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Wuhan Ends Lockdown, Health Workers Worldwide Under Strain After 76 days in lockdown, the Chinese city where the coronavirus first appeared has reopened. Tens of thousands of people immediately left Wuhan on trains and planes.
“I haven’t been outside for more than 70 days,” said Wuhan local Tong Zhengkun. “Being indoors for so long drove me crazy.”
The city had most of China’s 82,000 reported cases of COVID-19, as well as most of the country’s 3,300 reported deaths.
In other countries around the world, the economic, political and emotional effects of fighting the virus grow more worrisome.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent another night in intensive care. The 55-year-old Johnson is the first major world leader confirmed to have COVID-19. He is recovering, his spokesman said.
In the American state of New York, the number of deaths has risen to 5,500. The state recorded 731 new coronavirus deaths on Tuesday.
More than 4,000 of the state’s deaths so far have come from New York City. The city’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, said Wednesday that the real number of deaths in the city may be higher. The number does not include people who died at home without being tested. He estimated the number at 100 to 200 people each day.
The United States now has about 400,000 confirmed infections and 13,000 deaths. Along with New York, the hardest-hit cities include Detroit, Michigan, and New Orleans, Louisiana.
Economic effects
The effects of the coronavirus pandemicare are being felt by economies around the world.
Economists say Japan’s economy could shrink by 25 percent. Exports are expected to fall 60 percent between the months of April and June.
The Bank of France said the French economy has entered recession. Experts say Germany is facing a recession, as well.
European governments have been working to put together hundreds of billions of euros to save lives and prevent businesses from collapsing. The European countries most affected by the virus, Italy and Spain, already had especially shaky economies.
Mental effects
As European health workers work day and night to save lives, the mental effects are becoming difficult to deal with.
In Italy, 70 doctors and 20 nurses have died from the virus. Two nurses have killed themselves. Hospitals are making therapists available to help medical workers surrounded by death and sadness.
“The psychological stress from this time is going to be difficult to forget. It has just been too much,” said Spanish nurse Diego Alonso.
Spain’s Health Ministry on Wednesday reported 757 new deaths, bringing the total to more than 14,500. Italy has recorded more than 17,000 deaths from the virus.
Worldwide, more than 1.4 million people have been confirmed to have the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center. As of Wednesday, more than 80,000 people have died.
I'm Jonathan Evans.View -
Facebook, Google Launch New Tools to Gather Virus Data Facebook and Google have launched new tools to gather data on population movements in an effort to fight the spread of the new coronavirus.
Facebook said in a statement it has created new “disease prevention maps” designed to help researchers identify areas where the virus COVID-19 might spread next.
The information is based on data from users of the social media service. But Facebook says the user data will be processed without any personal information being shared. Facebook said its data is designed to provide information about general movements in and around cities, but not the activities of single individuals.
One of the Facebook tools is called a “co-location map.” It aims to use data to predict the probability that people in one area will come in contact with people in another.
Another map is meant to measure the effectiveness of stay-at-home orders put in place by governments in many parts of the world. Data is collected in areas to see if people are staying near their homes or are also visiting other parts of the area. Such information is meant to help officials decide “whether preventive measures are headed in the right direction,” Facebook said.
A third tool creates maps that show Facebook friendships across states and countries. The data can map a percentage of “social connectedness” in specific areas. The company said this data is provided to medical professionals to help them predict the likelihood of disease spread. It can also help officials learn how social ties can help communities fight and recover from the crisis.
The data is shared on a daily basis with local officials and nonprofit organizations across the world. The new maps are part of Facebook’s Data for Good program, which the company says attempts to use its huge supply of data to address important humanitarian issues.
In addition to the maps, Facebook announced it was partnering with university researchers to seek health information from some users willing to share it. The program is part of a research project created by America’s Carnegie Mellon University.
Beginning this week, some U.S. Facebook users will see a link at the top of their News Feed they can follow if they would like to take part in a survey about their personal health situation.
Researchers hope to use the survey data to create “heat maps” of self-reported coronavirus symptoms. The information could also help officials predict where medical resources will be needed.
Facebook promised it had taken steps to protect the privacy of those taking the survey. The company said it would not share the personal identities of its users with researchers from Carnegie Mellon. It added that the researchers will also not share individual survey answers with Facebook. If results are successful, Facebook says it will make similar surveys available to users in other parts of the world.
