Multiple Choice Question on Coronavirus

Multiple Choice Question on Coronavirus 

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Questions & Answers. Most Expected MCQ on Corona Virus ( COVID-19 ) | Static Current Affairs 2020. We're learning more about coronavirus (COVID-19) every day. Here are answers to some questions you may have about symptoms, care, and protec ting mcqs. This topic provides answers to some of the most commonly asked questions by disease 2019 (COVID-19) and pregnancy: Questions and answers". The Multiple Choice Question on Coronavirus  important for FPSC, NTS,SST, SST pdf books, sst solved mcqs about Coronavirus  and other pakistan job test

Multiple Choice Question on Coronavirus

1) The first case of  coronavirus causing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV) was found in Asia in 2002, which of the following country has the greatest number of confirmed death cases from the virus to date?

a) China
b) Brazil
c) USA
d) Italy

2) When was the first case of the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease-19) infection seen in the USA? Select from the options below
a) 2003
b) 2013
c) 2019
d) 2020

3) Which of the following virus does not show flu symptoms in humans?
a) Coronavirus
b) Rhinovirus
c) Rotavirus
d) Influenza virus

4) Which of the following statement is NOT true about the important properties of Coronavirus?
a) Non-Enveloped RNA virus
b) Enveloped RNA virus
c) Distributed around the world
d) Can spread from person to person

5) Coronavirus can cause gastroenteritis in animals. True or False?
a) True
b) False

6) Which of the following people are seen at a higher risk of mortality during the COVID-19 infections?
a) Pregnant women
b) Kids 5-10 years old
c) Men 30- 50 years old
d) Older population

7) There is no proper treatment available for the SARS caused by coronavirus, which of the following is NOT the preventive measures for the virus to spread from one person to another?
a) Quarantine of the infected person
b) Travel restriction to the epidemic area
c) Proper laboratory clothing with mask, gloves, and goggles by a health care worker
d) Vaccination during the cold seasons

8) The recent outbreak of the coronavirus infections has spread in many countries and declared a pandemic, an increasing number of deaths have been reported all over the world. Which of the following statements is NOT true about the infection caused by COVID-19?
a) Animal to human transmission have been found
b) Person to person transmission has not been found
c) SARS is the severe respiratory infection caused by coronavirus
d) High fever, cold and difficulty in breathing are the symptoms

9) Middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS) is the type of coronavirus, when was the first case of the virus reported?
a) 2003
b) 2020
c) 2012
d) 2019

10) The most likely source of the MERS-CoV to humans is.............?
a) Dogs
b) Fishes
c) Camels
d) Birds

11) Which of the following is NOT the most common symptoms of infection caused by the coronavirus?
a) High fever
b) Cough
c) Difficulty in breathing
d) Vomiting

12) Which of the following is NOT the proper specimen for the identification of SARS-CoV?
a) Nasal secretions
b) Urine
c) Blood
d) Stool

13) Which of the following country has reported the highest cases of COVID-19 (May 2020) infections other than China and Spain?
a. USA
b. Italy
c. Iran
d. India

14) New York has the most cases of deaths reported in the USA from COVID-19, as of May 2020 how many people all over the country have been reported to be infected?
a.  100,000
b. < 1 million
c. > 1 million
d. 1 million

15) Which of the following antiviral drug is seen as the possible experimental drug for COVID-19 but no 100% positive results have been shown by the drug yet?
a. Peramivir
b. Acyclovir
c. Remdesivir
d. Tamiflu

16) According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the USA, more than 70 percent of people dying from COVID-19 are in which of the following age group?
a. 50 years and below
b. 65 years and above
c. 45 years and above
d. 50 years and above

17) More than 500,000 positive confirmed COVID-19 cases has been reported worldwide, how many confirmed death cases has been reported globally till date (June 2020)?
a. > 300,000
b. < 200,000
c. > 100000
d. < 400,000

18) Which of the following was the recent pandemic seen in the last 25 years?
a. 2009 H1N1 
b. 2014 H5
c. 1994 Plague
d. None of the above

19) The origin of the corona virus strain causing SARS and MERS has been found to be from bats, which of the following animal have been found to be the possible host for the COVID-19 that first transmitted to humans in China?
a. Ducks
b. Bats
c. Cows
d. None of the above

20) ................ is found to work as a disinfectant for the COVID-19 virus
a. 50 % - 60 %
b. Vodka
c. 60% -70 %
d. All of the above

21) The COVID-19 was declared as a pandemic disease in early 2020, according to the different health authorities around the world (WHO/ CDC etc.) what preventive measures should be taken by symptomatic as well as asymptomatic people to protect themselves from getting the virus? Select all the correct answers from the options below
a. To use the mask to cover mouth in public places   
b. To wash hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds
c. To stay at least 6 feet apart from others in public places
d. To quarantine and stay home as much as possible

