Coronavirus: an open letter from scientists to say UK virus strategy is 'risking lives'
This week, scientists have written to the government assessing the risks it is taking by not taking more drastic measures to tackle the spread of Covid-19. In an open letter, the experts in science, mathematics, and genetics say the UK's current approach will put the NHS under additional stress and "risk many more lives than necessary".
So far, 3,280 people have been positively diagnosed with coronavirus and there have been 144 deaths. It is crucial to keep safe and stay away from gatherings and to follow the government, NHS and WHO rules. If you're self-isolating help and advice is available to protect your mental health and support you while remote working with your family. On Facebook, a family group has been created offering video play dates, language lessons and much much more: Family Lockdown Tips & ideas.
Microsoft Bing team launches COVID-19 tracker
The Microsoft Bing team have launched a web portal for tracking coronavirus (COVID-19) infections across the globe.
The COVID-19 tracker is easy to use and shows up-to-date infection statistics for each country around the globe and all the US states through an interactive world map. It also feeds real-time news related to the virus cases worldwide. Data is generated from the World Health Organization (WHO), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
"Lots of Bing folks worked (from home) this past week to create a mapping and authoritative news resource for COVID19 info" - Michael Schechter, General Manager for Bing Growth and Distribution at Microsoft.
LVMH to relieve French hospitals from the monstrous lack of hand sanitizers
To help hospitals in fighting the coronavirus outbreak in France, the luxury group LVMH is going to produce hand sanitiser at three of its perfume and cosmetics factories. Twelve tonnes should be produced this week (instead of the usual scents and make-up made at the three French sites). The group said the gel would be delivered “at no charge” to French health authorities, in particular, the 39 public hospitals in Paris, the group said on Sunday.
Launching the Tech Nation 2020
Each year Tech Nation monitors the growth of the tech sector and provides information about opportunities and challenges. With emerging technologies continuing to disrupt and tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges, this year the report focuses on UK tech for a changing world. As a total of £10.1B was raised in 2019 in the UK (a third from the total investment injected in EU startups the same year), British tech is at the forefront of the future of technologies.
"I am delighted to introduce this report, which confirms the United Kingdom's standing as Europe's number one Tech Nation. In the space of a single year, we have shattered all records, with technology investment in the UK soaring by 44 per cent to over £10 billion - more than France and Germany combined. Britain is second in the world for fintech, with investment rising by over 100 per cent in the last year alone. And we are number one in Europe for the emerging technologies that will transform the lives of every single human being." - Boris Johnson
To mark the launch of their report, the Tech Nation team live-streamed the launch with key spokespersons to introduce their brilliant work on putting together new stats and where the UK positions itself in the tech market. You can re-watch the streaming below.
