US restaurants turn to grocery sales to help offset losses

O’Fallon, Mo. (AP) — Charlene Gulliford at the Gandy Dancer never figured there would come a day when the Michigan restaurant known for its steaks and seafood would sell toilet paper and cartons of eggs, but the coronavirus has restaurants in survival mode.

The popular restaurant in Ann Arbor now doubles as a grocery store, offering staples such milk and bread in addition to meats and fish from its own pantry — and yes, even paper towels and the ever-elusive toilet paper. Sales began two weeks ago and the Gandy Dancer has found an income source to make up for some of its lost dine-in business, while also filling a need since traditional grocers are struggling to keep up with demand.

“A lot of people are saying they’re happy to support us, but a lot of people are saying, ‘Thank you for helping us,’” said Gulliford, the restaurant’s general manager.

The idea is catching on nationwide. Stay-at-home and social distancing orders meant to slow the spread of COVID-19 have put restaurant dining on hold, forcing many to close and leaving others barely surviving. From large chains to mom-and-pop eateries, restaurants are increasingly turning to grocery sales.

Panera this week launched Panera Grocery, offering not only the St. Louis-based chain’s popular breads, bagels and sweets but items such as milk, eggs and fresh produce that its 2,100 U.S. stores normally use to make meals. Grocery items can be delivered or picked up.

Subway is selling groceries at 250 of its stores in five states -- California, Connecticut, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington. Potbelly Sandwich Shop franchises launched Potbelly Pantry, offering mostly foods that the chain uses to make its sandwiches, such as meats, cheeses and breads.

Panera’s vice president of wellness and food policy, Sara Burnett, said the decision to sell groceries is a reaction to “the unprecedented crisis our country’s going through right now.” She wouldn’t disclose how much the pandemic has cost Panera, but she said 30 percent of its business typically comes from in-restaurant dining, “and that obviously is completely gone.”

The National Restaurant Association says the industry has lost 3 million jobs and $25 billion in sales since March 1. Spokeswoman Vanessa Sink said 3% of restaurants have closed permanently and another 11% expect to do so by the end of the month.

The move to grocery sales has been swift. Panera would typically spend months on a new business proposal, doing research, conducting surveys and opening test markets. Not this time. Panera Grocery went from an idea to launch in two weeks, Burnett said.


Grocery items sold by restaurants vary greatly. Some offer mostly the types of things already in their pantries, such as meats, vegetables, fruit, cheese, milk and eggs. Others, like the Gandy Dancer, offer a much broader selection.

Union Loafers in St. Louis is opting for quality, even if it means a higher price. The restaurant began selling locally produced goods such as eggs, milk, jams and meats on March 31. Co-owner Sean Netzer said patrons don’t mind the higher price — most items are selling out daily.

The chain restaurants, which buy in extraordinary bulk, can afford to sell at a lower cost. Subway and Panera Grocery prices are comparable to grocery store prices, the companies said.

Gulliford said the Gandy Dancer’s prices are more than competitive and can even be cheaper than the grocery store’s. For example, six lemons sell for $1 and potatoes are $1 per pound, she said.

Many of the restaurants-turned-grocery stores are offering “contact-free” service in which the customer place orders by phone or online and the goods are delivered straight to the trunk or backseat of the car. Gulliford said the elderly, who are at a higher risk of serious illness or death from the coronavirus, are especially appreciative of being able to avoid going into stores.

Restaurant operators aren’t sure if grocery sales will continue once the pandemic passes. Panera sees this as “kind of a tipping point to see what our customers need,” Burnett said.

Gulliford said the future is especially difficult to predict during this unprecedented time.

“It just really depends on what the new normal is,” she said.

The Associated Press

US service sectors slows in March

WASHINGTON (AP) — Growth in the U.S. service sector slowed in March with a much bigger decline expected in coming months from all the shutdowns and job layoffs that have occurred because of efforts to contain the coronavirus.

The Institute for Supply Management said Friday that its service-sector index slowed to 52.5 in March from a reading of 57.3 in February.

Any reading above 50 indicates the service sector, where most Americans work, is expanding. But with record layoffs over the past two weeks, economists believe services will fall into a contraction in April.

The March report said service industries were already showing signs of the impact of the virus. Reports from the health care sector found significant shortages of personal protective equipment, test swabs and other basic medical supplies.

“Extreme sourcing measures are required to procure necessary supplies for basic operations,” the ISM report said, quoting respondents to its survey.

Anthony Nieves, chair of the survey committee for the ISM services report, said one factor that kept the index from sliding further in March was strength being seen in the government and health care parts of the index.

ISM reported on Wednesday that its manufacturing index did fall into contractionary territory in March with a reading of 49.1. Private economists said they were looking for the services index to slide into contraction territory probably with the April report.

“Conditions in both non-manufacturing and manufacturing are expected to weaken over coming months in response to virus-related shutdowns, supply chain disruptions as well as weak demand,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics.

Associated Press

Facebook feature lets people reach out for help in pandemic

SAN FRANCISCO–Facebook on Tuesday activated a feature allowing people impacted by the coronavirus pandemic to reach out for help from their community.

The Community Help feature was added to the social network four years ago as a way to find shelter, food or supplies during natural disasters, and this week added the COVID-19 crisis to that list.

“We’ve been seeing since the beginning people asking for help,” Facebook app head Fidji Simo told AFP.

“We’ve been working for a couple of weeks at enabling the feature.”

