It’s a race against time.As communities start to open, governments are rushing to put together smartphone apps that can be part of their arsenal to curtail the spread of COVID-19.But the apps — and the technologies they rely on — vary, and for many that has led to confusion about …
your ad hereStopped Cold: ‘Frozen’ Musical on Broadway Not to Reopen
The big budget musical “Frozen” will not reopen when Broadway theaters restart, marking the first time an established show has been felled by the coronavirus pandemic.The Disney show opened in March 2018 and placed among the top five Broadway productions for both gross and attendance over both years it ran, …
your ad hereNASA Builds COVID Ventilator – Delivery Vessel Says Goodbye to ISS
Scientists around the world are working to battle the coronavirus – an effort that extends to a space-travel lab that worked overtime to help sick earthlings. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has This Week in Space. …
your ad hereBurundi Expels WHO Officials
Burundi has expelled four officials from the World Health Organization (WHO), declaring them persona non grata and ordering them to leave the country by Friday, a leaked memo from the country’s foreign ministry reveals. The decision comes days before the May 20 presidential elections and amid a global coronavirus pandemic.Bernard Ntahiraja, …
your ad hereAustralia Parliament Debunks 5G COVID-19 Conspiracy Theory
An Australian parliamentary report has debunked a conspiracy theory linking COVID-19 to 5G technology. Anti-lockdown protesters in Australia and beyond have claimed a connection between the new coronavirus and the rollout of the mobile communications standard.The COVID-19 pandemic has brought disparate groups of conspiracy theorists together. Some believe the disease …
your ad hereUS Immunologist Warns of ‘Darkest Winter’ If Virus Rebounds
America faces the “darkest winter in modern history” unless leaders act decisively to prevent a rebound of the coronavirus, says a government whistleblower who alleges he was ousted from his job after warning the Trump administration to prepare for the pandemic. Immunologist Dr. Rick Bright makes his sobering prediction in …
your ad hereEU: Possible Virus Drug Approval ‘Before The Summer’
The European Medicines Agency predicted that there could be licensed drugs to treat the new coronavirus in the next few months and that a vaccine might even be approved in early 2021, in a “best-case scenario.” Dr. Marco Cavaleri, who heads the European regulator’s vaccines department, told a media briefing …
your ad hereAustralian Parliamentary Committee Debunks 5G COVID-19 Conspiracy Theory
An Australian parliamentary report has debunked a conspiracy theory linking COVID-19 to 5G technology. Anti-lockdown protesters in Australia and beyond have claimed a connection between the new coronavirus and the rollout of the mobile communications standard.The COVID-19 pandemic has brought disparate groups of conspiracy theorists together. Some believe the disease …
your ad hereStudy Ties ‘Obamacare’ to Fewer Cancer Deaths in Some States
Cancer deaths have dropped more in states that expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act than in states that did not, new research reveals. The report Wednesday is the first evidence tying cancer survival to the health care change, which began in 2014 after the law known as “Obamacare” took …
your ad hereFormer ‘Quiz Kid’ Joel Kupperman Dies of COVID-19
A retired university philosophy professor who was, at one time, one of the most famous children in the United States but was frustrated and torn by his fame, has died of the coronavirus.The family of Joel Kupperman said Wednesday he died last month at a nursing home in Brooklyn at …
your ad hereRobots Reduce Spread of Infection, but Are They Threat to Jobs?
