This COVID-19 app would listen to your cough and use AI to predict whether you have coronavirus

Researchers are building an app that would listen to people's coughs and use AI to predict whether they might have COVID-19.

The app, called "Coughvid," was inspired by doctors who said coronavirus patients have a distinctive cough that sounds different than other illnesses, researcher Tomas Teijeiro told Business Insider.

Coughvid has been in development for the past month at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and has gathered more than 15,000 audio samples of coughs to train its AI.

It's one of a slew of AI labs aiming to fight coronavirus with apps that analyze audio from users.

Your smartphone may soon be able to listen to your cough and predict whether you've contracted COVID-19 — at least, that's what a team of AI researchers is betting on.

A group of scientists at the Swiss university École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne is building an app called "Coughvid" that would listen to people cough and use AI to determine whether they sound like a coronavirus patient.

Tomas Teijeiro, one of the researchers, told Business Insider that the app was inspired by reports from doctors that COVID-19 patients had a cough with a distinctive sound — a chirping intake of breath at the end — that differed from other illnesses.

"We have a lot of contact with medical doctors and some of them told us that they usually were able to distinguish, quite well, from sound of the cough, if patients were probably infected," Teijeiro told Business Insider.

The team behind Coughvid is still collecting data to train its AI, Teijeiro said. They've gathered more than 15,000 audio samples of people coughing, 1,000 of which came from people who reported being diagnosed with COVID-19. Once completed, the Coughvid app could be used as a tool to recommend whether users should seek out a coronavirus test or further treatment.

Coughvid is just one of many potential coronavirus solutions being pulled together by AI labs eager to find algorithmic solutions to the epidemic. As The Wall Street Journal reported last week, at least three other labs are also developing AI-powered apps that analyze subjects' breathing, speaking, and coughing in an attempt to predict coronavirus, partnering with researchers at schools including Carnegie Mellon University and New York University.

Critics have complained that the tech community is leaping to provide flashy solutions to coronavirus that could have unintended negative consequences. Cambridge computer science professor Ross Anderson told Business Insider last week that he's concerned such solutions could further overload emergency resources if they lead people with mild symptoms to worry more about the virus.

https://www.businessinsider.com/app-would-listen-cough-predict-coronavirus-2020-4?r=US&IR=T

Cuomo issues order allowing New Yorkers to obtain marriage licenses over Zoom

The order also allows clerks to conduct ceremonies over video

With New York’s marriage bureaus closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday that the state will begin allowing marriage licenses to be granted remotely, and, for clerks to conduct ceremonies over video.

“There is now no excuse when the question comes up for marriage,” he said during his Saturday briefing. “You can do it by Zoom. Yes or no.”

One of the states hardest hit by the coronavirus, New York is under a statewide stay-at-home order. With most people under some kind of stay-at-home or social distancing requirements due to the pandemic, #ZoomWeddings have become a popular way for brides and grooms to keep their wedding dates, inviting friends and family to participate remotely.

Cuomo’s order takes it a step further, giving New York couples who were planning marriage but didn’t have their licenses yet to get the necessary paperwork handled via video. There doesn’t seem to be any requirement that couples have to use Zoom for their license application and ceremony, of course; plenty of remote weddings have happened over FaceTime and other video conferencing platforms.

Also during Saturday’s briefing, Cuomo said hospitalizations and intubations in New York continued to decline, and said it was possible New York could be past its peak of infections. Still, he reported, 540 people died of the coronavirus in New York on Friday, bringing the state’s death toll to 13,362.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/18/21226544/cuomo-new-yorkers-marriage-licenses-zoom-coronavirus

ATF Targets Small Gun Shops with Leading Phone Call Questionnaire

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) has started a phone outreach program to Federal Firearms License holders (FFLs) because of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

In an email obtained by AmmoLand News, ATF Field Management Staff Deputy Chief Kyle Lallenstack ask Industry Operations Investigators (IOIs) to start calling FFLs and engage in “outreach” to meet inspection targets. The email references the need for social distancing protocols as well as dealing with state-mandated business closures and stay at home orders. Lallenstack states that the ATF foresees these restrictions on personal contact lasting weeks, if not months.

