It has been another huge week in news, with coronavirus spikes in Melbourne, an investigation into former High Court judge Dyson Heydon, and a Labor plan for an energy policy framework.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures suggest there have been more than 800 ‘excess deaths’ in Australia in January-March 2020, relative to the average, but only 103 confirmed COVID-19 deaths so far.
How governments handle pandemics relies on co-operation from the public and across borders.
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Countries closed their borders in response to COVID-19, but international cooperation and technology sharing could improve recovery against pandemics and potential bioterrorist attacks.
Our new research suggests the COVID-19 pandemic has meant people are using illicit drugs less. But decreased use can mean higher risk of overdoses.
Medical student Gyalsten Gurung, 25, pictured in a yellow jacket, returned to Upper Dolpo to instruct villagers about COVID-19. Here, on March 27, 2020.
(Gyalsten Gurung)
During the COVID-19 crisis, some medical students at school in Pokhara, Nepal, went to rural Himalayan villages to teach about the virus. Others go home to challenge social inequities.
Calgary performers persist in the face of uncertainty, and use music to voice dissent and to create community.
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While some stereotype Alberta as a “conservative” province, the bucking and swift horses that typify the Calgary Stampede speak to a more complex spirit of risk seen in local musicians.
Yellow fever, malaria and Ebola all spilled over from animals to humans at the edges of tropical forests. The new coronavirus is the latest zoonosis.
Harvest Kitchen restaurant, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, making use of New York City’s new policy of opening streets to walking, biking and dining.
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First trains, then cars and, now, COVID-19 have all spurred New York to reimagine how its scarce space should be used – and what residents need to survive.
The more politicized an issue, the harder it is for people to absorb contradictory evidence.
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Whether in situations relating to scientific consensus, economic history or current political events, denialism has its roots in what psychologists call ‘motivated reasoning.’
A moored container ship in Qingdao, China.
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Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne