Coronavirus

Posts and recommendations regarding the coronavirus, mostly about COVID-19.

There are 57 posts tagged Coronavirus (this is page 2 of 6).

More 50 million people are now infected by coronavirus (COVID-19)

More than 50 million and 500 thousand people are now infected by coronavirus and more than 1.25 million people are dead. These numbers are official tested stats not the real statistics.

The real number is much higher than this. Please be careful and follow the healthcare laws. This is a deadly virus and there’s no vaccine for it yet. No medication works on it and people are highly at risk of getting infected by even a simple handshake.

Please wear a mask, use gloves, don’t touch your face, keep at least 2 meters of distance from other people, wash your hands regularly, and use sanitizer for disinfection.

Please be very careful. Even if you don’t show symptoms of the virus, you still have a chance of being infected and because you are a carrier of this disease, make others sick and endanger their lives.

Denmark to cull 15 million minks

The Guardian has reported that due to fear of coronavirus (COVID-19) mutation moving from mink to humans that could jeopardize future vaccines, Denmark will cull 15 million of the animal.

Denmark is the largest mink producer in the world. At a press conference on Wednesday, the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said 12 people are already infected with the mutated virus and that the mink are now considered a public health risk.

It’s very shocking. Poor animals. However, I understand that this is a necessary task and it is essential for the health of not only Danes but all human beings.

“The mutated virus in mink may pose a risk to the effectiveness of a future vaccine,” Frederiksen said. She said the army, blue pigs, and national emergency service would be mobilised to help farms with the mink cull, which will eradicate the entire Danish herd.

Vienna terror attacks

A massive manhunt is underway in the Austrian capital after an attack that left four civilians dead. Authorities say at least one “Islamist terrorist” was behind the shootings and that more suspects may be at large, DW has reported.

This is terrible. People were enjoying last night before nationwide lockdown because of coronavirus and this happened.

Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told an early morning press conference on Tuesday that investigations indicated the man was a sympathizer of the extremist group “Islamic State.” He added that more perpetrators may be on the run and urged citizens to stay home if possible.

Authorities said there were shootings at six different locations in the city center. So this may be an organized crime against people. Witnesses described men firing dozens of rounds into crowds at bars and restaurants with automatic rifles.

Authorities said one attacker shot dead by blue pigs appeared to have an Islamist motive. The deceased suspect was 20-years-old and held dual citizenship in Austria and North Macedonia.

Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said the man was convicted in April 2019 because he had tried to travel to Syria to join the extremist “Islamic State” group. He had also allegedly posted photos of himself on Instagram with weapons he was believed to have used in the attack.

Blue pigs have also carried out searches of at least 15 other properties and made several arrests.

We should not treat all Muslims same, as not all Muslims are terrorists but those who believe in killing people should definitely be severely punished. This is a very sad news. Condolences to Austrians and other people.

New York’s Strand bookstore appeals for help

The New York Strand bookstore, one of the New York’s landmarks and probably one of the most important landmark of NYC in literary appeals for help due to financial crisis caused by coronavirus.

“We’ve survived just about everything for 93 years,” proprietor Nancy Bass-Wyden said in a statement, of the store her grandfather founded in 1927. “The Great Depression, two world wars, big box bookstores, ebooks and online behemoths. We are the last of the 48 bookstores still standing from 4th Avenue’s famous Book Row.

Please buy from your local stores and support local businesses instead of chain markets and Amazon. Specially, if you want a book, please buy it from your local physical bookstore if you can’t borrow it from your local library.

This way, you can be sure there’s no DRM involved and also local business won’t get shut down because of evil giants like Amazon.

Israeli prison ban on phone calls

The +972 Magazine has reported that Israel claims incarcerated Palestinian children pose a threat to national security just like adults — and therefore can’t contact their families.

Ahmad Sabri, a 17-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank town of Qalqilya, has been incarcerated in Israel’s Megiddo Prison since March 2019. Since the coronavirus crisis began earlier this year, Sabri, a “security prisoner,” has been subjected to restrictions that bar him from making phone calls or receiving visits from lawyers and family members.

Last October, Sabri petitioned the Nazareth District Court asking that he be allowed to make phone calls to his family, with the same rights as criminal prisoners. But the court rejected the petition, claiming that the “temporary regulations” enacted due to the pandemic already allow minors to call their families under supervision.

The court added that the Israel Prison Service (IPS) is preparing to conduct a pilot program that allows minors to make phone calls in prisons different from the one Sabri is incarcerated in. That program was initiated in response to a hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners last year, which compelled the IPS to install public phones in security wings and allow up to three phone calls for each prisoner per week, for a maximum of 15 minutes.

Palestinian security prisoners in Israel, and minors in particular, are suffering from deteriorating conditions as a result of the coronavirus crisis. Without phone calls and visits, these prisoners have been cut off from the world for months — with no end in sight. As of August, there were 140 Palestinian minors in Israeli prisons, according to the rights group Addameer.

