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Working From Home - Impacts of Coronavirus
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Syntax Error:

--- Quote from: paulca on May 09, 2020, 07:31:30 am ---The NHS(x) source code is out and there is of course controversy.
...ETC...

--- End quote ---
Just taken a look at that dump of code today. The NHSX developers are responding to the issues that the app enables the full android location class and, the private key is generated by the external server and not the user device as, it's done this way by design. And they took the lifeboats off the Titanic, by design.

The UK goverment rejected the Google api because it did not provide them with a centralised dataset that could be shared for the "public interest."

Google knows the user has installed the app, along with a ton of other Google Play info. Which makes complete privacy from third parties a moot point. One poster on Github suggested the app has another privacy policy to cover the play store privacy policy.

I noted a reference to "com.microsoft.appcenter.analytics.Analytics". This is MS App Center Analytics for understanding user and app interaction. Likely just some innocent development fluff.

Difficulty is the NHSX app is trying to work in a way that all other apps in the play store do not. Not recording as much about your activity as possible. Welcome to the world of public sector I.T.

Still wondering what this line if code does, must be something to do with social distancing?


--- Code: ---private fun configureBouncyCastleProvider() {
        // Remove existing built in Bouncy Castle

--- End code ---

:) bouncy
Zero999:

--- Quote from: Syntax Error on May 10, 2020, 09:41:08 am ---For those playing at home...

BBC News Online

Coronavirus doctor's diary: The strange case of the choir that coughed in January

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52589449

--- End quote ---
It wouldn't be surprising if this has been around for much longer, than currently accepted. The trouble is, many of the symptoms are similar to other viruses, so without an antibody test, there's no way of knowing for sure.

Another worrying thing is there's an increased risk of death in ethnic minorities, especially in black people.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52602467

It's really frustrating the media seem to be jumping to the immediate conclusion that social and economic factors are the reason for this, rather than something biological. It's widely accepted men are more likely to die from COVID-19, than women, given equal risk factors such as age and co-morbidities and this is likely to be genetic, so why is it unacceptable to consider this might be possible for other ethic groups?

I think vitamin D deficiency could be a significant factor. People with darker skin make vitamin D less efficiently than those with light skin and vitamin D is important for proper function of the immune system. Vitamin supplements are cheap and giving them free to non-whites would no doubt save lives.

Going back on topic. Employers should focus more on protecting those more at risk from COVID-19, than those in lower risk groups. Older, non-white men should be given priority for working from home, or in roles which don't require mixing with others, over those in lower risk groups, such as younger white women. Supermarkets should try to move as many of their higher risk employees to non-customer facing roles, such as working in the warehouse, rather than at a checkout. So what if that means customers notice more younger, white female staff on the shop floor and checkouts, than older black men? It will save lives. I'm all for giving people equal opportunities, but this virus doesn't give everyone the same opportunity for life! Fuck political correctness - it's now costing lives!
DrG:
The Challenges of Phased Re-Opening.

In many places, this is going to be treacherous.

Take the state of Georgia, in the US:



The majority of the state has a low incidence rate but the largest cities show a different situation. Let's say bars and restaurants in the low-incidence counties open up, but not in the high-incident areas. Where are folks in the hard hit areas going to go?
DrG:
The Challenges of Phased Re-Opening.

It gets more challenging when you considered neighboring states in the US.

Here is a county map for Maryland:



And here is the southern neighbor, Virginia.



Those high-incidence areas in the N-NE border Maryland with the territory of Washington DC between the two.

How can just one county open up? How can just one of these states open up?

Here I have plotted the new daily cases for all three combined.



Taken together, there is no way one can rationally argue that there is a decline in incidence, even though some counties in Maryland or Virginia are low incidence.

So, the situation is, indeed, complicated. Folks in local Governments look at the data too and, at least sometimes, publicly communicate that even if the state opens up, the county can't - https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2020/05/we-have-a-caseload-which-is-still-growing-montgomery-co-may-not-follow-marylands-phase-1-reopening/

I expect to see situations like in South Korea, where some segment is opened up and then quickly closed as incidents rise.

Of course, that takes testing and a lot of testing.
DrG:
The Challenges of Phased Re-Opening.

Even low-incidence countries that are relatively "isolated" have the same challenge...one territory has many times the number of cases than another.



I'm hoping that with accurate and shared data and a whole lot of testing, that we can learn from all the different areas world-wide. I worry that go-and-stop restrictions will be very difficult to adjust to, but I don't see how they are avoidable.
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