Biosecurity

'Rogue' Chinese Virologist Joins Twitter, Publishes "Smoking Gun" Evidence COVID-19 Created In Lab

...Much of the damage to the U.S.'s response to COVID-19 was done in the winter, when many infectious disease experts recognized that the disease had already escaped China and was spreading rapidly, says Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician and researcher at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security.

“That’s why you had an outbreak spiral out of control; it’s completely predictable with the wrong actions that were taken in January, February, and March that we ended up in this situation,” he says. With more rapid action, “You would have had a very different trajectory of this outbreak.”

The U.S. initially focused on screening people who had traveled from China and limited diagnostic testing to those who had recently visited China or had a fever or lower respiratory tract symptoms. This caused the country to overlook people with mild or asymptomatic illness and travelers who had been infected elsewhere; researchers have found that New York City’s catastrophic outbreak was primarily seeded by travelers from Europe.

Biosecurity

Europe pushed the limit of how far to reopen. Now it may be too late to prevent a second virus wave

Coronavirus cases in Europe are "almost back" to the levels seen in March when infection rates first peaked, scientists have warned as concerns grow over a potential second wave.

Countries across the continent have been easing lockdowns and reopening restaurants, retail stores and offices in an effort to kick-start their economies. But the relaxation of restrictions has seen a surge in infections that puts Europe in a vulnerable position.

"The virus hasn't been sleeping over the summer, so it didn't take vacation and that is something that we see now," Andrea Ammon, the director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), said on Wednesday during a debate held by the European Union.

She said the rise in reported infection rates had been slower than in March, when countries such as Italy and Spain were hit particularly hard by Covid-19, but had now been increasing for weeks.

However, deaths in Europe are down from a seven-day rolling average of about 4,000 in early April to around 300 at the start of September, according to CNN analysis of figures from Johns Hopkins University.

Biosecurity

Pascha: One of Europe's biggest brothels goes bust

One of Europe's largest brothels has filed for bankruptcy, after being hit by Germany's anti-coronavirus measures.

The 10-floor Pascha is a major landmark in the city of Cologne. "We are at an end," the brothel's director, Armin , told local paper Express.

Prostitution has been outlawed in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia since the outbreak of the virus.

Some 120 prostitutes usually work at Pascha. It employs around 60 staff including cooks and hairdressers.

Mr Lobscheid criticised the German authorities' handling of the pandemic - particularly their ability to be clear when the business would be allowed to resume.

He said officials would tell them every two weeks that they would not be able to reopen.

"We can't plan like that. We might have been able to avert bankruptcy with the help of the banks if we had been promised that things could start again at the beginning of next year," he said.

Biosecurity

Novichok group nerve agent used to poison Russian opposition figure Navalny, German govt spokesman claims, citing hospital tests

Hospital tests on Alexey Navalny show that he was poisoned with a nerve agent of the ‘Novichok’ group, according to a German government spokesman. Those allegedly responsible have not yet been identified.

The German government announced on Wednesday that tests from Navalny showed the presence of a ‘Novichok’-like nerve agent, similar to that said to have been used to poison the Skripals in the UK in 2018. 

Though the spokesman did not blame the Russian state for Navalny’s poisoning, he condemned the apparent attack and called on Moscow to explain its position on the case.

Alexey Navalny is a well-known protest leader, anti-corruption campaigner and an MSM darling, with Moscow already faced with accusations of being behind his poisoning. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week that “the Russian leadership clearly does not” benefit from Navalny’s illness, and slammed western governments for their“suspicious haste” in blaming Russia. Of these governments, Germany and the US have led the charge, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calling for a criminal investigation into the alleged attack, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel making a similar demand, “in light of the prominent role played by Mr. Navalny in the political opposition in Russia.”

The Berlin spokesman, Stefan Siebert, said he would inform Germany’s EU and NATO allies about the test results. However, the Russian government has not been informed, Kremlin spokesman said.

