Three Scholars Discuss Racism and Whiteness in the Built Environment – Architectural Record

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Three Scholars Discuss Racism and Whiteness in the Built Environment | 2020-07-30 | Architectural Record This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more. This Website Uses CookiesBy closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn MoreThis website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.

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Three Scholars Discuss Racism and Whiteness in the Built Environment - Architectural Record

Alternative Treatment for Depression: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) – LVHN News

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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation-Blog

31

July

2020

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13:09 PM

America/New_York

BYBRETTWILIAMSON

For people with depression, treatment can come in many forms and combinations, including talk therapy, prescription antidepressant medication and lifestyle changes. A newer treatment for individuals diagnosed with depression that can be used alone or with those treatments is transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

TMS is a noninvasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve symptoms of depression, says Edward Norris, MD, with LVPG Adult PsychiatryMuhlenberg. Norris, along with the care team at LVPG Adult and Pediatric PsychiatryMuhlenberg, have offered TMS to patients for the past two years.

This unique therapy is especially helpful for people who have not benefited from or cannot tolerate antidepressant medications, he says.

TMS is delivered in an office setting Monday through Friday. The patient is seated in a spa-like chair while a technician provides treatment. During the treatment session, the patient can listen to music or watch TV. A complete course of treatment is comprised of 36 sessions, each lasting an average of 20 minutes.

TMS benefits include:

Our patients have reported improvement in depressive symptoms as early as the first week. However, the majority of individuals have reported improvement between sessions 20 and 30, Norris says.

One study of the long-term benefits of TMS has reported 62.5 percent of the patients studied showed remission, or no symptoms of depression, even one year after initial treatment.1

Learn more about TMS offered by LVPG Adult and Pediatric PsychiatryMuhlenberg by calling 610-297-7500 or send an email to LVHN_TMS@lvhn.org.

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Alternative Treatment for Depression: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) - LVHN News

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Alpega Partners with project44 to Deliver Advanced Visibility in North America and Europe – Business Wire

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VIENNA & MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alpega, a global provider of cloud-based transportation management systems (TMS), today announced as part of its growing value-adding partner ecosystem, it has partnered with project44, a global leader in supply chain visibility for shippers and logistics service providers.

The partnership delivers real-time truckload tracking integration and serves Alpega customers of all industries and verticals across North America and Europe.

We are happy to join efforts with Alpega to serve our global community of customers, said Tommy Barnes, Head of Global Network Partnerships at project44. We want to enable supply chain professionals all over the world to make informed decisions based on high quality, real-time data, and drive more operational efficiencies and delivery excellence within the entire supply chain.

The partnership combines the Alpega TMS modular, scalable transportation management solution with project44s global, multimodal real-time visibility platform. The integration gives Alpega customers live shipment tracking and visibility data directly linked to the transportation order in Alpega TMS, providing real-time, actionable insight for improved shipment execution and proactive exception management.

In listening to our client needs and challenges, we strive to provide them the best solutions for their business, said Todd DeLaughter, CEO at Alpega Group. Our partner strategy with the leaders in their field, in conjunction with the strength of our TMS offering, accomplishes just that. We look forward to the joint value our partnership with partner44 provides our customers.

Alpega TMS brings transparency and efficiency to all trading partners across the supply chain through one shared data set and collaborative platform for managing all transportation workflows; and through its partnership with project44, provides visibility across the entire logistics network regardless of mode or geography.

To unify visibility insights in one single platform, project44 has built the most extensive multimodal network that reaches across more than 120 countries. The company delivers 99.7% coverage of truckload and less-than-truckload carriers in North America and Europe with the majority consistently tracking over 90% compliance. It also provides ocean coverage for 85% of containers shipped globally and 100% coverage of the Class I and Class II railroads in North America.

Customers can benefit from the Alpega TMS collaborative platform for managing all transportation processes and activities from sourcing through settlement across simple to complex logistics networks; while project44 provides the global supply chain visibility and predictive insights needed to make proactive decisions and increase efficiencies.

We are excited to have project44 as a global partner, said Mark Mc Arthur, Managing Director of Alpega North America. As we continually look to add value to our customers, we strategically join forces with industry leaders to round out our solution offering. Project44 is one of those leaders in the real-time visibility platform space, and we look forward to our partnership.

About project44

project44 is the worlds leading advanced visibility platform for shippers and logistics service providers. project44 connects, automates and provides visibility into key transportation processes to accelerate insights and shorten the time it takes to turn those insights into actions. Leveraging the power of the project44 cloud-based platform, organizations increase operational efficiencies, reduce costs, improve shipping performance, and deliver an exceptional Amazon-like experience to their customers. Connected to thousands of carriers worldwide and having comprehensive coverage for all ELD and telematics devices on the market, project44 supports all transportation modes and shipping types, including Air, Parcel, Final-Mile, Less-than-Truckload, Volume Less-than-Truckload, Groupage, Truckload, Rail, Intermodal, and Ocean. project44 has placed second, behind only Amazon, on FreightWaves 2020 Freight Tech 25, a list of the most innovative companies across the freight industry. To learn more, visit http://www.project44.com.

About Alpega

Alpega is a global provider of cloud-based transportation management systems (TMS). Alpega enables shippers, their customers, logistics service providers and carriers the ability to collaboratively manage end-2-end transportation activities for increased visibility, capacity and reduced freight spend. By streamlining transportation sourcing, planning, execution, settlement and analytics, Alpega solutions transform local and global supply chains into collaborative ecosystems - bringing transparency and efficiency to all trading partners involved. Alpegas 200,000+ user community are present in 80 countries worldwide. For more information, visit na.alpegagroup.com for North America; and alpegagroup.com for Europe.

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Science Is Inching Closer To Modifying Our Memories Are We Ready For The Mind Eraser? – Forbes

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What if you had access to a technology with the power to short-circuit negative memories before they formed would you do it?

We may not be far away from this science-fiction concept becoming reality, because the technology is already here. Its called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and a new study just showed how it can be used to disrupt memory formation and potentially help treat conditions linked to negative memories, like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

TMS already has a long list of studies backing it as a treatment for depression, usually when nothing else works. Its noninvasive (no electrodes in brain tissue needed) and uses magnetic fields to stimulate targeted nerve cells in the brain to trigger a response. In the latest study, TMS was used to interfere with memory consolidation in the prefrontal cortex, seat of our brains executive functions.

"This experimental protocol combining transcranial stimulation and memory reconsolidation allowed us to modify an aversive memory that the participants had learned the day before, said Sara Borgomaneri, a researcher at the University of Bologna and first author of the study.

The study included just under 100 healthy adults who each learned a negative memory and the next day underwent a TMS session targeting their brains prefrontal cortex.

"First, we created the aversive memory by combining an unpleasant stimulation with some images, explained Borgomaneri. "The day after, we presented a group of participants with the same stimulus, which, in their memory, was recorded as aversive. Using TMS immediately afterwards, we interfered with their prefrontal cortex activity.

For comparison, other groups of participants underwent TMS without an aversive memory, and others were stimulated with TMS in brain areas not involved in memory reconsolidation.

"Every time an event is recalled in our memory, there is a limited period of time in which it can be altered, according to study co-author Simone Battaglia. "The protocol we developed exploits this short time window and can, therefore, interfere with the reconsolidation process of learned aversive memories.

To find out if it worked, the research team waited another day and then tested how participants reacted when the memory was recalled. Participants that underwent TMS targeting of their prefrontal cortex showed a reduced psycho-physiological response to the unpleasant stimulus.They could still recall the event but didnt have the same negative response.

Considering what science has uncovered about conditions like depression, panic disorders and PTSD, these results are significant. Research suggests that psycho-physiological responses linked to negative memorieswhat happens in our bodies when negative memory is explicitly recalledis at the core of these conditions (an area of study captured especially well in Dr. Bessel van der Kolks pioneering book, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma).

"With TMS, we could alter the functioning of the prefrontal cortex, which proved to be fundamental in the reconsolidation process of aversive memories," added Borgomaneri. "Thanks to this procedure, we obtained results that, until now, were only possible by delivering drugs to patients.

This is more a proof of concept study than anything else and future research will follow. Whats for certain, however, is were right at the edge of opening new doors into ways of noninvasively manipulating brain processes. A large part of this will no doubt be for the good, as this study suggests, but wed do well to consider other implications that will come right along with the benefits.

The study was published in the journal Cell Biology.

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Science Is Inching Closer To Modifying Our Memories Are We Ready For The Mind Eraser? - Forbes

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September 1, deadline to present the transfer markets of the summer of 2021 – Explica

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After the current market exceptional granted by FIFA and where there are still some leagues such as the French and Dutch, they have not yet notified the period for this imminent summer market; FIFA is already working on the dates of the transfer windows for the next summer of 2021.

08/02/2020 at 11:35

CEST

Thats why that the highest international body has just notified the national federations of the deadline to present them. Textually, FIFA urges all federations that proceed to enter the TMS the two annual registration periods that they have established for next year, that is, from January 1 to December 31, 2021. In it, in addition to the window of the summer of 2021 they must ratify the winter market with which it starts next year.

