23rd May 2022 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=666 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

The Wall Street Journal Apple Inc. has told some of its contract manufacturers that it wants to boost production outside China citing Beijings strict antiCovid policy among other reasons people involved in the discussions said. India and Vietnam already sites for a small portion of Apples global production are among the countries getting a closer look from the company as alternatives to China the people said. https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-looks-to-boost-production-outside-china-11653142077 22nd May 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Switzerland signed a contract to buy Pfizers antiviral drug Paxlovid to treat Covid19 it said on Friday. The European country said it had signed a contract to buy 12000 packages and first treatments for certain atrisk patients would start this month. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/switzerland-buys-pfizers-covid-19-antiviral-paxlovid-2022-05-20/ 21st May 2022

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg Thats a huge difference from the strongest financially performing nursing homes that saw up to 10 returns before the pandemic said John Tishler who specializes in transactions involving distressed and bankrupt healthcare facilities at Nashville law firm Waller Lansden Dortch Davis. The pandemic revealed and amplified longexisting shortcomings at the more than 15000 nursing homes in the US such as inadequate staffing poor infection control and regulatory failures according to an April report from the National Academy of Sciences. As of last month more than 150000 nursing home residents and 2362 workers had died from Covid19 according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-19/senior-nursing-homes-rocked-by-covid-costs-struggle-to-escape-closure 22nd May 2022

Lockdown Exit

Radio Free Asia Authorities in Beijing are ramping up COVID19 restrictions while some residents of Shanghai said they were able to leave their apartments on brief trips outside on Friday. Much of Chaoyang district in the eastern part of the Chinese capital was under lockdown on Friday while 100 subway stations and 24 administrative districts in Fangshan district were locked down after 10 positive PCR tests among college students there. The Beijing municipal health commission reported 64 newly discovered local cases of COVID19 on Thursday of which 10 were students at the Beijing Institute of Technologys Fangshan campus. While the authorities havent declared a lockdown parts of the city are indeed in a lockeddown state a Fangshan resident surnamed Zhang told RFA. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/shanghai-covid-economy-05202022143926.html 21st May 2022

Lockdown Exit

Sky News The UKs coronavirus alert level has been reduced as two rare types of Omicron have been reclassified as variants of concern. The level has moved from four to three after advice from the four nations chief medical officers and the NHS England medical director. They said that the current BA.2 driven Omicron wave is subsiding and direct COVID19 healthcare pressures continue to decrease in all nations. Their statement added Whilst it is reasonable to expect the number of cases to increase due to BA.4 BA.5 or BA2.12.1 it is unlikely in the immediate future to lead to significant direct COVID pressures. The alert level was last raised on 12 December as Omicron spread rapidly. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-omicron-ba-4-and-ba-5-classified-as-variants-of-concern-in-uk-12617681 21st May 2022

Lockdown Exit

Al Jazeera English Like no other country North Korea could do with help against COVID19. The countrys population is unvaccinated and susceptible to disease due to chronic malnourishment. Its dilapidated healthcare system lacks supplies of basic drugs and equipment. But even as North Korea faces the prospect of a humanitarian catastrophe amid its first officially confirmed coronavirus outbreak Pyongyang is steadfastly refusing offers of international assistance. The United States and South Korea have not received a response to offers to help tackle the outbreak including by sending aid according to South Korean officials. The World Health Organization which is deeply concerned at the risk of further spread said the country had not responded to requests for information about the outbreak. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/5/20/north-korea-shuns-outside-help-as-covid-catastrophe-looms 21st May 2022

