[Right: Military officers outside the Duomo cathedral, closed by authorities because of the coronavirus outbreak, in Milan on February 24]
REUTERS/Flavio Lo Scalzo
* Italy is scrambling to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus within its borders as cases of COVID-19 soar.
* Italy has the most cases outside of Asia. As of Wednesday evening, 12 people there had died from the disease.
* The country has put almost a dozen towns under lockdown, canceled major sporting events, and debated closing its borders with neighboring countries.
* The two most infected regions are Lombardy and Veneto in the north of Italy, home to Milan and Venice. New cases are also being reported in southern Italy.
Italy is scrambling to fight a coronavirus outbreak after a sharp spike in cases and deaths made it the worst-hit country outside of Asia.
As of Wednesday evening, 12 people in Italy had died from the virus. Italian authorities reported at least 400 cases of COVID-19 in the country, according to the BBC.
All the people who have died in Italy were elderly or had other health complications, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica and the Associated Press reported.
The country has put 11 towns on lockdown to contain the virus' spread.
The two most infected regions are Lombardy and Veneto in the north, which contain the major cities of Milan and Venice. But the virus has also spread farther south, with regions including Tuscany and the island of Sicily also reporting cases on Tuesday and Wednesday.
I'll just re-post the following from the previous post:
There are--on average--10,000 germs on a human hand. It would always be a good idea, even aside from this concern, to have liquid hand cleaner handy during the day. Also, halo oral antiseptic spray is a good precaution to use prior to a lot of close contact, such as grocery shopping. Using latex gloves is an option as well. I think a box of 100 goes for about $11 at Lowes. Face masks can be observed occasionally in places like San Francisco. Think gas pumps, shopping cart handles, and door knobs/handles. .
A.I. Is Making it Easier to Kill (You). Here’s How. | NYT 507,306 views - December 13, 2019 The New York Times A tank that drives itself. A drone that picks its own targets. A machine gun with facial recognition software. Sounds like science fiction? A.I. fueled weapons are already here.
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Andrea Bocelli coming to NYC, LA, Bay Area this spring Andrea Bocelli Tickets Information Arguably one of the most well-known vocalists of all time, Andrea Bocelli has spent more than two decades in the spotlight building an international reputation as a powerful tenor. Bocelli has enjoyed an impressive crossover career since he was first discovered in 1992, from excelling in numerous operatic roles to earning mainstream success with adult contemporary hits like “The Prayer” and “Time to Say Goodbye.” This Italian virtuoso’s unbelievable talent shines through when he performs songs from his extensive repertoire live, making any plotted Andrea Bocelli tours a must-see affair. Vivid Seats agents are standing by to help you secure your Andrea Bocelli tickets for a show when you call 866.848.8499 or connect through Live Chat. con't....
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Coronavirus Impact on Global Economy Explained 47,727 views - February 18, 2020 Valuetainment In this video Patrick Bet-David talks about the coronavirus, how it spreads, the most deadly epidemics in history, and how viruses effect the stock markets around the world. Subscribe to Valuetainment for all new videos http://bit.ly/2aPEwD4 con't....
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How the rich get richer – money in the world economy | DW Documentary 3,747,677 views DW Documentary Exploding real estate prices, zero interest rate and a rising stock market – the rich are getting richer. What danger lies in wait for average citizens? For years, the world’s central banks have been pursuing a policy of cheap money. The first and foremost is the ECB (European Central Bank), which buys bad stocks and bonds to save banks, tries to fuel economic growth and props up states that are in debt. But what relieves state budgets to the tune of hundreds of billions annoys savers: interest rates are close to zero. The fiscal policies of the central banks are causing an uncontrolled global deluge of money. Experts are warning of new bubbles. In real estate, for example: it’s not just in German cities that prices are shooting up. In London, a one-bed apartment can easily cost more than a million Euro. More and more money is moving away from the real economy and into the speculative field. Highly complex financial bets are taking place in the global casino - gambling without checks and balances. The winners are set from the start: in Germany and around the world, the rich just get richer. Professor Max Otte says: "This flood of money has caused a dangerous redistribution. Those who have, get more." But with low interest rates, any money in savings accounts just melts away. Those with debts can be happy. But big companies that want to swallow up others are also happy: they can borrow cheap money for their acquisitions. Coupled with the liberalization of the financial markets, money deals have become detached from the real economy. But it’s not just the banks that need a constant source of new, cheap money today. So do states. They need it to keep a grip on their mountains of debt. It’s a kind of snowball system. What happens to our money? Is a new crisis looming? The film 'The Money Deluge' casts a new and surprising light on our money in these times of zero interest rates. con't....
************************* . Annie Jacobsen: "The Pentagon's Brain: An Uncensored History of DARPA" | Talks at Google
Journalist Annie Jacobsen visited Google's office in Cambridge, MA to discuss her book "The Pentagon's Brain: An Uncensored History of DARPA, America's Top-Secret Military Research Agency".
Ms. Jacobsen has written the first history of the the Defense Department's most secret, most powerful, and most controversial military science R&D agency. She draws on inside sources, exclusive interviews, private documents, and declassified memos to paint a picture of DARPA from its Cold War inception in 1958 to the present.
The prospect that the new coronavirus, whose outbreak has been so far largely confined to China, could become a pandemic is seeming more likely today. This week, several countries have reported local clusters of the disease outside of mainland China, suggesting the virus is freely circulating there. Meanwhile, a new report estimates that only a third of cases that have left China’s borders are being documented at all.
On Friday, South Korean health officials reported a dramatic jump in cases of COVID-19, as the disease is officially known. There are currently 204 cases, more than double the number reported the day before. Iran’s Health Ministry reported 13 new cases on Friday, bringing Iran’s total up to 18, along with four deaths. Italy reported six new cases, all of which were not connected to travel from China.
In total, there have been close to 76,000 cases of COVID-19, with more than 2,100 deaths, nearly all in China, since the outbreak began last December. There have been more than 1,000 cases outside of China, with the largest bulk of cases—over 600—involving people onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship now being held off the coast of Japan.
These newest waves of cases in South Korea and elsewhere indicate that we’re heading into a dangerous new phase of the outbreak. The virus (formally known as SARS-CoV-2) is now routinely showing up in people who didn’t catch it from recently traveling to China. In places like Iran, we’re also seeing cases where the chain of transmission is a mystery. That means there are almost certainly blind spots where the virus is spreading in communities without detection. The more unwatched sparks of disease there are in a country, the more likely they’ll erupt into a full-blown wildfire that will sustain the outbreak and turn it into a pandemic.
There are--on average--10,000 germs on a human hand. It would always be a good idea, even aside from this concern, to have liquid hand cleaner handy during the day. Also, halo oral antiseptic spray is a good precaution to use prior to a lot of close contact, such as grocery shopping. Using latex gloves is an option as well. I think a box of 100 goes for about $11 at Lowes. Face masks can be observed occasionally in places like San Francisco. Think gas pumps, shopping cart handles, and door knobs/handles. .
