Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 793 to 162,496: RKI

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 793 to 162,496: RKI
Reuters: Health
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 793 to 162,496, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday.

Roche gets FDA emergency use approval for COVID-19 antibody test

Roche gets FDA emergency use approval for COVID-19 antibody test
Reuters: Health
Roche Holding AG received emergency use approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an antibody test to help determine if people have ever been infected with the coronavirus, the Swiss drugmaker said http://pdf.reuters.com/htmlnews/htmlnews.asp?i=43059c3bf0e37541&u=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20200503:nGNE71pdqt on Sunday.

Covid-19: At 3.3%, India’s fatality rate almost as low as South Korea’s

Covid-19: At 3.3%, India’s fatality rate almost as low as South Korea’s India's fatality rate of 3.3% of total confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths of 0.09 people per one lakh population compares well with some other countries, including South Korea, which is seen as a top performer in containing the disease and China that resorted to measures like mass quarantine to limit the pandemic. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

China reports two coronavirus cases for May 2

China reports two coronavirus cases for May 2
Reuters: Health
China reported two new coronavirus cases for May 2, up from one the day before, data from the country's national health authority showed on Sunday.

How to Cultivate a Sense of Optimism When You Feel Hopeless Right Now

Feelings of hopelessness don’t just pop up when you’ve been through a traumatic event, but as you are going through it. Generally, feelings of hopelessness amount to a feeling that there is no possibility for change, regardless of one’s circumstance or condition. At this point in time, no semblance of optimism exists. This is what many individuals are facing right now in COVID-19 times. It’s normal to feel despondent, especially in our current new normal. Our world as we know it has flipped upside down. If you recognize that you’re starting to feel hopeless, try these mental health recommended solutions to cope.

These feelings don’t tend to just spring up. It’s a slow burn that develops over time, which is part of what makes this restless emotion so difficult to pin down, especially during this pandemic. The feelings tend to build upon themselves until one feels like there is nowhere else for them to go.

When people don’t know how to cope with hopeless feelings, they tend to exhibit characteristics that align with either depression or recklessness. The added bonus of uncertainty certainly doesn’t help to mitigate one’s sense of hopelessness and anxiety. Depressive types tend to have low energy and little desire to engage in activities of daily living, such as work, socialization, or even basic hygiene. Apathy is another emotion that can also crop up for many individuals, regardless of previous mental health conditions, such as anxiety.

If you have been recognizing these symptoms in yourself for quite some time, know that there are much better ways to cope. The four mental health tips below don’t have to be incorporated all at once. It’s important to start with one you can see yourself managing realistically, and work your way down the list, or develop a few of your own.

Seek Support

The first and most important thing you should do is try to work out your support system. And although it’s great to have friends and family to lean on, it’s sometimes helpful to have a third-party point of view. Therapy can be a great place to begin talking about and working through your feelings of hopelessness. It can help put things into perspective for you, which can help fade those feelings of hopelessness.

It’s important to remember that it takes a few tries before you find the perfect fit. Every therapist is different, and you might not get the right fit on the first try, so it’s important not to give up or get frustrated in that process. This isn’t a reflection on you.

Adopt a Mantra

Sometimes, the easiest way to get yourself out of a moment of hopelessness is to remind yourself that there are still reasons to be optimistic. No matter how hopeless it seems right now, it’s impossible to have tried or exhausted every potential solution. There’s something else out there yet to be explored. It’s also important to recognize that most things in life are temporary, even the most painful and unpleasant of times.

When the feelings pop up, repeat a similar phrase to yourself over and over. It can be as simple as “things will get better,” or “this will not last forever.” This gentle, but regular reminder can help put things into perspective for us. We are creatures of habit, so be mindful of how your thoughts can shape your inner core.

Bring up the Past

While bringing up the past is generally frowned upon as ineffectual, it’s equally important to remember and recognize that you’ve had good times before, since they can help point you to what exactly is triggering your present feelings. Think back to when things felt okay, or at least hopeful. Identify what was working then, and assess whether or not you may have lost it somewhere along the way.

This doesn’t mean you necessarily should regress to whatever it was that you were doing before, especially if it wasn’t really beneficial for you. That being said, identifying things that give you a boost can actually help cultivate those hopeful feelings again, while serving to abandon the things that no longer were working for you before the pandemic even began. The only upside of this dark period is the amount of introspection one can cultivate on a weekly, or even a daily basis.

Look to the Future, but on a short term basis.