While Community Help has been activated for tragedies such as the recent Australian wildfires, this time the feature reaches far beyond a single country and had to be woven into the coronavirus information hub, according to Simo.

Facebook set the help radius by default to 50 miles in the US and 100 kilometers in other countries, but people can scale back the area in which they are available to be of assistance.

“You can adjust it down if you can only help in your neighborhood,” Simo said.

The feature lets Facebook users request or offer help from walking dogs or fetching groceries to psychotherapy.

People wishing to help support coronavirus relief efforts can donate money through a UN-Facebook fundraiser, with Facebook matching donations up to a total of $10 million.

The leading online social network said it was adding a way to find and donate to local fundraising campaigns.

“Since the beginning of the spread of the virus and especially as people started practicing social distancing, we’ve seen them turn to Facebook to connect with and take action to help their communities,” Facebook said.


The California-based internet giant also said it was continuing to ramp up efforts to provide reliable, timely information about the pandemic and ways to take action.

Since a COVID-19 Information Center launched two weeks ago at Facebook, more than a billion people have been showed notifications about resources from health authorities through the hub and “educational pop-up” notifications at the social network and Instagram.

AP

New Zealand extends state of emergency to stop spread of COVID-19

WELLINGTON - New Zealand is extending the state of national emergency for a further seven days to help stop the spread of COVID-19, the Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare said in a statement.

The initial declaration on March 25 lasted seven days and can be extended as many times as necessary.

"Extending the State of National Emergency ensures we have all the resources, support and powers we need to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our communities," Henare said. —Reuters

Coronavirus could become seasonal: top US scientist

WASHINGTON, United States — There is a strong chance the new coronavirus could return in seasonal cycles, a senior US scientist said Wednesday, underscoring the urgent need to find a vaccine and effective treatments.

Anthony Fauci, who leads research into infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health, told a briefing the virus was beginning to take root in the southern hemisphere, where winter is on its way.

"What we're starting to see now... in southern Africa and in the southern hemisphere countries, is that we're having cases that are appearing as they go into their winter season," he said.

"And if, in fact, they have a substantial outbreak, it will be inevitable that we need to be prepared that we'll get a cycle around the second time.

"It totally emphasizes the need to do what we're doing in developing a vaccine, testing it quickly and trying to get it ready so that we'll have a vaccine available for that next cycle."

There are currently two vaccines that have entered human trials — one in the US and one in China — and they could be a year to a year-and-a-half away from deployment.

Treatments are also being investigated — some new drugs and others that have been repurposed, including the antimalarials chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine.

"I know we'll be successful in putting this down now, but we really need to be prepared for another cycle," Fauci concluded.

Fauci's comments suggesting the virus does better in colder weather than it does in hot and humid conditions follows a recent Chinese research paper — still preliminary and awaiting peer-review — that reached the same conclusion.

The reasons are thought to include that respiratory droplets remain airborne for longer in colder weather, and that cold weather weakens immunity.

Another potential reason is that viruses degrade more quickly on hotter surfaces, possibly because a protective layer of fat that envelops them dries out quicker.

But reduced infection rate does not mean the virus gets eliminated — Australia has had almost 2,500 confirmed cases and 8 deaths, for example.

Agence France-Presse

UK govt orders three-week lockdown to tackle virus

LONDON, United Kingdom — Britain on Monday ordered a three-week lockdown to tackle the spread of coronavirus, shutting "non-essential" shops and services, and banning gatherings of more than two people.

"Stay at home," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a televised address to the nation, as he unveiled unprecedented peacetime measures after the country's death toll climbed to 335.


The announcement came after outrage in government that recommendations about reducing social contact to minimise close-contact transmission of the virus were being ignored.

Crowds of people were seen enjoying weekend spring sunshine in parks and countryside across the country, prompting calls for tougher action to be imposed.

"From this evening (Monday) I must give the British people a very simple instruction — you must stay at home," Johnson said.

"Because the critical thing we must do is stop the disease spreading between households."

Under the new measures, Johnson said going out to shop for basic necessities was still allowed, as was exercise, medical needs, and travel to and from work.

But shops selling items such as clothes or electronics as well as libraries, playgrounds and places of worship would be shut, with the ban also extending to weddings and baptisms but not funerals.

Parks will remain open but Johnson warned: "If you don't follow the rules the police will have the powers to enforce them, including through fines and dispersing gatherings."

He called the pandemic "the biggest threat this country has faced for decades" and said the already overstretched state-run National Health Service (NHS) would be unable to cope if the pace of transmission continues.

"I urge you at this moment of national emergency to stay at home, protect our NHS and save lives," he said.

The restrictions will be "under constant review", he added.

"We will look again in three weeks, and relax them if the evidence shows we are able to," he said. 

"But at present there are just no easy options. The way ahead is hard, and it is still true that many lives will sadly be lost."

'War-footing'

Britain recorded its first death in the outbreak on March 5 but has been criticised for its light-touch approach to containing the spread compared to more stringent measures elsewhere.

Latest figures show Britain now has 6,650 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with warnings the virus is taking hold quicker than in Italy at the same point.

Italy has suffered the most coronavirus deaths worldwide, with 6,077 fatalities out of 63,927 declared infections.

Johnson had previously resisted mounting public concern that hand-washing was not enough to reduce the impact of COVID-19.