The email reads: “We recognize that in-person contact during inspections and outreach initiatives will likely be severely constrained for weeks if not months, and that limited in-person contacts IOIs must engage in as the crisis continues (e.g., responding to FFL thefts) must employ maximum safety protocols to limit the potential exposure of industry, the public, and the IOIs.”

The target of these phone calls will be firearms stores that the ATF has not inspected in years. The IOIs will need to inform the FFL holders that the phone conversation is strictly voluntary. Gun rights advocates who have seen the emails worry that FFL holders that refuse to speak over the phone to the ATF IOI will be moved to the top of the inspection list once inspections resume. There is also no way for the FFL holder to verify the person they are talking to is an actual ATF employee and not someone trying to get information on the firearms stored at the business.

The ATF developed a ATF Telephone Outreach Initiative Script and survey to use on the phone calls. The guide gives the IOI a script to initiate the call with the FFL. The script reads:

“Your participation in this call is voluntary, and this is NOT an inspection. Given the current pandemic, we are attempting to limit your and our exposure to COVID 19 by limiting our in-person, face-to-face interaction to the extent possible while still accomplishing our mission of protecting the public and reducing violent crime. As you may be aware, ATF frequently conducts FFL seminars to informally communicate with licensees in which we engage in discussions about current issues in the industry, relevant regulations, and suggestions of best practices. These seminars help ensure we all work together to enhance the safety of our communities. Since we cannot do that type of outreach under existing circumstances, we are calling you today to reassure you that ATF is accessible and available to answer your questions throughout this challenging time. We would like to spend a few minutes providing you our contact information and an opportunity to ask any questions you may have. We’d also like to ask a few questions about your current operations to help us assess how to best support you and apply ATF resources towards public safety in these challenging times.”

https://www.scribd.com/document/457934296/ATF-Telephone-Outreach-Initiative-Script-2020#from_embed

https://patriotrising.com/atf-targets-small-gun-shops-with-leading-phone-call-questionnaire/

The Deep State Globalist Establishment and The Democrat Media Complex remain set on destroying Trump by any means necessary.

Nancy Still Pushing the Russian Collusion Narrative in the MSM (Sigh)

https://youtu.be/k28ocLXUihU

Tom Fitton: It’s time to prosecute the FBI SEDITION, called SPYGATE, that fraudulently prosecuted candidate/president Trump

https://youtu.be/zJe1I0psQrE

Trump explodes on media: ‘You ought to share the news accurately’

https://youtu.be/wiMfSjqBhkw

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/the-deep-state-globalist-establishment-and-the-democrat-media-complex-remain-set-on-destroying-trump-by-any-means-necessary/

U.S. Media Fall For Kim Jong Un Rumor From U.S. Government Financed Propaganda Outlet

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/u-s-media-fall-for-kim-jong-un-rumor-from-u-s-government-financed-propaganda-outlet/

Democrats to Punish Black Michigan Lawmaker Who Said Trump Helped Her Beat Coronavirus By Urging Hydroxychloroquine Consideration

Michigan state Rep. Karen Whitsett (D-Detroit) is set to be punished by her local Democratic Party committee for meeting with President Trump and crediting him with helping to save her life from the COVID-19 Chinese coronavirus by his urging of consideration of hydroxychloroquine treatment.

Whitsett went to the White House earlier this month where she met with Trump, Vice President Pence and other COVID-19 survivors.

The Detroit News reported on the Democrats’ plan to punish Whitsett (excerpt):

Detroit Democrats plan to vote Saturday to censure and bar any future endorsements of a Democratic lawmaker who credited President Donald Trump with advocating for the drug that she said cured her of COVID-19.

State Rep. Karen Whitsett, D-Detroit, broke protocol by meeting with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence during an April 14 meeting of COVID-19 survivors, during which she credited hydroxychloroquine for saving her life….

