Tim Cook announces Apple will donate to coronavirus relief efforts
Apple will be donating to a variety of groups in China that are helping to fight the outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.
Electron micrograph of coronavirus virions
Tim Cook tweeted the morning of January 25, honoring the Chinese New Year and announcing that Apple will donate to those who are helping to support those affected by the coronavirus.
The 2019 Novel Coronavirus, termed "2019-nCoV" for short, is respiratory illness that is not dissimilar to SARS. Symptoms are typically flu-like, with a fever, cough, and shortness of breath present. Like many illnesses, 2019-nCoV is thought to spread from person-to-person via contact with saliva and mucous.
According to the CDC, 2019-nCoV was first detected on December 8, 2019, in Wuhan City, Hubei Province in China, and has been expanding into other areas. In China, there have been 1,300 confirmed cases of the 2019-nCoV and 41 fatalities.
Two cases of 2019-nCoV have been discovered in the United States, though it is not thought to be spreading at this time.
Apple had also recently announced they would donate funds to ongoing relief efforts in Australia, where a dangerous combination of record temperatures, high winds and drought over the past two months set the stage for dozens of devastating bushfires. Cook did not specify how Apple will contribute, though the company has in the past donated funds to local non-profits and emergency service organizations during similar situations.
Apple commonly responds to catastrophes and natural disasters with financial aid. In 2018 the company provided $1 million contributions for victims of the Kerala floods in India, relief efforts following the Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia, and Red Cross activity after the California wild fires and Hurricane Florence. Apple last donated to an emergency relief effort during this year's bout of California wild fires in October.
Electron micrograph of coronavirus virions
Tim Cook tweeted the morning of January 25, honoring the Chinese New Year and announcing that Apple will donate to those who are helping to support those affected by the coronavirus.
As people in China and around the world celebrate the Lunar New Year, we send our love and support to the many impacted by the Coronavirus. Apple will be donating to groups on the ground helping support all of those affected.
-- Tim Cook (@tim_cook)
The 2019 Novel Coronavirus, termed "2019-nCoV" for short, is respiratory illness that is not dissimilar to SARS. Symptoms are typically flu-like, with a fever, cough, and shortness of breath present. Like many illnesses, 2019-nCoV is thought to spread from person-to-person via contact with saliva and mucous.
According to the CDC, 2019-nCoV was first detected on December 8, 2019, in Wuhan City, Hubei Province in China, and has been expanding into other areas. In China, there have been 1,300 confirmed cases of the 2019-nCoV and 41 fatalities.
Two cases of 2019-nCoV have been discovered in the United States, though it is not thought to be spreading at this time.
Apple had also recently announced they would donate funds to ongoing relief efforts in Australia, where a dangerous combination of record temperatures, high winds and drought over the past two months set the stage for dozens of devastating bushfires. Cook did not specify how Apple will contribute, though the company has in the past donated funds to local non-profits and emergency service organizations during similar situations.
Apple commonly responds to catastrophes and natural disasters with financial aid. In 2018 the company provided $1 million contributions for victims of the Kerala floods in India, relief efforts following the Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia, and Red Cross activity after the California wild fires and Hurricane Florence. Apple last donated to an emergency relief effort during this year's bout of California wild fires in October.
Comments
No one is traveling to China right now. Everyone is scrambling to get out, including our embassy staff (it sounds like).
I’m not sure how Apple can help, but I’m sure the gesture is appreciated.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/leahrosenbaum/2020/01/23/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-wuhan-coronavirus-outbreak/#2c9b02876fce
How Deadly Is This Disease?
The short answer is, we don’t know. If you look at the number of people reported to be infected (approximately 600, though this number is sure to rise) and compare to the number of deaths (17), you can calculate a number called the case fatality rate, which describes how deadly a disease is. Right now, the case fatality rate is a little under 3%. That means that 3% of people who become infected with the new coronavirus die. But this number is almost meaningless right now, since we don’t really know yet how many people are infected and how many deaths will occur in the coming weeks. One thing we do know: like many other illnesses, 2019-nCoV patients are more likely to die if they are old or suffer from other diseases.
I Live In North America, Should I Be Worried?
According to the CDC, the immediate health risk to the general American public “is considered low at this time.” Only one case of 2019-nCoV in the U.S. has been reported, a Washington man with mild pneumonia who the state’s department of health says is recovering well. The biggest risk for infection is people living in or traveling around Wuhan, China.
I Was Also Recently In China - Are There Symptoms I Should Look Out For?
The CDC advises doctors to look out for patients who recently traveled to or near Wuhan and have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, symptoms that are similar to SARS and MERS. If you notice that these are also similar to the regular symptoms of pneumonia, you’re right. Cases of 2019-CoV are only confirmed at CDC labs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_human_disease_case_fatality_rates
At worst, it is postulated that coronavirus, treated, will have an estimated mortality rate of SARS, also a coronavirus, or about 11%, but certainly no where close to 50% mortality is being experienced in China.
