11th Jun 2020 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=28 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he will be questioned by prosecutors on Friday over the way the coronavirus outbreak was handled in the northern Italian city of Bergamo one of the areas most badly affected by the epidemic. I am not at all worried Conte told reporters outside the prime ministers office in Rome. We will speak on Friday and I will pass on all the facts I am aware of he said adding that he was not under investigation himself. The prosecutors are looking into why badly hit areas around Bergamo were not closed down early in the outbreak and have already questioned the regional governor of Lombardy which includes Bergamo and Lombardys health chief. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy-pm/italy-pm-says-prosecutors-to-question-him-over-coronavirus-response-idUSKBN23H2Y4 10th Jun 2020

Lockdown Exit

NBC News Banner Health the states largest health care system has reported that since May 15 the number of COVID19 patients on ventilators has quadrupled. This trend is concerning to us the hospital system wrote in a tweet Monday. Dr. Matthew Heinz an internist with Tucson Medical Center in Arizona has witnessed the rise in COVID19 cases following a lull. Our case numbers were trending down in terms of hospitalizations Heinz said. Within the past week though he and his colleagues have noticed an uptick in confirmed and in probable cases of the coronavirus at least in that hospital. Two recent confirmed COVID19 admissions were among rideshare drivers one in his midtwenties and the other in his 50s. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/we-are-still-pandemic-some-states-summer-months-may-not-n1227381 10th Jun 2020

Lockdown Exit

Gulf News I went for a walk on a new beach on Monday afternoon thats some 25 kilometres from my house. Under new rules that kicked into effect in Ireland on Monday I have a new sense of freedom even if there are still many restrictions in place. Actually chances are that youve seen the beach I walked on. If youve watched the Tom Hanks movie Saving Private Ryan then youll be familiar with Curracloe Beach. It was the standin for Omaha Beach where United States forces landed on DDay 76 years ago on Normandy. https://gulfnews.com/world/europe/going-viral-a-walk-on-a-new-beach-has-never-felt-so-good-1.1591678130749 10th Jun 2020

Lockdown Exit

Kent Live There are a number of countries planning to reopen their borders to tourists in the coming weeks. However in recent weeks there has been a concerns raised by a number of countries over the coronavirus record of the UK. The hope is that the government can agree to airbridges which would allow Brits to travel freely to and from those nations. https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/what-spain-portugal-italy-greece-4210573 10th Jun 2020

Lockdown Exit

Republic World Malaysia reopened nearly all economic and social activities Wednesday after nearly three months of lockdown successfully brought down virus infections. Malaysians can now travel for domestic holidays get their hair cut and visit street markets while schools and religious activities will gradually resume. While happy to be back at work hairstylist Shirley Chai said she is nervous about the strict health rules for hairdressers. She is especially worried about the onehour time limit for each client. The government says the country will enter a recovery phase until the end of August and warned that restrictions will be reinstated if infections soar again.Night clubs pubs karaoke theme parks and reflexology centers will stay shut during the recovery period. https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/rest-of-the-world-news/hairdressers-beauty-salons-reopen-in-malaysia.html 10th Jun 2020

Lockdown Exit

The Irish Times World Health Organisation director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus who is Ethiopian warned Africa to prepare for the worst back in March but the virus has been slow to spread on the continent. Expertise developed from previous outbreaks of diseases such as Ebola HIVAids and cholera proved useful and many countries moved quickly to impose lockdowns closing borders and bringing in contact tracing systems. However there is now growing concern that some countries are underreporting cases due to limited testing capacities or downplaying their figures because of political pressure. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/africa/africa-s-coronavirus-cases-top-200-000-1.4275793 10th Jun 2020

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Canadas political consensus over help for those hit by the coronavirus outbreak began to fray on Wednesday when opposition legislators blocked a government move to approve a proposed expansion of benefits. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-canada/canadas-political-consensus-over-coronavirus-aid-programs-starts-to-fray-idUSKBN23H2JP 10th Jun 2020

Lockdown Exit

MENAFN.COM The World Health Organizations WHO Eastern Mediterranean region has reported almost 670000 coronavirus COVID19 infections and over 15000 deaths according to the WHOs Regional Director for the area Dr Ahmed AlMandhari. In an announcement made on Wednesday AlMandhari added that the Eastern Mediterranean regions figures for the virus make up almost 10 of the global caseload. https://menafn.com/1100302684/Egypt-WHO-announces-670000-COVID-19-infections-across-Eastern-Mediterranean 10th Jun 2020

