The SARS-CoV-2 epidemic has caused an unprecedented public health situation and more than ever it is important to be well informed on methods to monitor and analyse the progression of the epidemic. This brief note aims to explain the scope in conducting large-scale serological surveys of SARS-CoV-2 to define the landscape of population immunity, without overlooking the inherent uncertainty steaming from sampling design and diagnostic validity. The note completes with a succinct appendix of simple statistical methods for estimating prevalence from random population samples using imperfect diagnostic tests.This commentary highlights the potential consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for India's rural population. The rural health care system in India is not adequate or prepared to contain COVID-19 transmission, especially in many densely populated northern Indian States because of the shortage of doctors, hospital beds, and equipment. The COVID-19 pandemic creates a special challenge due to the paucity of testing services, weak surveillance system and above all poor medical care. The impacts of this pandemic, and especially the lockdown strategy, are multi-dimensional. The authors argue for the need to take immediate steps to control the spread and its aftereffects and to use this opportunity to strengthen and improve its primary health care system in rural India.Iraq is one of seven Arabic countries (Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia) that acquired novel coronavirus-19 disease (COVID-19) via people who have visited Iran recently. Iraqi outdated public healthcare settings are already overwhelmed with many acute injuries from ongoing unrest. Iraq faces six challenges in controlling COVID-19 [1] A shortage in number of quarantine facilities [2], the availability of the testing which is limited to one governmental lab only in Baghdad [3], a shortage in personal protective equipment (PPE) and ambulances [4], a low level of public awareness [5], a shortage in hygiene preparations and [6] a high rate of antibiotic resistance in case of secondary bacterial infection. Thus, Iraq alone cannot control such a rapidly emerging outbreak and needs help from the international community and the World Health Organization (WHO) to prepare additional medical labs, establish high standard quarantine facilities and provide medical equipment for healthcare professionals. On its side, Iraq needs to impose more restrictions on travel from countries with a COVID-19 outbreak as other countries have done.•Agonist therapy for opioid use disorder (OUD) is often inaccessible in the US at a time of high overdose mortality.•OUD therapy could be offered by drug treatment courts as an alternative to criminal prosecution for some drug offenses.•Many drug courts, however, reject gold-standard agonist therapies, seeing them as "another form of addiction".•Drug courts often prefer to offer extended-release naltrexone, but it is costly and requires pre-treatment abstinence.•Drug courts have had limited success in improving access to OUD treatment at a time of high overdose mortality.Trees have been integral to cities for centuries. Their tangible and intangible benefits for human and environmental systems are particularly evident in times of crisis. As cities grow and adapt to climate change, historical, scientific, and practical expertise are needed to ensure equal access to urban trees and their benefits.In the search for ways to address sustainability challenges, there is growing interest in nature-based solutions. Among these are calls to plant a trillion trees globally, which has been met with mixed responses. In this Voices, we ask researchers about the potential role of trees in mitigating and adapting to global change, as well as doing so in a way that does not compromise other Sustainable Development Goals.The COVID-19 pandemic has had a rapid and significant impact on mobility. One of the most important responses of countries worldwide to slow the spread of the pandemic is to restrict the movement of people, which has had a considerable effect on transport systems. However, the reduction of transport is not identical for all modes of transport public transport has seen the greatest decline so far. Understanding urban modal share developments during a pandemic situation can help cities better prepare for transport management in the future.The growing number of studies on the impact of COVID-19 is often discussed in the context of developed countries, highlighting a gap in the understanding of how the pandemic is impacting developing countries. This theoretical commentary focuses on the present and long-term impact of COVID-19 on transportation in Lagos State, Nigeria. The paper recognises the effect on transportation in emerging economies, where lockdowns and restrictions on movement may be ineffective, a state with high population density, poor transportation infrastructure and a large informal economy. Adopting the 'avoid-shift-improve' framework, this paper presents practical implications for public and private sector policymakers, as they navigate this precarious time and chart a new path for individuals and Nigeria.COVID-19 has massively affected the lives of people all over the world. This paper presents first insights in current and potential future effects of the virus and the Dutch government's 'intelligent lockdown' on people's activities and travel behaviour. Findings are based on a representative sample of about 2500 respondents from the Netherlands Mobility Panel (MPN). We show that approximately 80% of people reduced their activities outdoors, with a stronger decrease for older people. 