Important Follow-Up Statement of 16 March 2020: LSE Alumnae and Alumni and the Coronavirus
An important follow-up statement of the Association in regard to the "SARS-CoV-2" virus and the "coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)" it causes.
Please take the time to read the statement in its entirety. Thank you.
The Swiss LSE Alumni Association (SLSEAA) has cancelled all physical gatherings for the coming months until further notice. To not completely cut off the social network among LSE alumnae and alumni during these difficult times, the Officers of the Association are working hard on alternative arrangements, including interactive online events. If you or your company would like to make a contribution of knowhow, technology or content, the undersigned would be delighted to hear from you.
Today, Monday, at 17:00, the Federal Council has declared that an "extraordinary situation" exists in Switzerland, the highest alert level reserved for worst-case pandemics. All public and private events are banned. All dry goods shops, restaurants, bars, museums, libraries, cinemas, educational and cultural institutions, sports centers and other places must remain closed until 19 April. The Armed Forces are being partially mobilized. You can watch the full briefing of the Federal Council (in German, French, Italian and Romansh) at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnuTzODXLvw
With thoughtfulness and solidarity, we can support the authorities in keeping the "SARS-CoV-2" infection rate over the coming weeks and months as low as possible. The new coronavirus represents a particular danger for people over 65 years of age and those with a pre-existing condition. They may become seriously ill and die. To protect them, you must protect yourself. Please visit again:
https://foph-coronavirus.ch/
... and make sure to also click on "Current situation".
For your information, we have prepared a short introduction to coronaviruses and assembled links to additional insightful information in English.
Coronaviruses are a subfamily of viruses characterized by their core being surrounded by a halo reminiscent of the corona around our Sun. Coronavirus disease was first described in 1931, and the viruses causing this disease were first identified in the mid-1960s. However, coronaviruses have been circulating among mammals, including humans, and birds for many millennia as revealed by molecular clock dating. Infectious to humans are seven to date. Four of them, HCoV-229E (first isolated in 1965), HCoV-OC43 (1967), HCoV-NL63 (2004) and HCoV-HKU1 (2005), usually cause only mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses like the common cold. The other three, SARS-CoV (2003), MERS-CoV (2012) and now SARS-CoV-2 (2019/20), can cause serious to deadly respiratory tract infections.
The Telegraph's Global Health Security Editor Paul Nuki has produced an excellent video explaining all the ways in which you could become infected and how your body will react to the coronavirus:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bI5pQGXl2o
An universal resource to quickly find preprint and peer-reviewed scientific articles on coronaviruses is the Coronavirus Research Repository:
https://coronavirus.1science.com/search
Stay current on COVID-19 global case numbers by pointing your desktop Web browser to:
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6
respectively your mobile device Web browser to:
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/85320e2ea5424dfaaa75ae62e5c06e61
Our initial statement of 9 March with additional useful information can be found at:
https://www.slseaa.ch/news-views/159-initial-statement-9-march
We hope that you will draw strength from the solidarity of your friends and neighbors and wish that you and your family will be spared from the coronavirus.