"Connecting Communities for COVID19 News" 3rd Jun 2020
Isolation Tips
How will the UK's new 14-day coronavirus quarantine work?
All international arrivals into the UK, including returning British residents, will be required to self-isolate for 14 days. They will be required to fill in a contact locator form with contact and travel information so they can be reached if they, or someone they may have been in contact with, develops coronavirus. The exemptions list includes road haulage workers, a registered health or care professional travelling to the UK to provide essential healthcare and Eurotunnel drivers.
Mental health challenge amid coronavirus is 'a crisis on top of a crisis': American Medical Association President
In a newly released interview, American Medical Association President Patrice Harris says that the coronavirus outbreak has exacerbated mental health challenges nationwide that predated the uncertainty and self-isolation that have accompanied the pandemic, calling the already-difficult situation made worse a “crisis on top of a crisis.” ‘We were having an increase of adolescents and adults who were experiencing anxiety. I have seen an increase in, unfortunately, the number of suicides and suicide attempts in adolescence,” she says. “That was pre-COVID.”
Coronavirus: Effects of loneliness in children could last up to nine years
Children who have experienced long periods of loneliness are three times more likely to suffer from depression in years to come, according to a review looking into the long-term mental health impacts of lockdown.
Hygiene Helpers
Elevator etiquette in 9 easy steps for returning to the workplace
More specifically, workers want to know whether they can really be safe in an elevator, and building owners want to know whether they get elevator capacity to more than one person at a time. Fortunately, the answer to both is, “Yes.” While it is true that elevators are a challenging environment to manage risk in — small volume, lots of people, can’t fully physically distance — we have to remember that our overall exposure and risk is a function of three things: intensity, frequency and duration.
5 major coronavirus-driven changes to cash and retail in the U.K.
The global coronavirus outbreak has up-ended daily life for many consumers, including where they shop and how they pay for things. The U.K. is no exception, as issues of health and hygiene have now been introduced as important factors when it comes to both planned and impulse shopping. “Human behavior is incredibly hard to change, often requiring time and resources to make it happen. It’s rare to get something to force drastic change, yet that’s what we have with the pandemic," said Vidya Peters, chief marketing officer at Marqeta.
Coronavirus: Passengers to be banned from front seat of Grab car; have to declare health and hygiene status
Commuters looking to book trips with ride-hailing firm Grab will soon be banned from sitting in the front seat of the vehicle alongside the driver. They will also have to fill in health and hygiene declarations before each trip. These are among a series of precautionary measures the firm is introducing from end-June amid the coronavirus pandemic, Grab said on Tuesday (June 2).
Standing three feet apart and wearing a mask cut coronavirus transmission risks by up to 80 percent
Researchers looked at 172 observational studies on the benefits of social distancing, face masks and eye gear against COVID-19, SARS and MERS.
Standing at least three feet lowered the risk of virus transmission, but standing six feet away cut the risk by half. Not wearing an eye covering increased the risk infection by 2.5-fold and not wearing a mask increased the risk six-fold
Even when all three are used together, the team says none offer complete protection and that other measures. such as hand hygiene, are vital
Rigorous Hand-Washing Will Be Part of Covid-19's New Normal
The simplest hygiene tasks are the toughest to maintain—take it from the health care experts who have advice about how to make the habit stick.
Robot enforces health measures as South Korea relaxes social distancing
SK Telecom and Omrom Electronics have demonstrated an autonomous robot which is capable of helping encourage public health measures by taking bodily temperatures, dispensing hand sanitiser and disinfecting its surroundings.
Community Activities
Coronavirus isolated them in their rooms. Now, old-age home residents reconnect by spinning Elvis on the radio.
On Radio Recliner, a new online radio station, the DJs are elderly folks who have spent the past two months stuck in their rooms, meals delivered to their doors, activities canceled, their relatives relegated to waving through a window, at best. At a time of great fear and risk — old-age home residents make up about 40 percent of the nation’s deaths from the virus — the disc jockeys get to tell stories of better times as they spin their favorite tunes, from Elvis and ’40s big band tunes to ’60s rock (including the hard stuff) and a whole lot of love songs.
Coronavirus in Ireland – Dublin hotel and charity team up to provide 100s of hot meals to elderly living in isolation
A Dublin hotel and a charity have been working together to deliver 100 hot meals a day to elderly people since March. The Bonnington Hotel teamed up with the charity Friends of the Elderly Ireland to deliver hot dinners to elderly people across North Dublin.
Working Remotely
As coronavirus shakes up the future of work, how much is it fast-tracking what was already in motion?
Financial and social considerations deemed impossible by companies are suddenly unquestionable needs. As employees, we are also finally being seen as human beings too, and as a result employers are taking our mental health seriously.
With the blurring of our home and work spaces, we too feel a greater need to preserve our health.
Office culture is fading due to remote work during the coronavirus lockdown
Online events are not enough to keep people connected to their colleagues at work, according to a new small survey. Sixty-three percent of people who took the Clutch survey said they spend less time socializing with colleagues since the COVID-19 shutdown started. On a positive note, 52% of workers said managers are just as available now as they were during regular office operations.
