COVID-19 (Page 63)

Apple_Mac/Shutterstock From July 24, people in England will have to wear a face mask when inside shops, as well as on public transport. This brings England in line with many other countries that have similar rules already in place. Once mainly used in hospitals and science labs, masks, visors and disposable gloves are now a feature of everyday life. As a result, sales of these items are through the roof. This is cause for concern for many of the world’s poor, not just because protecting themselves is harder and more expensive in the face of a surge in demand, but because many will find themselves at risk of being exploited – becoming modern slaves – as production rapidly increases. OverContinue Reading

In recent years, far-right political parties in Europe have capitalised on crises to build their support bases. Many have made it to positions of power as a result of these efforts. The financial crisis of 2008, the refugee crisis that began in 2014 and the ongoing debate around climate change have all provided opportunities to harness growing uncertainty and resentment for political purposes. However, early signs suggest these groups have not had the same success during the coronavirus crisis. For now at least, incumbent European governments seem to be in control. On the internet, far-right communities have played a role in circulating conspiracy theories about COVID-19’s origins during the pandemic. They have helped spread the idea that the virus wasContinue Reading

hobbit/Shutterstock Nearly 100 years ago, two British researchers, William Topley and Graham Wilson, were experimenting with bacterial infections in mice. They noticed that individual survival depended on how many of the mice were vaccinated. So the role of the immunity of an individual needed to be distinguished from the immunity of the entire herd. Fast forward a century and the concept of “herd immunity” is now widely discussed in government dispatches and newspaper articles. But what does it actually mean? When a disease such as COVID-19 spreads through the population, it leaves some people immune, at least in the short term. The people who become infected later will increasingly have contact with these immune people and not with the susceptibleContinue Reading

On July 1, Italian police made the largest amphetamine seizure in the world. At the port of Salerno, just south of Naples, they used chainsaws to open large cylinders of paper and industrial machinery that were inside shipping containers from Syria and found 14 tonnes of pills. In Hong Kong, customs officials seized record numbers of illegal shark fins in April and May, from an estimated 38,500 sharks. Meanwhile, the trade in counterfeit drugs and medical equipment has been in overdrive. US border authorities recently confirmed that they had seized nearly a million units by the beginning of June. These record seizures are puzzling, since they suggest that such activities are increasing. The trade in illicit and legitimate goods areContinue Reading

Nothing to roast about. Quiony Navarro I am a third-generation member of a farming family in Honduras. I fondly remember getting up before dawn every day and riding several miles on the back of a mule to join in the family coffee harvest. You get involved in everything from tasting the coffee berries to see if they are ready, to picking them and preparing them for drying in the sun. Every family has its own recipe for a final product: in our case, we would harvest cinnamon bark from trees on the farm and blend it with the coffee. My family is one of thousands that provide the world with its daily dose of caffeine by supplying beans with allContinue Reading

The UK has faced a persistent threat from terrorism over the past decade, with recent attacks focusing on busy public spaces. In June 2020, this threat was highlighted once again by an attack in a public park in Reading. This was the first reported terrorist event in the UK since the beginning of the pandemic. Until recently, the coronavirus had reduced opportunities for terrorism. The lockdown had seen UK high streets and public spaces almost deserted, with most non-essential businesses forced to close, lowering the number of potential terrorist targets. However, lockdown and social distancing measures are now being relaxed, and the government is promoting greater use of open public spaces to try to kickstart the economy while keeping transmissionContinue Reading

Should we wear face masks? We tell our children to cover their mouths when they cough, so when we cannot predict who may or may not have COVID-19, it makes sense to wear a face covering in public. But not all face coverings are the same. They can be split into two broad categories: respirator masks designed primarily to protect the wearer and cloth face coverings that could be considered to act more as breath diverting devices. Although breath diverting devices offer a small amount of protection, especially against splashes of liquid, their main role is to stop exhaled breath travelling too far away from the wearer. It makes sense to wear one if the aim is to avoid breathingContinue Reading

Food banks in the UK reported that demand had tripled in March this year as the coronavirus lockdown threw millions out of work. Many food banks faced an urgent need for money to buy extra food and launched appeals through crowdfunding websites. The public response was impressive, with a massive surge in support. Nearly a million people volunteered to help the NHS and local support centres. Later, public backing for footballer Mark Rashford’s appeal also forced the government to reverse its decision not to continue funding free meals for the nation’s poorest children over the summer holidays. This surge in generosity has led to hope that the pandemic signals a transition to a kinder and more humane society after theContinue Reading

RossHelen/Shutterstock It was March 2020, and my plans to start a new cancer research project in Boston were called off for the same reason everything else was grinding to a halt: coronavirus. Facing indeterminate months confined to my sofa, I signed up to a call for scientist volunteers circulated by the University of Cambridge. The requirements weren’t very specific, and after almost losing hope that I would ever hear back, I received a phone call inviting me to assist in the ramp-up of the UK’s testing capacity. Three days later, at the end of March, I arrived with a handful of other volunteers at an industrial estate near the town of Milton Keynes, outside London. Building a megalab On theContinue Reading

As I was finishing my one-hour walk of the day on the afternoon of June 11 2020, two officers from the Merseyside Police Force stopped me near where I live and work in Liverpool. The men, who were in civilian clothing, identified themselves by showing me their IDs and handcuffs. The officers asked why I was walking slowly and what I was thinking about. The questions made me feel like I was a character in a dystopian film. Naturally, I refused to answer. The officers were not using any personal protective equipment (PPE). I asked them to keep a two-metre distance. But instead of complying with the social distancing rule, the officers asked if I had illegal drugs on me.Continue Reading