I am living in the middle of the emergency over coronavirus in Finland. Due this reason the update cycle to make posting to this blog could be slowed down.
The Finnish government announced on Monday nationwide school closures in order to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. Read more on the following aricles:
Finland closes schools, declares state of emergency over coronavirus
https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/finland_closes_schools_declares_state_of_emergency_over_coronavirus/11260062
Daycare centres are to stay open but parents were asked to keep their kids home if possible. The government also published a 19-point list of emergency legislation that takes effect on 18 March.
Coronavirus latest: 359 cases confirmed in Finland, S-Group shuts its Helsinki eateries, bankruptcy fears mount
https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/coronavirus_latest_359_cases_confirmed_in_finland_s-group_shuts_its_helsinki_eateries_bankruptcy_fears_mount/11249610
Here is a link to an earlier post related to Coronavirus:
https://www.epanorama.net/blog/2020/02/12/mobile-trends-2020-mwc-canceled/
1,657 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.iltalehti.fi/kotimaa/a/62f56c3c-3efc-4f13-9da4-04c4aa654a31
3M kirjoittaa eri maskistandardien vertailussaan, että eurooppalainen FFP2, kiinalainen KN95 ja amerikkalainen N95 -standardi ovat niin lähellä toisiaan, että noiden mukaiset tuotteet ovat käytännössä vastaavia.
Standardien vastaavuuden takia Yhdysvaltain elintarvike- ja lääkevirasto FDA päätti sallia kiinalaisten KN95-maskien käyttämisen sairaanhoidossa N95-maskien rinnalla. CNN:n mukaan FDA kuitenkin korosti päätöksessä, että täytyy olla varmuus, että maskit todellakin ovat aitoja KN95-standardin täyttäviä maskeja.
Aiemmin näin ei oltu toimittu, koska KN95-maskien alkuperä ja aitous oli vaikea selvittää, ja tuon standardin nimissä liikkuu myös väärennöksiä, jotka eivät todellisuudessa täytä KN95-vaatimuksia.
Liikemies Onni Sarmaste toimitti Suomeen erilaisia KN95-maskeja. Pian tämän jälkeen Huoltovarmuuskeskus kuitenkin kertoi, että ne eivät sovellukaan sairaalakäyttöön.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK MAY HAVE STARTED AS EARLY AS SEPTEMBER, SCIENTISTS SAY
https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-outbreak-september-not-wuhan-1498566
The coronavirus outbreak could have started as early as mid-September, and the Chinese city of Wuhan may not be where it began, a scientist looking at the origins of the disease has said.
There are three types—A, B and C. A is closest to the coronavirus found in bats and is thought to be the original human virus genome. This type was found in Chinese and American individuals, with mutated versions in patients from Australia and the U.S.
However, A was not the virus type found in most cases in Wuhan, the city in China where COVID-19 was first identified. Instead, most people there had type B. Researchers suggest there was a “founder event” for type B in Wuhan. Type C, the “daughter” of type B, is what was identified in early cases in Europe, as well as South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong—but appears absent from mainland China.
He said it is possible the outbreak did not originate in Wuhan, as until January 17, almost all the isolates were type B. In Guangdong, a province about 500 miles from Wuhan, seven of the 11 isolates were type A.
Coronavirus outbreak may have started in September, say British scientists
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3080380/coronavirus-outbreak-may-have-started-september-say-british
Study narrows origin to a period between September and December, after virus mutated to a form that was harmful to humans
It is more likely to have come from southern China than Wuhan, but further analysis of bats and other potential host animals is needed, geneticist says
“The virus may have mutated into its final ‘human-efficient’ form months ago, but stayed inside a bat or other animal or even human for several months without infecting other individuals,” University of Cambridge geneticist Peter Forster said on Thursday.
“Then, it started infecting and spreading among humans between September 13 and December 7
Tomi Engdahl says:
China’s initial coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan spread twice as fast as we thought, new study suggests
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3080380/coronavirus-outbreak-may-have-started-september-say-british
Each carrier was infecting 5.7 people on average, according to US researchers, who say previous estimate had used incomplete data
Latest data based on cases whose origin could be traced more clearly, in provinces that had test kits and ample health care capacity
Tomi Engdahl says:
No evidence that people who have survived coronavirus have immunity, says World Health Organisation
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/17/no-evidence-people-have-survived-coronavirus-have-immunity-says/
Antibody tests may be ineffective at showing if a patient is immune to the virus or for how long antibodies might give protection
There is currently no evidence to support the belief that people who have recovered from coronavirus then have immunity, the World Health Organisation has said.
Senior WHO epidemiologists warned despite the hopes governments across the world have piled on antibody tests, there is no proof those who have been infected cannot be infected again.
