New Scientist Australian Edition 11-Apr-20

ALTHOUGH the UK and many other countries are still on the upward curve in terms of covid-19 cases and deaths, in scientific circles, thoughts are already turned towards how we can end the lockdown and return to a semblance of normality. It is a crucial endeavour, but it isn’t a simple one by any means. The world can’t remain in lockdown, yet millions and millions of people remain very vulnerable to the coronavirus. Added to this, a possible vaccine is a long way off, if indeed we ever get one that is useful. So how do we get out of the current situation and resume our former day-to-day lives? As we report on page 10, there are essentially three ways of achieving this. None of them is risk-free or cheap, and all…

AS FIGURES pour in, the estimates of covid-19’s death rate still vary wildly, from as low as 1 in 1000 to as high as 1 in 30. That is because the risk depends on your age, sex, health and the care you receive. In other words, death rates will vary from place to place and over time. In the UK, as of 5 April, 4934 people had died out of 47,806 confirmed cases – a crude case fatality rate of around 10 per cent. For Italy, the figure is 12 per cent and for Germany just 1 per cent. These figures don’t tell us how many of those who are infected will die, known as the infection fatality rate. That’s because crude case fatality rates don’t take into account the fact that some…

ALTHOUGH the UK and many other countries are still on the upward curve in terms of covid-19 cases and deaths, in scientific circles, thoughts are already turned towards how we can end the lockdown and return to a semblance of normality. It is a crucial endeavour, but it isn’t a simple one by any means. The world can’t remain in lockdown, yet millions and millions of people remain very vulnerable to the coronavirus. Added to this, a possible vaccine is a long way off, if indeed we ever get one that is useful. So how do we get out of the current situation and resume our former day-to-day lives? As we report on page 10, there are essentially three ways of achieving this. None of them is risk-free or cheap,…

THE coronavirus may prove disastrous for the world’s poorest people, including those living in slums and refugee camps. Cases were slower to appear in low-income economy countries, but as New Scientist went to press, almost nowhere had escaped the pandemic. Pakistan is one of the worst hit countries in south Asia, with more than 3000 cases as of 6 April and troops deployed across cities to enforce a national lockdown. Elsewhere, Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, has reported 21 cases. In Africa, most cases have been in relatively affluent South Africa and Egypt, but other countries are seeing rises too. Burkina Faso now has more than 300 cases, Senegal 219 and Ghana 205. Across the continent, there are now more than 9000 cases. The impact of the virus in many…

DOES a protein on the surface of some of our cells explain why certain people are more at risk from covid-19? Studies of confirmed cases so far show that people with coronary heart disease or diabetes are more likely to die than other people if they catch the coronavirus. Individuals with lung disorders, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and smokers are also at greater risk, says Janice Leung at the University of British Columbia in Canada. As we begin to understand the virus better, focus is turning to a protein called ACE2. The coronavirus attaches to this receptor protein on the surface of our cells to gain entry to them. The protein is carried by cells in the nose, lungs and gut. It is possible that variation in how much of…

BANS, curfews and wide-reaching restrictions. For many people worldwide, severe limitations on daily life because of the coronavirus have become the new normal. But as we adjust to these measures, what prospect is there of returning to the old normal? What is the world’s exit strategy? If you are hoping for a return to your old life, there is good news and bad news: it will happen, but not necessarily soon. “It is absolutely the case that government advisers and researchers are considering the question of an exit strategy,” says epidemiologist Mark Woolhouse at the University of Edinburgh, UK. But what different nations’ exit strategies will look like, how long we will have to wait for them, and whether they will work, are all still up in the air. In addition…