerous, damaging’: China trade dispute triggers national division

‘Victoria and Queensland have warned the federal government to be more diplomatic in pursuit of a coronavirus inquiry, fearing that Australia's escalating trade dispute with China will harm already fragile state economies...

‘Australia-China Business Council chief executive Helen Sawczak said the inquiry had been politicised for domestic point scoring and warned more Australian industries to prepare for trade strikes if the government could not negotiate with China.’

Meanwhile... ‘Beijing is also pushing new beef and resources deals with Brazil and barley trade with Canada and eastern Europe. Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro recently spoke with China's President Xi Jinping after China supplied medical equipment. The country is one of Australia's top rivals in the critical iron ore, coal and LNG sectors.’

Read here (Sydney Morning Herald, May 13, 2020)

‘2020 will be the darkest winter in modern history’

Dr Rick Bright, former Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), testified in a hearing at the US House of Representatives. Dr. Bright filed a whistleblower complaint shortly after being removed from his position at BARDA, alleging that he was removed in retaliation for conflicts regarding US government policies regarding medical countermeasures for COVID-19. In his opening statement, Dr. Bright forecasts that “2020 will be the darkest winter in modern history” and emphasizes the importance of basing policy and operational decisions on reliable scientific evidence.

Read here (CNN, May 13, 2020)

Naomi Klein: How big tech plans to profit from the pandemic

‘The issue is not whether schools must change in the face of a highly contagious virus for which we have neither cure nor inoculation. Like every institution where humans gather in groups, they will change. The trouble, as always in these moments of collective shock, is the absence of public debate about what those changes should look like, and who they should benefit – private tech companies or students?

‘The same questions need to be asked about health. Avoiding doctor’s offices and hospitals during a pandemic makes good sense. But telehealth misses a huge amount. So we need to have an evidence-based debate about the pros and cons of spending scarce public resources on telehealth – rather than on more trained nurses, equipped with all the necessary protective equipment, who are able to make house calls to diagnose and treat patients in their homes.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 13, 2020)

Launch of the WHO Academy and the WHO info mobile applications

For healthcare workers: ‘The WHO Academy, World Health Organization’s lifelong learning centre, has launched a mobile app designed to enable health workers to expand their life-saving skills to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. The app provides health workers with mobile access to a wealth of COVID-19 knowledge resources, developed by WHO, that include up-to-the-minute guidance, tools, training, and virtual workshops that will help them care for COVID-19 patients and protect themselves.

Real-time info for everyone: 'WHO will launch the WHO Info app which will give millions of people real-time mobile access to the latest news and developments. WHO has developed the app from the ground up with an intuitive user-interface and a clean, smart design. From the COVID-19 front, the WHO Info app will provide the latest WHO initiatives, partnerships, and to up-to-date information on the race to find medicines and vaccines for fighting the disease. The number of COVID-19 cases, organized by country, and by timelines, are continually updated in the app from the official WHO COVID-19 data streams.’

Read here (WHO, May 13, 2020)

COVID-19 and the need for action on mental health

‘The report highlights the needs of vulnerable populations, including first responders and front-line healthcare workers, older adults, children, women, and refugees or those in conflict settings. In addition to fear of illness or death and the growing challenges posed by mis- and disinformation, individuals are also experiencing a broad scope of secondary mental health effects, including financial insecurity or social isolation. The report advises that emergency psychosocial support should become more widely available, including remote mental health care. Furthermore, the report calls for prioritizing the protection and promotion of human rights of those with severe mental health conditions, as their needs can often be neglected in major emergencies.’

Download here (United Nations, May 13, 2020)

US CDC had ‘very good interaction’ with China after coronavirus outbreak, says director Robert Redfield

‘Top US health official says colleagues connected with Beijing two days after Chinese health authorities first notified WHO of ‘a cluster of cases of pneumonia’. Discussions took place ‘at a scientific level’ as early as January 2, Redfield testifies to US lawmakers. “I personally had discussions as early, I think the CDC had discussions as early as January 2, and myself, January 3, with a counterpart to discuss this at a scientific level,” Redfield said. “I think we had very good interaction. That’s different than the broader government level.”

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 13, 2020)

How has Vietnam, a developing nation in South-East Asia, done so well to combat coronavirus?

Key points: Despite sharing a border with China, Vietnam has reported less than 300 cases. Experts believe that Vietnamese coronavirus caseload statistics are accurate. Success has been attributed to aggressive testing, contact tracing and public messaging

Read here (ABC News, May 13, 2020)

Learning how to dance - Part 5: Prevent seeding and spreading

This is Part 5 of ‘Learning how to dance’, a series which goes in depth to understand what countries need to do to Dance, to reopen their economies without new outbreaks.

