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Thread: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Wuhan Pneumonia

  1. #136
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    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    Truth. That being said about the PRC reaction, how do you feel about the US reaction so far?
    Not too great. The idea that the coronavirus is some made-up plot by the Dems to overthrow the president shows a level of paranoia, narcissism, and stupidity in the extreme. Who knows? Maybe he doesn't really believe it himself, and is merely throwing that out there because he's clueless about how to deal with the problem, and he knows that some people will believe anything he says.

    BTW, I don't like either political party, so I'm not on anybody's bandwagon.

  2. #137
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    I lived through SARS too.

    My SARS journey again, if you missed it earlier.

    I Lived Through SARS and Reported on Ebola. These Are the Questions We Should Be Asking About Coronavirus.
    For concerned civilians and journalists covering the coronavirus, the figures and projections can be overwhelming, frightening or confusing. Here’s what reporter Caroline Chen is focusing on to keep things as accurate and clear as possible.
    by Caroline Chen March 5, 3:58 p.m. EST


    Thai nurses and doctors check temperatures of travelers coming from Hong Kong at the Bangkok International Airport in April 2003, during the SARS outbreak. Reporter Caroline Chen lived through SARS, and she covered Ebola, Zika and, now, coronavirus. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

    ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published.

    I grew up in Hong Kong and was 13 when SARS swept through the city, infecting about 1,750 people and killing nearly 300. As a teenager, the hardest part was being stuck at home and missing my friends. I only started to pay attention to the daily death toll after my parents decided that’s what would dictate when I could go back to school. But the experience shaped me. I picked up personal hygiene habits, like pressing elevator buttons with my knuckles. And I developed a deep respect for front-line medical workers, many of whom labored around the clock until they, too, succumbed.

    That was only my first experience with an outbreak.

    In 2014, I was a rookie reporter on the Bloomberg News health desk helping to cover the growing Ebola crisis in West Africa when we got word that the U.S. had its first diagnosed patient. My editor looked down his row of reporters and his eyes fell on me, the one with no familial obligations. “Hey Caroline,” he said, “want to go to Dallas today?” The experience gave me a deeper look into how governments and scientists grapple with a fast-moving, deadly target. I learned about contact tracing as I tagged along with CDC disease detectives. A colleague and I delved deep into how the government’s cumbersome contracting process delayed the development of a possible treatment for Ebola. I later covered Zika, reporting on Florida’s lonely fight against the virus, as Congress gave the state little assistance.

    Every time, I’ve seen the same gaps emerge in the public’s understanding of what’s really happening. On one side, I have epidemiologists and lab directors explaining to me, in excruciating detail, nuanced models and technicalities, like how PCR assays work. On the other side, I see oversimplified headlines and misleading statistics touted by government officials.

    Now I’m on ProPublica’s coronavirus reporting team, speaking to dozens of sources every day, from epidemiology experts and worried medical workers to members of the public, who are not sure what to take from the headlines they’re seeing. ProPublica specializes in accountability journalism, and our goal is to find out what’s happening and let the public know of any shortfalls in emergency response.

    Here’s what you need to know:

    Testing Is Still Limited

    On Tuesday, after days of growing clamor to make more testing available, Vice President Mike Pence announced that the administration was issuing new guidance that “will make it clear that any American can be tested” for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, and said that 2,500 kits would be sent out this week, an equivalent of 1.5 million tests.

    Lifting restrictions on testing criteria is a much-needed step, but if your takeaway was that hundreds of thousands of Americans will be able to walk into doctors’ offices by Friday and immediately get tested, you’d be wrong.

    It doesn’t matter if boxes upon boxes of kits are available if labs are struggling to set up the tests or are short on staff to run them. At the end of the day, what I want to know (and I imagine, what everyone wants to know) is how many people can be tested. That’s the unit that I am pressing public health officials and lab directors for when I interview them.

    Here are some basics that may be useful to keep in mind: The CDC test kits can be thought of somewhat like a Blue Apron meal kit; there’s some assembly required before a lab can begin testing. It’s not like a protein bar, ready to eat straight out of the wrapper.

    As of Wednesday, the Association of Public Health Laboratories, which represents public health labs across the United States, told me that each CDC test kit can run about 700 specimens. Note the “about” — you might have heard that each CDC test kit can run 1,000 specimens. That’s also true, but labs use up a certain amount of material in the process of setting up the kit and also to ensure that all the results from actual patient samples are accurate. So that’s where the “about 700” number is coming from.

    None of those numbers, so far, are in units of what I care about — patients. We’re still talking about samples and specimens. APHL says the labs are running two specimens per patient, to double-check the result. So that means you actually can only test 350 people per kit.

    Reporters, if an official gives you a number that’s in samples, I urge you to follow up.

    Instead of asking: How many test kits do you have?

    Ask this: How many samples are you running per patient?

    So that’s the kits. Let’s turn to staffing.

    APHL told me on Wednesday that each public health lab can run about 100 samples per day. One hundred public labs received test kits from the CDC. When they’re all up and running, they’ll have a cumulative capacity of 10,000 samples a day. Remember, since we care about patients and not samples, divide by two. That’s 5,000 patients a day. (As of Thursday morning, 67 labs were taking patient samples, so that would come out to 3,350 patients a day.)

    Many experts say we need far more testing capacity. A former FDA commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, told me that he’d like everyone with an influenza-like illness who tests negative for the flu to be able to get tested for COVID-19, which, given that we’re still in the midst of flu season, means a massive ramp-up would be required. In order to do that, the U.S. urgently needs academic medical centers to also come on board. Under pressure to expand capacity, the FDA loosened restrictions on Saturday to allow academic hospital labs to start testing. Some have. You can read more about that here. Testing giants Quest and LabCorp are also aiming to be online next week, which will help tremendously.

    I urge reporters to keep labor capacity in mind when talking to their local labs.

    Instead of asking: How many samples can you run?

    Ask this: How many samples is your lab testing per day right now? How about at maximum capacity? How many hours does it take to get a result?

    One last thing that’s good to know: There are commercial manufacturers at work to create off-the-shelf versions of these tests — the microwavable meal equivalent, if you will. But those companies have not given a precise timeline. Last week, Cepheid, a manufacturer based in California, told ProPublica it’s targeting the second quarter of this year for the release of its test.
    continued next post
    Gene Ching
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  3. #138
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    Continued from previous post

    The Death Rate Is Only an Estimate

    The mortality rate is an awfully squishy number that’s being reported as if it’s a stone-cold fact. On Tuesday, a number of headlines trumpeted that the World Health Organization was saying the death rate was 3.4%. Some hand-wringing ensued over how this number was higher than the previous estimate of 2%.

    Here’s what WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “Globally, about 3.4% of reported COVID-19 cases have died.” Let’s zoom in on the word “reported.” The WHO puts out a daily situation report that you can find here. It defines confirmed as “a person with laboratory confirmation of COVID-19 infection.” As of Tuesday, the total number of deaths reported globally (3,112) as a fraction of the total number of confirmed cases reported globally (90,869) was 3.4%.