Long-term planning might seem overwhelming, so adopting a more short-term outlook is the key. Keep the focus on the present and make small steps and goals. It’s easier to track progress day by day if you’re achieving shorter-term goals, as bigger things can sometimes take longer to achieve. Smaller goals tend to snowball into larger ones. A small scale is important for showing progress and building momentum that can actually be affirmed. Writing down and keeping track of small goals is a great way to see how much you’re capable of accomplishing along the way, and certainly as you reflect back.

Hope is not an easy thing to cling to, especially during these turbulent times. But sometimes, hope springs eternal, and it’s the only thing you have got in your toolbox to keep yourself sane and mentally strong, while adding a healthy dose of cautious optimism towards the future. If done correctly and consistently over time, things will begin to appear brighter for you, and luckily for those around you too. 

Lockdown and Social Distancing — Are There Positives?

What a wonderful
day! No one in the village
doing anything.
– Shiki

Following a deceptively slow and un-concerning start, the COVID-19 virus has since gone on to turn the lives of many upside down. A third of the world’s population is currently under lockdown in their own homes as part of physical distancing measures to slow the spread of the disease, and experienced drastic limitations to their interactions with the social world.

As demonstrated in research and intuitively known, human beings are inherently social creatures with an innate need to associate with other members of our own species. Without such connections, human beings fail to thrive. It is thus perhaps unsurprising that a sense of loss and confusion represent some of the most common reactions to COVID-19 and its accompanying social consequences.

Such reactions are however, in part driven by erroneously equating increased physical aloneness with loneliness. One can be physically alone without necessarily feeling socially disconnected, or surrounded by people and yet feel lonely. With this distinction drawn, the following questioned may then be ventured: Is it possible that social distancing measures have brought about positive consequences at all? The following points provide support in the affirmative.

1. Selectivity in when we interact with people. 

In our day to day lives, we are often thrown into social situations we are unprepared for. Some mornings we are ambushed by over-enthusiastic colleagues before the crucial first coffee on the day. Other times we wish for solitude while taking a walk in the park, but inevitably bump into people we know. The good news is, you are now mandated by law to keep them at arms-length, and they to get a move on with their business. 

2. Quality over quantity.

More crucially, we get to pick and select who we interact with. Being thrown into social situations we’d rather not be in entails small talk, more often than not. Both of you leave the situation not having learned anything new about each other, or anything about the weather you could not have figured out yourself. 

On the topic of loneliness, the meaninglessness of small talk can create barriers and add distance between people, leaving you feeling lonely when you were not prior to the encounter. You are now free to invest your social resources as you wish, and spend it wisely to create and/or sustain the deeper connections which add meaning to your life.

3. Relearning the meaning of words.

Words are the primary form of communication for humans, although we often rely on non-verbal gestures to facilitate the transmission of some important messages. For example, when you hug someone, it releases “happy” neurotransmitters in their brain — effectively transmitting love, warmth, and sincerity. Now that we are not squandering our words on small talk, it frees up the extra resources required to transmit important messages of the same sort solely through carefully selected words.

In a digital era where the meaning of words have been downplayed, enhanced verbal and oral communication skills are valuable traits to re-enter a post-COVID-19 world with.

4. Being able to hear yourself think.

For most of us, who we are and the decisions we make are profoundly influenced by the people around us. Without any pause in the noise between one day and the next, many of us do not get the space to figure out whether the values we hold are of external or internal origin. With social distancing measures in place and a decrease in our social activities, we can now look internally to figure out the intentions, hopes, and views that are really ours. It can be daunting at first, but also presents an opportunity to recognize the aspects of our thinking that are narrow and repetitive, and the habits shaped by our history which have not helped us to grow. When the external noise resumes its normal volume in time, we might be better equipped to rule over it. 

5. Strengthening your friendship with yourself. 

While people come and go in the natural course of life, the one person we are stuck with for the entirety of our time on earth is ourselves. Now that we are trapped with this person under unusually intimate conditions, we now have the opportunity to befriend them in the same way we would cultivate relationships with others: by being enriching, supportive, truthful and unfailingly — accepting. 

Mexico posts 1,349 new coronavirus cases and 2,061 total deaths

Mexico posts 1,349 new coronavirus cases and 2,061 total deaths
Reuters: Health
Mexico's health ministry reported 1,349 new known coronavirus cases and 89 more deaths on Saturday, bringing the country's total to 22,088 cases and 2,061 deaths.