Tomi Engdahl says:
‘Common Sense’ Is No Substitute for Science in a Pandemic
The scientific method isn’t perfect, but it’s better than the alternative when lives are at stake.
https://www.wired.com/story/common-sense-is-no-substitute-for-science/
In his daily coronavirus briefings, President Trump regularly touts the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as possibly one of the “biggest game changers in the history of medicine”—based on what seems to be a few anecdotal reports of mild benefits in Covid-19 patients.
When a reporter asked Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, “What is the medical evidence?” Trump stopped him from answering, and at one point said this: “What do I know? I’m not a doctor, but I have common sense.”
Look, I hope the drug turns out to be helpful. But this statement is bad. This kind of thinking is no basis for a public health strategy in a pandemic. I mean, if you look back historically, common sense does not have a great track record against science.
Of course, if there’s a ton of evidence for something politicians don’t want to hear about, like global warming, they’re more fastidious. When researchers say their models are imperfect, climate deniers jump on that and say, therefore, it’s too soon to take action.
It seems like we could all use a little refresher on the nature of science—what it is and what it really does.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Oil prices go negative — and Washington is paralyzed over what to do
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/20/oil-companies-trump-administration-paralyzed-196473
Reports that the Trump administration was considering paying oil companies not to pump oil have not comforted oil executives.
Airlines, restaurants, retailers, farmers and a slew of other industries are getting billions of dollars in bailouts as the U.S. economy contracts because of the coronavirus pandemic — but America’s oil companies are hitting a dry hole.
U.S. oil futures prices fell to their lowest-ever level by far on Monday, at -$37.63 per barrel, meaning owners of the futures contracts were paying to offload them. It broke the previous low price record near $10 a barrel set in 1986
But with U.S. production hitting record levels late last year and storage tanks now brimming with fuel, Washington has few tools at its disposal to lift oil prices to levels needed to sustain the energy industry.
“The U.S. government’s ability to fundamentally change this situation are minimal,”
“The real problem is the fact that upwards of 20 percent of global oil demand is currently offline, mainly due to the Covid-related lockdowns.“
President Donald Trump won praise last week for helping push Russia and Saudi Arabia to end a market standoff and reduce shipments oil. But those cuts won’t take effect until next month.
extra production that is adding more than 2 million barrels per day to private storage tanks.
“A tidal wave of bankruptcies is about to hit the sector,” Eberhart said.
U.S. May crude oil futures sunk under $6
OPEC, Russia and a groups of other producers agreed to cut production by 9.7 million barrels per day starting in May, and producers in the U.S. and Canada are shutting down wells in a retrenchment that’s expected to remove millions of more barrels in the coming months. Until that supply shrinks or there is a rebound in global demand — which is estimated to have declined by 20 million to 30 million barrels per day — there is little chance the industry will return to firm footing.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Coronavirus’s ability to mutate has been vastly underestimated, and mutations affect deadliness of strains, Chinese study finds
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3080771/coronavirus-mutations-affect-deadliness-strains-chinese-study
The most aggressive strains of Sars-CoV-2 could generate 270 times as much viral load as the least potent type.
A new study by one of China’s top scientists has found the ability of the new coronavirus to mutate has been vastly underestimated and different strains may account for different impacts of the disease in various parts of the world.
“Sars-CoV-2 has acquired mutations capable of substantially changing its pathogenicity,” Li and her collaborators wrote in a non-peer reviewed paper released on preprint service medRxiv.org on Sunday.
The deadliest mutations in the Zhejiang patients had also been found in most patients across Europe, while the milder strains were the predominant varieties found in parts of the United States, such as Washington state, according to their paper.
This finding could shed light on differences in regional mortality. The pandemic’s infection and death rates vary from one country to another, and many explanations have been proposed.
“Drug and vaccine development, while urgent, need to take the impact of these accumulating mutations … into account to avoid potential pitfalls,” they said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Historic Day For World’s Oil Markets As American Crude Becomes ‘Worthless’
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2020/04/20/historic-day-for-worlds-oil-markets-as-american-crude-becomes-worthless/?utm_campaign=forbes&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_term=Valerie/#76616c657269
West Texas Crude oil priced at $0.01 at 14:20 eastern time. At 14:22 eastern time, it collapsed to -$1.43 and fifteen minutes later, fell to -$20 for the May contract. For the first time in the history of the oil and gas industry, oil became absolutely worthless today.
It’s a dramatic look, but all may not be what it seems. Oil is not really free. Not yet at least.
The June and July contracts are still priced over $20 and are only off by a couple of dollars for Monday. Usually contracts move in unison. So today’s sell-off for the nearby oil contract really had no impact for the following month’s contract.
Some say the price declines are because there is no storage, so those who are holding oil will have to empty their cargo vessels and storage units for the next few days before oil returns to the single digits at least.
Farmers are throwing crops away and dumping out milk. Restaurants and hotels are major buyers of food commodities.
“This is all negative. This is overboard,” Signorelli says.