As the numbers of cases and deaths climbed, employees were laid off, and sporting and other events cancelled, he moved to try to limit the social and economic fall-out.

The Bank of England slashed interest rates to record lows, while finance minister Rishi Sunak unveiled a series of multi-billion-pound packages to help those affected.

Notably, the government has stepped in to back up employee wages up to 80 percent, give tax holidays to businesses and boost welfare payments.

But Johnson was forced to go further, and put the government on what he said was a war footing, after dire warnings from scientists that its social distancing strategy was not working.

The government's chief scientific adviser has said it was a "reasonable" estimate that 55,000 people now have the virus in Britain.

'Turn the tide'

The prime minister has promised to "turn the tide" of the outbreak within 12 weeks, urging individuals displaying symptoms to stay at home for seven days.

Schools have been closed, as have pubs, bars, nightclubs, theatres, cafes, and leisure centres, and mass gatherings have been banned.

Foreign minister Dominic Raab on Monday told British travellers overseas to return home "while you still can".

Last week, the elderly and people with underlying serious health conditions were told to self-isolate for 12 weeks.

Meanwhile, continued stockpiling that has stripped supermarket shelves prompted a fresh warning about panic-buying.

Agence France-Presse

WHO message to youth on virus: 'You are not invincible'

GENEVA, Switzerland - Coronavirus can sicken or kill young people, who must also avoid mingling and spreading it to older and more vulnerable people, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, told a virtual press conference: "Today I have a message for young people: You are not invincible, this virus could put you in hospital for weeks or even kill you. Even if you don't get sick the choices you make about where you go could be the difference between life and death for someone else."

Amid shortages of protective gear for health workers and diagnostic tests, "air bridges" will be needed to bring supplies to countries for vital health workers, the WHO's top emergency expert Dr. Mike Ryan said.

The WHO has distributed 1.5 million lab tests worldwide and it may need potentially 80 times that for the pandemic, he said. -- Reuters

California goes on virus lockdown as Italy death toll overtakes China

LOS ANGELES — California was placed under lockdown in the most drastic step yet by a US state to contain the fast-spreading coronavirus as Italy surpassed China as the country with the most deaths from the pandemic.

The United States, meanwhile, is fast-tracking antimalarial drugs for use as a virus treatment, President Donald Trump said, as he lashed out at China for not informing the world earlier about the original outbreak.


China, for its part, on Friday reported a second day with no new domestic cases since the virus appeared in the central city of Wuhan in December, before spreading worldwide.

While there was a glimmer of hope in China, several countries tightened their borders and imposed lockdowns, trapping tens of millions of people in their homes.

And the UN chief warned “millions” could die if the virus spreads unchecked around the globe.

Governments and central banks have unleashed a blockbuster series of measures to prop up the teetering global economy, only to see the once-in-a-century pandemic seemingly spiral further out of control.

The death toll soared in Europe as Italy announced another 427 fatalities on Thursday, taking its total to 3,405, according to a tally compiled by AFP from official sources.

China has officially reported 3,248 deaths from the virus, which can cause respiratory failure, particularly in the elderly.

Globally, the death toll from the virus has risen to almost 10,000 with more than 232,000 cases in 158 countries and territories, according to the AFP tally.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Thursday of the virus’s potentially devastating effects.

“If we let the virus spread like wildfire — especially in the most vulnerable regions of the world — it would kill millions of people,” Guterres said.


‘Paying a big price’

The number of infections and deaths in the rest of the world has surpassed those in China, which appears to have staunched the virus with strict measures including a complete quarantine of Wuhan since January.

Trump, who has come under fire for his response to the crisis, charged Thursday that the world was paying for China’s lack of transparency about the outbreak there.

“It could have been contained to that one area of China where it started. And certainly, the world is paying a big price for what they did,” he said.

Trump said US authorities were fast-tracking antimalarials chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for use as a coronavirus treatment, making them available “almost immediately.”

The drugs are synthetic forms of quinine, which has been used to treat malaria for centuries.

As the toll surged in Italy, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the national lockdown, which has been copied around Europe, would be prolonged to April 3.

France also mooted extending its two-week lockdown ordered this week by President Emmanuel Macron, as the interior minister blasted “idiots” who flout home confinement rules and put others at risk.

In Argentina, President Alberto Fernandez announced a “preventative and compulsory” lockdown from Friday to March 31, while Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state will close its famed beaches as well as restaurants and bars for 15 days to try to contain the pandemic.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state’s lockdown – affecting more than 39 million people – would begin Thursday evening in a “recognition of our interdependence”.

In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the country could “turn the tide” on coronavirus within 12 weeks – but only if people heed advice to avoid social contact. 



The disease continued to hit high-profile figures with EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, Monaco’s Prince Albert II and at least a half-dozen NBA players in the United States among those testing positive.

Also falling victim to the pandemic was the G7 summit in June, which was meant to be hosted by Trump at the Camp David presidential retreat near Washington. The group of seven wealthy democracies will now meet via videoconference.

And as the Olympic flame arrived in Japan Friday to a muted reception, Tokyo Games organizers faced renewed calls for the event to be delayed.

“It should be postponed under the current situation where athletes are not well prepared,” Japan Olympic Committee member Kaori Yamaguchi told the Nikkei daily in an interview published the day the flame landed.

Emergency stimulus

With countries paralyzed by the pandemic and stock markets imploding, policymakers this week unleashed a wave of measures to shore up the global economy.

