There’s compelling evidence that Japan, Hong Kong, and other East Asian locales are doing it right and we should really, truly mask up—fast
It sounds too good to be true. But a compelling new study and computer model provide fresh evidence for a simple solution to help us emerge from this nightmarish lockdown. The formula? Always social distance in public and, most importantly,If you’re wondering whether to wear or not to wear, consider this. The day before yesterday, 21 people died of COVID-19 in Japan. In the United States, 2,129 died.
This comes despite Japan having no lockdown, still-active subways, and many businesses that have remained open—reportedly including karaoke bars, although Japanese citizens and industries are practicing social distancing where they can. Nor have the Japanese broadly embraced contact tracing, a practice by which health authorities identify someone who has been infected and then attempt to identify everyone that person might have interacted with—and potentially infected.
The mask debate, of course, has been raging for weeks in the States and globally. Pro-maskers assert that the widespread use of face coverings can diminish the spread of COVID-19. Some anti-maskers, including various politicians and public health officials, have insisted that there is no proof of the efficacy of face guards. According to some activists, a blanket mask mandate places a limit on individual liberty and even one’s right to free speech. .
The muddle over masks is what drove Berkeley’s De Kai to drop everything two months ago and help convene an ad hoc team of scientists and academics: a physician from London, a bioinformaticist from Cambridge, an economist from Paris, and a sociologist and population-dynamics expert from Finland. “I felt like this was pretty urgent,” said De Kai, who was born in St. Louis, and is the son of immigrants from China. “I saw the country where I grew up, where my family lives [now mostly in the Bay Area], about to face this pandemic without knowing much about something as simple as wearing a mask to protect themselves and others.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Rent Payments Reach 80% In May Amid A Record Surge In UnemploymentThe National Multifamily Housing Council found that 80% of apartment households made a full or partial rent payment by May 6 in its recent survey of 11.4 million units of professionally managed apartment units across the country
Read more »
Airbus deliveries plunge 80% in AprilAirbus deliveries tumbled 80% to just 14 aircraft in April, compared with a year earlier, as operations were hit by the coronavirus crisis, company data showed on Thursday.
Read more »
International tourism to fall as much as 80 percent due to virus – UNWidespread travel restrictions and the closure of airports and national borders has plunged international tourism into its worst crisis since records began in 1950, the UN body said in a statement.
Read more »
Buckle reports 80% decline in sales for month ending May 2Apparel retailer Buckle Inc. said Thursday that sales for the fiscal month ending May 2 totaled $11.4 million, falling 80.8% from the previous month. For the first quarter ending on that day, sales were $115.4 million, down $201.3 million from the previous year. The FactSet consensus wass for $138.0 million. Online sales for the quarter rose 31.5% to $32.1 million. During the week of April 26, Buckle began to reopen stores with 37 back in operation. Another 100 stores will reopen during the week of May 3. Due to the store closures, the company doesn't plan to report same-store sales. First-quarter earnings are scheduled for May 22. Buckle stock is down 27.1% over the past year while the S&P 500 index has slipped 1.2% for the period.
Read more »
Why Are Masks Triggering Conflict and Rage?People have a lot of intense feelings about whether to wear masks in public spaces during the pandemic. Here's why, according to sethgillihan
Read more »
Airports ask for more money from the fedsThe airport industry says it will need at least $10 billion more from the government to weather the precipitous drop in revenue caused by Covid-19
Read more »