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Thread: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Wuhan Pneumonia

  1. #121
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    Coronavirus is costing everyone.

    It has already cost us thousands, with more inevitable costs on the horizon.

    Coronavirus may cost Disney’s ‘Mulan’ remake millions
    The 27 March release date has been postponed in China
    Ella Kemp
    26 seconds ago


    Liu Yifei as Mulan

    Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of Mulan could face major losses amid the coronavirus outbreak which began in China.

    The March 27 release date has been postponed until further notice, and the country has closed nearly 70,000 cinemas, with plans to keep them closed until at least April.

    The budget for Mulan exceeds $200 million, making it the company’s most expensive adaptation to date. Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, explained the situation to Yahoo Finance.

    “China can represent a huge percentage of a film’s international and global box office revenue, so this is going to have an impact on any movie that was slated,” he said.

    Niki Caro’s take on Mulan features an all-Asian cast, somewhat departing from Disney’s usual releases, and also rates as a PG-13.

    “The upside is that China will release all of these movies down the road, Dergarabedian continued, “but right now the whole release slate is in flux and there are no hard dates that they can put on these films.”

    Elsewhere, coronavirus has affected the theatrical box office in Italy as well, which has seen a 75% decrease in takings, against the same period last year, according to Deadline.

    Over half the country’s cinema screens have been closed, as Italy now has the third-biggest number of cases after China and South Korea.


    Liu Yifei (Photo by TPG/Getty Images)

    Liu Yifei, who plays the eponymous hero in the upcoming Mulan, spoke on the topic of coronavirus recently to The Hollywood Reporter.

    “It’s really heavy for me to even think about it,” Yifei said.

    “People are doing the right thing. They are being careful for themselves and others. I’m so touched actually to see how they haven’t been out for weeks,” she said. “I’m really hoping for a miracle and that this will just be over soon.”

    Mulan will be released in UK cinemas on March 27.
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  2. #122
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    We are not sick men...


    Patients lie in an influenza ward at a U.S. Army camp hospital in Aix-les-Baines, France, during World War I.
    PHOTOGRAPH BY CORBIS

    1918 Flu Pandemic That Killed 50 Million Originated in China, Historians Say
    Chinese laborers transported across Canada thought to be source.
    6 MINUTE READ
    BY DAN VERGANO, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

    PUBLISHED JANUARY 24, 2014

    THE GLOBAL FLU outbreak of 1918 killed 50 million people worldwide, ranking as one of the deadliest epidemics in history.

    For decades, scientists have debated where in the world the pandemic started, variously pinpointing its origins in France, China, the American Midwest, and beyond. Without a clear location, scientists have lacked a complete picture of the conditions that bred the disease and factors that might lead to similar outbreaks in the future.

    The deadly "Spanish flu" claimed more lives than World War I, which ended the same year the pandemic struck. Now, new research is placing the flu's emergence in a forgotten episode of World War I: the shipment of Chinese laborers across Canada in sealed train cars.

    Historian Mark Humphries of Canada's Memorial University of Newfoundland says that newly unearthed records confirm that one of the side stories of the war—the mobilization of 96,000 Chinese laborers to work behind the British and French lines on World War I's Western Front—may have been the source of the pandemic.



    Writing in the January issue of the journal War in History, Humphries acknowledges that his hypothesis awaits confirmation by viral samples from flu victims. Such evidence would tie the disease's origin to one location.

    But some other historians already find his argument convincing.

    "This is about as close to a smoking gun as a historian is going to get," says historian James Higgins, who lectures at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and who has researched the 1918 spread of the pandemic in the United States. "These records answer a lot of questions about the pandemic."

    Last of the Great Plagues

    The 1918 flu pandemic struck in three waves across the globe, starting in the spring of that year, and is tied to a strain of H1N1 influenza ancestral to ones still virulent today.

    The outbreak killed even the young and healthy, turning their strong immune systems against them in a way that's unusual for flu. Adding to the catastrophic loss of lives during World War I, the epidemic may have played a role in ending the war.

    "The 1918 flu was the last of the great plagues that struck humanity, and it followed in the tracks of a global conflict," says Humphries.

    Even as the pandemic's origins have remained a mystery, the Chinese laborers have previously been suggested as a source of the disease.

    Historian Christopher Langford has shown that China suffered a lower mortality rate from the Spanish flu than other nations did, suggesting some immunity was at large in the population because of earlier exposure to the virus.

    In the new report, Humphries finds archival evidence that a respiratory illness that struck northern China in November 1917 was identified a year later by Chinese health officials as identical to the Spanish flu.

    He also found medical records indicating that more than 3,000 of the 25,000 Chinese Labor Corps workers who were transported across Canada en route to Europe starting in 1917 ended up in medical quarantine, many with flu-like symptoms.

    Origins Debated

    The Spanish flu reached its height in autumn 1918 but raged until 1920, initially gaining its nickname from wartime censorship rules that allowed for reporting on the disease's ravages in neutral Spain.

    Physicians began debating the origin of the pandemic almost as soon as it appeared, Higgins says, with historians soon joining them.

    France's wartime trenches, ridden with filth, disease, and death, were originally seen as the flu's breeding ground. The flu's tendency to strike young adults was explained as the disease targeting itself to young soldiers in trenches. The theory also purported to explain how the illness spread from Europe to cities such as Boston and Philadelphia by pointing a finger at returning troop ships.

