The World Health Organization on Saturday released new guidance for mass gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic, recommending a number of possible changes to large events -- once they’re allowed to take place.
Holding gatherings outdoors, limiting attendance to healthy people and staggering arrivals could all help limit the spread of the virus, according to the guidance.
“In the context of Covid-19, mass gatherings are events that could amplify the transmission of the virus and potentially disrupt the host country’s response capacity,” the guidance said. But it said large events offered benefits, too, such as providing employment and boosting psychological well-being.
“Since mass gatherings have substantial political, cultural, social, and economic implications, authorities should assess the importance and necessity of an event and consider the option that it may take place, provided all associated public health risks are adequately addressed and mitigated,” the guidance said.
The WHO called on public health authorities and event organizers to perform a risk assessment before any gathering and listed a number of steps organizers could take if large events do occur, such as:
- Staggering arrivals
- Increasing the frequency of transport
- Designating seating
- Venue capacity could also be adjusted
- Events could be held virtually or outdoors
Some recommendations focused on participants, reminding people to observe physical distancing, cough etiquette and hand hygiene practices.
People at risk of developing severe illness – including those over the age of 65 or with pre-existing medical conditions – could be advised to stay away, or special arrangements could be made for them.
The WHO recommendations included a number of other measures as well, such as limiting the duration of events and providing on-site isolation facilities for people who become sick.
Sharing ventilators is possible for Covid-19 patients—but not ideal
As severe cases of COVID-19 spiked in northern Italy, emergency medicine doctor Marco Garrone paused during a chaotic shift to tweet a photo: two patients, next to each other in hospital beds, with arcs of tubing connecting them to the same ventilator. “This is what we are down to,” he wrote. “Splitting ventilators, and facing serious dilemmas like choosing who will be actually ventilated when everybody should. #TakeThisSeriously”
A month later, as caseloads skyrocketed across the pond in New York City, Columbia Presbyterian Hospital hurried to draft protocols for ventilator sharing. And around the same time, an emergency medicine doctor in Michigan named Charlene Babcock posted a YouTube tutorial featuring step-by-step directions on how to modify a ventilator so it can accommodate multiple patients. That video racked up nearly a million views in the ensuing weeks.
The appearance of ventilator sharing (or “coventilating”) this spring in places where the novel coronavirus has hit the most severely prompts a number of questions: How does a ventilator work? Why is it possible for more than one patient to use a ventilator at once? And if it’s possible, why aren’t more doctors in hard-hit areas doing it? Good news: This is the first in a NOVA series answering burning coronavirus questions just like these.
A month later, as caseloads skyrocketed across the pond in New York City, Columbia Presbyterian Hospital hurried to draft protocols for ventilator sharing. And around the same time, an emergency medicine doctor in Michigan named Charlene Babcock posted a YouTube tutorial featuring step-by-step directions on how to modify a ventilator so it can accommodate multiple patients. That video racked up nearly a million views in the ensuing weeks.
The appearance of ventilator sharing (or “coventilating”) this spring in places where the novel coronavirus has hit the most severely prompts a number of questions: How does a ventilator work? Why is it possible for more than one patient to use a ventilator at once? And if it’s possible, why aren’t more doctors in hard-hit areas doing it? Good news: This is the first in a NOVA series answering burning coronavirus questions just like these.
Chinese Parents Gave their son a $3.8 Billion Gift
The founder of Sino Biopharmaceutical Ltd. and his wife are transferring about a fifth of the company’s share capital to their son Eric Tse, making him one of the world’s richest people overnight.
The grant of 2.7 billion shares, detailed in a Hong Kong exchange filing late Tuesday, adds to a tsunami of Asian wealth that’s being passed down to the next generation. In 2018, four Chinese tycoons placed more than $17 billion into family trusts, while many of Hong Kong’s biggest developers are engaged in succession planning. One major advantage is that Hong Kong has no tax on gifts or inherited wealth.
The grant of 2.7 billion shares, detailed in a Hong Kong exchange filing late Tuesday, adds to a tsunami of Asian wealth that’s being passed down to the next generation. In 2018, four Chinese tycoons placed more than $17 billion into family trusts, while many of Hong Kong’s biggest developers are engaged in succession planning. One major advantage is that Hong Kong has no tax on gifts or inherited wealth.
The son of Tse Ping and Cheng Cheung Ling, Eric Tse was born in Seattle, attended primary school in Beijing and secondary school in Hong Kong, then graduated with a finance degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, according to an article on the business school’s website. He established the China Summit Foundation, a charitable organization that supports education and cultural initiatives and was a Schwarzman Scholar at Beijing’s Tsinghua University.
Tse is also active on Instagram, where he shares shots of himself parasailing and partying with Rihanna. Other selfie-mates include model Bella Hadid, basketball star Yao Ming and Monaco’s Princess Charlene. His most recent post is from Beijing, where he attended the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.
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