covid

Look after yourself during covid-19

Continuing our series on wellbeing during the pandemic, in this podcast we speak to Occupational Psychologist Roxane Gervais about how doctors can look after themselves during the covid-19 pandemic. We discuss the importance of reaching out to friends and family during this difficult time, how to deal with the loss of control, as well how to...




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Talk Evidence covid-19 update - pneumonia, guidelines, preprints and testing

For the next few months Talk Evidence is going to focus on the new corona virus pandemic. There is an enormous amount of uncertainty about the disease, what the symptoms are, fatality rate, treatment options, things we shouldn't be doing. We're going to try to get away from the headlines and talk about what we need to know - to hopefully give...




covid

The public health response to covid - 19

As part of our response to the covid-19 pandemic, we’re going to be running a series of discussions with experts about some of the big issues arising from the virus. In this one, we’re asking about the public health response to an outbreak - what’s necessary, and is it possible to go to far. Joining us are Martin Mckee - professor of european...




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Talk Evidence covid-19 update - hydroxy/chloroquinine, prognostic models and facemaskss

For the next few months Talk Evidence is going to focus on the new corona virus pandemic. There is an enormous amount of uncertainty about the disease, what the symptoms are, fatality rate, treatment options, things we shouldn't be doing. We're going to try to get away from the headlines and talk about what we need to know - to hopefully give...




covid

Talk Evidence - covid ethics, waste and a minimum RCT size

For the next few months Talk Evidence is going to focus on the new corona virus pandemic. There is an enormous amount of uncertainty about the disease, what the symptoms are, fatality rate, treatment options, things we shouldn't be doing. We're going to try to get away from the headlines and talk about what we need to know - to hopefully give...




covid

Frontline stories - working as a GP during covid

As the pandemic plays out - the way in which doctors in the UK practice is changing, hospitals are reconfigured to increase critical care capacity, GPs are working from home and doing their day to day work remotely. Some of the changes have come at the detriment of staff and patient wellbeing but covid-19 has also helped cut through some of the...




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Talk Evidence covid-19 update - lack of testing transparency, how to give good debate

For the next few months Talk Evidence is going to focus on the new corona virus pandemic. There is an enormous amount of uncertainty about the disease, what the symptoms are, fatality rate, treatment options, things we shouldn't be doing. We're going to try to get away from the headlines and talk about what we need to know - to hopefully give you...




covid

Frontline stories - caring for non-covid patients

As the pandemic plays out - hospitals are reconfigured to increase critical care capacity, outpatient clinics become virtual, and elective procedures delayed. How are these affecting care for those who are in hospital but don't have covid-19? In this podcast, Matt Morgan,honorary senior research fellow at Cardiff University, consultant in...




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Coping with Covid with Monica Schoch-Spana and Jud Brewer

In this week’s episode, we discuss bystander guilt, convergence, brain hacks and “how you can sneeze on someone’s brain from anywhere in the world”. How can GPs cope with the myriad worries around treating patients during the current pandemic, both on the frontline and in general practice? How do we recognise and break unhelpful anxious behaviour...




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Wellbeing – coping with Covid fatigue

We are more than six weeks into the lockdown and if you were to gauge the mood of the nation, it would be one of fatigue. It started as an all-hands-on-deck emergency situation, but it now transpires that the current work situation for healthcare professionals is not going to change any time soon. This is a marathon rather than a sprint. So how...




covid

Talk evidence covid-19 update: natural history of covid, include patients in guidelines

For the next few months Talk Evidence is going to focus on the new corona virus pandemic. There is an enormous amount of uncertainty about the disease, what the symptoms are, fatality rate, treatment options, things we shouldn't be doing. We're going to try to get away from the headlines and talk about what we need to know - to hopefully give you...




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Workers blame Iberostar for failure to benefit from SET Cash COVID relief - Employees charge that hotel did not to pay over tax deductions to State

Western Bureau: Some displaced Iberostar employees in Rose Hall, St James, are angry with their employer, charging that they have been unable to benefit from the Government’s COVID-19 relief programme because of the hotel’s failure to pay over...




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COVID burnout! - Health workers burdened as they fight stubborn virus

Edmond Campbell/Senior Parliamentary Reporter Conceding that healthcare workers in the public sector are burnt out as they combat COVID-19, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says the Government is taking steps to boost its...




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St Mary COVID crackdown - Health teams go house to house tracing virus as quarantine hits Dover, Annotto Bay, Enfield

Days after The Gleaner reported a clarion call from Port Maria Mayor Richard Creary for the quarantine of St Mary communities owing to growing concerns about the spread of COVID-19 in the parish, the Government responded with the lockdown of three...




