up and down

I felt so sad seeing this. So pitiful indeed.

Latest news and some shocking discoveries. https://time.com/5878064/essential-drugs-executive-order/ Pharmaceutical manufacturing has long been a dirty business. The antibiotic-laced wastewater, and other pollutants it leaves behind, is just one of many reasons that so many American drug-manufacturing plants closed up over the last few decades and moved to places like Hyderabad, India, and China’s Zhejiang province, with their low labor costs and minimal regulations. But drug manufacturing in those remote outposts has been dirty in another way, as I learned from a decade of reporting that culminated in my book Bottle of Lies: the Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom. The FDA’s own inspection records, as analyzed by FDAzilla, reveal that drug plants in China and India are more likely than those in the U.S. and Europe to manipulate data about quality to make substandard low-cost drugs appear compliant with good manufacturing practices, standards required for export into the U.S. and other developed markets. On August 6, President Trump signed an executive order to encourage the federal government to buy American-made essential medicines. The goal—to rebuild America’s lost drug-manufacturing capacity—is critical. COVID-19, which has unleashed a global scramble for essential medicines, has crystallized the potential life-and-death consequences of our unhealthy dependence on low-cost generic drugs manufactured overseas. To date, amid a flurry of industry and legislative efforts, Trump’s order is the most high-profile effort to support “reshoring,” the return of drug manufacturing to the United States. On a first read, the executive order seems to tackle the most troubling aspects of our current system. It calls on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct more unannounced inspections of drug plants overseas, a tacit acknowledgement of a failed inspection system that has allowed companies operating abroad to prepare for pre-announced inspections, turning their plants into veritable charades of compliance. Falsified results have allowed generic drugs with toxic impurities and dangerous particulates, or that are not bioequivalent to brand-name drugs, to enter our supply. The executive order also encourages advanced manufacturing techniques, a higher-tech form of manufacturing with a lighter environmental footprint. But the executive order seems to miss an essential point: we shouldn’t trade low-quality drugs made at a distance for low-quality drugs made at home. In trying to ramp up domestic manufacturing, the order appears to open the door to a dangerous decline in quality. It allows the FDA to examine whether any existing regulations are a barrier to domestic production, and it also allows the Environmental Protection Agency to streamline regulations that might currently deter manufacturing but also serve to ensure public health safety and safeguard the environment. The trade-off threatens to be a Faustian bargain: America can rebuild its domestic drug manufacturing but has to accept lagoons of antibiotic-laced effluent and low-quality generics replete with side effects and possible carcinogens in return. “It is a bad idea to say that it is more important to have drugs made domestically than it is to have drugs made with high quality,” says Mark Rosenberg, the CEO of Just Medicine Inc., a nonprofit aimed at increasing the supply of ethically made low-cost generics currently in short supply. “The way to level the playing field is not to just lower standards for domestic manufacturing.” It remains unclear what kind of effect the executive order will have. Unlike other countries with nationalized health systems, where governments are the predominant pharmaceutical procurers, America’s federal government directly procures only a small percentage of medicine taken in the U.S., through the Veterans Health Administration and Department of Defense. To really restore U.S. drug manufacturing, says Rosenberg, there need to be incentives for the private sector that purchases medication to “actually value American-made.” This is where the American consumer comes in. Most of us have little say in what kind of medicine we get. Many Americans receive their drugs in the mail from pharmacy benefit management companies, which make drug-purchasing decisions through an opaque system that relies on rebates. Or Americans go to big pharmacy chains whose buying decisions are guided by cost. Though a manufacturer name usually appears on the dispensing label, there is no way for a consumer to know whether their drugs are made in North Carolina or Northern Punjab. Perhaps the best way to restore American pharmaceutical manufacturing—and to drive a “Buy American” revolution—is to give consumers the information so many of us want. Where are our drugs made, and under what conditions? The executive order acknowledges that price is an issue: it states that federal procurers would be allowed to prioritize the purchase of American-made drugs that are up to one-quarter more expensive than foreign-made versions. But if employers or chain drugstores gave their employees or customers a choice—to fork out a slightly higher co-pay for a drug made in America, at a plant with higher standards that was better inspected— many of us would jump at the opportunity.