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg North Korea said Friday that nearly 10 of its 26 million people have fallen ill and 65 people have died amid its first COVID19 outbreak as outside experts question the validity of its reported fatalities and worry about a possible humanitarian crisis. After admitting the omicron outbreak last week following more than two years of claiming to be coronavirusfree North Korea has said an unidentified fever has been explosively spreading across the country since late April. Its antiepidemic center has since released fever tallies each morning via state media but they dont include any COVID19 figures. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-20/n-korea-s-low-death-count-questioned-amid-covid-19-outbreak 20th May 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Shanghais central Jingan district a key commercial area of the Chinese financial hub said on Saturday it will require all supermarkets and shops to shut and residents to stay home until at least Tuesday. The district plans to carry out COVID mass testing from Sunday until Tuesday it said on its official WeChat account. The use of all exit permits previously given to residents that allowed them to leave their homes will be suspended the district added without saying why. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/shanghai-district-require-all-shops-shut-residents-stay-home-2022-05-21/ 21st May 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters North Korea on Saturday reported more than 200000 new patients suffering from fever for a fifth consecutive day as it fought its first confirmed coronavirus outbreak. The ongoing COVID wave declared last week has fuelled concerns over a lack of vaccines inadequate medical infrastructure and a potential food crisis in the country of 25 million which has refused outside help and kept its borders shut. At least 219030 people newly showed fever symptoms as of Friday evening taking the total number of such cases to 2460640 the official KCNA news agency reported citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters. The death toll rose by one to 66. KCNA did not say how many people had tested positive for the virus. In a separate report KCNA said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had held a meeting of the ruling Workers Partys powerful politburo early on Saturday to check the COVID situation and responses made over the nine days since the outbreak emerged. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/nkorea-reports-219030-more-people-with-fever-1-new-death-amid-covid-wave-yonhap-2022-05-20/ 21st May 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters President Joe Biden and his new South Korean counterpart agreed on Saturday to hold bigger military drills and deploy more U.S. weapons if necessary to deter North Korea while offering to send COVID19 vaccines and potentially meet Kim Jong Un. Biden and Yoon Sukyeol said their countries decadesold alliance needed to develop not only to face North Korean threats but to keep the IndoPacific region free and open and protect global supply chains. The two leaders are meeting in Seoul for their first diplomatic engagement since the South Korean presidents inauguration 11 days ago. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/biden-skoreas-yoon-set-discuss-nuclear-cooperation-nkorea-2022-05-21/ 21st May 2022

Exit Strategies

South China Morning Post Several major European airlines have warned that they will not be able to add more flights to Hong Kong if the citys Covid19 restrictions remain while the rest of the world opens up rapidly following the decline of the pandemic. The carriers said they were more likely to fly to places with fewer or no restrictions including places that allowed aircrew to move about freely during layovers. Industry leaders also warned that the city could take years to regain its status as an aviation hub while rival Singapore stood to benefit after relaxing its restrictions on travellers. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3178600/hong-kong-bypassed-european-airlines-warn-they-cant-add 21st May 2022

Exit Strategies

The Lancet We used claims data extracted from the Dutch national health insurers information system Vektis to identify all gastroenterological healthcare activities performed from Jan 1 2019 to March 28 2021 as part of a diagnosis treatment combination plan with a hepatogastroenterologist as the treating physician. The activities were analysed overall and across procedure types and diagnosis groups of interest appendix pp 25. We compared absolute and relative changes for the index week during the COVID19 pandemic with the reference week in 2019. We defined three timeframes on the basis of the number of weekly COVID19 admissions3 the first wave from week 9 through week 22 of 2020 a subsequent recovery phase with relatively few admissions from week 23 through week 35 and a second wave with high ongoing admission rates from week 36 through to the end of the study period https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langas/article/PIIS2468-1253(22)00164-9/fulltext 21st May 2022