    A decade after the war, Kansas was identified as another possible breeding ground, due to reports of an influenza outbreak there that spread to a nearby Army camp in March 1918, killing 48 doughboys.

    But in his study, Humphries reports that an outbreak of respiratory infections, which at the time were dubbed an endemic "winter sickness" by local health officials, were causing dozens of deaths a day in villages along China's Great Wall. The illness spread 300 miles (500 kilometers) in six weeks' time in late 1917.

    At first thought to be pneumonic plague, the disease killed at a far lower rate than is typical for that disease.

    Humphries discovered that a British legation official in China wrote that the disease was actually influenza, in a 1918 report. Humphries made the findings in searches of Canadian and British historical archives that contain the wartime records of the Chinese Labor Corps and the British legation in Beijing.
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  3. #123
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    Continued from previous post

    Sealed Railcars

    At the time of the outbreak, British and French officials were forming the Chinese Labor Corps, which eventually shipped some 94,000 laborers from northern China to southern England and France during the war.

    "The idea was to free up soldiers to head to the front at a time when they were desperate for manpower," Humphries says.

    Shipping the laborers around Africa was too time-consuming and tied up too much shipping, so British officials turned to shipping the laborers to Vancouver on the Canadian West Coast and sending them by train to Halifax on the East Coast, from which they could be sent to Europe.

    So desperate was the need for labor that on March 2, 1918, a ship loaded with 1,899 Chinese Labor Corps men left the Chinese port of Wehaiwei for Vancouver despite "plague" stopping the recruiting for workers there.

    In reaction to anti-Chinese feelings rife in western Canada at the time, the trains that carried the workers from Vancouver were sealed, Humphries says. Special Railway Service Guards watched the laborers, who were kept in camps surrounded by barbed wire. Newspapers were banned from reporting on their movement.

    Roughly 3,000 of the workers ended up in medical quarantine, their illnesses often blamed on their "lazy" natures by Canadian doctors, Humphries said: "They had very stereotypical, racist views of the Chinese."

    Doctors treated sore throats with castor oil and sent the Chinese back to their camps.

    The Chinese laborers arrived in southern England by January 1918 and were sent to France, where the Chinese Hospital at Noyelles-sur-Mer recorded hundreds of their deaths from respiratory illness.

    Historians have suggested that the Spanish influenza mutated and became most deadly in spring 1918, spreading from Europe to ports as far apart as Boston and Freetown, Sierra Leone.

    By the height of the global pandemic that autumn, however, no more such cases were reported among the Chinese laborers in Europe.

    Medical Evidence

    Humphries concedes that a final answer to the mystery of the Spanish flu's origins is still a ways off.

    "What we really need is a sample of the virus preserved in a burial for the medical experts to uncover," Humphries says. "That would have the best chances of settling the debate."

    For the last decade, experts such as Jeffery Taubenberger, of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, have sought burial samples across continents, seeking to find preserved samples of the virus in victims of the outbreak.

    Taubenberger led a team in 2011 that looked at flu virus samples taken from autopsies of 32 victims of the 1918 outbreak.

    The earliest sample found so far was from a U.S. soldier who died on May 11, 1918, at Camp Dodge, Iowa, but the team is looking for earlier cases.

    A broad number of samples from flu victims before and after the pandemic might finally narrow down its origins. Essentially, scientists would need a genetically identified sample of the influenza's H1N1 virus taken from a victim who died before the first widespread outbreak of the pandemic in spring 1918 to point to a time and place as the likely origin point of the pandemic.

    One from China in 1917, for example, would fill the bill.

    "I'm not sure if this question can ever be fully answered," Taubenberger cautions, noting that even the origin of a smaller flu pandemic in 2009 still eludes certainty.

    Ultimately, "these kinds of [historical] analyses cannot definitively reveal the origins and patterns of spread of emerging pathogens, especially at the early stages of the outbreak," Taubenberger said, of the new historical report.

    In the end, however, knowing the origin of the disease might provide information that could help stop a future pandemic, making the search worthwhile.

    "I would say that the takeaway message of all of this is to keep your eye on China" as a source of emerging diseases, Higgins says. He points to concerns about avian flu and the SARS virus, both arising from Asia in the last decade.

    The SARS outbreak claimed perhaps 775 lives in 2003, and avian flu A (H5N1) has killed 384 people since 2003, according to the World Health Organization, which is carefully watching for signs of an outbreak of the diseases.

    "We have seen a lot of emerging diseases travel around the world in recent decades," Higgins says.

    History has a way of repeating, he says, and research into the origins of the 1918 flu could help prevent a scourge like that from happening again.

    Editor's Note: This story has been updated to correct the location of Camp Dodge.
    Follow Dan Vergano on Twitter.
    Fascinating historical backstory on Chinese and plague.
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  4. #124
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    Alright all you KFM herbalists...

    ...what the heck is in Qingfei Paidu soup?

    16:06, 25-Feb-2020
    Traditional Chinese medicine used to treat 85% of COVID-19 patients

    Updated 16:54, 25-Feb-2020
    By Hu Chao

    As the fight against the novel coronavirus continues, traditional Chinese medicine or TCM has been widely used to treat COVID-19 patients in China. The National Administration of TCM said TCM was used to treat over 85 percent of confirmed coronavirus patients, and a combined treatment of TCM and Western medicine has proven to be effective.