And the date to do so ends at the end of this month. According to the same writing, they must do so before the next September 1 or, in the event that the current season of their federation ends after that date, immediately after the last day of the current season.In case the start and end dates of the registration periods of the female competitions differ from the male ones, the federations may establish different registration periods for their male and female competitions.

According to FIFA regulations, The start and end dates of the two enrollment periods and the season must be communicated through the TMS at least twelve months before they take effect. Therefore, your federation must enter into the TMS all applicable enrollment periods until December 31, 2021.

Regarding the dates of the registration periods Please note that as a general rule, the first enrollment period will begin after the end of the season and end before the start of the new season. This period should not exceed twelve weeks. This market will also be conditioned by the celebration of the European Championship.

The second enrollment period will begin mid-season and will not last more than four weeks. When establishing the registration periods, special attention should be paid to the end date. In the event that it coincides with a public holiday or non-working day in your country, the duration of said registration period cannot be extended to the next business day if, due to the planned extension, the duration of the period in question exceeds the established limit. .

If a federation does not define registration periods for womens competitions, the periods indicated for mens competitions will apply to womensIn the event that federations do not notify their federations enrollment periods in the TMS before September 1, 2020, FIFA may fix the dates of their federations periods.

On the other hand, FIFA has also requested the federations that for this same date of September 1 rank your clubs in terms of training compensation, classifying them into different categories and according to the investments made by each club in the training of young players.

The specified category will only be reviewed at the start of the season and it will be valid for that season. The federations may not change the category of the club during the season in question.

In case of not complete in the TMS before September 1, 2020 the categorization of its affiliated clubs, your federation could be exposed to the opening of the corresponding file for non-compliance.

Spanish clubs they are within the UEFA that includes four club categories. Thus, the first category clubs start from an indemnity of 90,000 euros, which drops to 60,000 in the second category, leaving 30,000 in the entities of the third and 10,000 in the clubs of the fourth. The Spanish League includes all four categories. It will now be the RFEF that notifies FIFA in category are each of them.

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September 1, deadline to present the transfer markets of the summer of 2021 - Explica

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Why Are Psychedelics And Mining Companies Merging In Canada? – Benzinga

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Since the first psychedelic companies went public in March, an array of other psychedelic start-ups followed along in a trend that can now be safely referred to as the "Psychedelic Rush."

In the last two months, at least five different psychedelics companies announced plans to go public in Canada, including Cybin Corp., Entheon Biomedical, Novamind Ventures, Silo WellnessandHavn Life Sciences.

With the exception of Havn, each chose to go public by way of reverse take-overswith companies from the mining sector.

As was the case with the boom of cannabis in 2013, mining companies driving the junior capital markets in Canada have laid thegrounds for the development of high-risk venture industries.

Today, psychedelics are taking the lead.

What seems like an unusual combination of industries is actually a run-on-the-mill event for Canadian capital markets.

Richard Carleton, CEO of the Canadian Stock Exchange, explainedthat the Canadian small-cap space has been largely focused on early-stage mining exploration, includingoil and gas.

These companies have two possible outcomes. They either find something worth drilling and raise additional capital to develop a mine, or they dont find anything.

And so you have basically a group of companies that have raised some money, explored a property, didn't succeed and now the management team and the shareholders are looking for another opportunity,Carleton said.

Thats where psychedelicscome in. These companies are trying to raise money quickly, and going public through a reverse acquisition is one of the fastest ways to do it.

In a reverse takeover (RTO), a private company looking to go public will merge with a public company in order to bypass the lengthy and expensive process of an initial public offering.

Alan Friedman, Principal at Bayline Capital Partners adds that the mining companies are available, but they're not mining companies anymore.

Once upon a time they were mining operating companies.Today, they're defunct. They're just sitting there listed on the stock exchange. And they're good vehicles to reverse other assets into.

For Friedman, the mining sector has hot cycles that lastabout sevenyears.

In 2013, one of these cycles came to an end. That moment happened to coincide with the cannabis boom. Cannabis companies were looking for ways to go public and the mining, oil and gas sector had left the perfect riverbed for a high-risk, junior capital investment market.

The same thing is happeningwith psychedelics.

When you see psychedelics come along in 2020, it's the new hot, trendy business. They can raise money, but they have to go public quick," says Friedman. "Because a lot of the money that comes in is based on the fact they go public, because those investors like to see liquidity."

According to Friedman, the quickest way for a company to go public is by way of a reverse takeover, because the vehicle and the shareholders are already there.

80% of the companies in Canada go public by way of a reverse takeover," Carleton said. "So it's a very well-traveled path."

It's also less expensive.

It could be a good few hundred thousand bucks cheaper," Friedman added. "And it could be a few months quicker.

Friedman is currently working with a private psychedelics company called Mind Health, which is in the process of negotiating a reverse takeover, and plans to go public in three months.

RTOs, however, also come with their fair share of challenges.

When you're switching industries, the shareholders are not in any way necessarily interested in that story or in that sector. And what can happen in a number of instances is that at the first sign of any kind of buying interest, once the company has gone public, those shareholders tend to sell so that it's almost like there's a built-in overhang in the company's cap table, Carleton explained.

As a result, when the company goes public, its harder to see the same kind of exuberant price moves seen when companies that go public by way of an IPO.

Also, with an RTO, the new company inherits all of the liabilities associated with the former company. And of course, in the case of mining companies, there may well be environmental issues, saysCarleton.

Its crucial to do due diligence and proper research an RTO partner before committing to a deal,Friedman advised. Although in every case there's risk.

Nonetheless, RTOs are the preferred method of going public for small-cap companies in the junior markets/IPOs are reserved for larger, more established players who typically goafter senior equity markets.

Cybin CEO Paul Glavine is currently in the process of doing a reverse takeover with a mining company called Clarmin Explorations.

Cybin achieved full support from over 60% of Clarmin's existing shareholders, Glavine said in an email. In this case, Clarmins management team will step out to let Cybins team on the helm.

Other psychedelics companies, like Entheon Biomedical which merged with mining company MPV Exploration looked for added value in their partner company. CEO Timothy Ko saidMPV provided more than just a means to trade their stock on the open market.

"There was no shortage of interested, I guess, 'shell'partners. I think Canada has a plentitude of those opportunities available. But ultimately, it was a process of discernment where we had to say, 'okay, the nature of the investor and the management on the other side, do they have a strategic value to us?'"says Ko.

Entheon found that MPVs investors could add value to the company by bringing in their shared experiences in biotech, pharma and healthcare, and the management team could offer its experience raising money in the public markets.

Picture based on photos byPhoto by Dominik Vanyiand on Unsplash.

2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Why Are Psychedelics And Mining Companies Merging In Canada? - Benzinga

Robyn to drop new song this week – The List

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Robyn has teased a new song with SG Lewis.

The 41-year-old Swedish pop star took to social media to post a clip of the track and simply captioned the post with the date of August 5.

She wrote: "5/8", and added a puzzle emoji.

SG then posted the clip on his own Twitter page and reassured fans that the track is coming on Wednesday (05.08.20) and that Robyn had shared the US format for the date.

He explained: "English date format btw don't worry people it's coming Wednesday lol (sic)"

Earlier this year, Robyn revealed she was planning to hit the studio this summer to work on her next album.

Though it's not known whether the song will feature on the follow-up to 2018's 'Honey'.

She teased: "There are leftovers.

"Some of them I'm going to record this summer, I hope.

"Usually, I finish songs. If I start them, I finish them.

"The last album took eight years. I hope it won't take that long next time."

Robyn added that she has to feel "inspired" otherwise she won't write "good songs".

She admitted: "What keeps me doing it is that I love the feeling of being inspired. If you're not inspired, you don't write good songs."

Meanwhile, Robyn previously revealed she needed therapy before releasing 'Honey' and used psychedelic drugs to beat her depression.

The 'With Every Heart Beat' hitmaker spent so much time away from the music business after suffering in the wake of her split from her on/off filmmaker boyfriend Max Vitali and struggling with the grief she experienced when her mentor Christian Falk died of pancreatic cancer in 2014.

And the musician had therapy "three times a week" to help her get over both losses and also decided to use 'micro-dosing' with natural highs such as magic mushrooms and the ayahuasca brew of the Amazonian tribes to help her get her mind right.

She said: "I went to therapy three times a week. Well I think psychedelic drugs are definitely useful in those periods of your life. It balanced me chemically. To me it's like a cleanse. Like self-care. But it was a very now-and-then thing.

"Psychedelics are like travelling they shift your perception. You come to a new country and you're like, 'Oh that's what a bus looks like.' If you're stuck in one way of thinking, travel, take some mushrooms, do something that just gets you out of your head. I've also done ayahuasca, but that's a much more heavy thing."

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Robyn to drop new song this week - The List

Dem Senator walks out of Ted Cruz’s Antifa hearing: ‘I don’t think you listen’ – Fox News

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Tensions flared at a Senate hearing on Antifawhen a top Democrat walked out of the roomdeclaring she couldn't sit through Sen. Ted Cruz's rhetorical speeches any longer.

The dustup occurred when Cruz, R-Texas, blasted Democrats for not condemning Antifa more directly for the violence and destruction that has taken hold in certain U.S. cities in the wake of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis.

But Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said Cruz just wasn't listening during the more than three-hour hearing when Democrats said violence is not acceptable.

