As the novel coronavirus continues to infect people around the world, news articles and social media posts about the outbreak continue to spread online. Unfortunately, this relentless flood of information can make it difficult to separate fact from fiction — and during a viral outbreak, rumors and misinformation can be dangerous.
ON JANUARY 20, both the United States and South Korea confirmed their first cases of Covid-19; Taiwan reported its first case the next day, and Singapore followed two days later. Epidemic parity began and ended there. By the end of March, those three Asian countries had largely contained at least the first wave of their outbreaks—and, not only that, had done so at relatively minimal cost to their citizens’ routine way of life. The same could scarcely be said of the US. The story behind this divergence was obvious: The governments of South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore were prepared to test, to trace, and to isolate, and ours was not. Such a vast discrepancy in basic preparedness was, however, almost incomprehensible to many American observers—it seemed impossible to imagine that it could be that simple. The astounding national variance had to be explained by some hidden variable.
It is likely we’ll eventually have a coronavirus vaccine — but perhaps not as quickly as some expect. From development, to clinical trials and distribution, ProPublica reporter Caroline Chen explains the tremendous challenges that lie ahead.
Over the past 30 years, Asia-Pacific megacities have become powerhouses of economic growth – centres of prosperity on which their respective countries often depend. As governments across the region look to contain the COVID-19 pandemic through lockdown measures of varying intensity, what will be the impact on these critical economic hubs?
Around 1 in 5 people across the world have underlying conditions that put them at risk of developing severe COVID-19 if infected with the coronavirus, according to a new study. That adds up to around 1.7 billion people worldwide.
Each person’s calculus will be a little bit different depending on their comfort with risk and their priorities.
Here are 8 new habits people want to keep post-lockdown.
The pathogen is proving a familiar adage: The dose makes the poison.
From F&B to retail and fitness, winning Singapore businesses know they must shift gears and rethink their business models to thrive in a pandemic economy, says NUS Business School’s Lawrence Loh.
The Oxford University team in charge of developing a coronavirus vaccine said a decline in the infection rate will make it increasingly difficult to prove whether it has been successful, the Telegraph reported.