Apr 14, 2020 | Politics & Society
On March 11, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. This triggered a set of regulations and made resources available to nations to combat the virus. WHO provides guidance to countries facing health crises. How effective is this...
Apr 13, 2020 | Politics & Society, Science & Technology
Lillian Ng explores with Monique Jonas and Phillipa Malpas the implications of moral distress and clinical decision making in the time of COVID-19. Lillian Ng is a Senior Lecturer in Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland. Monique Jonas is a Senior...
Apr 10, 2020 | Science & Technology
What is the psychology of a pandemic? In this podcast, psychiatrists Lillian Ng and Stefano Cali discuss emotional contagion and the potential psychological impacts of a lockdown. Lillian Ng is a Senior Lecturer in Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland....
Apr 8, 2020 | Science & Technology
By Mark Thomas Infectious diseases expert Mark Thomas explores some of the options open to New Zealand. New Zealand is in the very early stages of an epidemic of COVID-19 disease, caused by a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. Infection with this respiratory virus causes...
Apr 7, 2020 | Science & Technology
By Ignacio López-Goñi Studies of numerous antiviral treatments and potential vaccines are already underway. Never has science advanced so much in such a short period of time to combat an epidemic. Just three months after China first notified the World Health...
Apr 6, 2020 | Business & Economics
By Stefano Riela Stefano Riela looks at whether Covid-19 will change access to essential goods globally. For years, globalisation made it possible to geographically distribute economic activities. In ‘normal’ times, when the fluidity of trade is...
Apr 2, 2020 | Science & Technology
What are the psychological States of COVID-19? How do we respond to fear and anxiety amidst threat and uncertainty? In this podcast, psychiatrists Lillian Ng and Rob Shieff discuss fear, anxiety and our responses to them. Lillian Ng is a Senior Lecturer in...
Mar 31, 2020 | Science & Technology
By Christian Yates With basic mathematical models, researchers can begin to forecast the progression of diseases and understand the effect of interventions on disease spread. Disease has afflicted humans ever since there have been humans. Malaria and tuberculosis are...
Mar 30, 2020 | Science & Technology
By Lotti Tajouri Viruses are the most common biological entities on Earth. Experts estimate there are around 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 of them, and if they were all lined up they would stretch from one side of the galaxy to the other. You can think of...
Mar 18, 2020 | Science & Technology
By Beth Linas The virus apparently emerged in Wuhan, China. How does a virus that starts in one place spread around the world? The short answer is that we live in a global economy that includes frequent domestic and international travel, and viruses often hitch rides...