22) The study on corona virus shows that COVID-19 remains active outside the host cell and is transferred to humans through the mucous membranes and there are some factors that could help to make the virus less active/less stable? Which of the following is NOT the correct answer, select from the options below
a. UV light
b. Hot water
c. Sunlight
d. None of the above

23) An increasing number of children hospitalized in different parts of  Europe and the USA possibly linked to the COVID-19 showed symptoms of "pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome". Experts suggest that the symptoms likely resemble to which of the following condition?
a. Influenza
b. Kawasaki disease   
c. Marasmus disease
d. Toxic shock syndrome

24) In May 2020 one of the pharmaceutical companies in the USA announced that Food and drug administration (FDA) approved and allowed it to start phase 2 trial of the potential vaccine for COVID-19, which of the following is the most correct statement about the phase 2 trial of vaccines?
a. Greater number of patients are given the determined doses of the drug
b. Few patients are given a very small dose of the new drug
c. Small groups of patients are given multiple doses of the drug
d. Testing the efficiency and safety of the drug after it is available in the market

25) A 21-year-old male, working in a grocery store in California where the virus has spread, had high fever, fatigue, and body ache similar to the symptoms of regular flu/common cold. He was suspected of COVID-19 by his doctor, since he had mild symptoms, was recommended to isolate and take care of himself at home. If the symptoms worsen with difficulty in breathing, a confirmation test for COVID-19 must be performed. All of the following statements are true about the diagnosis of COVID-19, EXCEPT?

a. Nasal swab, throat swab, and saliva are taken as a sample for the detection of the virus

b. The samples taken immediately after the exposure to the virus may give false-negative test results

c. A blood test is the primary diagnostic test for the identification of the virus

d. RT-PCR technique is used as a diagnostic test for the identification of the virus

Answers
1-c) USA
2-d) 2020
3-c) Rotavirus
4-a) Nonenveloped RNA virus
5-a) True
6-d) All of the above
7-d) Vaccination during the cold seasons
8-b) Person to person transmission has not been found
9-c) 2012
10-c) Camels
11-d) Brown spots around the face
12-b) Urine
13-a) USA
14-b) < 1 million
15-c) Remdesivir
16-b) 65 years and above
17-d) < 400,000
18-a) 2009 H1N1
19-d) None of the above
20-c) 60% - 70 %
21- a), b), c), d)
22- d)
23- b)
24- a)

25- c)

How to Use a Face Mask Correctly / What is a surgical face mask? / When should you wear a face mask? How to put on a surgical mask

How to Use a Face Mask Correctly

Wearing a face mask often helps people feel protected and reassured. But can a surgical face mask keep you from being exposed to or transmitting certain infectious diseases?

And, if face masks do shield you from infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, is there a proper way to put them on, take them off, and discard them? Keep reading to find out.

What is a surgical face mask?

A surgical mask is a loose-fitting, disposable mask that’s rectangular in shape. The mask has elastic bands or ties that can be looped behind your ears or tied behind your head to hold it in place. A metal strip may be present at the top of the mask and can be pinched to fit the mask around your nose.

A properly worn three-ply surgical mask may help block transmission of large-particle microorganisms from droplets, sprays, splatters, and splashes. The mask may also reduce the likelihood of hand-to-face contact.

The surgical mask’s three-ply layers work as follows:

• The outer layer repels water, blood, and other body fluids.
• The middle layer filters certain pathogens.
• The inner layer absorbs moisture and sweat from exhaled air.

However, the edges of surgical masks don’t form a tight seal around your nose or mouth. Therefore, they can’t filter out small airborne particles such as those transmitted by coughing or sneezing.

When should you wear a face mask?

The World Health Organization (WHO)Trusted Source recommends using surgical masks only if you:

• have a fever, cough, or other respiratory symptoms
• are well but caring for someone with a respiratory illness — in this case, wear a mask when you’re within 6 feet or closer to the person who is ill

Although a surgical mask helps trap larger respiratory droplets, it can’t protect you from contracting the novel coronavirus, which is known as SARS-CoV-2. That’s because surgical masks:

• don’t filter out smaller airborne particles
• don’t fit snugly on your face, so airborne particles can leak in through the sides of the mask

Some studies have failed to show that surgical masks effectively prevent exposure to infectious diseases in community or public settings.

At present, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Trusted Source doesn’t recommend that the general public wear surgical masks or N95 respirators to protect from respiratory illnesses like COVID-19. Healthcare providers and first responders need these supplies, and there’s currently a shortage of them.