The collapse in oil comes a week after OPEC and non-OPEC nations agreed to historic production cuts as demand continues to shrink.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lepsut koronatoimet eivät pelasta Ruotsia – Pohjoismaihin luvassa ennätyspaha taantuma
https://www.iltalehti.fi/talous/a/15a665c0-dc42-425c-addf-57df0b45c1a1
Taantuma voi olla jopa yhtä paha kuin toisessa maailmansodassa.
Reutersin pohjoismaalaisille ekonomisteille tekemän kyselyn mukaan Ruotsia, Norjaa ja Tanskaa odottaa tänä vuonna ennätyspaha taantuma.
Talous voi supistua yhdessä vuodessa jopa enemmän kuin toisessa maailmansodassa, ja vähintään enemmän kuin finanssikriisin aikoihin 2009.
Kyselyssä asiantuntijoiden arviot erosivat rajusti toisistaan
Kansainvälisen valuuttarahasto IMF antoi ennusteensa viime viikolla. Sen mukaan Ruotsiin, Norjaan ja Tanskaan olisi ennustettu 6,3–6,8 prosentin laskua bruttokansantuotteessa.
Kyselyn mukaan vuonna 2021 nähtäisiin nopeasti tilanteen muutos.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Analyytikot: Pörssituloksissa luvassa pudotus ennen suurempaa pudotusta – edes terveydenhoitoyritykset eivät hyödy terveyskriisistä
https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11313679?fbclid=IwAR0dAam-8nDrT-6BgCt2eZwAeE2qWCBYNdWpgjYwStrdQQBEpOOnsNZ9utw
Tällä viikolla yritykset kertovat alkuvuoden tuloksistaan. Moni analyytikko ei halua ennustaa miinusten pituutta massiivisen epävarmuuden takia.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Stanford Study Proves Covid-19 Was Overhyped. “Death Rate Is Likely Under 0.2%”
https://www.globalresearch.ca/mit-tech-review-smears-study-proving-covid-19-overhyped/5710088?fbclid=IwAR0AZfdadcvgp5gtR1bLd6VjM4vtWDug4vT9-U_01Q1hjjeWKINL5uPgcz8
Stanford study proves many more people are infected – between 50-85 times more – than reported and thus the “death rate” is astronomically lower than we were told.
MIT Tech Review’s hyped coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is led by the tag-line, “Navigating a world reshaped by Covid-19.”
Their articles reflect an eager embracement of the public hysteria prompted by Covid-19’s spread, the socioeconomic paralysis it has created, and the many profitable solutions – particularly those involving technology – proposed to “shape” the world post-Covid-19.
It should come as no surprise that a corporate-influenced outlet hiding behind academia and technology would take issue with anyone casting doubt on just how warranted all of this hysteria really is or isn’t – going as far as labeling them “pandemic skeptics.”
MIT Tech Review continued by adding:
Ioannidis, a Stanford medical statistician and a coauthor of the new report, made waves in March by suggesting the virus could be less deadly than people think, and that destroying the economy in the effort to fight it could be a “fiasco.”
Ioannidis’ statement regarding Covid-19 – even without the results of this study
Tomi Engdahl says:
Infection and death rates can only be determined by actually testing people – and the narrative the world has been presented is that not enough testing can be done because of a lack of testing kits, and those being tested are people who are already ill and showing symptoms.
https://www.globalresearch.ca/mit-tech-review-smears-study-proving-covid-19-overhyped/5710088?fbclid=IwAR0AZfdadcvgp5gtR1bLd6VjM4vtWDug4vT9-U_01Q1hjjeWKINL5uPgcz8
Tomi Engdahl says:
Missouri Sues China, Wuhan Lab Over COVID; Says ‘Deceit, Malfeasance, And Inaction Unleashed This Pandemic’
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/missouri-sues-china-wuhan-lab-over-covid-says-deceit-malfeasance-and-inaction
Tomi Engdahl says:
Study finds no benefit, higher death rate in patients taking hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/21/health/hydroxychloroquine-veterans-study/index.html
Coronavirus patients taking hydroxychloroquine, a treatment touted by President Trump, were no less likely to need mechanical ventilation and had higher deaths rates compared to those who did not take the drug, according to a study of hundreds of patients at US Veterans Health Administration medical centers.
“In this study, we found no evidence that use of hydroxychloroquine, either with or without azithromycin, reduced the risk of mechanical ventilation in patients hospitalized with Covid-19,” the authors wrote.
There are currently no products approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to prevent or treat Covid-19, although research is underway on many drugs.
Hydroxychloroquine has been used for decades to treat patients with diseases such as malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Trump has touted the drug as a “game changer” for Covid-19
In another recent study, researchers in France
It found there was no statistically significant difference in the death rates of the two groups, or their chances of being admitted to the intensive care unit. However, it found eight patients who took the drug developed abnormal heart rhythms and had to stop taking it.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Connecticut cops deploy ‘pandemic drone’ to combat coronavirus
https://nypost.com/2020/04/22/connecticut-cops-use-pandemic-drone-to-fight-coronavirus/?utm_campaign=iphone_nyp&utm_source=facebook_app
A Connecticut police department is using a drone equipped with virus-detecting technology to help battle the coronavirus.