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Lockdown pains! - Vendor suffers double setback from COVID strictures

It was a double whammy of inconvenience for Sharon Carter, a vendor in Metcalfe Market, Annotto Bay. Carter, who lives in St Catherine, had just recently been relieved of the lockdown in the parish and is now being affected by the quarantine which...




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COVID-19 dents Mother’s Day sales

Vendors and store operators who would normally score big on Mother’s Day baskets are lamenting that the novel coronavirus has put a dent in their sales. Kaydyonne Thomas, owner of a gift store in the Pavilion Mall, located in Half Way Tree, said...




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PAHO calls for acceleration of COVID-19 testing in Americas

Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr Carissa F. Etienne, today called for accelerated and expanded testing for COVID-19 in countries of the Americas. “We need a clearer view of where the virus is circulating and how...




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Haiti receives US$16.1 million in assistance from US to fight COVID-19

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – The Government of Haiti has received funds amounting to US$16.1 million from the United States to help the country respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds from the United States Agency for International...




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PAHO calls for continued immunisation amid COVID-19 pandemic

Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Carissa Etienne, today urged for vaccination programmes to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic. “If we fall behind on routine immunisations, particularly for children, we risk...




covid

Haiti records seventh death from COVID-19

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – The Ministry of Public Health has confirmed that a 20-year-old man has become the seventh person in Haiti to die of the coronavirus (COVID-19). It is urging the population to follow restriction measures, including...




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Trinidad warns of fraud in COVID-19 support programme

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago government Saturday said it had uncovered a plot by persons to defraud the state and that a new mechanism would be put in place Monday in providing rental assistance to people impacted by...




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Bermuda records seventh COVID-19 death

HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC –  Bermuda recorded its seventh COVID-19 death on Saturday as Finance Minister Curtis Dickinson announced that he would need to rewrite this year’s budget because of the battering from the global...




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Nevis: No active cases of COVID-19 on island

As of May 6, officials in Nevis are reporting that there are no active cases of the deadly COVID-19 virus on the island. This was confirmed Tuesday by Premier Mark Brantley, Minister responsible for Health, in the Nevis Island Administration....




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Partha Kar: Covid-19—we must keep faith in our experts




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Partha Kar: What will come after the covid-19 crisis?




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Still not prepared for COVID-19

THE EDITOR, Madam: How many more will have to suffer? How many more will have to die to end the discrimination often meted out to persons suspected of or confirmed with COVID-19? The novel coronavirus is highly contagious, seems so mysterious, and...




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Letter of the Day | COVID-19 presents an opportunity for change

THE EDITOR, Madam: THE JAMAICAN economy has been underperforming for the last 40 years, during which economic growth averaged approximately one per cent per annum. One of the main reasons for this poor performance is the non-competitive nature of...




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Taking COVID-19 heads on - Student entrepreneurs’ inventions prove viable weapons against deadly virus

As the global battle against the deadly COVID-19 disease wages on, with each country’s government, healthcare industry, and general public playing its part in defeating this new and relatively unknown enemy, two seemingly unlikely foot soldiers...




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Covid-19: Nightingale hospitals set to shut down after seeing few patients

The mothballing of Britain’s Nightingale hospitals, some of which have yet to treat a single covid-19 patient, has raised questions about whether resources to fight the pandemic were...




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Adil El-Tayar: renowned NHS transplant surgeon who died from covid-19

bmj;369/may07_6/m1803/FAF1faPhoto credit: Abbas GhazanfarOn 25 March Adil El-Tayar, a renowned organ transplantation specialist, became the first working NHS surgeon to die from covid-19 in hospital...




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Covid-19: Trump says added deaths are necessary price for reopening US businesses

A rise in mortality is a price worth paying to restart the US economy, President Trump has said, as many states flout advice from scientists and reopen beaches, cinemas, or hair salons while new...




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Covid-19: Number of Germans infected could be 10 times higher than official estimates

The number of people in Germany infected with covid-19, could be 10 times higher than official government estimates, according to a new study by University of Bonn researchers.1The Heinsberg study is...




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Covid-19: Health needs of sex workers are being sidelined, warn agencies

Agencies have criticised the lack of action to protect the health needs of sex workers during the pandemic, with the English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) warning of a “ticking time bomb of health...