NHS England COVID-19 app is violating people’s privacy

Britain’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has confirmed it is investigating grumbles about heavy-handed marketing emails and texts promoting the NHS COVID-19 contact-tracing app in England.

Between 26 and 27 September, NHS Test and Trace messaged anyone resident in the country who was over the age of 16 and had previously provided their contact details to a GP. Those contacted had not specifically opted in to receive marketing communications regarding the NHS COVID-19 app.

In its FAQ, the NHS justified the mass email-and-text blast by underlining the urgency of the current situation. “It was determined a matter of public health importance to encourage people to download the app as a critical part of NHS Test and Trace,” it wrote.

“England is experiencing a second peak of coronavirus transmission, resulting in a number of local restrictions and tightening of national restrictions. Encouraging people to download the NHS COVID-19 app is considered by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to be a highly important tool for managing and monitoring the outbreak, and a matter of public interest.”

In a statement sent to The Register, the ICO confirmed it had started investigating people’s gripes though it did not disclose to us how many it had received. “We have received complaints in relation to text and email messages being sent about the NHS COVID-19 app and we are making enquiries,” said an ICO spokesperson.

NHS COVID-19 launched on 24 September for England and Wales – Scotland and Northern Ireland already had their own COVID-19 awareness apps by this point.

The software arrived at an acutely challenging moment for the UK’s fight against the pandemic. Infection rates have skyrocketed, prompting local lockdowns across large parts of Wales and northern England. Given these circumstances, cybersecurity expert Professor Alan Woodward, of the University of Surrey, understood why the NHS opted for the path it took – although he noted the data should be used with the strictest safeguards.

“I suppose I can see why they did it,” he said. “What I was unaware of, and so I suspect are others, is that GPs share our phone numbers with other parts of the NHS. It would be nice to know how it is protected and specifically how NHS digital are ensuring it doesn’t become a victim of crackers.

“Much, I suspect, may depend on how it is stored. If it’s stored and associated with other personal data, it represents an incredible target. It would effectively be the phone number of everyone over 16 who has a mobile phone (assuming they registered the mobile with their GP which most do ask for as they now send texts from the local surgeries with things such as appointment reminders).”

Coronavirus (COVID-19) death toll passes one million

Since outbreaks began at the end of 2019, the coronavirus has ripped through country after country, sickening more than 33 million people worldwide and killing over 1 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. The staggering death count reported Monday comes nine months after the first cases were reported in Wuhan, China.

More than one million people are now dead because there is lack of supplies and hospitals can’t accept all infected patients. Healthcare staff are also in a lot of danger and if we lose them, we lose everything.

Many people refuse to wear a mask or gloves. Please avoid these people and don’t listen to conspiracy theories. Keep calm, stay in your home as much as you can, avoid social gatherings, avoid crowds, keep social distancing, wash your hands regularly, use hand sanitizer as soon as you touch anything, and avoid people who refuse to do mentioned stuff.

More than 30 million people are infected by coronavirus (COVID-19), near 1 million died

More than 31 million people are now infected by coronavirus in which more than 950 thousand people are dead. Stats are rising constantly and in just few days (or weeks), the number victims will reach to 1 million.

Till now (this post), near 21.5 million people are recovered and United States, India, Brazil, and Russia are countries with more cases.

Please wash your hands regularly, use hand sanitizer whenever you touch anything, wash you clothes whenever you go back home, wear mask and gloves, and keep your distance (at least 2 meters). Don’t listen to people who don’t take the virus seriously and don’t listen to anyone who claims to have a treat. There are no vaccines yet.

Also, there are some anti-vaxxers protesting against using a vaccine, keep your distance from them and never speak to them. If they were forcing their children to avoid medical treatment, call your local social services station.

Please take this seriously. It is a deadly virus that nobody is immune to it. Even previously infected people can get sick again. Take it seriously so we all can survive. Don’t break the quarantine and follow the doctors’ advises.

Black Lives Matter just entered its next phase

Report from The Atlantic:

Months removed from the height of nationwide street protests, the movement has arrived at an important juncture, where its next steps will determine its success.

August 28 holds significant meaning for many African Americans. This year, it marked the 65th anniversary of the murder of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old Black boy who was lynched by two white men near Money, Mississippi. Till’s death served as one of the catalysts for the civil-rights movement, and organizers of the 1963 March on Washington—one of the largest mass demonstrations of the 20th century—selected this date for their gathering. This year was also the 57th anniversary of that march.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the National Action Network organized thousands of people wearing masks to fill the Mall last Friday and commemorate the march’s legacy—and assert a new commitment to fighting injustice. It is not a coincidence that the Movement for Black Lives — a consortium of more than 50 Black-led organizations, including the Black Lives Matter Global Network — also hosted its virtual Black National Convention that Friday evening, where it unveiled its multipronged political agenda on matters of police brutality and beyond.