Africa Roundup: Africa’s tech ecosystem responds to COVID-19

In March, the virus gripping the world — COVID-19 — started to spread in Africa. In short order, actors across the continent’s tech ecosystem began to step up to stem the spread.

from Pocket https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/31/africa-roundup-africas-tech-ecosystem-responds-to-covid-19/
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Investors tell Indian startups to ‘prepare for the worst’ as Covid-19 uncertainty continues

Just three months after capping what was the best year for Indian startups, having raised a record $14.

from Pocket https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/31/investors-tell-indian-startups-to-prepare-for-the-worst-as-covid-19-uncertainty-continues/
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Coronavirus Live Updates: Trump Warns of ‘Painful Two Weeks’ Ahead

Government scientists said the virus could kill between 100,000 and 240,000 Americans, in spite of social distancing measures. In a news conference, President Trump struck his most somber tone on the subject to date.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/world/coronavirus-news.html
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Oil Companies on Tumbling Prices: ‘Disastrous, Devastating’

The use of gasoline and other fuels is dropping as Saudi Arabia and Russia increase production, sending oil prices to their lowest level in a generation. HOUSTON — The once mighty oil industry is shrinking quickly around the world, hunkering down in survival mode.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/business/energy-environment/crude-oil-companies-coronavirus.html
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Vericool raises $19.1 million for its plant-based packaging replacement for plastic coolers

Vericool, a Livermore, Calif.-based startup that’s replacing plastic coolers and packaging with plant-based products, has raised $19.1 million in a new round of financing.

from Pocket https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/31/vericool-raises-19-1-million-for-its-plant-based-packaging-replacement-for-plastic-coolers/
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‘Never Thought I Would Need It’: Americans Put Pride Aside to Seek Aid

With coronavirus-related job losses, many workers are reluctantly seeking charity and unemployment benefits for the first time in their lives.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/us/virus-food-banks-unemployment.html
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Coronavirus in N.Y.C.: Latest Updates

It’s Tuesday. Weather: A chance of morning showers, then mostly cloudy, with a high in the upper 40s.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/nyregion/coronavirus-nyc.html
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Why the U.S. Is Running Out of Medical Supplies

Hosted by Michael Barbaro; produced by Annie Brown, Daniel Guillemette and Rachel Quester; with help from Sydney Harper; and edited by M.J.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/podcasts/the-daily/coronavirus-medical-supplies-shortages.html
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It’s Time to Make Your Own Face Mask

Here’s how to do it. It shouldn’t have come to this, but here we are.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/opinion/coronavirus-n95-mask.html
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The Coronavirus and the Conservative Mind

The pandemic has put psychological theories of politics to a very interesting test.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/opinion/covid-conservatism.html
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Coronavirus Has Taught Us More About Trump Than We Wanted to Know

Meanwhile, Andrew Cuomo has emerged as the anti-Trump. Ms. Collins and Mr. Stephens are opinion columnists. They converse every week.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/opinion/coronavirus-trump-cuomo-biden.html
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Coronavirus: Trump extends US guidelines beyond Easter - BBC News

President Donald Trump has said federal coronavirus guidelines such as social distancing will be extended across the US until at least 30 April. He had previously suggested that they could be relaxed as early as Easter, which falls in mid-April. "The highest point of the death rate is likely to hi

from Pocket https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85yDRic52tI&feature=youtu.be
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D-Wave gives anyone working on responses to the COVID-19 free cloud access to its quantum computers

D-Wave, the Canadian quantum computing company, today announced that it is giving anyone who is working on responses to the COVID-19 free access to its Leap 2 quantum computing cloud service.

from Pocket https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/31/d-wave-gives-anyone-working-on-responses-to-the-covid-19-free-access-to-its-quantum-computer/
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China’s Pinduoduo raises $1.1 billion in private share placement

Chinese e-commerce firm Pinduoduo said on Tuesday it had raised $1.1 billion in a private share placement that will enable its further expansion and capture “additional opportunities” during the times of uncertainty.

from Pocket https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/31/pinduoduo-raises-1-1-billion-in-private-share-placement/
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Qarnot raises $6.5 million for its computer servers that heat buildings

French startup Qarnot has raised a $6.5 million (€6 million) funding round. The company manufactures heaters and boilers with a special trick — they pack computers as computers tend to generate a lot of heat.

from Pocket https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/31/qarnot-raises-6-5-million-for-its-computer-servers-that-heat-buildings/
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Boris Johnson Needs to Learn From Andrew Cuomo

Britain’s prime minister needs a new communication strategy — and fast. Mr. Campbell was an adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/opinion/coronavirus-boris-johnson.html
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Stock Markets in Asia Signal Investor Caution: Live Updates

Futures markets predicted modest rises on Wall Street and in Europe. Stock markets in Asia sounded a cautionary note on Tuesday after a big rise on Wall Street, reflecting investor jitters over the state of the world economy.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/business/stock-market-today-coronavirus.html
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Coronavirus Live Updates: Three Out of Four Americans Ordered to Stay Home

