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from DW News (Deutsche Welle)
Broadcasting & Media Production Company in Bonn, Germany
Did coronavirus really originate in a Chinese laboratory?
Did the novel coronavirus escape from a Chinese lab that researches bats? Though the early origins of the virus remain unclear, some Chinese scientists' work is helping develop a vaccine. DW examines the facts. Researchers and journalists have been speculating for months about how the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, emerged in the city of Wuhan, China. Initial indications pointed to a so-called wet market where fish was sold along with wild animals. Now, however, Western media outlets are reporting that the virus possibly originated in the nearby Wuhan Institute of Virology. Similar theories began making the rounds on social media sites as early as January, mostly in connection to conspiracy theories referencing secret Chinese military labs developing bioweapons. At the time, The Washington Post newspaper brushed off theories that the virus was manmade, citing experts who assessed that its characteristics pointed to a naturally occurring virus and not a manmade mutation. ... But despite all these indications to the contrary, it can't be said for certain that the pandemic didn't accidentally enter the world via the Wuhan lab. As early as the end of January, the magazine Science published an article questioning the official theory that the virus had been transmitted from an animal to a human at the wet market. And another study published in the medical journal The Lancet concluded that 13 of the first 41 people diagnosed with COVID-19 had no contact whatsoever to the Wuhan market. Moreover, it is likely that "patient zero" — the first person to have the disease — was infected as early as November 2019. Thus, the earliest cases had no connection to the market, as Daniel Lucey, a professor for infectious diseases at Georgetown University Medical Center in the US, told Science Speaks in an interview in late January.
Did coronavirus really originate in a Chinese laboratory?
Did the novel coronavirus escape from a Chinese lab that researches bats? Though the early origins of the virus remain unclear, some Chinese scientists' work is helping develop a vaccine. DW examines the facts. Researchers and journalists have been speculating for months about how the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, emerged in the city of Wuhan, China. Initial indications pointed to a so-called wet market where fish was sold along with wild animals. Now, however, Western media outlets are reporting that the virus possibly originated in the nearby Wuhan Institute of Virology. Similar theories began making the rounds on social media sites as early as January, mostly in connection to conspiracy theories referencing secret Chinese military labs developing bioweapons. At the time, The Washington Post newspaper brushed off theories that the virus was manmade, citing experts who assessed that its characteristics pointed to a naturally occurring virus and not a manmade mutation. ... But despite all these indications to the contrary, it can't be said for certain that the pandemic didn't accidentally enter the world via the Wuhan lab. As early as the end of January, the magazine Science published an article questioning the official theory that the virus had been transmitted from an animal to a human at the wet market. And another study published in the medical journal The Lancet concluded that 13 of the first 41 people diagnosed with COVID-19 had no contact whatsoever to the Wuhan market. Moreover, it is likely that "patient zero" — the first person to have the disease — was infected as early as November 2019. Thus, the earliest cases had no connection to the market, as Daniel Lucey, a professor for infectious diseases at Georgetown University Medical Center in the US, told Science Speaks in an interview in late January.
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from HumanProgress.org Education Website
In a Crisis, Pessimism Is Natural but Realism Is Crucial
It is important to recognize our pessimistic predispositions, so we may overcome them.
With the COVID-19 lockdown upon us, anxiety and depression are on the rise. It would be irresponsible to downplay the risks that coronavirus poses to America’s health and economy. But excessive pessimism is also in no one’s interest. Problems and their purported solutions must be evaluated coolly and dispassionately. Facts, logic, reason and science, not emotions, must guide us in this time of troubles. Unfortunately, some of our most basic impulses evolved at a time when the world was very different from our own. “Our modern skulls house a stone age mind,” note Leda Cosmides and John Tooby from the University of California, Santa Barbara. The mind can be decidedly harmful in helping us address today’s problems, including those of anxiety and depression.