The European Central Bank announced a 750-billion-euro bond-buying scheme, dubbed the “big bazooka.”

In the United States, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged Congress to pass a $1-trillion emergency stimulus package.

Asian equities enjoyed some much-needed gains Friday after Wall Street finished higher following a volatile session as investors weighed the government stimulus measures against some of the first data pointing to a sharp US economic slowdown.

European stocks also staged a rebound on the stimulus news.

The battle is only just beginning across the rest of the world, with the shadow of the virus lengthening across Africa. 



The Nigerian megacity of Lagos announced it would shut its schools while Burkina Faso confirmed the first death in sub-Saharan Africa.

Russia reported its first death and even the Pacific nation of Fiji said it had its first case.

Countries are taking increasingly drastic steps to stem infections, with Australia and New Zealand banning non-residents from arriving.

The United States warned against international travel due to the pandemic and advised citizens to come home if possible.

Britain closed dozens of London Underground stations and shut down schools.

EU closed its borders to outsiders and in many countries bars, restaurants and most shops have closed their doors until further notice.

Spain, which is on a near-total lockdown, on Thursday ordered all hotels to close immediately.

Agence France-Presse

US begins first human trial of coronavirus vaccine

The first human trial to evaluate a candidate vaccine against the new coronavirus has begun in Seattle, U.S. health officials said Monday, raising hopes in the global fight against the disease.

But it may be another year to 18 months before it becomes available, once it has passed more trial phases to prove it works and is safe.


The vaccine is called mRNA-1273 and was developed by U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists and collaborators at biotechnology company Moderna, which is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

“The open-label trial will enroll 45 healthy adult volunteers ages 18 to 55 years over approximately 6 weeks,” the NIH said. “The first participant received the investigational vaccine today.”

Funding was also provided by the Oslo-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).

There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments against the coronavirus disease, known as COVID-19, which has infected more than 175,000 people across the world since it was first identified in central China in late December.

It has claimed 7,000 deaths, according to an AFP tally, most in China followed by Italy.

“Finding a safe and effective vaccine to prevent infection with SARS-CoV-2 is an urgent public health priority,” said Anthony Fauci, head of infectious diseases at the NIH, using the technical name for the virus that is believed to have originated in bats.

“This Phase 1 study, launched in record speed, is an important first step toward achieving that goal.”

The Seattle trial will study the impact of different doses delivered by intramuscular injection in the upper arm, with participants monitored for side-effects like soreness or fever.

Coronaviruses are spherical and have spikes protruding from their surface, giving them a crown-like appearance. The spike binds to human cells, allowing the virus to gain entry.


The Moderna candidate vaccine carries the genetic information of this spike in a substance called “messenger RNA.”

Injecting human tissue with the spike’s messenger RNA makes it grow inside the body, thereby eliciting an immune response without having actually infected a person with the full-blown virus.

Global race

Pharmaceuticals and research labs around the world are racing to develop both treatments and vaccines to the new coronavirus.

An antiviral treatment called remdesivir, made by U.S.-based Gilead Sciences, is already in the final stages of clinical trials in Asia and doctors in China have reported it has proven effective in fighting the disease.

But only randomized trials allow scientists to know for sure whether it really helps or whether patients would have recovered without it.

Another U.S. pharma called Inovio, which is creating a DNA-based vaccine, has said it will enter clinical trials next month.

Regeneron is trying to isolate coronavirus-fighting antibodies that can be administered intravenously to confer temporary immunity, and hopes to start human trials by summer.

According to the World Health Organization, 80% of COVID-19 cases are mild, 14% are severe and about 5% are critical, resulting in severe respiratory illness that causes the lungs to fill with fluid which in turn prevents oxygen from reaching organs.

Patients with mild cases recover in a week or two while severe cases can take six or more weeks.

Recent estimates suggest about 1% of all infected people die.

Agence France-Presse

'Super-spreaders': COVID19 myth or reality?

PARIS, France — Can a single COVID-19 patient infect dozens of others? Although transmission rates in the current outbreak appear to be far lower, a variety of factors can lead to an individual infecting many.

The concept of so-called "super-spreaders" — patients who typically infect far more people than the standard transmission rates — emerged in previous outbreaks of diseases such as Sars and Mers.

Amesh Adalja, an expert in emerging infectious diseases at John Hopkins University, said the term was not scientific and there was no set quantity of transmissions that would define a super-spreader.

"But, in general, it is usually a markedly higher figure when compared to that of other individuals," he told AFP.

A range of variables govern how many people an individual infects, from how fast they shed the virus to how many people they come in to close contact with.

The novel coronavirus has a typical transmission rate of 2-3 — that is, every confirmed case appears to infect between 2 and 3 other people on average.

But the pandemic has thrown up at least two patients who appear to have been super-spreaders.

Suspected super-spreaders

One suspected super-spreader, a British national, appears to have infected a dozen others when he returned from Singapore and then went skiing in the Alps.

He recovered, but may have infected another five people after returning home.

In South Korea, which has the second highest number of COVID-19 cases outside of Italy, a woman known as Patient 31 appears to have infected dozens of others.

But in an ever better-connected world, it can be challenging to definitively link transmissions to an individual patient.

"It's possible that what we call super-spreaders exist, those patients who don't only infect 2-3 others but could infect dozens," said Eric Caumes, head of infectious and tropical diseases at Paris' Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital.

"The problem is we aren't spotting them."

