Health Advisories

[jo]

Read Aaron Tveit's ( Enjolras in Les Misérables, currently on Broadway Moulin Rouge before shows were shut down) account on what it was like to be sick of COVID-19 --

variety.com/2020/legit/news/aaron-tveit-coronavirus-broadway-moulin-rouge-symptoms-smell-1203552585/

[jo]

Helpful information on the use of professional and homemade masks --

www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/homemade-face-masks-coronavirus-n95-new-cdc-guidelines-and-everything-to-know/ar-BB125OH6

[jo]

Thoughtful article from The Atlantic Monthly on how nature is now taking a breather --

www.msn.com/en-ph/news/world/the-pandemic-is-turning-the-natural-world-upside-down/ar-BB126jK5?ocid=spartandhp

The pandemic is turning the natural world upside down

Marina Koren



From inside her living room in London, Paula Koelemeijer can feel the world around her growing quieter.

Koelemeijer, a seismologist, has a miniature seismometer sitting on a concrete slab at the base of her first-floor fireplace. The apparatus, though smaller than a box of tissues, can sense all kinds of movement, from the rattle of trains on the tracks near Koelemeijer’s home to the waves of earthquakes rolling in from afar. Since the United Kingdom announced stricter social-distancing rules last month, telling residents not to leave their home except for essential reasons, the seismometer has registered a sharp decrease in the vibrations produced by human activity.

With fewer trains, buses, and people pounding the pavement, the usual hum of public life has vanished, and so has its dependable rhythms: Before the spread of COVID-19 shut down the city, Koelemeijer could plot the seismometer’s data and see the train schedule reflected in the spikes, down to the minute. Now, with fewer trains running, the spikes seem to come at random.

“It’s very literally reflecting a slowdown of our lives,” Koelemeijer told me over Skype.


Koelemeijer said she briefly geeked out over the recent data before reality set in. At first glance, this is indeed a fascinating observation, the kind of factoid that might appear on the underside of a Snapple cap. The “wow” moment is short-lived, of course, because the explanation is not a quirk of nature or some other benign eccentricity, but a catastrophic virus that has sickened and killed thousands, crumpled economies, and plunged public life into a fearful limbo with no easily discernible end.

But the response to the pandemic has unwittingly produced some other large-scale, though less conspicuous, effects. In a bittersweet twist, the surreal slowdown of life as we know it has presented researchers with a rare opportunity to study the modern world under some truly bizarre conditions, and they’re scrambling to collect as much data as they can. Here are four ways the pandemic is being felt across land, air, and sea.



There's less rumbling on the surface

Seismologists around the world have noticed the same effect Koelemeijer detected in London, and at more traditional stations than a fireplace.

The trend started with Thomas Lecocq, a seismologist at the Royal Observatory of Belgium, in Brussels. Seismic stations are usually found well outside metropolitan areas, away from vibrations that could obscure subtle tremors within Earth’s interior, but the Brussels station was established more than a century ago, before a city grew around it. Today, it provides a fascinating glimpse of the ebb and flow of a bustling city; Lecocq has found that when it snows, anthropogenic seismic activity decreases, and on the day of a road race, it spikes. Lecocq checked seismic data the day before Belgium began a nationwide lockdown, and then the following morning.

The drop in activity, he said, was “immediate.” Right now, daytime in Brussels resembles Christmas Day.

Lecocq shared his approach online, and seismologists in the United States, France, New Zealand, and elsewhere are now seeing the effects of their country’s own social-distancing measures on seismic activity. For seismologists who study seismic signals from Earth’s interior—rather than other sources, including people, animals, even storms—quarantines seem to have made it easier to listen. “Normally we wouldn’t pick up a 5.5 [magnitude earthquake] from the other side of the world, because it would be too noisy, but with less noise, they’re now able to pick up 5.5’s with much nicer signals during the day,” Koelemeijer said.



There's less air pollution

As cities and, in some cases, entire nations weather the pandemic under lockdown, Earth-observing satellites have detected a significant decrease in the concentration of a common air pollutant, nitrogen dioxide, which enters the atmosphere through emissions from cars, trucks, buses, and power plants. The drop, observed in China and Europe, coincided with stringent social-distancing measures on the ground. Air pollution can seriously damage human health, and the World Health Organisation estimates that conditions stemming from exposure to ambient pollution—including stroke, heart disease, and respiratory illnesses—kill about 4.2 million people a year.


