Germany gears up for virus tracing app

In early April, the German government announced that it was working on a voluntary smartphone app using Bluetooth to trace possible chains of COVID-19 contagion.

The project has led to some lively discussions in a country where personal privacy is fiercely guarded, thanks to the scars of two 20th-century dictatorships.


Chris Boos, the founder of Frankfurt-based artificial intelligence company Arago and a member of the German government’s Digital Council, has been helping to develop a software platform for the app.

Q: When will the COVID-19 contact tracing app be available in Germany?

“We will see it launched at the end of April, that seems realistic to me. Everyone wants it as soon as possible, but it has to be tested and certified for security first.”

Q: What are some of the key characteristics of the platform?


“Firstly, the system has to be based on the right variable (contact between mobile phone users) to avoid comparing apples with oranges. Secondly, privacy must be protected. No location data is used, nor any data that would identify the phone, such as the SIM card number. And finally, the system has to work internationally, so I can travel freely to countries that use the same platform.”

Q: What about privacy concerns?

“From the beginning, we were clear that we did not want to recreate the situation in some Asian countries where people are completely exposed. I don’t see a problem as long as we offer a secure alternative that respects data protection laws.”

Q: The technology relies on Bluetooth. How can you guarantee its reliability?

“Bluetooth technology can measure the distance between two phones very accurately using radio waves. We can then determine very quickly whether this measurement is epidemiologically relevant; in the simplest case, if the two phones were less than 2 meters apart for more than 15 minutes.”


Q: How can you avoid people declaring themselves sick on the app when they are not actually sick?

“Before the process begins, you must always have voluntary confirmation from the user themselves that they are sick, but also from a doctor treating them or another healthcare provider.”

Q: Why are Germany, France and other countries each working on their own apps rather than focusing on a communal project?

“The important thing with these various apps is that they will eventually be able to work together. Because if that’s not the case, borders will remain shut.”

Q: How many people will have to use the app for it to have the desired effect?

“An Oxford University study has indicated that 60% of the population would have to use this app if there are no other measures to control the spread of the coronavirus. The fewer people use the app, the more stringent measures will be needed.”

Q: How will the app be delivered to the public?

A: “The Robert-Koch Institute (Germany’s public healthy agency) seems to me to be the natural place to deliver it and it is no secret that they are working on the project. But we will see who can provide the best solution. I am sure the government will make its recommendation.”

Agence France-Presse

Myanmar confirms first coronavirus cases

YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar confirmed its first cases of of the deadly novel coronavirus late Monday after weeks of increasing scepticism over the under-developed southeast Asian nation's claims to be free of the disease.

The country of 54 million people had been the world's largest country by population not to report a single case of the pandemic that has confined more than 1.7 billion to their homes.

With only 214 people tested by late Monday, medical experts and rights groups have urged Myanmar to stand up and face the pending crisis.

Myanmar's health ministry late Monday confirmed a 36-year-old Myanmar man travelling back from the United States and a 26-year-old Myanmar man returning from Britain had both tested positive.

"We will investigate all the people who were in close contact with these two men," the statement said.

Late night panic buying

The announcement immediately sparked panic-buying at one 24-hour supermarket in commercial capital Yangon, where hours before life had largely continued as normal.

The Myanmar government had claimed the country's "lifestyle and diet" -- including the lack of physical contact and the use of cash, rather than credit cards -- offered protection to the nation.

The country shares a porous 2,100 kilometre border with China, where the virus was first found.

Phil Robertson from Human Rights Watch last week branded the government's attitude as "irresponsible", saying it served only to give people a false sense of security.

Some public spaces were closed down in recent days, from schools and cinemas to karaoke bars and massage parlours.

The country also took the unprecedented step of cancelling the planned street celebrations and huge water fights that normally mark the country's New Year in April.

On Monday thousands of Myanmar migrant workers flooded back over the border from Thailand before the planned closure of land border points.

Foreigners have left the country in droves, heeding warnings from various embassies about being trapped in a nation with what Yangon-based analyst Richard Horsey described as "one of the weakest public health systems in the world".

