When you stream YouTube clips on an airplane or watch TikTok videos in the back of a car, technology from a company called HeadSpin hums along behind the scenes to help make sure the content doesnât freeze or lag. The success of the streaming platforms is well-known. But in their shadow, HeadSpin has now earned a unicorn valuation without the notoriety.
HeadSpin announced on Tuesday it had raised $60 million in a Series C funding led by Dell Technologies Capital and Iconiq Capital. The round, which included Tiger Global Management, Kearny Jackson and Alpha Square Group, more than doubled HeadSpinâs valuation to $1.16 billion.
Founded in 2015 by Manish Lachwani and Brien Colwell, HeadSpin got its start when Yahoo cofounder Jerry Yang introduced Lachwani, who had sold a mobile cloud business to Google the year before, to Colwell, who was working on a Y Combinator-backed startup after engineering stints at Palantir and Quora. The duo raised their first funding while still without a name. The companyâs lore has it that Lachwaniâs daughter Anya inspired the name HeadSpin when she complained to her dad about YouTube failing to load onto her tablet at an airport.
HeadSpin operates in the realm of what it calls âexperience management,â which boils down to helping apps and devices works in different environments (airports included). The company initially focused on mobile apps, but now also works with wireless carriers on their 5G launches, with game consoles to track performance in different geographies, and with large organizations to see if their apps built under âdigital transformationâ mandates actually work. The startup says itâs more than 1,000 business customers include Airbnb, Google (an investor through its venture arm), Microsoft, TikTok, Uber and Walmart, the largest of which can pay as much as $5 million per year.
âDevelopers are currently operating in a Wild West scenario when it comes to the mobile ecosystem. Itâs complex and very fragmented,â Lachwani says. âIf I can see a poor user experience in a specific region on a specific device, our data science can actually pinpoint it to you and tell you how to fix your problem.â
HeadSpinâs growthâthe company says itâs doubled revenue every year and expects to exceed annual recurring revenue of $100 million in âearly 2020ââhelped it more than double its valuation to $1.16 billion, double its $510 million valuation at its previous funding, per startup tracker PitchBook. It also helped HeadSpin bring in a slew of big-name personal supporters in the tech world. Palo Alto Networks and SoftBank veteran Nikesh Arora has joined HeadSpin as chairman of its board of directors after the new round; personal investors in the company include LinkedInâs Jeff Weiner and executives from Facebook, Pinterest, Spotify, Stripe and Twitter.
While a bevy of businesses offer app performance management and analytics on site performance, from AppDynamics and New Relic to monitoring tools like DataDog and Splunk, HeadSpin hopes it can stand out with more expertise on mobile experiences and through its data science software that it says can tell customers not only that they have a problem, but also how to fix it. âVendors in the market right now just simply generate metrics and events, dashboards and alerts, with the expectation that teams will be able to make sense of them. And for most teams, itâs too much data,â says chief sales officer Rajeev Butani.
HeadSpinâs also looking to capitalize on the upcoming wireless carrier race to offer 5G mobile networks. The startup offers test packs that can fit in a backpack to monitor service, and shared photos of small vehicles branded with HeadSpinâs logo that testers could bring into the field.
The Midland, Texas-based AST & Science aims to use satellites to overcome those limitations. Itâs just raised $110 million in a series B round led by U.K.-based mobile provider Vodafone and Japanese e-tailer Rakuten to launch a mobile broadband network, called SpaceMobile, powered by satellites. These can connect to phones âanywhere on the planet, when youâre flying on an airplane, in a remote location, at seaâanywhere,â says the companyâs founder and CEO Abel Avellan.
The company successfully tested its technology last year whenit launched a prototype satellite called BlueWalker 1 in April. The satellite was able to successfully deliver signals to phones and demonstrate the companyâs abilities. With the new round of capital, which brings its total fundraising to $128 million, it will be able to ramp up production of the hundreds of satellites it plans to put in orbit, using a modular manufacturing approach to keep costs down.
AST is one of several companies thatâs aiming to put satellites in low Earth orbit to provide data. SpaceX, OneWeb, Amazon and others are building large mega-constellations to provide broadband internet directly to customers. Their target market is premium customers, taking advantage of the lower lag times provided by satellites to entice users away from broadband internet providers such as Comcast or AT&T.
