Councils can demolish contaminated buildings to stop second wave

Councils can demolish contaminated buildings under powers to stop second coronavirus wave: Local authorities will be able to order the demolition of buildings at the centre of coronavirus outbreaks under draconian powers to contain a potential second wave.

Cars, buses, trains and aeroplanes could also be destroyed subject to the approval of magistrates.

Arguments Against Aerosol Transmission Don't Hold Water

Arguments Against Aerosol Transmission Don't Hold Water

Dutch government will not advise public to wear masks

Dutch government will not advise public to wear masks - minister: The Dutch government on Wednesday said it will not advise the public to wear masks to slow the spread of coronavirus, asserting that their effectiveness has not been proven.

Russia claims to be ahead of rivals to produce Covid vaccine

Russia claims to be ahead of rivals in race to produce Covid vaccine: The Russian government claims to have stolen a march on dozens of global rivals – including the US and UK – in the race to produce a viable coronavirus vaccine, saying it would start production of a vaccine next month and begin mass immunisation by October.

The announcement came amid controversy over how Russia has rushed its two vaccine candidates through safety testing, in which researchers dosed themselves as part of truncated human trials.

The Pandemic Response That Wasn't

The Pandemic Response That Wasn't: The Pandemic Response That Wasn't

Preparedness policies require a long view—but politicians tend to think short-term.

The Economic Consequences of R̂ = 1

The Economic Consequences of R̂ = 1: Towards a Workable Behavioural Epidemiological Model of Pandemics: Here I posit a shortcut that can be deployed to allow for a tractable equilibrium model of pandemics with intuitive comparative statics and also a clear prediction that effective reproduction numbers (that is, R) will tend towards 1 in equilibrium. This motivates taking R̂=1 as an equilibrium starting point for analyses of pandemics with behavioural agents. The implications of this for the analysis of widespread testing, tracing, isolation and mask-use is discussed.

The role of vitamin D in the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 infection and mortality

The role of vitamin D in the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 infection and mortality: Vitamin D levels are severely low in the aging population especially in Spain, Italy and Switzerland. This is also the most vulnerable group of the population in relation to COVID-19. It should be advisable to perform dedicated studies about vitamin D levels in COVID-19 patients with different degrees of disease severity.