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Prediction models for diagnosis and prognosis of covid-19 infection: systematic review and critical appraisal




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Webinar: European Union – The Economic and Political Implications of COVID-19

Corporate Members Event Webinar

26 March 2020 - 5:00pm to 5:45pm

Online

Event participants

Colin Ellis, Chief Credit Officer, Head of UK, Moody’s Investors Service
Susi Dennison, Director, Europe Power Programme, European Council of Foreign Relations
Shahin Vallée, Senior Fellow, German Council of Foreign Relations (DGAP)
Pepijn Bergsen, Research Fellow, Europe Programme, Chatham House

Chair: Hans Kundnani, Senior Research Fellow, Europe Programme, Chatham House


 

In the past few weeks, European Union member states have implemented measures such as social distancing, school and border closures and the cancellation of major cultural and sporting events in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. Such measures are expected to have significant economic and political consequences, threatening near or total collapse of certain sectors. Moreover, the management of the health and economic crises within the EU architecture has exposed tensions and impasses in the extent to which the EU is willing to collaborate to mitigate pressures on fellow member states.

The panellists will examine the European Union's response to a series of cascading crises and the likely impact of the pandemic on individual member states. Can the EU prevent an economic hit from developing into a financial crisis? Are the steps taken by the European Central Bank to protect the euro enough? And are member states expected to manage the crisis as best they can or will there be a united effort to mitigate some of the damage caused?  

This event is part of a fortnightly series of 'Business in Focus' webinars reflecting on the impact of COVID-19 on areas of particular professional interest for our corporate members.

Not a corporate member? Find out more.

 




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Belarusians Left Facing COVID-19 Alone

16 April 2020

Ryhor Astapenia

Robert Bosch Stiftung Academy Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme

Anaïs Marin

Associate Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme
The way the epidemic is being mismanaged creates a risk of political destabilisation and leaves the country exposed to external influence.

2020-04-16-Belarus-COVID-Football

Playing accordion in front of dummy football fans in Brest, Belarus as the country's championship continues despite the COVID-19 outbreak. Photo by SERGEI GAPON/AFP via Getty Images.

Since the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic, few countries have chosen to ignore social distancing recommendations. But, even among those states which have, the Belarusian official response to its epidemic remains unique.

President Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s statements that vodka, sauna and tractors are protecting Belarusians from coronavirus attracted amused attention in international media. Lukashenka also described other societies’ response to COVID-19 as ‘a massive psychosis’.

Although Lukashenka is notorious for his awkward style of public communication, the fact that Belarus is refusing to impose comprehensive confinement measures is of concern. Belarusians continue to work, play football and socialise.

Lukashenka, himself playing ice hockey in front of state cameras, claims it is the best way to stay healthy. Belarusian authorities clearly appear to be in denial – and this could have dire humanitarian consequences.

From denial to half measures

Belarus actually has one of the largest numbers of hospital beds in the world per 1,000 of the population. But in the absence of quarantine measures its health system, already crippled by corruption and embezzlement, is likely to be overwhelmed.

Patients being treated for pneumonia in hospitals have suggested medical staff are uninformed and inadequately equipped. It is claimed doctors are not reporting COVID-19 as the suspected cause of death, either through a lack of testing or for fear of reprisals.

Observers believe the real mortality rate is already well above official figures (40 deaths as of 16 April). Based on an Imperial College London model, between 15,000 and 32,000 people could die under the current mild confinement regime – and such a high death toll would hugely impact the country’s political stability. Citing personal data protection, the Ministry of Health has imposed a total news blackout; the only cluster officially acknowledged so far is the city of Vitsebsk.

Although specific Belarusian cities and some individuals started changing their approach – by extending school vacations or cancelling weddings – such measures remain half-hearted.

Clearly a major reason for such an apparently irresponsible reaction is that Belarus cannot afford a massive lockdown that would freeze its already underdeveloped economy and drive it deeper into recession. Unlike many other nations, Belarus lacks budgetary resources for a sizable stimulus package. But a delayed response might backfire on the economy.

Economic recession has been forecast to amount to at least 10% of GDP. For Lukashenka, who openly challenged conventional wisdom regarding the need for quarantine and isolation, such an economic downturn would harm his confidence rating in the eyes of Belarusian voters, mindful of the state’s mismanagement of the crisis. And it could create doubt within the ruling elite itself, with Lukashenka seeking re-election for a sixth mandate in late August.

Against this backdrop, a radicalization of the opposition-minded part of society is also to be expected, with greater reliance on social networks in the face of official secrecy and disinformation. The expected response of the regime is then likely to be pre-emptive repression. Evidence is emerging that law enforcement agencies have already stepped up judicial and paralegal harassment of dissenters, notably independent journalists and bloggers.

Russia’s initial reluctance to address the coronavirus crisis may also have influenced Belarus. Lukashenka and his administration often react to public health challenges by the Soviet rulebook, reminiscent of the Soviet authorities’ mismanagement of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

Russia has unilaterally closed its borders with Belarus and, as bilateral relations continue to deteriorate, this casts further doubt on the viability of the Union State of Belarus and Russia. Pro-Russian media forecast Moscow will be unwilling to alleviate the expected socio-economic crisis, as it continues to reject Minsk’s demands regarding subsidised oil deliveries. Yet the Kremlin might use the crisis as an opportunity to resume its integrationist pressure on Belarus.