    Here’s the problem, though. That denominator is laboratory-confirmed cases. As we know, in the U.S., it’s pretty hard to get tested right now. In fact, based on this definition, as of Wednesday night, the U.S. mortality rate based on CDC numbers — 9 reported deaths and 80 laboratory-confirmed cases — was 11%. You know that’s bogus. You know that’s because there’s not enough data, the denominator is pitifully small and we need to be testing a whole lot more people.

    Over the last few weeks, many more countries have realized that the coronavirus has hit their shores. Some, like South Korea, are doing tons of testing and generating lots of data. Others, like the U.S., aren’t, as ProPublica has reported. The rate will also depend, country by country, on demographics (this virus is more deadly to the elderly) and resources (like ventilators). It’s not surprising that the global mortality rate based on confirmed cases might fluctuate for a while.

    When most people talk about fatality rates, they’re thinking: If I get this, will I die? The only way to actually answer that question is to know how many people have been infected, and for now, that’s nearly impossible. As Marc Lipsitch, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health points out, deaths are the most obvious and easy thing to catch, whereas infected people who stay at home and those with no symptoms are incredibly hard to account for. That tends to skew the fatality rate higher, especially earlier on in an epidemic.

    What we do know for now is that it’s more deadly than the seasonal flu, which generally kills far fewer than 1% of those infected, and less deadly than a disease like SARS, which killed about 10% of those infected during the outbreak in 2002-3.

    When I write about the mortality rate, I try to use caveats like “estimated” or “scientists understand it to be around” so readers understand it’s not fixed in stone.

    Instead of saying: The mortality rate is X%.

    Say this: Scientists estimate the mortality rate is X%, based on the information they have.

    Be Careful with Projections

    Another slippery number out there is what’s known as the basic reproduction number, R~0~ (pronounced R-naught). It’s a measure of contagion, the average number of people who will catch the disease from a single infected person. For similar reasons as above, this number is currently a moving target, as more data is gathered from around the world. So far, estimates have largely been in the range of 2 to 3.

    What this means for reporters is that if someone tries to say something like, there’s going to be X number of cases by a certain date, that can’t be a hard and fast number. I’d want to know what assumptions were used to calculate that forecast. What was the R~0~ presumed? How about the serial interval, the duration between the onset of symptoms between one case and its secondary cases? Tweaking either of those numbers by just a bit can result in very different forecasts, which you can see by playing around with this interactive tool by the University of Toronto. Generally, I shy away from putting a projection in a headline, where any hope of nuance might be lost, but if I have to, a range is safer than a single number that readers might interpret as somehow immutable.

    Furthermore, as of early March, there are many fundamental questions about the novel coronavirus that scientists still don’t fully understand. For example, while it’s clear that the primary method of transmission is via droplets, drops of fluid from the mouth or nose emitted when an infected person coughs or sneezes, it’s not clear if it can transmit as an aerosol, meaning it is airborne and floats around (this is considered to be unlikely). It’s also not conclusive if the virus can be spread by infected people before they present any symptoms.

    Instead of asking: How many cases will there be at X point in time?

    Ask this: What assumptions were used to calculate your prediction? What’s the upper and lower range of your projection?

    Information Is Changing Quickly and May Soon Be Out of Date

    One last thing I’d like to add: Even more so than usual, things are moving quickly. I’ve been on interviews where the information I was given was outdated — as in just plain wrong — by the time I filed my draft 12 hours later. This is, of course, terrifying as a reporter. So I’m trying my best to put information like “as of Wednesday morning” alongside facts and figures in my stories, and I’m encouraging my sources to update me as often as they can.

    OK, but How Do I Protect Myself?
    Over the last two days, I’ve gotten numerous DMs over Twitter from concerned members of the public, asking me what they should do to be safe. Honestly, this breaks my heart and speaks to a failure of local health officials to educate them. I’m having the same conversations over and over again, so I thought I’d share some of my thoughts here. I’m not a medical professional, so this is not medical advice.

    Start by knowing yourself. Are you elderly or immunocompromised? Young and healthy? Your risk varies depending on your personal profile. If you’re concerned about your health, I encourage you to talk through your fears with your doctor. I’m 29; I know there’s little chance that this virus would kill me given the information I’ve seen. (In data published last month by the Chinese CDC, out of more than 72,000 diagnosed cases, 8.1% were 20-somethings, and the fatality rate in that age bracket was 0.2%.) That said, given my personal medical history and tendency to get bronchitis, I would really prefer not to get infected.

    So how does that translate into action? Here have been my personal choices so far. I’m still flying; I just got off a plane to attend a reporting conference in New Orleans. (I would not attend a conference in the Seattle area, however, given how signs are pointing to widespread community transmission.) I don’t see how being on a plane increases my personal risk any more than being on the New York City subway. That said, I am not shaking any hands at this conference, and I’m ramping up my hygiene game: washing my hands more frequently and encouraging my colleagues to do so as well.

    I’m aware of the possibility that I may need to work from home in the near future, if I or my husband get sick, or if there’s an explosion of cases in New York City and social distancing measures are encouraged. So we are slowly but methodically picking up a little bit of extra food with every grocery run (for our two cats as well!), just so that we’d have enough at home if we need to be indoors for a few weeks. I’m not panicked, nor should you be. I’d encourage you to check on your neighbors — especially the older ones, or those with young children, and see if you can pick up some additional groceries for them.

    Even if we have to stand a little ****her apart from one another, the best way to get through this is with a bit of extra compassion to bridge the gap.

    If you have expertise or tips you’d like to share with me and members of my reporting team, please fill out this form or email us at coronavirus@propublica.org.
    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo View Post
    Not too great. The idea that the coronavirus is some made-up plot by the Dems to overthrow the president shows a level of paranoia, narcissism, and stupidity in the extreme. Who knows? Maybe he doesn't really believe it himself, and is merely throwing that out there because he's clueless about how to deal with the problem, and he knows that some people will believe anything he says.
    I feel ya, Jimbo. Some so-called Christians welcome the apocalypse because they assume they will experience the rapture. That's a big assumption, especially for anyone hoping for Pestilence, War, Famine, & Death.
    Gene Ching
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  4. #139
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    -$30M for Bond

    MGM to Take $30 Million-Plus Hit After Moving Bond Film 'No Time to Die'
    3:54 PM PST 3/5/2020 by Tatiana Siegel


    Nicola Dove
    'No Time to Die'

    The studio was facing a much costlier alternative given that worldwide theater closures could have resulted in a minimum of 30 percent shaved off the final box office tallies.
    After weighing the pros and cons of keeping a scheduled April 10 bow for its main action tentpole amid the coronavirus outbreak, MGM opted for a cautious route by pushing the upcoming James Bond outing No Time to Die to November. But how much will the move, prompted by growing disruptions due to the epidemic, cost the studio that fully financed the film?

    Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that MGM will likely take a $30 million to $50 million hit by moving the film's release back by seven months when the dust settles. Although the bulk of the marketing campaign for the Cary Joji Fukunaga-directed pic — the 25th installment in the storied 007 franchise — had yet to roll out, the marketing outlay already was significant with just four weeks to go before the release, including a $4.5 million Super Bowl spot that ran in February. MGM declined comment.