The countries listed in this article shown the best global responses to Covid 19 pandemic. https://time.com/5851633/best-global-responses-covid-19/

Wow this is indeed amazing. Looks like the Black Lives Matter movement is not over yet. https://time.com/5878376/demetria-hester-arrest-blm-protest-portland/ (PORTLAND, Ore.) — The arrest during a Portland, Oregon protest of a Black woman who became a leading activist in the racial justice movement after she was assaulted by a white supremacist three years ago has galvanized local and national Black Lives Matter groups. Demonstrators took to the streets again Monday night and police broke up a protest outside a police precinct substation after they said protesters shined strobe lights at officers and hurled eggs and water bottles at them. Nine people were arrested when clashes broke out at the protest that lasted into early Tuesday morning, with some protesters throwing rocks and golf balls in the mayhem. One officer suffered an arm injury in a scuffle for which she was treated and released from a hospital, Portland police said in a statement. Portland has endured more than two months of often violent, nightly protests since George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, including weeks of clashes between protesters and federal agents dispatched to the city by President Donald Trump in to protect a federal courthouse that was a focus of the demonstrators. Authorities said the prominent activist, Demetria Hester, won’t be charged following her predawn Monday arrest after a protest that started Sunday night and turned violent outside the union headquarters for Portland’s police. Hester, 46, had been booked on suspicion of disorderly conduct and interfering with a police officer during the protest. Hester’s arrest drew a sharp rebuke from national Black Lives Matter activists, who are increasingly focusing on demonstrations in Oregon’s largest city. After her release, Hester told reporters that she would keep protesting and joined others in announcing plans for a fundraiser to send Black mothers to Washington, D.C. “I was born and bred to do this. This is a dream come true,” Hester said. “This is a revolution and we’re getting reparations.” Hester and 15 other people were arrested during Portland’s 73rd consecutive nights of protest, when a group of about 200 demonstrators gathered at a park and then marched to the union headquarters building, where some people set fires outside the building and launched fireworks at officers. Two officers were injured, including one who was burned on the neck when a firework exploded, police said. Police declared that the event was a riot shortly after 10 p.m. and began arresting people, including Hester. Trump again seized on the protests in the city where he has harshly criticized local Democratic officials and said on Twitter that Portland was “out of control.” He urged Democratic Gov. Kate Brown to bring in the Oregon National Guard. Civil rights groups in Portland and members of the international Black Lives Matter organization, who traveled to Portland, decried Hester’s arrest and said the city was at the center of the racial justice protest movement. “The struggle here in Portland has become almost ground zero because what we’ve seen under this administration is the kind of flexing that we haven’t really seen in our generation, ever,” said Janaya Khan, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Toronto. “People only protest when politicians and policies and police have failed to protect them. ” Hester gained prominence in 2017 when she was assaulted by a white supremacist while riding a light-rail train. The man who attacked Hester, Jeremy Christian, stabbed two men to death the following night and critically injured a third man when they came to the defense of two Black women — one of them wearing a Muslim head-covering — who were being harassed by Christian. Hester gave emotional testimony this spring at Christian’s murder trial. Christian was convicted and given two life sentences without possibility of parole. Hester has reappeared in public this summer as one of the main organizers of a group of mostly white parents who have been protesting nightly. She leads marches each night, using a bullhorn to chant in a voice cracking with fatigue.

Do not give up hope. I am sure US will win this battle one day.

I am refering to a possible sign that you're winning in Plague.

Yes good idea.