FBI HAS OPENED 300 'DOMESTIC TERROR' INVESTIGATIONS AS A RESULT OF RIOTS, ATTORNEY TELLS CAPITOL HEARING ON ANTIFA

"Sometimes I don't think you listen," Hirono told Cruz at the Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing as he finished up with a nearly 10-minute speech."So, how many times have I had to say that we all should be denouncing violent extremistsof every stripe."

"Does that include Antifa?" said Cruz, who was chairing the hearing.

"I have the time," Hirono shot back.

"...I hope this is the end of this hearing, Mr.Chairman, and that we don't have to listen to any more of your rhetorical speeches," Hirono concluded. "Thank you very much. I'm leaving."

CRUZ, AHEAD OF ANTIFA HEARING, DESCRIBES RIOTS IN US CITIES AS ORGANIZED TERROR ATTACKS

Hirono then packed up to leave the hearing before Cruz adjourned it.

"Well I appreciate the, asalways, kind of uplifting words of Senator Hirono," Cruz said. "And I would also note that throughout her remarks she still did not say a negative word about Antifanor has any Democrat here."

He urged her again to denounce the leftist extremist group. "You're welcome to say something negative about Antifa right now," Cruz said to his departing colleague.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE TAKES JAB AT LIBERALS FOR ASSUMING HOW BLACK PEOPLE SHOULD THINK: 'PROBLEM WITH THE LEFT'

"I think that I've covered the subject quite well," Hirono replied in barely audible remarks before exiting the room.

"Okay, she declined to speak, so that is the position of the Democratic Party," Cruz said.

TURLEY EXPLAINS HOW ANTIFA IS THE 'KEYSER SOZE' OF SOCIAL UNREST

Jonathan Turley, a lawyer who testified at the hearing on Antifa, tweeted about the remarkable exit.

"The hearing ended with Sen. Hirono walking out after confrontation with Sen. Cruz over Antifa," Turley said on Twitter. "In roughly 50 hearings, this was a first for me. I was not sure if I should turn off the lights when I left."

It was a tense ending to a hearing that kicked off Tuesday afternoon with Democrats and Republicans disagreeing on what the hearing should even be about.

The hearing Tuesday titled "The Right of the People Peaceably to Assemble: Protecting Speech by Stopping Anarchist Violence revealed deep divisions in how Republicans and Democrats view the sustained protests that have gripped the nationsince Floyd's death while in police custody.

Cruzfocused on rioters and anti-government activists that have "hijacked" peaceful protests and unleashed harm and violence in certain cities, like Portland. He kicked off the hearing by playing a video contrasting the protests from Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi and the March for Life with therecent riots, the chaos it has caused, and the Democratic response to it.

SEN CRUZ: DEMOCRATIC POLITICIANS SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR 'LETTING THEIR CITIES BURN'

"Their actions are profoundly racist," Cruz said. "The rioters.... destroy minority communities, minority businesses and minority lives across this country. This shouldn't be complicated:peaceful protests must be protected. Riots must be stopped."

Meanwhile, Democrats focused on the prevalence ofwhite nationalist extremistgroups and the federal government's sometimes aggressive tactics in places like Portland and Washington,D.C., indispersing crowdsthat they view as largely peaceful.

Hirono played her own video at the start of the hearingvideo of what she says is violence against peaceful protesters and disproportionate force.

Hirono saysTuesday'shearing should instead be called: "The right of the people peaceably to assemble without being beaten up by unidentifiable federal agents."

"That would address an actual problem lawful protesters are facing and the rest of us are seeing in this country," Hirono said.

Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

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Dem Senator walks out of Ted Cruz's Antifa hearing: 'I don't think you listen' - Fox News

Who is Andy Ngo? From photographer at a used car dealership to one of America’s most polarizing media figures – MEAWW

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Controversial journalist Andy Ngo found himself in the headlines on Twitter on Sunday, August 2, with people seeking micro-blogging site to unverify him. The man is one of the most polarizing figures who is loved by the right-wing activists but equally hated by those located at the other end of the spectrum. Of late, voices have evolved suspecting the credentials of Ngo. Last month, the Daily Beast carried out a probe on conservative news outlets like Newsmax and Washington Examiner that published Middle East hot takes from experts who were actually fake people pushing propaganda. As those who feel Ngo is unreliable enriched the Twitter campaign to unverify the man, DefendPDX, a collective of journalists, tweeted: Andy Ngo operates alter-egos so he can post a range of true opinions he knows would hurt his online ego.

So, who is Andy Ngo and what is it so controversial about him?

Ngo, who mocked the UnverifyAndyNgo trend on Twitter to ask What are they so afraid of?, is a conservative social media activist and journalist. The editor-at-large of The Post Millennial, a conservative news website in Canada, Ngo came to the limelight in June last year after facing the physical wrath of unidentified people, suspected as antifa protesters, while covering a counter protest to a Proud Boys march in Portland and for his alleged links with far-right groups. Son of immigrant parents from Vietnam, Ngo was born (1986) and raised in Portland and raised in a Buddhist family. He went to an evangelical Christian church in high school and became an atheist later. During his study days in the University of California, Ngo volunteered with AmericaCorps and graduated in 2009 with a degree in graphic designing. He struggled to get a job and worked as a photographer at a used car dealership besides doing various low-paying jobs. In 2015, Ngo started graduate studies in political science at Portland State University with research interests in secularism and political Islam.

While the Proud Boys were holding their rally in Portland, left-wing activists, including the local branch of the militant antifa group, came up with a counter protest. The two movements soon clashed and the incident that caught all the eyes was the attack on Ngo and he was reportedly sent to the hospital to overcome his injuries. In a video footage, it was seen how demonstrators poured milkshake on Ngo and hurled eggs at him, punched him and yelled at him. It looked like an act that was unprovoked and was carried out by people just because they didnt like Ngo. The man suffered a head injury.

But soon, both sides of the ideological spectrum tried to use the incident to suit their respective narratives. The conservative and mainstream media tried to establish that the attack on Ngo made it evident that left-wing violence was getting into a serious menace in the country. Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz even sought an investigation into the Portland ruckus.

But the left-liberals were not ready to see Ngo as innocent. They said the mainstream media is portraying a wrong picture of the man of Vietnam descent. According to them, Ngo is a far-right sympathizer who had targeted the antifa members in the past. The sympathy for Ngo was only helping the right-wing smear campaign, they said. Press Secretary at the LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign Charlotte Clymer had tweeted that violence is something that Ngo himself also wanted to see from the start.

Violence is completely wrong, and I find it sad and weak to allow a sniveling weasel like Andy Ngo to get under one's skin like this, but I'm also not going to pretend that this wasn't Ngo's goal from the start.

I mean... let's cut the shit here. This is what they do.

As race protests intensified in the US and even President Donald Trump accused the antifa protesters of inciting violence, Ngo filed a lawsuit worth $900k against the group in June for carrying out a campaign of terror and harassment against him. "Antifa is an openly extremist movement with the training and intent of destabilizing this country and overthrowing our Constitution," Ngo had said in a press conference. "The protection of foolish politicians and the media have emboldened this movement to carry out unprecedented terrorist attacks."

Ngo might not be a big name in the journalism fraternity but he is still a much discussed name. Quillette, the publication with which Ngo has been involved, is considered an intellectual dark web featuring aspects like anti-left ideologies and anti-political correctness. Ngos contribution to publicity lies in the fact that he has blended the ideological conservativeness with the tactic of a field reporter who works on the spot (conservative actor James Woods recently showered praise on Ngo to say that he is the one who is shining a light on domestic terrorism by antifa in Portland mocking American journalism). From Ground Zero, he releases content on social media to grant validation to his ideological leanings, demonizing the left and multiculturalism in the process.

To give an example, Ngo went to the UK to document the alleged threat the Muslim poeple there posed to the British society. He later wrote a piece A Visit to Islamic England claiming the country was being quietly gobbled up by fundamentalist Islam. He even showed a public safety board restricting alcohol as one to support his claim that Islam was indeed taking over England. Ngo is accused of twisting facts to play the narrative in a way that suits his ideological foundations and keeps on targeting the left and Muslim immigrants, conveniently ignorning that there are also cases of right-wing extremism happening around.

Many feel curious that being a man of non-American origin, why Ngo is still seen as pro-White? There is a striking story of evolution here. Ngo had his lessons from his familys not-so-happy past in Vietnam. His mother came from a middle class family and was thrown into a labor camp along with her family in her teens. His father was a police officer in a small coastal town and his job did not guarantee life. The family left for the US in 1978 to turn their fortunes around.

In my youth, my Asian-American or Vietnamese identity was really at the forefront of how I viewed myself," Ngo was once quoted as saying by a report in Oregon Public Broadcasting. I always felt, in a way, out of place growing up in the Pacific Northwest. At that time, I thought it was because of race. He found himself to be the only kid in his classes once but conceded that it was only twice that he experienced racism.

But for Ngo, a more shocking experience was waiting back home. When he traveled back to Vietnam for the first time, he was expecting that people there would welcome him. But it was not to be and that influenced Ngo.

