Four-legged robot and men’s semen
Coronavirus found in men’s semen
Four-legged robot reminds visitors of safe distancing measures in Singapore
Patient 1—a woman in her 60s—[…] tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Her husband (Patient 2) […] tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. 372 contacts of both cases were identified; 347 underwent active symptom monitoring, including 152 community contacts and 195 health-care personnel. Of monitored contacts, 43 became persons under investigation, in addition to Patient 2. These 43 persons under investigation and all 32 asymptomatic health-care personnel tested negative for SARS-CoV-2. […] Person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurred between two people with prolonged, unprotected exposure while Patient 1 was symptomatic. Despite active symptom monitoring and testing of symptomatic and some asymptomatic contacts, no further transmission was detected. [The Lancet]
Superspreading and the effect of individual variation on disease emergence
Quantifying the impact of physical distance measures on the transmission of COVID-19 in the UK — We found a 74% reduction in the average daily number of contacts observed per participant (from 10.8 to 2.8). This would be sufficient to reduce R0 from 2.6 prior to lockdown to 0.62.
COVID-19 settings of transmission databse
We found many examples of SARS-CoV-2 clusters linked to a wide range of mostly indoor settings. Few reports came from schools, many from households, and an increasing number were reported in hospitals and elderly care settings across Europe.
Almost 75% of people on board Diamond Princess with COVID-19 may have been asymptomatic
It is currently believed that herd immunity to SARS-CoV-2 requires 60-70% of the population to be immune. Here we show that variation in susceptibility or exposure to infection can reduce these estimates.
Death from COVID-19 was strongly associated with being male, older age and deprivation (both with a strong gradient); uncontrolled diabetes, severe asthma, and various other prior medical conditions. People from Asian and black groups are at markedly increased risk of in-hospital death from COVID- 19, and contrary to some prior speculation this is only partially attributable to pre-existing clinical risk factors or deprivation; further research into the drivers of this association is therefore urgently required. [PDF]
Hydroxychloroquine Fails to Help Coronavirus Patients in Largest Study of the Drug to Date
What is a mask valve, and why are cities banning them?
“Trump Death Clock” in Times Square
Outbreaks in Germany, South Korea Show the Risks in Easing Up
Covid-19 Reignites a Contentious Debate Over Bats and Disease
Welcome Back to the Office. Your Every Move Will Be Watched. [Wall Street Journal Podcast]
Coronavirus Might Kill The Music Industry. Maybe It Needed To Die
Jeffrey Golde, an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, has been teaching his previously in-person leadership class via Zoom for about a month now and he said it’s been strangely wearing. “I’ve noticed, not only in my students, but also in myself, a tendency to flag,” he said. “It gets hard to concentrate on the grid and it’s hard to think in a robust way.” This is consistent with research on interpreters at the United Nations and at European Union institutions, who reported similar feelings of burnout, fogginess and alienation when translating proceedings via video feed. Studies on video psychotherapy indicate that both therapists and their patients also often feel fatigued, disaffected and uncomfortable. Sheryl Brahnam, a professor in the department of information technology and cybersecurity at Missouri State University in Springfield, explains the phenomenon by comparing video conferencing to highly processed foods. “In-person communication resembles video conferencing about as much as a real blueberry muffin resembles a packaged blueberry muffin that contains not a single blueberry but artificial flavors, textures and preservatives,” she said. “You eat too many and you’re not going to feel very good.” [NY Times]
We are entering a new evolutionary stage of retail, in which big companies will get bigger, many mom-and-pop dreams will burst, chains will proliferate and flatten the idiosyncrasies of many neighborhoods, more economic activity will flow into e-commerce, and restaurants will undergo a transformation unlike anything the industry has experienced since Prohibition. This is a dire forecast, but there is a glimmer of hope. If cities become less desirable in the next few years, they will also become cheaper to live in. In time, more affordable rents could attract more interesting people, ideas, and companies. This may be the cyclical legacy of the coronavirus: suffering, tragedy, and then rebirth. [The Atlantic]
