But lung scan isn’t perfect
The number of new coronavirus cases in China last week suggested that the outbreak might be slowing. But earlier this week, the number of cases increased sharply because of a change in the diagnostic criteria — a lung scan.
This Thursday, over 14,840 new cases were reported, the largest one-day increase so far recorded, bringing the total number to 48,206. The lung scan isn’t perfect as it also produces false positives for other infections like the common flu, but it can mean early diagnosis and better care for actual infected patients. Read more on The New York Times.
Coronavirus cruise ship
The Diamond Princess — a cruise ship on the coast of Japan with 3,700 passengers — has been held in quarantine on the Japanese coast, and currently has the highest infected patients outside of China: 218.
While the infected have been removed from the ship and taken to hospitals, public health officials point out that the growing number of cases calls for urgent action.
Coronavirus can spread even before the symptoms are visible, so despite the quarantine, it is likely that the virus will spread within the ship and the passengers on board seem to be living in terror of being infected. More on the The Washington Post.
World’s largest cave fish found in Meghalaya
A 2019 expedition found the world’s largest-ever cave fish in Meghalaya. The fish is subterranean and was found in an underground chamber — 300 feet below the surface.
It is 10 times heavier than any known cave fish and is likely a new species. The cave itself supports a large number of these extra large fish. More details on National Geographic.
British Airways plane breaks subsonic speed record
A BA Boeing 747 broke the subsonic (slower than sound) speed record for a flight between New York and London. It completed the journey in 4 hours and 56 minutes at a speed of more than 1,287 km/h. This is almost two hours faster than the average flight time of 6 hours 55 minutes between the cities.
The flight was aided by a strong jet stream (fast wind currents in the upper atmosphere), which was propelling the aircraft.
The previous subsonic record was 5 hours 13 minutes by a Norwegian airline, while the supersonic Concorde has covered the distance in 2 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds. More on CNN.
This report has been updated to reflect accurately the speed of supersonic Concorde — which was 2 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds, and not 52 minutes and 59 seconds.
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