A team led by MIT researchers and experts from many institutions has been working on developing a system that augments “manual” contact tracing by public health officials while preserving user privacy. The system relies on a smartphones’ ability to advertise its presence to other devices via Bluetooth. However, the main issue was interoperability for iOS and Android phones.
According to the team lead, MIT and makers of the app Private Kit: Safe Paths overcame the issue together last week. As of now, Safe Paths can keep a log of locations visited for 28 days. If a person tests positive, they can upload the list of phones their smartphone has interacted with over the past 14 days to a database. Other people can then scan the database to see if they were in close vicinity with the patient.
Ron Rivest, MIT Institute Professor and principal investigator of the project, explained:
I keep track of what I’ve broadcasted, and you keep track of what you’ve heard, and this will allow us to tel..
Category: Tech and Telecom
KE Makes the Biggest Leap Among Power Sector Companies After Rs. 40 Billion Investment
K Electric has made a handsome investment of around Rs. 40 billion across the company’s power value chain, the official statement said.
KE’s investment plan across all business verticals of generation, transmission and distribution has also been designed in view of these power needs which continue to grow, and the board decided once again to reinvest the profit earned back into the business.
Moonis Alvi, CEO, KE said;
As we continue towards our objective of ensuring reliable and safe power supply to Karachi and its surrounding areas, KE over the past decade – despite fiscal and other constraints owing particularly to rising government receivables – has invested over $2.4 billion across the energy value chain.
These investments have resulted in an addition of over 1,057 MW of efficient power generation capacity, improvement of overall fleet efficiency from 30% in FY 2009 to 37% in FY 2019, 16.8 percentage points reduction in Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses (most by any Di..
Situation Report: 284 New Cases and 4 Deaths Reported in 24 Hours
Pakistan continues to fare better than expected in terms of new Coronavirus cases in the country. According to the latest official data, 284 new cases were reported in Pakistan on April 9th, slightly up from 248 cases reported a day ago.
Four new coronavirus related deaths were also reported, down from 5 the previous day.
Experts are suggesting that Pakistan is doing well in dealing with Coronavirus due to very severe lock-downs in hotspots and increased testing. However, experts say that the testing capacity needs to be expanded further.
While the numbers are low compared to many other countries, experts caution that measures and efforts need to remain intact to contain the virus. They say it will be very tricky to ease the lock-downs, as a resurgence or rapid spread is always a possibility until a vaccine is developed.
There’s more on Coronavirus numbers in the graphs and tables below:
New Coronavirus Related Deaths
Overall Picture Region Total Cases Cases in 24 Hrs Deaths in l..
Now Anyone Can Visit Volkswagen’s Motor Show Booth Online
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Geneva Motor show was canceled which forced automakers to showcase their cars online. Now Volkswagen has recreated the company’s pavilion as a digital motor show experience. From today onwards, people can view all the new models online.
The 360° tour allows an interactive experience enabling people to “stroll” around the booth, see the cars from all angles while also having the option to change colors and wheel rim setups.
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Jürgen Stackmann, Member of the Volkswagen brand Board of Management responsible for Sales, Marketing and After-Sales said:
I am pleased that our marketing team has succeeded in making our booth available to all visitors despite the cancellation of the Geneva Motor Show. Virtually, they can experience our team’s attention to detail in the presentation of this show and our product highlights. Once again, this demonstrates that special ..
Coronavirus: Pakistan’s Largest Social Assistance Program Underway as Country Fights the Pandemic
The largest social assistance program in the country’s history was rolled out on Thursday to lessen impact of the virus lockdown on impoverished communities. Under the program, cash handouts worth around Rs 144 billion will be made in a bid to counter the economic fallout of the Covid-19 crisis.
Around 40 million people received text messages for collection of the amount on the first day of cash distribution under the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Program. Up to 17,000 branches of two designated banks – Habib Bank Limited and Bank Al-Falah – are disbursing the payments, in addition to 3,000 camp sites established by provinces.
The virus lockdowns across Pakistan have taken a heavy toll on the earnings of daily-wagers. While a few big industries have been allowed to resume operations, the country largely remains shut adversely affecting the poor. So far, the pandemic has affected over 4,500 in Pakistan while claiming 66 lives as the country exhausts its resources in the fight.
Here are the l..
