Vital Surveillances: The Epidemiological Characteristics of an Outbreak of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Diseases (COVID-19) — China, 2020

• The Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Emergency Response Epidemiology Team, 

• Abstract

  Background: An outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China has spread quickly nationwide. Here, we report results of a descriptive, exploratory analysis of all cases diagnosed as of February 11, 2020.
  Methods: All COVID-19 cases reported through February 11, 2020 were extracted from China’s Infectious Disease Information System. Analyses included the following: 1) summary of patient characteristics; 2) examination of age distributions and sex ratios; 3) calculation of case fatality and mortality rates; 4) geo-temporal analysis of viral spread; 5) epidemiological curve construction; and 6) subgroup analysis.
  Results: A total of 72,314 patient records—44,672 (61.8%) confirmed cases, 16,186 (22.4%) suspected cases, 10,567 (14.6%) clinically diagnosed cases (Hubei Province only), and 889 asymptomatic cases (1.2%)—contributed data for the analysis. Among confirmed cases, most were aged 30–79 years (86.6%), diagnosed in Hubei (74.7%), and considered mild (80.9%). A total of 1,023 deaths occurred among confirmed cases for an overall case fatality rate of 2.3%. The COVID-19 spread outward from Hubei Province sometime after December 2019, and by February 11, 2020, 1,386 counties across all 31 provinces were affected. The epidemic curve of onset of symptoms peaked around January 23–26, then began to decline leading up to February 11. A total of 1,716 health workers have become infected and 5 have died (0.3%).
  

A Lake Under The Sea

A Lake Under The Sea pic.twitter.com/KMbKNH8u0G

— The Human Experience Podcast (@thehumanxp) February 24, 2020

Nigeria: 3 miti sul settore FinTech

Negli ultimi mesi, c'è stata una grande eccitazione per il dinamismo e la promessa del settore fintech della Nigeria, in gran parte a causa di numerosi importanti investimenti cinesi.Solo a novembre, le start-up nigeriane di fintech hanno attirato $ 360 milioni, equivalenti a un terzo degli investimenti di capitale di rischio totali raccolti in tutta l'Africa nel 2018 (oltre la metà proveniva da investitori cinesi).

Il forte interesse per il fintech nigeriano aiuta a sostenere lo sviluppo dell'ecosistema tecnologico del continente. Ma il recente flusso di capitali sembra dipendere eccessivamente da tre miti sul settore, che devono tutti essere affrontati in modo che il fintech possa raggiungere il suo pieno potenziale.

Mito n. 1: Fintech sta guidando l'inclusione finanziaria in Nigeria

La sola Fintech non può catalizzare l'inclusione finanziaria diffusa in Nigeria. Per ovvi motivi, i prestiti erogati dai servizi fintech nigeriani possono raggiungere solo coloro che sono già online, il che lascia fuori circa il 40% della popolazione, secondo la Nigerian Communications Commission.

Allo stesso modo, poiché le start-up di Fintech rimangono ampiamente dipendenti dalle banche tradizionali per storie di credito, conti bancari e verifica dell'identità, è improbabile che chi non ha un conto bancario tradizionale ottenga un accesso finanziario attraverso l'innovazione fintech.

Sokowatch raccoglie $ 14 milioni per digitalizzare la catena di fornitura B2B informale dell'Africa

Jake Bright @ JakeRBright 

Kenia Sokowatch, una startup di e-commerce B2B con sede in S ha raccolto 14 milioni di dollari in serie A per la sua missione di rinnovamento dei mercati della catena di approvvigionamento per i rivenditori informali africani.

Da Nairobi, la società ha creato una piattaforma che collega i commercianti direttamente ai fornitori locali e multinazionali, come Unilever e Proctor and Gamble - e digitalizza ordini, pagamenti e logistica di consegna.

Dal lancio nel 2016 e dalla raccolta di un seme di $ 2 milioni nel 2018, Sokowatch si è espanso in Kenya e in Ruanda, Tanzania e Uganda.

Sokowatch joins other B2B oriented ventures like @kobo_360 @lorisystems @SendyMobile and @TwigaFoods that have drawn significant capital over the last 12 months.

These four startups raised $100m in total in this period.https://t.co/Hmmg4xmPnv

— Insider PR (@InsiderPR1) February 24, 2020

There's One Factor That Can Tell Us if The Coronavirus Outbreak Is Slowing Down

ARIA BENDIX, BUSINESS INSIDER

It has been more than seven weeks since the coronavirus outbreak started in Wuhan, China. Since then, at least 2,250 people have died and more than 76,000 have gotten sick.

