All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

‘This isn’t a heat wave issue’: B.C. paramedics say there’s a systemic crisis in emergency care | Globalnews.ca

More paramedics are speaking out about what they say is a systemic crisis in the ambulance service that goes far beyond problems revealed by the recent deadly heat wave.

Source: ‘This isn’t a heat wave issue’: B.C. paramedics say there’s a systemic crisis in emergency care | Globalnews.ca

Handwriting leads to faster learning than typing or watching videos – Study Finds (Me: Interesting but a pretty small and controlled sample)

A group of 42 participants took part in the study. Researchers taught each person the Arabic alphabet after separating them into three learning groups: pen and paper, typing, and video watching. After all participants had been “introduced” to an Arabic letter via a short video, subjects had to attempt to absorb the new information according to their assigned learning group. The typing group had to find the letter they just saw on a keyboard. The video group saw an on-screen flash of a letter and had to answer if it was the same letter they had just seen. The handwriting group had to copy the letter with pen and paper.

By the time participants across all three groups had finished six “learning sessions,” pretty much everyone was able to recognize the letters. However, the writing group reached this level much faster than the other two groups, after an average of just two learning sessions.

Source: Handwriting leads to faster learning than typing or watching videos – Study Finds

Germany Shifts Focus of Vaccine Drive to the Undecided and Skeptics – DER SPIEGEL

As the availability of vaccines against COVID-19 increases, authorities in Germany are facing a new obstacle: hesitancy among the population. Now leaders are betting on everything from mobile vaccine buses to concert vouchers and a bicycle lottery to convince people to get their jabs. Source: Germany Shifts Focus of Vaccine Drive to the Undecided and Skeptics – DER SPIEGEL

Coronavirus: Germany declares Spain a COVID risk area | News | DW | 09.07.2021

Germany on Friday listed Spain as a basic risk area due to rising number of coronavirus infections in the country, including Majorca and the Canary Islands.

The decision comes as the spread of the more contagious coronavirus delta variant prompts fears of new outbreaks across Europe.

Germany’s Foreign Ministry had previously considered only a few regions in Spain as risk areas.

But starting Sunday, travelers who spend time anywhere in Spain within 10 days before entering Germany will have to present a negative coronavirus test or proof vaccination or recovery.

Source: Coronavirus: Germany declares Spain a COVID risk area | News | DW | 09.07.2021

Missouri becomes ground zero for COVID-19 battle | TheHill

More than half the population has not taken a COVID-19 vaccine in Missouri, which is dealing with one of the worst situations with the coronavirus across the country. As parts of the United States emerge from the pandemic, other sections of the country are experiencing a very different reality with the virus. Few states illustrate the divide better than Missouri. The state has the second most cases per capita next to neighboring Arkansas, according to the database kept by The New York Times. The Missouri Health Department has recorded a total of 533,670 coronavirus cases as of Friday, an increase of 1,544 from the day before.

Source: Missouri becomes ground zero for COVID-19 battle | TheHill

Mississippi warns vulnerable residents to avoid indoor gatherings no matter vaccination status | TheHill

Mississippi cautioned residents aged 65 and older and those with chronic medical conditions to avoid indoor mass gatherings whether or not they are vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The Mississippi State Department of Health issued on Friday an updated set of recommended precautions for residents to take through July 26, including having the vulnerable stay away from indoor gatherings.

The department pointed to “a significant rise” of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, as well as the “rapid increase in delta variant cases and outbreaks” amid “the low overall vaccination rate” in the state.

Source: Mississippi warns vulnerable residents to avoid indoor gatherings no matter vaccination status | TheHill

Los Angeles County reports 165 percent spike in COVID-19 cases in a week | TheHill

The L.A. County Department of Public Health said in a statement that 839 new coronavirus infections had been reported as of Thursday. The daily average case rate is at 3.5 per 100,000 people, up from last week’s 1.74 cases per 100,000 people.

The agency said that the delta variant of the coronavirus first identified in India has become the most commonly sequenced variant in the county since the beginning of June, and now accounts for the majority of variants identified by labs, “consistent with what other parts of the U.S. are seeing.” 

Source: Los Angeles County reports 165 percent spike in COVID-19 cases in a week | TheHill