The Netherlands - a source for life after death: Dutch 'living coffin' aims to provide source for life after death

 A Dutch startup has created a biodegradable "living coffin" made of a fungus instead of wood that it says can convert a decomposing human body into key nutrients for plants.

Loop company says its casket is made of mycelium, the underground root structure of mushrooms, and filled with a bed of moss to stimulate decomposition.

"Mycelium is nature's biggest recycler," Bob Hendrikx, creator of the living coffin.

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Dutch 'living coffin' aims to provide source for life after death |

Coronavirus: Can Europe tame the pandemic’s next wave? - by Kai Kupferschmidt

We’re at risk of gambling away our success,” virologist Christian Drosten warned in the German newspaper Die Zeit last month. His message referred to Germany, but it could have been addressed to all of Europe. After beating back COVID-19 in the spring, most of Europe is seeing a resurgence. Spain is reporting close to 10,000 cases a day, more than it had at the height of the outbreak in the spring. France is back to reporting thousands of cases a day. In Germany, numbers are still low, but rising steadily. The pandemic is affecting countries that saw few cases in the spring, such as Greece and Malta, but is also rebounding in places that suffered terribly, including the cities of Madrid and Barcelona.

Few dispute that Europe rose to the initial challenge. In Bergamo, a hotspot in Italy’s Lombardy region, crematoria were so overburdened in March that army trucks had to transport the dead to other cities—but on 24 May, Lombardy registered zero COVID-19 deaths for the first time. By early July, the European Union and the United Kingdom together averaged fewer than 5000 new cases per day, whereas the United States and Brazil (which together have roughly the same population) had 50,000 and 40,000, respectively. Europeans enjoyed a surprisingly normal summer, with northern Europeans flocking to Mediterranean beaches.

The rising case numbers today aren’t quite comparable to the peak in April because countries are now testing far more people on a daily basis. But the increase shows that Europe relaxed measures too early and too much, says virologist Ab Osterhaus of the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover, Germany. “The wrong message was given, basically: We have done a great job and now we can relax again.” Instead, Europe could have tried to emulate New Zealand by stopping community transmission completely and zealously guarding against reintroductions, says Devi Sridhar, a global health expert at the University of Edinburgh who has been advising the Scottish government. Scotland committed early on to pushing case numbers down to zero, but other countries did not, and now almost all are seeing a resurgence

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Can Europe tame the pandemic’s next wave? | Science | AAAS

Coronavirus: Beware: Fall and winter could be a friend to COVID-19, experts say - by Peter Krouse

 

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 942,000 people worldwide.Over 30 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.The criteria for diagnosis -- through clinical means or a lab test -- has varied from country-to-country. Still, the actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported  cases and suspicions that some national governments are hiding or  downplaying the scope of their outbreaks.

Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the virus has rapidly spread to every continent except Antarctica.

The United States is the worst-affected country, with more than 6.6 million diagnosed cases and at least 197,397 deaths.

Read more at: https://www.cleveland.com/news/2020/08/beware-fall-and-winter-could-be-a-friend-to-covid-19-experts-say.html

The Netherlands: No, the expats are not leaving, but coronavirus has made it harder to move here

There is little evidence that international workers are leaving the Netherlands because of the coronavirus epidemic, but fewer people are arriving, experts and organisations working with expats have told DutchNews.nl

International schools say that while a few people have been called back to base, families are not packing up and leaving on a large scale and pupil numbers are steady. And while some housing agencies have said they have more property on their books, it is very unclear how much of this is due to people leaving, and how much to tougher regulations on holiday rentals

Read more at:  No, the expats are not leaving, but coronavirus has made it harder to move here - DutchNews.nl

The Netherlands: Rutte: "The coronavirus is making a comeback"; New rules for hospitality, groups: by Zack Newmark

surge in new infections of the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus will  ranslate to new restrictions in at least six regions of the Netherlandsbeginning on Monday. "The coronavirus is making a comeback," 

Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at a press conference Friday night. At the event, Health Minister Hugo de Jonge introduced a three-stage warning  system for the 25 security regions of the Netherlands, where 19 regions are at Level 1, or "vigilance", meaning people still need to pay  attention to social distancing rules, and six regions including the four, largest cities were placed at the "Worrysome" Level 2.

Read more at: Rutte: "The coronavirus is making a comeback"; New rules for hospitality, groups | NL Times

Netherlands: Biggest Dutch cities to restrict bars, restaurants in Covid fight

Cafes, bars and restaurants in the Randstad region of the Netherlands  will only be allowed to host 50 people at a time, down from 100. The new rule could go into effect as soon as Friday in six of the country's 25  security regions, including Amsterdam-Amstelland, Rotterdam-Rijmmond, and Utrecht.

Read more at:   Biggest Dutch cities to restrict bars, restaurants in Covid fight: Report | NL Times

The Netherlands must be ready for serious economic setbacks, says king

The Netherlands must ready itself for serious economic setbacks, king Willem Alexander said on Tuesday afternoon, in his official speech to mark the start of the parliamentary year.

The Dutch economy and government finances are healthy and financial buffers have been built up over the past few years which we can now benefit from, the king said. ‘Now we have to ready ourselves for the consequences of a serious economic setback, which will impact the economy and government finances in the long term,’ he said.

Much depends on how long coronavirus keeps us in its grip, he said. ‘But the recent figures and prognoses are unheard of in peace time,’ he said. ‘The economic setbacks facing our biggest European and global trading partners are in many cases even greater. For an open country like the Netherlands, with its focus on trade and exports, this is an extra complication, especially in the wake of Brexit.’

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The Netherlands must be ready for serious economic setbacks, says king - DutchNews.nl