‘The bad news first: (1) We will likely need to heavily slow down national and international tourism for months, (2) Big events like business fairs or music concerts will need to remain closed for now

‘The good news: (1) We should still be able to travel for one-way or very long trips (2) There are ways we can accelerate the reopening of tourism (3) We can probably reopen schools (4) A clear order is emerging for which businesses should reopen. The most important to keep open are likely banks, grocery, and general stores, and the least important are likely cafés, dessert parlors, and gyms’.

Read here (Medium, May 13, 2020)

Ominous warning for world governments as South Korea hit by ‘super spreader’ after lockdowns lifted

‘At the weekend, the country’s health system reported the sudden appearance of more than 40 new coronavirus cases. It was the first time in a month the figure had spiked so high. Contact tracers immediately went to work. What had caused this disturbing turnaround? Turns out, it was mostly due to just one 29-year-old man...’

Read here (News.com, May 12, 2020)

Covid-19: A doctor’s concerns

‘The challenge for the public will be adhering to guidelines like social distancing, hand washing, cleansing and face masks in public. We have to learn to internalise such behaviour (an example will be the brushing of teeth) so that the need for monitoring and surveillance is minimised...

‘Another concern is the lack of public consultation. Like what happens with our annual haze (who knows, we may, thanks to Covid-19 and the movement control order escape the haze this year!), the voices of the public are not being solicited by the authorities. We see this happening at federal, state and local council levels. Why this “us” vs “them” mindset which pervades our country?’

Dato’ Seri Dr T Devaraj is a retired physician who has been involved in hospice work for many years.

Read here (Aliran, May 12, 2020)

China, Denmark and Singapore expand testing

‘China, Singapore and Denmark were among countries to announce substantial expansions of their testing regimes, with the Chinese city of Wuhan, the original centre of the pandemic, saying it planned to test all 11 million residents...

‘Singapore also said it aimed to test all 323,000 migrant workers living in cramped, often unsanitary dormitories that have become a hotbed of infections in recent weeks, accounting for the vast majority of the city-state’s total of 24,671 cases.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 12, 2020)

‘The past six weeks have been unlike anything I’ve known’: A GP on how the pandemic has changed his work

‘It’s clear that though the lockdown has slashed transmission, it is provoking a silent epidemic of despair. Panic attacks, sleeplessness and plunging moods are all difficulties GPs are encountering daily – tough conversations to have at the best of times, but even tougher on the phone. Within our area of the city, we already know of suicides triggered by bankruptcies and business closures; and of marriages breaking down. Alcohol-induced injuries are up, as are injuries from assaults.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 12, 2020)

‘Passing the buck’ becomes reckless ‘conspiracy blame game’

‘Celebrated UK imperialist apologist historian Niall Ferguson, now at the Hoover Institution, cites the venerable New York Times (NYT) for the now oft-repeated claim that China unleashed seven million potentially Covid-19 infected, and therefore infectious, Wuhan residents on the rest of the world for most of January before imposing a lockdown.

‘Ferguson eventually conceded that he had wrongly alleged that regular flights abroad left Wuhan after 23 January, but retaliated by questioning Bell’s other scholarship, including his recent book on China, and insisting that China should have cancelled all international flights in an updated blog.’

Read here (IPS News, May 12, 2020)

Study warns 1.1 million children, 56,000 mothers, could die as pandemic interrupts access to food & medical care

A new report finds 1.1 million children under 5 could die, and 56,700 maternal deaths occur, in the next six months from secondary impacts of the pandemic, like disruptions to health services and access to food... ‘Our most severe scenario (coverage reductions of 39·3–51·9% and wasting increase of 50%) over 6 months would result in 1,157,000 additional child deaths and 56,700 additional maternal deaths.’

Read here (The Lancet, May 12, 2020)

The lost six weeks when US failed to contain outbreak: BBC video

‘Having watched Asian and European countries struggle against Covid-19, the US was slow to ramp up testing and order its residents to stay at home. We look at this crucial time period and what exactly was done to prevent the outbreak.’

View here (BBC, May 12, 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)

Covid-19: Transmission scenarios explained

‘Ignoring the terrible outbreaks in nursing homes, we find that the biggest outbreaks are in prisons, religious ceremonies, and workplaces, such as meat packing facilities and call centers. Any environment that is enclosed, with poor air circulation and high density of people, spells trouble.

‘The reason to highlight these different outbreaks is to show you the commonality of outbreaks of COVID-19. All these infection events were indoors, with people closely-spaced, with lots of talking, singing, or yelling. The main sources for infection are home, workplace, public transport, social gatherings, and restaurants. This accounts for 90% of all transmission events. In contrast, outbreaks spread from shopping appear to be responsible for a small percentage of traced infections.’