Exit Strategies

CNN But heres an individual story for anyone coming to terms with the persistence of Covid19 and a lesson that if youve had it you can easily test positive again. Latenight host Jimmy Kimmel did. And its wreaking havoc on his schedule just like infection does for school kids teachers service workers office workers or anyone else who does the responsible thing and goes into isolation. Im such a positive person I tested positive AGAIN. I am feeling fine Kimmel said on Twitter this week announcing guest hosts for his show. The news comes after he previously announced a positive test and guest hosts to fill in while he quarantined at home at the beginning of the month. There are many examples of people who got Covid19 multiple times. Jen Psaki the former White House press secretary leaps to mind. But Kimmels second positive test came a very short time after his first. https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/19/politics/covid-reinfection-vaccine-booster-what-matters/index.html 21st May 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Chinas commercial hub of Shanghai reported on Friday a broad decline in its economy last month when a citywide COVID lockdown shut factories and kept residents at home sparking concerns among foreign firms over their presence in the country. Output of Shanghais industries located at the heart of manufacturing in the Yangtze River Delta shrank 61.5 in April from a year earlier the local statistics bureau said. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/shanghai-economy-hit-all-sides-april-by-covid-lockdown-2022-05-20/ 21st May 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Shanghai announced its first new COVID19 cases outside quarantined areas in five days on Friday and imposed stricter curbs in two districts but did not signal any change to the planned end of a prolonged citywide lockdown on June 1. The commercial hub of 25 million in its seventh week of lockdown has been slowly allowing more people to leave their homes in recent days with many residential compounds issuing passes for brief walks or trips to the supermarket. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/shanghai-detects-new-infections-after-five-days-zero-covid-2022-05-20/ 20th May 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Taiwans export orders a bellwether for global technology demand fell for the first time in 25 months in April taking a largerthanexpected hit from COVID lockdowns in China and broader global supply chain disruptions. Export orders unexpectedly fell 5.5 from a year earlier to 51.9 billion last month data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed on Friday. The decline was the first in more than two years since the COVID19 pandemic began sweeping the world in 2020 and upended analysts forecasts for 8.3 growth. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/taiwan-export-orders-fall-first-time-2-years-hurt-by-china-lockdowns-global-2022-05-20/ 20th May 2022

Partisan Exits

Bloomberg Twotime Grand Slam champion Garbie Muguruza is out of the French Open in the first round for the second year in a row. Muguruza won the title at Roland Garros in 2016 and was seeded 10th this year but was defeated 26 63 64 by Kaia Kanepi of Estonia on Sunday. Kanepi turns 37 next month and is the oldest player in the womens draw in Paris. She is ranked 46th and is participating in her 15th French Open. Her best showings were quarterfinal appearances in 2008 and 2012 she has appeared in seven Grand Slam quarterfinals but never won one. The match ended under a drizzle and Muguruza missed a service return on match point then cracked her racket against the ground. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-22/french-open-updates-play-starts-without-covid-restrictions 22nd May 2022

Partisan Exits

Reuters President Joe Biden and his new South Korean counterpart agreed on Saturday to hold bigger military drills and deploy more U.S. weapons if necessary to deter North Korea while offering to send COVID19 vaccines and potentially meet Kim Jong Un. Biden and Yoon Sukyeol said their countries decadesold alliance needed to develop not only to face North Korean threats but to keep the IndoPacific region free and open and protect global supply chains https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/biden-skoreas-yoon-set-discuss-nuclear-cooperation-nkorea-2022-05-21/ 22nd May 2022

Partisan Exits

Bloomberg President Joe Biden said North Korea hasnt taken the US up on an offer to provide Covid19 vaccines despite an outbreak that a White House official described as worrying. Weve offered vaccines not only to North Korea but to China as well. We are prepared to do that immediately. We have gotten no response Biden told reporters following a meeting Saturday in Seoul with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. The US is concerned about the Covid19 situation in North Korea and is willing to provide Pyongyang with assistance a White House official told reporters earlier Saturday. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-21/biden-says-north-korea-hasn-t-responded-to-offer-of-covid-help 21st May 2022

Partisan Exits

South China Morning Post on MSN.com Shanghai is facing an exodus of talent and labour as thousands of people leave the pandemichit city which has been in total lockdown since April 1 knocked by worries that local authorities will backtrack from plans to switch to normal virus control measures in June after achieving a societal zeroCovid goal. At the citys Hongqiao railway station passengers have to queue up for two hours before they can even access the terminal. Those who plan on leaving need to show train tickets approval letters from subdistrict authorities and negative nucleic reports within 48 hours of their journey before gaining permission to enter the terminal. A rapid antigen test is also required at the security checkpoints. https://www.msn.com/en-xl/money/other/coronavirus-shanghai-faces-exodus-of-talent-as-lockdown-dashes-workers-hopes-for-good-jobs-and-a-better-life/ar-AAXxy9C 21st May 2022

Partisan Exits

Daily Mail on MSN.com More than 50000 fines have been handed to Victorians for breaching COVID19 restrictions. Some 5721 people were nabbed for not wearing a face covering a budget estimates inquiry has been told while 112 people were caught failing to isolate when required. https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/dan-andrews-hands-out-50000-fines-to-covid-rule-breakers/ar-AAXoSFm 21st May 2022

