Measuring excess mortality: England is the European outlier in the Covid-19 pandemic

COVID-19 highlights the inadequacy of national driven solutions to global problems. So why is nationalism on the rise?

Anti-Virus Measures in European States Show the Weaknesses of Nation-States

Many people suffer effects of coronavirus for months while reporting a wider range of symptoms than NHS guidelines state

'It feels endless': four women struggling to recover from Covid-19

Nicaragua’s government denies community spread in the country but an independent tally says deaths are 20 times the official figure

Sandinista leaders fall victim to coronavirus outbreak they downplayed

The number of deaths occurring in the COVID-19 treatment centre that MSF runs in Aden, Yemen, speaks to a wider catastrophe unfolding in the city. The UN and donor states need to do more urgently to help the response.  

Catastrophe unfolding in Aden’s only COVID-19 treatment centre

Fran Bednarek, a nurse, sits inside her rented room in Santa Fe N.M. After losing work from the coronavirus pandemic, Bednarek must now use a local food bank to meet her needs

‘People are looking at me’: For many who lost jobs in the coronavirus epidemic, hunger comes with shame

A Washington Post survey of the nation’s 50 wealthiest people and families, who have a collective net worth of nearly $1.6 trillion, found that their public donations amount to about $1 billion. (Victoria Adams Fogg/The Washington Post/Photo illustration. Bill Gates by Elaine Thompson/AP; Carl Icahn by Neilson Barnard/Getty; Jeff Bezos by Patrick Semansky/AP; Mark Zuckerberg by Mark Lennihan/AP)

The pandemic is testing the generosity of billionaires, according to a Washington Post survey of the 50 richest Americans

Smithsonian teams up with the World Health Organization to educate on COVID-19. Working through seven tasks helps young people learn about coronavirus and investigate ways to stay safe. Plan centers on critical reasoning, investigating and questioning. Analytical thinking and creativity are in-demand skills, according to the Forum’s Future of Jobs Report.

How the world's largest museum is encouraging kids to come up with their own COVID-19 action plan

10.1126/science.abb8492

Underpromise, overdeliver

During the COVID-19 crisis, senior leaders must rethink key decision-making processes in order to enhance trust, transparency, and teamwork.

New Leadership Challenges for the Virtual World of Work

Public housing tenants were not allowed to modify bathroom pipes until August 2016 Reclassification may have allowed coronavirus to travel 10 storeys down in a Tsing Yi housing estate

Coronavirus in your toilet? How a Hong Kong policy change on pipes may have caused this

About 1 in 10 residents in this study have developed antibodies and approximately 1 in 40 currently asymptomatic individuals are positive for COVID-19 and potentially infectious. 

Results released for antibody and COVID-19 testing of Boston residents

I’m inspired by a West Midlands charity, but our community’s most vulnerable members are being hit the hardest

Amid the Covid-19 crisis, I keep thinking about the children in our hospices

Surgisphere, whose employees appear to include a sci-fi writer and adult content model, provided database behind Lancet and New England Journal of Medicine hydroxychloroquine studies

Surgisphere: governments and WHO changed Covid-19 policy based on suspect data from tiny US company

Health ministry reports 3,000 new cases in 24 hours after lockdown was eased in April

Iran's rapid rise in Covid-19 cases stokes fears of second wave

Number of suspected victims of modern slavery falls for first time in four years

Coronavirus lockdown halts surge in UK slavery

In the northern region of La Rioja, one medieval town has suffered a particularly deadly outbreak. And in such a tight-knit community, suspicion and recrimination can spread as fast as the virus.

How a small Spanish town became one of Europe's worst Covid-19 hotspots

Preliminary Estimate of Excess Mortality During the COVID-19 Outbreak — New York City, March 11–May 2, 2020

The White House’s inability to track the disease as it spread across the nation crippled the government’s response and led to the worst disaster this country has faced in nearly a century

The Four Men Responsible For America’s COVID-19 Test Disaster

Alex Andreou‘s forensic analysis shows how Boris Johnson’s administration underestimated the speed of the Coronavirus pandemic and have been flying blind ever since

The Lost MarchHow the UK Government's COVID-19 Strategy Fell Apart

Evidence indicates markedly higher mortality risk from COVID-19 among Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups, but deaths are not consistent across BAME groups. Similarly, adverse outcomes are seen for BAME patients in intensive care units and amongst medical staff and Health and Care Workers. The exact reasons for this increased risk and vulnerability from COVID-19 in BAME populations are not known. There may be a number of contributing factors in the general population such as overrepresentation of BAME populations in lower socio-economic groups, multi-family and multi-generational households, co-morbidity exposure risks, and disproportionate employment in lower band key worker roles. For Health and Care workers, there are increased health and care setting exposure risks.

