“Chinese state media quote a Swiss biologist named Wilson Edwards. He sharply criticizes the United States. Then the Swiss embassy in Beijing intervened and spoke of a false report.”
Read the full article @ NZZ (paywall):
Tag: COVID-19
The mutating SARS-CoV-2 is gaining virulence against the young COVID-19 patients | Demiurge Technologies
“As the world’s first AI-biopharma company that has discovered and publicized the precise aetiology and pathology of COVID-19, we are committed to the non-profit dissemination of our COVID-19 discoveries and the public validation of our COVID-19 clinical predictions.”
Read the full article @ Demiurge Technologies:
Fast-forward China: How COVID-19 is accelerating five key trends shaping the Chinese economy | McKinsey
“Over the last few months, COVID-19 has spread across the world, uniting humanity in a shared experience that has highlighted the vulnerability of our societies. As the first country to grapple with the crisis, China has been on the frontlines both of post-COVID-19 economic recovery, and of the societal changes the pandemic has precipitated. Efforts to stabilize the domestic economy are already well underway, and though China’s first-quarter gross domestic product declined 6.8 percent over the previous year, according to government statistics, our simulations suggest that economic activity may have bottomed out in the first quarter.
As that recovery takes shape, several important shifts in the make-up of China’s economic landscape have already become apparent. COVID-19 has accelerated pre-existing trends, ushering in the arrival of a future we were likely already on track to realize. In this report, we discuss five trends shaping the Chinese economy that have been accelerated, or “fast forwarded,” as a result of the onset of the COVID-19 crisis (Exhibit 1).”
Read the full report @ McKinsey:
Internal Chinese report warns Beijing faces Tiananmen-like global backlash over virus | Reuters
“The report, presented early last month by the Ministry of State Security to top Beijing leaders including President Xi Jinping, concluded that global anti-China sentiment is at its highest since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, the sources said.
As a result, Beijing faces a wave of anti-China sentiment led by the United States in the aftermath of the pandemic and needs to be prepared in a worst-case scenario for armed confrontation between the two global powers, according to people familiar with the report’s content, who declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.
The report was drawn up by the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), a think tank affiliated with the Ministry of State Security, China’s top intelligence body.”
Read the full article @ Reuters:
Exclusive: Internal Chinese report warns Beijing faces Tiananmen-like global backlash over virus
An internal Chinese report warns that Beijing faces a rising wave of hostility in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that could tip relations with the United States into confrontation, people familiar with the paper told Reuters.
The Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a meeting chaired by Xi Jinping | Xinhua
“Xi Jinping pointed out that with the strong leadership of the Party’s Central Committee and the strong support of all parties, with the active participation and cooperation of the people of Hubei, especially the people of Wuhan, after arduous efforts, the defensive battles in Hubei and Wuhan have achieved decisive results and the national epidemic prevention and control blockade has achieved Major strategic achievements.
This all was not easily achieved. At present, the overseas epidemic outbreaks continue to grow, the pressure on China’s foreign defense imports continues to increase and the complexity of preventing domestic epidemic rebounds is also increasing. The string of epidemic prevention and control must be strict at all times, and must never be abandoned. All regions and departments should pay close attention to the prevention and control of normal epidemic situation, strengthen the import of external defense and the rebound of internal defense in a targeted manner, continuously consolidate the results of prevention and control, provide a strong guarantee for the comprehensive restoration of economic and social order and ensure the completion of the decisive battle and the goal of overcoming poverty, and build a well-off society in an all-round way.”
Read the full article @ Xinhua:
Life-size test before producing pollution masks | 24heures
“In full development of masks against pollutants or pollens, two Vaud start-ups are taking on the coronavirus.
This is the story of two start-ups from Vaud, Breez and Helvitek Labs, who are developing a similar product: an anti-pollution protective mask. Having stayed in China several times, their founders understood how useful such an accessory could be to protect themselves from the dangers of exhaust gases, fine particles but also pollens. The two start-ups have been working there for almost two years and have won awards for the innovation of their product.”
Read the full article @ 24heures:
Coronavirus, Italy changes strategy: second in the world for testing people | Repubblica
“Only UAE is ahead of us regarding the relationship between test and population. In Italy, 1.75 million tests: daily tests have quadrupled in a month. Ricciardi and Brusaferro were against it, but the Veneto model proved to be more effective than the Lombard one.”
Read the full article @ Repubblica:
In depth: Pressure grows on China to step up help for economy | Caixin
“Despite signs that the economy is slowly getting back to normal, millions of small businesses and households are battling to survive, and unemployment, especially among migrant workers, has remained elevated. Over the past two months, the government has taken a series of measures to spur economic activity including lowering borrowing costs, releasing billions of yuan of liquidity to encourage bank lending, cutting or waiving taxes and fees and offering preferential policies to businesses worst hit by the coronavirus outbreak.”
Read the full article @ Caixin (Paywall):
Coronavirus attacks lining of blood vessels all over the body, Swiss study finds | SCMP
“Researcher says virus enters ‘defence line’ and causes circulation problems, which can lead to multiple organ failure. In addition to a vaccine, he suggests strengthening vascular health may be key to tackling Covid-19.”