When I arrived, I was thinking, This will feel like home. Ill finally be among my people, he said, adding: People looked at me, and they could tell right away that I was not native. My skin is really fair because I was raised in the US And so everywhere I went, people really stared at me. They made it very obvious. At first, I didn't quite know what was going on, so I asked my family there, and they were just like, Theyre not used to seeing somebody as white as you, as pale as you.

Ngo was in for more shock when he went to the rural parts of Vietnam to see his cousins. They pointed out his sexual orientation (he is a gay) and the experience thereafter changed his attitude towards race and politics. Why are you denying your parents the legacy of having children? The paradigm they were raised in was more about, You need to think about others, you cannot just be thinking about yourself. You have to think about your family, and by extension in a way your tribe, even if they wouldn't use that term, he told OPB.

Ngo said it was then when he started feeling more like an American.

Even though I am a sexual minority and Im a person of color, I come from a family who were refugees so I feel so lucky to be able to have been born and raised in this country. So yeah, when I see the American flag, I feel a sense of pride and honor of being part of that. And I regret that a lot of people see it as a symbol of violence that should be burnt, he said.

It is not unusual to see antifa supporters locking horns with Ngo often. The former group comprises typical black-clad activists who are radicals and who think radicalism is the most effective way to take on the far-right groups that are also supporters of Trump. It is not surprising to see these people attack Ngo who has smartly used journalistic techniques to expose the group which has a politically opposite belief system. But the problem lies in the fact that since both Ngo works in an individual capacity to validate his ideological leanings and the antifa members also do not have central command and are typically unanimous, there is a much higher chance of open physical fight when the two meet. Portland saw exactly that happening.

Link:

Who is Andy Ngo? From photographer at a used car dealership to one of America's most polarizing media figures - MEAWW

Can progenitor cells go further than gene therapy in retinal disorders? A biotech’s answer shines in PhIIb – Endpoints News

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By the time the FDA approved Luxturna the pioneering gene therapy for an inherited retinal disease Henry Klassen had been researching and treating the group of diseases known as retinitis pigmentosa for more than 20 years.

Spark Therapeutics success there had not just inspired a $4.3 billion takeover by Roche, it had also emboldened other biotechs pursuing a therapy that would deliver one of the genes tied to different variations of the disorder. Nightstar Therapeutics subsequently scored its own buyout with Biogen, and MeiraGTx recently posted early but exciting data on its J&J-partnered program.

But Klassen went a different way.

Catching on the stem cell craze right at the turn of the millennium, he took inspiration from scientists who transplanted neural progenitor cells into the retina and developed a method to grow retinal progenitor cells instead as a therapy. Starting out as the director of stem cell research at the Childrens Hospital of Orange County, he continued the work at the University of California, Irvine, eventually spinning out a biotech dubbed jCyte in 2012.

Over the weekend jCyte reported positive Phase IIb results from what they call one of the largest studies ever conducted in RP, suggesting that patients on the treatment saw improved functional vision compared to the placebo group.

The credit to the gene therapies is that theyre actively trying to fix the gene underlying the problem. Thats very commendable, and were not doing that, Klassen told Endpoints News. But our treatment as it stands should have impact across a variety of different genotypes.

The study enrolled a total of 84 patients, of whom 74 were included for the final analysis. For each patient on the primary endpoint of best corrected visual acuity (measured with glasses on), the mean change from baseline to month 12 for the sham, low dose and high dose arms were +2.81, +2.96, and +7.43 letters, respectively.

In a post hoc analysis for a target subgroup, the difference was even more prominent: +1.85, -0.15, and +16.27 letters, respectively.

There was one serious adverse event in the low dose arm, but jCyte said the grade 3 ocular hypertension resolved with treatment and other side effects were generally minor.

CEO Paul Bresge noted that the target subgroup analysis was intended to hammer out the criteria they might use to recruit patients into Phase III which would likely have a similar design and use the same primary endpoint of BCVA, the gold standard in the context of FDA. The late-stage trial is slated for 2021.

We did enroll a very wide patient population into our Phase IIb, including patients that had vision anywhere from 20/80 to 20/800, just to learn which patients would potentially be the best responders, he said.

The target subgroup is characterized by having reliable fixation on the study eye, and a study eye that does not have significantly worse BCVA (15 letters) than the fellow eye.

He added that investigators also observed encouraging results with the secondary endpoints such as low light mobility, contrast sensitivity kinetic visual fields and a vision function questionnaire, although the data werent disclosed.

Typically people think about the disease as a narrowing of this peripheral vision in a very nice granular way, but thats actually not what happens, he said about the visual fields finding. What happens in the disease is that patients lose like islands of vision. So what were doing in our tests is actually measuring [] islands that the patients have at baseline, and then what were seeing after treatment is that the islands are expanding. Its similar to the way that one would track, lets say a tumor, in oncology of course were looking for the opposite effect. Were looking for the islands of vision to expand.

The therapy works primarily by preserving photoreceptors, Klassen posits, not by generating new ones. But what he thinks is happening is that photoreceptors are regenerating the outer segment if photoreceptors are radios, these would be the antenna thereby regaining some function.

That could position it as a treatment for a different stage of the disease than Sparks or Nightstars. Klassen, whos also researching retinal reconstruction using stem cells, is happy to not view it through the competitive lens.

If you look into the future, one could imagine that gene therapies will be most effective very early in the course of a disease before photoreceptors are lost, he said. Then as photoreceptors begin to be lost anyway, if that happens, then a therapy like ours would become extremely valuable. And if ours starts to lose power late in the course of a disease, maybe cell transplantation under the retina could have a role.

Read more:

Can progenitor cells go further than gene therapy in retinal disorders? A biotech's answer shines in PhIIb - Endpoints News

Oxford Biomedica Signs Three Year Clinical Supply Agreement with Axovant Gene Therapies for Manufacture and Supply of AXO-Lenti-PD – GlobeNewswire

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Oxford Biomedica Signs Three Year Clinical Supply Agreement with Axovant Gene Therapies for Manufacture and Supply of AXO-Lenti-PD

Oxford, UK 31st July, 2020: Oxford Biomedica plc (LSE:OXB) (Oxford Biomedica or the Group), a leading gene and cell therapy group, announced today that it has signed a three year Clinical Supply Agreement (CSA) with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Axovant Gene Therapies Ltd. (Axovant) (Nasdaq: AXGT). The CSA builds on the worldwide license agreement signed between the two companies in June 2018 for the Parkinsons disease gene therapy program OXB-102, now called AXO-Lenti-PD.

Under the terms of the CSA, Oxford Biomedica will manufacture GMP batches for Axovant to support the ongoing and future clinical development of AXO-Lenti-PD, a clinical-stage gene therapy product to treat moderate to severe Parkinsons Disease based on Oxford Biomedicas LentiVector platform. Axovant is currently conducting a Phase 2 SUNRISE-PD trial with AXO-Lenti-PD. Dosing of all patients in the second cohort is completed with 6-month safety and efficacy data expected in the fourth quarter of 2020. OXB expects to manufacture AXO-Lenti-PD in its commercial-scale GMP manufacturing facilities including Oxbox in the UK, and additionally in other OXB GMP facilities as required to ensure security of supply.

John Dawson, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Biomedica, said: This new Agreement builds upon our existing worldwide licensing agreement with Axovant and highlights the strengths of Oxford Biomedica's commercial GMP manufacturing capabilities. We are pleased with how the partnership is progressing and excited by the clinical progress to date. The agreement today signals our commitment to the efficient ongoing development of this much needed product for patients with Parkinsons disease.

We are now at a stage in the partnership where we can determine the manufacturing activities and infrastructure required to support the mid and late-stage development of AXO-Lenti-PD in a way which is compatible with later commercialisation and we look forward to this next phase of our partnership.

Pavan Cheruvu, Chief Executive Officer at Axovant Gene Therapies, said: This Agreement with Oxford Biomedica means that together we can continue to advance the development of AXO-Lenti-PD in Parkinsons disease. We are pleased to extend our partnership with Oxford Biomedica, a world leader in lentiviral vector development and manufacturing, as we scale-up AXO-Lenti-PD production to support our Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical studies and enable commercialization of the product. This marks another mutual accomplishment for our Parkinsons disease program where we expect to enroll the first subject in a randomized, sham-controlled trial in 2021.