Lockdown Exit

VOA News The novel coronavirus has led to a diverse array of crises for Thailand. Paramount are the nations healthcare and economy. But the pandemic has also impacted Thailand politics with Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha delaying a necessary cabinet reshuffle and extending a state of emergency. Analysts say the postponed reshuffle has placed the government in political limbo. The military which came to power in a 2014 putsch governs Thailand with a coalition of parties. One of them the Palang Pracharath Party saw 18 members resign last week after a schism over how Thailand is responding to Covid19. The resignations force an election within the party which in turn could change which party members are part of the executive cabinet. https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/coronavirus-has-thailand-putting-out-multiple-fires-once 10th Jun 2020

Lockdown Exit

Daily Mail Just 14 new Covid19 cases were counted on 9 June the lowest in two months Denmark has been in phase two of easing lockdown measures since late May. New cases continue to fall even as more tests are carried out officials said https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8406167/Coronavirus-infections-Denmark-FALLING-lockdown-eased-restaurants-shops-reopened.html 10th Jun 2020

Lockdown Exit

AlJazeera President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lifts stayathome orders for minors and for people aged over 65. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey is lifting stayathome orders for people aged over 65 and for minors as part of a further easing of restrictions. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/brazil-toll-soars-warns-coronavirus-live-updates-200608232455982.html 10th Jun 2020

Lockdown Exit

gasworld The covid19 coronavirus crisis continues to deepen in Peru where gasworld understands there is a significant supply shortage of oxygen and individuals have been pictured taking supply into their own hands. https://www.gasworld.com/peru-coronavirus-crisis-deepens-oxygen-in-focus/2019283.article 8th Jun 2020

Lockdown Exit

Reuters UK Tiny Singapore has one of the highest infection tallies in Asia with more than 38000 cases because of outbreaks in cramped dormitories housing thousands of migrant workers. It reopened schools and some businesses last week after a near twomonth lockdown but many residents are still required to work from home and mix socially only with their families. Based on our experience for every symptomatic case you would have at least one asymptomatic case said Lawrence Wong adding that the discovery was made in recent weeks as Singapore ramped up testing. That is exactly why we have been very cautious in our reopening plans Wong said. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-singapore-wong-exc/exclusive-half-of-singapores-new-covid-19-cases-are-symptomless-taskforce-head-idUKKBN23F17G 8th Jun 2020

Exit Strategies

Sky News Government plans to get more pupils back to school in England during the coronavirus pandemic lie in tatters Sir Keir Starmer has said as he told the prime minister the UKs number of COVID19 deaths should haunt us. The Labour leader and Boris Johnson clashed in the Commons at PMQs. It was the first time they faced each other since it was confirmed ministers have dropped plans for all primary school pupils to return before the summer holidays during the coronavirus outbreak. https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-starmer-tells-pm-his-plans-to-get-more-pupils-back-to-school-lie-in-tatters-12004126 10th Jun 2020

Exit Strategies

The Guardian The governments failure to plan to get children back to school safely is absolutely astonishing and must be remedied before September Sir Michael Wilshaw the former chief inspector of schools in England has said. Wilshaw who led Ofsted from 2012 until 2016 said schools will need to put in place recovery programmes appeal to teachers to run catchup classes over the summer and even allow some of the most affected to repeat their school year. The government has been criticised by MPs from all parties and unions for lacking a coherent plan after announcing that primary schools in England would return in June before backtracking this week. There is particular annoyance after ministers revealed that zoos theme parks and outdoor cinemas would be able to open shortly on the same day as confirming that not all primary schools could get back to operation before the end of the summer term. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jun/10/ex-ofsted-chief-michael-wilshaw-failure-reopening-schools-england-astonishing-coronavirus 10th Jun 2020

Exit Strategies

Leicestershire Live Parents of pupils at Leicester primary schools which shut after a coronavirus outbreak have been told to selfisolate for 14 days. Humberstone Infants school and Humberstone Junior School have both been closed for the foreseeable future. Humberstone Academy which runs both schools took the decision after they were shut on Monday when a teacher tested positive for Covid19. The schools reopened on Tuesday but have now closed. Annemarie Williams the executive headteacher at the schools which share a site in Main Street sent an email to parents last night telling them of the decision to close. https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/leicester-parents-told-self-isolate-4213557 10th Jun 2020

Exit Strategies

DW (English) Some 4000 newseason herrings are to be delivered to German medics as thanks for treating Dutch Covid19 patients. The salty delicacies go to Mnster clinic staff who coordinated Dutch transfers to German hospitals. https://www.dw.com/en/netherlands-sends-first-herring-catch-to-german-medics-as-coronavirus-thank-you/a-53764749 10th Jun 2020

Exit Strategies

The Straits Times Malaysia will begin reopening schools from June 24 its Education Minister said yesterday as the country enters recovery mode after three months of strict curbs on movement and businesses to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Southeast Asias thirdlargest economy began lifting most coronavirus restrictions from yesterday after the government declared that the outbreak was under control. Schools will be reopened in stages beginning with students facing public examinations and equivalent international school examinations this year Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin said. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-to-reopen-schools-in-stages-from-june-24 10th Jun 2020

Exit Strategies

Financial Times Bangkok Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are roaring back to life after their coronavirusrelated partial lockdowns. Thanks to a disciplined public health response by their governments companies and people Thailand and Vietnam are now getting back to a new normal that looks suspiciously like the old one traffic jams and all. The beaches nearest to Bangkok are heaving with visitors. Vietnams schools restaurants cinemas and nightclubs are open again while football matches at stadiums packed with cheering spectators have been allowed to resume. Most Vietnamese have stopped wearing masks. While a second wave of infections is a risk here as everywhere the authorities in both countries have been encouraged by a drop in new local Covid19 infections to zero in recent weeks. https://www.ft.com/content/aa1343ad-4f45-47a8-bf36-19fc0a58b90c 10th Jun 2020

Exit Strategies

Reuters UK Poland has released its latest version of a smartphone application to help to track coronavirus outbreaks which has been adapted to address concerns about privacy the countrys digital minister said on Tuesday. Dozens of countries have launched or plan contact tracing apps using either Bluetooth or locationtracking technology to notify people quickly of possible coronavirus exposure. But the first generation of contact tracing apps rushed out in March and April raised privacy alarms. Polands latest app comes after the country lifted some restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the virus and after a few days of record high new coronavirus cases mainly due to the spread among miners. https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-poland-tech/poland-rolls-out-privacy-secure-coronavirus-tracking-app-idUKKBN23G208 9th Jun 2020

Partisan Exits

Al-Monitor Egyptian doctors have expressed anger in recent days accusing the authorities of neglecting them and failing to protect and provide them with the protective equipment they need. In response media outlets close to the government accused the doctors of treason not sacrificing for the sake of the nation and even taking part in plans by hostile foreign countries or the Muslim Brotherhood. Within one week 12 Egyptian doctors died of the novel coronavirus. On May 26 four doctors died followed by eight others in the same week leading to mass resignations by doctors at alMunira Hospital in Cairo. Since the coronavirus crisis began and up until June 1 33 doctors have died from COVID19 while 372 have tested positive for the virus. Of that number about 80 have recovered Karim Mesbah member of the Doctors Syndicate Council said in a June 2 press statement. On May 25 the syndicate issued a strongly worded statement accusing the Ministry of Health of failing to protect medical staff. https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/06/egypt-doctors-condemn-authorities-protection-coronavirus.html 10th Jun 2020

Partisan Exits

The Guardian Plans by Nigerias government to cut healthcare spending risk undermining the countrys coronavirus response and severely impacting already strained services health and transparency groups have warned. Funding for local primary healthcare services will be cut by more than 40 this year in a revised budget expected to be passed into law in the coming weeks. The proposed cuts could affect immunisations childcare maternal healthcare and family planning services. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jun/10/nigeria-to-cut-healthcare-spending-by-40-despite-coronavirus-cases-climbing 10th Jun 2020

Partisan Exits

AlJazeera Brazil on Tuesday restored detailed COVID19 data to its official national website following controversy over the removal of cumulative totals and a ruling by a Supreme Court justice that the full set of information be reinstated. The move followed days of mounting pressure from across the political spectrum and allegations the government was trying to mask the severity of the outbreak now the worlds secondlargest. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/brazil-restores-coronavirus-data-controversy-court-ruling-200610004935354.html 10th Jun 2020

Partisan Exits

The Guardian China has been accused by Brussels of running disinformation campaigns inside the European Union as the bloc set out a plan to tackle a huge wave of false facts about the coronavirus pandemic. The European commission said Russia and China were running targeted influence operations and disinformation campaigns in the EU its neighbourhood and globally. While the charge against Russia has been levelled on many occasions this is the first time the EU executive has publicly named China as a source of disinformation. French politicians were furious when a Chinese embassy website claimed in midApril at the height of Europes pandemic that care workers had abandoned their jobs leaving residents to die. The unnamed Chinese diplomat also claimed falsely that 80 French lawmakers had used a racist slur against the head of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/10/eu-says-china-behind-huge-wave-covid-19-disinformation-campaign 10th Jun 2020

Continued Lockdown

The New York Times Argentina last week extended a mandatory lockdown in Buenos Aires which accounts for the countrys highest concentration of confirmed infections. Other areas have moved to mandatory and preventive social distancing. Much of the nation had been under a shelterinplace order since March 20. The country has a commercial flight ban until Sept. 1 one of the worlds strictest travel measures during the pandemic. https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/06/09/world/americas/09reuters-health-coronavirus-argentina.html 10th Jun 2020

Continued Lockdown

The Guardian The outgoing president of Burundi has died of a sudden illness suspected by many to be Covid19. The cause of Pierre Nkurunzizas death was described as a heart attack in a government statement. The 55yearold was due to stand down in August following elections last month. It was unclear exactly when he died. A government statement said the president a keen sports enthusiast had attended a game of volleyball on Saturday but fell ill that night and was taken to hospital. The former footballers health improved on Sunday but surprisingly on morning of Monday June 8 2020 his health suddenly deteriorated and he had a heart attack. The statement described Nkurunzizas death as unexpected and asked people to remain calm. Seven days of mourning have been announced. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/09/burundi-president-dies-illness-suspected-coronavirus-pierre-nkurunziz 10th Jun 2020

Continued Lockdown

ReliefWeb Humanity Inclusion is supporting more than 2000 Venezuelans in Medelln the second largest city in Colombia in conjunction with Medelln city council. Our teams provide them with psychological support by organizing onetoone and group sessions and help them complete legal formalities to access basic services such as health care. We also organize sports and cultural activities to strengthen the social cohesion and social and cultural inclusion of Venezuelans in Medelln. Our teams run similar activities in Bogota and Barranquilla on the Atlantic coast. https://reliefweb.int/report/colombia/colombia-peru-assisting-thousands-venezuelan-refugees-amidst-covid-19 10th Jun 2020

Continued Lockdown

Xinhua The Bulgarian government on Wednesday approved the extension of a nationwide epidemic emergency until June 30 in a bid to curb the spread of COVID19. The epidemic emergency took effect on May 14 with a duration of one month replacing the state of emergency which was implemented on March 13. The implementation of antiepidemic measures has contributed to slowing down the COVID19 epidemic in the country and reducing pressure on the healthcare system the government said in a statement. The prolongation of the epidemic emergency will help slow down and limit the spread of the COVID19 epidemic by applying temporary antiepidemic measures the statement said. Meanwhile it would improve the preparedness of the health care and other systems to respond to a subsequent wave the statement said. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-06/10/c_139129189.htm 10th Jun 2020

Continued Lockdown

France 24 Nobel winner Denis Mukwege on Wednesday said he had resigned as head of a coronavirus taskforce in an eastern province of DR Congo blaming organisational problems outpaced strategy and slow testing. Mukwege a DR Congo gynaecologist who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for his work against sexual violence in war was appointed on March 30 to lead a committee in South Kivu province. Panzi Hospital where Mukwege treats abused women is also located in the province. In a statement he said there had been weaknesses in organisation and clarity between the various teams in charge of the response to the pandemic in South Kivu. We are at the start of an exponential... curve in infections and we can no longer apply a strategy that would be purely preventive Mukwege said. https://www.france24.com/en/20200610-nobel-laureate-mukwege-quits-dr-congo-covid-19-team-blasts-govt-response 10th Jun 2020

Continued Lockdown

BBC In our series of letters from African journalists Joseph Warungu captures the frustrations of Kenyans who have been pleading with the government to ease the measures taken to curb the spread of Covid19. Mr President we beg you please please set us free These are not the words of people held in detention or mandatory quarantine after being roughed up by Kenyan police for not wearing face masks. Instead it is the cry of many Kenyans who cannot stand the lockdown measures anymore. Before President Uhuru Kenyatta addressed the nation on Saturday social media had been awash with memes pleas and videos urging him to ease the lockdown measures https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-52977771 10th Jun 2020