Molecular Partners develops treatment for COVID-19 | GZA
“The biotechnology firm Molecular Partners has launched a therapy program to combat COVID-19. The company has developed artificial proteins aimed at neutralizing the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
Read the full article @ Greater Zurich Area:
Coronavirus: Stockholm could have ‘herd immunity’ by next month, Swedish health chief claims George Martin George Martin | Yahoo News
“The population of the Swedish capital Stockholm could achieve “herd immunity” from coronavirus within weeks, a health chief has claimed.
Dr Anders Tegnell, the man responsible for drawing up the country’s, controversial coronavirus strategy, said infection rates in the capital are slowing because people had developed a resistance.
“According to our modellers, we are starting to see so many immune people in the population in Stockholm that it is starting to have an effect on the spread of the infection,” he told local media.
“Our models point to some time in May.””
Read the full article @ Yahoo News:
Ticino is overcoming the crisis thanks to the Blockchain | CdT
“Michele Ficara Manganelli, President of the newborn Swiss Blockchain Consortium, explains how research can benefit from the technology used by cryptocurrencies.”
Read the full article @ CdT:
China’s initial coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan spread twice as fast as we thought, new study suggests | SCMP
“The new coronavirus could have been twice as contagious as previously thought when it spread from its initial epicentre in central China, a fresh look at the early stages of the outbreak has suggested.
Epidemiologists had previously estimated that each person with Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, infected two to three people on average, based on early cases in the city of Wuhan.
[…]
The new estimation by Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is that those who carried the coronavirus in Wuhan were passing it on to 5.7 people on average.”
Read the full article @ SCMP:
EU Ambassador to China: “Chinese Virus” is a meaningless blaming game | Phoenix News
“Italy, Spain, Germany, France … In the spring of 2020, the new coronavirus is rampant in Europe. Many readers feel that medical development is as developed as in Europe, and it is difficult to escape. They also recognize that the European epidemic prevention thinking is different from China.
So as the world’s most integrated regional organization, what work does the EU do in the fight against the epidemic? What kind of cooperation exists between China and the United States? What is the attitude towards the controversy about the source of the virus and the closure of the city? 2020 is a year of China-EU cooperation. Will the China-EU summit consultations continue under the epidemic? Where does the bilateral agreement go? How to cooperate in the post-epidemic era?
On April 3, 2020, Phoenix Network ’s Interview with Diplomats took these questions and talked to the European Union Ambassador to China Mr. Nicolas Chapuis.”
Read and watch the full interview (in English, English subtitles) and article @ Phoenix News:
China: Truth In A Pandemic | 101 East | Al Jazeera
“With people desperate for information, 101 East investigates the cover-ups and missteps by Chinese authorities that have sparked criticism of the government rarely seen in China.
Government announcements and Chinese state media downplayed the spread of the virus, but citizen journalists hit the ground to expose the reality. However, they incurred the wrath of authorities and have since disappeared.
A journalist, hiding his identity for fear of reprisal, tells 101 East hat, if the media were allowed to investigate and report on the virus, it might not have reached its pandemic level.”
Read the full article @ Al Jazeera:
Anti-virus campaign in China’s youngest city | 網易 NetEase
Video by NetEase:
Clinically validated pathology-based AI prediction of ACE2 expression as a predictive biomarker of COVID-19 mortality | Demiurge Technologies
“As the world’s first AI-biopharma company that has discovered and publicized the precise aetiology and pathology of COVID-19, we are committed to the non-profit dissemination of our COVID-19 discoveries and the public validation of our COVID-19 clinical predictions.”
Read the full article @ Demiurge Technologies:
Il farmaco Roche testato in Ticino | RSI News
“COVID-19: è quello usato solitamente per curare l’artrite reumatoide; in Cina ha dato buoni risultati – L’intervista ad Alessandro Ceschi, direttore dell’istituto di scienze farmacologiche presso l’EOC.”
Search for coronavirus vaccine turns spotlight on German biotech firms | Deutsche Welle
“”An der Goldgrube 12″ — literally translated “At the Goldmine 12” in English — is the postal address of German biotech firm Biontech in Mainz, Germany. The name is apt because the company could indeed strike it rich if it succeeds in its newest undertaking: finding a vaccine against coronavirus and the lung disease COVID-19 it causes.
So far, Biontech has been developing drugs against cancer, but a recent cash injection from Chinese drugmaker Fosun Pharma would allow it to speed up its efforts in the global race to find a vaccine against the novel pathogen, Biontech announced Monday (March 17). The Chinese offered €120 million ($133.3 million), some €44 million of the sum are in exchange for shares in Biontech.”
Read the full article @ Deutsche Welle:
The Roche drug tested in Ticino | RSI News
“COVID-19: the one usually used to treat rheumatoid arthritis; in China has given good results – The interview with Alessandro Ceschi, director of the institute of pharmacological sciences at the EOC.”
Read the full article @ RSI News: