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LONDON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Leading scientists urged caution over fears of another pandemic on Thursday after the World Health Organization requested more information from China on a rise of respiratory illnesses and pneumonia clusters among children. It called for more information about "undiagnosed pneumonia - China (Beijing, Liaoning)". The standard wording of the alert echoed the first-ever notice about what would become COVID-19, sent on Dec. 30 2019: "Undiagnosed pneumonia - China (Hubei)." Both the WHO and China have faced questions over transparency during the early days of COVID. In China itself, there has been a lot of recent coverage of a rise in respiratory illnesses, including among children.

Persons: Marion Koopmans, COVID lockdowns, Brian McCloskey, Virologist Tom Peacock, Jennifer Rigby, Jo Mason, Christina Fincher Organizations: World Health Organization, WHO, COVID, International Society for Infectious, FTV News, Reuters, Imperial College London, Thomson Locations: China, Dutch, Beijing, Liaoning, Hubei, Taiwan

REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON/CHICAGO, Aug 24 (Reuters) - A highly mutated COVID variant called BA.2.86 has now been detected in Switzerland and South Africa in addition to Israel, Denmark, the U.S. and the U.K., according to a leading World Health Organization official. It has since been detected in other symptomatic patients, in routine airport screening, and in wastewater samples in a handful of countries. That the known cases are not linked suggests it is already circulating more widely, particularly given reduced surveillance worldwide, she said. There have been nine such cases detected as of Aug. 23 and the variant was also found in wastewater in Switzerland. Jha and others, including the European public health agency and COVAX, the global program for getting vaccines to the world's poorest, said COVID surveillance and defenses could be reactivated in the event of a major infection wave.

Persons: Shannon Stapleton, Maria Van Kerkhove, Kerkhove, ”, Marion Koopmans, Nirav Shah, Van Kerkhove, Tyra Grove Krause, Ashish Jha, Jha, Jennifer Rigby, Julie Steenhuysen, Pratik Jain, Caroline Humer, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Health Organization, Omicron, WHO, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Pharmacy, Walgreens, Rite, Reuters, Statens Serum, White, Thomson Locations: Harlem, New York City, U.S, CHICAGO, Switzerland, South Africa, Israel, Denmark, COVID, Dutch, Danish, Bengaluru

However, a number of countries have recently begun lifting their domestic states of emergency, such as the United States. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said he hopes to end the international emergency this year. One source close to negotiations said lifting the "public health emergency of international concern", or PHEIC, label could impact global funding or collaboration efforts. "I expect WHO to end the public health emergency of international concern. If WHO does not end it... [this time], then certainly the next time the emergency committee meets."

☆ Leading WHO advisers call for 'realistic' COVID data from China at key meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Jennifer Rigby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The World Health Organization logo is pictured at the entrance of the WHO building, in Geneva, Switzerland, December 20, 2021. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseLONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Leading scientists advising the World Health Organization said they wanted a "more realistic picture" about the COVID-19 situation from China's top experts at a key meeting on Tuesday as worries grow about the rapid spread of the virus. The WHO has invited Chinese scientists to a virtual closed meeting with its technical advisory group on viral evolution on Tuesday, to present data on which variants are circulating in the country. Speaking to Reuters ahead of the meeting, she said some of the data from China, such as hospitalisation numbers, is "not very credible". A WHO spokesperson said that a "detailed discussion" was expected about circulating variants in China, and globally, with Chinese scientists expected to make a presentation.

☆ Potential China wave is 'wild card' for ending COVID emergency - WHO advisors
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Jennifer Rigby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"It's clear that we are in a very different phase [of the pandemic], but in my mind, that pending wave in China is a wild card." Last week, he told reporters in Geneva that he was "hopeful" of an end to the emergency some time next year. Tedros's earlier comments spurred hopes that the United Nations agency could soon remove the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) designation for COVID, which has been in place since January 2020. Some global health experts had expected China to wait for the WHO to lift the emergency status before easing its own pandemic response measures. WHO member states are currently working on re-designing the rules that govern global health emergencies to potentially address issues like this.

☆ Fact Check-Boston University hybrid COVID virus kills 80% of mice, not people
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The authors then infected different sets of transgenic mice designed to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 with one of the three strains: Omicron, the ancestral virus, or the Omi-S hybrid virus (here). In the study, 100% of mice infected with the ancestral virus strain died, while 80% of those infected with Omi-S died, and none of the mice infected with Omicron died. Others shared the claim that the Omi-S had an “80% kill rate,” without specifying whether this referred to mice or humans. The ancestral virus (the viruses as they were when introduced in Europe and the US) in this mouse model kills 100% of the animals. Early in the pandemic, the fatality rate of the ancestral virus for people in a multicountry European analysis was estimated at about 4% (here).

☆ Amazon dominates the $113 billion smart home market — here's how it uses the data it collects
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Katie Schoolov | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Then in 2019, it paid $97 million for a mesh Wi-Fi system called Eero to help connect multiple smart devices in the home. Amazon's Eero mesh WiFi systems are shown inside the Amazon smart lab in Seattle, Washington, on September 9, 2022. Amazon's Ring Video Doorbell 4 is shown at the Amazon smart home lab in Seattle, Washington, on September 9, 2022. Or you may have actually told Alexa, 'Alexa, I'm leaving,' and to switch on your alarm system, for example," Koopmans said. Amazon's Smart Thermostat is shown inside the Amazon smart lab in Seattle, Washington, on September 9, 2022.

☆ Sanatoriile sovietice abandonate prind viață cu ajutorul artei digitale
▼ + stars: | 2021-03-28 | by ( Onixmedia Srl | ) diez.md time to read: +2 min

Câmpurile de lavandă, palmierii și păpădiile inundă clădirile abandonate ale sanatoriilor sovietice în noua serie de artă digitală de Ryan Koopmans. Koopmans a colaborat cu artista suedeză Alice Wexell pentru a introduce viața vegetală vibrantă în fotografiile pe care le făcuse în stațiunile abandonate din orașul georgian Tskaltubo. Rezultatul este o serie de imagini în mișcare în care natura acaparează camerele grandioase, aflate în descompunere, umplându-le cu un suflet și atmosferă armonioasă. Scopul proiectului a fost „să creeze un sentiment de liniște suprarealistă, făcând referire în același timp la temele explorării urbane, istoriei arhitecturale și reapariției naturii”, spune Koopmans. NFT-urile folosesc tehnologia din spatele criptomonedelor – blockchain – pentru a crea o semnătură care este unică pentru o anumită lucrare digitală.

Persons: Ryan Koopmans, Koopmans, suedeză Alice Wexell, Instagram Alice Wexell Locations: suedeză, Tskaltubo, Georgia, Uniunea Sovietică, Uniunii Sovietice, Abhazia, Georgiei, Instagram

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