Earth Is Vibrating Substantially Less Because There's So Little Activity Right Now

Flights are grounded. Fewer trains are running. Rush hour is gone. The world - particularly in cities - is looking drastically different during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

According to seismologists, that drastic reduction in human hustle and bustle is causing the Earth to move substantially less. The planet is 'standing still'.

Thomas Lecocq, a geologist and seismologist at the Royal Observatory in Belgium, noticed that the country's capital Brussels is experiencing a 30 to 50 percent reduction in ambient seismic noise since the lockdowns began, as CNN reports.

That means data collected by seismologists is becoming more accurate, capable of detecting even the smallest tremors - despite the fact that many of the scientific instruments in use today are near city centers.

"You'll get a signal with less noise on top, allowing you to squeeze a little more information out of those events," Andy Frassetto, a seismologist at the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology in Washington DC told Nature.

Researchers in Los Angeles and in West London, UK noticed a similar trend.

But seismologists collecting data from remote stations far away from human civilization might not see a change at all, according to Nature.

Regardless, a significant drop in seismic noise also shows that we're at least doing one thing right during the current pandemic: staying in the safety of our own homes as we wait for the virus to run its course.

'Shoot them dead': Philippine President says won't tolerate Lockdown Violators

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has warned violators of coronavirus lockdown measures they could be shot for causing trouble and said abuse of medical workers was a serious crime that would not be tolerated.

In a televised address, Duterte said it was vital everyone cooperates and follows home quarantine measures, as authorities try to slow the contagion and spare the country's fragile health system from being overwhelmed.

The Philippines has recorded 96 coronavirus deaths and 2,311 confirmed cases, all but three in the past three weeks, with infections now being reported in the hundreds every day.

"It is getting worse. So once again I'm telling you the seriousness of the problem and that you must listen," Duterte said late on Wednesday.

"My orders to the police and military ... if there is trouble and there's an occasion that they fight back and your lives are in danger, shoot them dead."

"Is that understood? Dead. Instead of causing trouble, I will bury you."

His comments came after media reports of a disturbance and several arrests on Wednesday of residents in a poor area of Manila who were protesting about sufficient government food aid.

They also follow outrage among the medical community about social stigma and instances of hospital workers suffering physical abuse and discrimination, which Duterte said must be stopped.




usnews

Bill Gates calls for a 10-week shutdown in US, says any confusion 'will only extend economic pain

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has called for a nationwide shutdown in the US as the number of COVID-19 cases surpassed 2,00,000 in the country.

“Despite urging from public health experts, some states and counties haven’t shut down completely. In some states, beaches are still open; in others, restaurants still serve sit-down meals. This is a recipe for disaster. Because people can travel freely across state lines, so can the virus,” he noted in an op-ed in the Washington Post.

Gates explained that businesses need to remain shut until the numbers of reported cases start to go down across the country, which, according to him, could take at least 10 weeks.

"Any confusion about this point will only extend the economic pain, raise the odds that the virus will return, and cause more deaths," he said.

Gates also called for more testing hoped that a vaccine could be available before the suggested 18-month timeframe.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the US hard. The US has seen a significant rise in cases in the last month, and New York has now become the epicentre of the outbreak.

US President Donald Trump on April 1 warned the country to brace for a "painful" and "tough" two-week period as he extended the nationwide distancing measure to April 30.

Trump also said that more than 100,000 and up to 240,000 Americans could die due to COVID-19, a number which could surge up to millions if guidelines are not followed.



moneycontrol

Van Gogh painting "The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring 1884” stolen from museum

In a shocking twist of events, a painting by Vincent van Gogh has just been stolen from the Singer Laren museum in the Netherlands, on the eve of what would be the Dutch master's 167th birthday. In the middle of the night, the thieves used a distressing pandemic as an opportunistic moment to break into the museum as it was closed to further the spread of the coronavirus to make off with a painting by the Dutch master, titled The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring (1884).

As Mike Corder reports for the Associated Press, a thief or thieves carried out a smash-and-grab raid in the early hours of Monday morning, likely exploiting the museum’s recent closure to help contain the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

The painting, titled The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring 1884, depicts a landscape church in Neunen, the village where van Gogh’s father worked as a pastor, according to Naomi Rea of artnet News. Rendered in somewhat muted hues, the work predates the Dutch artist’s move to southern France, where he developed a more vibrant and colorful style.

To complicate matters further, the masterpiece was never a part of the Singer Laren’s permanent collection, belonging instead to the Netherlands’ Groninger Museum, which had temporarily loaned out the artwork—the only van Gogh the institution owned.

“The Groninger Museum is shocked by the news,” officials said in a statement quoted by artnet News. A spokesperson declined to comment further, citing the police investigation.

Within hours of the painting’s pilfering, police launched a criminal investigation rounded out by security footage and accounts from residents. Any locals with pertinent information have been asked to come forward to assist the process, as museum officials stress that the incident has robbed not only the institution itself, but art-adoring patrons around the world.

“I am shocked and absolutely livid that this has happened,” says Jan Rudolph de Lorm, director of the Singer Laren, in a video statement translated by Reuters. “This splendid and moving artwork by one of our great artists has been stolen, taken from the community.”

De Lorm, as quoted by the AP, adds, “[A]rt exists to be seen and shared by us, the community.” The fruits of such creativity, he explains, exist “to enjoy, to draw inspiration from and to draw comfort from, especially in these difficult times.”

Little is known about the break-in itself. Police said that the thief or thieves forced the building’s glass front doors open at around 3:15 a.m. on Monday morning. The break-in tripped an alarm, but by the time officers reached the museum, the painting and its captors had vanished. By early afternoon, the broken entrance had been covered with a large white panel.

Prior to its disappearance, the painting was featured in the Singer Laren’s “





Source: architecturaldigest, smithsonianmag

New York's governor urgently appealed for medical volunteers as death toll surpasses 1,000

New York's governor urgently appealed for medical volunteers Monday amid a “staggering” number of coronavirus deaths, as he and health officials warned that the crisis unfolding in New York City is just a preview of what other U.S. communities could soon face.

“Please come help us in New York now,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said as the state's death toll climbed by more than 250 people in a day to a total of over 1,200, most of them in the city. He said an additional 1 million health care workers are needed to tackle the crisis.

“We've lost over 1,000 New Yorkers," Cuomo said. "To me, we're beyond staggering already. We've reached staggering.”

Even before the governor's appeal, close to 80,000 former nurses, doctors and other professionals were stepping up to volunteer, and a Navy hospital ship, also sent to the city after 9/11, had arrived with 1,000 beds to relieve pressure on overwhelmed hospitals.

"Whatever it is that they need, I’m willing to do,” said Jerry Kops, a musician and former nurse whose tour with the show Blue Man Group was abruptly halted by the outbreak.

He returned to his Long Island home, where he volunteered to be a nurse again. While waiting to be reinstated, Kops has been helping at an assisted-living home near his house in Shirley, N.Y.

The spike in deaths in New York was another sign of the long fight ahead against the global pandemic, which was filling Spain's intensive care beds and shutting millions of Americans inside even as the crisis in China, where the outbreak began in December, kept easing.

More than 235 million people — about two of every three Americans — live in the 33 states where governors have declared statewide orders or recommendations to stay home.

In California, officials put out a similar call for medical volunteers as coronavirus hospitalizations doubled over the last four days and the number of patients in intensive care tripled.

“Challenging times are ahead for the next 30 days, and this is a very vital 30 days," President Donald Trump told reporters. “The more we dedicate ourselves today, the more quickly we will emerge on the other side of the crisis.”

In Europe, meanwhile, hard-hit Italy and Spain saw their death tolls climb by more than 800 each, but the World Health Organization's emergency chief said cases there were “potentially stabilizing.” At the same time, he warned against letting up on tough containment measures.

“We have to now push the virus down, and that will not happen by itself,” Dr. Michael Ryan said.

More than three-quarters of a million people worldwide have become infected and over 37,000 have died, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University.

The U.S. reported more than 160,000 infections and over 3,000 deaths, with New York City the nation's worst hot spot. New Orleans, Detroit and other cities also had alarming clusters.

“Anyone who says this situation is a New York City-only situation is in a state of denial," Cuomo said. “You see this virus move across the state. You see this virus move across the nation. There is no American who is immune to this virus."

Some hospitals are now parking refrigerated trailers outside their doors to collect the dead. At two Brooklyn hospitals, videos posted by bystanders and a medical employee showed workers in masks and gowns loading bodies onto trailers from gurneys on the sidewalk.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government's top infectious-disease expert, also warned that smaller cities are likely about to see cases “take off” the way they have in New York City.

“What we’ve learned from painful experience with this outbreak is that it goes along almost on a straight line, then a little acceleration, acceleration, then it goes way up," he said on ABC's “Good Morning America.”



ktla.com