Apple certainly hasn't had many of its staff exposed to Coronavirus, and those that return from China to the West will be evaluated and quarantined as necessary, so that the spread of Coronavirus will be contained.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galidesivir
Their unanimous conclusion was that this century would be the century of the virus and that is how it is playing out, both animal to animal and animal to human.
Industrialised farming and our ability to travel the world in ever shorter times in huge numbers are the keys to seeing viruses propagate so quickly. Locking cities down with millions of inhabitants seems like a quick reaction rather than a protocol move but we will learn from this.
We mustn't forget either that with SARS, the number one recommendation from the WHO was not to wear masks but to wash hands frequently.
Curiously and nothing to do with this virus, my regular visit Carrefour (hypermarket) has had a hand and cart handle cleaning station at the cart pick-up point for the last year or two. Along with free bags and ice and digital thermometers to check fresh fish temperature at purchase.
More curiously, I wonder if China could couple AI and video surveillance/face recognition to track movements of people that have been in the company of infected people.
If they aren't capable yet, I'm sure it will be on the cards for the future.
Also, she might be getting accurate information, or she might be lying. Which way are you prepared to be wrong?
Surveillance didn't seem to have any impact on the death of 200 million pigs, half the pig population in China, due to the African Swine Fever, and it certainly wouldn't have any impact on a large portion of the Chinese population that isn't under daily surveillance, especially given that there isn't a sufficiently large and well trained medical community in China to actually treat people in a major epidemic, nor are there even enough forces in place to enforce a quarantine in a timely fashion.
https://www.porkbusiness.com/article/sanchez-vizcaino-tells-how-spain-stopped-african-swine-fever
It took Spain 35 years to eradicate African Swine Fever in its pork production, and China hasn't even mastered the basics of industrial animal husbandry, so how would we expect China to stop a human epidemic in a reliable way?
China has gone through the exact same changes as Spain over the last 30 years. Economically, culturally and scientifically.
In terms of scale though, the task is far more daunting for China. Ironically, the authoritarian nature of the Chinese government could be an advantage in some areas. The Chinese are used to the idea of surveillance and having facial recognition on different levels. Drastic measures like city wide containment are far easier to approve on a political level.
On a technological level, China is entering the AI age at breakneck speed. 5G is now a reality and it won't be long before different elements come together to help manage these kinds of situations. Everything from the mathematical approach mentioned in the article through to realtime and historical tracking of people who have been in known incident areas and the resulting big data supercomputing processes and visualisation efforts will benefit from what China is doing.
Just like in Spain though, bad habits persist in spite of them reducing with each generation. Food and food hygiene is one area where things need to improve more.
In all probability, this virus has its emergence in the same environment that avian flu came from. We learnt quickly that bird migration couldn't be stopped but people migrate too. Criss crossing the globe like never before. Many acting as carriers without manifesting symptoms.
Other things that are culturally common such as spitting in the street will also slowly disappear. Perhaps these incidents will actually accelerate change.
Climate change is also pushing pathogens into new areas and viruses are becoming common where incidence was previously low.
On top of viruses that come to Spain for example through infected people, we are now seeing autoctonous infections resulting from invasive species.
Changes in education, habits, laws etc combined with the next industrial revolution (telecommunications, AI etc) could well prove to be of enormous value at some point in the future. Maybe the near future.
Do you even read any news about the coronavirus in China? It has been linked to "wet markets" which sell live wildlife for human consumption, and isn't linked to the avian flu. More to the point, there are huge populations in China that aren't under observation by surveillance systems, and these people are likely to have the very worst medical care.
"Ironically, the authoritarian nature of the Chinese government could be an advantage in some areas.
That's fucking bullshit. The Chinese could have adequate healthcare if the Chinese Government made it a priority. Instead, the Government is making surveillance and population control, plus a massive expenditure on growth of its military expansionism their priority. They have no inherent advantage over a Western government in controlling an epidemic, and given their penchant for hiding the facts on the epidemic, they have made it worse. Of, course, there would be an advantage in hiding the body count, given the control the government has over the press.
Sometimes, you should just shut the fuck up with your misinformation.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-01-26/new-and-dangerous-coronaviruses-will-keep-emerging-until-we-focus-on-preventing-them
I never said this virus was related or linked to avian flu.
I said that, in all probability, they had their roots in the same environment. That is:
Close and regular contact with livestock. Poor hygiene practices both pre and post slaughter and pre and post sale.
You simply imagined what I said, jumping in at the deep end again.
China has the largest facial recognition database on the planet. Who said everyone was being tracked using facial recognition?
Your imagination running wild?
China is unique in its facial recognition and tracking ability. This can have both nefarious and positive uses. More than 52 countries worldwide are using Chinese technology in this sense. AI is becoming a major part of the technology.
https://www.ft.com/content/6f1a8f48-1813-11ea-9ee4-11f260415385
And following on from my first post:
https://www.gizchina.com/2020/01/26/huawei-coronavirus-5g-base-stations/
Wash your hands frequently and don't touch your face, eyes, mouth, or nose when touching many things in public places.