All posts by nedhamson

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

UK records its highest daily number of COVID-19 cases since pandemic began

Boris Johnson apologises and corrects himself after giving out incorrect information on social distancing as the UK records over 7,000 cases of COVID-19 in the latest 24-hour recording period.

12715692-4x3-140x105.jpg

Boris Johnson apologises and corrects himself after giving out incorrect information on social distancing as the UK records over 7,000 cases of COVID-19 in the latest 24-hour recording period.

Covid ‘Testing Hell’: Devices Given to Nursing Homes Bring New Problems – The New York Times – (Trump administration  mismanagement of Covid-19 continues)

the initial sense of relief has been overtaken by frustration as nursing homes have discovered that they must pay for test kits on their own, and that the machines are markedly less accurate than lab-based diagnostics.

Because the devices come with a modest starter-set of test supplies that only last a few weeks, facilities, many of them buffeted by financial losses from the pandemic, must pay roughly $32 for each additional test. In communities with high rates of infection, a typical nursing home can churn through hundreds of tests a week.

The machine his company received, made by the medical device manufacturer BD, came with 300 tests but the new rules require Westminster-Canterbury to conduct weekly tests on its 280 nursing employees and residents. BD has said it would be weeks before they could send out additional testing supplies.

The shortages have forced Mr. Unkle to rely on an outside lab that charges $100 a test, an expense that he estimates will add $875,000 to the $1 million in pandemic-related losses that the nonprofit provider expects this year. Rather than the 15-minute turnaround, the lab results take up to four days to arrive, complicating efforts at infection control.

 

UAE: Palestinian state at ’67 lines a must despite peace deal with Israel – The Jerusalem Post

The United Arab Emirates will insist on a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the pre-1967 lines in spite of the peace deal it signed with Israel earlier this month, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
“The call for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the borders of 1967 with east Jerusalem as its capital in line with the relevant international resolutions and the Arab and international consensus will remain a firm demand,” he said.

Source: UAE: Palestinian state at ’67 lines a must despite peace deal with Israel – The Jerusalem Post

‘The first wave didn’t end’ Tourism season leaves behind a flood of coronavirus patients in Crimea — Meduza

At the same time, all of the healthcare workers Meduza interviewed noted that since August, the official statistics have come to more or less reflect the actual state of affairs on the peninsula — this was precisely when the numbers began to rise, and the increase is continuing to this day. According to official data, since the beginning of August the number of coronavirus patients in Crimea has more than tripled, reaching a total of 4,350 cases by September 28 (since the start of the epidemic). The number of confirmed cases increased more than two and a half times in Sevastopol, reaching 969.

Source: ‘The first wave didn’t end’ Tourism season leaves behind a flood of coronavirus patients in Crimea — Meduza

Boris Johnson helped sow the discord that’s making it hard for him to govern | Rafael Behr

4292.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=8

A tide of disinformation flows through the cracks in British democracy and the prime minister is hopelessly unqualified to fight back

To find the fault lines in society, follow the bots. Fake social media accounts crawl all over the issues that divide us, spreading lies and confusion. For every human being with a genuine grievance on Twitter and Facebook, there is an army of automated outrage amplifiers. For or against, left or right, it doesn’t matter when the goal is maximum polarisation. The bots identify the material that triggers the most passionate reactions and spread it to the widest audience.

Before scientists had pinned down vital facts about Covid-19, the internet was crawling with lurid conspiracy theories. One US study looked at 200m tweets discussing the coronavirus, and found that about 45% of comments came from mechanised accounts. Of the top 50 tweeters found to have the most network influence in the study, 41 were fake. Other social media platforms are similarly infested.

Continue reading…