Biosecurity

U.S. SANCTIONS RUSSIAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE THAT DEVELOPED COVID-19 VACCINE

Russia won the race to develop the first vaccine against the novel coronavirus. The United States has responded by slapping sanctions on a Russian research facility involved in creating it.

The US government has blacklisted several Russian scientific institutes, including the Russian Defense Ministry’s 48th Central Research Institute, which has worked with other non-military medical centers to develop and test the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine.

In the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic and a historic economic crisis, Washington has escalated its global campaign of economic warfare, imposing sanctions on foreign adversaries and announcing new punitive measures on a nearly daily basis.

More than one-fourth of people on Earth live in countries that are suffering from US sanctions.

Biosecurity

Coronavirus will be with us forever, Sage scientist warns

Coronavirus will be present "forever in some form or another", a member of the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has said.

Sir Mark Walport said people would need to be vaccinated at regular intervals.

His comments come after the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said he hoped the pandemic would be over within two years, as the Spanish flu had taken two years to overcome.

Sir Mark said denser populations and travel meant the virus spread easily.

He also said the world population was now much larger than in 1918.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Sir Mark said that, in order to control the pandemic, "global vaccination" would be required, but coronavirus would not be a disease like smallpox "which could be eradicated by vaccination"

Biosecurity

Florida mosquitoes: 750 million genetically modified insects to be released

Local officials in Florida have approved the release of 750 million mosquitoes that have been genetically modified to reduce local populations.

The aim is to reduce the number of mosquitoes that carry diseases like dengue or the Zika virus.

The green-lighting of a pilot project after years of debate drew a swift outcry from environmental groups, who warned of unintended consequences.

One group condemned the plan as a public "Jurassic Park experiment".

Activists warn of possible damage to ecosystems, and the potential creation of hybrid, insecticide-resistant mosquitoes.

But the company involved says there will be no adverse risk to humans or the environment, and points to a slate of government-backed studies.

Biosecurity

Russia Claims 1st Covid Vaccine "Sputnik V"; Putin's Daughter Inoculated 

Russia on Tuesday declared itself the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine with President Vladimir Putin saying one of his daughters had been inoculated.
Dubbing the vaccine "Sputnik V" after the Soviet-era satellite that was the first launched into space, Russian officials said it provided safe, stable immunity and denounced Western attempts to undermine Moscow's research.
Scientists in the West have raised concerns about the speed of development of Russian vaccines, suggesting that researchers might be cutting corners and coming under pressure from authorities to deliver.
The World Health Organization said any WHO stamp of approval on a COVID-19 vaccine candidate would require a rigorous safety data review.

Biosecurity

The Tragedy of Vaccine Nationalism

Trump administration officials have compared the global allocation of vaccines against the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 to oxygen masks dropping inside a depressurizing airplane. “You put on your own first, and then we want to help others as quickly as possible,” Peter Marks, a senior official at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration who oversaw the initial phases of vaccine development for the U.S. government, said during a panel discussion in June. The major difference, of course, is that airplane oxygen masks do not drop only in first class—which is the equivalent of what will happen when vaccines eventually become available if governments delay providing access to them to people in other countries.

By early July, there were 160 candidate vaccines against the new coronavirus in development, with 21 in clinical trials. Although it will be months, at least, before one or more of those candidates has been proved to be safe and effective and is ready to be delivered, countries that manufacture vaccines (and wealthy ones that do not) are already competing to lock in early access. 

Biosecurity

Coronavirus: Face masks and coverings to be compulsory in England's shops

Wearing a face covering in shops and supermarkets in England is to become mandatory from 24 July.

Those who fail to comply with the new rules will face a fine of up to £100, the government has announced.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it would "give people more confidence to shop safely and enhance protections for those who work in shops".

The move will bring England into line with Scotland and other major European nations like Spain, Italy and Germany.

Since mid-May, members of the public have been advised to wear coverings in enclosed public spaces, where they may encounter people they would not usually meet.