By contrast, AST is targeting a different market. Rather than try to provide broadband internet services, which requires building out bigger, higher-cost satellites and expensive ground infrastructure, itâs instead partnering with mobile phone providers. For these providers, AST gives their customers the ability to use their existing devices in places that are hard to connect otherwise, such as in the mountains or on a cruise ship. Itâs a similar model to existing satellite phone providers like Iridium, except it doesnât require any proprietary hardwareâcustomers can use the phones they already own.
AST is selling space-based signals wholesale to existing providers, explains Avellan, rather than trying to compete with them. Its constellation will initially provide 4G signals but expects to move to 5G once it has more satellites up and running. That enables its customers to provide services to more customers without the need to build out in prohibitively expensive areas.
Abel Avellan (AST & Science CEO )
This is the AST founderâs second foray into the satellite world, and is another step in his long history in the communications industry. After graduating college in his native Venezuela, he moved to Sweden and joined telecom giant Ericsson as an engineer. A few years later, in 1999, he founded satellite communications company Emerging Markets Communications, which provides high-bandwidth data for video and other communications applications. He sold EMC in 2016 to telecom company Global Eagle in 2016 for $550 million.
Fresh off that sale, he founded AST. His approach reflects his engineering backgroundâhe co-invented several of the core technologies the company is using in its satellites. âHeâs a very accomplished technologist,â says commercial space analyst Chris Quilty.
Both mobile providers and e-commerce companies are paying attention, which is why companies in those industries, such as Samsung NEXT, American Tower and the aforementioned Rakuten and Vodafone are among those investing. âWe believe SpaceMobile is uniquely placed to provide universal mobile coverage, further enhancing our leading network across Europe and Africaâespecially in rural areas and during a natural or humanitarian disasterâfor customers on their existing smartphones,â Vodafone CEO Nick Read said in a statement.
Itâs not going to be an easy task, says Quilty, as the company is pursuing something thatâs really never been tried before. But the backing of investors is important, he says. If the company can successfully develop and operate its technology and have the capital at hand to do it, it could potentially reach a very large market.
Thatâs part of Avellanâs vision. Working with existing mobile networks to extend their reach by lowering the cost of obtaining new customers and providing extra services for premium ones. This has a significant impact for customers able to access the internet when they couldnât before because it wasnât economically feasible to reach them.
âWe are creating a new market opportunity for existing systems,â Avellan says. âEnabling them to monetize their phones in places where nobody else can.â
Apple recently gave away its biggest 2020 iPhone upgrade. Now it has all been pieced together to reveal the most radical iPhone in years.
Credit goes to the tag team efforts of teardown specialist iFixit and popular YouTuber Filip Koroy (aka EverythingApplePro), with the former pulling apart Appleâs new iPad Pro to expose its remarkable new LiDAR scannerand the latter for working out how it âfits perfectlyâ in the iPhone 12. The result is a truly space-age looking device.
industry and its customer base is famously loyal. So if any company can pull off the successful launch of a major flagship smartphone in 2020, itâs Apple.
iFixitâs part of the puzzle is dissecting the LiDAR scanner, which reveals two lens-capped modules consisting of a VCSEL transmitter and receiving sensor. The transmitter works a little like Face ID, firing out an array of infrared dots which the sensor picks up. But it is the module design itself which is the giveaway to Appleâs iPhone 12 plans.
Filling in the gaps, Koroy rendered the LiDAR module to scale and mapped it against the iPhone 11 Pro hardware, revealing: âthat the two pieces even click together with the current iPhone 11 Pro lens.â
The downside of this discovery is it strongly suggests Apple will not be making dramatic changes to the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Maxâs camera hardware for the iPhone 12. But that is unsurprising given the massive step-up in quality these models made, from the iPhone XS and XS Max. The flipside, looking at the early demos from developers (see below), is the LiDAR scanner looks set to be a true differential against rivals and a genuine game-changer.
Cynics will suggest that the support for LiDAR is not there yet. But this is exactly why Apple has released the sensor early in the 2020 iPad Pro line-up. The strategy should mean that when the iPhone 12 launches (and it remains Appleâs most important product â by far), it can hit the ground running thanks to a large number of transformative AR and VR tools and games. Just imagine a LiDAR-optimised version of Pokemon Go.