BAME COVID-19 DEATHS – What do we know? Rapid Data & Evidence Review

Sweden made headlines for never shutting down. Here’s what’s really happening there.

What Americans Need to Understand About the Swedish Coronavirus Experiment

COVID-19 poses an extraordinary threat to global public health and an effective vaccine could provide a key means of overcoming this crisis. Human challenge studies involve the intentional infection of research participants and can accelerate or improve vaccine development by rapidly providing estimates of vaccine safety and efficacy. Human challenge studies of low virulence coronaviruses have been done in the past and human challenge studies with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 have been proposed. These studies of coronaviruses could provide considerable benefits to public health; for instance, by improving and accelerating vaccine development. However, human challenge studies of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in particular might be controversial, in part, for ethical reasons. The ethical issues raised by such studies thus warrant early consideration involving, for example, broad consultation with the community. This Personal View provides preliminary analyses of relevant ethical considerations regarding human challenge studies of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, including the potential benefits to public health and to participants, the risks and uncertainty for participants, and the third-party risks (ie, to research staff and the wider community). We argue that these human challenge studies can reasonably be considered ethically acceptable insofar as such studies are accepted internationally and by the communities in which they are done, can realistically be expected to accelerate or improve vaccine development, have considerable potential to directly benefit participants, are designed to limit and minimise risks to participants, and are done with strict infection control measures to limit and reduce third-party risks.

10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30438-2

COVID-19 human challenge studies: ethical issues

The United Nations Development agency has warned that coronavirus could reverse human development for the first time in 30 years. The fall-out from the pandemic is expected to hit poorer economies harder, as they're less able to deal with the socio-economic impacts of the virus. COVID-19 has forced the closure of millions of schools worldwide, preventing children form receiving a proper education.

Pandemic may reverse human development for first time in 30 years, UN says

World Wide Neuro reconnects researchers and facilitates scientific discourse in the times of the pandemic.

Making (neuro)science accessible world-wide: Online seminars for the globe

Amir Attaran: Canada is mismanaging its most significant peacetime crisis in a century and the seeds of our failure are everywhere. Here are four things that must change.

How Canada has bungled the COVID-19 endgame

As many countries start to ease lockdown measures, these authors advise that any relaxation of measures should be gradual, cautious, and constantly reviewed

Balancing lives and livelihoods: relaxation of lockdown needs to be finely balanced

10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31180-6

BackgroundHydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, often in combination with a second-generation macrolide, are being widely used for treatment of COVID-19, despite no conclusive evidence of their benefit. Although generally safe when used for approved indications such as autoimmune disease or malaria, the safety and benefit of these treatment regimens are poorly evaluated in COVID-19.MethodsWe did a multinational registry analysis of the use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19. The registry comprised data from 671 hospitals in six continents. We included patients hospitalised between Dec 20, 2019, and April 14, 2020, with a positive laboratory finding for SARS-CoV-2. Patients who received one of the treatments of interest within 48 h of diagnosis were included in one of four treatment groups (chloroquine alone, chloroquine with a macrolide, hydroxychloroquine alone, or hydroxychloroquine with a macrolide), and patients who received none of these treatments formed the control group. Patients for whom one of the treatments of interest was initiated more than 48 h after diagnosis or while they were on mechanical ventilation, as well as patients who received remdesivir, were excluded. The main outcomes of interest were in-hospital mortality and the occurrence of de-novo ventricular arrhythmias (non-sustained or sustained ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation).Findings96 032 patients (mean age 53·8 years, 46·3% women) with COVID-19 were hospitalised during the study period and met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 14 888 patients were in the treatment groups (1868 received chloroquine, 3783 received chloroquine with a macrolide, 3016 received hydroxychloroquine, and 6221 received hydroxychloroquine with a macrolide) and 81 144 patients were in the control group. 10 698 (11·1%) patients died in hospital. After controlling for multiple confounding factors (age, sex, race or ethnicity, body-mass index, underlying cardiovascular disease and its risk factors, diabetes, underlying lung disease, smoking, immunosuppressed condition, and baseline disease severity), when compared with mortality in the control group (9·3%), hydroxychloroquine (18·0%; hazard ratio 1·335, 95% CI 1·223–1·457), hydroxychloroquine with a macrolide (23·8%; 1·447, 1·368–1·531), chloroquine (16·4%; 1·365, 1·218–1·531), and chloroquine with a macrolide (22·2%; 1·368, 1·273–1·469) were each independently associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality. Compared with the control group (0·3%), hydroxychloroquine (6·1%; 2·369, 1·935–2·900), hydroxychloroquine with a macrolide (8·1%; 5·106, 4·106–5·983), chloroquine (4·3%; 3·561, 2·760–4·596), and chloroquine with a macrolide (6·5%; 4·011, 3·344–4·812) were independently associated with an increased risk of de-novo ventricular arrhythmia during hospitalisation.InterpretationWe were unable to confirm a benefit of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, when used alone or with a macrolide, on in-hospital outcomes for COVID-19. Each of these drug regimens was associated with decreased in-hospital survival and an increased frequency of ventricular arrhythmias when used for treatment of COVID-19.FundingWilliam Harvey Distinguished Chair in Advanced Cardiovascular Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: a multinational registry analysis