Mask-wearing has been compulsory on public transport in England and at NHS facilities across the UK since 15 June.

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WHO Acknowledges ‘Emerging Evidence’ On Airborne Transmission Of Coronavirus

The World Health Organization has acknowledged that there is "emerging evidence" that the coronavirus can be spread by airborne transmission from tiny particles suspended in the air, a day after 239 scientists signed a letter urging the agency to address the issue.

• WHO’s Technical Lead for Infection Prevention and Control, Dr. Benedetta Alleganzi acknowledged “emerging evidence” on the issue and said that the agency has “to be open to this evidence and understand its implications.”
• Alleganzi, however, noted that the evidence was not yet definitive but said that the possibility of airborne transmission “in very specific conditions crowded, closed, poorly ventilated settings” could not be ruled out.
• The letter, which was made public on Monday, had argued that the WHO and other health authorities were not paying enough attention to airborne transmission.
• Jose Jimenez, who signed the letter, told Reuters that the letter was “not an attack on the WHO,” but the scientists felt they needed to go public “because they were refusing to hear the evidence after many conversations with them.”
• The WHO's Maria Van Kerkove said the agency is working on a scientific brief summarizing the current knowledge around the transmission of the virus which will be made public in the coming weeks.

Biosecurity

Climate crisis: Thawing Arctic permafrost could release deadly waves of ancient diseases, scientists suggest

Disturbing things are happening in the Arctic.

In the last fortnight a devastating heatwave has seen temperatures in Siberia reach a record 38C (100.4F), meanwhile, vast fires are burning, releasing huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and dramatically illustrating the vicious circle of climate breakdown.

As climate scientists ponder whether these extremes portend the dawn of a terrifying new era of supercharged heat in the Arctic, the planet also remains gripped by the coronavirus pandemic.

It is at this pivotal moment a startling new risk could also be unleashed upon the world – one which binds together both the implications of an overheating planet and the tragedy of a highly contagious disease.

Scientists have said the rapidly warming climate in the far north risks exposing long-dormant viruses, which may be tens or even hundreds of thousands of years old, and have been frozen in the permafrost in the Arctic.

Biosecurity

Nearly 1,500 deaths in one day: UK ministers accused of downplaying Covid-19 peak

Ministers have been accused of playing down the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic after it emerged that more than 1,000 people died every day in the UK for 22 consecutive days – in stark contrast with daily tolls announced by the government.

According to an analysis of official figures, the darkest day came on 8 April as the country prepared for Easter under lockdown, when a record 1,445 people died from Covid-19 in 24 hours.

The figures – encompassing deaths in hospitals, care homes and private residences – are far higher than the numbers announced by ministers during that period at the daily Downing Street briefings, as the pandemic peaked faster than forecast.

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Trump administration is blocking COVID stimulus oversight: government watchdog letter

The Trump administration is hindering oversight of over $1 trillion in pandemic stimulus funds, according to a watchdog group tasked by Congress to detect fraud and misuse of federal aid aimed at mitigating economic fallout from coronavirus.

Treasury Department officials have said the agency is not required to report key information to the inspectors general group, known as the Pandemic Response Accountability Commission (PRAC), regarding one of the funds it is tasked with administering under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, leaders from the PRAC told lawmakers in a letter seen on Monday.

The letter to congressional leaders details one of the latest efforts by Trump administration to limit transparency and oversight of the unprecedented government stimulus package. It’s also the latest sign of friction between the Trump administration and the government watchdog community after the president removed several inspectors general from their roles.

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Satellite images of packed Wuhan hospitals suggest coronavirus outbreak began earlier than thought

Coronavirus may have broken out in the Chinese city of Wuhan much earlier than previously thought, according to a new US study looking at satellite imagery and internet searches.

The Harvard Medical School research found that the number of cars parked at major Wuhan hospitals at points last autumn was much higher than the preceding year.  