The virus' continued spread prompts an obvious question: When will this end?

A recent study from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control found that illnesses in China may have peaked on February 1, when the largest number of patients started showing symptoms.

That could be a sign that the outbreak is already tapering off, but the researchers also warned that it could rebound once Chinese residents return to school and work.

"The data from China continue to show a decline in new confirmed cases," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organisation, said at a press conference on Thursday.

Yes, you’ll likely get it – Harvard epidemiologist says most of the world will be infected by next year

The Harvard epidemiology professor Marc Lipsitch is exacting in his diction, even for an epidemiologist. Twice in our conversation he started to say something, then paused and said, “Actually, let me start again.” So it’s striking when one of the points he wanted to get exactly right was this: “I think the likely outcome is that it will ultimately not be containable.”

Containment is the first step in responding to any outbreak. In the case of COVID-19, the possibility (however implausible) of preventing a pandemic seemed to play out in a matter of days. Starting in January, China began cordoning off progressively larger areas, radiating outward from Wuhan City and eventually encapsulating some 100 million people. People were barred from leaving home, and lectured by drones if they were caught outside. Nonetheless, the virus has now been found in 30 countries.

The Atlantic

Thousands line up for face masks in S. Korea – Garrett warns “if Singapore fails to control their outbreak; we’re screwed”

Thousands of people have been filmed queuing up to buy face masks in the city at the center of South Korea's coronavirus outbreak. A long line of people snaked out the doors of a supermarket in the city of Daegu on Monday as people tried to protect themselves against the spread of the disease amid fears of a global pandemic. South Korea now has the largest number of confirmed cases outside of mainland China after infections spiked at the weekend, standing at 830 by Monday morning. Eight people have also died from the disease in the Asian country.

Thousands stood in line for face masks in South Korea - something the American public would likely never do - but that too, may change if this coronavirus outbreak continues to worsen.

Scientists Are Deeply Concerned These 5 Cascading Crises Threaten Future Generations

ANTHONY CAPON, THE CONVERSATION

The bushfires raging across Australia this summer have sharpened the focus on how climate change affects human health. This season bushfires have already claimed more than 30 human lives, and many people have grappled with smoke inhalation and mental health concerns.

The changing nature of bushfires around the world is one of the tragic consequences of climate change highlighted in Our Future on Earth, 2020 – a report published on Friday by Future Earth, an international sustainability research network.

New Telescope Images of Betelgeuse Reveal Details of Its Mysterious Dimming FRASER CAIN, UNIVERSE TODAY

Near the end of 2019, astronomers watching the red giant Betelgeuse noted how much the star had dimmed, continuing to steadily fade for months.

It's a variable star, and it's known to get dimmer and brighter, but the big surprise is that it's still continuing to dim, recently passing magnitude 1.56 and still getting dimmer. This is unprecedented in the decades that astronomers have been watching the star.

The world's biggest telescopes are on the case, and the European Southern Observatory released dramatic new images of Betelguese, resolving features on the star's surface and surrounding area showing how it's dramatically changed over the course of 2019.

Scientists Warn That We Must Prepare For The Next Global Viral Outbreak Now

DAVID E. BLOOM & DANIEL CADARETTE, THE CONVERSATION

The coronavirus outbreak is officially a crisis – let's not waste it.

Undeniably, the international community is taking the matter very seriously, as it should given that the death total from the COVID-19 epidemic already well surpasses that from SARS in the early 2000s.

The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, researchers across the globe are furiously working on vaccines against COVID-19, and governments including the US and UK have allocated more funds to boost research and development.

Scientists Have Discovered a Brand New Electronic State of Matter

DAVID NIELD

22 FEB 2020

Scientists have observed a new state of electronic matter on the quantum scale, one that forms when electrons clump together in transit, and it could advance our understanding and application of quantum physics.

Movement is key to this new quantum state. When electric current is applied to semiconductors or metals, the electrons inside usually travel slowly and somewhat haphazardly in one direction.

New NASA Photos From Antarctica Reveal Shocking Levels of Ice Melt

JACINTA BOWLER

24 FEB 2020

Antarctica is supposed to be an extremely cold place. The annual mean temperature of the snow-laden continent's central area is -57 degrees Celsius (−70.6°F); even the coast averages around -10°C (14°F).