However, in the case of COVID-19, the CDC does advise the general public to wear cloth face coverings to prevent the spread of the disease. The CDC also provides instructionsTrusted Source on how to make your own.

How to put on a surgical mask

If you need to wear a surgical mask, take the following steps to put one on correctly.

Steps to putting on a face mask

1. Before putting on the mask, wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water, or rub your hands together thoroughly with alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
2. Check for defects in the face mask, such as tears or broken loops.
3. Position the colored side of the mask outward.
4. If present, make sure the metallic strip is at the top of the mask and positioned against the bridge of your nose.
5. If the mask has:
• Ear loops: Hold the mask by both ear loops and place one loop over each ear.
• Ties: Hold the mask by the upper strings. Tie the upper strings in a secure bow near the crown of your head. Tie the bottom strings securely in a bow near the nape of your neck.
• Dual elastic bands: Pull the top band over your head and position it against the crown of your head. Pull the bottom band over your head and position it against the nape of your neck.
6. Mold the bendable metallic upper strip to the shape of your nose by pinching and pressing down on it with your fingers.
7. Pull the bottom of the mask over your mouth and chin.
8. Be sure the mask fits snugly.
9. Don’t touch the mask once in position.
10. If the mask gets soiled or damp, replace it with a new one.

What not to do when wearing a surgical mask

Once the mask is positioned securely, there are certain precautions to keep in mind to ensure you don’t transfer pathogens to your face or hands.

Do not:

• touch the mask once it’s secured on your face, as it might have pathogens on it
• dangle the mask from one ear
• hang the mask around your neck
• crisscross the ties
• reuse single-use masks

If you have to touch the face mask while you’re wearing it, wash your hands first. Be sure to also wash your hands afterward, or use hand sanitizer.

How to remove and discard a surgical mask

It’s important to remove the face mask correctly to ensure you don’t transfer any germs to your hands or face. You also want to make sure you discard the mask safely.

Steps to taking off a face mask

1. Before you take off the mask, wash your hands well or use hand sanitizer.
2. Avoid touching the mask itself, as it could be contaminated. Hold it by the loops, ties, or bands only.
3. Carefully remove the mask from your face once you:
• unhook both ear loops, or
• untie the bottom bow first, followed by the top one, or
• remove the bottom band first by lifting it over your head, then do the same with the top band
4. Holding the mask loops, ties, or bands, discard the mask by placing it in a covered trash bin.
5. After removing the mask, wash your hands thoroughly or use hand sanitizer.

What is an N95 respirator?

N95 respirators are form-fitted to the size and shape of your face. Because they fit your face more snugly, there’s less opportunity for airborne particles to leak in around the sides of the mask.
N95s can also filtrate small airborne particles more effectively Trusted Source.
The key to an effective N95 is to ensure that it fits your face correctly. Healthcare practitioners who provide direct patient care are fit-tested annually by a qualified professional to be sure their N95 fits them snugly.

A properly fitted N95 respirator usually filtrates pathogens in the air much better than a surgical mask. Respirators that have been carefully tested and certified to carry the N95 designation can block up to 95 percentTrusted Source of tiny (0.3 micron) test particles. But they also have their limitations.
However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)Trusted Source doesn’t recommend that the general public use N95 respirators to protect themselves from respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19. If worn without a snug fit, they can’t filter out small airborne particles that cause illnesses.
According to the FDA, the best way to prevent an infection is to avoid being exposed to the virus. It recommends practicing social distancing and frequent handwashing.
The results of a 2016 systematic review Trusted Source and meta-analysis found no significant difference between N95 respirators and surgical masks when used by healthcare workers to prevent transmission of acute respiratory infections in clinical settings.

COVID-19 TRACE Act doesn’t remove people from their homes

Legislation proposed by House Democrats that would provide billions of dollars toward mobile testing for COVID-19, has in recent weeks led to online conspiracy theories
that the bill authorizes the government to enter the homes of citizens and forcibly remove them if they test positive.

Not only would doing so violate the constitutional rights of Americans, but it’s categorically false.

The bipartisan bill known as the COVID-19 Testing, Reaching and Contacting Everyone (TRACE) Act was introduced by Illinois Rep. Bobby Rush on May 1 and has been co-sponsored by over 60 other House members. 

The TRACE Act, also known as HR6666, would establish a $100 billion grant program for local organizations to hire, train, and pay individuals to run mobile testing units and conduct door-to-door outreach. These testing measures would especially focus on medically underserved communities and hot spots where the novel coronavirus is most felt across the country.