    A work unit of the Shanxi Provincial TCM Hospital in the capital city of Taiyuan has been working round the clock to produce TCM treatment for the coronavirus infection.

    The hospital has so far given free TCM treatment to over 13,000 patients and medical staff. Over 90 percent of the confirmed patients in the province have used TCM in the early stages of their treatment.

    Wang Xixing, former deputy president of the Shanxi Provincial TCM Hospital, is a renowned TCM doctor in Shanxi. He has been actively participating in the treatment of coronavirus patients.

    "We follow the basic TCM theory, which is to treat patients according to their different symptoms. We ensure that everyone's prescription is individually tailored," he said.


    Local TCM hospitals in Shanxi have recommended a preventive prescription against the coronavirus to the public. /CGTN

    The National Health Committee and the National Administration of TCM have jointly recommended a TCM prescription of Qingfei Paidu soup, or a soup for lung clearance and detoxication in English, to treat coronavirus patients. Nearly all confirmed patients in Shanxi have taken it.

    Shanxi set up a provincial TCM expert group against the novel coronavirus as soon as it spread to the province. Li Tingquan is the leader of the group and also the president of the Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine.

    "After taking three sets of the Qingfei Paidu soup, 60 percent of patients experienced a reduction in the severity of their symptoms. While the condition of 30 percent of confirmed asymptomatic patients has remained stable," Li said.

    Cover image: TCM doctors observe the tongue of a COVID-19 patient in Shanxi Province. /CGTN
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  5. #125
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    Good advice for MA schools in general during flu season

    Tiger Claw HQ has initiated an aggressive program of sterilizing all handles, knobs, phones, keyboards, etc every day. Yesterday Jonny even took my temperature with a new thermometer. srsly.

    FITNESS STUDIOS ARE TAKING PRECAUTIONS AGAINST COVID-19—AND CANCELLATION POLICIES SHOULD REFLECT THAT
    ZOE WEINER, MARCH 4, 2020


    Photo: Getty Images/skynesher

    In the last few days, fitness enthusiasts have seen their inboxes flooded with e-mails about the “medical grade hand disinfectants” and “extra precautions” that their go-to studios are taking to guard against COVID-19. Orangetheory is encouraging people to skip the high fives, Barry’s will add disposable wipes and hand sanitizers at studios, Equinox is sanitizing its gyms multiple times a day, and SLT is asking patrons to wipe down their machines before and after they use them. By and large, boutique fitness studios across the country are requesting that people “stay home if they don’t feel well,” but there’s one catch: Many cancellation policies aren’t reflecting that.

    To their credit, some are. Classpass and Solidcore will both be offering more leniency in waiving late cancellation fees for members who are feeling unwell, and Y7 is encouraging students to contact their studio if they’re too sick to come to class. “If you’re sick, you should have the ability to cancel and not be penalized for it,” says Jason Tetro, microbiologist and author of The Germ Files. “If gyms can provide the assurance that if you’re sick and have to cancel, you won’t be charged for a class, that can increase the confidence that people will only show up when they are healthy.”

    Understandably, studios financially incentivize people to show up to classes, but these hard-and-fast rules are contributing to the problem. As of Tuesday afternoon, 100 cases of COVID-19—and nine virus-related deaths—had been reported in the United States. According to the CDC, the virus is mainly spread from person-to-person, “between people who are in close contact (within about 6 feet) of one another, through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.” These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people nearby, or possibly be inhaled into their lungs. It may also be possible that the disease is spread when someone touches a surface with the virus on it and then touches their mouth or nose.

    While this is a cause for concern in any public place, it becomes even more problematic in the context of a gym or fitness studio. “The gym is up there in places where you would have the highest risk for the spread of the Coronavirus,” says Tetro. “You have a lot of people who are exerting themselves, which means they’re breathing a lot and may be sputtering and coughing. And if these people are starting to get sick or develop the infection, there’s a likelihood that they may be spreading that from their lungs into the environment around them.”

    Doubling down on sanitation efforts—which many studios have committed to doing—can help protect against the virus, to an extent. “Soap, hot water, and detergent can kill it, so if you’re religiously adhering to the effort of using a disinfectant before and after you use a machine, you’re probably increasing the safety for yourself as well as for everyone else,” says Tetro.

    But the best way to keep the virus from spreading at the gym is to keep it from ever getting there. The CDC recommends that anyone who feels sick stays home, and pros echo this sentiment across the board. “The only way to contain the virus is to stay home when you are sick. You aren’t helping the greater good if you spread the illness,” says Erika Schwartz, MD and founder of Evolved Science.” If you get sick stay home—be considerate and don’t infect others.”

    And hey studios, in the meantime, how about some leniency?

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  6. #126
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    dirty money

    well, this is just great. as if my credit cards weren't maxxed out already...


    Banknotes may be spreading coronavirus, World Health Organisation warns

    Yahoo Finance UK Kalila Sangster Yahoo Finance UK 3 March 2020


    Banks in China began disinfecting and isolating used banknotes last month as part of efforts to stem the spread of coronavirus. (Feature China/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised people to use contactless technology instead of cash as banknotes may be spreading coronavirus.

    The infectious COVID-19 virus could be carried on the surface of banknotes for several days, the WHO warned on Monday night.

