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On 13 January, the virus became a global problem. A case was recorded in Thailand before Japan, South Korea and the United States soon followed. Across the world, a trickle of cases became a flood. There have now been more than a million Covid-19 cases worldwide, in countries from Nepal to Nicaragua. But as the death tolls rise, and the hospitals overflow, is anywhere still coronavirus-free? The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is yes.There are 193 countries which are members of the United Nations. As of 2 April, 18 countries had not reported a Covid-19 case, according to a BBC tally using data from Johns Hopkins University. The 18 countries without Covid-19 Comoros; Kiribati; Lesotho; Marshall Islands; Micronesia; Nauru; North Korea; Palau; Samoa; Sao Tome and Principe; Solomon Islands; South Sudan; Tajikistan; Tonga; Turkmenistan; Tuvalu; Vanuatu, Yemen Some, experts agree, are likely to have unreported cases. North Korea, for example, is officially on zero, as is war-torn Yemen. But there are countries where the virus has not landed. Most are small islands with few visitors - in fact, seven of the world’s 10 least-visited places, as per UN data, are free of Covid-19. That remoteness means one thing: in this age of social-distancing rules, island nations are the original self-isolators. But the president of one such place is not complacent. In fact, he tells the BBC, Covid-19 is already a national emergency.

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The tech firm will publish details of the different types of places people are going to on a county-by-county basis in the UK, as well as similar data for 130 other countries. The plan is to issue a regular updates with the figures referring back to activity from two or three days prior. The company has promised that individuals' privacy will be preserved. The readings are based on location data gathered via the Google Maps app or one of the firm's other mobile services. The firm typically uses this to reveal when specific museums, shops and other places are busiest as well as to revise driving routes to help motorists avoid traffic.n this case, the readings will be broken down to reveal how busy the following types of places are compared to a period earlier in the year before lockdowns were introduced: -retail and recreation -grocery and pharmacy -parks, beaches and plazas -bus, subway and train stations -office buildings and other places of work -residential Google said it hoped the information could be used by public health chiefs and others to help manage the outbreak. "This information could help officials understand changes in essential trips that can shape recommendations on business hours or inform delivery service offerings," it blogged. "Similarly, persistent visits to transportation hubs might indicate the need to add additional buses or trains in order to allow people... room to spread out for social distancing."

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"They're changing Guard at Buckingham Palace…" begins the famous poem by AA Milne, creator of the much-loved children's character, Winnie the Pooh. But it's not usually like this. The Grenadier Guards are now taking their posts at the Palace without the usual music and ceremony. It's what's known as "an administrative Guard mount"; used usually when there is heavy rain or a timing conflict with another important event. Now it's part of the government's social distancing policy - an effort to avoid drawing spectators together. And this is the way the guard will be mounted for the foreseeable future. It highlights the measure of continuity in the armed forces' role. Their primary job is to protect the country and, if necessary, to go into combat in a full-scale war. But now in many countries around the world, the armed forces are being called upon in increasing numbers to assist in a very different kind of war - the campaign against the coronavirus pandemic. And it is a trend that is likely to continue as more and more service personnel are mobilised. Already traditional military duties are being halted. In Britain for example, the training of recruits has stopped; international exercises - like nato's Defender-Europe 20, which was to have seen the largest deployment of US forces to Europe for many years - have been significantly curtailed. Even ongoing operations are being suspended and the numbers of troops deployed significantly reduced. A good example is the international effort in Iraq to train and support its armed forces. In many societies, when the military goes onto the streets it is a sign of political instability. Different cultures, different countries react to the heightened visibility of the armed forces in different ways. But even in the most stable democratic societies, like those in Western Europe, the deployment of troops is not so unusual. Flood or disaster relief often brings small number of soldiers, sailors or airmen into closer proximity with the public. In several EU countries the rising concerns about terrorism have made the presence of armed military patrols at railway stations and other public locations more commonplace. In rare cases there can be very sizeable deployments. After Hurricane Katrina struck the US Gulf Coast in 2005 the Department of Defense deployed some 70,000 personnel - part of a wider national effort, which, at the time, was much criticised for its disorganisation. But what is likely to happen as this pandemic continues is of a totally different order. The head of Britain's armed forces, General Sir Nicholas Carter, has spoken of the need for their "collective posture to be on an operational footing by mid-April". Already some 20,000 troops are on stand-by. So what is it that the military can provide? Here are five key areas where the armed forces can help. People The armed forces represent a significant pool of trained, disciplined, and motivated men and women with a vast array of skills. They are resourceful, mobile and able to set up and operate quickly at short notice. They have a range of facilities - bases, airfields and so on - some of which might eventually be used for a variety of tasks. Medical support The military clearly has highly-trained, though often limited numbers of medical personnel. Few countries' armed forces have the resources of the US, where the Pentagon has already agreed to contribute five million respirator masks and 2,000 ventilators from its stocks to the health system. The US Navy is mobilising its two hospital ships, the USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort. These are effectively huge floating wards that while not suited to combating an infectious disease, can help to relieve at least a small part of the pressure on facilities ashore. They will take some time to get ready though and may only be deployed in the larger port cities. The medical facilities that the military can bring to bear vary considerably from country to country. In many cases long-term cutbacks and the declining size of the armed forces, mean that many military medical personnel are now reservists and may already be working on the "front-line" in their civilian capacity. But troops are resourceful. They are all well-trained in basic first aid and could assist in a variety of ancillary roles. Medical units themselves might ultimately be needed to organise temporary "field" hospitals and other medical facilities. Logistics This is an obvious area where military skills could be deployed. Troops can help transport vital supplies - in Britain some are being trained to help maintain the supply of oxygen cylinders to hospitals. They could also assist in the broader organisation of the logistical system. Military communications systems might equally play a part. Security and public order One hopes that this will not be a required military role and it would be a job that most Western governments would be eager to keep in the hands of the civilian police. But if their available personnel significantly declines, troops could again potentially be used, though less for face-to-face contact with the public and more to protect key installations, warehouses or whatever, freeing up the police service to maintain their traditional role. Clearly though traditions in each country differ. Many already have paramilitary police forces who in some ways mix the two roles. In the US, each state has its own National Guard - essentially a reserve military force, but one that can be deployed according to the governor's needs. Already, governors in 27 states have activated elements of their National Guard forces for a variety of roles. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51984199

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The vaccines, made by Oxford University and US company Inovio Pharmaceutical, have been cleared for animal testing by the World Health Organization. Australia's national science agency will assess if the vaccines work, and if they would be safe for humans. The first human trial took place in the US last month, but skipped a stage of animal testing. There are several other vaccine developments occurring around the world at the moment at extraordinary speed. Coronavirus: US volunteers test first vaccine How close are we to a coronavirus vaccine or drug? But Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) says its tests will be the first comprehensive pre-clinical trials of the vaccines to use an animal model. Researchers said the speed and level of global co-operation that led to this stage had been unprecedented. "Normally it takes about one-to-two years to get to this point and we've in fact shortened that to a period of a couple of months," Dr Rob Grenfell from the CSIRO told reporters on Thursday. How will it work? In the past few days, the CSIRO team has inserted vaccine samples into ferrets - small, furry mammals which have been proven to contract the coronavirus in the same way humans do. Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-52130402

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Stay chill, some of you think that's only a virus, well, until last week, when someone that I know died 'cause of it, I said the same thing, now I changed idea, stay at home