    Still, the alternative MGM was facing was far more costly, and even an eight-figure loss will be easier for a film like No Time to Die to withstand considering the broader profit margins on a Bond film. The production budget for the latest installment is on par with the $245 million budget for the last Bond film, 2015's Spectre. Sources say the studio’s decision to move No Time to Die to Nov. 12 in the U.K. and Nov. 25 in North America — which was made on Tuesday, one day before announcing the delayed release — was largely based on the economic reality that large swaths of theaters across the world have been shuttered in recent weeks, stretching from Japan to Italy. That could have resulted in a minimum of 30 percent shaved off the final box office tallies — a possible $300 million out of a likely $1 billion global haul.

    The producers had already been bracing for the prospect of a release date move in recent days. "They obviously are doing the right thing by putting the public safety, world safety, first," No Time to Die producer Barbara Broccoli told THR on Feb. 26. Added producer Michael Wilson, "How will coronavirus affect the whole world markets and affect trade in general? We’re just one of the people that have to work in that environment."

    In China alone, some 70,000 theaters have been closed since January, with no plans to reopen anytime soon. Spectre made $84 million in the Middle Kingdom, representing roughly 10 percent of its $881 million worldwide cume. Smaller Asian markets likewise are being impacted due to the virus, and there’s concern that the outbreak in Italy could spread across Europe. The U.K., where the fictitious Bond originated and which appears vulnerable to theater closures, represents a huge slice of No Time to Die's expected revenues (Spectre earned $125 million there).

    No Time to Die, which marks the final outing of Daniel Craig as 007, had been set to launch with a world premiere in London on March 31. Some promotional events or brand tie-ins cannot be rescheduled or stalled. Craig, who is set to host NBC's Saturday Night Live this weekend, was in the middle of rehearsals when news broke of the film’s move. It would have been impossible for SNL to pivot to a new host on such short notice, and Craig will carry on as planned.

    Likewise, Omega last month launched a 007 edition watch, which already has begun to hit stores. Given that the watch is not necessarily a No Time to Die timepiece but rather a Bond-inspired product, stores will continue to sell it and not hold back the luxury item until the fall. Swatch also went ahead with its Thursday release of a limited-edition watch tied to No Time to Die. Adam Holdsworth, managing director of N.Peal, the brand behind a navy ribbed army sweater worn by Craig's Bond in the film and available for preorder this week, said he had not been notified of the pic's release being pushed back to November ahead of the Wednesday announcement. "We fully understand and appreciate the reasons for the delay given the potential disruption of the virus in the coming weeks — so we fully support the decision," he said. The sweater will also be relaunched in the fall, tied to the release.

    Meanwhile, MGM is scrambling to salvage ad buys it already had made for the coming four weeks and move them to the fall. So far, the studio’s partners have been accommodating. But other pricey purchases can’t be recouped, like the Super Bowl spot that ran in February. (The studio, however, doesn’t see that money as lost, given that it likely would have run the ad during television’s most-watched event of the year even if the film was originally dated for November.)

    Still, a fall campaign will come with added expenses. Broadcast ads that run in the fourth quarter of the year are typically more expensive than the spring, given that the quarter coincides with the kickoff of the new TV season as well as football. The film will also be competing for ad space with other studios' awards-facing prestige titles and major holiday offerings, as Disney's Marvel film Eternals and Warner Bros.' tentpole Godzilla vs. Kong will also be released in November.

    But opening a tentpole amid a global epidemic, which is expected to turn into a pandemic, became untenable for MGM. So far, no other studios have followed its move, though that could change as the number of cases across the U.S. and the world increase by the hour. On Wednesday, California declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak as it marked its first death. There are currently 98,059 cases of coronavirus worldwide and 3,356 deaths caused by it.

    Pamela McClintock and Lindsay Weinberg contributed to this report.
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  5. #140
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    Santa Clara County calls for cancellation of large events

    With new coronavirus cases, Santa Clara County calls for cancellation of large events, reducing travel
    A San Jose preschool and Discovery Museum closed this week after employees had exposure to the virus
    By THY VO | tvo@bayareanewsgroup.com and JOHN WOOLFOOLK | Bay Area News Group
    PUBLISHED: March 5, 2020 at 2:08 p.m. | UPDATED: March 6, 2020 at 4:18 a.m.

    As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Santa Clara County reached 20 on Thursday, public health officials called for new measures to prevent the virus from circulating in the community, including cancelling large gatherings like sports games and conventions, and for businesses to suspend non-essential travel.

    At a press conference Thursday afternoon, county officials confirmed six new cases of novel coronavirus, known officially as COVID-19, and said, given the number of cases where the transmission of the disease is unknown, people need to act to slow the spread of the virus throughout the community.

    “Our cases to date indicate to us that the risk of exposure to the virus in our community is increasing,” said county health officer Dr. Sara Cody, adding that the number of cases is expected to increase.

    The guidelines include cancelling events like concerts, sports games, conferences and other large gatherings to minimize close, person-to-person contact, said James Williams, county counsel and director of the county’s Emergency Operations Center.

    Asked to clarify whether the request applies to specific events like San Jose Sharks hockey games, Santa Clara County Emergency Operations Center Director James Williams said it would apply to the NHL team.

    “This would include sharks games, yes,” Williams said. “It’s not just a question of Sharks games. There are many organizations that host large gatherings…we have an obligation to make this apply to everyone.”

    “The bottom line here is people aren’t in spaces where they’re among many, many other people without being able to keep a distance from others.”

    He clarified, however, that it doesn’t apply to Mineta San Jose International Airport.

    “We’re not treating San Jose airport as a large gathering place,” Williams said.

    Employers are also being asked to suspend nonessential employee travel, minimize employees working within arm’s length of one another, and allow employees to work from home and maximize sick leave benefits.

    Cody noted that most of the people who have caught the illness do not become seriously ill. But risk generally increases with age, starting from age 50 and escalating for older adults.

    Anyone with underlying health conditions or severely weakened immune systems also at greater risk. Those individuals should avoid large gatherings, Cody said.

    The recommendations also say people should avoid visiting hospitals, long term care facilities or nursing homes as much as possible, or limit time at such facilities and stand at least six feet away from patients and employees.

    The county is not, however, recommending the closure of schools, noting that “very few children” are affected by the virus.

    “If a staff member is confirmed to have COVID-19, we will consider the event based on the specific facts and circumstances to determine whether that school should close,” said Cody. “We really want children to go along with their lives..the school closure issue is a very large one, with the potential to have tremendous impact, particularly for working parents.”

    On Thursday, a private preschool in San Jose closed for the rest of the week after a teacher tested positive for coronavirus, and the Discovery Museum is also closed after an employee was exposed to a confirmed coronavirus patient.

    Administrators at Action Day Primary Plus announced Thursday that the preschool’s Moorpark location will close for the rest of the week for a “deep cleaning,” after a teacher at the Moorpark school tested positive for coronavirus.

    The teacher has not returned to work since Feb. 26 and is receiving medical care, administrators said. Its nine other schools remain unaffected.