Nigerians slams NCDC officials for visiting contacts of confirmed cases of Coronavirus without wearing protective gears.
Nigerians on Twitter are reacting to these photos posted on the Nigeria Center for Disease Control NCDC. The agency on its official Twitter handle, posted some photos of its staff during contact tracing for some Nigerians that have tested positive for the virus.
“Contact tracing is ongoing to identify those who came in contact with confirmed cases of #COVID19 Nigeria. While in self-isolation, the contacts are monitored daily for 14 days Today our Rapid Response Team made a home visit to a contact in Lagos to assess his health & well-being” the agency wrote alongside this photo.”
“Contact tracing is ongoing to identify those who came in contact with confirmed cases of #COVID19 Nigeria. While in self-isolation, the contacts are monitored daily for 14 days Today our Rapid Response Team made a home visit to a contact in Lagos to assess his health & well-being” the agency wrote alongside with this photo.”
A Rapid Response Team visited an office without protective masks and hand gloves.
Nigerians took to the reply section to point out that some staff of the agency did not take any precautionary measures as they went about their job. They pointed out that not only did they not wear any protective gear, they did not also observe social distancing.
Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, has warned mothers in the state to desist from giving their children sanitizers to drink.
According to reports, some mothers have formed the habit of giving their wards sanitizers to consume because they were told that it helps prevent Coronavirus infection.
Addressing mothers at a press briefing on Tuesday March 31st, Dr Coker said;
“We also want to address some myths in society. There are mothers that are actually giving their children sanitisers to drink. There is no evidence that giving sanitisers to children will prevent COVID-19. So, we encourage people to cease from doing this.â
You become a successful entrepreneur not because you know how to build a company, but because you have a superior understanding of the customers and their needs. You can simply hire people for everything else (very simplified). Itâs the same in your personal life. If you want to be really successful and happy in life, you have to know who you are and what you want very clearly and also understand your environment in order to build the superior strategy for achieving your life vision.
Knowing yourself is one of the most important things in life. It’s the first step. Itâs also the most important foundation of the AgileLeanLife lifestyle. In life, you either follow your own goals or goals of other people. But if you want to follow your own goals, you must first know what you truly want and how you function as a person.
Most really successful people had known what they wanted to become from a very young age. They discovered what theyâre good at early in their lives and devoted their life to that one thing with all their passion and focus. Well, even if it doesnât happen early in life, it happens at some point. When the right opportunity comes, you simply know you were born to do that with your life.
You can unlock your true potential when you get the insights in your true self: not only into what you want, but also into how you function, what your psychological survival mechanisms are, your desires and fears, strengths and weaknesses and other personality traits, how the environment works, what are the upcoming trends and paradigms, then you can unlock your true potential. If you want to transcend, you have to first understand yourself.
There are several ways for getting to know yourself. Letâs look at them.
PEOPLE AND ACTIVITIES YOU LIKE
The first one is very obvious. People with the same values always group together. People who surround you and you like to hang out with usually have the same beliefs, values, likes and hobbies as you do.
We all know that, but what you can do to systematically get to know yourself is to carefully analyze who are the people you like and what activities do you do together. Same goes for the activities you like to do alone. Think of your hobbies and why you like them. Ask yourself what topic you would like to teach if you had an opportunity or what you would love to blog about.
You are and become more and more similar to the people you are spending your time with. Analyze the people who surround you.
YOUR VALUES
Your values very clearly show whatâs important to you in life. But hereâs the trick. Your values are not what you say is important to you, but how you allocate your time, money and energy.For example, if you have to decide between working out and going to the pub and you choose the latter, socializing is more important to you than health. If you have to decide between spending time with your spouse or friends and you choose the former, your partnership is more important to you than your friends. And so on.
Carefully analyze how youâre spending your time, money, energy and other resources. When do you say no and to whom, and how do you make a choice between two different activities. Analyzing that will clearly show you your personal values. You can also help yourself with this value list and then prioritize chosen values based on your decision-making system.
You may find out one very painful thing, namely the inconsistency of what you say you value and what you actually do.But donât torture yourself. There are no wrongs and rights. Itâs about really knowing yourself and living life true to yourself. That kind of exercise helps you develop integrity and honesty.