Partisan Exits

The Independent First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has tested positive for Covid19. Ms Sturgeon tweeted she had been experiencing mild symptoms on Friday evening. She will work from home over the next few days and told followers she would hopefully be back out and about later next week. The First Minister met Sinn Fein vice president and first minister designate of Northern Ireland Michelle ONeill at Bute House earlier on Friday. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/nicola-sturgeon-first-minister-health-northern-ireland-sinn-fein-b2083997.html 21st May 2022

Partisan Exits

The Associated Press Pandemicrelated restrictions on migrants seeking asylum on the southern border must continue a judge ruled Friday in an order blocking the Biden administrations plan to lift them early next week. The ruling was just the latest instance of a court derailing the presidents proposed immigration policies along the U.S. border with Mexico. The Justice Department said the administration will appeal but the ruling virtually ensures that restrictions will not end as planned on Monday. A delay would be a blow to advocates who say rights to seek asylum are being trampled and a relief to some Democrats who fear that a widely anticipated increase in illegal crossings would put them on the defensive in an already difficult midterm election year. https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-government-and-politics-mexico-texas-43976f307da98b3e800f884e87f244fe 21st May 2022

Partisan Exits

Reuters U.S. authorities were blocked by a federal judge on Friday from lifting COVID19 restrictions that empower agents at the U.S.Mexico border to turn back migrants without giving them a chance to seek asylum. The nationwide injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays in Louisiana means the restrictions which were set to end on May 23 will remain in place across the border as the litigation proceeds unless a higher court overturns the ruling. The Department of Justice DOJ said it intends to appeal. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-judge-blocks-plan-lift-covid-border-restrictions-migrants-2022-05-20/ 20th May 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Bloomberg Thailands capital will vote for a new governor on Sunday for the first time in almost a decade with the winner facing the challenges of rebuilding Bangkoks prepandemic status as a tourism hub and tackling persistent pollution. More than 4.4 million people including an estimated 700000 firsttime voters will pick the next governor from a list of 30 candidates for a fouryear term. Polls close at 5 p.m. and unofficial results will be known by midnight authorities said. Chadchart Sittipunt a former transport minister contesting as an independent has consistently led preelection surveys with respondents backing him for his track record in improving public transport systems including the nations railways. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-22/bangkok-votes-for-new-chief-as-covid-recovery-tops-challenges 22nd May 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Pulmonology Advisor The presence of hypoxemia in patients with COVID19related acute respiratory distress syndrome ARDS is associated with such risk factors as body mass index BMI and prior respiratory illness according to clinical trial results recently published in the Journal of Critical Care. Organized by the Argentine Society of Intensive Care Medicine the SATICOVID19 clinical trial ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT04611269 a prospective multicenter cohort study identified determinants of oxygenation over time as measured by the ratio of arterial oxygen partial pressure to fractional inspired oxygen over days 1 3 and 7 from ICU admission among patients with COVID19 ARDS. Study authors also analyzed the differences in physiological parameters ventilation management and outcomes over time associated with the 3 categories of ARDS severity outlined in the Berlin definition of ARDS. https://www.pulmonologyadvisor.com/home/topics/critical-care/covid-19-ards-linked-to-bmi-and-prior-respiratory-disease/ 21st May 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

ABC News Countries in Europe and North America are continuing to report more cases of monkeypox but experts say the disease so far does not pose a serious risk to the public. At least 17 infections of the rare disease have been confirmed in nonendemic areas such as the United States United Kingdom Portugal Sweden and Italy and dozens of possible cases are under investigation in those nations as well as in Canada and Spain. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/monkeypox-cases-detected-us-europe-experts-caution-comparing/story?id=84831037 21st May 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Healio The proportion of deaths attributed to COVID19 in people with diabetes in the U.S. in the last 3 months of 2020 was slightly higher than the percentage of people who died due to cardiovascular disease or diabetes according to study data. In a letter published in Diabetes Care researchers found the rate of allcause mortality in people with diabetes increased from the third quarter of 2019 through the fourth quarter of 2020 with the higher rate primarily due to a sharp increase in COVID19 deaths. https://www.healio.com/news/endocrinology/20220517/covid19-leading-cause-of-death-in-people-with-diabetes-in-fourth-quarter-of-2020 21st May 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