In addition to the current system in which people are being tested for COVID-19 at hospitals, the new legislation would allow citizens to be tested at more accessible locations such as high schools and universities, academic medical centers, federally-qualified health centers and any other entity deemed eligible by the CDC.

One aspect of the bill that has been misinterpreted online is that the TRACE Act would also allow people to be tested in their residence. If tested positive, individuals would be encouraged to self-quarantine at their residences and maintain social distancing.

After the TRACE Act was introduced, online conspiracy theories were heavily pushed by right-wing platforms and eventually made their way to social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The conspiracies falsely claimed that the bill would give the federal government the authority to enter residences without consent and remove those who test positive for COVID-19 and force them into quarantine.

The bill (which is available here) and a fact sheet were provided to theGrio by the office of the U.S. House of Representatives. The fact sheet specifically debunks the recent conspiracies.

“Not everyone has the ability to visit drive-thru testing sites, and many others are unable to leave their homes to get tested for any number of reasons,” the fact sheet reads. “This bill would allow the testers to come to you through mobile testing units and door-to-door outreach, as is safe and necessary, from members of your own community. However, if you don’t want to be tested for coronavirus, you won’t don’t have to be — but you should.”

The conspiracy that a bill providing greater access to testing and more contact tracing of the virus would somehow lead to a state-controlled dystopia comes as conservatives, Republican leaders, and President Donald Trump continue to push political talking points that downplay the risk of COVID-19 in an effort to bolster arguments to open back up the economy.

In fact, on Thursday, he suggested that people not get tested to apparently reduce the number of infection cases. “Don’t forget, we have more cases than anybody in the world. But why? Because we do more testing,” Trump said. “When you test, you have a case. When you test, you find something is wrong with people. If we didn’t do any testing, we would have very few cases. They [the media] don’t want to write that.”

That theory, of course, would not stop the virus from spreading but would rather see the virus continue to silently do its damage — particularly in the most vulnerable communities which are mostly Black and Brown.

As Vox reports:

More testing helps public health experts and policymakers understand the full scope of the problem, isolate those who have tested positive, and then trace their contacts to help contain potential outbreaks. But for Trump, the downside is it undercuts his argument that it’s already safe for states to lift stay-at-home orders that are hurting the economy and therefore hurting his reelection hopes.

What’s more, predominantly white, affluent communities are being tested more frequently, despite the fact that low-income and minority communities are being infected and dying at higher rates. Considering this data backdrop, providing more testing to these communities would literally save lives.

“I’ve seen these alarming posts as well, but I can assure you that they are completely false,” Rep. Rush, the bill’s sponsor, said on his website. “This bill does not authorize anyone to enter your home, for whatever reason, without your permission, nor does it allow the government to remove anyone from your home because of the coronavirus.”

The TRACE Act is currently in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. If approved in that committee if will then move forward to the House calendar to be voted on, debated or amended.

Coronavirus: Compulsory vaccines in the UK

There's no mandatory vaccine law in UK

First, we've looked at a widely shared video posted on YouTube that claims changes introduced in UK law give the government the power to enforce vaccinations as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

Under current UK law, however, this is not the case - vaccines are not compulsory.

The presenter of the video has a copy of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984, which applies in England and Wales.

This legislation gives the government powers to prevent, control or mitigate the spread of an infection or contamination.

However, it explicitly states that regulations cannot require a person to undertake medical treatment, including vaccination.

The Coronavirus Act introduced in March 2020 extended this prohibition to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The current legislation "makes explicitly clear that the power to make such regulations does not include mandatory treatment or vaccination", says Louise Hooper, a barrister at Garden Court Chambers in London.

Where we're at with a vaccine
Why are people sceptical about vaccines?
The video also claims the government has sweeping powers to detain people believed to be infectious with the virus.

It's true there are powers in existing UK law to prevent the spread of disease, such as requiring someone to self-isolate if potentially infectious.

"These are wide-ranging, however, there are important limitations on all of these powers," says Louise Hooper.

The person must be told why they are being told to isolate, it's limited to 14 days and can be appealed against to a magistrate. This can sometimes be extended but then must be reviewed every 24 hours.

"Plandemic"?
In the jargon of this next widely shared video, the global Covid-19 pandemic is a "plandemic", suggesting it was a planned event.

So popular has this online film become that the term was, for a while, a top-trending search in the US.

It has clocked up millions of views - #Plandemic has been tweeted tens of thousands of times.

The video is filled with medical misinformation about the origins of the virus and how it is spread.

It contains an interview with researcher Judy Mikovits, well-known for her anti-vaccination activism, who claims Covid-19 was not "naturally occurring" and was "manipulated" in a laboratory.

This is a widely shared idea, but there is no scientific evidence for it.