    The Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose is also closed for the rest of the week, after an employee was exposed to a confirmed case of coronavirus, according to Cecilia Clark, interim director of marketing for the museum.

    The six additional cases confirmed Thursday include four people who are isolated at home and two people who are hospitalized, according to county officials. Some of those cases include people who had contact with known coronavirus cases, while the transmission of the virus is unknown in others.

    Of the 20 total cases, 4 are travel-related, 9 where people had contact with other known cases, and 7 cases where the patient had no known travel history or close contact with a patient.

    Read the county’s full list of recommendations on the county website.
    Again COVID-19 hits home. The San Jose McEnery Convention Center where where we hold TCEC is right smack in the middle of Santa Clara County. It is California's 6th most populous county.
    Gene Ching
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  6. #141
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    on track for $85M?

    Who makes up these predictive stats? Are they ever on the mark?

    BOX OFFICE MARCH 5, 2020 8:44AM PT
    Box Office: ‘Mulan’ Eyes Huge $85 Million-Plus Opening Weekend
    By REBECCA RUBIN
    News Editor, Online
    @https://twitter.com/rebeccaarubin


    CREDIT: NULL
    Despite fears that coronavirus could impact moviegoing across the globe, Disney’s “Mulan” is expected to pull off solid opening weekend ticket sales at the domestic box office.

    According to early estimates, the live-action remake should collect $85 million when it debuts in U.S. theaters on March 27, though some tracking services predict that number could reach above $90 million. The higher end of that range would put it in the company of the studio’s recent “Aladdin” reboot, which debuted to $91.5 million last May.

    “Mulan” cost $200 million to make, meaning it’ll need to bank on global appeal to turn a profit. That could prove problematic since theaters in China, where “Mulan” was expected to strongly resonate, have been closed due to threats of coronavirus. So far, the U.S. box office doesn’t appear to be threatened by the novel virus that’s infected and killed thousands.

    Though coronavirus has already hurt the movie business in China, South Korea and Italy, Disney has no plans to alter the release date for “Mulan.” However, a studio spokesperson said the film will open in certain foreign markets at a later date. It was announced on Wednesday that the launch of the James Bond movie “No Time to Die” would be postponed, from April to November, because so many multiplexes are closed in areas like China, where the disease has been the most prevalent. So far, no other major movies have plans to postpone or alter release plans.

    Niki Caro directed “Mulan,” which stars Chinese actress Liu Yifei as the eponymous heroine. Like the original animated version, “Mulan” centers on a warrior who disguises herself as a man to spare her elderly father from having to serve in the army. It’s the first of Disney’s live-action remakes to be rated PG-13, due to sequences of violence. The non-PG rating could limit younger audiences from buying tickets.

    Disney’s live-action remakes have debuted to mostly huge commercial success. “The Lion King,” “Aladdin” and “Beauty and the Beast” all cracked $1 billion at the global box office, while “The Jungle Book” grossed over $950 million. However, “Dumbo” ended its theatrical run with $353 million worldwide, disappointing receipts — if only by Disney’s standards.
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  7. #142
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    Noodles, Pandas & COVID-19

    If there's one thing the Chinese are good at, it's talking in code.

    ‘Noodles’ and ‘Pandas’: Chinese People Are Using Secret Code to Talk About Coronavirus Online
    "Vietnamese pho noodles," anyone?
    By David Gilbert
    Mar 6 2020, 5:35am



    Chinese citizens angry at their government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak have come up with some ingenious ways to express their outrage and circumvent the extreme censorship measures imposed by Beijing.

    In a bid to control the narrative, Beijing authorities have censored sensitive topics, silenced WeChat accounts, tracked down those who are sharing criticism of the government, and disappeared citizen journalists.

    But all those efforts still haven't silenced people online, and angry citizens are now relying on coded words and phrases to express their dissatisfaction.

    The most common example is “zf” which is the abbreviation for the Chinese word “government. To refer to the police, the letters “jc” are used, while “guobao” (meaning "national treasure") or panda images are used to represent the domestic security bureau. Citizens talking about the Communist Party’s Publicity Department use “Ministry of Truth” from the George Orwell novel "1984," instead.

    One of the ways Beijing has sought to stem the flow of information out of China is by cracking down on the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) as a way of circumventing its censorship system, known as the Great Firewall. So discussing this technology online has also become taboo.

    Instead, citizens have been talking about how to use the technology by referring to “Vietnamese pho noodles” or “ladders.”

    China’s embattled president Xi Jinping is among the most censored topics on Chinese social media. A Citizen Lab report this week showed that WeChat ramped up censorship efforts in recent weeks by adding a number of Xi-related words and phrases to its blacklist.

    In an attempt to get around these restrictions, Chinese citizens have begun referring to their president as a “narrow neck bottle” because the Chinese pronunciation of the phrase is similar to that of "Xi Jinping."

    But despite the obscure nature of this reference, China’s censors managed to pick it up when they removed a question posting on Zhihu (China’s version of Quora) asking “how to wash a narrow neck bottle?”

    “To fully appreciate conversations on China’s social media platforms, merely knowing Chinese is not enough,” an Amnesty International researcher located in China who did not want to be identified told VICE News. “To combat systematic internet censorship, netizens in China have created a new vocabulary to discuss ‘sensitive issues.’ This language keeps evolving as the government constantly expands its list of prohibited terms online. Those not keeping up with the trend could easily be left confused.”

    Part of the reason for China’s strict censorship of online comments is that the government is keen to change the way the world is talking about coronavirus and in particular China’s role in the outbreak.

    Beijing wants to dispel the suggestion that coronavirus is a Chinese virus and instead position itself as the country that saved the world from a much worse situation. China is hitting out at other country’s failure to take the necessary measures to contain outbreaks, particularly taking aim at the U.S. and Donald Trump.

    On Friday, China reported that all new cases of coronavirus came from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, further bolstering the government’s claims that it has managed to get the outbreak under control.

    But there has been an unprecedented backlash against the government’s attempts to portray the situation in Hubei province as a positive one, and on Thursday that online backlash spilled over into the real world, with a very rare public display of criticism of the government.

    During a tour of Wuhan, a city of 12 million people that has been in lockdown for six weeks, residents locked in their apartments openly berated a senior government official.

    Footage of the incident that has been spread virally online shows residents shouting “Everything is fake” and “It’s all fake” as officials show Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan around the city at the center of the coronavirus outbreak.

    Cover: An employee clad in a protective suit waits on customers at a supermarket in Beijing, China on March 6, 2020. (The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images)
    THREADS
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  8. #143
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    Impact on the music festivals

    Ultra Music Festival in Miami was cancelled earlier this week. Next up to fall, Coachella.

    SXSW 2020 Canceled Due to Coronavirus
    Austin's mayor has declared a countywide "state of disaster"
    BY ALEX YOUNGON MARCH 06, 2020, 2:03PM



    South by Southwest 2020 has been canceled due to growing concerns over the coronavirus epidemic.

    On Friday afternoon, Austin’s mayor, Steve Adler, declared a countywide “state of disaster” and issued a formal order canceling the popular music, film, and tech conference. In a subsequent statement, SXSW organizers said they “will faithfully follow the city’s directions.”

