Last week, we published a list of ten positive updates on the COVID-19 outbreaks from around the world.
Since the Outbreaks article has been viewed many times and was shared more than 50 times on different websites, we thought we would go ahead and publish another round-up of optimistic occurrences to keep your spirits up.
So here is another list of reasons why the global situation/Outbreak is not as bad as the mainstream media might have you think.
1) World Health Organization (WHO) Officials Say There Are Now 20 Coronavirus Vaccines in Development
Although there are still a number of logistical and financial hurdles that will need to be overcome in the race to deliver a COVID-19 vaccine to the public, WHO representatives say they are working with scientists around the world to test and develop 20 different vaccines.
“The acceleration of this process is really truly dramatic in terms of what we’re able to do, building on work that started with SARS, that started with MERS and now is being used for COVID-19,” Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead for WHO’s emergencies program, said at a press conference in Geneva last week, according to CNBC.
The collective body of research is particularly “remarkable” since the vaccines are in development just 60 days after a number of international scientists decoded the virus’s genetic sequence and shared it with the rest of the world.
One of the vaccines—which is already being tested on a number of American volunteers in Seattle—has already illustrated the “unprecedented speed” with which the medical community is working together to develop a vaccine.
2) From Individuals to Countries and World Governments–Everybody is Sharing Face Masks
Not only is this French fashion designer making her own face masks and giving them away for free, but she is also showing how other people can make their own as well. In North Carolina, a textile mill is gearing up to start making 10 million masks per week. A number of international fashion companies have also redirected their manufacturing teams to produce face masks as well.
3) As American Cities Close Up Amidst Outbreaks, Pollution Plummets
The United States is now benefiting from the same environmental silver lining to the pandemics as China and Italy: as cities encourage self-isolation, air pollution is plummeting.
Over the course of the last few weeks, satellite imaging has revealed significant reductions in air pollution—particularly across California, Seattle, and New York City.
According to CNN, environmental scientists are estimating that the improvement in air quality could collectively save as many as 75,000 people from dying prematurely.
4) As Physicians Worry About Potential Ventilator Shortages, Researchers Develop Several Low-Cost Solutions
In a stroke of genius, one scientist from the University of Minnesota says he went “full-on MacGyver” to build a makeshift ventilator in a matter of hours. Although his team has revised his design over the course of several prototypes with the hopes of eventually submitting it for FDA approval, he says that the inexpensive ventilator is one that he “would be comfortable with someone [using to] take care of me in an ICU or in an operating room.”
The compassionate medical research continues in Italy as a pair of engineers have taken it upon themselves to 3D-print free respirator parts for their local hospitals. As of last week, the Innova startup engineers told Forbes that they had successfully printed more than 100 parts.
5) More Than 100,000 People Have Already Recovered From the Virus Worldwide
According to research from Johns Hopkins University, more than 100,000 COVID-19 patients have already made full recoveries from the infection—and that number may very well climb ever higher as more and more potential treatments are tested around the world.
If that’s not enough, patients as old as 90 have managed to recover from the virus as well.
As Chinese cities gradually reopen to the public now that they have gotten the virus under control with less than 10 new infections reported each day, other countries are expected to experience similar recoveries during the coming months.
6) Nobel Prize Winner Who Correctly Predicted COVID-19 Trends Says ‘We’re Going To Be Fine’
According to a recently-published interview with the Los Angeles Times, Nobel laureate and Stanford biophysicist Michael Levitt has been “remarkably accurate” in predicting China’s recovery from the virus since he began researching the infection rates back in January.
Levitt, who won the 2013 prize for developing complex chemical models of calculation, says that as long as countries continue to practice safe self-isolation measures, the numbers show that they are already beginning to experience slow signs of improvement.
“What we need is to control the panic,” he told the news outlet. “We’re going to be fine.”
For more update of how Coronavirus has affected your neighborhood or the real estate market in Greater Vancouver please chat with your local real estate expert Pouria Sadeghi from Angell Hasman & Associates Realty in West Vancouver http://www.pouriasadeghi.com and follow him on his social media account https://www.instagram.com/pouriasadeghi.ca/
