If you suspect you or a family member has coronavirus you should call (not visit) your GP or ring the national Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.

If you suspect you or a family member has coronavirus you should call (not visit) your GP or ring the national Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.

Some companies are selling fraudulent products with claims to prevent, treat, mitigate, diagnose, or cure coronavirus.
Medscape Medical News

Local businesses forced to close by the pandemic are offered a glimmer of hope, as the WA Government flags the state could be more "economically progressive" than others due to its low COVID-19 case numbers.

The ancestors of Aboriginal people in Australia arrived in several large and deliberate migrations by island-hopping to reach West Papua, new research shows.

Virgin Australia is expected to announce the airline will go into voluntary administration, with Deloitte tipped to help the company restructure about $5 billion in debt and pay off its creditors.

Australia's troubled second airline, which saw its cash flow collapse because of tough coronavirus travel restrictions, appoints accounting firm Deloitte to act as administrator after the Federal Government rejected calls to bail it out.

Regional centres are concerned they could be badly hit by the potential collapse of Virgin Australia, with higher airfares and less competition.

For Queensland, the pain of a possible collapse of Virgin Australia runs deep, with nearly half of its workforce based in the state.

The company behind the Spirit of Tasmania ferry service says its ships will no longer be docking at Station Pier in Port Melbourne, and will instead move to Corio Quay, north of Geelong.

A small exploration company drilling for gold in Western Australia's Goldfields wants to change the perception that the resources sector is a "dirty industry" by using biodegradable bags for drill samples.

Almost 7,000 square kilometres of land will be released for coal and gas exploration in central and north Queensland as part of measures to ensure the survival of the resources sector through the coronavirus pandemic, the State Government says.

Reggae king Buju Banton and R&B star John Legend released the easygoing love song “Memories” on Friday.

Lisa Kudrow is a doting mum to son Julian and has kept him out of the public eye during his...

Sarah Ferguson is never one to do things by halves and to mark VE Day on Friday, the...

Les services psychologiques devraient être intégrés dans le régime public pour bénéficier à l’ensemble de la population, plaide le PLQ.

Over the last twenty years, SaaS investors and executives alike have done a great job at defining, evolving and managing to Key "Enterprise Valuation" Indicators such as Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), Customer Acquisition Cost Ratio, Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV), CMRR/ARR, Gross Margin, Gross and Net Churn, and of course, the "Rule of 40".   Several industries influencers, such as Pacific Crest (Key Bank Capital Markets), OpenView, Insight Partners and KPMG, to name just a few, have done ...

Keep on reading: SaaS Key Performance Indicator Index – An Operational Perspective

Rugby league faces a dangerous financial crunch due to the coronavirus shutdown, but players, clubs and the NRL are working together to ensure the game's future.

After 16 years as the frontwoman for Paramore, and following a broken marriage and a lot of therapy, Hayley Williams is releasing her first solo album.

The Trump administration appears to be conditioning coronavirus assistance in Central America on immigration policy

Medicaid and other parts of the healthcare safety net get left behind in the Trump administration's plans for distributing aid to battle the coronavirus.

U.S. prosecutors accused a former commander of the Honduran police of importing tons of cocaine into the United States on behalf of the country's president, a Trump ally.

Los Angeles Times journalists Christopher Knight and Molly O'Toole won Pulitzer Prizes on Monday, bringing the newspaper's total to 47.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many healthcare facilities around the world are inundated with critically ill patients, and resources such as equipment and staff are stretched thin. Shortages of critical equipment, such as ventilators, can mean the difference between life and death for patients, and the need to keep critically ill patients comfortable and alive […]

Exhibitors and attendees can now register for the show which is taking place in Shanghai from 14th to 16th September 2020.