YOUR TALENTS AND FIELDS OF INTEREST
When you are analyzing yourself, a very pleasant part of it is analyzing your talents and fields of interest. Every single one of us has talents, things that we are naturally good at, and so do you. May it be sports, mathematics, some sort of arts or anything else. Each of us has special talents and gifts. This is also where one of your greatest potentials lies, be it financially or in self-actualization terms.
Think about the subjects you liked when attending school, which activities were natural to you and you had to put in much less effort than other people, which activities make you lose sense of time and you simply enjoy them, what are your hobbies and so on. But also go one step further with your analysis. Think about all different kinds of strengths that accompany your talents.
A good tool to do that kind of analysis is the so-called SWOT analysis. You analyze your strengths on the one hand and weaknesses on the other. You also analyze opportunities and threats as outside factors that can influence your ability to achieve your goals and desires. Much as you have to be aware of your advantages, so you have to be aware of your disadvantages as well.
PEOPLE YOU HATE
It may not seem that obvious, but we can really learn a lot from people we hate or dislike. We always dislike people who have personality traits that are a part of our character yet unresolved (we deny them) or that remind us of a bad experience we had had in our past. Additionally, we usually also have values very different from those of people we donât like.
Nevertheless, there are two different states or situations. We can have different beliefs and values from people and have neutral feelings about it. That is what we call rational behavior. People have different views on life and there is nothing wrong with it. Every one of us has the right to live life as they want, as long as they cause no harm to other people. But when we are not neutral in this kind of a situation and we get negative feelings about a person that simply means we have some internal issues that are not being solved. We can learn a lot about ourselves by observing who we hate or dislike.
Thoroughly asking ourselves why we hate or dislike someone can tell us a lot about ourselves. Are we envious (of what and what our desires are), did somebody in the past treat us the same way etc.
5 WHYS
5 Whys is a simple technique also used in business to identify the cause and not only deal with the effects. If you want to get rid of the consequences for good, you have to get to the root of the matter. You can identify the real cause by asking yourself âwhyâ several times in a row. Itâs a way of identifying your deeper volitions and why you behave in a certain way.
Let me give you an example. I like geeky superhero movies. Why? Because the good always wins despite the inoperative formal protective and legal system. Why? Because there is âsomeoneâ more competent to protect the victim from the bad. Why? Because no one deserves to be a victim and bullied by others. Why? Because I know how awful it feels. Why? Because I experienced domestic violence as a child.
SELF-REFLECTION
There is also a big systematic step further you can do to analyze yourself. Psychoanalysis, the psychological technique popularized by Sigmund Freud, is based on you reflecting on your behavior, talking about yourself and coming to small epiphanies and insights into why you are behaving in a certain way and what drives you. Itâs especially based on free associations, fantasies and dreams. And you donât need a therapist for that.
Explained in a very simplified way, self-reflection means that once per week, you take an hour or more to reflect on your goals, behavioral patterns, negative and positive emotions and everything else that is happening in your life. Itâs even better to do this daily, by writing a journal, but you need a lot of time for that, of course. Nevertheless, you can have great breakthroughs by knowing yourself.
Reflecting is also an integral part of agile software development (SCRUM), where the team reflects on how they work and where they can improve regularly on a weekly basis. I do self-reflection at least two times per week and I come to a small insight about myself every time.
Having a persona coach is also a viable option to help you with self-reflection. You are always very biased when judging yourself and others. Itâs a no-brainer that you judge others much more strictly and that you are indulgent towards yourself. An honest and tough, but fair, coach could greatly contribute towards more realistic reflection.
SEARCH MODE
A much more fun way to get to know yourself is testing and trying different things in life. Based on the AgileLeanLife principles, I call that the search mode. You may assume what you like and dislike in life but you donât really know until you try it. Besides developing yourself (personal evolution) and providing value to the world (creating), another important purpose of your life is to be happy and experience as much as possible.
Why not try as many things as imaginable. You can then do the ones you like over and over again, and simply discard the ones you donât. But at least you know youâve tried. You should always be in the search mode in your life â testing, trying and experimenting new things. New travel destinations, new meals, new people, new sex poses, you name it.
