Today, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) published guidance to Member States for the development of COVID-19 surveillance in long-term care facilities. This follows high-level exchanges between Vice-President Dubravka Šuica, Commissioners Stella Kyriakides, Nicolas Schmit and Helena Dalli and representatives of social service providers and users on their particularly challenging situation. Persons aged 65 years and above, especially …
Behind the Exscalate4CoV project stands an unprecedented consortium of the best scientific minds in the technological and bio-medical fields. Supported by €3 million of emergency EU funding, an increasing number of pharmaceutical companies and research institutes have recently joined the quest to find a drug to treat the coronavirus. Exscalate4CoV (E4C) consists of a coalition between …
This rapid review explores the question “How can we undertake ‘people-powered’ contact tracing activity at scale? What types of options are available?”. The main focus of the report will be on investigating any methods and evidence around digitally enhanced people-powered contact tracing. The spectrum of available methodologies for contact tracing range from paper-based methods to …
Our health and social care services are facing unprecedented times. The coronavirus outbreak has impacted almost every aspect of our lives – affecting our health and wellness, economy, and the very societal norms that we value. For our healthcare service, the Covid-19 disease presents the most urgent and serious health challenge faced in generations. There is …
Humankind has never had a more urgent task than creating broad immunity for coronavirus. One of the questions I get asked the most these days is when the world will be able to go back to the way things were in December before the coronavirus pandemic. My answer is always the same: when we have …
A recent paper by Laura Sheerman, Hannah R., Marston, Charles Musselwhite, and Deborah Morgan elaborates on the potential of Virtual Assistants (VAs) at times of pandemic. The paper refers to age-friendly environments and gives examples of how VAs and IoT can support independent living at home, including at times of COVID-19. The research highlights the risks of …
The COVID 19 pandemic has made us all think differently about what we do and how we do it. Many of those working within health and social care will be grappling with the challenges of delivering services. Businesses, Universities, and others will be enthusiastically seeking opportunities to use their skills and knowledge to develop new …
Researchers in the MARCH network, funded by UK Research and Innovation are exploring the psychological and social experiences of UK adults during the #coronavirus outbreak. Now more than ever, #EveryMindMatters. Get simple tips on mental wellbeing here https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/
Older people have been particularly vulnerable since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. Being the most affected segment of the population, seniors were called, more than others, to stay home. But self-isolation brings even more difficulties for the elderly living in rural and mountainous areas, where services are lacking or are not always …
This is a report on the effectiveness of tests that detect SARS-CoV-2 virus or antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, to inform COVID-19 diagnosis. Summary This report has been produced to assist the Welsh Government, and Health and Social Care in Wales, in their response to the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It provides a rapid review of …