The Westport Police Department on Tuesday tested the “pandemic drone,” which can measure body temperatures, read heart rates, and detect for coughing and sneezing from 190 feet away, according to the drone company Dragonfly.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The tech ‘solutions’ for coronavirus take the surveillance state to the next level
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/15/tech-coronavirus-surveilance-state-digital-disrupt
The role of the digital revolutionaries is to disrupt everything but the central institution of modern life: the market
In a matter of weeks, coronavirus has shuttered the global economy and placed capitalism in intensive care. Many thinkers have expressed hope that it will usher in a more humane economic system; others warn that the pandemic heralds a darker future of techno-totalitarian state surveillance.
The dated cliches from the pages of 1984 are no longer a reliable guide to what is to come. And today’s capitalism is stronger – and weirder – than its critics imagine.
The worse its crises, the stronger its defences: this is definitely not how capitalism ends.
We have spent a month debating how tech might threaten our privacy – but that is not the greatest danger to democracy
However, the critics of capitalism are right to see Covid-19 as a vindication of their warnings. It has revealed the bankruptcy of neoliberal dogmas of privatisation and deregulation – showing what happens when hospitals are run for profit and austerity slashes public services. But capitalism does not survive by neoliberalism alone: the latter merely plays the role of the bad cop, insisting, in the words of Margaret Thatcher’s famous dictum, that “there is no alternative”.
The good cop in this drama is the ideology of “solutionism”, which has transcended its origins in Silicon Valley and now shapes the thinking of our ruling elites. In its simplest form, it holds that because there is no alternative (or time or funding), the best we can do is to apply digital plasters to the damage. Solutionists deploy technology to avoid politics; they advocate “post-ideological” measures that keep the wheels of global capitalism turning.
After decades of neoliberal policy, solutionism has become the default response to so many political problems. Why would a government invest in rebuilding crumbling public transport systems, for example, when it could simply use big data to craft personalised incentives for passengers to discourage journeys at peak times?
Neoliberalism aspires to reshape the world according to blueprints dating from the cold war: more competition and less solidarity, more creative destruction and less government planning, more market dependence and less welfare. The demise of communism made this task easier – but the rise of digital technology has actually presented a new obstacle.
How so? While big data and artificial intelligence don’t naturally favour non-market activities, they do make it easier to imagine a post-neoliberal world – where production is automated and technology underpins universal healthcare and education for all: a world where abundance is shared, not appropriated.
This is precisely where solutionism steps in. If neoliberalism is a proactive ideology, solutionism is a reactive one: it disarms, disables and discards any political alternatives.
The world is currently enthralled by solutionist tech – from a Polish app that requires coronavirus patients to regularly take selfies to prove they are indoors, to China’s colour-coded smartphone health-rating programme, which tracks who is allowed to leave the house. Governments have turned to companies such as Amazon and Palantir for infrastructure and data modelling, while Google and Apple have joined forces to enable “privacy-preserving” data-tracing solutions. And once countries enter the recovery phase, the tech industry will gladly lend its technocratic expertise to the clean-up.
“Progressive solutionists” believe that timely, app-based exposure to the right information could make people behave in the public interest. This is the logic of “nudging”, which shaped the UK’s disastrous initial response to the crisis. “Punitive solutionists”, by contrast, want to use digital capitalism’s vast surveillance infrastructure to curb our daily activities and punish any transgressions.
We have now spent a month debating how these technologies might threaten our privacy – but that is not the greatest danger to our democracies. The real risk is that this crisis will entrench the solutionist toolkit as the default option for addressing all other existential problems – from inequality to climate change. After all, it is much easier to deploy solutionist tech to influence individual behaviour than it is to ask difficult political questions about the root causes of these crises.
But the solutionist responses to this disaster will only hasten the diminishment of our public imagination – and make it more difficult to imagine a world without the tech giants dominating our social and political infrastructure.
We are all solutionists now. When our lives are at stake, abstract promises of political emancipation are less reassuring than the promise of an app that tells you when it’s safe to leave your house.
One function of the solutionist state is to discourage software developers, hackers and aspiring entrepreneurs from experimenting with alternative forms of social organisation. That the future belongs to start-ups is not a fact of nature but a policy outcome. As a result, more subversive tech-driven endeavours that could boost non-market, solidarity-based economies die off at the prototype stage.
A “post-solutionist” politics should begin by smashing the artificial binary between the agile start-up and the inefficient government that limits our political horizons today.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Näkökulma: Business Finlandin koronatuki paljasti suomalaisten bisnespomojen häikäilemättömän ahneuden – ”Hei, nyt me saadaan ihmisten hädällä ilmaista rahaa!”
https://www.iltalehti.fi/politiikka/a/4c7306af-ef54-4ee7-846a-7654174e614f
Tomi Engdahl says:
U.S. Recession Model at 100% Confirms Downturn Is Already Here
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/us-economic-recession-tracker/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=mofu&utm_content=recession
The novel coronavirus has spurred what will likely be the worst recession in generations as the U.S. economy grinds to a halt and millions lose their jobs.