SciDev.Net The COVID19 pandemic will further derail the UNs Sustainable Development Goals SDGs in the next five years without concerted action warn international scientists. The SDGs were adopted by the United Nations in September 2015 and call for governments and organisations to achieve goals such as ending poverty eradicating hunger and ensuring everyone has access to clean affordable energy by 2030. However the economic fallout on the SDGs from COVID19 was clear in 2020 when at least 255 million fulltime jobs were lost triggering a hunger crisis especially in the global South according to the report Unprecedented and Unfinished COVID19 and Implications for National and Global Policy published by the International Science Council ISC. https://www.scidev.net/global/news/covid-19-could-derail-sdgs-for-next-five-years-report/ 21st May 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The National A COVID19 winter booster campaign is being planned by the Scottish Government on the back of expert advice. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation JCVI has recommended that in order to maximise protection for the most vulnerable boosters should be offered later this year to certain priority groups. The Government has now said it is working closely with NHS boards to plan for the rollout. Fourth doses of a vaccine are currently being offered to those aged 75 and over and people at highest risk. Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said The Scottish Government welcomes the interim advice from the JCVI that in order to maximise protection in those most vulnerable to serious illness COVID19 booster vaccines should be offered to certain priority groups from this autumn. Prioritising those most at risk has been our approach from the outset. https://www.thenational.scot/news/20153544.planning-underway-covid-winter-booster-campaign/ 21st May 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Wales Online From this autumn the Welsh Government has announced. The government has confirmed a list of those who will be offered a Covid jab between September and December this year following the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisations JCVI latest review of the existing vaccine programme in Wales. Following the review the Welsh Government has confirmed it will offer a single dose of a Covid19 vaccine to Residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults Frontline health and social care workers All those 65 years of age and over Adults aged 16 to 65 years in a clinical risk group https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/who-get-covid-vaccine-wales-24008903 21st May 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Wall Street Journal Article reports that stomach bugs Covid19 and a normally harmless virus are among the suspects researchers have identified as possible drivers of a mysterious rash of hepatitis cases among children. Publichealth researchers in the U.S. U.K and other parts of Europe are running studies aimed at pinpointing the cause of unexplained severe hepatitis or liver inflammation that has sickened more than 400 children around the world in recent months leading to at least 26 liver transplants and at least six deaths. So far they have few concrete answers. https://www.wsj.com/articles/mysterious-hepatitis-in-kids-spurs-a-hunt-for-answers-11653039000 21st May 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Infection with adenovirus a common childhood virus is the leading hypothesis for recent cases of severe hepatitis of unknown origin in children that have led to at least six deaths U.S. health officials said on Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC said it is continuing to investigate whether 180 cases identified in 36 states and territories since last October represent an increase in the rate of pediatric hepatitis or whether an existing pattern has been revealed though improved detection. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-cdc-says-adenovirus-leading-hypothesis-severe-hepatitis-children-2022-05-20/ 20th May 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian Millions of people in the UK will be offered further Covid booster shots in the autumn under draft guidance published by the governments vaccine watchdog. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said another round of jabs would help protect the most vulnerable adults and frontline social care and health workers against severe Covid in the winter. Despite considerable uncertainty over the likelihood timing and severity of any future wave of Covid in the country the committee said the threat from the virus would be greatest in the winter months. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/19/covid-booster-vaccine-people-in-uk-to-be-offered-this-autumn 20th May 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

