Category Archives: Around the World

Helpful or harmful?

Ein einfaches Beatmungsgerät bauen? Das geht!. “Kreativität ist in Krisen besonders wichtig. Physiker an der Marburger Universität sind auf die Idee gekommen, Geräte aus der Schnarch-Therapie so aufzurüsten, dass damit Corona-Patienten weltweit beatmet werden können.”

The Breathing Project hat allerdings nach eigenen Angaben noch keine Zulassung für ihr medizintechnisches Produkt.

NPR: CPAP Machines Were Seen As Ventilator Alternatives, But Could Spread COVID-19.

“Gerät für Arztpraxen und Krankenhäuser”

Deutsche Welle: Bosch stellt Coronavirus-Schnelltest vor. “Weltweit wird derzeit mit Hochdruck an einem Schnelltest auf das neuartige Coronavirus geforscht. Der deutsche Technologiekonzern Bosch meldet nun einen ersten Erfolg.”

“Bislang beträgt die reine Testzeit laut Robert Koch-Institut (RKI) etwa vier bis fünf Stunden. Allerdings kann es zwischen Probenentnahme und Ergebnismitteilung dauern, auch weil die Tests oft von externen Laboren gemacht werden. Der Bosch-Test soll auch direkt in Arztpraxen oder Krankenhäusern durchgeführt werden können.

Das Analysegerät ist den Angaben zufolge bereits erhältlich, die Testkartuschen für den Sars-CoV-2-Virus sollen ab April zunächst in Deutschland und danach dann auch in anderen Ländern verfügbar sein. Die jeweils erforderlichen Zulassungen stehen einem Sprecher zufolge noch aus. Laut Bosch hat der neue Test auf Sars-CoV-2 eine “Genauigkeit von über 95 Prozent” und erfüllt die Qualitätsstandards der Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO).”

“Look to your backyard and recreate there“

The Washington Post: Thousands are crowding into free national parks. And workers are terrified of coronavirus.. “A park ranger at Grand Canyon National Park had 600 close contacts with visitors in a single day, greatly increasing his exposure to infection, according to a staff member at the attraction.”

“Two days before he cursed a supervisor and quit the National Park Service job he loved, Dustin Stone arrived to work in a foul mood. A decision by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to keep national park sites open despite the coronavirus outbreak left him angry and in disbelief.
The virus hasn’t reached Skagway, a tiny town on the Alaskan panhandle where Stone lives and worked at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. But if it does, he said, it could be a disaster. “I’ve lived here year-round through eight flu seasons, and I’ve seen how quickly an infection can spread,“ he said. “When one of us gets sick, most of us get sick.“ There’s no full-time doctor and no hospital in Skagway. A single community health clinic has a registered nurse and assistants.
[…]
“This is a political game being played with people’s lives by leadership at the highest levels of the Department of Interior, and, I believe, the White House,“ Stone said. “President Trump is the one who announced the fee waiver. I don’t think he knows what a national park is. I would be so surprised if Donald Trump ever set foot in a national park.“ “

Coronavirus: The Hammer and the Dance

Tomas Pueyo: Coronavirus: The Hammer and the Dance. “What the Next 18 Months Can Look Like, if Leaders Buy Us Time”. (March 19, 2020)

Here’s the Epidemic Calculator that is being used in the article.

Older article by the same author: Coronavirus: Why You Must Act Now. “Politicians, Community Leaders and Business Leaders: What Should You Do and When?” (March 10, 2020)

Deutsche Übersetzung: Coronavirus: Warum du jetzt handeln musst!.

Here in Germany all schools and daycare facilities have been closed for one week already and will remain so for at least the next four weeks.

Our state and our county have issued a general decree, imposing the following rules starting last night at midnight: All public places are closed, including roads. People are not allowed to leave their houses except to go to work, or to the doctor, or to shop for essential groceries. Gatherings of more than five people are prohibited. However, you are still allowed to go for walks by yourself or with people living in your own household if you keep at least two metres (six feet) of distance to other people. The decree is in effect for at least two weeks. (Our county shares a border with the Grand-Est region of France to the South, which has been declared an international risk area.)