Google mobility reports
Google also recently announced a similar data gathering program, which creates “community mobility reports” for more than 100 nations. Google said the project does not involve use of personally identifiable information, such as an individual’s location, contacts or movement.
Google has long collected data for its Maps app to show how movements of people affect how busy different businesses are throughout the day. Public health officials have requested such data now to help fight the worldwide coronavirus crisis.
The reports – which are published online - provide information on the movements of people to several places in the community. These include trips to stores, recreation areas, parks, transportation centers, workplaces and homes. The reports show percentage increases or decreases in visits to those places.
Google said it hopes the information on the most and least visited places can help officials decide on future policies and resources aimed at fighting the virus.
I’m Bryan Lynn.View -
Coronavirus May Bring Major Changes to US College Admissions The worldwide coronavirus pandemic is affecting nearly every area of modern life, and that includes higher education.
Many colleges and universities around the world have closed. Hundreds of schools in the United States have moved their classes on line. But that represents only a short-term change.
Now, higher education officials are starting to consider changes to the way they admit students. Some of these changes are likely to take effect when the traditional school year begins in the fall.
Robert Massa is a former admissions official from Johns Hopkins University and Dickinson College. He also teaches about higher education at the University of Southern California. Massa offered several predictions for the future of the college admissions process on the website, The Conversation.
Student may have more time to decide
Traditionally, high school students apply to several colleges or universities to improve their chances of getting accepted by one they like. Schools usually send out their acceptance and rejection letters in the early spring. If they accept a student, schools usually expect an answer from the student saying whether or not they will study there by May 1.
But Massa notes that a growing number of schools are now waiting until June 1 for students to make their choice. Highly selective schools, such as the eight well-known private universities called the Ivy League, get far more applicants than they can admit. So they, and other schools, create what is called a “wait list.” This list includes all the students who have not been admitted but who officials still believe might make good candidates for their school.
Normally, if a university admits a student who decides to study at another school, students on the waitlist are offered admission based on their place on that list. But Massa points to a March opinion study by the Art & Science Group showing that as many as one fifth of American students would choose a less costly college over their first choice school. In addition, 35 percent said they would choose a college or university that is closer to their home. Massa suggests that these findings combined with uncertainty about the attendance of international students means more students on wait lists will likely be admitted.
Financial aid could change
The financial effects of the pandemic are something American colleges and universities are giving a lot of thought to, he said. Many worry that if the pandemic leads to an economic recession, as many experts predict, Americans will choose not to spend as much money on higher education.
So, Massa believes some schools will offer more financial aid to students in order to make their programs more appealing. Last year, the Department of Justice changed rules on how schools can compete over applicants. It decided that even if a student has signed an agreement with one school, that student can choose to attend a different school if the second school offers greater financial aid.
The country’s possible economic troubles could also affect need-based financial aid such as the federal government’s Pell grant program, Massa said. The amount of this kind of aid is mostly based on how much money a student’s family earns in a year. If a student’s parents get sick and cannot work, or lose their jobs either completely or temporarily, this may affect how much need-aid based aid the student will receive.
Massa predicts the final major change to the admissions process will mainly affect students who have not yet begun to apply. Most college counselors advise high schoolers to visit the colleges and universities they are considering in person. This includes meeting with the schools’ financial aid and admissions officials.
However, this may not be a possibility with campuses closing. So more schools will likely offer virtual tours to students online.
No matter what changes do come, Massa noted that life will return to some level of normality in time. So, he urges students and their families to make their college decisions carefully.
I’m Pete Musto.View -
US Nuclear Waste Cleanup Delayed For more than 20 years, nuclear waste in the United States has been stored at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southern New Mexico. The waste is placed deep inside large salt caves. Trucks usually bring several shipments a week of materials contaminated with radioactive elements from South Carolina, Idaho and other areas.
Now, shipments to the plant will come almost to a complete stop as the U.S. deals with the new coronavirus crisis. National laboratories and defense sites in the United States are carrying out only those operations considered “mission critical.”
Officials at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant warned state officials in a letter that more time would be needed for inspections. They added that work would either be decreased or that they would take measures to make sure workers keep their distance from one another.
Donavan Mager is a spokesman for Nuclear Waste Partnership, which runs the plant. He told the Associated Press, “This action is being taken out of an abundance of caution for the safety of employees and the community.”
The same thing is happening at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The once-secret city in northern New Mexico became famous for being the birthplace of the atomic bomb. Most employees there are working away from the area.
Some work related to cleanup will continue, such as radiological studies and inspections of harmful waste storage areas. Workers will also keep watch of an early warning system designed to protect drinking water supplies.