CNN Chinas commercial hub of Shanghai reported on Friday a broad decline in its economy last month when a citywide COVID lockdown shut factories and kept residents at home sparking concerns among foreign firms over their presence in the country. Output of Shanghais industries located at the heart of manufacturing in the Yangtze River Delta shrank 61.5 in April from a year earlier the local statistics bureau said. https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/20/health/mrna-vaccine-technology-covid-19-durability/index.html 20th May 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Forbes For example theres that preprint case report uploaded to Research Square on April 26 2022 of a 71yearold man who had been fully vaccinated and boosted against Covid19. He began taking Paxlovid as soon as he had tested positive for Covid19 two days after he had gotten exposed to the virus. His Covid19 symptoms essentially disappeared after two days of Paxlovid which seemed like a good thing. Yet nine days after he had first tested positive and four days after he had completed the fiveday course of Paxlovid guess what happened His runny nose sore throat and difficulty breathing returned along with SARSCoV2 levels in his body going up again. It was like dj eww all over again. Viral genome sequencing showed that during both his initial symptoms and his return of symptoms he was infected with the BA.1 Omicron subvariant of the SARSCoV2. This suggested that he has experienced not two separate infections but a single one that improved before subsequently getting worse. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2022/05/19/paxlovid-rebound-some-suffering-covid-19-relapses-after-taking-pfizer-antiviral/ 20th May 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters At 930 a.m. every day this week a softspoken official has appeared on North Korean television to report the number of people with fever and new deaths and to explain measures to stop North Koreas first confirmed COVID19 outbreak. The littleknown official Ryu Yong Chol has become the public face of the isolated countrys battle against the epidemic the equivalent of U.S. COVID19 czar Dr Anthony Fauci or the director of South Koreas disease prevention agency Jeong Eunkyeong. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-koreas-dr-fauci-health-official-emerges-face-covid-campaign-2022-05-20/ 20th May 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Sky News Scientific advisers have sent the government their recommendations for who should be offered a COVID booster jab this autumn. Experts from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation JCVI said the extra shot would help maintain protection over the winter against severe COVID19. It recommends jabs for Over65s Care home residents and staff Frontline health and social care workers People over 16 in vulnerable groups https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-jcvi-recommends-autumn-booster-jabs-for-some-groups-12616779 19th May 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Bloomberg My boyfriend wasnt feeling well. Then again that wasnt too surprising. We had just spent a weekend at New Orleans annual jazz festival where we spent long days baking in 90 degree weather and drinking plenty of beer to stay cool. But hangovers and heatstroke werent the only potential culprits. The risk of Covid was everywhere. I knew that because for weeks I had been carrying around a palmsized 150 carbon dioxide monitor that assesses exactly that. Then Jesse told me that he couldnt smell anything. A bright pink line soon confirmed the answer Id been dreading. He had Covid. Three days later after two years of avoiding it I tested positive too. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-05-22/whats-your-risk-of-catching-covid-this-150-device-helped-me-find-out 22nd May 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters For the first time in nearly 10 days North Koreas daily fever cases dropped below 200000 state media said on Sunday reporting a positive trend after measures were taken to control the countrys first acknowledged COVID19 outbreak. The COVID wave declared on May 12 has fuelled concerns over a lack of vaccines inadequate medical infrastructure and a potential food crisis in the country of 25 million. It has refused most outside help kept its borders shut and allows no independent confirmation of official data. Apparently lacking in testing supplies North Korea has not confirmed the total number of people testing positive for the coronavirus. Instead health authorities report the number with fever symptoms making it difficult to assess the scale of the COVID wave experts have said. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nkorea-reports-positive-trend-covid-fight-fever-cases-dip-2022-05-21/ 22nd May 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Shanghai reopened a small part of the worlds longest subway system on Sunday after some lines had been closed for almost two months as the city paves the way for a more complete lifting of its painful COVID19 lockdown next week. With most residents not allowed to leave their homes and restrictions tightening in parts of Chinas most populous city commuters early on Sunday needed strong reasons to travel. Shanghais lockdown and curbs in other cities have battered consumption industrial output and other sectors of the Chinese economy in recent months prompting pledges of support from policymakers https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/shanghai-reopens-some-public-transport-still-high-covid-alert-2022-05-22/ 22nd May 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters U.S. President Joe Biden in Seoul before heading to Japan as part of his first Asia trip as president had a simple message for North Koreas Kim Jong Un Hello... period he told reporters on the last day of his visit to South Korea on Sunday. Biden said he was not concerned about new North Korean nuclear tests which would be the first in nearly five years. But his wry response when asked what message he had for Kim underscored the administrations lowkey approach to the unresolved tensions with North Korea. It is a stark contrast with former President Donald Trumps showy threats summits and love letters with Kim. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/covid-may-be-factor-lack-nkorea-response-us-outreach-official-2022-05-22/ 22nd May 2022