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from KEPR Action News (CBS Pasco)
Hundreds protest Washington fishing ban in Richland
Hundreds of boaters hit the water in Richland to protest a ban on fishing in the state of Washington as part of the 'Stay Home' order issued by Governor Jay Inslee. At the end of March, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife issued a temporary order to close all recreational fishing and shellfishing in the entire state and fishermen are not happy about it. On Saturday, boats gathered at Columbia Point Marina to send a message that they are upset about the fishing ban. Boaters managed to keep their distance from each other during the protest. A large crowd also gathered on the shore of the park.
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from The Roman Anglican (blog)
An Anglican review on art and history, based in Rome.
LOCKDOWN TO BE LIFTED IN ITALY: A REFLECTION.
It has been a week now, since Christians in most of the world have celebrated the eeariest and oddest Good Friday most of us can remember. It was on Good Friday when we first heard that things in Italy were improving, but equally, that such good news was only a glimpse of hope as things would have not been changing for a while. Last week, we were given a deadline for our quarantine, as of today, the date of the end of the lockdown hasn't changed. We are still waiting for that 3rd May, the Fourth Sunday after Easter. It is a cause of joy to me that we will be freed during this Easter season. As of this morning, Italians are waking up to even more positive news, as Central and Southern Italy have almost vanquished the dreaded plague, the government is looking into relaxing all the various restrictions at different stages before May 4th, with bookshops and children's clothing stores reopening on Monday, and with the fashion, design, and car industry restarting on 27th April, being those so important to Italian economy - with parks, restaurants, bars and perhaps museums reopening on that day. This will certainly be a cause of joy for a population which has effectively been put under home arrest since 9th March, in a country that has reinforced the tightest restrictions of their kind in the Western empisphere. It is incredibly heartening to be able to see an end to this after all these weeks, when we have all been feeling like we were Waiting for Godot.
LOCKDOWN TO BE LIFTED IN ITALY: A REFLECTION.
It has been a week now, since Christians in most of the world have celebrated the eeariest and oddest Good Friday most of us can remember. It was on Good Friday when we first heard that things in Italy were improving, but equally, that such good news was only a glimpse of hope as things would have not been changing for a while. Last week, we were given a deadline for our quarantine, as of today, the date of the end of the lockdown hasn't changed. We are still waiting for that 3rd May, the Fourth Sunday after Easter. It is a cause of joy to me that we will be freed during this Easter season. As of this morning, Italians are waking up to even more positive news, as Central and Southern Italy have almost vanquished the dreaded plague, the government is looking into relaxing all the various restrictions at different stages before May 4th, with bookshops and children's clothing stores reopening on Monday, and with the fashion, design, and car industry restarting on 27th April, being those so important to Italian economy - with parks, restaurants, bars and perhaps museums reopening on that day. This will certainly be a cause of joy for a population which has effectively been put under home arrest since 9th March, in a country that has reinforced the tightest restrictions of their kind in the Western empisphere. It is incredibly heartening to be able to see an end to this after all these weeks, when we have all been feeling like we were Waiting for Godot.
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from The Seattle Times
LEFT-CENTER BIAS, HIGH, Newspaper in Seattle, WA
Modelers at the University of Washington are starting to tackle one of the questions on everyone’s mind as the arc of the novel coronavirus pandemic appears to be flattening in places like Washington state: When will it be safe to begin easing up on the restrictions keeping the virus in check? According to the UW’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Washington could cross that threshold the week of May 18. Estimates for other states range from as early as May 4 to as late as the end of June, based on the local status of the epidemic.
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from The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper in Spokane, Washington
Sue Lani Madsen: Restlessness rises without clarity about when Washington will reopen
Restlessness may turn to revolt without a plan for reopening Washington for business. For Washington families who were living paycheck to paycheck, the economic pandemic is as real a threat as COVID-19.
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Sue Lani Madsen: Restlessness rises without clarity about when Washington will reopen
Restlessness may turn to revolt without a plan for reopening Washington for business. For Washington families who were living paycheck to paycheck, the economic pandemic is as real a threat as COVID-19.
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