Read here (Government Technology, May 11, 2020)

Johns Hopkins and Bloomberg Philanthropies, with New York State, launch online course to train army of contact tracers to slow spread of COVID-19

‘To support the effort, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has developed the contact tracing course that is available for registration on the Coursera platform starting Monday, May 11, 2020. It is open to anyone in the world, whether they are interested in becoming a contact tracer or just want to understand the process. Applicants in New York state will be invited to take the course after their application is reviewed and they pass an initial interview. The interview, followed by taking the course and passing the final assessment within 72 hours, will be required to be hired into the New York state program.’

Read here (John Hopkins, May 11, 2020)

Damage to the kidneys, heart, brain — even ‘covid toes’ — prompts reassessment of the disease and how to treat it

‘...many scientists have come to believe that much of the disease’s devastation comes from two intertwined causes. The first is the harm the virus wreaks on blood vessels, leading to clots that can range from microscopic to sizable. Patients have suffered strokes and pulmonary emboli as clots break loose and travel to the brain and lungs. A study in the Lancet, a British medical journal, showed this may be because the virus directly targets the endothelial cells that line blood vessels. The second is an exaggerated response from the body’s own immune system, a storm of killer “cytokines” that attack the body’s own cells along with the virus as it seeks to defend the body from an invader.

‘Research and therapies are focused on these phenomena. Blood thinners are being more widely used in some hospitals. A review of records for 2,733 patients, published Wednesday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, indicates they may help the most seriously ill.’

Read here (Washington Post, May 10, 2020)

Can Malaysia cope with a ‘triple whammy’ economic shock?

‘While none of the world’s economies are expected to be spared economic pain in the coming months as crimped domestic demand and the global recession begin to bite, analysts said Malaysia could be among the countries hit by a “triple whammy” due to a third factor applicable to energy exporters – the collapse in oil prices.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 10, 2020)

It’s no accident Britain and America are the world's biggest coronavirus losers

‘When the business of government becomes limited to populist set pieces, its ranks are purged of doers and populated instead with cheerleaders. This is how we ended up with the current cast of dazed-in-headlights Tory cabinet members. In the US, the very notion of an “administration” has been worn away. As the New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen puts it, “There is no White House. Not in the sense that journalists have always used that term. It’s just Trump – and people who work in the building”.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 10, 2020)

How pandemics end (NYT)

‘Will that happen with Covid-19? One possibility, historians say, is that the coronavirus pandemic could end socially before it ends medically. People may grow so tired of the restrictions that they declare the pandemic over, even as the virus continues to smolder in the population and before a vaccine or effective treatment is found.

“I think there is this sort of social psychological issue of exhaustion and frustration,” the Yale historian Naomi Rogers said. “We may be in a moment when people are just saying: ‘That’s enough. I deserve to be able to return to my regular life”.’

Read here (New York Times, May 10, 2020)

We need a Covid-19 law right now

‘When I am asked what businesses need from a legal perspective in this Covid crisis, I come up with a critical minimum list of three, for our local small and medium enterprises (SMEs). First, breathing space to earn income and turn around a cash flow deficit to meet debts. This translates into: (a) freezing of demands for payment, and (b) freezing of legal actions... Second, protection from eviction from business premises, and repossession of machinery, equipment and assets that are essential to generating revenue, for a similar period of time. This is fundamental to SMEs’ ability to carry on business as a going concern... The third measure required is then, assistance with the restructuring of debts.’

Read here (FocusMalaysia, May 9, 2020)

France had Covid-19 in November, hospital says after analysis of chest scans

‘Study finds person who had the disease 10 weeks earlier than the country detected cases. Contagion believed to have spread slowly until the end of February before accelerating rapidly...

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 8, 2020)

Study shows most people carry antibodies after recovery from coronavirus

‘A new study offers a glimmer of hope in the grim fight against the coronavirus: Nearly everyone who has had the disease - regardless of age, sex or severity of illness - makes antibodies to the virus. The study, posted online on Tuesday (May 5) but not yet reviewed by experts, also hints that anyone who has recovered from infection may safely return to work - although it is unclear how long their protection might last.’