Several versions of the film have been removed by YouTube, which says the video has "content that includes medically unsubstantiated diagnostic advice for Covid-19". Other social networks have also been taking it down.

Despite these efforts to remove it, users have been widely re-posting the video.

The genome patent claim
Along with a host of false health claims (such as treating patients with hot water, Vitamin C and sunshine), another video, this one viewed more than a million times on YouTube also claims that a patent for the genome sequence of the new coronavirus was taken out long before the latest outbreak began.

This rumour has been swirling around online for months, suggesting the release of a previously known virus.

However, the "coronavirus patent" referred to in the video was one that was applied for in 2006 for the genome sequence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) - a different type of coronavirus. The application was ultimately not pursued.

The video then refers to the existence of a patent for a "coronavirus vaccine" - one held by the British-based Pirbright Institute.

The video fails to mention that this is linked to a different coronavirus that affects poultry.

The Pirbright Institute receives some funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This has contributed to the baseless but widespread online rumours that Bill Gates holds a patent for a Covid-19 vaccine.

• No, Bernie. Trump is not selling coronavirus coins
• The beautiful message that Bill Gates didn’t send
• Who spreads 'fake news'?
• How bad information goes viral
• The big rap singalong that never happened
• Demand grows for Madagascar's herbal drink
• We've looked previously at a herbal tea being promoted by President Andry Rajoelina of the island nation of Madagascar as a treatment for coronavirus.

The drink, produced under the name Covid Organics, is now being widely distributed across sub-Saharan Africa despite a lack of scientific testing.

Among those pinning their hopes on the tonic is Tanzania's president John Magufuli, who ordered a plane to the island to pick up supplies, as have Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.

Authorities in Gabon and Comoros have also expressed intentions to import Covid Organics to use as a remedy.

And the Covid-19 task force in the Democratic Republic of Congo have said they intend to produce their own treatment using Covid Organics as a base.

The WHO has issued a warning in response to the production of the Covid Organics drink, that all traditional remedies and plants should be tested for efficacy and adverse side-effects.

"Africans deserve to use medicines tested to the same standards as people in the rest of the world," it said in a statement.

The dangers of chlorine dioxide
A recent video of a doctor from Paraguay shared thousands of times on Facebook claims a substance known as "miracle mineral supplement" (MMS) can help prevent Covid-19.

It contains chlorine dioxide, a bleaching agent, and health authorities have warned of the dangers of drinking it.

MMS products have been widely promoted on social media both in Latin America and in the United States, where they regularly appear in YouTube videos as treatments for a wide range of illnesses.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said it's "not aware of any scientific evidence supporting their safety or effectiveness and they pose significant risks to patient health".

The FDA adds there have been reports of life-threatening consequences from drinking chlorine dioxide products.

Coronavirus may never go away, World Health Organization warns

The coronavirus "may never go away", the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.

Speaking at a briefing on Wednesday, WHO emergencies director Dr Mike Ryan warned against trying to predict when the virus would disappear.

He added that even if a vaccine is found, controlling the virus will require a "massive effort".

Almost 300,000 people worldwide are reported to have died with coronavirus, and more than 4.3m cases recorded.

The UN meanwhile warned the pandemic was causing widespread distress and mental ill health - particularly in countries where there's a lack of investment in mental healthcare.

The UN urged governments to make mental health considerations part of their overall response.

What did WHO say?
"It is important to put this on the table: this virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities, and this virus may never go away," Dr Ryan told the virtual press conference from Geneva.

"HIV has not gone away - but we have come to terms with the virus."

Dr Ryan then said he doesn't believe "anyone can predict when this disease will disappear".

There are currently more than 100 potential vaccines in development - but Dr Ryan noted there are other illnesses, such as measles, that still haven't been eliminated despite there being vaccines for them.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed it was still possible to control the virus, with effort.

"The trajectory is in our hands, and it's everybody's business, and we should all contribute to stop this pandemic," he said.

WHO epidemiologist Maria van Kerkhove also told the briefing: "We need to get into the mindset that it is going to take some time to come out of this pandemic."

Their stark remarks come as several countries began to gradually ease lockdown measures, and leaders consider the issue of how and when to reopen their economies.

Dr Tedros warned that there was no guaranteed way of easing restrictions without triggering a second wave of infections.

"Many countries would like to get out of the different measures," the WHO boss said. "But our recommendation is still the alert at any country should be at the highest level possible."

Dr Ryan added: "There is some magical thinking going on that lockdowns work perfectly and that unlocking lockdowns will go great. Both are fraught with dangers."

COVID-19'S HISTORIC ECONOMIC IMPACT, IN THE U.S. AND ABROAD

More than 2.1 million people around the world have become infected with COVID-19, and more than 140,000 people have died from the disease. The United States, now approaching 650,000 infections, is the new epicenter of the outbreak.