    To stop the spread of the disease, people should use contactless payments where possible and wash their hands after handling cash, a WHO spokesman said.

    The Bank of England also recognised that banknotes “can carry bacteria or viruses” and encouraged frequent hand washing.

    Last month banks in China and Korea began disinfecting and isolating used banknotes as part of efforts to stem the spread of the deadly virus.

    Ultraviolet light or high temperature is being used to disinfect and sterilise banknotes, before the cash is sealed and stored for up to 14 days before being recirculated, China’s central bank said at a press conference.

    A Bank of England source said there were no plans to do the same in the UK.

    A Bank of England spokesman told the Telegraph: “Like any other surface that large numbers of people come into contact with, notes can carry bacteria or viruses.

    “However, the risk posed by handling a polymer note is no greater than touching any other common surface, such as handrails, doorknobs or credit cards.”

    Coronavirus can be spread through contaminated objects as well as droplets and direct contact with infected patients, the WHO said.

    “We know that money changes hands frequently and can pick up all sorts of bacteria and viruses,” a spokesman told the Telegraph.

    “We would advise people to wash their hands after handling banknotes, and avoid touching their face.

    “When possible it would also be advisable to use contactless payments to reduce the risk of transmission.”

    It is not yet known how long the coronavirus can survive outside the human body.

    It has been suggested that human coronaviruses can remain infectious on contaminated objects for as long as nine days at room temperature in an analysis of 22 earlier studies of similar viruses, including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) published online this month in the Journal of Hospital Infection.

    However, common disinfectants can swiftly remove them, and they may also be destroyed by high temperatures, the authors wrote. It is not yet clear whether the new coronavirus also behaves in this way.
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  7. #127
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    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    well, this is just great. as if my credit cards weren't maxxed out already...
    In my lifetime, I’ve never seen this level of worry and panic over ANY other disease outbreak, not even AIDS or Ebola. ANYBODY should know that money (paper as well as coins) is absolutely filthy. That’s nothing new, and something that people have known since forever. The rapidity of COVID-19’s spread worldwide and the level of panic in every sector has me doubting that its true point of origin was some fish market in Wuhan.

  8. #128
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    Arnold cancelled


    Arnold Sports Festival cancels convention due to coronavirus, will allow athletes to compete

    LOCAL NEWS
    by: Shawn Lanier, NBC4 Staff
    Posted: Mar 3, 2020 / 04:07 PM EST / Updated: Mar 4, 2020 / 08:46 AM EST

    COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Government and health officials announced Tuesday evening that this year’s Arnold Sports Festival will go on as scheduled, but due to concerns about the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, spectators are barred from the event and the trade show is canceled.

    The competition for athletes, however, will be allowed to continue.

    One exception for spectators is the Arnold Classic World Bodybuilding Championship finals, scheduled for Saturday night at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The finals had prepaid tickets and are in an arena-style setting, minimizing the fear of the spread of the virus.

    Gov. Mike DeWine and Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther held a joint press conference Tuesday announcing the change. Arnold Schwarzenegger joined the press conference via telephone.

    DeWine said new guidance Tuesday from the Centers for Disease Control on large public gatherings led to the decision to close the convention and trade show.

    “We all decided to move forward with the athlete competition of the Arnold Classic, but not to allow spectators or the trade show to continue, with the exception of the Arnold Classic Finals on Saturday night at the convention center,” DeWine said.

    Columbus Public Health will be monitoring more than 22,000 athletes as they arrive for the competitions. The health department will be meeting the athletes at the airport and questioning them about their recent travel.

    Myshieka Robert, the Columbus Public Health commissioner, said the health department has the staff to monitor that number of people coming into Columbus, but can’t screen more than that.

    Robert said the department won’t monitor athletes from five countries where there’s an outbreak of COVID-19.

    “All athletes from China, Italy, Japan, Iran, and South Korea will be excluded from participating in the event,” she said.

    Columbus Public Health staff members have already screened five athletes at John Glenn International Airport who are in Columbus for the Arnold.

    They asked them the places they’ve traveled in the past two weeks and if they’ve been in contact with anyone who has COVID-19 over that same period of time. They will then ask if they had a fever in the past 24 hours and then take their temperature on the spot before the athletes are allowed to go to their hotels.

    Initially, Ginther was set to hold a press conference with city health officials early on Tuesday, but that conference was canceled. The joint press conference with DeWine and state health officials was scheduled a few hours later.

    “This situation is going to continue to spread,” said Amy Acton, director of the Ohio Department of Health. “We will see cases in Ohio eventually. We will see them and we will eventually see community spread.”

    All the athletes participating in the event have received prevention messages from health officials and the festival. Those preventions include hand washing, coughing and sneezing into your elbow, and staying away from the public if you are showing symptoms of illness.

    Both the convention and the trade show are expected to be rescheduled. However, details have not been released. Details regarding ticket refunds have also not been released.

    Arnold

    @Schwarzenegger
    It’s a sad day for me and everyone at the @ArnoldSports team. But we will always put our fans’ health first. After discussions with @GovMikeDeWine, @MayorGinther, and the CDC, we will be postponing the expo because we can’t risk bringing 250,000 people together with #COVID19.