According to Olivier Bouchaud, head of infectious diseases at that Avicenne hospital in Paris' suburbs, variable transmission rates could be down to how fast a patient sheds the virus once infected.

"That's just a hypothesis at this point," he said. "Obviously we don't have a clear explanation, and there's nothing specific to COVID-19."

Another unknown is the role played by young children, who are less severely affected by the virus but are capable of transmitting it — part of the reason many countries have moved to close schools in recent days.

'Highly variable'

Cristl Donnelly, professor of Applied Statistics at the University of Oxford, said all disease transmission was by nature "highly variable".

"But we are not all the same, we vary in our immune systems, in our behaviour, and in where we happen to be," she said. 

"All of these things can affect how many people we would transmit to."

Bharat Pankhania, an infectious diseases expert at Britain's Exeter University, even disputed whether super-spreaders existed.

He said that the biggest factors determining transmission were environmental, made worse in dense-populated cities.

"These circumstances often are: crowding; a confined space with poor ventilation; poor infection control, meaning lots of non-porous, hard surfaces which can keep a virus viable for a longer time; a favourable ambient humidity; and the infected person usually being in the early phase of their illness, when virus secretions are at their peak," he said.

It's due to these contributing factors that many experts are reluctant to talk in terms of super-spreaders.

Added to this, as France's health minister has pointed out, the term might be used to stigmatise individuals, when it is likely they transmitted COVID19 without realising.

Agence France-Presse

WHO declares novel coronavirus a pandemic

GENEVA, Switzerland —Three months following its discovery, the novel coronavirus spreading across the globe has reached pandemic level, a characterization the World Health Organization (WHO) finally made on Wednesday as infections rise past 100,000.

"WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva.

"We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic," he added.

The declaration came as global health officials reported around 114,000 cases of infections covering 114 countries. More than 90% of cases were recorded in four countries including China, where the virus started spreading, and South Korea where more than 200,000 individuals had tested positive for the virus causing coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).

"We have never before seen a pandemic sparked by a coronavirus," the WHO chief said.

Global health experts are currently scrambling to develop a vaccine on the new pathogen of coronavirus, a family of viruses that causes respiratory infections typically characterized by cough and colds.

In COVID-19, WHO said recorded symptoms included fever, tiredness and dry cough, while some patients may experience nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea. "These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually," WHO said in its Q&A on COVID-19 posted on its website.


What is a pandemic?

"Pandemic" itself is a loosely defined term, but can "can cause unreasonable fear" as Tedros recognized on his statement. That, and the backlash WHO suffered in the past for hastily making such declarations on diseases that appeared easily contained like H1N1 swine flu, prompted the multilateral agency to be more careful on assessing the spread of coronavirus.

A turning point for WHO was a supposed "inaction" on many jurisdictions to control the outbreak. "WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction," Tedros said.

Formally, what a pandemic designation does is to call for swift and stronger coordination among countries and stop the spread of infection. It also calls on governments to have proper and effective risk communication plan before, after and during the pandemic.

Agence France-Presse

Nearly 20 trapped after China hotel used for coronavirus quarantine collapses

BEIJING, China — Rescuers are searching for 19 people who remain trapped in rubble following the collapse of a hotel used as a coronavirus quarantine facility in eastern China on Saturday, state media reported.

A total of 48 people have been rescued out of the 67 initially trapped when the building first crumbled, state broadcaster CCTV said Sunday.

Footage circulating on Twitter-like Weibo showed rescue workers combing through the rubble of the 80-room Xinjia hotel in coastal Quanzhou city in the dark as they reassured a woman trapped under heavy debris and carried wounded victims into ambulances.


Other footage published by local media, purportedly from security cameras across the street, showed the entire hotel collapsing in seconds.

A total of 43 people have so far been rescued from the wreckage, state news agency Xinhua said.

The hotel's facade appeared to have crumbled into the ground, exposing the building's steel frame, and a crowd gathered as the evening wore on.

Officials have yet to confirm whether anyone died in the accident.

China's Ministry of Emergency Management said some 200 local and 800 Fujian Province firefighters had been deployed to the scene along with 11 search and rescue teams and seven rescue dogs, according to Xinhua.

Quanzhou authorities said ambulances, excavators and cranes had also been rushed to the site.

Representatives from Beijing are also en route to Quanzhou to assist in relief efforts, Xinhua reported.

Quanzhou has recorded 47 cases of the COVID-19 infection and the hotel, which opened two years ago, was repurposed to house people who had been in recent contact with confirmed patients, the People's Daily state newspaper reported.

China is no stranger to building collapses and deadly construction accidents that are typically blamed on the country's rapid growth leading to corner-cutting by builders and the widespread flouting of safety rules.

At least 20 people died in 2016 when a series of crudely-constructed multi-storey buildings packed with migrant workers collapsed in the eastern city of Wenzhou.

Another 10 were killed last year in Shanghai after the collapse of a commercial building during renovations.

Agence France-Presse

Vietnamese COVID-19 safety dance goes... viral

HANOI, Vietnam — Home-made videos featuring a catchy Vietnamese song and an accompanying dance about the necessity of hand-washing during the coronavirus crisis have racked up more than 2 million views on video app TikTok.

Cribbing the tune from pop song "Jealous"—or "Ghen" in Vietnamese—by singers Erik and Min, the Ministry of Health released an animated video with lyrics telling its citizens to "push back the virus Corona, Corona."