Leaders around the world are using the pandemic as pretext for seizing virtually dictatorial authority. In the U.S., President Trump said the states had plenty of testing kits, but governors disagreed.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/world/coronavirus-news.html
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Hive Mind of Makers Rises to Meet Pandemic

Tinkerers, sewers and scientists bring their ideas and 3-D printers to bear on the shortage of medical supplies. It started with a fanciful email from one self-described science geek to another.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/health/coronavirus-innovators.html
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Hospital Safety Rules Are Relaxed to Fight Coronavirus

The federal government has redefined a hospital to include tents and dormitory rooms. The federal government announced Monday that it was relaxing many of its usual safety standards for hospitals so they could expand services to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/upshot/hospital-rules-relaxed-coronavirus-fight.html
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What it’s like to attend a conference—in person—in the age of COVID-19

As I boarded a United flight at SFO on March 17, the first day of San Francisco’s shelter-in-place order, that question was on my mind. I wondered just how many people would be attending CanSecWest 2020 in Vancouver, and if I’d be the only one in person. Car traffic in both S.F.

from Pocket https://www.fastcompany.com/90482788/what-its-like-to-attend-a-conference-in-person-in-the-age-of-covid-19
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Protests at Instacart and Amazon Over Coronavirus Health Concerns

The two companies are the latest targets of labor action by groups fearing virus exposure on the job.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/business/economy/coronavirus-instacart-amazon.html
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Behind Trump’s Reversal on Reopening the Country: 2 Sets of Numbers

An estimate of the number of possible deaths and polling that showed a cautious public changed, for now, the president’s approach to the coronavirus pandemic. WASHINGTON — The numbers the health officials showed President Trump were overwhelming.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/us/politics/trump-coronavirus.html
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U.S. Retail Crisis Deepens as Hundreds of Thousands Lose Work

Furloughs by Macy’s and Gap will affect the majority of their work forces, and show how the pandemic will devastate many retailers.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/business/coronavirus-retail-furloughs-macys.html
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Los Angeles-based challenger bank HMBradley officially opens its virtual doors

The Los Angeles-based digital challenger bank, HMBradley, opened its virtual doors to the public today, allowing the thousands of waitlisted would-be users to set up direct deposits and collect their sign-up bonuses.

from Pocket https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/30/los-angeles-based-challenger-bank-hmbradley-officially-opens-its-virtual-doors/
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Keep It Simple, Albany. This Is No Time for Budget Games.

Governor Cuomo and state lawmakers should pass a streamlined budget and fight their policy battles another day. The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/opinion/new-york-budget-covid.html
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Trump to Governors: I’d Like You to Do Us a Favor, Though

Once again, the president is using aid to extort re-election help. Last December, during a congressional hearing on impeachment, the Stanford Law professor Pamela Karlan tried to explain the gravity of Donald Trump’s Ukraine quid pro quo by making a domestic analogy.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/opinion/trump-federal-aid-coronavirus.html
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Facebook deletes Brazil President’s coronavirus misinfo post

Facebook has diverted from its policy of not fact-checking politicians in order to prevent the spread of potentially harmful coronavirus misinformation from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

from Pocket https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/30/facebook-removes-bolsonaro-video/
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Johnson & Johnson partners with BARDA to fund $1 billion in COVID-19 vaccine research

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson is partnering with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to fund over $1 billion in COVID-19 vaccine and antiviral treatment research and development, the company said on Monday.

from Pocket https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/30/johnson-johnson-partners-with-barda-to-fund-1-billion-in-covid-19-vaccine-research/
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These Days, Even a Michelin Star Chef Has to Sell Takeout

For nearly three years, the chef T.J. Steele refused to offer delivery at Claro, his Michelin star restaurant in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/business/coronavirus-restaurants-delivery.html
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Today's Cartoon: Watercooler Talk

The watercooler comes to you.

from Wired https://www.wired.com/story/wired-cartoons-week-33
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The Mathematics of Predicting the Course of the Coronavirus

Epidemiologists are using complex models to help policymakers get ahead of the Covid-19 pandemic. But the leap from equations to decisions is a long one.

from Wired https://www.wired.com/story/the-mathematics-of-predicting-the-course-of-the-coronavirus
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Public Transit Cuts Hurt 'Essential' Workers Who Need It Most

Bus and train systems are trimming schedules amid plummeting ridership and mounting losses. But riders are being forced to choose between health and financial security.

from Wired https://www.wired.com/story/transit-cuts-hurt-workers-who-need-most
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New Jersey’s Patient Zero

Hosted by Michael Barbaro; produced by, Clare Toeniskoetter and Michael Simon Johnson; with help from Daniel Guillemette and Luke Vander Ploeg; and edited by Wendy Dorr and M.J.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/podcasts/the-daily/coronavirus-new-jersey.html
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Coronavirus in N.Y.C.: The Latest

It’s Monday. Weather: Cloudy, with a high in the mid- to upper 50s. Showers are possible in the afternoon.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/nyregion/coronavirus-nyc.html
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Enough With the Baby Steps on Coronavirus