Read here (Straits Times, May 8, 2020)

University of Hong Kong study finds eyes are ‘important route’ for coronavirus, up to 100 times more infectious than Sars

‘The eyes are an important route for the coronavirus into the human body, according to University of Hong Kong research which found the strain was up to 100 times more infectious than severe acute respiratory syndrome and bird flu in two facial orifices tested by the public health experts. Laboratory tests revealed the “virus level” of SARS-Cov-2 – the strain of coronavirus that causes the Covid-19 disease – was far greater than for Sars in the upper respiratory airways and conjunctiva, the cells lining the surfaces of the eyes.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 8, 2020)

Mixed reactions as SOPs rule the day

‘As we're deadlocked on how to jumpstart the economy or flatten the curve, it'd be useful to reflect what Gerald R. Ford, the 38th United States president (American presidents were taken seriously until very recently), had to say on dubiety: "History and experience tell us that moral progress comes not in comfortable and complacent times, but out of trial and confusion." There you go, we still have to fine-tune many issues before the "new normal" settles in. Whatever the procedures, there must be greater uniformity as tales of different strokes for different folk were aplenty in the treatment of some MCO offenders.’

Read here (New Straits Times, May 8, 2020)

‘Finally, a virus got me.’ Scientist who fought Ebola and HIV reflects on facing death from COVID-19

‘Many people think COVID-19 kills 1% of patients, and the rest get away with some flulike symptoms. But the story gets more complicated. Many people will be left with chronic kidney and heart problems. Even their neural system is disrupted. There will be hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, possibly more, who will need treatments such as renal dialysis for the rest of their lives. The more we learn about the coronavirus, the more questions arise. We are learning while we are sailing. That’s why I get so annoyed by the many commentators on the sidelines who, without much insight, criticize the scientists and policymakers trying hard to get the epidemic under control. That’s very unfair.’

Read here (Science, May 8, 2020)

How coronavirus spreads and why it affects countries differently

New study analysing dozens of actual Covid-19 clusters from around the world shows enclosed spaces are hotbeds of the virus... Using these and other studies, Dr Cevik concludes that they suggest (not prove) the following:

• Close and prolonged contact is required for transmission of the virus. 
• Risk is highest in enclosed environments such as houses, care facilities, public transport, bars and other indoor spaces where people congregate.
• Casual, short interactions are not the main driver of the epidemic. 
• Susceptibility to infection increases with age.

Read here (The Telegraph, May 8, 2020)

The coronavirus was an emergency until Trump found out who was dying

‘This is a very old and recognizable story—political and financial elites displaying a callous disregard for the workers of any race who make their lives of comfort possible. But in America, where labor and race are so often intertwined, the racial contract has enabled the wealthy to dismiss workers as both undeserving and expendable. White Americans are also suffering, but the perception that the coronavirus is largely a black and brown problem licenses elites to dismiss its impact. In America, the racial contract has shaped the terms of class war for centuries; the COVID contract shapes it here.’

Read here (The Atlantic, May 8, 2020)

‘I thought stage IV cancer was bad enough... Then came a pandemic during the presidency of Donald Trump.’

‘I’m one of the people all of this social distancing is helping to stay alive, so far. I belong to the group of people—the infirm, the weak—who certain conservatives have said should offer themselves up to the coronavirus. I’m part of the “cure” that mustn’t be worse than “the problem,” according to Donald Trump. Glenn Beck seems to think we should show our patriotism by volunteering to be killed by the virus rather than “kill the country.”

Read here (The Atlantic, May 8, 2020. Pre-published for June issue)

Would you report people who break the rules?

‘Outside of official hotlines - thousands have also engaged in online shaming forums. The largest Singaporean "Covidiot" group on Facebook has over 26,000 members. It's littered with grainy pictures of alleged breaches - usually taken from some distance - the safety of one's apartment balcony.’

Read here (BBC, May 7, 2020)

Young women among worst hit by coronavirus job cuts

‘Social security Institution Kela received more than 120,000 unemployment benefit applications between mid-March and the end of April, more than three times the number of applications during the same period last year. This is according to Helsinki Graduate School of Economics (GSE)'s analysis that combined Kela's application data with taxpayer's information on the applicants' professional background. According to the results, young women aged 20–24 make up the majority of Kela's unemployment benefit applicants.’

Read here (UUTISET, May 7, 2020)

How swamped preprint servers are blocking bad coronavirus research

‘Howard Bauchner, the editor-in-chief of JAMA, notes that low-quality submissions are rising. Journals in the JAMA Network have received 53% more submissions in the first quarter of this year than in the same period in 2019. “Many of these are related to COVID-19, but most are of low quality,” Bauchner says.

‘To address the need for rapid review, a group of publishers and scholarly-communication organizations announced an initiative last month to accelerate the publication of COVID-19 papers using measures such as asking people with relevant expertise to join a list of rapid reviewers. The initiative’s members include Outbreak Science Rapid PREreview, a platform where researchers can request or provide swift reviews of outbreak-related preprints.’