The unlikely earworm by a usually staid Communist government drew hundreds of thousands of views on Youtube, and was also featured on HBO's comedic news show "Last Week Tonight," with host John Oliver calling it a "genuine club-banger."

In Vietnam, the nation's youth have taken to TikTok performing hand-washing dance moves, making sure to rub in-between their fingers and their fingernails—which health professionals have recommended.

Spin-offs include office workers grooving at their desks and even people dressed in the Hmong ethnic minority outfits dancing in front of a waterfall.

"The remote village also prevents and fights the epidemic," read the caption on a video featuring the Hmong couple.

Popularized by dancer and internet personality Qang Dang, who has nearly 300,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram, he and another dancer performed it with light-hearted swagger on a street with food vendors.


It was tagged with the government-issued hashtag #ghencovychallenge, and Dang's original video has been viewed more than 1.1 million times.

The song provides guidance on how to prevent an infection, such as washing hands by "rub, rub, rubbing evenly" and limiting "visits to crowded places."

"We want the song to give fire and reduce tension for those... leading this fight, including experts, doctors, medical workers and millions of labourers who are on the frontline to fight this epidemic daily," the health ministry posted in the video's description.

"Vietnam is determined to win this epidemic!"

Communist-run Vietnam has a booming youth demographic, with two-thirds of its 97 million citizens under the age of 35.

It has 16 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, though it says all patients have recovered and been discharged.

The country, which shares a porous border with China, has taken great measures in the fight against the virus, including putting a small village an hour from Hanoi under quarantine after five confirmed cases emerged from there.

Agence France-Presse

South Korean sect leader apologizes over coronavirus spread

SEOUL, South Korea — The leader of a secretive South Korean sect linked to more than half the country's 4,000-plus coronavirus cases apologised Monday for the spread of the disease.

Shincheonji head Lee Man-hee's plea for forgiveness came after Seoul city authorities filed a murder complaint against him for failing to cooperate in containing the epidemic.


South Korea's case numbers -- the largest total anywhere outside China -- are expected to rise further as authorities carry out checks on more than 266,000 people associated with the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which is often condemned as a cult.

"I would like to offer my sincere apology to the people," said Lee, his voice breaking.

"Although it was not intentional, many people have been infected," the 88-year-old said, twice getting to his knees to bow before reporters in Gapyeong, his head to the floor.


"I seek the forgiveness of the people."

"I am very thankful to the government for its efforts," he added. "I also seek the forgiveness of the government."

Lee is revered by his followers as the "Promised Pastor" who has taken on the mantle of Jesus Christ and will take 144,000 people with him to heaven on the Day of Judgement, which he will usher in within his own lifetime.

A 61-year-old female member developed a fever on February 10 but attended at least four church services in Daegu -- the country's fourth-largest city with a population of 2.5 million and the centre of the outbreak -- before being diagnosed.

At services Shincheonji members sit close together on the floor and pray extensively in what critics say creates an ideal environment to spread viral infections.

Lee -- whose organisation says he has tested negative for the virus -- insisted that the group was "actively cooperating with the government".

"At churches, the leader of the church is like a parent and its members are the children," he said, pausing occasionally to wipe tears from his eyes as protesters shouted abuse.

"What parent would stand by and watch when there is such a scary disease that could even lead to death? Wouldn't they try to fix it?"

Seoul's city government has asked prosecutors to press charges including homicide against Lee and 11 other leaders after the sect was accused of submitting false lists of its members to authorities.

For its part, the sect says members face social stigma and discrimination if their beliefs become publicly known, dissuading some from responding to official inquiries.

Under South Korean law prosecutors can make their own decision on whether to act on complaints filed to them, and Yonhap news agency reported that the Seoul City request had been assigned for investigation.

Seoul mayor Park Won-soon added on his Facebook page: "If they had actively taken early measures, we could have prevented the explosive rise of COVID-19 cases in Daegu and North Gyeongbuk province and the deaths of several people."

South Korea reported 476 new coronavirus cases Monday, taking the total to 4,212, while the death toll rose to 22 with four more people dying, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Infection numbers have surged in the world's 12th-largest economy in recent days and the country's central bank has warned of a contraction in the first quarter, noting the epidemic will hit both consumption and exports.

Scores of events have been cancelled or postponed over the contagion.

The education ministry said that school and kindergarten breaks, which had already been extended nationwide to next Monday, will be lengthened by a further two weeks.

Agence France-Presse

Second coronavirus death sparks fears, lockdown in Italian towns

CODOGNO, Italy — Streets were deserted and residents warned to keep out of an emergency room on Saturday in an Italian town placed under lockdown as a second death from coronavirus sparked fears throughout the region. 

"No entry" read the sign on the emergency room in the small town of Codogno with a population of 15,000 where three people have already tested positive for the virus, including one 38-year old man now on life support.

On Saturday, Italian news agency ANSA reported a second death from the virus in the Lombardy region, where Codogno is located.

It came one day after the death of a 78-year-old retired bricklayer from the Padua area in the nearby Veneto region, who was the first local person in Europe to die from the coronavirus.

ANSA reported that the new victim was a woman. No further information was immediately available.


Italy's health minister said that the man who died on Friday, Adriano Trevisan, had been admitted to hospital 10 days earlier for an unrelated health issue.

He was one of two people in the Veneto region with the virus, where another confirmed case overnight in a 53-year old man brought that number to three, president of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia told Rai24 news.