Bloomberg Economics created a model last year to determine America’s recession odds. The chance of a recession now stands at 100%, confirming an end to the nation’s longest-running expansion.
America looks starkly different from just a month ago. More than 11,000 in the country have died from Covid-19, while the number of infected was approaching 400,000 on Tuesday, the highest reported total worldwide. Social gatherings have been curbed and a majority of Americans have been directed to stay home. Restaurants, hotels, factories and a variety of other businesses have closed their doors.
The sudden stop in activity has many forecasters predicting the economy will experience its largest-ever contraction in the second quarter, and some analysts project about 20 million people will have lost their jobs by July.
Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the outlook, with one measure of consumer sentiment plunging last month by the most since October 2008. The March jobs report showed employers cut a net 701,000 jobs in the month, the most since the Great Recession — and a number that reflected just the first half of the month.
The Federal Reserve has taken dramatic steps to soften the economic hit.
Many define a recession as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. The official dating committee at the National Bureau of Economic Research takes a more holistic approach, defining a recession as a “significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months.”
The panel usually takes about six to 12 months to make the call, though, so the existence of a recession could be widely accepted before it’s official. As the chart below shows, not all recessions are created equal.
Recessions are usually accompanied by a swift increase in the unemployment rate. The jobless rate differs greatly between downturns depending on the breadth and severity of the recession.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Coronavirus has mutated into at least 30 different strains, study finds
https://www.foxnews.com/science/coronavirus-mutated-at-least-30-different-strains-study-finds
The novel coronavirus has mutated into at least 30 different genetic variations, according to a new study in China.
The results showed that medical officials have vastly underestimated the overall ability of the virus to mutate, in finding that different strains have affected different parts of the world, leading to potential difficulties in finding an overall cure.
More than 30 different mutations of the virus were detected, of which 19 were previously undiscovered.
Li’s team found that some of the most aggressive strains of the virus were able to generate 270 times the viral load as the weakest strains; in addition, the aggressive strains killed the human cells fastest.
According to their findings, the “true diversity” of the viral strains is underappreciated and must be understood in order to find a treatment or vaccine.
https://www.foxnews.com/science/america-cant-reopen-without-more-coronavirus-tests-experts-warn
Tomi Engdahl says:
Medtech Perseveres During COVID-19
https://www.mddionline.com/medtech-perseveres-during-covid-19?ADTRK=InformaMarkets&elq_mid=12963&elq_cid=876648
Medical device companies are moving forward as the pandemic continues–but what challenges are they facing?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Learning and working in the era of COVID-19
https://www.edn.com/learning-and-working-in-the-era-of-covid-19/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=link&utm_medium=EDNConsumerElectronics-20200422
Establish (and maintain) a firm work-vs-personal life boundary
I often describe work-from-home to others as a “Darwinist” experiment whose outcome is quickly apparent. If you’re unable to resist spending all of your time in front of the TV (or refrigerator), your career will quickly come to a close. Conversely, if you spend all your time working, your personal life will rapidly atrophy (“all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy“).
Establishing and maintaining a clear delineation between the two, and adequately feeding both, used to be easier (with a desktop computer on the other side of a closed door, and no mobile smartphones or tablets) than it is now (laptops and other mobile devices, and abundant Wi-Fi). But maintain it you must, to keep your sanity (and your job). Some people go as far as to dress up in professional attire before their work day begins, switching to sweats or other more casual clothing at work day’s end (I’m generally in sweats all the time).
Multitasking while on a Skype, WebEx, or Zoom online meeting is comparatively easy; trust me, you likely won’t be able to resist doing it. The refrigerator and microwave oven are one room away from me in the kitchen, and I almost always eat from my home office desk. The morning commute starts one room away in the opposite direction, at my bed.
Tomi Engdahl says:
MIT’s AI predicts catastrophe if social distancing restrictions relax too soon
Stay inside. Please don’t make all of this be for nothing
https://thenextweb.com/neural/2020/04/16/mits-ai-predicts-catastrophe-if-social-distancing-restrictions-relax-too-soon/
MIT recently trained a machine learning model to accurately predict the spread of COVID-19. According to the AI, we should be seeing a plateau where the amount of new cases begins to level off in the US and Italy in the next week. This good news, however, comes with a dire warning: relaxing quarantine measures too soon will be catastrophic.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Europe is seeing a huge decrease in nitrous oxide pollution, while China has benefitted from a reduction in particulate matter
Q&A: China and Europe likely to see different effect of coronavirus-related air pollution drop
https://horizon-magazine.eu/article/qa-china-and-europe-likely-see-different-effect-coronavirus-related-air-pollution-drop.html#utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=air_pollution
You found that between 50,000 and 100,000 lives could be spared if pollution levels in China remain as low as they are now for a year. How did you come up with this figure?