"It also has almost no social safety net, so the poorest and most vulnerable will bear the brunt of the health and economic crisis," he told AFP.

One doctor in provincial town Pathein, even took to Facebook to plea for resources, saying his hospital had just seven beds in the isolation ward and only one ventilator and were "no way" ready for the virus.

"If we have more than seven patients, where shall we put them?" hospital head Dr. Than Min Htut wrote.

Humanitarian groups fear for Myanmar's hundreds of thousands of displaced people, confined to camps in conflict-ridden corners of the country.

The government, parliament and many other institutions are also largely led by elderly men - the demographic most vulnerable to COVID-19, Horsey warned.

Agence France-Presse

No more new hotel bookings allowed during Luzon quarantine

MANILA, Philippines — Hotels and other similar establishments will no longer be allowed to accept new booking accommodations during the enhanced community quarantine of the entire island of Luzon due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

On Monday night, President Rodrigo Duterte placed the whole of Luzon under an enhanced community quarantine until April 12 to prevent the further spread of COVID-19, which has infected 187 in the country and killed 14.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said no hotels or similar establishment will be allowed to operate during the quarantine period, except those accommodating the following:

* guests who have existing booking accommodation for foreigners as of March 17

* guests who have existing long-term leases

* employees from exempted establishments under the provisions of March 16, 2020, memorandum from Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and its subsequent modifications and clarifications.

Duterte’s order stopped all public transportation and strictly enforced home quarantine protocols.

Exempted from the work stoppage, however, are all businesses, services, and activities related to the production or provision of food, medicine and health, banking and finance, public utilities and mass media.

The President also allows BPO establishments and export-oriented industries to continue operations provided that they would observe “strict social distancing measures.”

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Thai immigration officers at Bangkok airport diagnosed with COVID-19

BANGKOK, Thailand — Two immigration officers at Bangkok's main airport have coronavirus and may have handled the passports of visitors to Thailand, a health official said Wednesday.

The men, both working at Suvarnabhumi airport, fell ill on March 7 and 8 respectively and potentially came into contact with arriving passengers in the days before their diagnosis.


One of the officers was among a team leading health screenings of Thai returnees from South Korea—which has reported the second most COVID-19 infections in Asia after China.

"They were not working at the same spots," Sopon Iamsirithaworn of the Disease Control Department said.

"There is a chance they came into contact with foreigners or touched passports," he added.

Thailand's Interior Minister said Wednesday it will suspend visa-free arrivals from South Korea, Hong Kong and Italy, as well as visa-on-arrival from 18 countries—including China and India.

All affected visitors must apply for visas at Thai embassies in their own countries and present a medical certificate.

Thailand's economy is heavily reliant on tourism.


The deadly virus has hammered the sector costing the country billions of dollars, mainly after Chinese tourists were quarantined on the mainland or stayed at home.

Many western visitors have also canceled holidays or deferred bookings as Thai authorities issue a baffling barrage of advice.

After days drip-feeding conflicting information to holidaymakers, health authorities said on Friday there will be no compulsory quarantine for people from countries hardest hit by the virus.

Thailand has reported 59 cases of the new coronavirus, but there are concerns the low figure may be a reflection of very limited testing program.

Flag carrier Thai Airways said from Friday it will suspend all flights to Italy, where over 630 people have died with around 10,000 infected so far.

Agence France-Presse

Vietnam vows to punish hiders of coronavirus after new cases

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnamese authorities vowed Monday to punish anyone concealing sickness after 13 people caught the deadly new coronavirus on a flight to Hanoi, sparking lockdowns and panic-buying in the capital.

The Southeast Asian country had previously reported only 16 cases of the virus despite bordering China — the epicentre of the global outbreak — but a cluster of infections was discovered at the weekend among 201 passengers on a Vietnam Airlines flight from Britain.


The group were in quarantine Monday and recovering, Vietnam's health ministry said, with the hospital they were held in placed on lockdown along with several houses and hotels in Hanoi where they had stayed.

Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc vowed Monday to "duly punish" those who fail to disclose a coronavirus diagnosis, according to state media.

He told a meeting of officials in Hanoi that "we need strong, adequate and immediate measures to effectively stop the source of infection".

Authorities have launched an online tool asking all citizens to declare their health status.

"Declaring false information... may be subject to criminal handling," stated an official notice.

A 29-year-old woman on the flight from London was found to be suffering from the disease after returning to Hanoi from a tour of France, Italy and Britain.

She is believed to have infected her aunt and driver, forcing authorities to isolate several houses near her home and a private hospital where she first sought treatment.

The other patients included Vietnamese, British, Irish and Mexican nationals.

A minister on the same flight tested negative for the virus but was also quarantined for 14 days with the group.

The health ministry said there may be "more cases to be discovered as a result of close contact" with the first patient.

People in the capital were seen panic-buying staple items as the lockdown of the hospital began.

The infections bring the country's total to 30, including a man who returned from South Korea, but more than 18,600 people have been monitored for illness or placed in isolation since early February. No-one has died from the virus.

Vietnam has granted limited access to visitors from China and South Korea — another major coronavirus hotspot — since the outbreak began at the start of the year, imposing a 14-day quarantine at government-controlled centres.

Several sports and cultural events have been cancelled across the nation, but Vietnam's inaugural Formula One race is still set to go ahead on April 5 in Hanoi.

Agence France-Presse

US leads global fight against coronavirus economic threat

WASHINGTON, United States — The US Federal Reserve on Tuesday led the global charge in response to the growing economic risk posed by the new coronavirus, announcing an emergency interest rate cut after the UN health agency said the world has entered "uncharted territory."

But the Fed's stimulus, which came hours after the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers pledged to take action using "all appropriate policy tools," wasn't enough to prevent Wall Street stocks from tumbling as the virus continued its global spread.


The death toll in the United States rose to nine, many linked to a nursing home in the Seattle suburbs, while the overall number of infections shot past 100 including cases on both coasts and the Midwest.

More than 90,000 people have been infected and 3,100 killed since the first cases were identified in China's Hubei province late last year.

The vast majority of cases have been in China, but South Korea, Italy and Iran have also emerged as hotspots. The virus has also spread into Latin America and Africa, raising fears it could become established in conflict-hit countries with weak health infrastructure.

The World Bank unveiled a $12 billion aid package on Tuesday to help the world's poorest nations with medical equipment or health services.

Global bourses have seen dramatic swings over the past week as concerns mount that the outbreak could threaten global growth and drive some countries in to a recession.

In a unanimous decision, the Fed's policy-setting committee slashed its key interest rate by a half point to a range of 1.0-1.25 percent -- the first between-meeting cut since the height of the global 2008 financial crisis.


"My colleagues and I took this action to help the US economy keep strong in the face of new risks to the economic outlook," Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters.

But the immediate impact seemed the opposite of what was intended: Investors fled to safe assets, sending the 10-year Treasury yield to its lowest ever return while stocks lost most of the ground recovered Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished nearly three percent lower, though European stocks and oil markets were higher but off the day's best levels.

Uncharted territory

Financial jitters followed a dire warning from the World Health Organization's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who said on Monday: "We are in uncharted territory."

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

Countries across the world have imposed extraordinary measures in a bid to contain the virus, with millions of people across large swathes of China forced into quarantine.

Italy has also locked in entire regions, while many nations have imposed travel restrictions on visitors from badly hit countries.

Sports events, concerts and large gatherings have been canceled, including Google's annual developer conference, one of its most important events, which was to be held in May.

The International Olympic Committee said Tuesday it was pushing ahead with plans for the Tokyo Olympics kicking off in July.

European football's governing body likewise said the virus would not derail its championship in June and July.

In the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates announced six more coronavirus cases linked to an abandoned cycling event, saying that two Russians, two Italians, one German and a Colombian had been infected.

'A war'

South Korea remains the biggest infection cluster outside China, confirming 851 new cases on Tuesday, its biggest daily increase.