But as U.S. officials rush to contain the spread of disease, the federal government is also grappling with the dramatic—and unprecedented—toll the epidemic has had on the economy. In four weeks, 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits. Technical glitches have prevented millions of Americans from receiving their stimulus checks from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. And the Small Business Administration, which supports U.S. entrepreneurs with loans and funding, has run out of money for its Paycheck Protection Program.

In fact, there is no country in the world that can be held up as a model for both its economic and public health response to the coronavirus pandemic.

For insights on how U.S. and European governments—and particularly Italy, the previous epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak—have worked to contain the economic fallout from the global health crisis, the Hub turned to Filippo Taddei, a Johns Hopkins associate professor of international economics and a faculty member at SAIS Europe. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Over the past several weeks we've seen central banks around the world, particularly the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve, move with extraordinary speed to shore up financial markets, but these efforts have not calmed volatility. Is there anything else for central bankers to do, or is this an economic crisis that can only be solved through public health measures?
It is true that the size of the intervention is impressive. The size of the Federal Reserve's intervention still remains higher than the ECB, and its promptness to act in the market has been much greater compared to the ECB. Perhaps this is not surprising since the ECB is a combination of the different central banks from EU member countries.

The real difference between the Federal Reserve and the ECB is how timely they have been in their responses. The U.S. started very strongly with a "preemptive strike"-style intervention, announcing a rate cut outside of the usual standard monthly meeting. Conversely, the president of the ECB held the usual press conference following the monthly meeting of the bank board, but her language wasn't clear on how much the ECB would act in order to combat the global shock from the pandemic.

For central bankers, words often matter more than the actual money, so the wording of statements is crucial, especially at times like these. If we look at the uncertain start by the ECB and quick action by the Federal Reserve, in both cases the real difference is not about the money that central banks can put down, but rather how credible they can be to serve as an anchor against uncertainty.

This is a concern for everyone right now—we have a great degree of uncertainty in how long this pandemic will last, and that's fundamental, unfortunately. What we don't want is to add an additional layer of uncertainty about policy. The additional uncertainty is whether our institutions, like the ECB and other central banks, are willing to support the financial sector to make sure that credit keeps on flowing to the real economy, no matter what. This is not as obvious as it might sound: banks hold a large amount of government debt in their balance sheet and, whenever government bonds come under pressure, the increase in their yields threatens the stability of the banking system. When the ECB president asserted that the central bank's job is not to ensure that Euro Area countries' debt trades at low rates, she said something true but self-defeating. During such an unprecedented situation, the last thing a central banker should suggest is that an essential part of private banks' assets could suffer, hindering their ability to operate and extend credit. Facing an unconventional shock, poor messaging and language is a huge drawback—the central banks need to be clearer so that their language matches the extraordinary moment that we're facing.

The current economic crisis calls to mind the Great Recession of 2008 in terms of widespread damage, and some draw comparisons to the Great Depression of the 1930s. Do you feel these are accurate comparisons? Are there other precedents for what we're experiencing, or is it a singular "black swan" event?
I don't think these are the right comparisons because both crises—the Great Recession and the Great Depression—were essentially demand shocks. What you do with a demand shock is standard macroeconomic policy, and even allowing certain mistakes, we saw in the response to the Great Recession how fiscal and monetary policies worked to alleviate a demand shock.

This is something else. This is supply shock. Here, everything was functioning as normal, but as COVID-19 intensified, bringing thousands and then tens of thousands into the health system, we have decided to shut down the economy. This was because governments discouraged and then prohibited people going to work. If you think about it, supply is the measure of what we collectively produce, but the virus caused a sudden contraction of the labor supply. This has then caused a loss of confidence that resulted in a demand shock, too, but it's a spillover, an indirect effect due to a fundamental contraction in our ability to produce goods and services.

When you face a supply shock, policies like those used during the Great Recession work, but only in containing the secondary shock to people's confidence, the demand shock. It's important to respond on the fiscal and monetary fronts. What's really key is that we don't add additional shocks on top of the initial crisis that is having such a severe effect on our ability to work and produce.

If you want to compare the current crisis to something that happened in the past, a better comparison is the oil shock and energy crisis during the 1970s and early 1980s. The sharp increase in the price of oil made the production and transportation of goods a lot more expensive, hindering productive capacity as is going on right now.