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    Started in 1989, the Arnold is named for bodybuilder, actor, and former California governor Schwarzenegger. The event plays host to several sporting competitions including bodybuilding, fencing, gymnastics, pickleball, and many more.

    The event was expected to bring 250,000 people to Columbus, Schwarzenegger said, from 80 different countries.

    “We would never choose making money over people’s health,” he said.

    This is the first time the event has been interrupted.

    All told, the event was expected to bring an estimated $50 million to the region.

    For the athletes participating, the event is this weekend, March 5-8, at the Convention Center, the Columbus Expo, and other locations in central Ohio.
    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo View Post
    The rapidity of COVID-19’s spread worldwide and the level of panic in every sector has me doubting that its true point of origin was some fish market in Wuhan.
    I'm not really that concerned with where it started at this point. I'm worried about where its going.
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    now debut on November 12, 2020

    James Bond: No Time To Die Delayed SEVEN Months Due To Coronavirus
    No time to Die's release date has been pushed back seven months to November 2020 due to concerns about coronavirus.
    BY CHRIS AGAR
    MAR 04, 2020



    No Time to Die's release date has been delayed seven months due to coronavirus. The film had already been impacted by the outbreak of the disease, with its Chinese premiere and press tour cancelled due to concerns. However, No Time to Die remained on track for its theatrical rollout in April 2020, with MGM putting together a very visible marketing campaign to hype up Daniel Craig's final adventure as James Bond (including a rather expensive Super Bowl TV spot). Excitement was continuing to mount for the movie, which was projected to possibly break the all-time James Bond opening weekend record at the box office.

    With No Time to Die right around the corner, coronavirus continues to be a serious concern around the world. DC Comics recently cancelled convention appearances, Mission: Impossible 7 paused production in Italy, and Hollywood studios are forming coronavirus strategy teams as they deal with the situation. And now, the team behind No Time to Die has made the decision to postpone the film's release globally for several months.

    Today on the official James Bond Twitter account, it was announced the film has been pushed back from its original April 2020 date and will now debut on November 12, 2020 in the U.K. and November 25, 2020 in the U.S. Other worldwide release dates will be revealed later.

    James Bond

    @007
    MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, announced today that after careful consideration and thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace, the release of NO TIME TO DIE will be postponed until November 2020.


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    The tweet mentions the "global theatrical marketplace" as a deciding factor here. In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, just about all of Chinese movie theaters have been closed, and it's possible locations in other countries eventually follow suit. China is the world's second-biggest film market (behind only the U.S.), so it's understandable why the No Time to Die team chose to delay the movie. Obviously, the studios and producers are hoping coronavirus is contained by November, allowing them to conduct business as usual around the globe. The Bond films have always been massive worldwide draws and have done sizable business during Craig's tenure. Spectre grossed $880.6 million back in 2015, and 2012's Skyfall crossed the $1 billion mark. MGM and Universal want No Time to Die in a position to be as successful as possible - particular since it has the highest production budget in Bond history. It'll be interesting to see if any other Hollywood studios shuffle their tentpoles around now that one domino has fallen.

    With the move, No Time to Die is now in a more competitive window than before. Instead of being the biggest blockbuster in town (getting a three-week jump start on the summer movies), it'll now share the spotlight with titles like Eternals (November 6) and Godzilla vs. Kong (November 20), assuming those movies don't change release dates to avoid competition with 007. That being said, No Time to Die should still do very well in the fall; the Bond films have historically released in November (the last six came out in that month) and this one is a proper event to boot, being Craig's swan song. Even amidst the other genre picture, there'll be plenty of excitement for No Time to Die.
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  10. #130
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    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    I'm not really that concerned with where it started at this point. I'm worried about where its going.
    Me, too.

    However, unless we also eventually find out its true cause/origin point, even if/when this is put under control, these types of epidemics/pandemics will continue to happen again and again and again, with nobody ever being the wiser. And they are happening at an accelerated rate. If we ignore history, we are doomed to repeat it. And although the PRC government acted much quicker than with SARS, they were still in denial at the onset long enough before they took action, which allowed thousands to come and go.
    Last edited by Jimbo; 03-04-2020 at 05:28 PM.

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    A wushu reference

    Team Singapore athletes show support for healthcare workers


    Tan Xiang Tian (first from right).PHOTO: SPORT SINGAPORE
    Mar 05, 2020 06:00 am

    Team Singapore athletes such as wushu exponent Tan Xiang Tian yesterday showed their appreciation for medical workers at the forefront of the coronavirus battle.

    They mingled with healthcare workers at Sport Singapore's office, and presented them with cards, jerseys and plush toys.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo View Post
    If we ignore history, we are doomed to repeat it. And although the PRC government acted much quicker than with SARS, they were still in denial at the onset long enough before they took action, which allowed thousands to come and go.
    Truth. That being said about the PRC reaction, how do you feel about the US reaction so far?
    Gene Ching
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  12. #132
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    Psalm 91 “protection policy”

    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    That being said about the PRC reaction, how do you feel about the US reaction so far?
    And then there's New Zealand...

    CP CURRENT PAGE:WORLD | TUESDAY, MARCH 03, 2020
    Tithe-paying Christians are protected from coronavirus by Psalm 91, pastor Brian Tamaki claims
    By Leonardo Blair, Christian Post Reporter| Tuesday, March 03, 2020


    Brian Tamaki is senior pastor of Destiny Church in New Zealand. | Facebook/Destiny Church

    Tithe-paying, Bible-believing, Holy Spirit-filled Christians have a Psalm 91 “protection policy” against COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, according to New Zealand's popular multi-campus Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki.