    As recently as Wednesday, city officials had expressed confidence in SXSW moving forward as planned. “Right now there’s no evidence that closing South by Southwest or other activities is going to make this community safer,” Austin Public Health Mark Escott said at the time.

    However, speaking less than 48 hours later, Escott said there was now “evidence that [SXSW] may accelerate the spread and it may make that happen sooner. After careful deliberation, there was no acceptable path forward that would mitigate the risk enough to protect our community.”

    “We are devastated to share this news with you. ‘The show must go on’ is in our DNA, and this is the first time in 34 years that the March event will not take place,” SXSW organizers said in their statement. “We are now working through the ramifications of this unprecedented situation.”

    Even before today’s cancelation, SXSW was in dire straits. Throughout the week, as more positive coronavirus tests were detected across the US, major media companies began pulling out of the event. Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter canceled their participation in the tech portion of the festival, while Apple, Netflix, and WarnerMedia scrapped scheduled film premieres and Q&As. Several prominent musicians who were also part of the programming, including Beastie Boys, Trent Reznor, and Ozzy Osbourne, also canceled their appearances.

    Of course, the sudden cancelation will have major implications for the thousands of aspiring musicians who had already booked their trip to SXSW and do not have the same financial resources as a major tech company. To that point, SXSW said, “We are exploring options to reschedule the event and are working to provide a virtual SXSW online experience as soon as possible for 2020 participants. For our registrants, clients, and participants we will be in touch as soon as possible and will publish an FAQ.”

    “We understand the gravity of the situation for all the creatives who utilize SXSW to accelerate their careers; for the global businesses; and for Austin and the hundreds of small businesses – venues, theatres, vendors, production companies, service industry staff, and other partners that rely so heavily on the increased business that SXSW attracts,” the statement continued.

    This is a developing story…
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  9. #144
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    I'll toast Ireland next week, like I always do now.

    SF already cancelled this year's St. Patrick's Day parade, which is a big deal around here.

    Coronavirus: Cork City cancels St Patrick's Day parade as Mary Lou says Dublin cancellation is 'inevitable'
    A number of other parades across the country have been postponed or cancelled.
    8 hours ago


    St Patrick's Day in Dublin last year. St Patrick's Day in Dublin last year.

    Image: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie
    Updated 21 minutes ago

    CORK CITY HAS cancelled its St Patrick’s Day parade while Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said she thinks it’s “inevitable” that the parade in Dublin will not go ahead.

    In Sligo, organisers have confirmed the town would also be cancelling its parade this afternoon, citing guidelines from health authorities.

    “The health and well-being of our community is our first priority and having reviewed the guidelines from the HSE and the uncertainty surrounding the Covid-19, the committee feel it is appropriate to cancel this years event,” Finbarr Filan, the chairperson of Sligo’s St Patrick’s Day committee, said in a statement.

    It was announced this afternoon that the Cork City St Patrick’s parade would be cancelled.

    On Friday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said “there is no recommendation to cancel mass gatherings at this stage” amid global concerns about coronavirus.

    No official decision has yet been made on the 17 March festivities but Health Minister Simon Harris has said this morning that ‘clarity’ on this should be expected within 48 hours.

    Cancelled and postponed

    The Wicklow town St Patrick’s parade has been cancelled, the committee announced in a statement earlier.

    The parade was cancelled in the interest of public health and safety. The committee said it “did not make this decision lightly”.

    Other parades have been cancelled or postponed:

    Mallow, Co Cork
    Churchtown, Co Cork
    Kealkill, Co Cork
    Greystones, Co Wicklow
    Newbridge, Co Kildare
    Castlegregory, Co Kerry
    Mountmellick, Co Laois (called the Boglands Festival)

    The parade in Durrow, Co Laois has also been cancelled this year, but out of respect for the passing of the committee’s treasurer, a community group said on Facebook.

    Carlow TD Jennifer Murnane O’Connor has called on organisers of the Carlow parade to postpone due to coronavirus fears, Carlow Live reports.

    Clare TD Cathal Crowe said he believes it is “imperative” that large public events and gatherings such as St Patrick’s Day parades should be “cancelled in the interest of public health”.

    Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Seán O’Rourke programme, Mary Lou McDonald said “steady and determined leadership” was needed.

    “I’m very glad to hear the indication from the Six Nations that the matches are going to be postponed until the autumntime. I think that is a very wise and responsible thing to do. I think there is an ongoing conversation across the land about St. Patrick’s Day and parades, we need a decision on that. It seems to me inevitable that the parade will be postponed, again my personal view is that that is the responsible and necessary thing to do,” the Dublin Central TD said.

    Not to create panic but on the contrary, to assurances to people that there is steady and determined leadership and that we are prepared to take the necessary actions to keep people safe.

    French media are reporting that the Six Nations rugby match scheduled for this coming weekend is set to be postponed.

    In Dublin City Council, Independent councillors Christy Burke and Anthony Flynn are tabling a motion at an emergency meeting of Dublin City Council this morning for the Dublin parade to be cancelled indefinitely.

    The St Patrick’s parade in Maynooth has been postponed to minimise the spread of Covid-19, it was confirmed today.

    “We intend to run the 2020 parade later in the year when it is deemed to be safe and that the spread of Covid-19 has ceased,” chair of the Maynooth St Patrick’s Day Parade Committee and county councillor Naoise Ó Cearúil said in a statement.

    The planned parade in Youghal, Co Cork was cancelled last week.

    Speaking last night, Burke said the fear among members of the people is “unbelievable”.

    “My phone is ringing non-stop with concerned people over the spread of the coronavirus – especially over the past 48 hours. Cllr Flynn and I believe we will have the full backing of our motion by all councillors on Tuesday. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar needs to finally listen to people on this and the feelings out there,” he said.

    “The public don’t want the parade to go ahead as people are going to be 20 deep and in close quarters trying to view it. It also makes its way from Parnell Square in the north of the city down to the south-side.”

    “I’ve had people coming to be telling me they are leaving the city to get away from crowds of people for a few days,” Burke said. “It’s not about saving face any longer and the might of big business – it’s about people’s lives and health and safety. Ordinary people are scandalised that the government don’t seem to be taking this situation more seriously.

    Burke said that “people want to see spray machines in public and to see the government more hands-on”.

    “Our European counterparts are taking the coronavirus crisis very seriously and we as a nation need to take a more serious note out their books.”

    With reporting from Dominic McGrath, Céimin Burke and Orla Dwyer
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  10. #145
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    first step of a phased reopening

    ASIAMARCH 8, 2020 9:37PM PT
    Shanghai Disney Resort, Closed in January due to Coronavirus, Set to Partially Reopen Monday
    By REBECCA DAVIS


    CREDIT: IMAGINECHINA/AP

    The Shanghai Disney Resort has said it will reopen some of the shopping, dining and entertainment options on Monday, though the main theme park will remain closed to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.

    The move is the “first step of a phased reopening,” it said in a statement posted Monday to its website. The resort has been closed since January 25.