-Ends-

Oxford Biomedica plc

John Dawson, Chief Executive OfficerStuart Paynter, Chief Financial OfficerCatherine Isted, Head of Corporate Development & IR

T: +44 (0)1865 783 000T: +44 (0)1865 783 000T: +44 (0)1865 954 161 / E: ir@oxb.com

Consilium Strategic Communications

Mary-Jane Elliott/Matthew Neal

T: +44 (0)20 3709 5700

About Oxford BiomedicaOxford Biomedica (LSE:OXB) is a leading, fully integrated, gene and cell therapy group focused on developing life changing treatments for serious diseases. Oxford Biomedica and its subsidiaries (the "Group") have built a sector leading lentiviral vector delivery platform (LentiVector), which the Group leverages to develop in vivo and ex vivo products both in-house and with partners. The Group has created a valuable proprietary portfolio of gene and cell therapy product candidates in the areas of oncology, ophthalmology, CNS disorders, liver diseases and respiratory disease. The Group has also entered into a number of partnerships, including with Novartis, Bristol Myers Squibb, Sanofi, Axovant Gene Therapies, Orchard Therapeutics, Santen, Boehringer Ingelheim, the UK Cystic Fibrosis Gene Therapy Consortium and Imperial Innovations, through which it has long-term economic interests in other potential gene and cell therapy products. Additionally the group has signed a Clinical and Commercial Supply Agreement with AstraZeneca for manufacture of the adeno based COVID-19 vaccine candidate, AZN1222. Oxford Biomedica is based across several locations in Oxfordshire, UK and employs more than 550 people. Further information is available atwww.oxb.com

About AXO-Lenti-PDAXO-Lenti-PD is an investigational gene therapy for the treatment of Parkinsons disease that is designed to deliver three genes (tyrosine hydroxylase, cyclohydrolase 1, and aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase) via a single lentiviral vector to encode a set of critical enzymes required for dopamine synthesis, with the goal of reducing variability and restoring steady levels of dopamine in the brain. The investigational gene therapy aims to provide patient benefit for years following a single administration. The SUNRISE-PD Phase 2 trial is ongoing with dosing completed for all patients in cohort 2, with 6 month safety and efficacy data expected in Q4 2020. Axovant expects to dose the first patient in the Part B randomized, sham controlled study in 2021.

About Axovant Gene TherapiesAxovant Gene Therapies is a clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on developing a pipeline of innovative product candidates for debilitating neurodegenerative diseases. Our current pipeline of gene therapy candidates targets GM1 gangliosidosis, GM2 gangliosidosis (also known as Tay-Sachs disease and Sandhoff disease), and Parkinsons disease. Axovant is focused on accelerating product candidates into and through clinical trials with a team of experts in gene therapy development and through external partnerships with leading gene therapy organizations. For more information, visit http://www.axovant.com.

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Oxford Biomedica Signs Three Year Clinical Supply Agreement with Axovant Gene Therapies for Manufacture and Supply of AXO-Lenti-PD - GlobeNewswire

Cell and Gene Therapy Market 2020 | Enormous Growth with Recent Trends & Demand By Top Vendors JW CreaGene, Vericel, Tego Sciences, CHIESI…

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Cell and Gene Therapy Market In-depth Analysis 2020-2026

The report include a thorough study of the global Cell and Gene TherapyMarket. It has successfully pointed out the key factors that have substantial impact on theCell and Gene Therapy market. This report is a result of a well-planned research methodology. The methodology employed both primary and secondary research tools.

These tools aid the researchers to gather authentic data and arrive at a definite conclusion. The prevailing competitors in the global Cell and Gene TherapyMarket has also been pictured in the report, offering an opportunity to theCell and Gene Therapy market players to measuring system their performance.

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The report has been prepared after studying the different parameters ruling the global Cell and Gene TherapyMarket and the forecast period has been estimated from 2020-2026. The forecast period is the time period when the key factors and parameters will help the market to flourish significantly. The estimated value of the market has been represented through a CAGR percentage. Additionally, the report represents the approximate revenue that can be generated over the forecast period. However, the report has also outlined the factors that can slowdown the growth of the global Cell and Gene TherapyMarket.

Key players in the global market covered, JW CreaGene, Vericel, Tego Sciences, CHIESI Farmaceutici, Spark Therapeutics, GC Pharma, MolMed, AnGes, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, APAC Biotech, Gilead Sciences, Corestem, AVITA Medical, Novartis AG, JCR Pharmaceuticals, Dendreon, CO.DON, Medipost, Osiris Therapeutics, Amgen, Biosolution, CollPlant, Japan Tissue Engineering, Organogenesis, Orchard Therapeutics, Stempeutics Research, ,

on the basis of types, Cell Therapy, Gene Therapy, ,

on the basis of applications, Hospitals, Wound Care Centers, Cancer Care Centers, Ambulatory Surgical Centers, Others, ,

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The report includes the key driving forces prevailing in the global Cell and Gene TherapyMarket. This part of the report has been studied keeping in mind the political, economic, social, technological, geographical, and cultural scenario of the global Cell and Gene TherapyMarket. These factors can be projected to have their individual effects on the market, or they can have interconnected impacts. Besides, subtle change in the time framewithin which these factors are functioning might have ripple effects on the global Cell and Gene TherapyMarket.

Regional

Global Cell and Gene TherapyMarket has been segmented into Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa. This part of the report provides an exhaustive view of the regional scope existing in the global Cell and Gene TherapyMarket. The trends and preferences dominating each region has a direct impact on the industries. The report tries to exploit the trends and preferences prevailing in a region to offer the users with a clear picture of the business potential existing in that region.

Research Methodology

The primary research procedure conducted to arrive at the results includes panel of face to face interviews with industry experts and consumers. The secondary research procedure includes an intricate study of the scholarly journals and reports available online.

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Cell and Gene Therapy Market 2020 | Enormous Growth with Recent Trends & Demand By Top Vendors JW CreaGene, Vericel, Tego Sciences, CHIESI...

Comprehensive Report on Gene Therapy for Ovarian Cancer Market 2020 | Trends, Growth Demand, Opportunities & Forecast To 2026 | Takara Bio, VBL…

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Gene Therapy for Ovarian Cancer Market research is an intelligence report with meticulous efforts undertaken to study the right and valuable information. The data which has been looked upon is done considering both, the existing top players and the upcoming competitors. Business strategies of the key players and the new entering market industries are studied in detail. Well explained SWOT analysis, revenue share and contact information are shared in this report analysis.

Gene Therapy for Ovarian Cancer Market is growing at a High CAGR during the forecast period 2020-2026. The increasing interest of the individuals in this industry is that the major reason for the expansion of this market.

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Top Key Players Profiled in This Report:

Takara Bio, VBL Therapeutics, CELSION, Targovax

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Various factors are responsible for the markets growth trajectory, which are studied at length in the report. In addition, the report lists down the restraints that are posing threat to the global Gene Therapy for Ovarian Cancer market. It also gauges the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers, threat from new entrants and product substitute, and the degree of competition prevailing in the market. The influence of the latest government guidelines is also analyzed in detail in the report. It studies the Gene Therapy for Ovarian Cancer markets trajectory between forecast periods.

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Table of Contents:

Global Gene Therapy for Ovarian Cancer Market Research Report

Chapter 1 Gene Therapy for Ovarian Cancer Market Overview

Chapter 2 Global Economic Impact on Industry

Chapter 3 Global Market Competition by Manufacturers

Chapter 4 Global Production, Revenue (Value) by Region

Chapter 5 Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions

Chapter 6 Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type

Chapter 7 Global Market Analysis by Application

Chapter 8 Manufacturing Cost Analysis

Chapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers

Chapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders

Chapter 11 Market Effect Factors Analysis

Chapter 12 Global Gene Therapy for Ovarian Cancer Market Forecast

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Comprehensive Report on Gene Therapy for Ovarian Cancer Market 2020 | Trends, Growth Demand, Opportunities & Forecast To 2026 | Takara Bio, VBL...

T.J.s Forecast: A little chilly as we progress into our first week of August – KSN-TV

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A cold front has been working through the region and were going to reap the rewards. Lowered humidity and cooler temps will hold thanks to northerly flow.

This will keep our temperatures well below average as we progress into the start of our first full week of August. Ill go as far as to say chilly for some of us.

Lows will be in the 50s across Western Kansas with Northern Kansas also falling below 60. In Wichita, well be pretty close but I think well stay near 60. Isolated showers and storms are possible as some of this cold front stalls to our west.

This boundary is allowing the winds to switch to more of a SE direction. Because of that lift or convergence, we could see more storms develop in Colorado later on this evening. Some of these could work into Kansas late this evening into the overnight.

The bulk of the severe activity will remain west of us but we could see a rogue stronger storm with gusty winds and smaller hail possible. Monday will remain mild with highs in the 80s for many of us with some spots possibly still in the upper 70s.

That stalled front will hang out, continuing to be a focal point for more storms as we head through Monday. A few could linger early in the day but they will be widely scattered.

A better chance arrives late Tuesday into Wednesday. Winds will be out of the south to the southeast for all of us at that point which will help bring more moisture and warmth our way. Those 2 ingredients will fuel the potential for storms with some isolated severe storms on the table Tuesday.

Moisture will linger into Wednesday which looks to keep us just a little more stable. The severe threat will still need to be monitored as it does for the latter half of the workweek. NW flow aloft will keep impulses tracking into Kansas.

High pressure does try and build in by the weekend meaning drier and much hotter conditions. Highs will surge back into the mid and upper 90s by this time next weekend with a good deal of sunshine.

Have a great night!

-T.J.

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T.J.s Forecast: A little chilly as we progress into our first week of August - KSN-TV

Tyler Perry Gives Progress Report On Producing His Shows During Pandemic, Shares His Hope For The Industry & The Country – Deadline

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Tyler Perrywas one of the first Hollywood producers to come upwith a comprehensive plan to safely restart TV production back in April. Now he is the first to have completed a full season of a primetime scripted series filmed during the pandemic using COVID-19 safety protocols. It is Season 2 of his BET show Sistas, which recently wrapped production at the Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta and will be ready for a fall debut.