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.zerohedge.com/health/real-covid-19-mortality-rate-25-60x-less-governments-media-claim
Tomi Engdahl says:
The ‘Dr.Doom’ economist lays out 3 reasons why the coronavirus-induced US recession could become a ‘Greater Depression’
https://www.businessinsider.com/dr-doom-coronavirus-pandemic-recession-could-become-greater-depression-economy-2020-3?r=US&IR=T
But, “if you essentially kick the can down the road like Italy did, and you don’t do radical compulsory lockdowns,” it ends up with a situation that is a “total medical and health nightmare,” he said.
Of course, shutting down the economy for so long is painful, Roubini said, but it is the right thing to do to stop the spread of the virus so it doesn’t become necessary to halt the economy again in the future for a longer period of time.
Roubini also said that it’s likely that the virus will come back in a different mutation next year in the winter. The spike will be smaller in the countries that have done suppression instead of mitigation to combat the virus, he said, adding that the US has done “mitigation light.”
That could mean that the economy is hit hard again next year just as it’s starting to recover, Roubini said, prolonging the damage.
“For a year, you can run a budget deficit of $2 trillion to $3 trillion dollars,” Roubini said, adding that would be about 15% of GDP, and nothing would happen, everything would be okay.
But, “you cannot fool all of the investors all the time,” he added. “If you run a budget deficit of 10% to 15% of GDP while printing money financing, we end up like Zimbabwe, like Argentina, like Venezuela, with high inflation and eventually hyperinflation,” he said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Suomen kannattaa ostaa koronarokote, vaikka se maksaisi tuhat euroa per piikki: Rokote on lääkefirmojen kultakaivos, mutta ahneudesta rangaistaan
https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11315692
On “vähintään mahdollista”, että valmis rokote kehitään Suomessa, sanoo Rokotetutkimuskeskuksen johtaja Mika Rämet
Maailman lääketeollisuuden jättiläiset ovat asettuneet uuden sprinttikisan lähtötelineisiin. Jokainen lääkealalla toimiva tietää, että koronavirus on kultakaivos, jonka tavoittelematta jättäminen olisi järjetöntä.
Pelkästään Yhdysvalloissa on käynnissä 795 koronavirukseen liittyvää tutkimusta, kuten maan terveysviranomaisten rekisteri(siirryt toiseen palveluun) kertoo. Muutama viikko sitten niitä oli noin 150. Maailman terveysjärjestö WHO:n listalla(siirryt toiseen palveluun) on nyt lähes sata hanketta pelkästään koronarokotteen kehittämiseksi. Kuusi niistä on edennyt jo pitkälle, kliiniseen tutkimusvaiheeseen.
Taistelu uutta sairautta vastaan käy kalliiksi myös euroina mitattuna. Pelkästään pienessä Suomessa hallituksen koronatukipaketin arvo on tähän mennessä 15 miljardia euroa. Jos koronavirusriesa saataisiin kuriin lääkkeellä tai rokotteella, siitä kannattaisi maksaa – aika paljon.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Edessä kaikkien aikojen riita rahasta – Miljardit tai tuhannetkaan eivät riitä, kun EU-maat etsivät pelastusta kriisin jälkeen
https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11318238
EU suunnittelee jättimäistä jälleenrakennusta. Onko unionista ollut kriisissä mihinkään ja miten verorahoja aiotaan käyttää jatkossa ? Kokosimme listan.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2020/04/23/selvitys-ohjelmistoalakaan-ei-saasty-korona-ongelmilta/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amerikkalaisten koronaprotestit ovat vaarallista peliä ihmisten turhautumisella – taustalla aseaktivisteja, salaliittoteoreetikkoja ja oikeistoryhmiä
https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11317150
Trumpin tuki mielenilmauksille kielii jo kamppailusta syksyn presidentinvaalien ratkaisevista äänistä.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/shocking-new-data-show-90-covid-19-patients-ventilators-wont-survive-live-updates
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tutkijan synkkä laskelma: Väärä valinta koronan torjunnassa voi viedä Suomen taloudesta lähes 100 miljardia 2020-luvulla
https://suomenkuvalehti.fi/jutut/kotimaa/talous/tutkijan-karu-laskelma-suomen-taloudesta-jaa-uupumaan-koronan-takia-lahes-100-miljardia-2020-luvulla-jos-nyt-valitaan-vaarin/
Epidemian hidastamispolitiikka voi olla taloudelle erittäin tuhoisaa, laskee taloustieteilijä Juha Tervala. Eduskunnan tulevaisuusvaliokunta tilasi häneltä lausunnon koronaviruksen vaikutuksista.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tervalan laskelmat osoittavat, että Suomen pitäisi toteuttaa koronaviruksen suhteen tehokasta tukahduttamispolitiikkaa, vaikka se tulisi maksamaan lyhyessä ajassa 2,4–4,8 miljardia euroa.
