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Showing posts from March, 2020

AI tool predicts which coronavirus patients get deadly 'wet lung'

Agence France-Presse Posted at  Mar 31 2020 08:45 AM WASHINGTON - Researchers in the US and China reported Monday they have developed an artificial intelligence tool that is able to accurately predict which newly infected patients with the novel coronavirus go on to develop severe lung disease. Once deployed, the algorithm could assist doctors in making choices about where to prioritize care in resource-stretched health care systems, said Megan Coffee, a physician and professor at New York University's Grossman School of Medicine who co-authored a paper on the finding in the journal Computers, Materials & Continua. The tool discovered several surprising indicators that were most strongly predictive of who went on to develop so-called acute respiratory disease syndrome (ARDS), a severe complication of the COVID-19 illness that fills the lungs with fluid and kills around 50 percent of coronavirus patients who get it.  The team applied a machine learning algor

Global lockdown tightens as coronavirus deaths mount

Agence France-Presse Posted at  Mar 31 2020 03:49 AM Harsh lockdowns aimed at halting the march of the coronavirus extended around the world on Monday as the death toll soared past 35,000 despite slivers of hope in stricken Italy and Spain. In a symbol of the scale of the challenge facing humanity, a US military medical ship sailed into New York to relieve the pressure on overwhelmed hospitals bracing for the peak of the pandemic. The tough measures that have confined some two-fifths of the globe's population to their homes extended further with Moscow and Lagos both joining the roll call of cities around the globe with eerily empty streets. The number of declared COVID-19 cases around the world topped 700,000, with 400,000 of those in Europe, while most of the confirmed deaths are also from the continent, according to an AFP tally. World leaders -- several of whom have themselves been stricken or forced into isolation -- are still grappling for ways to deal

Uphold Migrants’ Rights in Times of Crisis Situations

A statement on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on migrants by Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), the Cross Regional Center for Refugees and Migrants (CCRM), Pacificwin Pacific, and Solidarity Center The dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases and its alarming spread in many parts of the world have further undermined the situation of those who are in the most vulnerable sectors, among them migrant workers. The global pandemic further reveals how migrant workers are more visibly discriminated against and denied their human rights. Migrant Forum in Asia considers that in this time there is a particularly urgent need to call for upholding of migrants’ rights as human rights. The Plight of Migrant Workers amid COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID 19 outbreak has demonstrated that no government was adequately prepared to deal with a health emergency of this scale. As governments scramble to find adequate responses to address the pandemic, we see that many migrant workers are the first to be left

Italy extends coronavirus lockdown until 'at least' April 12

Dmitry Zaks, Agence France-Presse Posted at  Mar 31 2020 03:47 AM Italy on Monday extended an economically crippling lockdown until "at least" mid-April to stem coronavirus infections that have claimed a world-leading 11,591 lives. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said any easing of containment measures would be done incrementally to ensure Italy does not give up gains it has made against the extraordinary disease. The near three-week shutdown "had been very tough economically," Conte told Spain's El Pais newspaper. "It cannot last very long," he said. "We can study ways (of lifting restrictions). But it will have to be done gradually." Health Minister Roberto Speranza later announced that "all containment measures would be extended at least until Easter" on April 12. Business closures and a ban on public gatherings were to have expired on Friday. 'Flattening of the curve' Italy was the first Western

PhilHealth set to release P1.6 B from its P30 B hospital assistance to fight CoViD-19

  As part of its P30 billion assistance package to health care institutions in the fight against CoViD-19, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has approved the release of an initial P1.6 billion to various health care institutions who applied for funds under the Interim Reimbursement Mechanism.  The IRM is PhilHealth’s financial aid to its partner health institutions affected by natural and man-made calamities that have devastating effects on their ability to continuously provide health care to the people. The  P30 Billion  set aside by PhilHealth for hospitals and other health care institutions is by far the state agency’s biggest response to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s call to curb the spread of this virus. The recipient institutions include levels 1 to 3 hospitals, birthing homes, infirmaries and dialysis centers whose allocation is equivalent to three months' worth of claims. To mobilize as many health care providers in the fight against the

Uphold Migrants’ Rights in Times of Crisis Situations

A statement on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on migrants by Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), the Cross Regional Center for Refugees and Migrants (CCRM), Pacificwin Pacific, and Solidarity Center  The dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases and its alarming spread in many parts of the world have further undermined the situation of those who are in the most vulnerable sectors, among them migrant workers. The global pandemic further reveals how migrant workers are more visibly discriminated against and denied their human rights. Migrant Forum in Asia considers that in this time there is a particularly urgent need to call for upholding of migrants’ rights as human rights.  The Plight of Migrant Workers amid COVID-19 Pandemic  The COVID 19 outbreak has demonstrated that no government was adequately prepared to deal with a health emergency of this scale. As governments scramble to find adequate responses to address the pandemic, we see that many migrant workers are the first to be left be

POPCOM hails LGUs’ ‘unsung heroes of FP, reproductive rights’

A family planning client recently received her periodical injectable shot in Muntinlupa City’s Putatan Health Center, which will enable contraception for about three months.             Amid the steady spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Philippines, the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM), together with local government units (LGUs), remain committed to their advocacy in ensuring uninterrupted rollout and access of reproductive rights, particularly on family planning services.  As the country’s lead population management agency, POPCOM continues to rally behind the local medical community at the grassroots level, including the 11,000-strong barangay health workers and barangay population volunteers.  The commission considers these frontline workers as “the unsung heroes of family health and wellbeing” as they maintain the delivery of the usual basic health services in the face of an ongoing pandemic.             In the city of Taguig, for in

PCSO Readies PhP420 Million for Transfer to PhilHealth for COVID-19 Response

Mandaluyong City. Royina M. Garma, General Manager (GM) of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), said that the agency allotted PhP420 Million for the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) response as early as February of this year as its proactive measure to aid the government in its fight against this pandemic. GM Garma added that considering PCSO is the principal government agency for raising funds for health programs, medical assistance and services, and charities of national character, the agency will always be ready to help the government and the Filipino people in times of crisis. On March 25, the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-MEID), in compliance with Executive Order No. 108 s. 2020 signed by President Duterte, directed PCSO to transfer the PhP420 million to PhilHealth to augment the fund requirements of government concerning COVID-19. "The agency anticipated the need for emergency response and read