Continued Lockdown

Financial Times The country reeling from pandemic is on track for one of the longest lockdowns in the world. There are many reasons for Perus brutal coronavirus numbers not least its informal labour force. While this is an issue across Latin America and the whole developing world it is particularly acute in Peru. The IMF says 70 per cent of employment is informal against a Latin American average of 54 per cent. Many Peruvians say they have to break lockdown to work and survive. https://www.ft.com/content/53c858cb-1c8b-4a14-bcb3-8948a5794db2 10th Jun 2020

Continued Lockdown

The New York Times New coronavirus cases in Mexico are expected to keep rising a top health official said on Tuesday even as the government pushes a gradual reopening of the economy launched at the beginning of this month. We still havent reached the maximum point Deputy Health Minister Hugo LopezGatell told a morning news conference. For several more weeks we will keep announcing there are more cases today than yesterday. His assessment was largely echoed by officials from the World Health Organization and its Pan American Health Organization during a webcast news conference later in the day. While Mexico has yet to reach peak infections they said officials should boost testing before any widescale economic reopening and stick to safety measures including social distancing. https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/06/09/world/americas/09reuters-health-coronavirus-mexico-cases.html 9th Jun 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Today Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday the coronavirus pandemic has turned out to be his worst nightmare and warned that its not over yet as 21 states across the country have seen an increase in cases. The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the nations top infectious disease expert spoke at a BIO Digital virtual healthcare conference about the continued spread of the coronavirus across the world four months into the pandemic. Like oh my goodness when is it going to end he said. It really is very complicated. So were just at almost the beginning of really understanding. Fauci called the virus highly transmissible and said that in a period of four months it has devastated the world. Thats millions and millions of infections worldwide he continued. And it isnt over yet. And its condensed in a very very small time frame. https://www.today.com/health/dr-anthony-fauci-says-coronavirus-his-worst-nightmare-isn-t-t183838 10th Jun 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