Routine is a much more popular approach to life, but only because itâs easy and safe. Nevertheless, routine is a partly wasted life. There are so many things to do in life, so many things to try. Never settle for a routine just because itâs easy. Your life starts at the end of your comfort zone.
PERSONALITY TESTS
Another approach for getting to know yourself are personality tests. There are many different personality tests you can take. You can find many of them on the internet, some of them you can even take for free, but they are not usually the best.
Investing into knowing yourself is one of the best investments you can make, so spending some money on that kind of a test should not sound like a waste of money to you. Maybe you can also contact one of the HR agencies or personal coaches to help you choose the right tests and give you additional directions. Well, even if you didnât like tests in school, these tests should be fun.
A good way to see some parts of yourself is to analyze your parents and their personalities and behavior, your family history, schooling process, your nationâs history and current state, culture and so on. The less you know yourself, the less you are determined to live your own life, the more you are only a product of the environment.
Nevertheless, whether you want it or not, most parts of your personality are not chosen by you but are rather inherited and imparted. Understanding your roots, history and especially your parents can help you a lot in understanding yourself and becoming closer to your real self, in knowing which parts to keep and which parts to discard.
Analyzing these factors can really help you understand who you really are, what are your inherited positive and negative behavioral patterns, what kind of stuff was imposed on you, how you are similar or different from your parents, what they did right and wrong when raising you and so on.
YOUR ENVIRONMENT
Your outer world is merely a reflection of your inner world. At some point, when becoming an adult, you choose almost all elements of your environment. Besides analyzing people, analyzing your environment can reveal a lot about your personality and who you are.
Is your desk tidy or not, where do you live, which applications are you using on your computer and mobile phone, do you have animals or plants at home, the culture of the company you work for, the places you choose to travel to or visit etc. Everything reveals small parts of your character and who you are. Analyze it carefully. You can help yourself with all the elements of life strategy.
ASK OTHER PEOPLE
The next technique for getting to know yourself better is simply asking other people. There is one simple trick to doing that. We all love praise and hate criticism. Thus we have to prepare ourselves for good and bad feedback, as long as itâs constructive and fair. The good thing is that we can usually learn much more from the negative than the positive feedback. Ask people to give you feedback.
In business and human resources, there is a very well-known evaluation method called the 360-degree feedback. The main point of this analysis and reflection is to include direct feedback from all the different stakeholders â an employee’s subordinates, peers and supervisor(s), but a self-evaluation is also included. In some cases, it also includes feedback from external sources, such as customers and suppliers or other interested stakeholders. The more feedback, the more angles, the more ways to improve.
Thus you can ask your friends, coworkers, spouse, parents, kids etc. for feedback about yourself.
ALTERNATIVE METHODS
There are also some alternative methods you can use, like astrology (a natal chart) or other spiritual techniques (numerology and hundreds of others). I donât see any arguments against that kind of tools and techniques if they work for you. And if you think they are useless, ignore it.
That is the basis of the AgileLeanLife and I donât want to go against it in any kind of situation. Choose the tools and things that work for you personally as an idividual. Having an open mind is essential in life. As the famous quote goes: your mind is like a parachute, it only works when itâs open.
LISTEN TO YOUR INNER VOICE
If you really want to be happy and successful you always have to be in touch with your true self and your inner voice.
The first problem is that you already somehow lose touch with yourself through primary and secondary socialization. The less your desires are listened to, the less you get heard and valued and loved at a young age, from your parents, teachers and other people, the more you start suppressing your desires and living to expectations of others and the society.
The second problem is that there is too much noise out there because of all the interactive devices, advertising billboards, chores, tasks and other activities. Rather than listening to ourselves and our true desires, we tend to behave according to the societyâs expectations.
Donât do that to yourself, your life is just too precious. Get to know yourself, always do regular reflections and stay connected to your inner voice and true self. It will do miracles for the quality of your life.
You can help yourself perform self-analysis with the template below. Download it for free.
At the end, here are some additional ideas for what you should clearly know about yourself:
What you want to experience in life and making the list of it as a life vision
How you learn best â look at the different types of learning and think about which method usually helps you learn a specific topic the fastest
Environment in which you function the best â is it stressful, calm, organized, creative etc. How big of an organization suits you best etc.
What are your main talents, values, beliefs, hobbies etc.
How you can contribute to the world and make it a better place.