Jos hallitus jatkaa taudin hidastamista tiukoilla rajoituksilla useita kuukausia, Suomen talouskasvu voi hyytyä 2020-luvulla 55–99 miljardia euroa. Menetetyt verotulot olisivat 23–42 miljardia vuosina 2020–2029.
Käytännössä Suomen talouskasvu menettäisi vuositasolla jopa kymmenen miljardia ja verotulojen menetys vastaisi yli neljää miljardia euroa.
https://suomenkuvalehti.fi/jutut/kotimaa/talous/tutkijan-karu-laskelma-suomen-taloudesta-jaa-uupumaan-koronan-takia-lahes-100-miljardia-2020-luvulla-jos-nyt-valitaan-vaarin/
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Will COVID-19 Impact New Tech?
Will 5G be delayed? Is more automation coming? Will we all be working in VR soon? Blockchain? Here’s a look at the technologies being helped (and hurt) by the COVID-19 pandemic.
https://www.designnews.com/electronics-test/how-will-covid-19-impact-new-tech/97622422862860?ADTRK=InformaMarkets&elq_mid=12978&elq_cid=876648
There’s no question at this point that the COVID-19 pandemic is going to have a major economic impact on the world. With that comes the question of how new and emerging technologies will be impacted as well. The temptation is to think that everyone will suffer due to supply chain disruptions, work stoppages, and other issues. But that’s not the case across the board.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Yuval Noah Harari: the world after coronavirus | Free to read
https://www.ft.com/content/19d90308-6858-11ea-a3c9-1fe6fedcca75
This storm will pass. But the choices we make now could change our lives for years to come
Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email [email protected] to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour.
https://www.ft.com/content/19d90308-6858-11ea-a3c9-1fe6fedcca75
Humankind is now facing a global crisis. Perhaps the biggest crisis of our generation. The decisions people and governments take in the next few weeks will probably shape the world for years to come. They will shape not just our healthcare systems but also our economy, politics and culture. We must act quickly and decisively. We should also take into account the long-term consequences of our actions. When choosing between alternatives, we should ask ourselves not only how to overcome the immediate threat, but also what kind of world we will inhabit once the storm passes. Yes, the storm will pass, humankind will survive, most of us will still be alive — but we will inhabit a different world.
Many short-term emergency measures will become a fixture of life. That is the nature of emergencies. They fast-forward historical processes. Decisions that in normal times could take years of deliberation are passed in a matter of hours. Immature and even dangerous technologies are pressed into service, because the risks of doing nothing are bigger. Entire countries serve as guinea-pigs in large-scale social experiments.
In this time of crisis, we face two particularly important choices. The first is between totalitarian surveillance and citizen empowerment. The second is between nationalist isolation and global solidarity.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Coronavirus at Work: 8 Examples of Effective Crisis Communication
https://staffbase.com/blog/coronavirus-at-work-8-examples-of-effective-crisis-communication/?utm_campaign=20q2rowcrisiscommssbnow&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paidsocial&utm_term=Blog&utm_content=8%20Examples
The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is having a massive impact on businesses around the globe, as companies struggle to keep their operations running productively despite troubling uncertainties.
As reported in The New York Times, “Microsoft, Amazon, Ford Motor, CNN, Citigroup and Twitter have put employees through work-from-home drills, dusted off emergency-response plans and ordered increasingly stringent safety measures to protect their workers . . . Even so, the coronavirus has moved faster than their preparations.”
In such perilous times, it’s essential to be able to share and access factual, trusted, and actionable information quickly. Businesses that already communicate internally using digital tools that connect directly to employee devices now have a marked advantage over companies still relying on old-fashioned methods of internal communication.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/04/global_surveill.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
A security researcher presented a small hardware named Icarus box that is able to hijack a variety of popular drones mid-flight.
https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/52778/hacking/icarus-box-drones-hijacking.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Test vaccine well before use:
Cutterin tapaus
Rokote sisälsi vahingossa eläviä, tartuttamaan kykeneviä viruksia.
