Corona virus live news: Germany records the second highest daily infection cases since April; New Zealand sees record low GDP | world News

Covid-19 Ethics: Should We Deliberately Share Volunteers in the Name of Science? Podcast Part 2

Teams around the world are working hard to develop vaccines for Covid-19. While any potential candidate would need to be tested on thousands of volunteers to demonstrate its safety and effectiveness, some scientists have argued that the race to the finish line could be speeded up through human challenge trials – in which participants contract a special strain of the virus.

Ian sample It delves into some of the misconceptions and obstacles inherent in this type of research. On the second of the two Episodes, Ian explores the importance of rescue treatments, what happens if something goes wrong, and whether it is ethically permissible to intentionally infect people most at risk of contracting Covid-19, such as the 80-year-old volunteers:

Health systems across the southern hemisphere were preparing a few months ago for a spike in annual flu cases, which along with Covid-19 could have flooded hospitals. They never came.

Instead, many countries in the Southern Hemisphere have experienced either record low levels of influenza or none at all. Public health professionals in Australia, New Zealand South America said it would save tens of thousands of lives and provide a glimmer of hope as winter approaches in the northern hemisphere.

Health data shows that general practitioners in New Zealand have not detected a single case of influenza since they began examining patients in June. Last year, about 57% of the samples they collected were positive:

Cases in Germany today are the second highest since mid-April according to our Scientist in Data report.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 2,194 to 265,857 on Thursday. The last time the cases crossed 2,000 was on August 21, and before that, the last time the cases had crossed 2,194 was on April 24.

South Africa will reopen its borders to most countries next month, the South African president said on Wednesday, as part of a broader easing of announced anti-coronavirus measures as numbers continue to improve, AFP reported.

The continent’s most industrialized economy closed its borders at the start of a strict nationwide lockdown on March 27 to curb the spread of the virus.

Restrictions on movement and business have been gradually eased since June, but borders have remained closed to avoid importing the virus from abroad.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said Wednesday that most of the remaining rules will be rolled back as of September 20, and that international travel will resume “gradually and cautiously” on October 1st.

In a speech to the nation, Ramaphosa said: “We have resisted the Coronavirus storm.

“It is time to move to what will become our new normal as long as the Coronavirus is with us.”

Under the new measures, most gatherings will be allowed at 50 percent of the venue’s capacity, with a maximum of 250 people for indoor events.

The 10:00 pm curfew will be reduced to midnight and the 50 person limit in recreational facilities will be raised.

However, restrictions on sporting events remain in place, and face masks will still be required in public places.

Ramaphosa added that travel may also be restricted to and from countries with “high infection rates,” adding that the list will be determined based on “the latest scientific data … from those countries.”

Data from the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases showed, on Thursday, that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany rose by 2,194 to 265,857 cases.

The toll showed that the reported death toll rose by three, to 9,371.

The full story about New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio where everyone stayed in his office – including himself:

Podcast: Brexit, Covid, and the Turns – Why Conservative MPs are getting anxious

The prime minister has been trying to calm anxiety on several fronts, says Jessica Ellgott of The Guardian, with Conservative MPs in the back seats rebelling against the government’s recent plans for Brexit, restrictions on the emerging coronavirus and a series of devastating shifts:

Mexico City suffered 20,535 excess deaths attributed to Covid-19 between April and August, an official said on Wednesday, nearly double the number announced in the official death toll of 11,318, The Associated Press reported.

The head of the city’s digital innovation agency, David Merino, said there were 30,462 excess deaths in the city between April 1 and the end of August, about two-thirds of which were identified due to the coronavirus. The excess deaths are calculated by comparing the number of deaths in previous years and comparing them to 2020.

Merino wrote on his Twitter account that 92% of these deaths were in hospitals and 7% in private housing. The city of 9 million, like the rest of Mexico, had a very low test rate and officials acknowledged that the numbers of test-confirmed cases and deaths may underestimate the true numbers.

Merino writes that these are figures describing a tragedy.

Merino has identified how the city has identified this number of excess Covid-19 deaths, but city officials are leading efforts to review death certificates to determine how many untested people have most likely died from the coronavirus.
It is also unclear whether test-confirmed cases were included in the excess death figures.