China, with which Belarus engaged in a seemingly privileged strategic partnership in the 2010s, was actually the first country to dispatch humanitarian aid to beef up Belarusian capacity to fight the virus.

But Minsk should not expect Beijing to rescue its economy and, unless it commits to more internal reforms, Belarus is not likely to receive much from the EU either. The regime has already applied to the IMF for emergency financial support, but conditions are attached and, even if successful, the funds would amount to no more than $900m.

The government’s decision to take only half measures so far is rooted in the hope COVID-19 is not as bad as foreign experts fear. But, unless the leadership acknowledges the public health crisis and mitigates its economic impact, COVID-19 will accelerate Belarus’s slide back into international self-isolation. If combined with a humanitarian crisis, this will put the Belarusian regime under considerable stress.

This crisis does risk a new ‘Chernobyl moment’ for the authorities, but the population could react more vocally this time. As volunteers self-organise to fight the epidemic, it might become more difficult for the authorities to say that it is efficient in running the country. But the bottom line is Belarus desperately needs money. Whoever steps up to support Belarus financially will also be able to heavily influence its politics.




covid

Webinar: Turkey’s Challenging Post-COVID 19 Outlook

Invitation Only Research Event

7 May 2020 - 1:00pm to 2:00pm

Event participants

Dr Murat Ucer, Turkey Country Analyst, GlobalSource Partners 
Chair: Fadi Hakura, Manager, Turkey Project, Europe Programme, Chatham House

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has so far refused to impose a nation-wide lockdown to suppress the spread of coronavirus in the country. In late March, Turkish health officials announced that they expect the virus to peak in three weeks' time and for Turkey to overcome it quickly. At the same time, Turkey has ruled out turning to the IMF for help in dealing with the crisis despite growing pressures on the Lira and the wider economy. The country's relations with its traditional allies, the US and Europe, remain thorny.
 
This event will focus on the likely impact of the epidemic on Turkey's economy and politics. What are the reasons behind Erdogan’s reluctance to implement a comprehensive lockdown to break the chain of virus transmission? Why is Turkey resolutely opposed to agreeing a funding package with the IMF? What is the macro outlook for 2020 and beyond for the country's economy? And how may the government's long-term popularity be affected?

Event attributes

Chatham House Rule

Department/project

Alina Lyadova

Europe Programme Coordinator




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Virtual Breakfast: Europe in the Age of COVID-19: Priorities and Debates

Invitation Only Research Event

6 May 2020 - 9:00am to 10:00am

Event participants

Duncan Robinson, Charlemagne Columnist; Brussels Bureau Chief, the Economist
Chair: Pepijn Bergsen, Research Fellow, Europe Programme, Chatham House

The new European Commission had a bold new agenda when it began its work in December 2019, with climate change, digital transformation and strengthening European democracy among its priorities. Less than six months later, the European continent is in the midst of the worst crisis since the second World War and business as usual has been taken over by crisis management.

Has COVID-19 monopolized the agenda in Brussels? What priorities are still on the table and what debates have fallen victim to the coronavirus? Is the current crisis reigniting and exacerbating existing faultlines in the EU or creating new ones?

Reflecting on his first four months as the Economist’s Charlemagne columnist, the speaker will share what decision-making in Brussels looks like during a pandemic and what debates are dominating conversations in the EU capital today.

Event attributes

Chatham House Rule

Alina Lyadova

Europe Programme Coordinator




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Covid-19: Home testing programme across England aims to help define way out of lockdown




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Covid-19’s impact on US medical research—shifting money, easing rules




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Covid-19 is no worse in immunocompromised children, says NICE




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Covid-19: Coroners needn’t investigate PPE policy failures in deaths of NHS staff, new guidance says




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Covid-19: NHS bosses told to assess risk to ethnic minority staff who may be at greater risk




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Covid-19: GPs have a fortnight to start organising weekly care home reviews, says NHS




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Partha Kar: Covid-19 and ethnicity—why are all our angels white?




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Covid-19: UK advisory panel members are revealed after experts set up new group




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Emergency departments must not return to pre-covid days of overcrowding and lack of safety, says college




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Covid-19: Lack of capacity led to halting of community testing in March, admits deputy chief medical officer




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Covid-19: the challenge of patient rehabilitation after intensive care




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Covid-19: UK death toll overtakes Italy’s to become worst in Europe