Read here (Nature, May 7, 2020)

Access to lifesaving medical resources for African countries: COVID-19 testing and response, ethics, and politics

‘Having navigated Ebola, HIV, and tuberculosis epidemics, and a range of annual, sporadic, and concurrent outbreaks, several African countries have unparalleled disease response capacity. African governments are offering rare examples of effective international cooperation on COVID-19. The African Union started early to strengthen response with readiness assessments, an emergency ministerial meeting, and a continental strategy. However, with a highly transmissible and fast spreading virus these strengths can quickly be overwhelmed.’

Read here (The Lancet, May 7, 2020)

US FDA grants an EUA for the first CRISPR-based diagnostic test

‘The US FDA granted an EUA for the first CRISPR-based diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2. CRISPR technologies have been developed for a wide variety of uses, including gene editing and gene drives. The Sherlock CRISPR SARS-CoV-2 test kit works by programming a CRISPR molecule to detect specific parts of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Once the CRISPR system binds to its target site, a signal is released that can then be detected by researchers running the test. Sherlock stands for “Specific High-sensitivity Enzymatic Reporter unLOCKing.” With the appropriate, corresponding instrumentation, this test kit could be used at the point of care, and results can be reported within minutes.’

Download here (US FDA, May 6, 2020)

Guides to the other side: The problem-solvers working to get us through the pandemic

‘They are immigrants and the children of immigrants, public servants, people on their second careers. They are planners and problem-solvers. What they lack in swagger they make up for in empathy, skill and statistical rigor. Their greatest power is their ability to learn from the mistakes of the past. They are the right people in the right place at the right moment, like physician-researcher Andre Kalil, a veteran of past epidemics trying to find a cure for this pandemic, and Anar Yukhayev, a New York obstetrician-gynecologist who was severely ill with covid-19 when he enrolled in a clinical trial for an untested treatment. “If there was any chance it could potentially help someone,” Yukhayev said, “it was the least I could do.”

‘They don’t offer easy answers or miracle cures; they know there is no resurrecting the lives they once had. Still, they’re giving what they can to a moment that demands it. When it is most difficult to imagine the world getting better, they’ve summoned the creativity — and the courage — to invent the world anew.’

Read here (Washington Post, May 7, 2020)

US mayor says he had coronavirus last year, worried people dismissed it as bad flu

‘Michael Melham, the mayor of Belleville, New Jersey, told the Global Times via a statement that he visited his primary care physician on April 29 and asked to have his blood tested for antibodies related to COVID-19 as he suspected that he had been potentially positive for coronavirus in late November, but dismissed it because he kept hearing the first cases were in January.

‘The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on January 21 the first case was a man who had returned to the Seattle area after visiting Wuhan.

‘Within five minutes of the blood test, the doctor shared the positive antibody results with the mayor, prompting Melham to think back to the New Jersey League of Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City in November, when he recalled driving back up the Garden State Parkway on Thursday, November 21 not feeling well, suspecting the reason was a mix of exhaustion and dehydration from the three-day event.’

Read here (Global Times, May 7, 2020)

Patterns of pain: What Covid-19 can teach us about how to be human

‘Our institutions will need to be rebuilt with transparency, with heart and by learning from the people who have been staffing them, not just the managers and owners. Doctors, nurses, carers and delivery people have things to say about how their institutions could be better run. The body politic and the politics of the bodies that make up our world must be reconfigured, and we need to start thinking about that now.

‘I conclude with Freud: “The aim of psychoanalysis is to turn hysteria into ordinary human unhappiness.” That is an accomplishment for an individual and for a society. We cannot escape unhappiness. It is constitutive of being human, just as are creativity, courage, ambition, attachment and love. Let’s embrace the complexity of what it means to be human in this time of sorrow as we think and feel our way to come out of this, wiser, humbler and more connected.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 7, 2020)

COVID-19 death rate sinking? Data reveals a complex reality

‘David Spiegelhalter, Professor of Public Understanding of Risk from the University of Cambridge, notes the differences in each country: "I would say the all-cause death number is the really unbiased measure of the impact of this epidemic. And it's the one I look up far more closely," he told DW. Data collected by DW both on all-cause deaths and COVID-19 deaths shows: Thousands more people are dying directly or indirectly due to COVID-19 than the official numbers suggest. DW's data analysis focused on Spain, England and Wales, but indicates a pattern present in other countries too.’

Read here (DW, May 7, 2020)

Lianhua Qingwen (TCM product) approved for sale in Singapore

‘Lianhua Qingwen, a recommended medicine for treating patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms, has been approved as a Chinese proprietary medicine by the Health Sciences Authority in Singapore. The designation means the product can be sold in the country as a medicine, the drug’s manufacturer said.’

