All posts by nedhamson

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

Coronavirus unemployment benefits skip some gig workers – Los Angeles Times

Self-employed shut out from Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program
— Read on www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-02/coronavirus-unemployment-gig-workers-benefits-pandemic

Intentions good but out of date with how people have been making a living – fix it!

Public Health Response to the Initiation and Spread of Pandemic COVID-19 in the United States, February 24–April 21, 2020 | MMWR

What is already known about this topic? The first confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case in the United States was reported on January 21, 2020. The outbreak appeared contained through February, and then accelerated rapidly. What is added by this report? Various factors contributed to accelerated spread during February–March 2020, including continued travel-associated importations, large gatherings, introductions into high-risk workplaces and densely populated areas, and cryptic transmission resulting from limited testing and asymptomatic and presymptomatic spread. Targeted and communitywide mitigation efforts were needed to slow transmission.

Source: Public Health Response to the Initiation and Spread of Pandemic COVID-19 in the United States, February 24–April 21, 2020 | MMWR

Healthcare workers face layoffs despite coronavirus – Los Angeles Times

American healthcare is a business, and the economics are simple: Fewer patients means less money. And though some California hospitals are beginning to schedule elective surgeries again, experts say the healthcare industry is unlikely to bounce back immediately, as large swaths of the population are now struggling to make ends meet and may continue to avoid or put off medical care.

Source: Healthcare workers face layoffs despite coronavirus – Los Angeles Times

European ambassadors warn Israel against annexing West Bank – PNN

Jerusalem /PNN/ The ambassadors of 11 European countries have warned the Israeli regime that its planned annexation of the occupied West Bank is a “clear violation of international law” that would have “grave consequences” for the regime.

Envoys from the UK, Germany, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, and Finland as well as, notably, the European Union (EU) presented their formal objection to the plan on Thursday, a Channel 13 report said, according to the Times of Israel.

Source: European ambassadors warn Israel against annexing West Bank – PNN

These Scientists Saw COVID-19 Coming. Now They’re Trying to Stop the Next Pandemic Before It Starts. – Mother Jones

“How did this happen? And could it happen again?”

Source: These Scientists Saw COVID-19 Coming. Now They’re Trying to Stop the Next Pandemic Before It Starts. – Mother Jones

Sixty percent of new infectious diseases—diseases that, like COVID-19, have never before reached humans—originate in domesticated animals and wildlife, often bats, rodents, or non-human primates. Scientists estimate that there are as many as 800,000 of these so-called zoonotic viruses lurking in the natural world that could infect humans. The animals carrying these viruses often don’t get sick; instead, they serve as “reservoirs,” amassing pathogens as they eat, sleep, and socialize. It’s a good deal for the viruses: They get a free ride, while they wait for a chance to make a cross-species leap.

The problem is that those deadly leaps are becoming more common. Population growth and environmental and habitat destruction are bringing humans into more frequent contact with certain species—and the viruses that they carry.