March 31, 2020
A UK professor of microbiology has warned testing is not a silver bullet for the coronavirus pandemic.
Increasing testing for the presence of Covid-19 or whether a person is producing antibodies in response to the infection are a focus point for countries around the world battling the virus spread.
But professor of microbiology at Reading University Simon Clarke told the Evening Standard not a lot is known about continued immunity to the virus and governments need to be prepared for repeated testing.
“This is really important testing, but it’s not a silver bullet and it’s not a case of get tested once and we can all go past go, collect two hundred pounds, it’s not that simple.”
The UK tests 10,000 people a day, with an aim to get that figure to 25,000, while other countries such as Germany are testing half a million a week.
March 31, 2020
The Prince of Wales may have been spending his time in quarantine with coronavirus feeding red squirrels.
71-year-old Charles spent seven days self-isolating in Scotland after testing positive and displaying mild symptoms.
The Evening Standard’s Insider editor Lucy Pavia says the heir to the throne is known to hide nuts in his pockets to feed the estate’s squirrels.
“William said previously that Charles is obsessed with the red squirrels at Birkhall Cottage and he hides nuts in his jacket pocket and the squirrels go into the house and eat them.”
Buckingham Palace says the Queen last saw her son on March 12 and is in good health.
March 31, 2020
Donald Trump has misstated the population of South Korea’s capital by around 28 million people.
The US President made the claim moments after telling a news conference he knew the country better than anybody.
Trump was responding to a question about per capita testing in the US compared with South Korea.
"I know South Korea better than anybody. It's a very tight - do you know how many people are in Seoul? Do you know how big the city of Seoul is? 38 million people. That's bigger than anything we have."
But, Seoul’s population is around 10 million people, with around 51 million living in the entire country.
Since the Covid-19 outbreak, South Korea has tested roughly twice as many people as a percentage of its population.
By comparison, the US, which has a population of 330 million, says it has tested around one million virus samples.
Public health experts have estimated the US needs to test between 100,000 and 150,000 patients daily to track and contain the virus.
March 31, 2020
Kim Kardashian West has admitted she would kill for her family.
The reality TV star made the comments in a new two-hour documentary, The Justice Project.
Kardashian West was listening to harrowing details of a case involving a woman jailed for murder.
Dawn Jackson was jailed for stabbing her step-grandfather to death after alleging he sexually abused her for years.
An emotional Kardashian West – a mother of four – said she would be prepared to “take one for the whole family” and “go kill that person” if something similar happened to one of her loved ones.
March 31, 2020
The creators of the video chat app Houseparty say it hasn't been hacked despite rumours of a security vulnerability.
Complaints about the popular video-calling service spread like wildfire online yesterday.
Some users say their Netflix, Spotify and Paypal accounts were hacked after downloading the app.
But Houseparty's creators say they think they've been the target of a “commercial smear campaign.”
The firm is offering a million dollar reward if someone can help them find the person who started it.
March 31, 2020
Europe's five biggest football leagues could lose 8.3 billion pounds in player value due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The CIES Football Observatory says top English, Spanish, Italian, French and German clubs could see transfer fees plummet.
If seasons are not completed by June 30, many players contracts and loan agreements will automatically expire.
Manchester United's Paul Pogba is one player cited in the study who has had interest from Juventus and Real Madrid.
But while the Reds want over 100 million pounds to begin negotations, CIES thinks Pogba could be worth closer to 31 million.
March 31, 2020
Huawei says sales of smartphones and other products grew almost 20 percent last year despite US sanctions.
But the firm has warned it now faces a “more complicated” global environment.
The Chinese tech giant is embroiled in a series of disputes with Washington, which accuses the company of being a security risk.
The company denies the accusation, and Chinese officials say the Trump administration is abusing national security claims to restrain a rival to US tech companies.
If Washington proceed with further sanctions in May, it will cut off Huawei's access to most US components and technology.
March 31, 2020
After its successful launch in Europe last week, Disney+ is set to go live in India.
The entertainment giant says the service will be available in about a dozen markets from Friday on Hotstar, one of the country's most popular streaming platforms.
The service comes with content bundled from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic.
Besides films and TV shows, it offers original shows like Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian.
March 31, 2020
A-list stars have joined James Corden for a Late Late Show special broadcast from his garage.
The British entertainer's late-night chat show is off-air due to the coronavirus pandemic.
So Corden hosted a “Homefest” featuring John Legend, Will Ferrell, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and K pop band BTS.
David Blaine, the illusionist, also appeared via video link and performed card tricks.
Corden told of his struggles during the health emergency saying he found it “tougher” than he thought he would.