In the break between finishing Sistas on July 25 and starting Season 2 of BETs The Oval, whose cast members will begin arriving at the studio Thursday, Perry discussed with Deadline how filming and testing went; addressed challenges they faced; and what advice he has for producers who are apprehensive about heading back into production before a coronavirus vaccine is widely available, outlining daily testing or quarantine bubbles as crucial to a successful restart.

As we have reported, Perry employs a quarantine bubble model, sequestering cast and crew on the lot for the duration of a shoot. In May, he sent out a 30-page document to his casts outlining the plan in great detail.

Perry said he and his team followed that document to the letter, and it worked. (You can watch a behind-the-scenes video of the process and the accommodations on Sistas below.) He will use the exact same protocols for The Oval and two other shows he has lined up at the studio one after the other through September: Bruh and Ruthless, both for BET+.

All of the hard work and months of planning paid off. Production went extremely well on the second season of Sistas, and now were preparing for The Oval, said Michelle Sneed, president of production and development at Tyler Perry Studios. Of course, there is always a learning curve when embarking on a new project and even more so when filming it in the middle of a pandemic. However, one of the most valuable lessons I learned is to trust the process and the people you have in place to do their job.

There were 360 people cast, crew and 10 extras inside the bubble who worked on Season 2 of Sistas for the duration of the shoot. That was down 80-100 people from the regular production team that worked on Season 1 as Perry had to scale back because of the amount of housing available on the premises.

However, my crew stepped up and they were amazing, Perry said.

Still, production was intense. We were shooting an enormous amount of pages a day, he said. Moves that wouldve taken 10-15 minutes took 45, but it was fine. It flowed, it completely flowed.

Actors were flown in from New York and Los Angeles on Perrys private plane.

We checked in 160 on Thursday [July 9] with the actors, four days before they started working. They were tested before they got on the plane, Perry said.

Everybody cast and crew was tested on that Monday [July 13]. The crew check-in was Tuesday, July 14, with everyone staying in their rooms until test results came back.

We had four positives in our initial check-in before anyone was allowed to leave their room, Perry said. We had those people leave and got them the help they needed. The positive tests did not involve cast; two of them were extras, two were crew.

Everyone then was tested every four days for the duration of the shoot with no positive results as the quarantine bubble held up. The production used PCR tests, which are the most accurate available so far. All through pre-production, test results were coming the next day. But then came the nationwide spike in cases, and test results began to take longer, 36-48 hours, which led to a delay in the start of production pushed from July 14 to July 15. That issue since has been resolved. The labs that we are using now give the results back within 24 hours, Perry said.

Perry admits that he was worried heading into the endeavor.

My biggest concern was, I have several crew members who have preexisting conditions that I asked personally to sit this one out but they said no, they wanted to work, they needed to work, Perry said. I couldnt legally stop them from working, so my biggest concern was making sure that they were safe and that the actors who did not wear masks were safe. Because masks one hundred percent help cut down on the spread. Every time an actor had a mask off, and every time I looked at the people with preexisting conditions, they were my biggest concern.

Everyone on the set of Perrys shows is required to wear a mask except for actors when they are filming scenes.

In April, Emmy-nominated hairstylist Charles Gregory Ross, who had worked with Perry in the past, died of COVID-19. His passing had a profound impact of Perry and his approach to resuming production. It also helps him understand other producers who are apprehensive about getting their shows up and running amid the pandemic.

After losing a crew member to COVID that was on another production at the very beginning of this thing, clearly I understand the nervousness, I understand the trepidation, and they should enter with extreme caution, Perry said. But I tell you, if you cant test everyone every day, I dont know how you do this unless its a quarantine bubble. I dont know another way, because COVID could be among you and spreading and you not know it.

As of now, only Perrys shows are filming at his studio one at a time. But with his Camp Quarantine model showing results, he is ready to open the lot to outside productions.

There is still another 200 acres of open land, several other camps can be set up here just like the one we set up; camps can be set up in no time we set up ours in a month, month and a half, Perry said. There are many, many more housing opportunities for other camps for sure.

Already, there is interest. I have had several phone calls when it will be available and what we could do; there are some conversations that are happening, Perry said.

He admits that he did not have to jump in, develop the safety guidelines and start production amid the pandemic, but he felt an obligation to do it.

I could just go and sit somewhere and wait for a vaccine but what wouldve happen with all of those people and their lives and their livelihoods if I didnt do this? he said. The level of thank yous that I got from the crew privately as I was passing through because Im there with them the entire time, Im going to the food truck or going to grab a drink at the truck bar they tell me just how much they appreciate having the opportunity to work and work safely.

Perry is prepared to use the current production setup for months or even years.

We are set up for the long haul, we could be here for a year and a half, two years, five years if we needed to, he said. But my hope is that there is a vaccine by this time next year. I know the hope is it will be by the end of the year, but even if its by the end of the year, by the time they ramped up production and by the time it got to the masses, to say another year is safe.

Along with his work on restarting production at his studio, over the last few months Perry has been active in his community and a leading voice of the Black Lives Matter movement. In April, he donated $21,000 to 42 out-of-work servers $500 each at Houstons on Northside Parkway, a favorite restaurant of his. A few weeks later, Perry anonymously picked up the tabs at 44 Atlanta-area Krogers during the stores designated shopping hour for seniors and at-risk patrons. He did the same for 29 Winn-Dixies in his hometown of New Orleans.

Following the death of George Floyd, which triggered nationwide protests, Perry wrote a essay on racial injustice, featured on the cover of People. He provided travel for Rev. Al Sharpton, Eric Garners mother Gwen Carr and members of Floyds family to Floyds funeral. He also paid all funeral expenses for Rayshard Brooks, who was fatally shot by an Atlanta police officer, and for Secoriea Turner, an 8-year-old girl who was fatally struck by gunfire.

Last week, Perry, donated 1,000 Kroger gift cards to Southeast Atlanta residents, teaming with the Atlanta Police Department to distribute the $50 cards.

What is happening in the country right now with all the protests, and with even Secoriea, the 8-year-old killed in Atlanta. All of that has been on my mind, Perry said. So when I gave those gift cards to the neighborhood around the studio and asked the police to pass them out, my hope was to bring some unity in the community, to bring understanding that all cops are not bad cops and we need them, as well as all Black people are not bad people, and that kind of mentality and that kind of thinking that is blanketed is wrong. My hope is that everybody would come from their corners and just have some conversations. Thats my hope for the country; lets have some conversations that we could at least hear each other.

As for the industry, my hope is that the industry could get back to work, Perry said. There are so many people who need to work. Its my hope that everybody could go back to work. I dont know how that happens without daily testing or quarantine bubbles.

See more here:

Tyler Perry Gives Progress Report On Producing His Shows During Pandemic, Shares His Hope For The Industry & The Country - Deadline

Melbourne is a Case Study in Navigating a Second Wave of Coronavirus – The New York Times

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Australias second-largest city, Melbourne, is grappling with a spiraling coronavirus outbreak that has led to a lockdown with some of the toughest restrictions in the world offering a preview of what many urban dwellers elsewhere could confront in coming weeks and months.

The new lockdown is the product of early success; the country thought it had the virus beat in June. But there was a breakdown in the quarantine program for hotels. Returning travelers passed the virus to hotel security guards in Melbourne, who carried the contagion home.

Even after masks became mandatory in the city two weeks ago, the spread continued. And now, as officials try to break the chain of infections, Melbourne is being reshaped by sweeping enforcement and fine print. A confounding matrix of hefty fines for disobedience to the lockdown and minor exceptions for everything from romantic partners to home building has led to silenced streets and endless versions of the question: So, wait, can I ____?

Restaurant owners are wondering about food delivery after an 8 p.m. curfew began on Sunday night. Teenagers are asking if their boyfriends and girlfriends count as essential partners. Can animal shelter volunteers walk dogs at night? Are house cleaners essential for those struggling with their mental health? Can people who have been tested exercise outside?

This is such a weird, scary, bizarro time that we live in, said Tessethia Von Tessle Roberts, 25, a student in Melbourne who admits to having hit a breaking point a few days ago, when her washing machine broke.

Our health care workers are hustling around the clock to keep us alive, she said. Our politicians are as scared as we are, but they have to pretend like they have a better idea than we do of whats going to happen next.

Pandemic lockdowns, never easy, are getting ever more confusing and contentious as they evolve in the face of second and third rounds of outbreaks that have exhausted both officials and residents. With success against the virus as fleeting as the breeze, the new waves of restrictions feel to many like a bombing raid that just wont end.

For some places, risk calculations can change overnight. In Hong Kong, officials banned daytime dining in restaurants last month, only to reverse themselves a day later after an outcry. Schools in some cities are opening and closing like screen doors in summer.

In many areas where the virus has retreated and then resurged, the future looks like a long, complicated haul. Leaders are reaching for their own metaphors to try to explain it.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom has compared his opening and shutting of businesses to a dimmer switch. Dan Andrews, the premier in Victoria, the state of which Melbourne is the capital, has repeatedly referred to pilot light mode for industries like construction and meatpacking, which have been ordered to temporarily reduce their work forces.

Whatever the metaphor, the situation is bleak.

In Melbourne, a city of five million that is considered a capital of food and culture, the pandemic has come raging back even after a so-called Stage 3 lockdown began in early July until recently the highest level of restrictions.