It’s not too late to start protecting jobs or to make medical care for Covid-19 free. The authors are economists at the University of California, Berkeley.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/opinion/coronavirus-economy-saez-zucman.html
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How America Can Reopen

If summer is to bring any sense of normalcy, the country’s leaders must act quickly. The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/opinion/coronavirus-reopen-america.html
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Let’s Turn Hotels into Quarantine Quarters

New York City today is like Wuhan, the city in central China with the first known Covid-19 outbreak, in late January.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/opinion/coronavirus-new-york-quarantine.html
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They Don’t Want to Risk Their Lives to Flip Your Burger

Workers around the country are walking off the job to protest a lack of protective equipment, safety measures, even soap. Mr. Greenhouse writes about labor.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/opinion/coronavirus-worker-strike.html
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Coronavirus: Spain extended the state of emergency until at least 12 April - BBC News

The number of coronavirus deaths in Spain have reached well over 6,000 as the country struggles to cope with the crisis. Globally, there have been more than 720,000 infections and almost 34,000 deaths. Italy remains by far the worst hit country, with more than 10,000 fatalities, followed by Spain a

from Pocket https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYrtFWYbW0g&feature=youtu.be
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Coronavirus, New York, China: Your Monday Briefing

Good morning. We’re covering the extension of distancing guidelines in the U.S., the growing toll of the coronavirus in New York, and technology companies’ efforts to thwart election disinformation campaigns.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/briefing/coronavirus-new-york-china.html
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Coronavirus Live Updates: 200,000 Americans Could Die, Warn Top Health Officials

President Trump extended social distancing guidelines to April 30 as cases in the U.S. topped 140,000. The doctors advising him said that without any restrictions on movement more than 1 million Americans could die. First shipment of Chinese-made medical gear arrives in New York.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/world/coronavirus-news.html
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Air Doctor scores $7.6M to connect travellers with local doctors

Air Doctor, the health tech startup that connects travellers with local doctors, has raised $7.8 million in Series A funding. The round is led by Kamet Ventures (the AXA-backed venture builder), and The Phoenix Insurance Company.

from Pocket https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/30/air-doctor/
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Coronavirus Live Updates: 200,000 Americans Could Die, Warn Top Health Officials

President Trump extended social distancing guidelines to April 30 as cases in the U.S. topped 140,000. The doctors advising him said without any restrictions on movement that more than 1 million Americans could die.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/world/coronavirus-new.html
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Stock Markets in Asia Signal Lingering Unease: Live Updates

Futures markets suggested Wall Street would open lower on Monday. Markets in the Asia-Pacific region opened broadly lower on Monday, as investors remained nervous about global economic prospects despite stabilization efforts from governments around the world.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/business/coronavirus-stock-markets-economy.html
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Trump Extends Social Distancing Guidelines Through End of April

The president, facing grim figures from his health advisers, starkly reversed an earlier upbeat assessment that the country could relax the guidelines by Easter.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-guidelines.html
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‘A Heart-Wrenching Thing’: Hospital Bans on Visits Devastate Families

To curb the risk of spreading the coronavirus, hospitals nationwide are banning visits from family and friends. The last time Peter John Dario saw his father alive was on March 14, at the entrance to a hospital in Edison, N.J. An employee took him away in a wheelchair, telling Mr.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/health/coronavirus-hospital-visit-ban.html
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Trump Is Hurting His Own Re-election Chances

Don’t be fooled by snapshot polls. The strangest part of President Trump’s coronavirus response is that it’s almost certainly damaging his chances of re-election.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/opinion/trump-coronavirus-election.html
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The Psychological Trauma That Awaits Our Doctors and Nurses

Don’t underestimate the moral anguish of deciding who gets a ventilator. This is the moment to pray for the psychological welfare of our health care professionals.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/opinion/coronavirus-ventilators-rationing-triage.html
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The Politics of a Pandemic

Trump wants us to see him as defeating a foreign enemy. The coronavirus pandemic is first and foremost a global public health crisis. But here in the United States — as is likely true in other countries — the response to it is heavily overlaid with political calculations.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/opinion/coronavirus-pandemic-politics.html
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Coronavirus Slowdown in Seattle Suggests Restrictions Are Working

Officials in Washington State worry that their gains are precarious, but they see evidence that containment strategies have lowered the rate of virus transmission.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/us/seattle-washington-state-coronavirus-transmission-rate.html
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Trump Said He Was the President of Manufacturing. Then Disaster Struck.

For a leader who has embraced the language of a wartime president, it is as if the Pentagon asked for missiles and bombers but wouldn’t say how many or where they should be delivered.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/us/politics/coronavirus-trump-ventilators-manufacturing-gm.html
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He Had Coronavirus. Now He’s Jobless and Afraid to Hug His Children.

Weeks after he became one of the first New Yorkers to test positive for the illness, a Queens man says his “nightmare isn’t over.”It was not the joyous homecoming Fatehi Darhan had dreamed about while he lay alone for two weeks in a hospital room in Queens, fighting the coronavirus.

from Pocket https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/nyregion/coronavirus-survivor-queens.html
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