Read here (GMP News, May 7, 2020) 

Five ways the pandemic is changing the world for the better: An interview with UCI philosopher Aaron James

(1) Telecommuting and flexible work schedules are being normalised. (2) Universal basic income is gaining bipartisan support. (3) Contributing to society is about more than making money. (4) Climate change progress is being driven by renewable energy capitalism. (5) Turns out the pandemic may be a vaccine against assholes.

Read here (University of California, Irvine, May 7, 2020)

China could cut US debt holdings in response to White House Covid-19 compensation threats, analysts say

‘China may move to reduce its vast holdings of US Treasury securities in the coming months in response to a resurgence in trade tensions and a war of words between the world’s two largest economies over the origins and handling of the coronavirus outbreak, analysts said. US news reports indicated that White House officials have debated several measures to offset the cost of the coronavirus outbreak, including cancelling some or all of the nearly US$1.1 trillion debt that the United States government owes China. While analysts added that the US was highly unlikely to take the “nuclear option”, the mere fact that the idea has been discussed could well prompt Beijing to seek to insulate itself from the risk by reducing its US government debt holdings.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 6, 2020)

Genetic mutation study finds new coronavirus spread swiftly around the world in late 2019

‘A genetic analysis of samples from more than 7,500 people infected with Covid-19 suggests that the new coronavirus spread quickly around the world late last year and is adapting to its human hosts, scientists said on Wednesday (May 6). A study by scientists at University College London's (UCL) Genetics Institute found almost 200 recurrent genetic mutations of the new coronavirus - Sars-CoV-2 - which the researchers said showed how it may be evolving as it spreads in people.’

Read here (Straits Times, May 6, 2020)

Virus outbreak in India market could cause cases to snowball

‘Health officials are rushing to contain a coronavirus outbreak in one of Asia’s largest fruit and vegetable markets in the southern Indian city of Chennai. So far, the market has been linked to more than 500 cases in several districts of Tamil Nadu state and adjacent Kerala state. Over 7,000 people with connections to the Koyambedu market are being traced and quarantined, said J. Radhakrishnan, the leader of Chennai's response to the coronavirus.

‘The market, which had remained open during India's six-week virus lockdown, is central to the region’s food supply chain. The challenge for public health officials is to track the many traders, workers and shoppers who visited the market. Experts said the virus cluster has exposed India’s poor surveillance during the pandemic. They said the country’s long denial of how prevalent the virus was resulted in people not taking precautions, and warned that the market cluster could result in cases in India snowballing.’

Read here (ABC News, May 6, 2020)

World faces rare ‘inflationary depression,’ says Keynes scholar

‘The world economy could face a unique “inflationary depression” as it emerges from lockdowns, with government spending propping up demand even as unemployment soars, according to economic historian Robert Skidelsky. What makes the economic shock from the coronavirus different to the Great Depression, he said, is that shuttering industries to control the disease has yet to cause a plunge in purchasing power -- largely because governments have stepped in to subsidize wages.’

Read here (Bloomberg, May 6, 2020)

For the record: Are Gates and Rockefeller using their influence to set agenda in poor states?

‘Study identifies Bill and Melinda Gates and Rockefeller foundations among rich donors that are close to government and may be skewing priorities... Ultra-rich philanthropists and their foundations have increasing influence on decision-making and are setting the global health and agriculture agenda in developing countries, according to a major study (pdf). Using their immense wealth and influence with political and scientific elites, organisations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and others are promoting solutions to global problems that may undermine the UN and other international organisations, says the report by the independent Global Policy Forum, which monitors the work of UN bodies and global policymaking.’

Read here (The Guardian, Jan 15, 2016)

Download report here (Global Policy Forum, November 2015)

The problem with stories about dangerous coronavirus mutations

‘There’s no clear evidence that the pandemic virus has evolved into significantly different forms—and there probably won’t be for months...

‘As if the pandemic weren’t bad enough, on April 30, a team led by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory released a paper that purportedly described “the emergence of a more transmissible form” of the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. This new form, the team wrote, “began spreading in Europe in early February.” Whenever it appeared in a new place, including the U.S., it rapidly rose to dominance. Its success, the team suggested, is likely due to a single mutation, which is now “of urgent concern.”

‘The paper has not yet been formally published or reviewed by other scientists. But on May 5, the Los Angeles Times wrote about it, claiming that “a now-dominant strain of the coronavirus could be more contagious than [the] original.” That story quickly went … well … viral.

‘But “the conclusions are overblown,” says Lisa Gralinski of the University of North Carolina, who is one of the few scientists in the world who specializes in coronaviruses. “To say that you’ve revealed the emergence of a more transmissible form of SARS-CoV-2 without ever actually testing it isn’t the type of thing that makes me feel comfortable as a scientist.” She and other virologists I’ve spoken with who were not involved in the Los Alamos research agree that the paper’s claims are plausible, but not justified by the evidence it presents. More important, they’re not convinced different strains of the coronavirus exist at all.’