Officials have been flummoxed at every turn by the persistent complacency of just enough people to let the virus thrive and multiply.

Traffic data showed people driving more in July than they had during the first Stage 3 lockdown, in March and April. Even worse, almost nine out of 10 people with Covid-19 had not been tested or isolated when they first felt sick, Mr. Andrews, the states top leader, said in late July. And 53 percent had not quarantined while waiting for their test results.

That means people have felt unwell and just gone about their business, Mr. Andrews said.

Sounding the alarm, he made face masks mandatory the next day, on July 22.

Still, infections have continued to rise. They peaked at 753 new cases on July 30, and have hovered around 500 a day ever since, with the death toll in Victoria now standing at 147, after 11 deaths were recorded on Monday.

Those figures, while far less troublesome than those in the United States, have paved the way for a Stage 4 lockdown what officials are calling a shock and awe attack on the virus that will last at least six weeks.

Overwhelming force, with precision, seems to be the goal. The chief modelers of the pandemic response in Australia have found that the virus can be suppressed only if more than 70 percent of the population abides by social distancing guidelines and other public health rules.

Mr. Andrews said the new restrictions would take 250,000 more people out of their routines, in the hopes of reaching the necessary threshold.

So retail stores will be closed. Schools will return to at-home instruction. Restaurants will be takeout or delivery only. Child-care centers will be available only for permitted workers.

Those restrictions are already well understood. The rules requiring more explanation are tied to the curfew and industries that have to cut back.

Large-scale construction projects of more than three stories, for example, will have to reduce their on-site work force by 75 percent, and workers will not be able to work at more than one location. Small-scale construction cannot have more than five workers.

All of which sounds clear. But does a bathroom renovation, for example, amount to home building in an apartment with one bathroom? And what about fixing things that break, like Ms. Von Tessle Robertss washing machine?

Some businesses, like cleaning services, are already emailing customers to say they think they can do some work, for people who pay through welfare or who need help for mental health reasons. But, like many others, they are still seeking official clarification.

Mr. Andrews, a Labor politician sometimes described as awkward and paternal, has become the dad everyone needs answers from. He now oversees, under the lockdown rules, what may be the countrys most intrusive bureaucracy since its days as a penal colony.

Updated August 4, 2020

On Tuesday, he answered questions from reporters about dog-walking (allowed after curfew, sort of, only near home) and other subjects of great confusion at a news conference in Melbourne.

Thanking those who complied with the new rules and scolding those who did not, he announced that no one in self-isolation would now be allowed to exercise outdoors. A door-knocking campaign to check in on 3,000 people who had Covid-19 found that 800 of them were not at home.

All 800 have been referred to the Victoria police for investigation. The fine for violators going forward, he said, will be 4,957 Australian dollars, $3,532.

Working, even legally, will also become trickier. Other than, say, hospital workers with formal identification, everyone traveling for a job deemed essential during the lockdown must carry a formal document a work permit signed by the employer and employee.

For Cara Devine, who works at a wine store that closes at 8 p.m., that means carrying a government form with her everywhere, and hoping that the police recognize her task as essential when she heads home after the curfew. But she also worried about the Uber drivers who take her back and forth.

Even before the newest restrictions, Ive had two Uber drivers being really late picking up from the shop because they got stopped by the police, taking about an hour out of their work time, she said.

The police are already confronting opposition. On at least four occasions in the last week, they reported having to smash the windows of cars and pull people out after they refused to provide a name and address at a police checkpoint. The Victoria police commissioner, Shane Patton, said a 38-year-old woman had also been charged with assault after attacking a police officer who had stopped her for not wearing a face mask.

Some criminologists are questioning whether the harsher enforcement will help. Mostly, though, Melburnians are just trying to endure.

Walking to get groceries, Peter Barnes, 56, said he welcomed the stricter rules, though he admitted his city was starting to feel like George Orwells 1984, with the heavy hand of the state around every corner.

Those focused solely on the economics, he said, should remember the obvious: You cant hire a corpse. Very bad employment prospects for people who are dead.

By Monday night, the city seemed to be in listening mode. The streets were emptying out, silent in hibernation.

Its like a Sunday in the 1950s, said Mark Rubbo, the owner of Readings, Melbournes largest independent bookstore. He also noted that people were stocking up again on books through online orders, with a memoir called The Happiest Man on Earth, about a Holocaust survivor, becoming a runaway hit.

Ms. Von Tessle Roberts has found another solution, perhaps just as likely to grow in popularity: Stand on your front porch and scream. Thats the name she has given to an event she posted on Facebook, set for Friday at 7 p.m. By Tuesday afternoon, 70,000 people had expressed an interest in joining her collective shout in anguish.

Yelling is great, she said. Its less dehydrating than crying.

Besha Rodell and Yan Zhuang contributed reporting from Melbourne, and Livia Albeck-Ripka from Cairns, Australia.

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Melbourne is a Case Study in Navigating a Second Wave of Coronavirus - The New York Times

California Coronavirus Update: Governor Gavin Newsom Warns COVID Could Impact Labor Day, Halloween And The Holidays – Deadline

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom held a coronavirus press conference Monday and highlighted some good news. He also issued a warning about the states future with respect to COVID-19.

Newsom announced a total of 5,719 new coronavirus cases in the state for a total of 514,901 confirmed cases since the pandemic began. Thats a much lower daily number than some of the record-setting totals seen last week.

The overall trendis showing a decrease from where we were over a week ago, said Newsom. But one week does not make the kind of trend that gives us confidence to generate headlines. We are looking forward to that and need to see another few weeks of this kind of data to come in to feel more confident about where we are as a state.

The rate of positive tests over the last 14 days is 7.0 percent. Thats down from 7.4 about two weeks ago.

On Monday, there were 6,383 coronavirus patients in hospitals. Thats down from more than 8,800 on July 21. Likewise ICU beds; the number now occupied by COVID-19 patients has fallen below 2,000.

The good news is we do feel confident about our critical care capacity, pointed out the governor.

Newsom announced 32 new deaths, resulting in a total of 9,388 people lost to the pandemic. Thirty-two is a lower number than in the past[but] were likely to see those numbers remain stubbornly high over the next few days and weeks.

These are just a few days worth of results, warned the governor.

Weve seen some stabilization in most parts of the state, said Newsom. At the same time, we can quickly find ourselves back to where we were just a few weeks ago, a month ago, with significant increases if we do not maintain our vigilance.

This virus is not going away, he warned. Its not just going to take Labor Day off. Its not going to take Halloween off. Or the holidays off.

Until we have quality therapeutics, until we have a vaccine, we are going to be living with this virus, predicted Newsom.

We anticipate the second wave in the fall, he said. And that second wave also challenged byflu season on top of COVID-19.

Watch Newsoms new conference below.

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California Coronavirus Update: Governor Gavin Newsom Warns COVID Could Impact Labor Day, Halloween And The Holidays - Deadline

Safety is top of mind as US develops coronavirus vaccine – US Embassy in Georgia

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America, along with the rest of the world, is working swiftly to develop a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus responsible for COVID-19.

Many people are pinning their hopes on the development of a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19 that can stop the spread of the virus. Through itsOperation Warp Speed initiative, the Trump administration is investing billions of dollars to accelerate efforts in the U.S. to develop, manufacture and distribute such vaccines.

But despite the efforts to work quickly, safety remains the top priority of researchers in the U.S.

We are moving as quickly as we can to shorten the timelines to get a vaccine to the public, but we will not compromise one iota the multiple safety checks and safety processes that we have always had in place for vaccine development and testing, says Kayvon Modjarrad, director for emerging infectious diseases at the U.S. Armys Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, which is working to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. We cannot and will not take any shortcuts when it comes to safety assessments of the vaccines we are advancing.

The FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] will only approve or make available a COVID-19 vaccine if we determine that it meets the high standards that people have come to expect of the agency, said Peter Marks, director of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Vaccines typically take years to develop, and extensive testing is built into the process. In the U.S., promising vaccines developed in the lab move on to animal studies, followed by human studies called clinical trials. The FDA sets guidelines for the three phases of clinical trials, with each phase increasing in population size. Phase 3 clinical trials, for example, typically involve thousands of volunteers receiving the test vaccine.

If the clinical trials show that the vaccine is effective without harmful side effects, the vaccine manufacturer can apply for FDA approval to publicly administer it. Even after the vaccine is in widespread use, the federal government continually monitors it for adverse effects.

History shows the potential risks associated with vaccine development. A polio vaccine developed by renowned scientist Jonas Salk was licensed for public use in 1955, but a production error caused some batches of the vaccine to contain the live virus. The incident led to increased quality-control measures in the U.S., to ensure safe immunization of children.

Peoples lives are too important for us to cut corners on the safety side of things.Robert Hopkins, chair of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee

Today, the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research oversees vaccine safety and reviews and licenses vaccine candidates in the U.S.

David Jones, a professor of the history of science at Harvard University, says vaccine development is inherently safer than in the past. Rather than live virus, most vaccines contain either an inactivated form of the virus or a specific protein of the virus that is used to trigger the bodys immune response.

New candidate COVID-19 vaccines, including those in development by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNtech, are exploring new technologies using the viruss genetic code.