In the United States, relief efforts were initially stymied by a lack of consensus on how to allocate resources between working people and industry. How have EU countries navigated this tension, and are there lessons for U.S. lawmakers on crafting an effective stimulus response?
When you compare the policy situations in the EU and U.S., keep in mind that the EU is much more gradual in its adjustment. The U.S. is a country of choice and action, where things that seem unmovable before a crisis are suddenly thrown into flux—like the agreement on a $2 trillion stimulus bill. The EU is much more gradual in its approach. While the economic shock is common to all nations, it is not undertaken uniformly. So, what we've seen in Europe is an increasingly stricter response on the health front and an increasingly stronger economic support across the continent, but always undertaken in a gradual fashion.

Europe, and Italy in particular, can serve as a point of observation: if you are too gradual in your response, you run the risk of COVID's course being worse than it might have otherwise have been. Really, Italy's response made sense in the face of an unknown scenario, but perhaps we could have learned a little bit better from the events and responses in Asia. The clear message from our experience is that you need to intervene as swiftly and uniformly as possible. In light of the experience worldwide, one major concern for the U.S. is that different states are acting in different ways in trying to contain the virus.

What are the primary risks for Italy, other EU countries, and the U.S. as the economic crisis precipitated by COVID-19 continues?
Global productive capacity has shrunk severely and abruptly as a consequence of lockdown and some needed equipment, like ventilators, is in short supply. In normal times, the economy would quickly adjust by reallocating its workforce through new investments. This is simply impossible when people can't effectively work due to the outbreak.

As overall production of goods and services is reduced, government action ensuring capacity to contain the epidemic as quickly as possible is justified if we want to bring people back to work. This type of policy action makes sense, and the crucial matter is to identify what is the most effective level of authority needed to aggressively address the outbreak. In any case, whether in the U.S. or in Europe, trying to convert production into what is immediately needed to end the outbreak is appropriate.

Italy has been encouraging this industrial conversion extensively as well, and so have other countries in Europe. There are different cases of companies that have started producing respirators, masks and protective garments, and other helpful medical supplies.

If we want to think of the long-term consequence of the COVID crisis, we should focus on public debt. The Great Recession left us with a legacy in the U.S. and EU of greatly expanded government debt. We think of the Great Recession as a temporary shock that we recovered from but now, as we look at the current crisis, we will be increasing government debt greatly compared to GDP. This is a legacy that will remain for a long time and will pose very pressing policy questions.

As we think about the future of advanced economies, in the U.S. and Europe, we have to ask ourselves how we will be dealing with a level of government debt that will exceed, as a share of GDP, the amount we had at the end of WWII. Our management of this new massive debt through the policy response in the aftermath of the crisis will shape our society determining the economic balance between generations, the actual opportunities for future generations, and the technological disruption and transformation that was already in place before this outbreak.

COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on labor, with the U.S. Treasury Secretary estimating that unemployment could reach 20% in the U.S. What are the long-term impacts, both in Europe and in the United States, of such severe unemployment?
We have to be careful not to pay too much attention to the unemployment rate alone as the crisis is also generating substantial underemployment: a large share of the workforce is not able to work as much as they could or wish. In Italy, to give you a sense of the labor situation, only somewhere between 40-50% of the labor force is able to work as efficiently as before. That means that between 50-60% of our workers are either working remotely or not working at all. It's an unprecedented change in peace time, affecting everyone, not just the Italian economy.

There's a large body of literature on the long-term consequences of unemployment, even when due to a short-term shock. When people lose their jobs, the long-lasting effects are not just on their income. Unemployment has a negative effect on workers' skills and education, even on their health—people who are unemployed become sicker. Your human capital, the skills of your country's workforce, decay over time because of the loss of jobs. To mitigate this, the Italian government is doing all it can to keep people as attached to their jobs as possible by preventing companies from enacting layoffs. In order to achieve this objective, short time compensation schemes—usually available only for large industrial firms—have been expanded to almost every sector and firm size. Through these schemes, the government pays reduced salaries, which allows employers to keep their employees without going bankrupt.

In the U.S. these schemes exist in more than 20 states but the country is less equipped in this dimension. U.S. workers experience a quicker turnover: they are laid off more often but then re-hired more quickly compared to the EU. The current scenario is different, though, from the usual business cycle because the current shock could discontinue many of these businesses altogether. What governments need to do at the moment is try to prevent the destruction of capital and desertification of existing businesses. Preventing employers from laying off people is likely to be in their and the economy's best interest, even if they work very little, since this can help to better protect essential human capital. At the moment, the size of resources behind the relief package put in place by the U.S. government has surpassed the combined set of responses taken across Europe.

In the United States, public health officials have looked to Italy to anticipate future scenarios. Do you think this is an apt comparison? What lessons can leaders in the United States and other nations learn from the strategies taken by the Italian government?
Yes, it is a possibility, but there are a couple of lessons that Italy's experience can provide in order to prevent or mitigate the outbreak we experienced.