Read here (The Atlantic, May 6, 2020)

These are the ‘10 plain truths’ about the coronavirus pandemic, according to former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden

1. “It’s really bad” in New York City
2. It’s “just the beginning”
3. Data is a “very powerful weapon against this virus”
4. We need to “box the virus in”
5. We must find the balance
6. Protect the “frontline heroes”
7. Protect our most vulnerable people, too
8. Governments and private companies need to work together
9. We must not neglect non-Covid health issues
10. Preparedness is paramount

Read here (CNN, May 6, 2020)

Singaporeans to be given improved reusable masks in third nationwide mask distribution exercise

‘Singaporeans will receive improved reusable masks soon, with the Government embarking on a third mask distribution exercise towards the end of this circuit breaker period. The new cloth masks will have higher protective qualities and also be more comfortable to wear for a long period of time, said Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing on Wednesday (May 6). Over the last few weeks, the Government has been working with local manufacturers and A*Star to improve on the materials used for the reusable cloth masks.’

Read here (Straits Times, May 6, 2020)

The coming post-Covid anarchy: Kevin Rudd

‘As with other historical inflection points, three factors will shape the future of the global order: changes in the relative military and economic strength of the great powers, how those changes are perceived around the world, and what strategies the great powers deploy. Based on all three factors, China and the United States have reason to worry about their global influence in the post-pandemic world.

Read here (Foreign Affairs, May 6, 2020)

From Hong Kong to Britain, governments ranked poorly for their response to Covid-19

‘From Hong Kong to Britain, governments ranked poorly for their response to Covid-19. Survey of 23 economies finds ‘major cracks’ in self-belief across the Western world. China, Vietnam and India have impressed with their responses to Covid-19, while Hong Kong and Japan languish at the bottom.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 6, 2020)

When did Covid-19 first appear in the US?

‘A US mayor claims he had COVID-19 last November, over one month before China reported its initial cases. If this was really the case, how did he get it and from where? How long ago did the virus start spreading in the US? In this episode of Getting to the Point, CGTN anchor Liu Xin asks the big question.’

View here (CGTN, Youtube, May 6, 2020)

Six flaws in the arguments for reopening

Leana S. Wen, an emergency physician and visiting professor at George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, debunks the six reasons offered by the US government to open up the economy. She says: “Most states are reopening to some degree this week, even as public-health experts warn that it’s too soon.”

Read here (Washington Post, May 6, 2020)

We can beat the virus only by protecting human rights

‘Perhaps the ultimate threat is from governments that assume excessively broad “emergency” powers. International human rights law recognizes that certain rights — such as our right to travel or congregate during an infectious-disease outbreak — must give way in time of crisis, so long as restrictions are lawful, necessary and proportionate. Yet leaders around the world are using the pandemic to strengthen their rule, dismantle checks and balances, and escape accountability at the expense of our rights. All of these behaviors run counter to effective health-care policy and can easily backfire.’

Read here (Washington Post, May 6, 2020)

Experts differ over states’ CMCO non-compliance

‘Law experts differ on the refusal of some states to implement the conditional movement control order (conditional MCO) based on various interpretations of Article 81 of the Federal Constitution.

‘While lawyer Derek Fernandez said the states have a constitutional obligation to follow what has been gazetted as law by the Federal Government (if the states have yet to have their own laws on Covid-19), former judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram said it is not so simple.’

Read here (The Star, May 6, 2020)

National action plan for expanding and adapting the healthcare system for the duration of the Covid pandemic

This 24-page report by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security offers answers and recommendations related to the following problems, for which there are tractable solutions:

• How can we improve infection prevention in hospitals and maintain a robust supply chain for personal protective equipment (PPE)?
• What approach should we take to restarting deferred healthcare services?
• What financial support is needed for hospitals and healthcare providers?
• How should the healthcare workforce be sustained and augmented?
• How can we provide mental health support for healthcare workers in this crisis?
• How can we provide medical care and sick leave for all people in the United States?
• How can we make telemedicine a new normal?
• How can we reduce the number of undiagnosed infectious diseases in our hospitals?
• How can we better protect emergency medical services (EMS) personnel from infectious diseases?
• How can we better coordinate the healthcare response to COVID and the next pandemic?

Read and download here (Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, May 5, 2020)

S’pore’s youngest Covid-19 casualty was declared virus-free a week before she died

‘The husband and three children of Ms Salha Mesbee - the youngest patient here to die from the coronavirus - gathered at her bedside in the intensive care unit (ICU) at the Ng Teng Fong General Hospital just hours before her death.

