We did it to ourselves: scientist says intrusion into nature led to pandemic

We did it to ourselves: scientist says intrusion into nature led to pandemic

The strange, lovely sight of clear skies in India amid COVID-19 gloom

CANBERRA: Almost immediately after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced there would be an almost month-long lockdown across the country from Mar 24 to help stymie the spread of COVID-19, the clouds started to clear.

For the first time in years, residents of New Delhi – usually ranking in the top five most polluted cities in the world – woke up to blue skies over the city, rather than its usual murky toxic pea soup. Instead of the usual traffic noise and endless tooting of horns, people could hear birds from their inner-city balconies: Bulbuls, kites, and, at dusk, even peacocks.

Millions of cars on the roads, combined with belching exhaust fumes from manufacturing facilities, added to the haze from burning crop stubble – all this has meant air quality in Indian cities is off-the-charts awful. In between sucking in great gulps of fresh air classed as only “moderately unhealthy”, rather than the usual “hazardous” level, Indians have spent the past few weeks endlessly posting photos of blue skies and car-free streets to social media.

Independent monitoring bodies announced that levels of PM 2.5 – the dangerous one that gets lodged in people’s lungs and intestines – fell by up to 70 per cent in the first week.

China to give WHO US$30 million more after US freezes funds

Source: Channel News Asia

BEIJING: China announced on Thursday (Apr 23) it will give another US$30 million to the World Health Organization to help in the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic, days after Washington said it would freeze funding.

The US, which is the WHO's biggest contributor, accused the organisation last week of "mismanaging" the COVID-19 crisis, drawing ire from Beijing as both countries spar over the deadly virus.

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the new donation would be in addition to a previous US$20 million committed, and would help "strengthen developing countries' health systems".

He added that China's contribution to the UN agency "reflects the support and trust of the Chinese government and people for the WHO".

Read more: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/coronavirus-covid-19-china-who-us-freeze-funding-12670368

Think things are bad for airlines? It's about to get worse

Source: AP News

The biggest and most profitable U.S. airline just posted its first quarterly loss in more than five years. Now things are going to get really bad.

Delta Air Lines Inc. reported Wednesday that it lost $534 million in the first three months of the year, when it suffered a glancing blow from the coronavirus pandemic during March.

The percentage of seats sold on U.S. airline flights dropped from 80.2% in January to 13.1% in the week of April 13-19, according to Airlines for America. That includes both domestic and international flights.

Demand for future air travel in the U.S. was down 98.4% in the second week of April compared with a year earlier, according to the industry trade group.

Read more: https://apnews.com/addf5ea5793c9ea24af60d3a2b5262fa

Georgia health board asks Kemp to reconsider opening of businesses

Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Macon-Bibb County Board of Health voted unanimously Wednesday to request that Gov. Brian Kemp rescind his order to open businesses including barbershops, spas, tattoo parlors and salons. The South Georgia health board met Wednesday to discuss the governor’s decision, which has been met with mixed reactions.

Health experts and several Georgia mayors have responded with concern about the swift reopening of thousands of businesses in Georgia. Some of Kemp’s conservative supporters have praised the move to usher in the reopening of the economy, which has suffered in the wake of COVID-19.

In addition to the quickness of businesses opening, Macon-Bibb Commissioner Elaine Lucas also said the decision should be reversed because it will be difficult to monitor whether businesses that reopen are following safety guidelines.

“I just don’t see how it is possible to monitor any of these places that are reopening,” she said.

Read more: https://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-health-board-asks-kemp-reconsider-opening-businesses/bscmmrJBxcezyNV6MwW8eK/

Animals take to the streets amid lockdown - in pictures

The goats normally live on the rocky Great Orme but are occasional visitors to the seaside town, but a local councillor told the BBC that the herd was drawn this time by the lack of people and tourists

Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Another good article on CV antibody tests and CV immunity.

People who think they’ve been exposed to the novel coronavirus are clamoring for antibody tests — blood screens that can detect who has previously been infected and, the hope is, signal who is protected from another case of Covid-19.

But as the tests roll out, some experts are trying to inject a bit of restraint into the excitement that the results of these tests could, for example, clear people to get back to work. Some antibody tests have not been validated, they warn. Even those that have been can still provide false results. And an accurate positive test may be hard to interpret: the virus is so new that researchers cannot say for sure what sort of results will signal immunity or how long that armor will last.

They caution that policymakers may be making sweeping economic and social decisions — plans to reopen businesses or schools, for example — based on limited data, assumptions, and what’s known about other viruses. President Trump last week unveiled a three-phased approach to reopen the country; he said some states that have seen declining case counts could start easing social distancing requirements immediately. And some authorities have raised the idea of granting “immunity passports” to people who recover from the virus to allow them to return to daily life without restrictions.

“Before we embark on huge policy decisions, like issuing immunity certificates to get people back to work, I think it’s good that people are saying, ‘Hold up, we don’t know that much about immunity to this virus,’” said Angela Rasmussen, a Columbia University virologist.

Officer wants people to take COVID-19 seriously after his battle with the virus

TAMPA, Fla — Tampa Police Officer Trevarris Saulsberry thought it was something that couldn't happen to him. But then he became the first officer in his department to test positive for COVID-19. Saulsberry said he remembers getting really sick in Costco and needing to go home and lay down. Saulsberry remembers telling his girlfriend to keep herself and his 4-year-old son away from him because he wasn't sure what was making him so sick. After being in pain for days, Saulsberry said he went to the hospital.

"They told me as a precaution they were going to give me a coronavirus test. I said, 'okay, but I know I don't have coronavirus,'" Saulsberry explained. Seven days later he got the results back and they were positive. About 15 days later, he was tested again and the results were still positive. Saulsberry wasn't sure how the test was positive because he said he was mostly starting to feel fine again.

"When I tell you I was in the fetal position for seven days, I was in the fetal position for seven days-- no exaggeration. I don't want that to be taken lightly," Saulsberry explained. He was out of work for more than a month as he battled the virus.

"Before this, I was joking about it," Saulsberry said. Now, he wants people to take it seriously.

Tom Brady ejected from Fla. park closed due to coronavirus pandemic

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Six Super Bowl rings may get you special treatment in a lot of places but former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady learned Monday that it won’t get you anything when you’re caught working out in a park that is closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said during a news briefing Monday that the new Buccaneers quarterback was spotted working out by himself at a park downtown by staff patrol.

The staffer went over to tell him he had to leave and she recognized the man to be the 42-year-old Brady. "He's been sighted," Castor said.

The City of Tampa tweeted from its page Monday, "Sorry @TomBrady! Our @tampaparksrec team can't wait to welcome you and our entire community back with even bigger smiles — until then, stay safe and stay home as much as you can to help flatten the curve."