In Washington state, visitors are no longer permitted at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Public meetings at the site have been canceled.
The number of employees there has decreased to the “absolute minimum.” The employees are those needed to run safety and security programs and keep technology systems in operation for those working at home.
Officials at these and other sites say their decisions are guided by state and federal public health orders. The aim is to get people to stay home and limit contact with others to ease the growing number of cases and deaths related to COVID-19.
Worker safety is always a top priority, said U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell. She and others pushed for more money and federal action to speed up the nation’s cleanup program during a congressional meeting in early March.
“We are fighting to make sure workers and their families are taken care of during this crisis and that workers have the resources they need to meet cleanup goals when they are able to safely return to their jobs,” she told The Associated Press in an email.
The Trump administration’s proposed budget for the U.S. Energy Department includes nearly $27 billion.
Most of that money would go toward nuclear security work that includes restarting production of parts used inside nuclear weapons. Less than 25 percent of that would be used for cleanup of 16 sites in 11 states.
The federal government has agreements with several states to reach certain cleanup goals. Officials note that the Energy Department’s environmental managers are considering the possible effects on current projects as the virus spreads.
Jay Coghlan is executive director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico. He said, “The coronavirus pandemic demonstrates why we should get cleanup done once and for all…the radioactive and toxic wastes that we leave behind last longer than our recorded history. We should be acting now.”
U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich said worker health should remain the main concern. But they noted that increased funding for environmental management could help support jobs and speed up cleanup in the future.
I’m Jonathan Evans.View -
Experts: Africa Faces ‘Existential Threat’ from Coronavirus Health officials have predicted that some African countries will have many thousands of coronavirus cases by the end of April.
African health care systems are less prepared to treat serious infectious diseases than ones in Europe, Asia or any other part of the world. African hospitals also lack important health care equipment.
As of Tuesday, there were more than 6,000 coronavirus cases in African. John Nkengasong told reporters that number is “very, very close” to where Europe was after a 40-day period. Nkengasong is the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or Africa CDC.
The virus “is an existential threat to our continent,” he said. Almost all of Africa’s 54 countries have reported cases of the coronavirus after Malawi reported its first case last week. Local transmission has been reported in many places.
Nkengasong said officials are “aggressively” seeking medical equipment such as ventilators: devices that help sick patients breathe. Officials also are exploring local manufacturing and repurposing.
“We’ve seen a lot of goodwill expressed to supporting Africa” from partners in the international community, Nkengasong said. But he and others are waiting for those feelings to turn into action.
Matshidiso Moeti is the director for Africa at The World Health Organization, or WHO. She told reporters the WHO does not know how many ventilators are available across the region to help people with breathing problems from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
“We are trying to find out this information from country-based colleagues,” Moeti said. “What we can say without a doubt is there is an enormous gap.”
Some countries have only a few ventilators. For example, the Central African Republic has just three.
WHO official Zabulon Yoti said only a small percentage of people who are infected will need ventilators while about 15 percent may need intensive care.
African health officials are calling for the world to work together at a time when even the richest countries are struggling with the medical crisis.
“Countries like Cameroon just reached out yesterday, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, asking, ‘Look, we need tents because we’re running out of hospital beds already,’” Nkengasong said.
Even if equipment is found, getting it to countries is a growing problem. Africa’s travel restrictions are spreading although some countries have given permission to flights carrying supplies or humanitarian aid.
Estimating the number of coronavirus cases in Africa is difficult, even in South Africa, the most developed country in the region. Officials there have had problems with testing.
Other countries suffer from a shortage of testing supplies. But, 43 countries in the WHO Africa sub-Saharan region are now able to perform tests. That is up from two in early February.
As more African countries establish lockdowns, the WHO and Africa CDC have expressed concern for the millions of poor people who need to go out daily to earn their living. This is a huge problem, Moeti said, noting that hundreds of thousands of children also are now out of school.
It is too soon to tell how the lockdown in places like South Africa has affected the number of cases, she added.
Health experts in Africa are working to understand whether some conditions, such as Africa’s young population, might help in fighting off the virus. It is estimated that about 70 percent of Africans are under age 30. Experts are also studying how the widespread problems of poor nutrition, HIV and other diseases might affect people’s ability to fight off infection.
“Our greatest fear” is that programs dealing with those ongoing issues will be harmed by the current crisis, Nkengasong said.
I’m Pete Musto.View