In Lombardy, 16 other people were discovered to have caught the virus and the region took immediate measures to isolate affected areas.

It was not immediately clear whether the victim on Saturday was part of that group, or a new case.

In Rome, three people are being treated in isolation for the virus.

 - Closed for business -

At Codogno's centre, only a bakery and a pharmacy were open, while other shops posted signs saying they were closed due to a local ordinance.

At the civic hospital, there was very little movement early  Saturday other than nurses and other workers finishing their night shifts.

Those who have tested positive for the virus in Codogno include the 38-year-old man's wife, who is eight months pregnant, and another man. Three others in the town have tested positive to a first novel coronavirus test and are awaiting their definitive results.

Since December, COVID-19 has killed more than 2,200 people in China, the epidemic's epicentre.

Elsewhere in the world, it has killed over a dozen people and spread across some 27 countries and territories. Last Sunday, an 80-year-old Chinese tourist died from the new coronavirus in France.

In the areas in northern Italy, over 50,000 people have been asked to stay at home while all public activities such as carnival celebrations, church masses and sporting events have been banned for up to a week.

Codogno Mayor Francesco Passerini said locals were "extremely worried" about the spread of the deadly disease.

Agence France-Presse

France announces 1st death in Europe of COVID-19 patient

PARIS — The French health minister has announced the first coronavirus death in Europe.

French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn says Saturday that “I was informed last night of the death of an 80-year-old patient who had been hospitalized … since Jan. 25.”


The patient, a Chinese tourist from the province of Hubei, had a lung infection caused by the coronavirus. He arrived in France on Jan. 16, then was hospitalized on Jan. 25 under strict isolation measures. His condition deteriorated rapidly.

His daughter was also hospitalized, but authorities say she is expected to recover.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

First case of coronavirus confirmed in San Diego, California; US cases now 13

The 13th case of coronavirus in the United States was detected in California in a person under federal quarantine after returning from Wuhan, China, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday.

The adult patient was among US nationals evacuated from Wuhan, the epicenter of the disease, who were under mandatory quarantine for 14 days at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, near San Diego, the CDC said in a statement.

The individual was taken to the University of California San Diego Medical Center for observation and isolation and is "doing well," the hospital said in a statement.

A spokesman for the medical center declined to comment on the report, but said the hospital would soon be releasing a statement.

"CDC is conducting a thorough contact investigation of the person who has tested positive to determine contacts and to assess if those contacts had high risk exposures," the CDC said in a statement, without giving further details. —Reuters

Oxford Economics: Wuhan coronavirus seen to cut tourism revenues in Asia, including PH

MANILA, Philippines — The influx of Chinese tourists to the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries would take a hit from the outbreak of Wuhan coronavirus, but most economies in the region were expected to be ready in offsetting any potential economic impact of the illness, UK-based Oxford Economics said Sunday.

“The Wuhan coronavirus outbreak could potentially be a high-impact but short-lived event, similar to the SARS experience in 2003. As such, we think that the current virus outbreak poses a downside risk to our China growth forecast, particularly in the first quarter and possibly the second quarter should the outbreak be prolonged. But beyond that the impact should begin to fade,” Oxford Economics senior economist Tommy Wu and head of India and Southeast Asia economics Priyanka Kishore said in a Jan. 26 research briefing titled “Wuhan virus raises downside growth risks in short-term.”


Oxford Economics explained that while China’s gross domestic product (GDP) may be impacted especially on the consumption side (such as retail and tourism), and to a lesser extent on investments and industries, the economic effect would be “less severe compared to the SARS episode, at least for now.”

“The faster reaction time by the Chinese authorities this time around, with increased transparency and firm actions taken recently, are certainly helpful in mitigating the impact on public health, confidence and the economy. That is so even though municipal and provincial governments have at times been late, faulty and non-transparent in their response, especially at the early stage of the outbreak. We also expect the government to roll out measures, if needed, to stabilize growth,” Oxford Economics said.

Elsewhere in Asia, the economic impact of the Wuhan coronavirus would be felt by countries hosting many Chinese tourists as they get locked down in the mainland.

“We expect the economies that have a higher share of tourism in GDP and are more reliant on Chinese tourists—Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines—to feel the impact more,” Oxford Economics said.

Citing Tourism Economics and World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) data, Oxford Economics noted that travel and tourism activities accounted for up to 25 percent of the Philippines’ GDP.

“Tourism and related industries, such as food and beverages, recreation, clothing, etc., are prominent drivers of growth for most Southeast Asian economies and Hong Kong. Moreover, Chinese tourists account for a higher share of total tourist arrivals in these economies compared to the SARS outbreak period,” Oxford Economics pointed out.

Asian economies were nonetheless seen to be able to withstand decline in foreign tourism receipts, especially from China. “All these economies have available policy space to buffer domestic demand, if needed,” Oxford Economics said.

As of Sunday, the Philippines remained free from infection of Wuhan coronavirus.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia last week said “there’s always a potential impact” on the economy when diseases such as the Wuhan coronavirus and African swine fever strike.


In a separate Jan. 24 report, London-based Capital Economics said that “if the outbreak continues to spread, one of the main channels through which the region will be affected is through a decline in tourist arrivals from China.”