Sindh Proposes Major Relief for Citizens With Emergency Relief Ordinance
Sindh government has finalized an ordinance to provide major relief to its citizens amid coronavirus lockdown. As per details, the provincial law ministry has drafted the ordinance which includes major relief for masses in utility bills, house/shop rents, school fees, etc. m
The proposal has been forwarded to Governor Sindh, Imran Ismael, for approval. It will be implemented from the first of April following the approval. Chief Minister, Murad Ali Shah, will have the power to amend or revoke the ordinance at any time.
Some salient features of the ordinance are as follows:
Relief for Power Consumers The major relief for the citizens has come in terms of utility bills. The ordinance has proposed suspension of monthly electricity bills during the lockdown for users consuming up to 260 units a month.
Those consuming up to 350 units will pay 25 percent of the total amount. Similarly, consumers with up to 450 unit consumption will enjoy a 50 percent discount. Power consumers with monthly..
Android & iPhone Emojis Get Delayed Because of Coronavirus
The COVID-19 outbreak has caused delays in hardware production and software updates alike. New content and features have been postponed for several platforms and a recent report has revealed that new emojis for Android and iOS will be delayed as well.
The not for profit organization Unicode Consortium (UC) announced yesterday that it is delaying the release of Emoji 14.0 due to the virus outbreak. The new set of emojis that were scheduled to arrive in fall 2021 will not make it to major platforms until spring 2022.
However, the new emojis are still set to be unveiled during 2021, but since it takes months for companies to adopt them, they will only arrive in Smartphones by 2022. Last year, for example, UC unveiled new emojis in March and Apple announced them for iOS in July only for them to finally arrive on iPhones in September.
As for Emoji 13.0, the new set is scheduled to arrive during fall this year. It will feature 117 new emojis including “Italian hand”, ninjas, the Transgend..
5 Month Old Girl from Gilgit Baltistan Becomes Youngest to Recover from Coronavirus
A 5-month-old girl from Nagar Khas, Gilgit Baltistan, has become Pakistan’s youngest Coronavirus patient who has won her battle against the disease that has wreaked devastation across the globe.
According to a local news outlet, the young patient was tested positive for Coronavirus along with her mother after persistent symptoms of the disease.
Health authorities transferred both mother and daughter to the isolation center and kept them separate for more than 2 weeks during the treatment.
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After testing negative for the disease twice, health officials discharged the 5-month-old girl along with her mother.
Out of 4,431 Coronavirus cases in Pakistan, Gilgit Baltistan accounts for 213 cases. Of the 213 cases, 78 have been reported from Nagar district, making it the most affected area in Gilgit Baltistan.
22 patients have fully recovered from Coronavirus in Nagar while 55 are being treated at t..
Haripur Doctors Start Free Medicine Home Delivery Using A Drone
Doctors in Haripur have turned to technology to ensure immuno-compromised patients stay indoors and are provided with essential medical supplies during lockdown imposed due to Coronavirus.
15 doctors of the DHQ Hospital in Haripur have bought a drone and started delivering medicines to heart, kidney, and eye patients at their doorsteps through the drone.
Patients struggling with heart, kidney, and eye conditions are at increased risk of contracting Coronavirus as their immune system is already weak. This way, those patients will stay at home and come in minimal human contact, bringing down their chances of catching the disease, said MS DHQ while explaining the rationale behind the initiative.
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Moreover, these doctors have also decided to offer telemedicine services free of cost during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Anyone can call the hospital and consult with a specialist. The specialist will pres..
ADB Repurposes $50 Million Assistance for Pakistan to Fight Against COVID-19
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has repurposed $50 million from Pakistan’s National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF) to support the Government of Pakistan’s preventive and response efforts to fight the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.
The funds, which form part of ADB’s series of support for Pakistan’s fight against COVID-19, will help to procure medical equipment and supplies to strengthen hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, isolation units, and other medical facilities in the country.
The funds include the reallocation of $30 million of previously approved but unutilized resources from ADB to NDRMF. Following a request for emergency support from the Government of Pakistan, ADB swiftly processed a change in scope in its NDRMF project, enabling the repurposing and immediate use of these resources in the fight against COVID-19. In addition, NDRMF has provided $20 million to support the government’s COVID-19 response.
These funds complement the financ..
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