    Certain facilities at Disneytown, Wishing Star Park and the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel will operate with limited capacity and at reduced hours, and parking lots will reopen, the resort said. The Disneyland theme park itself will stay closed as the park “continue(s) to closely monitor health and safety conditions.”

    Visitors will be required to wear masks during their entire time within the Disney Resort area, submit to temperature screenings upon arrival, and “present their Health QR code” when entering dining areas.

    Walt Disney Co. owns a 43% stake in the Shanghai Disney Resort. It is one of four Disney-branded theme parks in Asia, alongside one in Hong Kong, which has also remained shut since late January, and two in Tokyo.

    In an earnings call, Disney said a two-month closure of the Shanghai park could cost $135 million in lost earnings, while a two-month of closure of Hong Kong could cost $145 million.

    In Japan, the Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea parks shuttered for a two-week period starting Feb. 29 to stem the spread of coronavirus, and are expected to re-open on March 16. In a normal year, they welcome about 30 million visitors.
    This has got to be so tough. I'm sure Shanghai Disney was looking to cash in on the Year of the Rat (mouse).

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  11. #146
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    8.72 c = 47.6 f

    Coronavirus ‘highly sensitive’ to high temperatures, but don’t bank on summer killing it off, studies say
    Pathogen appears to spread fastest at 8.72 degrees Celsius, so countries in colder climes should ‘adopt the strictest control measures’, according to researchers from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong province
    But head of WHO’s health emergencies programme says it is ‘a false hope’ to think Covid-19 will just disappear like the flu
    Simone McCarthy
    Published: 2:24pm, 8 Mar, 2020


    A new study suggests the spread of the coronavirus could slow in warmer weather. Photo: AFP

    The virus that causes Covid-19 may have a temperature sweet spot at which it spreads fastest, a new study has suggested, but experts say people should avoid falling into the trap of thinking it will react to seasonal changes in exactly the same way as other pathogens, like those that cause the common cold or influenza.
    The study, by a team from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, the capital of south China’s Guangdong province, sought to determine how the spread of the new coronavirus might be affected by changes in season and temperature.
    Published last month, though yet to be peer-reviewed, the report suggested heat had a significant role to play in how the virus behaves.
    “Temperature could significantly change Covid-19 transmission,” it said. “And there might be a best temperature for viral transmission.”



    The “virus is highly sensitive to high temperature”, which could prevent it from spreading in warmer countries, while the opposite appeared to be true in colder climes, the study said.
    As a result, it suggested that “countries and regions with a lower temperature adopt the strictest control measures”.
    Many national governments and health authorities are banking on the coronavirus losing some of its potency as the weather warms up, as is generally the case with similar viruses that cause the common cold and influenza.
    However, a separate study by a group of researchers including epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, found that sustained transmission of the coronavirus and the rapid growth in infections was possible in a range of humidity conditions – from cold and dry provinces in China to tropical locations, such as the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in the far south of the country and Singapore.
    “Weather alone, [such as an] increase of temperature and humidity as the spring and summer months arrive in the Northern Hemisphere, will not necessarily lead to declines in case counts without the implementation of extensive public health interventions,” said the study, which was published in February and is also awaiting scientific review.
    continued next post
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  12. #147
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    Continued from previous post


    Sustained transmission of the virus was reported in tropical Singapore. Photo: EPA-EFE

    The Guangzhou team based their study on every novel coronavirus case confirmed around the world between January 20 and February 4, including in more than 400 Chinese cities and regions. These were then modelled against official meteorological data for January from across China and the capital cities of each country affected.
    The analysis indicated that case numbers rose in line with average temperatures up to a peak of 8.72 degrees Celsius and then declined.
    “Temperature … has an impact on people’s living environments … [and] could play a significant role in public health in terms of epidemic development and control,” the study said.
    It said also that climate may have played a part in why the virus broke out in Wuhan, the central China city where it was first detected.



    Other experts, like Hassan Zaraket, an assistant director at the Centre for Infectious Diseases Research at the American University of Beirut, said it was possible that warmer, more humid weather would make the coronavirus less stable and thus less transmissible, as was the case with other viral pathogens.
    “We are still learning about this virus, but based on what we know of other coronaviruses we can be hopeful,” he said.
    “As temperatures are warming up, the stability of the virus could decrease … if the weather helps us reduce transmissibility and environmental stability of the virus, then maybe we can break the chain of transmission.”
    However, even if this were the case, the benefit would be greatest in areas that had yet to see widespread community transmission of Covid-19, he said.
    Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organisation’s health emergencies programme, also urged people not to assume the epidemic would automatically subside in the summer.
    “We have to assume the virus will continue to have the capacity to spread,” he said.
    “It’s a false hope to say, yes, it will disappear like the flu … we can’t make that assumption. And there is no evidence.”

    Purchase the China AI Report 2020 brought to you by SCMP Research and enjoy a 20% discount (original price US$400). This 60-page all new intelligence report gives you first-hand


    This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Hot weather could slow spread of virus
    I truly hope this burns off. We shall see.
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  13. #148
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    Just as Covid-19 is spreading exponentially, so is the coverage

    I cherry-pick articles for this thread and try to limit my news sharing here as I'm sure you all are getting a lot through your normal news channels and you probably don't come here to get inundated by more of the same. However, the impact upon Chinese martial arts, our magazine and Tiger Claw has been significant. As purveyors of Asian culture, particularly Chinese, we're on the front lines. And consequently, so are all of you. It is my mission to keep you, our loyal readership, informed.

    The U.S. Isn’t Ready for What’s About to Happen
    Even with a robust government response to the novel coronavirus, many people will be in peril. And the United States is anything but prepared.
    MARCH 8, 2020
    Juliette Kayyem
    Former Department of Homeland Security official and author of Security Mom


    JASON REDMOND / REUTERS

    For the professionals who try to manage homeland-security threats, reassuring the public after a natural disaster or terrorist attack—or amid a coronavirus outbreak like the one the world now faces—is just part of the job. I am a former federal and state homeland-security official. I study safety and resiliency issues in an academic setting, advise companies on their emergency-response plans, and trade ideas with people in public health, law enforcement, and many other disciplines. Since the beginning of the disease now known as COVID-19, I’ve also been receiving more and more text messages from nervous relatives and friends. The rash decisions that panic breeds have never made any emergency better. So like many others in my field, I’ve been urging people, in as calm a tone as I can muster, to listen to experts and advising them about concrete steps they can take to keep their families, communities, and businesses safe. Wash your hands. Don’t touch your face. Avoid large gatherings. Don’t panic, and prepare as best you can.

    Disruptions are almost certain to multiply in the weeks to come. Airlines are scaling back flights. Conferences, including Austin’s signature event, South by Southwest, are being canceled. The drop in imports is hurting global supply chains. Corporations are prohibiting their employees from traveling and attending mass gatherings. Stanford University just canceled its in-person classes for the rest of the winter quarter, and other institutions are likely to take similar steps. Government agencies and private companies alike will activate continuity-of-operations protocols, as they are called in my field. Get used to it.

