The World vs. SARS-CoV-2, 4/11
We do not know how lethal it is. We do not know the effect of seasonality and climate on its spread. We do not understand the age skew of health outcomes, since the disparities between elderly patients and young ones vary wildly country to country. We do not know, for sure, whether those who have survived it have long-lasting immunity, short-lasting immunity, or why, in a few cases, at least, survivors seem to have no antibodies to the disease at all. We do not know how to treat it, at least not very well, with some doctors suggesting in recent days that the conventional use of ventilators on end-stage COVID-19 patients may be ineffective at best, and possibly even damaging. […] An Economist analysis looked at the unusual spike of doctor visits arising from “flu-like symptoms” — atypical for this time of year — and suggested that COVID-19 may have spread as much as 200 times as fast as widely understood. This would amount to a total rewriting of our understanding of the disease; as the authors suggest, it would mean the disease was only about as lethal as the flu, though very much easier to catch. [NY mag]
why you should not walk/run/bike close to each other
In mid-May, the companies will update their operating system to support the contact-sharing technique and allow for contact-tracing apps. In the coming months, a further operating system update will allow the system to work without needing a specific app. [Axios]
I’ve read the plans to reopen the economy. There is no normal for the foreseeable future.
Daryn Parker, the vice president of CamSoda, said there had been a 37 percent increase in new model sign-ups this March, compared to last March. For the same period, Bella French, the co-founder and C.E.O. of ManyVids, another camming site, said that there was a 69 percent increase in new model sign-ups. […] But this growth isn’t always translating into more money for the models. […] “I’m meeting a whole bunch of people more frequently than I normally would, but there’s not much more money,” said Ms. Kane. […] Ms. Kane cams for 12 hours a day, almost every day of the year, she said, and only took two days off last year. Though this schedule is physically exhausting, she said it’s worth it. [NY Times]
Chinese Professional Baseball League team will have robot mannequins fill in as fans at games