The full data of tests conducted. (Latest data as of 2nd July, 2020) Countries under safe category with mass testing done No. Country No of tests conducted No of tests per 1 million citizens Total population 1 Monaco 16,200 412,812 39,243 2 Gibraltar 13,427 398,534 33,691 3 Cayman Islands 24,069 366,224 65,722 4 UAE 3,500,000 353,881 9,890,327 5 Falkland Islands 1,197 344,064 3,479 6 Bahrain 564,365 331,820 1,700,818 7 Luxembourg 191,282 305,587 625,950 8 Faeroe Islands 14,046 287,451 48,864 9 Iceland 74,424 218,094 341,248 10 Malta 96,266 218,019 441,548 11 Denmark 1,071,479 184,984 5,792,278 12 Bermuda 11,404 183,120 62,276 13 San Marino 5,729 168,843 33,931 14 Lithuania 432,457 158,885 2,721,829 15 Mauritius 186,539 146,676 1,271,778 16 UK 9,662,051 142,325 67,887,024 17 Russia 20,168,904 138,205 145,934,790 18 Singapore 757,746 129,520 5,850,412 19 Cyprus 155,429 128,733 1,207,375 20 Qatar 360,502 128,393 2,807,805 21 Channel Islands 21,388 123,016 173,864 22 Portugal 1,190,384 116,744 10,196,505 23 Spain 5,448,984 116,544 46,754,873 24 Israel 1,000,949 108,827 9,197,590 25 Belgium 1,251,345 107,970 11,589,789 26 Belarus 1,013,056 107,210 9,449,306 27 USA 34,858,578 105,311 331,007,570 28 Australia 2,561,143 100,438 25,499,772 29 Maldives 51,576 95,421 540,511 30 Kuwait 391,037 91,568 4,270,443 31 Italy 5,445,476 90,066 60,461,278 32 Ireland 434,261 87,947 4,937,777 33 Latvia 154,494 81,917 1,885,974 34 Kazakhstan 1,536,607 81,836 18,776,581 35 Estonia 108,149 81,527 1,326,540 36 New Zealand 405,329 81,032 5,002,100 37 Isle of Man 6,491 76,334 85,034 38 Canada 2,770,153 73,396 37,742,508 39 Cabo Verde 39,000 70,146 555,987 40 Germany 5,873,563 70,103 83,784,978 41 Austria 628,700 69,805 9,006,532 42 Switzerland 599,105 69,223 8,654,736 43 Brunei 29,841 68,211 437,482 44 Greenland 3,839 67,624 56,770 45 China 90,410,000 62,814 1,439,323,776 46 Norway 338,860 62,505 5,421,307 47 Chile 1,120,177 58,598 19,116,392 48 Czechia 555,980 51,917 10,709,071 49 Peru 1,699,369 51,541 32,971,130 50 Sweden 519,113 51,400 10,099,413 51 Slovenia 104,295 50,167 2,078,940 52 Grenada 5,465 48,567 112,525 53 Andorra 3,750 48,534 77,266 54 Saudi Arabia 1,674,487 48,100 34,812,554 55 Azerbaijan 482,170 47,555 10,139,263 56 Djibouti 46,779 47,348 987,973 57 Serbia 409,866 46,911 8,737,110 58 Venezuela 1,270,173 44,669 28,435,390 59 Finland 246,000 44,398 5,540,760 60 Hong Kong 321,498 42,883 7,497,066 61 Poland 1,569,693 41,475 37,846,363 62 Turkey 3,433,963 40,716 84,339,116 63 Réunion 35,419 39,560 895,324 64 Slovakia 213,521 39,109 5,459,656 65 Armenia 115,765 39,067 2,963,268 66 Oman 198,994 38,975 5,105,631 67 Jordan 392,400 38,459 10,203,183 68 Romania 735,221 38,220 19,236,577 69 Netherlands 616,376 35,972 17,135,037 70 Kyrgyzstan 222,295 34,074 6,523,882 71 Uzbekistan 1,121,236 33,501 33,468,297 72 Bhutan 25,256 32,732 771,607 73 Mayotte 8,800 32,262 272,769 74 Panama 133,449 30,930 4,314,596 75 Greece 315,982 30,317 10,422,656 76 New Caledonia 8,406 29,443 285,500 77 North Macedonia 60,773 29,170 2,083,374 78 French Guiana 8,707 29,157 298,621 79 Hungary 279,690 28,953 9,660,187 80 Bosnia and Herzegovina 94,126 28,691 3,280,646 81 Georgia 113,167 28,369 3,989,118 82 South Africa 1,666,939 28,106 59,308,021 83 Barbados 7,869 27,382 287,377 84 El Salvador 167,584 25,837 6,486,301 85 S. Korea 1,295,962 25,277 51,269,407 86 Moldova 101,180 25,082 4,033,901 87 Malaysia 782,638 24,181 32,365,584 88 Liechtenstein 900 23,605 38,128 89 Aruba 2,412 22,591 106,768 90 France 1,384,633 21,213 65,274,140 91 Montenegro 13,186 20,995 628,066 92 Bulgaria 144,369 20,779 6,947,970 93 Guadeloupe 8,239 20,591 400,124 94 Iran 1,719,451 20,472 83,991,882 Countries under safe category with sufficient test done No. Country No of tests conducted No of tests per 1 million citizens Total Population 95 Lebanon 135,662 19,877 6,825,212 96 Croatia 80,456 19,599 4,105,053 97 Uruguay 67,533 19,441 3,473,775 98 Morocco 705,637 19,118 36,910,339 99 Nepal 533,847 18,323 29,134,873 100 Anguilla 272 18,130 15,003 101 Botswana 42,290 17,985 2,351,396 102 Turks and Caicos 690 17,822 38,716 103 Saint Martin 685 17,717 38,664 104 Gabon 38,692 17,387 2,225,384 105 Palestine 84,621 16,590 5,100,645 106 French Polynesia 4,649 16,550 280,912 107 Caribbean Netherlands 424 16,169 26,223 108 Ukraine 677,257 15,487 43,731,565 109 St. Barth 152 15,389 9,877 110 Colombia 778,773 15,305 50,882,948 111 Cuba 173,063 15,279 11,326,576 112 Brazil 3,227,591 15,184 212,562,300 113 Dominican Republic 154,129 14,208 10,847,957 114 Iraq 555,923 13,823 40,217,031 115 Montserrat 61 12,220 4,992 116 Sint Maarten 500 11,662 42,876 117 Rwanda 147,904 11,421 12,949,870 118 Equatorial Guinea 16,000 11,409 1,402,444 Countries who should conduct more tests No. Country No of tests conducted No of tests per 1 million citizens Total population 119 Eswatini 11,872 10,233 1,160,167 120 Paraguay 70,690 9,911 7,132,474 121 Ghana 300,520 9,672 31,069,556 122 Saint Lucia 1,667 9,078 183,630 123 Dominica 623 8,654 71,987 124 Thailand 603,657 8,648 69,800,715 125 Ecuador 152,268 8,631 17,642,457 126 Saint Kitts and Nevis 454 8,534 53,200 127 Jamaica 24,951 8,426 2,961,209 128 Albania 24,237 8,422 2,877,778 129 Sao Tome and Principe 1,803 8,228 219,143 130 Argentina 362,908 8,030 45,196,131 131 St. Vincent Grenadines 844 7,608 110,941 132 Costa Rica 38,500 7,558 5,094,159 133 Mongolia 23,240 7,089 3,278,147 134 British Virgin Islands 212 7,013 30,231 135 Antigua and Barbuda 680 6,944 97,930 136 Philippines 738,398 6,738 109,579,246 137 Bolivia 77,413 6,632 11,672,794 138 Curaçao 1,080 6,582 164,095 139 India 9,056,173 6,562 1,380,011,546 140 Bahamas 2,404 6,113 393,247 141 Pakistan 1,327,638 6,011 220,873,273 Countries who have not done enough test thus endangering the citizen lives No. Country No of tests conducted No of tests per 1 million citizens Total population 142 Tunisia 70,040 5,926 11,818,644 143 Belize 2,281 5,737 397,601 144 Honduras 49,308 4,978 9,904,197 145 Sri Lanka 105,105 4,908 21,413,552 146 Bangladesh 805,697 4,892 164,690,139 147 Senegal 81,779 4,885 16,740,327 148 CAR 23,208 4,805 4,829,483 149 Benin 56,613 4,671 12,120,637 150 Mexico 595,917 4,622 128,933,002 151 Zimbabwe 68,400 4,602 14,862,513 152 Fiji 4,000 4,462 896,457 153 Uganda 196,841 4,305 45,725,079 154 Libya 27,047 3,936 6,871,161 155 Namibia 9,661 3,802 2,540,732 156 Togo 31,274 3,778 8,277,446 157 Japan 467,444 3,696 126,473,774 158 Trinidad and Tobago 5,089 3,636 1,399,505 159 Guyana 2,634 3,349 786,564 160 Taiwan 77,025 3,234 23,816,971 161 Kenya 173,355 3,224 53,764,389 162 Indonesia 849,155 3,104 273,524,045 163 Zambia 56,825 3,092 18,379,291 164 Mauritania 13,842 2,978 4,648,665 165 Vietnam 275,000 2,825 97,339,413 166 Cambodia 37,523 2,244 16,718,611 167 Laos 16,147 2,219 7,275,362 168 Ivory Coast 57,774 2,191 26,373,506 169 Ethiopia 250,604 2,180 114,942,793 170 Suriname 1,244 2,121 586,637 171 Afghanistan 73,515 1,889 38,923,003 172 Guatemala 31,427 1,754 17,914,255 173 Myanmar 79,072 1,453 54,410,570 174 Lesotho 3,000 1,400 2,142,274 175 Egypt 135,000 1,319 102,326,390 176 Gambia 3,005 1,244 2,416,050 177 Timor-Leste 1,568 1,189 1,318,338 178 Guinea 14,407 1,097 13,129,739 179 Haiti 12,241 1,074 11,402,434 Countries who have done too little tests thus many cases went undetected No. Country No of tests conducted No of tests per 1 million citizens Total population 180 Mozambique 30,273 969 31,247,497 181 South Sudan 10,824 967 11,193,667 182 Madagascar 22,348 807 27,685,459 183 Papua New Guinea 7,147 799 8,946,313 184 Malawi 14,683 768 19,126,056 185 Guinea-Bissau 1,500 762 1,967,690 186 Nigeria 138,462 672 206,102,237 187 Mali 12,807 633 20,245,295 188 Angola 10,000 304 32,855,268 189 Niger 6,538 270 24,194,719 190 Burundi 493 41 11,887,231 191 Sudan 401 9 43,842,566 192 Yemen 120 4 29,822,135