https://www.iltalehti.fi/ulkomaat/a/19ff4e7f-f905-4deb-8ad0-396c42188bde
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://verkkosaro.sarolehti.net/koronatarina-huutaa-uutta-nakokulmaa/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Israel stops using phone tracking to enforce COVID-19 quarantines
https://www.engadget.com/amp/israel-halts-phone-tracking-for-covid-19-quarantine-184622314.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly90LmNvL0dScldUUlpkNXM_YW1wPTE&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACC4b2xPv93KsamDrVEc059NGqvnAHthLIGbFiFBJfm9mf1x98Hm6pgdfJ42vzpy9OAAfKhu-Odl-dLX3eQ9MdQPublv7SvUypws_iNs2nhOnTLmJTqkHCEuM-naRU24XHJC-JntEl9A1PC2FgzeJtLugeic7JgrHffM2TrkuRV-&guccounter=2
Overseers believe the harm to privacy outweighs the benefits.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Planeetan pelastaja vai koronakonna? Näin toimii Kiinan imagokampanja, jolta ei ole suojassa Suomikaan
https://www.iltalehti.fi/ulkomaat/a/818b180f-ef88-4a4c-8cf7-1d0236432516
Tomi Engdahl says:
Everybody in the Pool: Researchers Use Algorithms to Tackle the Coronavirus Test Shortage
https://spectrum.ieee.org/view-from-the-valley/the-institute/ieee-member-news/everybody-in-the-pool-algorithm-researchers-tackle-the-coronavirus-test-shortage
We’re hearing about the problem daily: there aren’t enough test kits available to accurately track the new coronavirus. It’s a global problem, though some countries—including the United States—are doing a much worse job of testing than others.
More testing, epidemiologists say, would give us a better understanding of how the virus is moving through the population and whether it’s waxing or waning. More testing, they say, would also help identify new hot spots and allow public health officials to take action before early sparks evolved into blazes. And more testing is essential to allowing us to safely return to any semblance of normal society.
So researchers are scrambling to develop new test kits that deliver results faster and are easier to use and manufacture
Tomi Engdahl says:
“Immunity passports” in the context of COVID-19
https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/immunity-passports-in-the-context-of-covid-19#.XqR7XzPFAp4.facebook
Some governments have suggested that the detection of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could serve as the basis for an “immunity passport” or “risk-free certificate” that would enable individuals to travel or to return to work assuming that they are protected against re-infection. There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection.
The development of immunity to a pathogen through natural infection is a multi-step process that typically takes place over 1-2 weeks. The body responds to a viral infection immediately with a non-specific innate response in which macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells slow the progress of virus and may even prevent it from causing symptoms. This non-specific response is followed by an adaptive response where the body makes antibodies that specifically bind to the virus
WHO continues to review the evidence on antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection.2-17 Most of these studies show that people who have recovered from infection have antibodies to the virus. However, some of these people have very low levels of neutralizing antibodies in their blood,4 suggesting that cellular immunity may also be critical for recovery. As of 24 April 2020, no study has evaluated whether the presence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 confers immunity to subsequent infection by this virus in humans.
Laboratory tests that detect antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in people, including rapid immunodiagnostic tests, need further validation to determine their accuracy and reliability.
At this point in the pandemic, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an “immunity passport” or “risk-free certificate.” People who assume that they are immune to a second infection because they have received a positive test result may ignore public health advice. The use of such certificates may therefore increase the risks of continued transmission. As new evidence becomes available, WHO will update this scientific brief.
Tomi Engdahl says:
History In The Making: Oil Settles At Negative $37.63 Per Barrel
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/historic-oil-crash-sends-canadian-oil-prices-negative
As Nordea notes, oil markets are likely to remain under pressure from huge unbalances in the physical market, like we also highlighted last week.
Saudi Arabia and Russia are whispering about further production cuts, but we have a hard time getting too enthusiastic about the oil price anyways. There is a real risk that the oil storage capacity is filling up, even with the agreed lower pace of production; maybe already within the next six weeks. Therefore, more production cuts could be needed just to prevent the oil price from crashing further. Better data on new corona cases are probably keeping the oil price “alive” for now, but the physical market tend to matter the most in the end.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/ethics/covid19-ai-challenge-how-are-lockdowns-affecting-the-most-vulnerable
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pelkäätkö koronakuolemia? Jopa pienhiukkaset ovat maailmalla tappavampia – katso tästä, miten korona vertautuu kuolinsyihin
https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11306751
Suomessa on väkilukuun verrattuna todella vähän koronakuolemia.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Flattening the curve won’t lead to coronavirus turning point, study finds
Projections by Chinese-US team indicate South Korea and New Zealand are among the best in the global crisis at balancing economics with disease controls
China has been effective in suppressing the epidemic quickly but the strategy comes at too high a cost, researchers say
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3081105/flattening-curve-wont-lead-coronavirus-turning-point-study-finds
Tomi Engdahl says:
Coronavirus at Work: 8 Examples of Effective Crisis Communication
https://staffbase.com/blog/coronavirus-at-work-8-examples-of-effective-crisis-communication/?utm_campaign=20q2rowcrisiscommssbnow&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paidsocial&utm_term=Blog&utm_content=8%20Examples
Tomi Engdahl says:
Covering COVID-19 now and in the future: Knight Center, UNESCO and WHO launch free online course for journalists. Register now!
https://knightcenter.utexas.edu/blog/00-21756-covering-covid-19-now-and-future-knight-center-unesco-and-who-launch-free-online-cours
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/22/eu-privacy-body-urges-anonymization-of-location-data-for-covid-19-tracking/