    Speaking to his congregation in Auckland on Sunday, Tamaki said God allows "epidemics, pestilence and famine" when people have departed from faith in Him. But for Bible-believing, born-again Christians who pay their tithes, God assures them protection from the virus in Psalm 91.

    “This latest coronavirus is a little round thing like a tennis ball with little spikes. It has to get to the lungs this one. It’s what makes it so dangerous. Gets on the lungs and then begins to mutate the cells in your lungs and eats it away, OK. No problems. It’s a bit like the last one they had, it was the SARS, were all related to the respiratory system,” Tamaki explained in his sermon streamed on the church’s website.

    "You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday,” he said, reading from Psalm 91. "We needn't fear it. There is a lot of hysteria that has been engendered by certain elements about this pandemic," he said.

    Tamaki claimed that because viruses travel through the air controlled by “satanic spirits” that energized their spreading, only Christians covered by God can avoid being affected by the virus.

    “The prince of the power of the air, Satan, has control of atmospheres, unless you’re a blood-bought born-again, Jesus-loving, Bible-believing, Holy Ghost-filled, tithe-paying believer. You are the only one that can walk through atmospheres and has a, literally a protection — the Psalm 91 protection policy around you,” Tamaki said. “I don’t care if you don’t believe it. It’s all right. I’m just giving you so you understand.

    The Rev. Helen Jacobi, vicar at central Auckland's St Matthew-in-the-City, told the New Zealand Herald that Tamaki’s advice is "incredibly unsafe."

    "People should be following public health advice. I think it is very dangerous and wrong for any public leader to contravene that. Certainly in the Anglican Church we have been sharing the message to follow public health advice, and we follow it in our own gatherings. It is also quite offensive, saying his followers are safe and no-one else, which is the absolute opposite of the Christian belief,” she said.

    The vicar further challenged the use of Psalm 91 as Tamaki’s protection policy since it was used by "the devil" to tempt Jesus.

    “We can’t compete with the megachurch in our town!”, “A new church was started two blocks from us. We’ve got plenty of churches without them!”, “The church brought another one of their campuses near us. It’s totally unethical what they are doing.”

    "It is very amusing he has chosen that psalm, given it was used by 'the devil' to test Jesus," Jacobi said.

    Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said Tuesday that public health officials are now operating in "uncharted territory" in seeking to stem the coronavirus which had infected more than 90,000 people across 73 countries and territories as of Monday evening, CNN reported.

    "We have never before seen a respiratory pathogen that is capable of community transmission, but which can also be contained with the right measures," Ghebreyesus said.

    While it hasn’t yet called the coronavirus a global pandemic, the WHO warned it could make that call in the near future.

    To date, there have been 172 deaths reported outside mainland China, raising the global death toll from the virus, which has spread to every continent except Antarctica, to 3,115.

    Epidemics of the virus in Iran, Italy and South Korea show no signs of slowing even as governments work to devise plans to combat the pathogen without causing widespread social disruption and economic upheaval, The New York Times reported Tuesday. There are also now more than 100 confirmed cases in 15 states and six deaths linked to the virus in the United States.

    The Christian Post recently highlighted several ways Christians can make sense of the virus.
    Psalm 91 is one of my favorites, quoted in the classic gospel song 'My Sisters and Brothers'
    Psalm 91 King James Version (KJV)
    91 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

    2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

    3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

    4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

    5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

    6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

    7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

    8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

    9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

    10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

    11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

    12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

    13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

    14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

    15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

    16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  13. #133
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    Some myth busting

    The effect this has had on me personally with the direct impact on Tiger Claw and Kung Fu Tai Chi, along with my karma work volunteering as a psychiatric consultant, continues to spread.

    I sincerely hope that all our members here stay healthy.

    Yes, it is worse than the flu: busting the coronavirus myths
    The truth about the protective value of face masks and how easy it is to catch Covid-19
    Hannah Devlin Science correspondent
    @hannahdev
    Tue 3 Mar 2020 05.50 ESTLast modified on Tue 3 Mar 2020 20.56 EST


    Commuters wearing face masks in Bangkok. Photograph: Mladen Antonov/AFP via Getty Images

    Claim: ‘It is no more dangerous than winter flu’
    Many individuals who get coronavirus will experience nothing worse than seasonal flu symptoms, but the overall profile of the disease, including its mortality rate, looks more serious. At the start of an outbreak the apparent mortality rate can be an overestimate if a lot of mild cases are being missed. But this week, a WHO expert suggested that this has not been the case with Covid-19. Bruce Aylward, who led an international mission to China to learn about the virus and the country’s response, said the evidence did not suggest that we were only seeing the tip of the iceberg. If borne out by further testing, this could mean that current estimates of a roughly 1% fatality rate are accurate. This would make Covid-19 about 10 times more deadly than seasonal flu, which is estimated to kill between 290,000 and 650,000 people a year globally.

