Coronavirus: COVID-19 outbreak declared pandemic by WHO #COVID19 #coronavirus #UK #emergency #quarantine #pandemic #WHO
The coronavirus outbreak has now been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
According to the WHO website, a pandemic is defined as the worldwide spread of a new disease.
It can also refer to a disease which is prevalent over a whole country.
In contrast to a pandemic, an epidemic refers to the spread of illness in a “community or region…clearly in excess of normal expectancy”.
According to a 2017 report, the WHO has four phases to describe the outbreak of a pandemic.
Interpandemic phase – this is the period between pandemics
Alert phase – this is when a new virus has been identified and risk assessments are carried out at local, national and global levels
Pandemic phase – this is the period of global spread of the virus. Some experts say this is obviously happening with coronavirus.
Transition phase – this is when the global risk reduces and countries begin to recover
Courtesy of Sky News
Coronavirus: Number of UK cases rises to 456 #COVID19 #coronavirus #UK #emergency #quarantine #epidemic
The number of people with the coronavirus in the UK has risen to 456 after a further 83 tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours.
The number is the biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases in the UK, where six people have died from the illness.
Two British people have died from the illness outside of the UK, with one of them dying in Indonesia and the other in Japan.
A drive-through coronavirus test site has opened in Wolverhampton to allow members of the public to check if they have the disease.
The NHS in England is set to “ramp up” facilities nationwide so 10,000 tests can be done each day.
Courtesy of Sky News
London coronavirus: Ursuline Preparatory School in Wimbledon forced to close after teacher tests positive #COVID19 #coronavirus #UK #UrsulinePreparatorySchool #London #Wimbledon #quarantine #epidemic
A school in Wimbledon, Merton has closed after a teacher tested positive for coronavirus.
Ursuline Preparatory School told parents on Tuesday morning (March 11) that it would be closed for the day after a teacher at the school tested positive with Covid-19 on Monday night (March 10).
Chris McGrath, the school’s headteacher, sent a statement to parents explaining the school is now in the process of identifying others who may have come into contact with the infected teacher.
Mr McGrath said: “We have a confirmed case of Covid-19 amongst the staff in the school.
“This information was received late last night and I have been in communication with the relevant medical authorities since then.
“As a result, I’m sorry to say that we cannot open the school today. We must identify any adults who need to self-isolate.
“I will contact you again as soon as I have further information. I know that this will cause real difficulties for many of you, but please understand we have no alternative.”
The school, on The Downs, is a Roman Catholic school that teaches children up until Year 6. It also has a nursery.
Courtesy of mylondon.news
A businessman from Kent, UK says he and his son have been waiting nine days for a coronavirus test #COVID19 #coronavirus #UK #Kent #quarantine #epidemic
A businessman from Kent says he and his son have been waiting nine days for a coronavirus test after getting a cough following a trip to northern Italy.
Phillip Meyer, 48, said he was told by the 111 service on 2 March that he and his 12-year-old son needed to be tested.
A clinician told him someone would contact them to arrange a test at his home in Westerham, near Sevenoaks, or at drive-in centre at a local hospital. But he has heard nothing since, despite daily calls to the 111 service to check on the progress.
Speaking to the Guardian, Meyer, a director of an online retail company, said: “In eight days absolutely nothing has happened. We’ve either slipped through the cracks, or the government is really not doing a very good job of testing people. And I fear it’s the latter.”
He added: “We are testing between 1,000 and 2,000 people a day in the UK, so clearly there is a bottleneck. If in South Korea they test 15,000 a day, why can’t we do that here?”
Meyer and his wife and two sons went on a half-term family skiing trip to South Tyrol on the border between Italy and Austria. A few days after returning he and his oldest son developed a cough. When his son was sent home from school, the family began to self-isolate, and called 111 for advice about testing.
“We were told that someone would call us back to organise a test. But we’ve since been waiting, waiting, and waiting. I’ve called 111 every day but there’s been no more information. They can see on the system that we had been referred and were waiting to be called by a hospital for testing.”
When Meyer suggested turning up at Maidstone hospital for a drive-in test, he was advised against this. “I was told ‘If you do that we’ll take you out of the queue of people to be tested, and you’ll lose your current place. And there’s no guarantee you’ll be tested at the hospital’.”
He added: “My main concern is that I don’t want to spread this to other people. People at my son’s school are understandably anxious to know whether we have been tested, and we can’t tell them anything. It’s awful. So our whole family are just self isolating.
“If I’m getting this, there must be thousands of people who are in the same situation. I’m lucky to be able to do the job I do from home. It feels like we’ve done everything that we should have done to try and protect people. And the government isn’t doing anything really to help. The only way you can contain this is by testing people, and then isolate them, but it’s way too late for me.”
Courtesy of theguardian.com
Polish schools set to close to contain coronavirus #COVID19 #coronavirus #Poland #Schools #quarantine #epidemic
Interesting to see how different governments are dealing with the threat of coronavirus. Reuters are reporting that all Polish schools will close starting on Monday to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.
Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, added that universities, museums and cinemas will also be closed. Poland has confirmed 26 cases of the coronavirus. No one has died.
Courtesy of theguardian.com
Coronavirus: Google has told all its staff in North America to work from home #COVID19 #coronavirus #USA #Google #quarantine #epidemic
Google has told all its staff in North America to work from home, in an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News.
Earlier this month, the tech giant had already told workers in Seattle to work from home, as well as Dublin in Ireland.
But now, all staff across the continent will be “recommended” not to go into the office unless necessary until at least April 10.
Courtesy of theguardian.com
Naomi Campbell wears a hazmat suit to catch a flight amid coronavirus outbreak #COVID19 #coronavirus #USA #LAX #NaomiCampbell HazmatSuit #epidemic
Taking no chances: Campbell wore a full hazmat outfit for the flight (@naomi)
Naomi Campbell has been spotted wearing a wearing a full hazmat suit to board a plane as a precautionary measure amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The supermodel uploaded photos of herself to Instagram with the caption “Safety First NEXT LEVEL” and promised fans that a “full video” would be “coming on my YouTube soon.”
She was pictured in a white hazmat suit, goggles, a blue face mask and pink plastic gloves.
One shot showed her posing with a carry-on suitcase at LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal while another saw the fashion legend don a camel jacket over her ensemble.
She also posted another of her peering out of a car, also captioning it: “Safety first.”
Fashion designer Marc Jacobs commented: “Next level safety. I’d expect nothing less from you my dear @naomi #chosenfamily.”
Meanwhile rapper Azealia Banks shared her hopes that Campbell was not using an “airplane blanket” as “those don’t get washed thoroughly.”
Fans also praised her in the comments, saying they were “living for this safety look” and branding Campbell their “idol.”
While Campbell’s measures may seem a little extreme, the model is a self-confessed germaphobe, so her outfit could be considered a minor (but essential) step up from her usual in flight attire.
She famously posted a YouTube video last year using disinfectant wipes to clean her first class seat on a plane and told fans that she does this “no matter what plane you take, private or commercial.”
She has also shared several photos on social media posing with Dettol wipes and another of her striking a pose in her gloves.
Courtesy of standard.co.uk
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