In which environments, organizations and with whom do you really blossom and can really be yourself.
Who you were, who you are and who you want to become (your ideal self).
Good Morning America March 30, 2020, 12:43 PM GMT+1
Iâm 28. My boyfriend and I both tested positive for COVID-19. Here’s my message. (ABC News)
A 28-year-old who said she and her boyfriend tested positive for the novel coronavirus is speaking out in hopes to remind the public that young, healthy adults are still at risk.
Orofino, who works in fashion, began documenting her journey on Instagram after revealing she was positive.
“I started getting so many questions about the virus,” Orofino told “Good Morning America.” “I have so many friends in America and the U.K. They didn’t think it affected young people like me. They thought it was an elderly disease.
Coronavirus cases skyrocket in US, officials estimate thousands of fatalities
Health officials estimate there could be millions of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. with 100,000 to 200,000 fatalities as governors discourage residents in hot zones from entering their states.
“When I was going through it, I was emotional and lonely,” she added. “I want to spread the severity of this issue.”
Orofino was born in Italy and raised in the U.S. She and Julian, who requested “GMA” holds his surname for privacy reasons, currently reside in the United Kingdom, where there’s at least 17,325 confirmed cases.
PHOTO: Noemi Orofino, 28, of London, is now in recovery after fighting the COVID-19 virus. (Noemi Orofino)
Orofino and Julian began feeling symptoms including weakness, muscles aches and shortness of breath March 1 and 2, Orofino said.
“I kind of knew I had it right away. I’ve never felt so sick,” she added. “When Julian started to feel sick too, we got tested.”
“I was very far away from my family and I didn’t know so much about the U.K. health system,” she added. “I knew the illness impacted your lungs … I was very worried for our lives at the time.”
Orofino suspects she contracted the COVID-19 virus from two friends visiting from Italy, who later showed symptoms as well.
She said and Julian went to a local hospital for treatment. They were examined, sent home to recover and told to take a fever reducer.
PHOTO: A 31-year-old male named Julian, lies in a medical bed after experiencing symptoms of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. (Noemi Orofino)
“I think because we are younger and they were confident that we were OK,” Orofino said. “I don’t think they were ready for what was coming, a COVID-19 room or floor, or [proper] equipment.”
Dr. Eric Johnson, an anesthesiologist at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, who treats people with COVID-19 but has not treated Orofino or Julian, said institutions around the country are likely developing new protocols as there’s an influx of patients.
“As a medical community we’re behind the curve on adequately testing patients and preparing for a surge of patients like we’ve never seen before,” Johnson told “GMA.” “It’s a very non-discriminatory virus. There’s been several patients in their 20s, 30s and 40s. When in the early stages of this we were concerned with older patients, whereas younger patients are ending up in the ICU on ventilators [also].”
PHOTO: Noemi Orofino, 28 and her boyfriend Julian, 31, both residents of London, U.K., are now in recovery after fighting the COVID-19 virus, the new respiratory illness in which hundreds of thousands have been diagnosed globally. (Noemi Orofino)
“We cannot emphasize enough how important this quarantine and social isolation is, even though it can generate those feelings of loneliness,” Johnson added. “It’s the best tool in our arsenal now — maintaining quarantine, avoiding large crowds, washing hands — all of those CDC guidelines.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) says people of all ages can be infected by COVID-19. Older people, and people with preexisting medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease) appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill with the virus.
WHO advises people of all ages to take steps to protect themselves such as good hand hygiene and good respiratory hygiene.
PHOTO: Noemi Orofino, 28, is seen in an undated photo being examined in London, after having symptoms of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. (Noemi Orofino)
Older adults have been hit hardest by the virus. In China, for example, 80% of deaths were among people in their 60s or older, and experts says this general trend is playing out elsewhere, according to The Associated Press Health and Science Department.
Still, Dr. Mike Ryan, the WHO’s emergencies chief, warned: “the idea that this is purely a disease that causes death in older people we need to be very, very careful with,” he told the AP.
PHOTO: Noemi Orofino, 28 and her boyfriend Julian, 31, both residents of London, U.K., are now in recovery after fighting the COVID-19 virus, the new respiratory illness in which hundreds of thousands have been diagnosed globally. (Noemi Orofino)
“Young people are not invincible,” WHO’s Maria Van Kerkhove added, saying more information is needed about the disease in all age groups.