10.31234/osf.io/jkmut

Exploring the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of adolescents is urgently needed. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a Japanese-version Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) among adolescents. Japanese adolescents administered the Japanese-version FCV-19S, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire for Adolescents (PHQ-A), and Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Scale (PVDS). Statistical analyses revealed that the Japanese-version FCV-19S has a two-factor model consisting of an emotional-responses and physiological-responses factor, as well as high reliability (emotional: α = .71; physiological: α = .82). Constructive validity was shown by the significant positive correlation between the GAD-7 and emotional (r = .11) and physiological response (r = .25), between PHQ-A and physiological response (r = .19), and between both factors and the PVDS subscale (rs > .16). These results indicate that the Japanese-version FCV-19S has a high internal consistency and moderately good construct validity.

Development and validation of the Japanese version Fear of COVID-19 Scale among adolescents.

The use of ed-tech tools in an emergency does not obviate the need for evaluation and testing

The COVID-19 crisis mustn’t be used to rationalize hasty education reforms

Are cities the latest victim of coronavirus?

Coronavirus in L.A. County: Separating Fact from Fiction

10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30439-4

Ratio, rate, or risk?

10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30381-9

COVID-19 lockdown of Roma settlements in Slovakia

The most cost-effective way to fight climate change and revive virus-hit economies is through green public investment, a new study shows. Major economies are drawing up economic packages to cushion the shock of the pandemic.

Could COVID-19 mark a ‘turning point’ in the climate crisis?

European leaders have called for green investment to restart growth after the coronavirus pandemic. A group of 180 political decision-makers, business leaders, trade unions, campaign groups and think tanks have urged the bloc to adopt green stimulus measures. The EU is headed for a steep recession triggered by the outbreak, but is divided on how to finance economic recovery. EU leaders are due to meet next week to discuss the recovery plan, which would look to promote biodiversity and rebuild stronger economies.

The EU looks towards green coronavirus recovery

COVID-19 is making the interconnectedness of our world clear. The pandemic may be laying the groundwork for the efforts required to tackle climate change. These changes will need political and industrial leadership, as well as global collaboration.

Climate action must stay top of the global agenda as we emerge from COVID-19

10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31241-1

Offline: After COVID-19—is an “alternate society” possible?

Conspiracy theorists have turned Covid misinformation and racial hatred into a video game

Which traded goods are affected the most by COVID-19?

New Covid-19 lockdown study shows drop in child health visits but resilience of HIV care systems in rural KZN

Analysts are tracking false rumours about COVID-19 in hopes of curbing their spread.

The epic battle against coronavirus misinformation and conspiracy theories

Covering Coronavirus: How Audience Needs are Changing and How Newsroom Coverage Compares

Professors must support the mental health of trainees during the COVID-19 crisis

As COVID-19 is rapidly spreading across the globe, short-term modeling forecasts provide time-critical information for decisions on containment and mitigation strategies. A major challenge for short-term forecasts is the assessment of key epidemiological parameters and how they change when first interventions show an effect. By combining an established epidemiological model with Bayesian inference, we analyze the time dependence of the effective growth rate of new infections. Focusing on COVID-19 spread in Germany, we detect change points in the effective growth rate that correlate well with the times of publicly announced interventions. Thereby, we can quantify the effect of interventions, and we can incorporate the corresponding change points into forecasts of future scenarios and case numbers. Our code is freely available and can be readily adapted to any country or region.

10.1126/science.abb9789

Inferring change points in the spread of COVID-19 reveals the effectiveness of interventions

We need to get children back into education, but a locally managed approach using testing and tracing is the only way

When should British schools reopen? Here's what the science tells us

These engines of regional growth will struggle with state funding cuts, fewer foreign students and destroyed household finances. 

Coronavirus Will End the Golden Age for College Towns

Major platforms are removing the discredited conspiracy video, but niche conspiracy communities and “alt-tech” start-ups are rapidly fueling its regeneration

Why the debunked COVID-19 conspiracy video “Plandemic” won’t go away

Having two copies of e4 variant of ApoE gene linked to double risk of severe Covid-19, study suggests

Research reveals gene role in both dementia and severe Covid-19

How will the coronavirus pandemic be remembered? Neil Prior takes a look at the projects documenting history-in-the-making in the age of the internet.

Coronavirus: How do we record history in the internet age?