The cleaner air could lead to a brief respite in parts of the world with severe air pollution even as they battle the coronavirus. According to an analysis by Marshall Burke, a professor in Stanford’s Earth-system science department, a pandemic-related reduction in particulate matter in the atmosphere—the deadliest form of air pollution—likely saved the lives of 4,000 young children and 73,000 elderly adults in China over two months this year.

“There’s a quantifiable temporary benefit,” Joseph Majkut, the director of climate policy at the Niskanen Centre, in Washington, D.C., told me, referring to Burke’s analysis. But—and it’s an important “but”—“as we go about our recovery, I think we’ll go back to business as usual,” he said. A drop in emissions this year, including carbon dioxide, the pollutant that causes global warming, won’t make a dent in the long-term effort to manage the climate crisis. “We’re not solving climate change by having a global pandemic,” Majkut said.



City soundscapes are changing

With so many people staying home—and public-transit agencies cutting service as a result—there’s significantly less noise from cars, buses, trains, and other transportation. Erica Walker, a public-health researcher at Boston University, has taken a decibel meter with her on her socially distanced walks, and she has been stunned by the measurements. “It’s a lot quieter,” she told me.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the acoustic environment in Kenmore Square, a busy intersection near campus, is usually about 90 decibels during rush hour. Yesterday, Walker’s rush-hour readings were just under 68 decibels. (For comparison, a subway train rumbling past nearby registers at 95 decibels—the level at which chronic exposure could result in impaired hearing—and the sound of normal conversation is 60 to 70 decibels.) In some spots in the Fenway Park area, where Walker has studied noise pollution for several years through her program Noise and the City, her latest data show reductions close to 30 decibels. “It’s unbelievably a huge difference,” Walker said.

City dwellers might now be hearing sounds that can get muffled by the usual drone. Rebecca Franks, an American who lives in Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in China, made this observation 48 days into the city’s quarantine last month: “I used to think there weren’t really birds in Wuhan, because you rarely saw them and never heard them. I now know they were just muted and crowded out by the traffic and people,” Franks wrote on Facebook. “All day long now I hear birds singing. It stops me in my tracks to hear the sound of their wings.” Sylvia Poggioli, an NPR correspondent in Italy, reported that the streets of Rome are so empty, “you can actually hear the squeak of rusty door hinges,” and “the chirping of birds, an early sign of spring, is almost too loud.”



A quick search for the phrase birds are louder on Twitter reveals that many other people have been wondering the same thing I have lately: Are the birds chirping more fiercely these days, or am I losing my mind? With spring migration in full swing in the Northern Hemisphere, there are certainly more birds around. But the reduction in noise pollution—and, in some places, its total absence—might make it easier to notice the usual trilling and squawking.

Quieter conditions, perhaps for several months, might seem like a good thing; it’s well established that noise pollution can negatively affect our health, contributing to stress-related ailments, high blood pressure, sleep disruption, and other problems. Any potential benefits are difficult to predict without more research, Walker said, and based on recent activity in the Noise and the City’s app, where Bostonians can record neighbourhood sounds and provide their own descriptions, people might respond to newfound quiet in different ways. For some residents, the new soundscape reminds them of the peacefulness of their childhood decades ago, when the city was less built up. For others, it’s another source of pandemic-related stress—eerie, like the calm before a storm.

Pictures: Heroes of the pandemic

Slide 1 of 26: Henry Lyndberg, 9, and his sister Nora, 7, give free lunches to truck drivers Tuesday, March 31, 2020, at a rest area along I-10 in Sacaton, Ariz.

The Arizona Trucking Association was giving away 500 lunches from Dilly's Deli to westbound truck drivers in appreciation for delivering medical supplies, food, and other necessities during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (

Since the beginning of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, doctors, nurses and paramedics have been working round the clock while risking their lives, along with many unsung heroes such as the grocery store workers, truck drivers and workers in the sanitation department. As these people and other volunteers continue to help and serve others, let's take a look at some pictures showcasing their efforts during this global crisis.