Countries with high recovery rate. These countries have less than 100 active cases. No Country Active Cases 1 San Marino 0 2 Isle of Man 0 3 Faeroe Islands 0 4 Brunei 0 5 Barbados 0 6 Liechtenstein 0 7 Sint Maarten 0 8 St. Vincent Grenadines 0 9 Timor-Leste 0 10 Grenada 0 11 New Caledonia 0 12 Laos 0 13 Saint Lucia 0 14 Dominica 0 15 Fiji 0 16 Saint Kitts and Nevis 0 17 Falkland Islands 0 18 Greenland 0 19 Vatican City 0 20 Montserrat 0 21 British Virgin Islands 0 22 Caribbean Netherlands 0 23 St. Barth 0 24 Anguilla 0 25 Saint Pierre Miquelon 0 26 Macao 1 27 Western Sahara 1 28 Gibraltar 2 29 Bermuda 2 30 Aruba 2 31 French Polynesia 2 32 Taiwan 3 33 Saint Martin 3 34 Curacao 3 35 Papua New Guinea 3 36 Andorra 4 37 Bahamas 4 38 Monaco 4 39 Mauritius 5 40 Chad 7 41 Cayman Islands 7 42 Trinidad and Tobago 7 43 MS Zaandam 7 44 Belize 8 45 Cambodia 10 46 Guadeloupe 11 47 Channel Islands 12 48 Iceland 14 49 Malta 15 50 New Zealand 18 51 Vietnam 19 52 Gambia 20 53 Lesotho 24 54 Bhutan 27 55 Turks and Caicos 29 56 Mongolia 43 57 Cuba 44 58 Antigua and Barbuda 44 59 Diamond Princess 48 60 Reunion 54 61 Burundi 54 62 Uganda 56 63 Niger 61 64 Thailand 62 65 Seychelles 70 66 Burkina Faso 71 67 Myanmar 76 68 Estonia 79 69 Malaysia 85 70 Tunisia 87 71 Uruguay 90 72 Comoros 96 73 Djibouti 99