    Aggressive steps are essential to protecting the public from a deadly virus. Last week, the World Health Organization assessed the fatality rate at a shocking 3.4 percent, much higher than previously believed. Early on, many American medical experts withheld judgment about the limited data coming out of China, but information from around the world has now confirmed how severe COVID-19 is and how rapidly it is spreading. As Dr. Margaret Bordeaux, my colleague at the Security and Global Health Project at Harvard’s Kennedy School, told me, “None of us want to be Chicken Little, but there is too much consistent data to not begin to rattle the cage pretty loudly.”

    Even if the United States were far more ready for COVID-19, the consequences could still be grievous. In my field, adequate preparation means having the plans, money, equipment, and expertise in place to avert all but a tiny percentage of the harms that might otherwise occur. Yet because of the nature of pandemics, even a level of preparation that looks robust to homeland-security experts could still fail to prevent thousands of deaths.

    I live in Massachusetts. During the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, three people died at the finish line, as two homemade bombs ripped through the crowd of spectators. It was a tragedy for their families and the people of Boston. Nearly 300 other people were injured. Fortunately, the city has a large number of hospitals with excellent trauma centers and was therefore unusually well prepared for such an emergency. Some people were treated on the scene; 127 others—many of whom lost limbs—were transported to local hospitals. Not a single patient who survived the initial blast died. Was this good news? Unequivocally yes. The efforts of so many first responders and health professionals, and the public, saved those who might have otherwise died. But success is relative. That even careful preparations could still leave some people dead and others badly harmed is both a fact of life and appalling to accept.

    A threat as dire as the new coronavirus exposes the weaknesses in our society and our politics. If Americans could seek testing and care without worrying about co-pays or surprise bills, and if everyone who showed symptoms had paid sick leave, the United States could more easily slow the spread of COVID-19. But a crisis finds a nation as it is, not as its citizens wish it to be.

    The coronavirus—and the measures enacted to stop it—could quickly change the rhythms of Americans’ daily lives. The United States is seeing its first deaths, first emergency declarations, first school closings, first mandatory work-at-home policies. If the number of COVID-19 cases spikes quickly, hospitals could soon be deluged with patients seeking care. This is a predictable consequence of any epidemic, but few Americans’ personal experience gives them any reason to understand how disruptive these changes could be if the epidemic continues to worsen.

    Ironically, the officials now urging citizens to keep calm understand far more acutely than the general public how much else can go wrong. A municipal police chief in the Boston area recently urged me to imagine that a school district closed for even three weeks. Take just one child, raised by a single parent who is a police officer. The child is home, so the parent must stay home. Other officers in the same patrol will be affected even if they don’t have kids in school. Shifts will change, nonessential functions will be put off, and the department will have less flexibility to respond to problems unrelated to the epidemic—even as, with more teens unsupervised, rates of car accidents and certain crimes could well increase.

    Emergency-response officials are hesitant to play out these dangers in public. This police chief asked me not to identify him because, like so many others in positions of responsibility, he worries that misgivings like his will become self-fulfilling prophecies—that citizens will panic if their local authorities give voice to their own doubts.

    Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and his administration have vacillated between ignoring the threat and making wildly unrealistic promises about it. On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence promised 1.5 million coronavirus tests, but The Atlantic reported Friday that, according to all available evidence, fewer than 2,000 had been conducted in the United States. Trump himself is simply lying about basic facts about the COVID-19 response; despite the testing kit shortfall, he has publicly stated that everyone who wants to get tested can get tested.

    China’s aggressive containment of the new virus in the early weeks of this year gave other nations time to ready themselves for what was inevitably going to come: a shortage of test kits and personal protective equipment for a virus that spreads as quickly and causes as many deaths and hospitalizations as COVID-19 does.

    The United States wasted that opportunity. Trump’s initial impulse to downplay the risk, at least until the stock market took note, wasn’t just fanciful; it was dangerous. He has consistently minimized the number of sick, blamed Barack Obama’s administration for a shortage of test kits, and publicly mused about the potential of a vaccine being found quickly. The American response to the new disease should be based on something more than hunches and magical thinking.

    The whole time, people like me have been dutifully advising friends, family, and everyone else to take prudent precautions and avoid panicking. That’s still good advice, because any measures that slow the spread of the disease and lower the death rate could save thousands of lives. But Americans should also understand that even the best preparation humanly possibly wouldn’t be perfect—and that what the United States has done so far falls far short of that. Especially at this point, even a more vigorous response will not preclude a lot of people from getting sick. Preventing all infections is no longer a possibility, and the measure of success is how much public-health authorities can reduce the number of people who die or fall seriously ill.

    We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.


    JULIETTE KAYYEM, a former assistant secretary for homeland security under President Obama, is the faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She is the author of Security Mom: An Unclassified Guide to Protecting Our Homeland and Your Home.
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  14. #149
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    Spring Grand Sumo Tournament


    Sumo wrestlers perform on the dohyo with no spectators present in Osaka on Sunday. Photo: KYODO

    Sumo tournament begins without spectators for 1st time
    Mar. 8 06:42 pm JST 20 Comments
    By JIM ARMSTRONG
    TOKYO

    Japan's ancient sport of sumo is grappling with the harsh reality of the coronavirus outbreak.

    The Spring Grand Sumo Tournament kicked off on Sunday in Osaka at Edion Arena with no spectators as part of Japan's extraordinary efforts to halt the spread of the virus. It was the first time in the sport's history for a tournament to be held with no spectators.

    Wrestlers arrived wearing face masks and were required to use hand-sanitizing spray before entering the arena. They were also required to take their temperatures before entering the raised ring. If a wrestler has a temperature above 37.5 degrees for two or more days, he will be forced to sit out the tournament.

    Sumo officials have said if a wrestler is diagnosed with the new coronavirus, the 15-day tournament will be immediately halted.

    Usually contested before a packed house, Sunday's opening day was eerily quiet as wrestlers sat next to judges at ringside to watch the action against a backdrop of empty stands.

    “It will be a new experience for all of us," said sekiwake wrestler Asanoyama. “I want to get used to the atmosphere as soon as possible and get focused on the competition."

    Wrestlers will maintain the time-honored tradition of offering a ladle of “chikara mizu" or power water to another wrestler but will only go through the motions and not put their mouth to the ladle.

    Normally, wrestlers often use public transportation to go the arena but are being chauffeured in taxis or hired cars to avoid contact with the general public.

    The long colorful banners that display the wrestlers names were not on display on Sunday nor were the tradition taiko drums that greet fans as they arrive at the stadium.

    Sumo is just one of the main sports in Japan that is taking measures to halt the spread of the virus. Japanese preseason baseball games are being played at empty stadiums, professional J.League soccer games have been cancelled through the first half of March while the season-opening women's JPGA golf tournament in Okinawa was called off.

    With Japan set to host the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in just over four months, the government is taking a series of urgent measures to combat the outbreak including cancelling school.