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The oceans are probably quieter, too

For other species, less noise pollution is no doubt welcome. Michelle Fournet, a marine ecologist at Cornell who studies acoustic environments, is hoping to position underwater microphones off the coast of Alaska and Florida, where she has studied humpback whales and other marine life, to investigate how the waters have changed in the absence of noise from cruise ships as the industry suspends operations worldwide.

“Just pulling those cruise ships out of the water is going to reduce the amount of global ocean noise almost instantaneously,” Fournet told me. “We’re experiencing an unprecedented pause in ocean noise that probably hasn’t been experienced in decades.”

Research has shown that ambient noise from ships and other maritime traffic can increase stress-hormone levels in marine creatures, which can affect their reproductive success. Whales have even shown they can adapt to the din, pausing their singing when cargo ships are near and resuming when they move away.

The unexpected ecological moment brought on by the pandemic reminds Fournet of an accidental experiment that unfolded in the days after 9/11, when ship traffic in North American waters ground to a halt. Researchers working in Canada’s Bay of Fundy—already making recordings and taking samples before the terrorist attacks—eventually found that over the course of just a few days, when the noisy waters calmed, right whales in the bay experienced a drop in their stress-level hormones.
Fournet is thinking now of North Pacific humpback whales, who have begun to move northward this month and will soon be swimming with newborn calves in southeast Alaska, a region also popular with cruise ships for views of local wildlife.

“This will be the quietest entry that humpback whales have had in southeastern Alaska in decades,” Fournet said. “Nature is taking a breath when the rest of us are holding ours.”

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[jo]

[njr]

Apr 2, 2020 18:07:59 GMT -5 jo said:

Have you seen face shields, presumably needed the most for health workers?

Delta Airlines has announced how it is helping produce the much-needed product --

Delta Flight Products, the airline’s wholly owned subsidiary, is collaborating with Global Center for Medical Innovation (GCMI), a non-profit affiliate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, to manufacture face shields to protect hospital workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Using materials and designs provided by GCMI, Delta Flight Products is leveraging its best-in-class manufacturing facilities to quickly deliver an initial order of 2,000 shields to aid workers in New York by Friday, and an additional 4,000 for Atlanta-area hospitals in the following days.

“Our entire team is rallying around this effort - it’s a meaningful way we can show our support for the health care workers working around the clock to protect us,” said Rick Salanitri, President of Delta Flight Products. “Georgia Tech and GCMI have been an incredible partner and we are proud to help carry out the vision of so many leading medical innovators to supply desperately needed personal protective equipment.”

Face shields are essential in extending the use life of the dwindling N95 mask inventory, while protecting healthcare professionals from contamination. Each consists of a clear barrier meant to cover the user’s face, reducing the potential for any virus contacting the user’s eyes and respiratory mask.

We had face shields in the O.R. available for those scrub techs and doctors who did not like wearing protective glasses, or if they were already regular glasses-wearers, as extra protection.

Nancy

[ADMIN]

Stay calm. Stay home. Stay safe. Stay healthy.



Sending "good vibes" to all of you and your families/friends.


hugging via Internet is still allowed

[jo]

Er...

It has also led to moments when you are not even sure what day it is


But you always remember when it's "TEMPERATURE TIME?" -- what my niece from Long Island checks her 3 kids every morning

Jo

[jo]

A personal touch from Hugh!

[jo]

Another frontliner gets a nice surprise --

[jo]

To Wear or Not To Wear a Face Mask ?

www.msn.com/en-ph/health/medical/should-i-start-wearing-a-mask/ar-BB128TMJ?ocid=spartandhp

[jo]

It must be very difficult for young people, usually very energetic, to go through the isolation mandated by the infection danger --

Megan’s song. She has rewritten the words to This Is Me and called it This Is Mean and it’s about the pandemic. She wanted to thank and support the NHS. It is beautiful.

vimeo.com/404084610

[njr]

[jo]

The Queen of England rarely addresses the nation except for her annual Christmas Day message and on very exceptional occasions.

The pride in who we are is not a part of the past. It defines our present and future ... Better days will return. We will be with our friends again. We will be with our families again. We will meet again".