May 8, 2020 (WASHINGTON) – Today, several House committee and subcommittee chairs sent a letter to the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Health & Human Services (HHS) regarding recent news reports alleging that the Trump Administration is considering implementing policies that could unnecessarily delay migrant children in HHS care from being reunified with their sponsors.  The chairs again urge the Administration to rescind a Memorandum of Agreement requiring information about sponsors for migrant children be shared by HHS with DHS.  A group of House chairs previously wrote the Administration on this issue last July.  Despite current law, Congressional directives, and the current COVID-19 epidemic, the Administration continues policies that will lengthen the time migrant children spend in HHS care, thus keeping these children in congregate settings and therefore at heightened risk for exposure to COVID-19.  There have been 68 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among children in HHS care. The letter, led by Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, has also been signed by: Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee; Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Chairman of the Judiciary Committee; Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), Chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee; Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Chairwoman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee; Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Chair of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee; Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Chairwoman of the Homeland Security Committee Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations Subcommittee; Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Chair of the Judiciary Committee Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee; and Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. Link to letter Letter text: We write with deep concern over recent reporting alleging that Administration officials are considering implementing policies that could unnecessarily delay the reunification of unaccompanied minors in the care of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with their sponsors.  These concerns are heightened by the current COVID-19 epidemic, which poses significant risks for all individuals held in congregate settings. We are particularly wary of expanded information sharing under the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between your Departments. As we wrote last summer, we continue to have strong concerns that the MOA, which has been used in the past to deport a child’s family and loved ones, will have a chilling effect on reunifications by forcing migrant families to choose between sponsoring children and risking arrest. The effect of that policy undermines the best interests of children in HHS care. This is particularly dangerous given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has already resulted in 68 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among children in ORR care, including 38 children within just one facility in Illinois. HHS previously fingerprinted all adults in a sponsor’s household for a period of about six months in 2018. However, according to HHS Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Assistant Secretary Lynn Johnson, HHS found that the extra screening did not add to the protection or safety of the children.   In addition, the HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that the MOA resulted in children spending a significantly increased length of time in HHS care, reaching an average length of stay of 93 days in November 2018. The OIG found that the length of stay declined as HHS reduced fingerprinting requirements.  The Administration must not revisit a policy that has been found to be detrimental to the interests of the children in its care. We find it extremely troubling that both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and HHS are reportedly considering ignoring Congressional directives and reimplementing policies that are expected to delay the placement of children in HHS care with sponsors.  The law has been clear – the Administration is not to deter potential sponsors from coming forward by using information shared under the MOA for deportation purposes, except in very limited, specified circumstances.  Yet DHS’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) violated the law and utilized the information collected from adults deemed ineligible for sponsorship for deportation purposes.  ICE’s continued use of data collected by HHS for the placement of children in safe homes also represents a violation of the law. In addition, Congress directed HHS in the Fiscal Year 2020 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act not to reverse operational directives from 2018 and 2019 that reduced the length of time children spent in HHS care. Congress also directed HHS to “continue to work on efforts to reduce time in care and to consider additional policy changes that can be made to release children to suitable sponsors as safely and expeditiously as possible.”  We urge you to prioritize the safety and wellbeing of children in your care and rescind the MOA. In the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic, this should also include taking all reasonable measures to release children in your care to sponsors as quickly as possible. Thank you in advance for your consideration of these requests. #  #  #

A discussion of administrative decisions hospitals are making during the COVID-19 pandemic, including cutting benefits for employees and furloughing staff.

The post Hospital Administration and the COVID-19 Pandemic (Part II) appeared first on Bill of Health.

Led by Medable, the multi-company effort is geared toward ramping up development of treatments, diagnostics and other solutions for the pandemic-causing virus.

Developing, executing and overseeing clinical trials is a complex process. Yet it is essential to gain reliable evidence from clinical trials to...

Ousted Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Dr Rick Bright, alleges the Trump administration ignored warnings about the severity of the coronavirus.

The United States has sued a Sacramento, Calif., tax preparer, Chris Elmer, his firm – Associated Tax Planners Inc. (ATP) – and several members of his family associated with ATP, seeking to bar them all permanently from the tax-preparation business. The civil injunction suit was filed in Sacramento with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

The United States has intervened and filed a complaint in a qui tam suit accusing EMC Corp. of failing to disclose its commercial pricing practices during negotiation of its General Services Administration (GSA) contracts and of providing improper payments and other things of value to Systems Integrators and other Alliance Partners on contracts with government agencies.

The 60th felony conviction from Operation Fastlink, a major Department of Justice initiative to combat online piracy worldwide. Bryan Thomas Black, 30, of Waterloo, Ill., pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal infringement of a copyright for his involvement in a multinational software piracy organization that was targeted by investigators as part of “Operation Fastlink,” an internationally coordinated 18-month investigation.

A securities attorney was charged in an indictment unsealed today with participating in a stock registration evasion scheme involving nine different publicly traded companies and with defrauding investors in a manipulation scheme related to three of the companies.

The United States has asked a federal court in Savannah, Ga., to permanently bar Ophelia Kelley of Vidalia, Ga., from preparing federal income tax returns for others. According to the government complaint, Kelley operates two return preparation firms in Vidalia – Kelley Tax Service, and City and Country Girl Tax Service.

The Department is making grant funding available for public education programs concerning immigration-related employment discrimination. The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC), a section of the Department’s Civil Rights Division, announced the availability of funds for public education programs regarding employees’ rights and employers’ obligations under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

The United States has filed a civil complaint against BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. (BPXA) alleging that the company violated federal clean air and water laws.

The United States has brought suit in federal court against Gayle Lemmon of Humboldt, Iowa. The lawsuit seeks to bar her and her firm from preparing federal tax returns for others. According to the government complaint in the case, Lemmon’s firm, Gayle’s Bookkeeping and Tax Service Inc., prepares federal income tax returns for customers that unlawfully understate tax liabilities by claiming improper deductions for the business use of the home and for non-deductible personal expenses.

The Department of Justice has initiated removal proceedings against a Sharon, Penn., resident who served as an armed SS guard at two Nazi concentration camps in Germany during World War II.

A federal court has barred a Chicago tax preparation firm, El Caminante, Inc. and its principal operator, Maria Colica, from preparing federal income tax returns claiming false tax credits. The company and Colica agreed to the injunction. The Government civil injunction complaint filed in the case alleged that Colica fraudulently claimed fuel tax credits for customers who were not entitled to them.

California Shellfish Company Inc., doing business as Point Adams Packing Co. (PAPCO), was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Garr M. King in Portland, Ore., to pay $75,000 for a felony violation of the Clean Water Act for unpermitted discharges of wastewater into the Columbia River.