Retailers are turning to robots to perform essential tasks that employees are no longer able to do because of social distancing regulations. The robots are cutting costs and helping to reduce the spread of infections. But as VOA correspondent Mariama Diallo reports, some fear the growing use of automation threatens …
your ad hereColombia, Netherlands to Probe TikTok’s Management of Children’s Data
Colombia’s commerce regulator will be investigating whether Chinese-owned social media app TikTok complies with laws on the collection and treatment of children’s and adolescents’ personal data.The announcement Tuesday came four days after the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) said it would begin looking into how TikTok handles the data of …
your ad herePeople Move Around Less During Lockdown, Tech Giants Say
As governments and communities around the world respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, Google and other tech giants have been tracking the dramatic changes in the mobility of people as they cope with lockdown measures. Reporter Veronica Balderas Iglesias talked to residents in and around Washington, D.C., to find out where …
your ad hereNew Comet May Be Visible to Naked Eye in Coming Weeks
A new comet that was discovered in April using data from an orbiting observatory may be visible to the naked eye in the coming weeks. The comet was first spotted by amateur astronomer Michael Mattiazzo, who used data gathered by an instrument onboard the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA’s Solar …
your ad hereVIRUS DIARY: On a River, With Rod and Reel, he Finds Peace
The Catskills village that calls itself “Trout Town USA” is all but a ghost town this spring. Fishing shops in Roscoe, New York, that should be overflowing with anglers are empty, due to the coronavirus outbreak. Guide services are idled, since they are nonessential businesses. Yet the region’s famed rivers …
your ad herePhotographer Captures Family Moments in Pandemic Times
The pandemic has kept many people quarantined at home with family and pets for weeks. A grassroots photography initiative called the Front Steps Project has inspired hundreds of photographers to document people in front of their homes during this extraordinary time. Matt Dibble follows one photographer connecting with neighbors in …
your ad hereTech Giants Confirm People Moving Around Less During Lockdown
As governments and communities around the world respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, Google and other tech giants have been tracking the dramatic changes in the mobility of people as they cope with lockdown measures. Reporter Veronica Balderas Iglesias talked to residents in and around Washington, D.C., to find out where …
your ad hereTelethon Raises $115M for New Yorkers Impacted by COVID-19
Tina Fey shed tears after announcing that more than $115 million was raised toward supporting New Yorkers impacted by COVID-19 during a virtual telethon. “Thank you, thank you,” said a tearful Fey, the host of the Rise Up New York! event Monday evening. The Emmy-winning actress along with other …
your ad herePhotographer Captures Families Sheltering at Home
The pandemic has kept many people quarantined at home with family and pets for weeks. A grassroots photography initiative called the Front Steps Project has inspired hundreds of photographers to document people in front of their homes during this extraordinary time. Matt Dibble follows one photographer connecting with neighbors in …
your ad hereWarmer Than Average Temperatures Expected Over Next Three Months
Climate scientists expect above-normal temperatures over the next three months, despite the absence of an El Nino, a natural phenomenon that tends to boost global temperatures. In past years, record heat has occurred in El Nino years. But that is changing according to the global seasonal climate update from the World Meteorological Organization. The WMO said that April 2020, …
your ad hereHomophobia Hampers South Korea’s Virus Campaign
As South Korea grapples with a new spike in coronavirus infections thought to be linked to nightspots in Seoul, including several popular with gay men, it’s also seeing rising homophobia that’s making it difficult for sexual minorities to come forward for diagnostic tests. The first confirmed patient in the new …
your ad hereWarmer Weather May Slow, Not Stop, COVID-19
Since the COVID-19 pandemic first erupted in China this winter, hopes have lingered that the outbreak would die down with the change of seasons. “A lot of people think that goes away in April with the heat,” U.S. Stalls are shuttered at Hong Lim Hawker Centre in Singapore, May 10, …
your ad hereHow Non-Medical Hospital Staff is Coping with Pandemic Threat
It is not only doctors who are exposed to the deadly coronavirus every day – there are all the non-medical employees at hospitals who face the same risks every day. Maia Kay reports on how they are coping with today’s harsh reality. …
your ad hereFauci: US Pro Football Will Have to ‘Play It by Ear’
The National Football League has announced its 2020 schedule and is already touting some matchups as “must-see” contests between Super Bowl contenders.But the country’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, is cautioning sports-hungry fans not to be overly eager.”The virus will make the decision for us,” Fauci told NBC-TV …
your ad hereShanghai Disneyland Reopens
Thousands of visitors in face masks Monday streamed into the Shanghai Disney Resort, the first of the Disney theme parks to reopen since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Disney is taking precautions to protect visitors and prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The number of visitors is limited. Face masks are required, …
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