Quoting the lyrics of the song " We'll Meet Again" which ended her speech... It harked back to the times in the second world war when British children were sent away from their parents home in London for safety's sake. Now it is sung again on a different kind of war the world is facing.

[jo]

In his Instagram Stories --

Hugh posted once again a few instances of support for different causes --

I think he also had LaughingMan Coffee send in some brew to support the NYPD ( couldn't read the message perfectly).

But what struck me was his quoting this --

"Bring down that anxiety
Bring down that fear
Bring down that paranoia
We're gonna get thru this
Because we are New York!"

He also included a short clip from "New York, New York"

A kinship and affection for his adopted city?


Jo

[njr]

www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/50-things-you-should-never-do-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic/ss-BB11q6gi?li=BBnb7Kz

[jo]

http://instagram.com/p/B-pbZgmjr_v

[jo]

Star-studded Global Special --


www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nbc-abc-cbs-team-star-studded-global-special-1288651

Lady Gaga will curate the fundraiser, which will be hosted by Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert.

NBC, ABC and CBS are uniting for a historic global broadcast to raise funds and address the fight against COVID-19.


Set to air Saturday, April 18 from 8-10 p.m. ET/PT, One World: Together at Home will see NBC's Jimmy Fallon, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel and CBS' Stephen Colbert host the broadcast that is being produced in partnership with Global Citizen and the World Health Organization.

Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that NBC's New York-based exec vp specials Doug Vaughan led the charge for the cross-network event, with ABC and CBS both quick to sign on.

The special will celebrate community health care workers and support the WHO's global fight to end COVID-19. Lady Gaga will curate the special, which will feature exclusive appearances by Alanis Morissette, Andrea Bocelli, Billie Eilish, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, Burna Boy, Chris Martin, David Beckham, Eddie Vedder, Elton John, FINNEAS, Idris and Sabrina Elba, J Balvin, John Legend, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Kerry Washington, Lang Lang, Lizzo, Maluma, Paul McCartney, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Shah Rukh Khan and Stevie Wonder.

The special will educate and inform viewers about COVID-19 risks, prevention and response and feature cameos from the worlds of music and arts, sports and comedic sketches. Interviews with experts from the WHO as well as stories from health care workers on the front lines of the global pandemic will also be featured.

Some of the world's biggest artists will perform during the special, which will include multimillion-dollar pledges to the WHO's Solidarity Response Fund. Audrey Morrissey (NBC's The Voice, Songland) and Live Animals will produce the special in partnership with Global Citizen.

Financial commitments from supporters and corporate partners will go to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, which is powered by the U.N. Foundation to support and equip health care workers around the world, and to local charities that provide food, shelter and health care to those that need it most. (The local groups have been vetted to ensure they are helping communities impacted by COVID-19.)

One World is the latest example of how TV networks are helping to support fundraising efforts for various organizations around the world in the battle against the coronavirus. Fox recently raised millions after it teamed with the iHeartRadio for an hourlong, ad-free event that featured performances from the likes of the Backstreet Boys and Billie Eilish, among others.

More information about the One World: Together at Home special will be revealed in the coming days. For more information about how to take action, go to www.globalcitizen.org/togetherathome.

As this is a project co-produced with GLOBAL CITIZEN, will Hugh Jackman be involved in some capacity?

[jo]

A special kind of hero!

Humanity was his first concern!


www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/he-led-a-top-navy-ship-now-he-sits-in-quarantine-fired-and-infected/ar-BB12cuKx

[jo]

And the heroes not generally acknowledged for their service around the globe --

www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-rising-heroes-of-the-coronavirus-era-nations-top-scientists/ar-BB12aYXB

[jo]

Hugh accepts Roger Federer's challenge but in a different way --

http://instagram.com/p/B-r3DzUDdaz

I think this was the original challenge from Roger --


www.atptour.com/en/news/federer-volley-challenge-april-2020

[jo]

Good friend Roger has also tagged @realhughjackman !

Remember when Roger and Mirka Federer not only watched the show ( #tmtmts) in Zurich but also hosted a lunch for Hugh and his troupe


Jo

[jo]

[jo]

In better times --

[jo]

[jo]

Thanking the UK NHS (National Health Service) - with the go-to song for kids!