Italy reported that a quarter of its cases so far were among people ages 19 to 50. In Spain, a third are under age 44.
Julian said he didn’t think he and Orofino would be at risk, given their ages.
“Everyone reacts differently to the virus so even if you’re young and healthy and in good shape, you may be unlucky and it may have a life-changing or even life-ending consequence,” Julian told “GMA.” “Everyone should really take this seriously.”
PHOTO: Noemi Orofino, 28 and her boyfriend Julian, 31, both residents of London, U.K., are now in recovery after fighting the COVID-19 virus, the new respiratory illness in which hundreds of thousands have been diagnosed globally. (Noemi Orofino)
While Julian said he has fully recovered from the virus, Orofino is enduring her fourth week. She said she feels better each day, and is experiencing fewer symptoms since being diagnosed earlier this month.
While documenting her health progress on Instagram, she urges others to stay home and lends an ear to those feeling stress during the pandemic.
“Every day I found a new symptom, I wished I had someone to talk to for emotional support as well as informative [support],” she said. “I received so many messages from people saying, ‘I started self-isolating after reading this.'”
“Everyone is caught up with not catching it, but I think cause a lot of psychological damage, trauma — even to those who aren’t affected by the virus,” Orofino added.
PHOTO: Noemi Orofino and her boyfriend Julian, 31, are now in recovery after fighting the COVID-19 virus, the new respiratory illness in which hundreds of thousands have been diagnosed globally. (Noemi Orofino)
The CDC says the outbreak of COVID-19 may cause fear and anxiety in some people.
Dr. Alexander Sanchez, a psychiatrist working in New York City, agreed — telling ABC News, “I expect an increase in anxiety and depressive symptoms to come when the experience of social distancing and isolation becomes more routine. We are trying to adjust to a new way of maintaining social connections virtually. There will be some psychic pain while we adjust.”
The National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) offers resources on how to seek mental help during these uncertain times.
For mental health crisis, call NAMI’s HelpLine at 800-950-NAMI (6264) Monday through Friday, between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm EST for mental health resources.
Virtual support communities like Emotions Anonymous offer in person and online weekly meetings available in more than 30 countries with 600 active groups worldwide. The EA is nonprofessional and can be a complement to therapy, NAMI says.
If you or a loved one are experiencing suicidal thoughts in response to the outbreak, call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 for free and confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
For more on how to cope, read expert tipsfor managing stress around the coronavirus.
Yalda Safai MD, MPH, a psychiatry resident in New York City and contributor to ABC News Medical Unit, contributed to this report.
Juan Mata has revealed all about the four managers he has worked under during his time at Old Trafford.
Speaking to the club’s UTD Podcast, he open up on what life was like under âscaryâ but âsensibleâ Louis van Gaal â and admits David Moyes had to be sacked. who won the FA Cup but was immediately axed.
ON JUAN MATA
Mata said: âI always feel bad when a manager has to go, because it means that you are not doing right, or you are not getting results. So it’s not a nice feeling. So unfortunately he had to go. But of course, I’m very thankful to him.â
ON LOUIS VAN GAAL
âHe was scary! He was scary, I tell you! He was a very nice man, very genuine. Very sensible. You wouldn’t expect that, but he was very sensible. He could even get emotional and cry sometimes when he was speaking about important matters that he found with the right values, or the right football⌠he got emotional.â
ON JOSE MOURINHO
âThe respect is mutual, and we never had any personal problem. The situation was a football situation. He played in a certain way that maybe didn’t suit perfectly my qualities as a player, and that’s it. Sometimes it happens in football.â
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER
âAs soon as he came in, you could see the positivity. You could see the Manchester United DNA. He knew everyone, he felt like a proper United fan, and he was happy and smiley and full of energy. Until today. So we stay with him, and I think that’s a good sign of things going okay.â
KOP FLAK IF LIVERPOOL DON’T WIN IT
Manchester United legend Paul Ince reckons there will be uproar if his old club, runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool, are denied the title.
Jurgen Kloppâs men have been top of the pile this season, losing just once to Watford before coronavirus forced the league to be postponed.