    Claim: ‘It only kills the elderly, so younger people can relax’
    Most people who are not elderly and do not have underlying health conditions will not become critically ill from Covid-19. But the illness still has a higher chance of leading to serious respiratory symptoms than seasonal flu and there are other at-risk groups – health workers, for instance, are more vulnerable because they are likely to have higher exposure to the virus. The actions that young, healthy people take, including reporting symptoms and following quarantine instructions, will have an important role in protecting the most vulnerable in society and in shaping the overall trajectory of the outbreak.

    Claim: ‘Face masks don’t work’
    Wearing a face mask is certainly not an iron-clad guarantee that you won’t get sick – viruses can also transmit through the eyes and tiny viral particles, known as aerosols, can penetrate masks. However, masks are effective at capturing droplets, which is a main transmission route of coronavirus, and some studies have estimated a roughly fivefold protection versus no barrier alone (although others have found lower levels of effectiveness).

    If you are likely to be in close contact with someone infected, a mask cuts the chance of the disease being passed on. If you’re showing symptoms of coronavirus, or have been diagnosed, wearing a mask can also protect others. So masks are crucial for health and social care workers looking after patients and are also recommended for family members who need to care for someone who is ill – ideally both the patient and carer should have a mask.

    However, masks will probably make little difference if you’re just walking around town or taking a bus so there is no need to bulk-buy a huge supply.

    Claim: ‘You need to be with an infected person for 10 minutes’
    For flu, some hospital guidelines define exposure as being within six feet of an infected person who sneezes or coughs for 10 minutes or longer. However, it is possible to be infected with shorter interactions or even by picking the virus up from contaminated surfaces, although this is thought to be a less common route of transmission.

    Claim: ‘A vaccine could be ready within a few months’
    Scientists were quick out of the gates in beginning development of a vaccine for the new coronavirus, helped by the early release of the genetic sequence by Chinese researchers. The development of a viable vaccine continues apace, with several teams now testing candidates in animal experiments. However, the incremental trials required before a commercial vaccine could be rolled out are still a lengthy undertaking – and an essential one to ensure that even rare side-effects are spotted. A commercially available vaccine within a year would be quick.

    Claim: ‘If a pandemic is declared, there is nothing more we can do to stop the spread’
    A pandemic is defined as worldwide spread of a new disease – but the exact threshold for declaring one is quite vague. In practice, the actions being taken would not change whether or not a pandemic is declared. Containment measures are not simply about eliminating the disease altogether. Delaying the onset of an outbreak or decreasing the peak is crucial in allowing health systems to cope with a sudden influx of patients.

    • This article was amended on 2 March 2020 to expand the answer relating to face masks.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  14. #134
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    There's been several attacks on Asians reported in the news

    ...that being said, almost every news story I read features photos of Asians. Waiting for photos of Italians and Iranians... and non-Asian Americans.

    Mar 3, 2020,1:13 am EST
    Stop Using The Coronavirus As An Excuse To Be Racist
    Janice Gassam
    Senior Contributor
    Diversity & Inclusion
    I help create strategies for more diversity, equity, and inclusion.


    GETTY

    The coronavirus has been the topic of global conversation for the last month, causing mass hysteria and worldwide panic. Stores have been unable to keep protective face masks in stock and Corona beer sales have declined, given the association to the coronavirus name. Apple warns that there may be iPhone shortages due to the virus and U.S. stocks continue to plummet, mimicking 2008 lows. Saudi Arabia has suspended travel to one of the holiest sites in the religion, Mecca, because of health concerns. The travel industry continues to be devasted by the virus as many businesses and travelers have growing concerns over flying. Companies are taking the necessary precautions to ensure their employees are safe by encouraging employees to work remotely. Consumers have raided grocery stores as some supplies become limited and gas prices have plummeted. As the virus continues to spread, people are taking the measures they deem necessary to keep themselves safe.

    The frenzy that the coronavirus has caused has unsurprisingly sparked more xenophobia and racism. CNN reported a few weeks ago that a man on a Los Angeles subway was overheard saying that Chinese people are filthy and bring diseases from China. The same CNN report features multiple stories from people of Asian descent who have been attacked or the victim of a physical or verbal assault in the last few weeks. The racism that many people of Asian descent are currently experiencing is strangely reminiscent of the U.S. in the 1800s after The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was passed. The act was passed based on the false belief that the decreased wages and economic hardship that the West Coast was facing at the time were due to the Chinese workers. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that bigotry and bias has followed the spread of a virus. In 2014, the Ebola virus was causing concern all around the world. As the number of Ebola cases increased, so did the incidents of racism against those of African descent. The Ebola outbreak and the reaction that followed is akin to what has shadowed the spread of the coronavirus. Fear and ignorance are a dangerous combination and have catalyzed into the spreading of fiction and falsehoods.

    So, what are the facts? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) people of Asian descent are no more likely to get the coronavirus than anyone else. Secondly, despite the 24/7 reporting about the virus, which is officially called COVID-19, the likelihood of someone within the U.S. contracting the virus is relatively low. Also, individuals who are quarantined pose little to no risk to the general population. It’s important to share the facts with others to stop the spread of false information. Organizational leadership can play a vital role in both educating employees and stopping discriminatory behavior from taking place. It is critical to send employees updates with the facts, as well as preventative measures that should be taken to avert contracting the illness. In addition, leadership should stress the importance of nipping prejudiced behavior in the bud. Anyone that witnesses the perpetuation of negative stereotypes should be encouraged to speak up and report it. Bystander training is an invaluable investment that every company should be making, especially during times of crisis. It’s also important to help employees understand how easy it is to lean on our stereotypes during times of fear and uncertainty. Ensuring that employees are equipped with the facts and are prepared to intervene if they witness discrimination taking place will help you cultivate a culture of inclusion inside and outside of the workplace.


