News for a wired world
From grim milestones to record unemployment rates and protests against stay-at-home orders, the pandemic has upended life across the US In just three months, Covid-19 has upended life in the US, ravaging cities and businesses and overwhelming hospitals woefully unprepared. What started as a single infection in
Read MoreKentucky governor Andy Beshear took early measures to halt the spread of Covid-19 while Tennessee limited government mandates Just last month, when he was still regularly wearing a suit and tie, Kentuckys rookie governor, Andy Beshear, told schools across the southern state that they needed to be prepared to close down with little notice to contain the spread of Covid-19. At the time, there were just a handful of cases in Kentucky. Bars and restaurants were still open, people shook hands and live sports was on TV. But on 11…
Read MoreMajor pork plant closed after hundreds of workers contract coronavirus, while speeding up of poultry production lines raises concerns over standards The US government is accelerating controversial regulatory rollbacks to speed up production at meat plants, as companies express growing alarm at the impact of Covid-19 on their operations. Last week Smithfield represents 45% of US pork production is said it was critical for the meat industry to continue to operate unabated. Now it has emerged that as a wave of plants announced by the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS)…
Read MorePhotographs taken in Bangkok before and since the coronavirus outbreak show the emptied locations of the citys annual Songkran water festival In Thailand the Songkran festival was cancelled nationwide to combat the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The water festival is normally held every year to celebrate the traditional Thai New Year on 13 April, when people splash water on each other and sprinkle powder on their faces as a symbolic sign of cleansing and washing away the sins of the past year. The Central World shopping mall. The Central…
Read MoreDeath of first US active duty military member comes 11 days after captain was fired for voicing concerns over safety of his crew on ship off Guam A member of the crew of the coronavirus-infected USS Theodore Roosevelt has died of complications related to the disease, 11 days after the aircraft carriers captain was Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/14/sailor-dies-from-covid-19-and-600-test-positive-after-outbreak-on-uss-theodore-roosevelt-guam
Read MoreNearly half of all jobs in Africa could be lost without urgent action, says charity More than half a billion more people could be pushed into poverty unless urgent action is taken to bail out poor countries affected by the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, plans to offer debt relief to the worlds poorest countries and whether to increase the funds available to the IMF through the creation of special drawing rights (SDRs), a form of international currency that can be used to help struggling countries. The UN, which…
Read MoreSome nations have managed to maintain surprisingly low death rates even without swinging into lockdown Harrowing images of emergency workers struggling to cope with the onslaught of Covid-19 cases have made front pages around the world, highlighting the terrible impact the disease is having. Death tolls in Italy and Spain have been especially alarming. But not every nation has suffered to the same grim extent. Some have avoided lockdowns but have still not suffered huge leaps in case numbers. Others have introduced strict monitoring and contact tracing of infected individuals…
Read MoreInfectious disease expert, who has politely sparred with Trump, has become a calming presence in a time of deep uncertainty Moments after Donald Trump approached the lectern to open the daily task force briefing on the coronavirus pandemic, mild panic broke among viewers online. Where was Dr Anthony Fauci, the 79-year-old infectious disease expert who has become a regular fixture and a calming presence alongside the president? Fernand R. Amandi (@AmandiOnAir) Will the press in the
Read MoreThe truth about how you can catch coronavirus, how much more elderly people are at risk and what you can do to avoid infection Claim: Face masks dont work Wearing a face mask is certainly not an iron-clad guarantee that you wont get sick viruses can also transmit through the eyes and tiny viral particles, known as aerosols, can penetrate masks. However, masks are effective at capturing droplets, which is a main transmission route of coronavirus, and some studies have estimated a roughly fivefold protection versus no barrier alone (although…
Read MoreNew York has been hit hardest, with around confirmed 3,000 cases, but governor estimates there could be tens of thousands more cases New Yorks governor, Andrew Cuomo, warned on Thursday morning that he expects the healthcare system in the state to be overwhelmed as cases of Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) NY Governor orders 75 percent of the states workforce to stay home. March 19, 2020 The stress is just incredible, and rightfully so, he said, acknowledging the bewildering disruption to daily life for most of the states 19 million population. The…
Read MoreOne by one, major cruise lines are halting operations and mothballing ships as they face biggest challenge since 9/11 It is close to peak season at Port Everglades, Floridas second-busiest cruise port, yet an air of deep anxiety hangs over the deserted quaysides and departure terminals. With all major cruise lines shuttering operations, countries port workers infected with the virus, adding to a public relations nightmare that just days earlier saw Princess Cruises, one of Port Everglades biggest clients with 18 vessels, Disney Cruise Lines on Thursday. Others had fallen…
Read MoreFactory production plummets at the fastest pace seen in three decades, as first-quarter figures emerge China has suffered even deeper economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic than predicted, with figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday showing factory production inside the country dropped at the fastest pace seen in three decades. Financial analysts have said the economic impact of the pandemic may have cut Chinas growth in half during the first quarter. Industrial output fell 13.5% in January-February, compared with 2019, which ING economist Iris Pang…
Read MoreWidespread anxiety that epidemic could last many months and basic necessities will run out is gripping the city It is reminiscent of the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Queues form at the crack of dawn every morning in front of supermarkets across Hong Kong, with people scrambling to lay their hands on the basics: rice, toilet rolls and disinfectant. For the third week in a row, supermarkets shelves that usually heave with bags of rice a staple food for Hong Kongers are empty, and packs of noodles are running out…
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