“The number of Chinese travelling abroad has increased nearly ten-fold since the SARS outbreak in 2003 and spending by Chinese visitors now accounts for sizeable share of some countries’ GDP, most notably Hong Kong, Cambodia, Thailand, and Singapore,” Capital Economics senior Asia economist Gareth Leather said in a report titled “Coronavirus to hit tourism, upside surprise on growth.”

In the case of the Philippines, spending by Chinese visitors in the country was still very low compared to most of its Asean neighbors, at less than 1 percent of GDP, estimates compiled by Capital Economics showed.

“During the SARS outbreak in 2003, Chinese tourist numbers fell by around one-third. If they fell by a similar amount again, it would knock around 1.5-2 percentage points from GDP in the most vulnerable countries. Overall though, lessons from past epidemics show that while the initial hit to the economy can be severe, growth tends to bounce back quickly after the virus is contained,” Capital Economics said.

source: business.inquirer.net

An egg a day may keep the doctor away, study claims

For decades, experts warned that eating eggs raises levels of unhealthy cholesterol. But a study claimed on Tuesday that an egg a day may actually reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.

While outside experts cautioned against reading too much into the study, its authors claimed that Chinese adults who ate an egg every day had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

After studying half-a-million healthy adults aged 30-79 over almost nine years, researchers concluded that “compared with non-consumers, daily egg consumption was associated with lower risk of CVD.”

Risk of hemorrhagic stroke was 26 percent lower among egg-eaters, the Chinese-British research team also reported in the journal Heart.

And daily egg consumption was associated with an 18-percent lower risk of death from CVD, and a 28-percent lower risk for death from hemorrhagic stroke, it added.

CVD, a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels, is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, including in China.

According to the World Health Organization, about 17.7 million people die of CVDs each year, almost a third of all deaths worldwide.

Eighty percent of CVD deaths are caused by heart attacks and strokes.

Smoking, not exercising enough, and eating an unhealthy diet high in salt and low in fresh fruit and vegetables, increase the risk.

Chicken and egg

Eggs are rich in dietary cholesterol, long linked to a higher CVD risk, but also contain crucial protein and vitamins.

In the study group, 13 percent reported daily egg consumption while nine percent said they never or hardly ever ate them.

By the end of the study period, almost 84,000 cases of CVD and 10,000 CVD deaths were recorded and compared among the different egg-intake groups.

“The present study finds that there is an association between moderate level of egg consumption (up to 1 egg per day) and a lower cardiac event rate,” the authors concluded.

But experts not involved in the study, said the results fail to prove that eating eggs actively lowers CVD risk.

“An important limitation of this present study is that the people who consumed eggs regularly were much more affluent than those who avoided them,” University College of London nutrition specialist Tom Sanders said.

“Indeed, rates of stroke have been falling in Japan, Australia, North America, and Europe for several decades for reasons that remain uncertain but may be related to increasing affluence,” he also said via the Science Media Centre in London.

According to cardiology expert Gavin Sandercock, of the University of Essex, “to say that eating eggs is good (or bad) for you based on a study like this would be foolish as diet is much more complicated than picking on one foodstuff like eggs.”

A second paper published in Heart found that people who commute to work by walking or cycling had a risk of heart disease and stroke 11 percent lower than those who take the car.

Their risk of dying from CVD diseases was almost a third lower, found the seven-year study of more than 350,000 people in Britain.  /kga

source: technology.inquirer.net

A reduced sense of smell in seniors could indicate an increased risk of dementia

New research in the United States has found that seniors who fail to identify at least four out of five common odors are more likely to develop dementia.

Carried out by the University of Chicago, the long-term study looked at 2,906 adults aged 57 to 85 and asked them to identify various everyday smells.

The team tested the participants’ sense of smell using Sniffin’Sticks, a well-validated tool which looks like a felt-tip pen but is infused with distinct scents instead of ink.

The five scents included in the study, in order of increasing difficulty, were peppermint, fish, orange, rose and leather.

The results showed that 78 percent of participants had a normal sense of smell, with 29.4 percent able to correctly identify four out of five scents and 48.7 percent able to correctly identified all five.

Around 14 percent could identify just three out of five scents, and five percent could identify only two scents.

Two percent of the participants could name just one, and one percent were not able to identify any at all.

Five years after this initial test was carried out, the team found that almost all of the participants who had been unable to name a single scent had been diagnosed with dementia.

In addition, nearly 80 percent of those who had identified just one or two scents also had dementia, with the team finding that the greater the loss of the smell, the higher the incidence of dementia.

“These results show that the sense of smell is closely connected with brain function and health,” said the study’s lead author, Jayant M. Pinto, MD, “Loss of the sense of smell is a strong signal that something has gone wrong and significant damage has been done. This simple smell test could provide a quick and inexpensive way to identify those who are already at high risk.”

The study also follows research published back in 2014, which found that olfactory dysfunction was associated with increased risk of death within five years. In this study loss of smell was also found to be a better predictor of death than a diagnosis of heart failure, cancer or lung disease.

Trouble identifying odors has also been found to be an early sign of Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease.

Pinto also pointed out that a loss of smell can have a significant negative effect on daily lifestyle and well-being, explaining that, “Smells influence nutrition and mental health. People who can’t smell face everyday problems such as knowing whether food is spoiled, detecting smoke during a fire, or assessing the need for a shower after a workout. Being unable to smell is closely associated with depression as people don’t get as much pleasure in life.”

“Of all human senses,” Pinto added, “smell is the most undervalued and under-appreciated—until it’s gone.”

The findings can be found published online in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. JB

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net