Countries with high recovery rate and have less than 200 cases. 1 Malaysia 195 2 Slovakia 175 3 Angola 168 4 Luxembourg 154 5 Latvia 154 6 Cyprus 151 7 Montenegro 145 8 Syria 145 9 Eritrea 138 10 Martinique 130 11 Jamaica 128 12 Namibia 128 13 Georgia 124 14 Guyana 109 15 Comoros 104 16 Estonia 100 17 Tunisia 90 18 Hong Kong 89 19 Slovenia 86 20 Uruguay 80 21 Myanmar 74 22 Botswana 66 23 Uganda 65 24 Niger 64 25 Burkina Faso 58 26 Burundi 54 27 Thailand 51 28 Diamond Princess 48 29 Reunion 46 30 Cuba 45 31 Mongolia 44 32 Antigua and Barbuda 40 33 Bhutan 38 34 Malta 25 35 Vietnam 25 36 New Zealand 20 37 Lesotho 20 38 Gambia 17 39 Turks and Caicos 16 40 Chad 13 41 Iceland 12 42 Channel Islands 12 43 Cambodia 12 44 Guadeloupe 11 45 Cayman Islands 9 46 Trinidad and Tobago 9 47 Seychelles 9 48 MS Zaandam 7 49 Bahamas 6 50 Taiwan 5 51 Mauritius 5 52 Andorra 4 53 Monaco 4 54 Belize 4 55 Bermuda 3 56 Saint Martin 3 57 Curacao 3 58 Papua New Guinea 3 59 Gibraltar 1 60 Macao 1 61 Western Sahara 1