44% of workers started or increased the amount of hours working from home and 30% have more remote meetings. Most of these workers report positive experiences. Students and school pupils, however, are mostly not happy with following education from home. Furthermore, the amount of trips and distance travelled dropped by 55% and 68% respectively when compared to the fall of 2019. So-called 'roundtrips' (e.g. a walking or cycling tour) gained in popularity. People are currently more positive towards the car and far more negative towards public transport. Changes in outdoor activities seem to be temporal, with over 90% of people who currently reduced their outdoor activities not expecting to continue this behaviour in the future after corona. However, 27% of home-workers expect to work from home more often in the future. In addition, 20% of people expect to cycle and walk more and 20% expect to fly less in the future. These findings show that the coronavirus crisis might result in structural behavioural changes, although future longitudinal analyses are needed to observe these possible structural effects.The movement of cruise ships has the potential to be a major trigger of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks. In Australia, the cruise ship Ruby Princess became the largest COVID-19 epicenter. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/plerixafor-8hcl-db06809.html When the Ruby Princess arrived at the Port of Sydney in New South Wales on March 19, 2020, approximately 2700 passengers disembarked. By March 24, about 130 had tested positive for COVID-19, and by March 27, the number had increased to 162. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between the cruise industry and the COVID-19 outbreak. We take two perspectives the first analysis focuses on the relationship between the estimated number of cruise passengers landing and the number of COVID-19 cases. We tracked the movement of all ocean cruise ships around the world using automatic identification system data from January to March 2020. We found that countries with arrival and departure ports and with ports that continued to accept cruise ships until March have a higher COVID-19 infection rate than countries that did not. The second analysis focuses on the characteristics of cruise ships infected with COVID-19. For this purpose, we utilize the list named "Cruise ships affected by COVID-19" released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a result, cruise ships infected with COVID-19 were large in size and operated regular cruises that sailed from the same port of arrival and departure to the same ports of call on a weekly basis.Influenza is a contagious virus affecting both one's health and economic productivity. This study evaluates uses a survey of 2168 individuals across the U.S. Ordered logit regressions are used to model risk perception and generalized ordered logit regressions are used to model risk mitigation travel-related decisions. Models are estimated for three influenza outbreak scenarios, specifically an individual's travel-related 1) risk perceptions, 2) risk mitigation decisions when infected and the individual wants to prevent spreading it, and may want treatment, and 3) risk mitigation decisions when not infected and the individual wants to reduce exposure. Risk perception results show that a recent personal experience with influenza-like symptoms and being female significantly increased risk perception at mandatory and medical trip locations. Risk mitigation model results show that males are less likely to alter their travel patterns in response to the possible spreading of the virus or increasing exposure. Knowing the difference between influenza and the stomach flu is more influential in reducing travel than a recent influenza experience in one's household. Individuals proactive with their health (i.e., receive the vaccine, have health insurance) are also proactive in seeking medical attention and reducing influenza spread. Lastly, aligned with the Protection Motivation Theory, individuals reduce travel to locations in which they perceived medium or high risk. However, increased risk perceived at one's work location did not significantly reduce travel. The findings provide insight into the risk perception and mitigation behavior of the American public during the COVID-19 pandemic and after restrictions are lifted.The spread of the COVID-19 virus has resulted in unprecedented measures restricting travel and activity participation in many countries. Social distancing, i.e., reducing interactions between individuals in order to slow down the spread of the virus, has become the new norm. In this viewpoint I will discuss the potential implications of social distancing on daily travel patterns. Avoiding social contact might completely change the number and types of out-of-home activities people perform, and how people reach these activities. It can be expected that the demand for travel will reduce and that people will travel less by public transport. Social distancing might negatively affect subjective well-being and health status, as it might result in social isolation and limited physical activity. As a result, walking and cycling, recreationally or utilitarian, can be important ways to maintain satisfactory levels of health and well-being. Policymakers and planners should consequently try to encourage active travel, while public transport operators should focus on creating ways to safely use public transport.The emergence of COVID-19 in South Korea, and the public and private sector response to it, serves as a valuable case study for countries facing similar outbreaks. This article focuses on how Korean health officials implemented drive-through and walk-through diagnostic testing, and extensive movement and contact tracing, to identify and inform exposed members of the public. Mobile applications from both government agencies and private developers played an important role in guiding people to testing centers, communicating movement trajectories of confirmed cases on digital maps, and tracking the health and movements of travelers and others at risk of exposure. This case study illustrates the importance of rapid adaptation of transportation infrastructure and location-based information technology to respond to public health crises, and how governments can learn from experimentation and past experience to accelerate these responses.