MobiHealthNews The first batch of these devices will be delivered in the latter half of this month said Vivian Balakrishnan Ministerincharge of the Smart Nation initiative. https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/asia-pacific/singapore-launch-tracetogether-token-device-covid-19-contact-tracing 10th Jun 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Irish Times The UK could have saved half the lives lost to coronavirus if it introduced lockdown a week earlier one of Boris Johnsons top scientific advisers has told MPs. Neil Ferguson whose modelling at Imperial College London persuaded the prime minister to impose a lockdown on March 23rd was giving evidence to the Commons science committee. The epidemic was doubling every three to four days before lockdown interventions were introduced. So had we introduced lockdown measures a week earlier we would have reduced the final death toll by at least a half he said. Whilst I think the measures given what we knew about this virus then in terms of its transmission and its lethality were warranted Im secondguessing at this point. Certainly had we introduced them earlier we would have seen many fewer deaths. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/uk/coronavirus-uk-could-have-halved-deaths-by-moving-a-week-earlier-1.4275910 10th Jun 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Daily Sabah The number of Egyptian doctors to have died due to COVID19 has risen to 58 as the government comes under fire for increasing infections and deaths among health care professionals. In the last 24 hours three doctors have been reported dead due to the coronavirus according to the Egyptian Medical Syndicate EMS. Egypts top medical union last month warned of a complete collapse of the countrys health system accusing the health ministry of negligence in failing to protect health care workers from the coronavirus. The syndicate is warning that the health care system could completely collapse leading to a catastrophe affecting the entire country if the ministrys negligence and lack of action toward medical staff is not rectified the Egyptian Medical Syndicate EMS said in a statement. https://www.dailysabah.com/world/africa/at-least-58-doctors-reported-dead-due-to-covid-19-in-egypt 10th Jun 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Kansas City Star Missouri health officials discovered no new coronavirus cases after two infected hairstylists served dozens of clients at a Great Clips hair salon. The SpringfieldGreene County Health Department says the incubation period has passed after the hairstylists worked on 140 people at the location in Springfield. Six coworkers also were potentially exposed. This is exciting news about the value of masking to prevent COVID19 Health Director Clay Goddard said in a news release. We are studying more closely the details of these exposures including what types of face coverings were worn and what other precautions were taken to lead to this encouraging result. https://www.kansascity.com/news/coronavirus/article243395651.html 10th Jun 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters UK European officials aim to speed up trials for coronavirus vaccines containing genetically modified organisms two EU sources told Reuters in a move that could help shots developed by companies like AstraZeneca and Johnson Johnson. The European Commission is expected to put forward the plans as early as next week. They are part of a wider EU strategy aimed at securing enough doses of a possible vaccine for the bloc as it fears lagging behind the United States and China. The reform is expected to reduce member states power to impose extra requirements on drug companies when they conduct clinical trials on medicines and vaccines containing genetically modified organisms GMOs according to the sources. In some countries like Italy and France for example treatments must receive authorisation from government environment or research departments as well as from health and drug authorities under rules that are up to 20 years old and also cover the more publicly sensitive area of GMO crops. This has long caused bottlenecks in a pharmaceutical industry that increasing relies on genetic engineering. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-eu-vaccine-exclusi/exclusive-europe-to-accelerate-trials-of-gene-engineered-covid-19-vaccines-sources-idUKKBN23H1IN 10th Jun 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters A potential COVID19 vaccine being developed by Chinese researchers showed promise in trials in monkeys triggering antibodies and raising no safety issues researchers said and a human trial with more than 1000 participants is under way. The vaccine candidate called BBIBPCorV induced highlevel neutralising antibodies that can block the virus from infecting cells in monkeys rats guinea pigs and rabbits researchers said in a paper published in online by the medical journal Cell on Saturday. These results support the further evaluation of BBIBPCorV in a clinical trial researchers said in the paper. BBIBPCorV developed by Beijing Institute of Biological Products affiliated to stateowned China National Pharmaceutical Group Sinopharm is among five candidates China is testing in humans https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-vaccine/potential-covid-19-vaccine-from-china-shows-promise-in-animal-tests-idUKKBN23H15J 10th Jun 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters UK While warmer weather typically ends the annual flu season in temperate zones climate alone has not stopped the COVID19 pandemic from sweeping any part of the globe. In fact outbreaks in hot and sunny Brazil and Egypt are growing. Still recent data about how sunlight humidity and outdoor breezes affect the virus gives some reason for optimism that summer could slow the spread. https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-summer-explainer/explainer-summer-might-slow-coronavirus-but-is-unlikely-to-stop-it-idUKKBN23H3A0 10th Jun 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters UK It is unclear how the arrival of winter in the southern hemisphere will impact the novel coronavirus the head of the World Health Organizations emergencies programme Mike Ryan said on Wednesday. We dont know how the coronavirus is going to be Ryan said during a virtual press conference. Right now we have no data to suggest that the virus will behave more aggressively or transmit more efficiently or not Ryan said adding that the impact of summers arrival in the northern hemisphere was also unclear. We cannot rely on an expectation that the season or the temperature will be the answer to the diseases spread he said. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-who-virus/impact-of-seasons-on-coronavirus-unclear-whos-ryan-says-idUKKBN23H2SL 10th Jun 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

FiercePharma Fujifilm made a massive investment in a former Biogen biologics facility in Denmark last year to help realize its global CDMO expansion plans. With that nearly 1 billion check behind it Fujifilm is shelling out an almost equally gigantic infusion to double capacity at the Danish plant. Fujifilm will dole out a whopping 928 million at a former Biogen site in Denmark it acquired in August for 890 million the Japanese drugmaker said Tuesday. The companys major capital outlay for its Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies CDMO site will dramatically expand the facilitys bulk drug manufacturing capacity finishfill capabilities and packaging output by fall 2023. Fujifilms infusion into its Denmark site comes weeks after the Japanese drugmaker agreed to set aside manufacturing space at the site for the Bill Gatesfunded COVID19 Therapeutics Accelerator. In late April Fujifilm agreed to dedicate room at the Hillerd Denmark facility and work with a selected pharmaceutical partner in supporting the swift manufacture and dedicated supply for patients with COVID19 in lowerincome countries the drugmaker said in a release. https://www.fiercepharma.com/manufacturing/fujifilm-plots-890m-infusion-at-danish-biologics-plant-to-double-production-capacity 10th Jun 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian The world stands on the brink of a food crisis worse than any seen for at least 50 years the UN has warned as it urged governments to act swiftly to avoid disaster. Better social protections for poor people are urgently needed as the looming recession following the coronavirus pandemic may put basic nutrition beyond their reach the UN secretary general Antnio Guterres said on Tuesday. Unless immediate action is taken it is increasingly clear that there is an impending global food emergency that could have longterm impacts on hundreds of millions of children and adults he said. We need to act now to avoid the worst impacts of our efforts to control the pandemic. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jun/09/world-faces-worst-food-crisis-50-years-un-coronavirus 9th Jun 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Business Insider The coronavirus survives longer on surfaces when temperatures are low and humidity is high. That could explain why New York was hit so hard while Singapore was not. https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-lifespan-on-surfaces-depends-on-temperature-humidity-2020-6?r=US&ampIR=T 9th Jun 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