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52807255 Coronavirus 'second wave': What lessons can we learn from Asia? Coronavirus might be here to stay, says the World Health Organization Asia was the first place to experience the coronavirus, impose lockdowns and then emerge from them. It was also the first to experience new groups of infections, with clusters from nightclubs in Seoul, the Russia-China border, and elsewhere. Although it is early for conclusions, can lessons be learned? 1. Wave, spike or cluster - it's unavoidable Terms such as second wave, spikes or clusters of cases are bandied around, but what do they mean? Medically, a second wave refers to the resurgence of infection in a different part of a population after an initial decrease. The WHO says past pandemics have been characterised by "waves of activity spread over months". In Asia, we have been seeing isolated clusters and regional spikes in infection numbers. and it is hard to predict how they will develop. But for Jennifer Rohn, a cell biologist at University College, London, a second wave of coronavirus infections is no longer a matter of "if" - but of "when, and how devastating". Even countries with effective strategies to tackle the pandemic through testing, tracing and lockdown management - such as South Korea - have seen spikes and clusters of cases. So when the World Health Organization says the virus may be here to stay, nations need to understand that they will experience new cases. The challenge is how to predict, track and handle them. 2. Restrictions may have to return The Japanese island of Hokkaido had to deal with a second wave of infections after lockdown rules were relaxed "Don't be too optimistic," warns Prof Alistair McGuire, chair of health economics at the Department of Health Policy, London School of Economics. "A successful lockdown does not mean an area will be free of the coronavirus." The Hokkaido region, in Japan, was one of the first to impose a severe confinement in late February. By mid-March, the number of new cases had fallen to one or two a day. Measures worked so well that the state of emergency was lifted and, by April, schools had reopened. But less than a month later, the state of emergency had to be reintroduced, as the island struggled with an abrupt second wave of infections. Lessons from Hokkaido's return to virus lockdown That second restriction has now been lifted, but officials know this may happen again - until a vaccine is found. In China, too, restrictions were eased as cases declined, but by mid May, new clusters were reported, including in the city of Wuhan where the virus first emerged. In Shulan, in China's north-eastern Jilin province, dozens of cases prompted the government to reintroduce strict lockdown conditions there. In South Korea, the latest cluster at a logistics centre outside Seoul led to the closure of more than 200 schools that had only been open for days. 3. Quarantining visitors from abroad Hong Kong tracked people under quarantine using electronic wristbands Spikes in China's provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang were attributed to imported cases from neighbouring Russia. In one instance, eight Chinese citizens returning from Russia tested positive, prompting the quarantining of some 300 others who had travelled in the same time frame. China had for some time seen the number of imported cases exceed local transmissions and it brought in tough quarantine measures to combat this. For example, all Beijing-bound international flights are being diverted to other cities where they are screened - and quarantined. Hong Kong established systems, such as electronic bracelets for those arriving from overseas, to track people's movements and ensure quarantines were adhered to. They might feel unsophisticated but experts agree such measures are important. 4. Don't lose 'test and trace' momentum China was the first country to experience the pandemic, and to start collecting key data By early February, South Korea had swiftly developed a system to conduct about 10,000 free tests daily, while relying on apps and GPS technology to track down cases - giving it the framework to quickly squash any new outbreaks. It allowed them to "put in place local alert systems, so even if the general situation is under control but a new focus emerges, that particular location can lock down," adds Dr Rohn. A cluster of new infections - first recorded on 12 May, after weeks with nearly no new domestic cases - was quickly traced and linked to specific locations in Seoul's popular nightclub district. They have now traced 90,000 people in connection with that. Almost 300 infections have been linked to the clubs - it was comprehensive tracing that helped officials track its progress through the population. "We know this is a really, really infectious disease," Prof McGuire adds. "You only have to look at what happened in South Korea, a country with efficient policies in place… once these were relaxed, they had a rebound. One single person managed to infect more than 100 others in a single weekend." The Korean Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has now been able to establish the origin of a number of these cases. The outbreak in the Chinese city of Shulan close to the Russian border was traced to a laundry worker who infected 13 others initially, but officials still haven't worked out how she got it. China's CDC has said it might have to conduct further epidemiological and biological investigations to see if her virus was a version of what was circulating in Russia. "As long as the cases are found, timely investigated and tracked, the epidemic can be extinguished quickly, and there should be no outbreak," Wu Zunyou a Chinese epidemiologist told local media, emphasising how crucial consistent testing and tracing is. 5. And don't test once - test twice A robot dog patrols one of Singapore's parks and broadcasts social-distancing messages "We don't just need to know who's got the virus... you also need an antibody test to tell you who had it," says Prof McGuire. "This is important because those individuals are very likely to be immune to the virus and they are unlikely to be able to get the virus again, at least in the short term," adds Ashley St John, assistant professor at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore. Early on in Singapore's outbreak two unrelated clusters were linked by conducting serological tests on two individuals who it turned out had the virus, but were asymptomatic. It was a crucial breakthrough that helped authorities contain the virus at that point. The mystery of 'silent spreaders' "Since the virus can cause asymptomatic or mild disease, it can spread before an individual knows that he or she is sick. I am not aware of testing for immunity being done yet on a nationwide level, but it has been effectively used in Singapore to link clusters and identify suspected cases," Prof St John adds. Although it is not nationwide in Singapore, immunity testing is being done in certain vulnerable sectors, for example among pre-school teachers. Their logic is that if you can find out who might have had the illness, but are not infectious now, you can send them back to work. 6. An adaptable public health service Ritght from the start, South Korea relied on its previous experience from dealing with SARS and MERS It is also important to look at what public health services can learn, says Professor Judit Vall, who has been monitoring how health systems cope, from the School of Economics at Universitat de Barcelona. "In this pandemic, the health sector has proven it can reinvent itself and adapt quickly," she says. China built a 1,000-bed hospital in Wuhan in just eight days, and led the way on how to plan and organise emergency campaign hospitals. "Hospitals and primary care centres all over the world have learned a great deal from others, but from themselves too," says Prof Vall, "and they will be in a better position to handle the next wave when it comes." Most importantly, this has highlighted the need to keep re-investing in public health so countries can exist in a state of preparedness. Finally - Prof Vall highlights looking after the mental health of healthcare workers. "There are studies in Asia [in the wake of Sars and Mers] showing how after an experience like this, health workers can suffer from post-traumatic stress disorders," she says. 7. There is no 'one solution' Dr Rohn: "Contagion comes back when we lift the confinement - this is what happens when you have a new virus and no immunity in the population" But perhaps, the main lesson to take on board is that "there is no single measure or tactic that has made the difference" on its own, says Dr Naoko Ishikawa, WHO's Covid-19 Incident Manager for the Western Pacific Region. "It's not testing alone or physical distancing restrictions alone. Many of the countries and areas in this region have done all of these things, through a comprehensive whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach," he adds. "There is no immunisation in the population," says Dr Rohn, and "until we have an effective and accessible vaccine, we all remain at risk."