But on February 6, the weather station at Esperanza Base on the Antarctic Peninsula - the northernmost tip of the content - logged the hottest temperature ever recorded on the mainland, at 18.3°C (64.9°F).

There's One Factor That Can Tell Us if The Coronavirus Outbreak Is Slowing Down

ARIA BENDIX, BUSINESS INSIDER

24 FEB 2020

It has been more than seven weeks since the coronavirus outbreak started in Wuhan, China. Since then, at least 2,250 people have died and more than 76,000 have gotten sick.

The virus' continued spread prompts an obvious question: When will this end?

A recent study from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control found that illnesses in China may have peaked on February 1, when the largest number of patients started showing symptoms.

That could be a sign that the outbreak is already tapering off, but the researchers also warned that it could rebound once Chinese residents return to school and work.

"The data from China continue to show a decline in new confirmed cases," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organisation, said at a press conference on Thursday.

"We're encouraged by this trend, but this is no time for complacency."

Lauren Ancel Meyers, an epidemiologist at the University of Texas at Austin, told Business Insider that one important figure can tell us when the outbreak has run its course.

It's the average number of people that a single patient is expected to infect. Epidemiologists call it the "basic reproduction number," and it indicates how contagious a virus is.

How do you disinfect a city five times the size of London? by Xinhua reporter

How do you disinfect a city five times the size of London? Follow Xinhua reporter

@XuZeyu_Philip

as he shadows a water cannon squad in #Wuhan #WuhanToday epi.06 #eyewitness 

How do you disinfect a city five times the size of London? Follow Xinhua reporter @XuZeyu_Philip as he shadows a water cannon squad in #Wuhan #WuhanToday epi.06 #eyewitness pic.twitter.com/aBkkkKG6ov

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) February 19, 2020

Looming Disaster: Locusts could be the next plague to hit China

HONG KONG — Swarms of desert locusts have devastated crops in East Africa, hit the Middle East and moved into South Asia. They’re breeding fast thanks to changes in global climate patterns that have brought about major cyclones and heavy rains, and they are feeding off human food supplies across continents. So far, India has managed to prevent a swarm of biblical proportions from spilling over into Bangladesh, Burma, and then China—where the coronavirus has already paralyzed much of the country’s activity. But it’s not clear how long that line will hold. Eastern Africa has been hit the hardest by the xanthic bugs, with fields in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia ravaged by 360 billion locusts. Swarms can be city-sized, and one of the largest—located in Kenya—covers about 37 miles by 25 miles. It is so dense that it turns daylight to darkness for anyone caught within.

First documented case: 20-year-old asymptomatic woman infects 5 members of her family

Deadly transmission: The SARS-CoV-2 virus can be transmitted person-to-person via the aerosol route by an asymptomatic carrier - which is why everyone should be wearing masks.

A 20-year-old woman, who showed no symptoms of the new coronavirus and had normal chest CT imaging results but ended up passing the infection to five of her relatives. Ever since scientists have been asking if a person can have this infection and not be ill. The new case study offers decisive evidence that the virus can be spread asymptomatically, which could make efforts to curb the outbreak even more challenging, say experts. The researchers of the current study are calling it the first documented case of transmission from an asymptomatic person with normal chest CT findings.

“A novel coronavirus has resulted in an ongoing outbreak of viral pneumonia in China. Person-to-person transmission has been demonstrated, but, to our knowledge, transmission of the novel coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from an asymptomatic carrier with normal chest computed tomography (CT) findings has not been reported,” say the researchers in their findings published in JAMA.

Mystery deepens in Italy on how the coronavirus is spreading – alleged patient zero tests ‘negative’

How is it spreading? Italy raced on Sunday (Feb 23) to contain the biggest outbreak of coronavirus in Europe, sealing off the worst affected towns and banning public gatherings in much of the north as the number of those infected jumped above 100. Authorities in the wealthy regions of Lombardy and Veneto, which are the focal point of the flare-up, ordered schools and universities to close for at least a week, shut museums and cinemas and called off the last two days of the Venice Carnival.

“As of this evening, there will be a ban on the Venice Carnival as well as on all events, including sporting ones, until March 1 inclusive,” the regional governor of Veneto, Luca Zaia, told reporters. He said Sunday’s festivities in the packed lagoon city would continue to prevent any public order problems. 

The Takamaka Governance

TAKAMAKA GOVERNANCE di Andrea Belvedere