It also found that searches from the Wuhan region for information on “cough” and “diarrhea”, known Covid-19 symptoms, on the Chinese search engine Baidu spiked around the same time.

It has led researchers to suggest that the outbreak began much earlier than December 31, the date the Chinese government notified the World Health Organisation of the outbreak. 

The findings add weight to US calls for Beijing to cooperate with investigators attempting to understand the origins of a virus which has now claimed more than 400,000 lives worldwide. 

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Coronavirus may force the U.S. intelligence community to rethink how it does its job

Coronavirus is shaping up to be a watershed for the American intelligence community.

In the two decades after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the CIA and other spy agencies made terrorism their top priority, with the goal of preventing another 9/11. For the most part, they succeeded.

Now a pandemic has killed more Americans in four months than died in all the wars in the last half-century — 35 9/11's and counting — while inflicting trillions of dollars in economic damage.

It's a disaster that is already changing how the intelligence community views health threats — and how it defines national security.

"COVID-19 is a wake-up call," said Denis Kaufman, a former senior official at the National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI) at the Defense Intelligence Agency.

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China tells U.S. to stop wasting time in coronavirus battle

The United States should stop wasting time in its fight against the coronavirus and work with China to combat it, rather than spreading lies and attacking the country, the Chinese government’s top diplomat Wang Yi said on Sunday.

Sino-U.S. ties have nosedived since the outbreak of the new coronavirus, with the administrations of President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping repeatedly trading barbs over issues related to the pandemic, especially U.S. accusations of cover-ups and lack of transparency.

The two top economies have also clashed over Hong Kong, human rights, trade and U.S. support for Chinese-claimed Taiwan.

State Councillor Wang, speaking at his annual news conference on the sidelines of China’s parliament, expressed his deep sympathies to the United States for the pandemic, where the death toll is expected to surpass 100,000 in the coming days, the highest number of any country.

Biosecurity

Exclusive: Second more deadly wave of coronavirus 'to hit Europe this winter'

European countries should brace themselves for a deadly second wave of coronavirus infections because the pandemic is not over, the World Health Organisation’s top official in Europe has said. 

In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Dr Hans Kluge, director for the WHO European region, delivered a stark warning to countries beginning to ease their lockdown restrictions, saying that now is the "time for preparation, not celebration".

Dr Kluge stressed that, as the number of cases of Covid-19 in countries such as the UK, France and Italy was beginning to fall, it did not mean the pandemic was coming to an end. The epicentre of the European outbreak is now in the east, with the number of cases rising in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, he warned....

Biosecurity

Coronavirus: Are Italians losing faith in the EU?

Little help came from its European neighbours in those first weeks in February and March, as hospitals in the north were overwhelmed.

As Italy counts its 31,000 dead, concern is mounting over the economic impact too, and there are signs of a rise in the number of Italians losing faith in the EU.

The Treaty of Rome launched the then European Economic Community in 1957, with Italy a founding member.

"I have changed my mind a little on Europe. We are facing an absolute emergency, and seeing countries turning their backs on each other is really awkward," says Rome real estate agent Marco Tondo, 34.

He is currently receiving nine weeks' redundancy pay from the government at 80% of his normal salary.

Biosecurity

Trump unveils 'warp-speed' effort to create coronavirus vaccine by year's end

Donald Trump has announced details of a “warp-speed” effort to create a coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year, even as experts warn that such a breakthrough could take longer than 18 months.

House to allow remote voting for first time in 231-year history – as it happened

 

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During remarks in the White House Rose Garden on Friday that had to compete with honking from protesting truck drivers, however, the US president also urged schools to reopen in the autumn and insisted: “Vaccine or no vaccine, we’re back.”

Unveiling details of “Operation Warp Speed”, a name that references a concept popularised by Star Trek and other science fiction, Trump said: “That means big and it means fast. A massive scientific, industrial and logistical endeavour unlike anything our country has seen since the Manhattan Project.”