    Ït's a real shame," said sumo fan Yuji Hoshino, who caught a few minutes of opening day action on TV at a Tokyo electronics store. “But the safety of the wrestlers is the most important thing. I hope they all stay healthy.”
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    Here in SF Bay Area, we're shutting it down

    2020.03.07 (SIGNED) FINAL Order Prohibiting Gatherings at City-Owned Locations (Order C19-02)
    Uploaded byJoe Eskenazi
    Description:City bans events for two weeks coronavirusFull description

    1
    City and County of Department of Public HealthSan Francisco Order of the Health Officer
    ORDER OF THE HEALTH OFFICER No. C19-02
    DATE ORDER ISSUED: March 7, 2020
    Please read this Order carefully. Violation of or failure to comply with this Orderconstitutes a misdemeanor punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both. (California Healthand Safety Code §§ 120295,
    et seq.
    )UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF CALIFORNIA HEALTH AND SAFETY CODESECTIONS 101040, 101085, AND 120175, THE HEALTH OFFICER OF THE CITY ANDCOUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO (“HEALTH OFFICER”) ORDERS:1.Effective as of the date of this Order, and for the limited two-week duration asspecified in Section 7 below, no City-Owned Facility (as defined in Section 4 below)shall permit any Non-Essential Group Event (as defined in Section 5 below) fromoccurring onsite. Such City-Owned Facilities may otherwise remain open forbusiness during the duration of this Order.2.This Order is issued on the basis of scientific evidence and best practices ascurrently known and available to protect vulnerable members of the public fromavoidable risk of serious illness or death resulting from exposure to CoronavirusDisease 2019 (COVID-19). The age, condition, and health of a significant portion of the population of the City and County of San Francisco (the “City”) places them atrisk for serious health complications, including death, from COVID-19. Althoughsome individuals who contract COVID-19 do not have severe symptoms, personswith mild symptoms and asymptomatic persons with COVID-19 may place othervulnerable members of the public at risk, especially when attending Non-EssentialGroup Events. This Order is issued in accordance with, and incorporates byreference, the March 4, 2020 Proclamation of a State of Emergency issued byGovernor Gavin Newsom, the February 25, 2020 Proclamation by the MayorDeclaring the Existence of a Local Emergency issued by Mayor London Breed, andthe March 6, 2020 Declaration of Local Health Emergency Regarding NovelCoronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) issued by the Health Officer.3.This Order focuses on City-Owned Facilities to support the City’s efforts toimplement the social distancing recommendations of the Department of PublicHealth (a copy of which is attached to this Order), to reduce the occasions whengroups of people come together for Non-Essential Group Events, and to serve as amodel for other owners and operators of facilities where similar events may be heldin the City and other affected jurisdictions. This is a preliminary step by the HealthOfficer to require compliance at certain City-Owned Facilities, following the HealthOfficer’s issuance of the City-wide advisory on March 6, 2020, which includes arecommendation to cancel or postpone large gatherings and non-essential events.The Health Officer will continue to assess the quickly-evolving situation and mayfrom time to time expand or revise this Order, or issue additional Orders, coveringother venues and events.


    City and County of Department of Public HealthSan Francisco Order of the Health Officer
    ORDER OF THE HEALTH OFFICER No. C19-02
    2

    4.

    For purposes of this Order, the term “City-Owned Facility” means only thefollowing buildings that are owned by the City:a.

    City Hall (1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco 94102);b.

    Moscone Center (747 Howard St, San Francisco, CA 94103) and allassociated buildings;c.

    Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (99 Grove Street, San Francisco 94102);d.

    New Conservatory Theatre (25 Van Ness Avenue, Basement suite, SanFrancisco 94102);e.

    War Memorial & Performing Arts Center (Davies Hall, Opera House, andVeterans Building; 201 - 401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco 94102);f.

    The Palace of Fine Arts Theatre (3601 Lyon St, San Francisco, CA 94123)(only the main theatre at this time);g.

    The San Francisco Public Library (100 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94102);h.

    Pier 27 (The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA); andi.

    Pier 35 (The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA).5.

    For purposes of this Order, the term “Non-Essential Group Event” means anycongregation of 50 or more people for any social, cultural, entertainment, or otherspecial event or other non-essential purpose where people are not separated byphysical space of at least four feet (which is slightly longer than an average arm’slength). These events include, without limitation, the following: (a) any theatrespace with fixed seating or other setup where chairs are placed adjacent to eachother in rows; (b) any space where event attendees stand in close proximity to eachother, such as a concert or other performance that includes “standing room only”sections; or (c) an admission or concession line/queue. This Order does not prohibitthe usual operation of the identified City-Owned Facilities for the public’s business,including, but not limited to, events for government purposes, such as publicmeetings of the Board of Supervisors, committees of the Board of Supervisors, andof each City board and commission or advisory body or their respective committeesor working groups. But, for such public meetings, the official in charge of operatingsuch City-Owned Facility shall (1) ensure signs are posted advising attendees of theguidance of the Department of Public Health regarding social distancing and (2)ensure that (i) the building has hand washing capabilities, (ii) hand sanitizer andtissues are available during the meeting, and (iii) high-touch surface areas like doorhandles, countertops, tables, and handrails in the meeting area are frequentlycleaned.6.

    This Order does not restrict in any way first responder access to any City-OwnedFacility during an emergency. Further, this Order does not restrict state or federalofficers, investigators, or medical or law enforcement personnel from carrying outtheir lawful duties at any City-Owned Facility.
    Follow the link to see the full document.

    Coronavirus Outbreak Prompts Bay Area Event Cancellations, Venue Closures
    March 6, 2020 at 11:49 pmFiled Under:Coronavirus, COVID-19, Novel Coronavirus

    SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — The expanding coronavirus COVID-19 epidemic has prompted local officials and businesses to cancel events, postpone meetings and shutter locations in an attempt to contain the outbreak.

    • City Hall

    • Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

    • War Memorial and Performing Arts Center

    • Palace of Fine Arts Theatre

    • San Francisco Main Public Library (100 Larkin St.)

    • Pier 27 and Pier 35

    • San Francisco Symphony has canceled concerts for the next two weeks

    • St Patrick’s Day Parade in San Francisco March 14 is canceled

    • Sunday Streets season opener on Valencia Street, originally scheduled for March 8, has been canceled

    • The Walt Disney Family Museum will be closed March 6-8 for deep cleaning and sanitation

    • American Lung Association “Fight for Air” fundraiser March 7 is canceled

    • 40th Annual Black Cuisine Festival in the Bayview is canceled

    • San Francisco Public Works is canceling the Arbor Week Eco Fair and tree-planting event Saturday, March 7

    • Bob Ross LGBT Senior Center in San Francisco has canceled programs and activities through March 9

    • The International Ocean Film Festival, scheduled March 12 – 15 at the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason is postponed until summer

    • New Conservatory Theatre Center on Van Ness Ave has canceled all performances through March 21

    SOUTH BAY

    • Stanford University has canceled the final two weeks of their winter quarter effective March 9. Classes will be held online

    • Cinequest Film Festival cancels Week 2 events (effective March 9), rescheduling for August 16-30

    • The Tech Interactive is canceling two events this weekend: the Youth Climate Action Summit that was planned for Saturday and test trials for the Tech Challenge scheduled for Sunday

    • Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose will be closed until March 10
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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