…The meeting and other comments Whitsett made prior to and during the coronavirus pandemic have landed her in hot water with the 13th Congressional District Democratic Party Organization.

The group, as first reported by Gongwer News Service, plans to vote Saturday on a resolution to censure Whitsett, a first-term lawmaker representing the 9th Michigan House District.

The admonition means she will not get the group’s endorsement for this year nor will she be able to engage in the group’s activities for the next two election cycles.

“At the end of the day, we have political systems,” said Jonathan Kinloch, chairman of the organization. “We have political parties, and political parties exist for a reason.”

“They do not belong to themselves,” Kinloch said of endorsed candidates and elected officials. “They belong to the members and precinct delegates of the Democratic Party.”

Whitsett said she plans to continue working for the district, adding that she has been delivering food and cleaning products to those in need throughout the pandemic…

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/04/democrats-punish-black-michigan-lawmaker-said-trump-helped-beat-coronavirus-urging-hydroxychloroquine-consideration/

Police Photos From Scene of Overdose Incident Involving Florida Dem Andrew Gillum Reveal Crystal Meth, Erectile Dysfunction Drugs

The Miami Beach Police Department released new photographs, video, and audio from the scene of a drug overdose incident involving failed Democratic Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, who was found unconscious along with two men in a drug-filled hotel room.

The photos reveal three bags of what police said was crystal methamphetamine, as well as numerous prescription drugs, including a vial of papaverine, phentolamine, and alprostadil, a mixture commonly injected into the penis by men suffering from erectile dysfunction, according to Memorial Sloane Kettering.

More

https://freebeacon.com/democrats/police-photos-of-gillum-overdose-incident-reveal-crystal-meth-erectile-dysfunction-drugs/

Government Forces Clash with Kurdish Militias Amid Israeli Strikes on Central Syria

On April 21, clashes broke out in the city of Qamishly between the Kurdish Asayish, a security force of the Syrian Democratic Forces, and the pro-government National Defense Forces.

Local sources claim that NDF units tried to capture several Asayish positions in the city, but failed to do so. Both sides allegedly suffered no casualties. The situation de-escalated rapidly after the Russian Military Police deployed in a nearby area intervened .

On April 16, an Asayish checkpoint in the city was attacked with two hand grenades allegedly thrown by NDF members.

The current escalation is reportedly the result of disagreements between local NDF and Asayish commanders. Nonetheless, it should be noted that Qamishly city is infamous for regular clashes and tensions between the NDF and the SDF’s Asayish. The Kurdish group is trying to establish full control of the city and does not like the fact that the Damascus government has strong support there. In their turn NDF units seek to push back the creeping advance of the Kurdish force, which they see as a betrayer of Syrian national interests because of its open cooperation with foreign occupants – i.e.the United States.

The Russian Military Police and the Turkish Army held a limited joint patrol on the M4 highway in southern Idlib. From the Russian side the patrol involved two BTR-82A armoured personnel carriers and a Tiger armoured vehicle, while from the Turkish side four BMC Kirpi MRAPs took part. The movement of the Russian-Turkish convoy was monitored by unmanned aerial vehicles of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

This was the fifth limited Russian-Turkish patrol held in the framework of the Turkish-Russian Idlib agreement reached on March 5. The area of the patrols serves as a visual demonstration of the lack of progress made in the creation of the safe zone along the M4 highway in southern Idlib and in the removal of radical militants from it.

Later on the same day, the Syrian Army shelled positions of al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tharir al-Sham near the village of Tell Afis, located near the government-controlled town of Saraqib. Pro-government sources say that militants are concentrating forces there in preparation of an advance to capture Saraqib.

Late on April 20, the Israeli Air Force carried out airstrikes on several supposedly Iranian targets in the province of Homs. Syrian Air Defence systems responded to the attack by intercepting several missiles. However, according to open data, at least 3 Syrian service members died as a result of the incident. So, at least some of the Israeli strikes hit their targets.

Video in link

https://www.globalresearch.ca/video-government-forces-clash-kurdish-militias-israeli-strikes-central-syria/5710532