Nevertheless, safety is critical. Theres a tremendous amount at stake, says Jones. If a vaccine is developed without safety at the forefront of the process, it could harm peoples health and create a loss of trust. That could potentially decrease vaccination rates for polio, measles and everything else, says Jones.

The U.S. is working to shorten the path to a COVID-19 vaccine without compromising safety, says Robert Hopkins, chair of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, which advises the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Vaccine Program on development and safety.

Whats being done with Operation Warp Speed and a lot of our current vaccine trials is that were taking some of those [usual] steps and instead of doing them one after the other, were doing some of them in parallel, says Hopkins. We are doing things in a slightly different sequence in order to get to the end point more rapidly, but that doesnt mean were cutting out any of the steps when it comes to assessing safety and efficacy. Peoples lives are too important for us to cut corners on the safety side of things.

Modjarrad, of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, says that manufacturers typically wait for all the clinical studies and approvals from the FDA to be complete before making large doses of the vaccine. That adds on months, if not years, to the timeline, he says. Not so with Operation Warp Speed, which is partnering with the private sector to scale up manufacturing of multiple candidate COVID-19 vaccines.

By not waiting for the clinical studies to be completed to make the large doses of vaccine, we will have vaccine ready for large populations the day it is approved by the FDA, Modjarrad says. (Note: If it is not approved, the doses will not be used.)

Whats more, he says, our expertise with coronaviruses; our experts in immunology, structural biology and virology; our manufacturing facility and clinical trials center have all come together to compress the timeline of vaccine development. Nowhere along the way have we skipped any steps in ensuring, assessing and reassessing safety processes.

I cannot stress enough how controlled and regulated a process vaccine development is when it comes to safety, Modjarrad continues. That is the prime objective, safety, when it comes to the development of these vaccines.

Freelance writer Linda Wang wrote this article.

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Safety is top of mind as US develops coronavirus vaccine - US Embassy in Georgia

In Nashville, fewer coronavirus infections and a glimmer of hope – Tennessean

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About a month after closing bars and mandating masks, Nashville officials say the city has made promising but fragile progress against the spread of coronavirus, offering a rare sign of hope in a state where the pandemic is otherwise growing.

The average number of new daily infections in Nashville has dropped 28% percent in just the past week. Hospitalizations, which climbed throughoutmuch of July, have begun to flatten. Fatalities remain low.

The steps we took a month ago, mandating masks, going to a modified Phase Two and closing bars, are working, said Dr. Alex Jahangir, head of the Nashville coronavirus task force, on Tuesday.We are seeing our metrics improve, but we are not out of the woods yet. And most of you are doing your part.

Dr. Michael Caldwell, Director of the Metro Public Health Department, reminds people to wear masks on Lower Broadway in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, July 31, 2020.(Photo: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean)

Nashville made this progress despite a worsening statewide outbreak and an impasse on Lower Broadway, the heart of the citys entertainment district, where unmasked crowds gather in brazen defiance of public health orders. City officials have become increasingly desperate to rein in Broadway but have largely failed to do so.

CORONAVIRUS: Nashville officials signal intent to prosecute organizers of Fashion House party

Mayor John Cooper said Tuesday the city may soon try "different strategies on Broadway and conceded that closing the street altogether was a possibility. Cooper suggested Nashville is making progress, despite defiance on Broadway, because thosecrowds are largely composed of tourists.

The fact is that a lot of people on Lower Broadway may be testing positive and not showing up in our numbers. They dont live here Cooper said. We dont want COVID-19 to show up in these folks home communities either.

As of Tuesday, Nashville had recorded 21,879 residents with coronavirus, including about 3,500 active infections, 700 total hospitalizations and 199 deaths. Average daily infections peaked in July at more than 400 and have since fallen to about 250. More than 220 people were actively hospitalized two weeks ago, but that count has since fallen to 170. Test positivity rates, as calculated by the city, have fallen to their lowest point since June.

The slowing of infections in Nashville is a likely result of themandatingmasks on June 28 and closingbars on July 3. The city followed up two weeks later by ordering restaurants to shut their doors at 10 p.m. in an effort to limit restaurants that essentially became bars after dark.

Cooper said these decisions were recently validated by the White House coronavirus task force, which recommended similar precautions statewide. Gov. Bill Lee gave county mayors the authority to require masks but hasn't issued a statewide mandate and rejected a White House recommendation to close bars.

Although the virus is slowing in Nashville, the story is not the same statewide. Tennessee infections and deaths increased throughout most of July, and average hospitalizations reached record levels just last week. Experts warn the virus is moving away from major citieslike Nashville and Memphisand into smaller cities and rural areas that have less hospitals and public health resources to combat an outbreak.

Brett Kelman is the health care reporter for The Tennessean. He can be reached at 615-259-8287 or at brett.kelman@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter at @brettkelman.

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In Nashville, fewer coronavirus infections and a glimmer of hope - Tennessean

Can Humans Give Coronavirus to Bats, and Other Wildlife? – The New York Times

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Many people worry about bats as a source of viruses, including the one that has caused a worldwide pandemic. But another question is surfacing: Could humans pass the novel coronavirus to wildlife, specifically North American bats?

It may seem like the last pandemic worry right now, far down the line after concerns about getting sick and staying employed. But as the spread of the novel coronavirus has made clear, the more careful we are about viruses passing among species, the better off we are.

The scientific consensus is that the virus originated in bats in China or neighboring countries. A recent paper tracing the genetic lineage of the novel virus found evidence that it probably evolved in bats into its current form. The researchers also concluded that either this coronavirus or others that could make the jump to humans are likely present in bat populations now we just havent found them yet.

So why worry about infecting new bats with the current virus? The federal government considers it a legitimate concern both for bat populations, which have been devastated by a fungal disease called white-nose syndrome, and for humans, given potential problems down the road.

The U.S. Geological Survey and the Fish and Wildlife Service, two agencies involved in research on bats, took the issue seriously enough to convene a panel of 12 experts to analyze the likelihood of human-to-bat transmission of the virus, SARS-CoV-2, in North America.

Another team of scientists, mostly from the two agencies, assessed the expert opinions and issued a report in June. They concluded that there is some risk, although how much is hard to pin down. Taking precautions, like wearing masks, gloves and protective clothing, could significantly cut it down.

Kevin Olival, a vice president for research at EcoHealth Alliance, an independent group and an author of the report, said that as the virus began to spread around the globe, there was a real concern that not only North American but wildlife populations all over the world could be exposed.

While the group studied interactions between North American bats and scientific researchers, Dr. Olival said wildlife-control workers and people who rehabilitate injured bats, for example, may come into contact with bats even more than researchers do.

Evaluating risk meant trying to cope with unknowns piled on unknowns: the risk of an infected research scientist or wildlife worker encountering bats; the risk of the bats becoming infected in that situation; the risk of an infected bat passing the virus onto other bats so that the virus becomes established in the population.

The authors of the paper concluded there was a risk of humans infecting bats with the novel coronavirus. How much risk? You might say little, or small, or unknown, but this report is from two federal agencies, so it describes the risk as non-negligible.

Although the issue of how bat researchers should conduct their work may seem narrow, the potential consequences are broad. The report notes that if SARS-CoV-2 became established in North American bats, it would allow the virus to keep propagating in animals even if it didnt cause disease. And the virus could potentially spill back over to humans after this pandemic is contained.

Another concern involves how readily the coronavirus might spread from bats to other kinds of wildlife or domestic animals, including pets. Scientists have already shown that domestic cats and big cats can become infected, and domestic cats can infect each other. Ferrets are easily infected, as are minks. On the suspicion that they may be passing the disease to people, Spain and the Netherlands have slaughtered thousands of minks at fur farms.

A small number of infected pets has gotten a good deal of publicity. But public health authorities like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said that, although information is limited, the risk of pets spreading the virus to people is low. They do recommend that any person who has Covid-19 take the same precautions with their pets that they would with human family members. National Geographic reported Thursday that the first U. S. dog known to have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, had died. The dog, Buddy, apparently had lymphoma.

Updated August 4, 2020

As to the susceptibility of North American bats, Dr. Olival was not aware of any published work on whether they can be infected with the virus. Researchers in Hong Kong have reported that in a lab the coronavirus infected the intestinal cells of Chinese rufous horseshoe bats. A report this month in The Lancet found that fruit bats could become infected with the virus.

Beyond bats, Dr. Olival said that scientists should be concerned about how they conduct research on wildlife in general and consider what precautions to take to avoid potentially infecting one species or another. One step, he said, would be evaluating research goals to weigh what level of contact would be necessary.

In some cases, he said, observation and data recording could be done without handling animals. If not, gloves and other precautions make sense, although some old-school researchers have balked at the suggestions, he said.

He said his group continues to recommend, the highest level of personal protective equipment when you work with wildlife, because its not just a risk that you will pick up something from the wildlife, but that you dont give something back to them.

He acknowledged that research precautions with wildlife will have a very small effect, given the greater number of people who hunt wildlife or come into contact in other ways. Education efforts are underway to try to change some of those practices; in addition that, he said, researchers should set some kind of standard.

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Can Humans Give Coronavirus to Bats, and Other Wildlife? - The New York Times