Thank you so much for your reply.

what is so significant and so special about year 2020? 1. It is the start of a new normal a new norm due to the virus. Virus spread to the whole world. 2. People aroudn the whole world must change their lifestyle and stay indoors to prevent being infected with the virus. 3. Wearing a face mask becomes mandatory. How long will this pandemic last? No one knows. All the past virus we had 2 - 3 years to go off. So how long will this pandemic last? No one knows. However it is surely not showing any signs of slowing. All the different countries around the whole world are badly affected by the virus.

https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-racial-discrimination 11 FACTS ABOUT RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN AMERICA And what you can do about it.

You do not need to be a balck American to feel it and know that racism issues have been there in America for ages. This issue has been there long ago and it is still a very big issue in America. All the black people in America basically need to fight on to earn their equal rights.

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/06/fighting-the-machine/612649/

Such wonderful and good news to hear. Keep up the good job. Keep it up.

I could not forget the death of George Floyd. I guess his is not the first case either. Sad to see how horrible America has turn into. And it all had to happen in the midst of the pandemic. I think the death of George Floyd had awaken the whole world and made the whole world realised what it is like to live in America.

Gosh it must have been bad to live in such messy conditions all in the midst of the pandemic. We already have virus to handle and then add on with rioting, protestors it must have been horrible. Then add on with policemen who thinks they are right all the time and they can do whatever they want. It must have felt so bad to live through such conditions at this moment.

Here we are in th midst of a pandemic with virus spreading to the whole world. Mass gathering will only make the virus spread further. Here we have certain countries who have just ignored social distancing and gather together in large big groups for protest. I don't know whether this is the right thing to do or not in the midst of the pandemic? The rest is all history.