‘Ms Salha, 58, had been declared virus-free nine days earlier, but the infection had already taken a toll on her body, her daughter told The Straits Times. Her vital organs, including her kidneys and liver, were failing and she was in a bad shape.’

Read here (Straits Times, May 5, 2020)

Sympathy for the epidemiologists: Paul Krugman

‘...the White House probably likes IHME [University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation] less today than it did yesterday: the institute just drastically revised its projected death total upward, from 72,000 to 134,000. Documents obtained by The New York Times suggest that modelers within the U.S. government have also revised death projections sharply upward...

‘So let me give a shout-out to the hard-working, much-criticized epidemiologists trying to get this pandemic right. You may take a lot of abuse when you get it wrong, which you unavoidably will on occasion. But you’re doing what must be done. Also, welcome to my world.’

Read here (New York Times, May 5, 2020)

Yuval Noah Harari talks about governance, surveillance, misinformation and the significance of Covid-19

The coronavirus pandemic has presented humanity with an almighty shock. Our evermore interconnected and technologically advanced societies are now in lockdown and we are fearful for our health and economic futures thanks to an invisible virus. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to the Israeli historian and best-selling author Yuval Noah Harari. What 21st century lesson can we draw from the spread of Covid-19?

View here (BBC, Youtube, May 5, 2020)

What Covid-19 antibody tests can and cannot tell us

‘Dozens of antibody tests for the novel coronavirus have become available in recent weeks. And early results from studies of such serological assays in the U.S. and around the world have swept headlines. Despite optimism about these tests possibly becoming the key to a return to normal life, experts say the reality is complicated and depends on how results are used.

‘Antibody tests could help scientists understand the extent of COVID-19’s spread in populations. Because of limitations in testing accuracy and a plethora of unknowns about immunity itself, however, they are less informative about an individual’s past exposure or protection against future infection.’

Read here (Scientific American, May 5, 2020)

Shocking draft FEMA report sees 200,000 Covid-19 cases, 3,000 deaths daily by June 1

‘The shocking numbers come just as dozens of states begin to drop strict social distancing requirements and open businesses to workers and customers at President Donald Trump’s urging. A rate of 3,000 deaths a day would be about 90,000 deaths a month. That death toll rate would be a 70% increase from the current average of 1,750 a day. The number of current cases of COVID-19 in the nation is about 25,000 daily.’

Read here (Huffington Post, May 5, 2020). Download here

Argentina responds boldly to coronavirus crisis

‘Despite Argentina’s fiercely divisive politics, the new President insisted on standing with leaders from across the political spectrum in a rare display of unity to announce the 19 March lockdown. The national government is working closely with state governors as well as all health providers, securing private sector cooperation without nationalization.

‘Meanwhile, the armed forces are building triage centres in case of a surge in infections while social, religious and business groups work together to deliver food to more than two million in the greater Buenos Aires area alone.’

Read here (IPS News, May 5, 2020)

Paul Garner: For 7 weeks I have been through a roller coaster of ill health, extreme emotions, and utter exhaustion

‘In mid March I developed covid-19. For almost seven weeks I have been through a roller coaster of ill health, extreme emotions, and utter exhaustion. Although not hospitalised, it has been frightening and long. The illness ebbs and flows, but never goes away. Health professionals, employers, partners, and people with the disease need to know that this illness can last for weeks, and the long tail is not some “post-viral fatigue syndrome”—it is the disease. People who have a more protracted illness need help to understand and cope with the constantly shifting, bizarre symptoms, and their unpredictable course.

‘The aim of this piece is to get this message out: for some people the illness goes on for a few weeks. Symptoms come and go, are strange and frightening. The exhaustion is severe, real, and part of the illness. And we all need support and love from the community around us.’

Read here (BMJ Opinion, May 5, 2020)

The invisible pandemic: Our most important task is not to stop spread but to concentrate on giving the unfortunate victims optimal care

‘COVID-19 is a disease that is highly infectious and spreads rapidly through society. It is often quite symptomless and might pass unnoticed, but it also causes severe disease, and even death, in a proportion of the population, and our most important task is not to stop spread, which is all but futile, but to concentrate on giving the unfortunate victims optimal care.’

Read here (The Lancet, May 5, 2020)

Why has eastern Europe suffered less from coronavirus than the west?

‘Veronica Anghel, a Romanian political scientist currently at Stanford University, said some countries in the region “are being given more credit than they should” for their responses. “Timing of lockdown is a blunt instrument, and a bad measure for authorities’ success,” said Anghel. She praised the response of some countries, including Czech Republic and Slovakia, both of which have comparatively well-funded healthcare systems. “But Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria are on the edge; any increase in cases will tip the system over,” she said.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 5, 2020)