Prem chiefs are now scrambling for a date to restart proceedings, with COVID-19 showing no signs of slowing down.
And thatâs led to talk that the season could be declared null and void.
Should that occur, it means Liverpool will not be getting their hands on a first-ever Premier League title.
And Ince, who also starred for rivals Manchester United, believes there will be uproar should the Reds be denied the trophy.
He said: ââCan you imagine 30 years of waiting to win the season and, when youâre on the brink, they end up making the season null and void?
âThe uproar that would cause in Liverpool. Would we rather upset one team to make everyone else happy or give it to Liverpool?
âWe have to complete the season whatever happens and, if thatâs in May or June, youâre only talking nine games.â
The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, says the agency has ordered the manufacturing of Chloroquine for emergency stock for the clinical trial treatment of Coronavirus.
In a statement released this morning, Professor Adeyeye said the old antimalarial is now being repurposed for the clinical trial treatment of novel Coronavirus.
According to her, some countries have started the use of Chloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19. Adeyeye said the durg was used in China and was discovered to be efficient and safe in the treatment of COVID-19 associated pneumonia.
âOther researchers in France, US have used the drug for the clinical trial treatment of COVID-19 and they reported effectiveness of the drug. Lagos State will be starting a clinical trial on chloroquine to evaluate the effectiveness.
âIn a very recent publication, chloroquine was reported in a press briefing by the State Council of China, indicating that chloroquine phosphate had demonstrated marked efficacy and acceptable safety in treating COVID-19 associated pneumonia in a multi-center clinical trials conducted in China.
âThe study involved 10 hospitals in Wuhan, Jingzhou, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Ningbo, and 100 patients. The investigators reported that Chloroquine phosphate is superior to the control in inhibiting the pneumonia associated with COVID-19, and shortening the course of the disease. â the statement in part read
The statement further reads
âAbout four weeks ago, I approached a local manufacturing company (May and Baker), a member of Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Group of Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (PMGMAN), whose flagship product in the past was chloroquine to make a batch of the drug for emergency stock.
âThe company had NAFDAC approval for the production of the drug as antimalarial many years ago before the discontinuation.
âThe Managing Director expressed possible difficulty in getting the API due to the fact that the drug has been discontinued. He called shortly after that he was able to get the API and was asked to manufacture a batch for emergency stock just in case more people become exposed and infected with the virus. The batch has been manufactured and the company plans to make more batches if needed.â
She appealed to Nigerians not to use Chloroquine without the guidance of a medical doctor or clinician for treatment of COVID-19. According to her, side effects from the use of Chloroquine includes gastrointestinal upset, blurred vision, headache and pruritis (itching) among others
Canadian rapper Drake has finally shared first photos of his 2-year-old son, Adonis who he welcomed with Adult movie star, Sophie in October 2017.  Drake who kept his son’s identity a secret before now, shared a string of photos showing off his curly-haired son who he cuddled in some of the photos taken at his custom-built Toronto mansion.  The rapper disclosed that they were isolating separately due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. He opened up on missing his son who he can’t wait to get back to.  Drake wrote;  What is most important for you right now is to connect to your own inner light. This will create the biggest opening of all. Trust that you have all of the power within to make this happen, and in order to do that connect to the people and things that bring you a lot of joy. When the mind starts to move into overthinking or fear, shift your attention right away to something bright. It doesnât matter what has happened in the past or what is happening around us now, you can always make the choice to break free of the wheel of suffering and panic and open up to your own light. We are powerful manifestors , so once you make the choice in the moment to shift your awareness to something good, it will show you in your reality. Be conscious, especially right now of fears coming in from others, and recognize that not everything should be held by you. Laughter is your best medicine, but tears can also be a powerful release. Let go of any judgment you may have around that. Remember that you are never alone, and if you need to be reminded of that ask for support and it will show up. Everything comes down to intention, and even though there are conflicting energies circling around us you must KNOW…It will rebuild. But in order for that to happen, you have to do exactly that. Trust. You have the biggest heart and that is your greatest gift. Itâs impossible to always control your surroundings, but when you shift the focus to how you want to feel, everything will conspire to assist you. I love and miss my beautiful family and friends and I canât wait for the joyful day when we are all able to reunite. Until then please keep your lights on. Â
Naija No Filter 