    Janice Gassam
    I am the founder of BWG Business Solutions-a company designed to help businesses foster more inclusion. Through my company I deliver keynote speeches and I host Diversity Dinner Dialogues, which are informal conversations around diversity-related topics, discussed over delicious food. I have a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology and teach graduate and undergraduate courses in Management. I spend my free time getting lost in a good audio book and perfecting my Jollof rice recipe.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  15. #135
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    Quan Am Buddhist temple - possible COVID-19 victim

    Des temples bouddhistes de Montréal complètement vandalisés (VIDÉO)
    Louis Angot 1 day ago
    Updated on March 04 @ 08:47 AM

    Montréal est la terre d'accueil de nombreuses communautés culturelles, qui en retour contribuent à faire de notre ville la métropole cosmopolite qu'elle est aujourd'hui. Toutefois, avec l'épidémie du coronavirus qui sévit en ce moment, les personnes asiatiques de la ville sont parfois visées par du racisme. Depuis quelques jours, des internautes ont signalé que des temples bouddhistes de Montréal aurait été visés par des actes de vandalisme.

    Dans une publication sur Facebook, un Montréalais a fait part de son ras-le-bol face à ce qu'il perçoit comme des attaques répétées envers des lieux symboliques de la communauté asiatique à Montréal.

    Le temple bouddhiste Quan Am, situé dans le quartier Côte-des-Neiges, aurait d'ailleurs été vandalisé il y a trois semaines. Selon l'internaute, un individu cagoulé aurait fracassé la tête des statues de lions à l'entrée du temple à l'aide d'un grand marteau.

    Le temple aurait été à nouveau visé plus récemment.


    Narcity Media

    Narcity s'est rendu sur les lieux, mardi le 3 mars, afin d'évaluer l'état des lieux.

    Ces images exclusives montrent plusieurs statues du Chua Quan Am détruites.


    Narcity Media

    Dans le quartier chinois, au centre-ville, d'autres statues de lion ont également été vandalisées. Accueillant les visiteurs au pied de l'arche au coin du boulevard Saint-Laurent et de la rue Viger, elles ont été couvertes de graffitis, notamment de croix.

    Contactée par Narcity, l'arrondissement de Ville-Marie a confirmé qu'une équipe serait envoyée pour nettoyer les sculptures.

    D'après la publication de l'internaute, les temples bouddhistes Thuyen Ton et Huyen Khong, tous deux situés dans le quartier de La Petite-Patrie, ont également été visés par des vandales dans les dernières semaines.

    Le SPVM n'a pas pu donner de détails sur les événements à Narcity, mais a toutefois affirmé que si des plaintes ont été déposées, une enquête serait ouverte par le service de police.

    Dernièrement, la mairesse Valérie Plante a invité les Montréalais à fréquenter le Quartier chinois, qui souffre économiquement depuis le début de l'épidémie.

    Elle a aussi demandé à la population d'éviter la peur, la désinformation ainsi que les préjugés par rapport au COVID-19.

    *La vidéo ci-haut est un reportage de nos collègues de MTL Blog.
    googtrans
    Completely vandalized Buddhist temples in Montreal (VIDEO)
    Louis Angot 1 day ago
    Updated on March 04 @ 08:47 AM

    Montreal is home to many cultural communities, which in turn help make our city the cosmopolitan metropolis it is today. However, with the coronavirus epidemic raging at the moment, Asian people in the city are sometimes targeted by racism. In recent days, Internet users have reported that Buddhist temples in Montreal have been targeted by acts of vandalism.

    In a Facebook post, a Montrealer said he was fed up with what he saw as repeated attacks on symbolic places of the Asian community in Montreal.

    The Quan Am Buddhist temple, located in the Côte-des-Neiges district, was also vandalized three weeks ago. According to the surfer, a hooded individual would have smashed the head of the statues of lions at the entrance of the temple using a large hammer.

    The temple would have been targeted again more recently.

    Narcity Media

    Narcity went to the scene on Tuesday March 3 to assess the situation.

    These exclusive images show several destroyed Chua Quan Am statues.

    Narcity Media

    In downtown Chinatown, other lion statues have also been vandalized. Welcoming visitors at the foot of the arch at the corner of Boulevard Saint-Laurent and Rue Viger, they were covered with graffiti, in particular crosses.

    Contacted by Narcity, the Ville-Marie borough confirmed that a team would be sent to clean the sculptures.

    According to the publication of the surfer, the Buddhist temples Thuyen Ton and Huyen Khong, both located in the district of La Petite-Patrie, have also been targeted by vandals in recent weeks.

    The SPVM could not give details of the events at Narcity, but nevertheless stated that if complaints were made, an investigation would be opened by the police service.

    Recently, Mayor Valérie Plante invited Montrealers to visit Chinatown, which has suffered economically since the start of the epidemic.

    She also asked the population to avoid fear, misinformation and prejudice regarding COVID-19.

    * The video above is a report from our colleagues at MTL Blog.
    THREADS
    Destruction of Buddhist Icons
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