It has clocked a total of more than 5,100 cases, with 28 deaths. "The entire country has entered a war with the infectious disease," South Korean President Moon Jae-in said.

By contrast, China reported 125 new cases Tuesday — its lowest daily increase in six weeks — with all but 11 infections in Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital.

The nationwide death toll rose to 2,943 with 31 more deaths, and about 80,000 total cases.

Argentina announced its first two cases Tuesday while Spain announced its first death, a man who died last month in the eastern region of Valencia.

Elsewhere in Europe, attention turned to containment, including Switzerland where all soldiers were confined to their bases after a case of the virus was discovered in their ranks.

France, which has more than 200 cases and four deaths, closed dozens of schools on Tuesday in several virus-stricken regions.

President Emmanuel Macron said authorities would requisition all face mask stocks and production in the coming months in response to the outbreak, after 2,000 masks were stolen from a hospital.

The WHO also issued a warning Tuesday that supplies of protective gear to fight the virus were "rapidly depleting" around the world.

It also said a lack of these supplies was complicating efforts at controlling the outbreak in Iran, where the virus was now "well-established." The Middle Eastern country has had 77 deaths, the second highest after China.

Agence France-Presse

Uber suspends 240 users accounts over possible virus contact

Uber has suspended the accounts of 240 users in Mexico who may have been in contact with drivers that ferried a person suspected of having the deadly coronavirus.

More than 300 people have died from the novel coronavirus in mainland China and although more than 100 people have been infected outside the country, Mexico has not reported a confirmed case.

The ride-hailing app said Mexico City health authorities requested information in January on a possible carrier of coronavirus, with Uber finding two drivers who transported the suspected individual before driving a further 240 people.

"We have proceeded to send information to these two drivers and the 240 users regarding the temporary deactivation of their accounts," the company said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Mexico's Ministry of Health said it continues to monitor people who may have had contact with the possible coronavirus carrier -- identified as a tourist of Chinese origin -- who subsequently left the country.

"Of the contacts identified so far, none have developed symptoms of the disease more than 10 days after exposure, which exceeds the average incubation time," the authorities said in a report.

Also on Saturday, Mexico said it had evacuated 10 people from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.

Agence France-Presse

Japanese shop draws flak for ban on Chinese tourists amid coronavirus fears

A candy store in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, in Japan drew flak after putting up a sign banning Chinese tourists amid fears over the novel coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China.

The owner of the shop, who was unidentified, put up the sign using a translation app, so he would not be infected by the novel coronavirus, as per the Asahi Shimbun on Jan. 22. The sign, which was put up on Jan. 17, reads, “Chinese people are banned from entering this store” and “I don’t want them to spread the virus.”


“Ill-mannered Chinese tourists have caused trouble in my store,” the owner was quoted as saying. “I want to protect myself against the coronavirus. I don’t want Chinese tourists to enter.”

Japan confirmed its first case of the coronavirus on Jan. 16—a Chinese national living in Kanagawa Prefecture who returned from a trip to Wuhan on Jan. 6. The man tested positive after showing symptoms of coronavirus on Jan. 10, but has since recovered and been discharged from the hospital.

Japan just confirmed its second case of the virus today, Jan. 24, also in a man who recently traveled to Wuhan, as per Japan Times on the same day. The traveler, who is in his 40s, suffered from a fever while in China on Jan. 14 and arrived in Japan on Jan. 19. He is now hospitalized in Tokyo.

The shop owner’s sign was denounced by Chinese netizens after it made the rounds online, and the shop owner also received messages calling for his apology. Following the backlash, the shop owner said he would change his sign.

“I’ll rewrite the sign and refrain from using expressions that may cause controversy,” he said, as per the report, but made it clear that he would still not allow Chinese people inside his shop.

Meanwhile, the Philippine bureau of the World Health Organization said on Jan. 21 that there is no confirmed case of the coronavirus in the country yet. Cases of coronavirus, however, have been reported in the United States, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore.  Cody Cepeda /ra

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net