In isolation, coronavirus positive doctor in Aligarh continues to treat patients and train staff virtually
A doctor at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College who has been quarantined after he tested positive for coronavirus, is using his telemedicine to offer medical advice to his patients who are under his treatment.
Remote Work's Time Has Come
Technological change means that working from home won’t disappear when the virus does.
Virtual Classrooms
It Was a Bumpy Ride, But Virtual Schooling During the Coronavirus Boosted Teachers' Tech Skills
With the help of co-teacher and tech innovator Amanda Legge, Binns has worked her way through. On a video call with Legge and Education Week, Binns described how she now films herself doing math problems, uploads them to YouTube, and posts them to Google Classroom. “I’m so proud of you!” Legge told her, smiling.
For Binns, the growth feels significant. “This has made me have to spread my wings and be willing to make a mistake, and be willing to push the button and know that the computer is not going to explode,” she said. “It’s helped me a lot to be more confident.”
6 Lessons Kansas Teachers Learned When The Coronavirus Pushed Classes Online
Educators say there was a silver lining when Kansas schools and campuses had to shut down because of the coronavirus: It was a chance to learn how to do remote learning right. Now with college finals submitted and most K-12 schools in summer vacation mode, educators are reflecting on those two months of online teaching, especially knowing that some universities will have to do it again come fall (Wichita State plans online-only instruction after Thanksgiving). Here are six things that Kansas professors and teachers say they’ve learned outside of the physical classroom.
Public Policies
Coronavirus: British embassy in Czech Republic warns expats that UK is ‘high risk’ destination for Covid-19
Get one free Independent Premium article a week, comment on articles, receive personalised newsletters, be the first to hear about exclusive events and more The British Embassy in Prague has warned expats that the UK is a “high risk” destination for coronavirus after the Czech Republic announced plans to allow travel to European countries.
Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia orders two-metre distancing, isolation rooms in malls
As Saudi Arabia moved to phase 2 of the gradual easing of coronavirus curfew regulations in place from May 31 to June 20, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs has emphasised the need to strictly comply with precautionary measures and preventive protocols at retail and wholesale stores, commercial centres and malls in Kingdom. As per the regulations, shoppers must maintain a two-metre distance from each other, with rooms for instant isolation of suspected cases to be arranged in malls. Trying on clothes or testing perfume are forbidden.
How Iceland Beat the Coronavirus
The country didn’t just manage to flatten the curve; it virtually eliminated it.
Timely screening, isolation helped U.S. Air Force base contain coronavirus
Measures taken at a U.S. Air Force base in Texas to curb the spread of the coronavirus resulted less than one percent of its population becoming infected over seven weeks between March and April, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday. Timely screening, rapid isolation of suspected cases and social distancing enforced at the Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland helped keep COVID-19 cases low despite the presence of more than 10,000 trainees from across the country living and training together, according to the study published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Tough new rules to lock down whole towns to rapidly isolate new COVID-19 sufferers
The Sun warns that some towns could face isolated lockdown measures if there are regional flare-ups, as Boris Johnson announced the Government’s crucial new ‘track and trace’ programme this week. Parts of towns, individual schools, businesses or workplaces may be closed according to Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick, who explained that the system will work ‘on a micro level’, as the Government are ‘trying to judge if there are flare ups in particular places’.
Boris Johnson 'told Italy’s president' he wanted 'herd immunity' to defeat coronavirus, TV documentary reveals
Boris Johnson told Italy’s president he was aiming for “herd immunity” to defeat coronavirus, an explosive TV documentary has revealed, despite No 10 denying that was ever the policy. The Italian health minister has undermined the government’s repeated denials by recounting a conversation between the two leaders on 13 March, as the pandemic neared its peak. “I spoke with [Giuseppe] Conte to tell President Conte that I’d tested positive [for coronavirus].” Pierpaolo Sileri told Channel 4’s Dispatches.
Number 10 says the two-metre rule IS staying despite calls for it to be halved to boost economy - as environmental health body warns keeping the current distancing rule is vital
The new research will add to the clamour for Britain's two-metre to be relaxed. Odds of catching coronavirus standing 1m away from infected patient is 2.6%. This means the disease would be spread to fewer than three out of 100 people.
Standing 2m apart was slightly better at preventing transmission - a risk of 1.3%. But the review of evidence added that nothing can provide complete protection
NHS Highland backs coronavirus app for care homes
NHS Highland has backed plans to test a mobile app using mesh technology to fight the spread of Covid-19 and other viruses. The Scottish health board’s collaboration partner, Highland Health Ventures (HHVL), has signed an agreement with Cambridge based technology company Wyld Networks to test the use of the app in Scottish care homes.
Maintaining Services
Coronavirus: UK banks draw up £15 billion support fund for small businesses struggling under lockdown
Small firms today welcomed a £15 billion support fund backed by UK banks to aid businesses struggling with debts. The Business Growth Fund was founded in 2011 by big banks including Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds, and is run by former JP Morgan banker Stephen Welton. Welton warns that a large number of businesses will fail in the fallout from Covid-19 and that unless there is some degree of debt flexibility an economic crisis could turn into a banking crisis.
Remote working: How cities might change if we worked from home more
Major tech companies say they are open to their staff working from home permanently. Employees are coming to realise remote working is not only possible but, in some cases, preferable. A shift to a new way of working might already be under way. Such a shift could have profound implications on our home life, and by extension on the life of our towns and cities: almost a quarter of all office space in England and Wales is in central London alone. To understand those implications, we brought together four experts on city life, all of whom were working from home.
First NZ film resumes shooting again after lockdown
Poppy has become the first feature film to resume shooting in New Zealand since the Covid-19 lockdown. The local drama tells the story of a young woman with Down syndrome who refuses to be defined by her disability and decides to take control of her life. The film was three hours into the final week of shooting when the Level 4 lockdown announcement was made. Shooting restarted on Friday at a private location on the Kāpiti Coast and is expected to take six days to wrap.
Shooting on period film resumes in Paris as lockdown eases in France
Shooting has resumed in Paris as Montmartre was transformed for a period movie amid the coronavirus lockdown. As restrictions ease in France, film crews were spotted getting straight back to work setting up for a new movie. The crew donned facemasks to ensure safety of everyone working in close proximity. Although it is unknown what the exact movie is being filmed, it is believed to be set in the 1940s.
Filming on 'The Batman' and more set to recommence with new UK COVID-19 guidelines
Filming of TV shows and movies in the UK is set to recommence, with the publishing of new guidelines published by the British Film Commission.
Healthcare Innovations
COVID-19 disrupting vital healthcare services globally, WHO warns
COVID-19 has disrupted vital healthcare services in more than half of countries recently surveyed by the World Health Organization (WHO), and low-income nations are among the worst hit. The survey of 155 countries found that 53% now have partially or completely disrupted services for hypertension treatment, with diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular treatments impacted in 49%, 42% and 31% respectively. Services for these non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are included in the COVID-19 response and preparedness plans of 72% of high-income countries, but the same can only be said for 42% of low-income ones.
Fauci is 'optimistic' Moderna's coronavirus vaccine will work - despite criticism that early trials were 'over-hyped' to pad the pockets of execs
Dr Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that he is 'cautiously optimistic' that the US will have an effective coronavirus vaccine 'within a reasonable period of time.'
Speaking at a Wall Street Journal Tech Health Conference, Fauci said his chief concern is that it's not clear how long vaccine protection will last. At least 124 vaccine candidates are being developed worldwide. Fauci expressed particular optimism about the Moderna vaccine that the NIH is helping to develop
Moderna's vaccine showed promising early results last week, but the economic and medical experts have criticised the data as 'over-hyped'
King’s College London starts Coronavirus symptoms app study
Now, an app developed by King's College London and technology company Zoe is being used to conduct one of the world’s largest studies into the symptoms and spread of coronavirus. Unrelated to the NHS track and trace app, the King's College Covid Symptom Study app tracks symptoms of the disease, and has so far been downloaded by over three million smartphone users in the UK.
Strong public health response in China slowed coronavirus transmission, study finds
Swift isolation and quarantine policies as well as city lockdowns imposed by the Chinese government in late January 2020 significantly decreased the transmission rate of COVID-19, new research led by the Yale School of Public Health finds.
What have we learned about preparing for pandemics to come?
Pandemics like COVID-19 are set to become part of our new normal. We have to learn how to respond to future outbreaks effectively and with the least economic damage. Active strategies and well-resourced healthcare organizations should be the cornerstones of any future pandemic response.
Death rates for UK ethnic minorities up to double that of whites
Black and minority ethnic groups in England are up to twice as likely to die of coronavirus than their white counterparts, according to a report published by a government agency. Public Health England found the largest disparity in Covid-related deaths was age, with people aged 80 or older 70 times more likely to die than those aged under 40. The agency also concluded that being male was a “significant risk factor”; working-age men had been twice as likely to die from the virus as women.
Study in Chinese doctors shows mental toll of caring in the time of COVID-19
Rigorous study shows depression and anxiety symptoms worsened among medical residents in Shanghai, and fear of workplace violence doubled, in early 2020
Deutsche Bahn's Medibus is a mobile laboratory in the battle against COVID-19
Deutsche Bahn’s Medibuses are currently being used in a large-scale study by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) into the COVID-19 distribution in Germany. By using the Medibuses, researchers and physicians have access to high-quality laboratory environments, which can also be flexibly deployed at various locations. The buses were built by VDL Bus & Coach. The main objectives of the so-called ‘Corona-Monitoring local’ study are to map the virus spread and to obtain a more complete picture of the number of unreported coronary events. A total of 8,000 citizens from four different areas in Germany are investigated.
COVID-19 provides opportunity for digital innovation in diabetes care
A new report has highlighted how COVID-19 is an opportunity for digital innovation in diabetes care.As the pandemic forces healthcare systems across the globe to respond rapidly to the crisis, many are adopting digital solutions such as digital medicine products, telehealth, and remote monitoring. A new report, published by IQVIA, has now highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic is also an opportunity to transform diabetes care with digital innovation.