The first is relatively easy: you have to test widely without limiting your attention only to the people showing symptoms. When you test people, keep them separated applying as much social distancing as possible. The U.S., where health care triage is much quicker, plays at an advantage here. These protocols might be more effective right now in containing the spread of the virus. A concern that we have seen in Europe is that if you don't implement a response nationwide, containing the virus will be much harder. The response might not need to be exactly the same everywhere in the country, but you must require coordination and quick scalability. The U.S. must avoid the same mistake we had in Italy and the rest of Europe: if you don't provide a coordinated response to containment, including possible restrictions to the movement and actions of people, the outbreak will only get worse. Make no mistake: this is costly economically, because production contracts sharply across the board, but if you can contain the outbreak in a shorter period of time, you will most likely end up congesting hospital capacity, increase the death toll and, eventually, extend the length of the economic shock.

We are far more connected with one another than we previously thought—not just because our jobs are connected with one another, not just because the value chains are spread throughout our countries, but because our lives are built in connection with one another. COVID-19 is dangerous because it exploits how close we have all become.

why a coronavirus treatment could be more beneficial than a vaccine

Developing an effective coronavirus treatment could be the key to fighting the disease, experts say

The race to develop a coronavirus treatment

• There is no approved therapy for Covid-19.
• Coming up with an effective treatment can serve as a bridge to a vaccine that experts expect will likely take 12 to 18 months to develop.
• Repurposed drugs and convalescent plasma therapy have recently come into the spotlight as potential treatments.

Some reports predict that close to half the global population will eventually contract the coronavirus. While aggressive testing to contain the spread of the disease remains a top priority, scientists and researchers believe that an effective treatment can serve as a bridge while experts develop a vaccine.

For now, regulators are heavily leaning toward repurposing existing medications, which will both save time and guarantee a steady supply. The Food and Drug Administration is looking into drugs that are normally used to treat other conditions, such as HIV, malaria, Ebola and rheumatoid arthritis, as possible candidates to treat Covid-19.

It’s a process that will prove to be “a very, very difficult business,” according to Rena Conti, an associate markets professor at Boston University. “Four out of five drugs fail in developing. And that’s true for cancer and for other types of significant unmet needs that we have now. And that exact same failure rate should be expected in developing a treatment for Covid-19.”

Other therapeutic treatments such as convalescent plasma therapy, which uses blood from recovered patients in coronaviruse to treat those in critical condition, have recently come into the spotlight after the FDA approved its use on March 24. It’s a treatment that’s been around for over 100 years, most notably to combat other diseases such as the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. However, the challenge lies in proving its efficacy and securing enough plasma to treat those who are in need.

Scientists remain hopeful, given the number of treatments and drugs that are under consideration. As of April 19, the FDA revealed that 72 treatments are in active trials and 211 treatments are in the planning stages. “I think it is likely that we will be able to identify a therapy that has some success within a period of several months to maybe a year,” said Andrew D. Badley, an infectious disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic.

Corona Virus (COVID-19) public message

As Forwarded from the Agha Khan Hospital' doctors:

Dear All

Corona Virus (COVID-19) don't attack those people who have strong immune system. For example, they say it mostly attacks children of 5 years age and older people above 50 years of age.

Why China?: Because Chinese frequently (almost every day) eat rice with dirty animal's meat, like dogs, cats, rats, etc. ,

Why Italy?: Because Italians only and only eat Pizza ! They don't eat any other food except Pizza only!

To make your immune system stronger, please do and eat all kinds of food items on the different days and different times, like:

1. Sleep more than 8 hours a day,
2. Drink water or juices after  every 2 hours,
3. Wash your hands more frequently with sanitizer, soap or whatever,

4. Avoid junk food, like burgers, sandwiches, etc., available outside  !

5. Eat Pulses (Daal masur, moong, chnana, maash, etc.),
6. Drink Milk and/or eat  Yougurt (Dahi),
7. All types of flours (Aata), like wheat, rice, maize, juar flours,
8. All types of vegetables, like carrots, bhindi, potatoes, tomatoes, turiyan, etc.,
9. All types of fruits, like apples, bananas, strawberries, etc.,
10. Eggs, fish and mutton meat,

And, every food item, that's easily available and cheaper (and affordable), like Yougurt (or Dahi), Eggs and Bananas.

Particularly, drinking Milk (and/or Yougurt),
    .  Eating "Eggs"  and "Bananas"  are sufficient enough to maintain strong immune system that fights Corona Virus.


Note:

I fulfilled my responsibility to forward this  message. Please, you can also do the same.