NBC News Underneath all the PPE personal protective equipment these health care heroes are suffering. As scores of them work extended hours to provide care daily for suffering patients they also harbored fears about their personal health and the health of their colleagues and families. This psychological distress is compounded by coworkers who become critically ill or die. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/coronavirus-cases-have-not-gone-away-neither-has-doctors-emotional-ncna1217661 8th Jun 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters UK Brazils most populous state Sao Paulo reported a record number of COVID19 deaths for the second day running on Wednesday even as its homonymous metropolis allowed shops to resume business and prepared to reopen its malls. The state the epicenter of the pandemic in Brazil recorded 340 new deaths in the last 24 hours raising its confirmed death toll to 9862 a fourth of the countrys total fatalities the governors office said. That did not stop shoppers flocking to the 25 de Maro shopping district in Sao Paulo city where around half of the businesses were open on Wednesday. Although stores considered essential such as supermarkets and pharmacies have remained open most shops in Sao Paulo have been shut since March. Shoppers packed the streets. Stores allowed in only people wearing masks and provided alcohol gel. Some took the temperature of shoppers at the entrance. https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-brazil/brazils-biggest-cities-start-reopening-as-covid-19-surges-idUKKBN23H381 10th Jun 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

DW (English) The Iduna housing complex a forbidding concrete block located just outside Gttingens city center is where most of the newly infected people live. At the beginning of June the city of 120000 in the region of Lower Saxony reported hundreds of new infections. The outbreak was traced back to a hookah bar which should not have been open. Many of the infected are among the 700 inhabitants of the Iduna complex where a mobile testing center was quickly set up in the buildings underground parking area. Doctors and medical students conducted tests at the rate of one every three minutes. https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-in-germany-people-in-g%C3%B6ttingen-feeling-like-prisoners/a-53756887 10th Jun 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Washington Post As the number of new coronavirus cases continues to increase worldwide and more than a dozen states and Puerto Rico are recording their highest sevenday average of new cases since the pandemic began hospitalizations in at least nine states have been on the rise since Memorial Day. In Texas North and South Carolina California Oregon Arkansas Mississippi Utah and Arizona there are an increasing number of patients under supervised care since the holiday weekend because of covid19 infections. The spikes generally began in the past couple weeks and in most states are trending higher. There have been more than 7.1 million cases of covid19 officially reported worldwide including more than 405000 fatalities though the totals are likely higher. Nearly 2 million cases have been reported in the United States with more than 109000 of those fatal. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/09/coronavirus-live-updates-us/ 10th Jun 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

USA Today Experts around the country and in Arizona are raising alarms about the states COVID19 situation because cases and hospitalizations have increased for the past two weeks. The increase in cases cant solely be attributed to increased testing in Arizona experts say. Instead it looks like the state is trending upward in a way that is concerning and could need another stayathome order to curb the spread. I would go so far as to say alarming said Dr. William Hanage an epidemiology professor at Harvard Universitys T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The only sort of crumb of comfort that I can find is that I think in general its sort of easier to social distance in Arizona than it is in some places. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/10/arizona-coronavirus-cases-hospitalizations-increase-after-reopening/5332572002/ 10th Jun 2020

New Lockdown

CNN Health experts have long warned about a second peak in Covid19 and now a rise in cases has pushed Arizona to tell its hospitals to activate emergency plans. Arizona is one of the 19 states with the trend of new coronavirus cases still increasing. While 22 are trending downward trends in nine states are holding steady. Nationally more than 1.9 million people have been infected by the virus and more than 112000 have died according to data from Johns Hopkins University. At its peak Arizonas intensive care unit beds were 78 in use. As of Monday 76 were occupied. Arizonas Director of Health Services Dr. Cara Christ asked that hospitals be judicious in elective surgeries to ensure bed capacity. We know Covid19 is still in our community and we expect to see increased cases the Arizona Department of Health Services tweeted Tuesday night. https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/10/health/us-coronavirus-wednesday/index.html 10th Jun 2020