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The detection of potentially pathogenic <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> in Indian <keyword id="92255" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bats">bats</keyword> stresses the need for enhancing screening for novel viruses in them, according to a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).<br /><br />This study was a step towards understanding the coronavirus circulation in Indian bats. "One Health approach with collaborative activities by the animal health and human health sectors in these surveillance activities shall be of use to public health," the study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research said.<br /><br />"This would help in the development of diagnostic assays for novel viruses with outbreak potential and be useful in disease interventions. Proactive surveillance remains crucial for identifying the emerging novel viruses with epidemic potential and measures for risk mitigation," said the study authored by Pragya D Yadav as the first author.<br /><br />A study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has found the presence of a bat coronavirus in bat species from Kerala, <keyword id="6358126" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Himachal-Pradesh">Himachal Pradesh</keyword>, Puducherry and <keyword id="20154" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="tamil-nadu">Tamil Nadu</keyword>.<br /><br />There have been studies and theories that the coronavirus pandemic which spread from Wuhan in China had originated from bats.<br /><br />The ICMR study for the first time has found the presence of a different kind of coronavirus, bat coronavirus (BtCoV) in two bat species from these four states.<br /><br />According to the study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, there is no evidence to suggest that the bat coronaviruses can cause disease in humans.<br /><br />Bats from the Rousettus and Pteropus species from the four states were found positive. These bat coronaviruses are not related to the SARS-CoV2 which is causing the Covid 19 pandemic.<br /><br />The Pteropus bat species were earlier found positive for Nipah virus in 2018 and 2019 in Kerala.<br /><br />"Bats are considered to be the natural reservoir for many viruses, of which some are potential human pathogens. In India, an association of Pteropus medius bats with the Nipah virus was reported in the past. It is suspected that the recently emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) also has its association with bats," the objective of the study titled 'Detection of coronaviruses in Pteropus and Rousettus species of bats from different states of India' said.<br /><br />In conclusion, the study showed detection of pathogenic CoVs in two species of Indian bats. Continuous active surveillance is required to identify the emerging novel viruses with epidemic potential.<br /><br />"There is a need of proactive surveillance of zoonotic infections in bats. Detection and identifications of such aetiological agents will provide leads for the development of diagnostic along with preparedness and readiness to deal with such emergent viruses thereby quickly containing them," the study said.<br /><br />The detection and identification of such viruses from bats also recommends cross-sectional antibody surveys (human and domestic animals) in localities where the viruses have been detected. Similarly, if epidemiological situation demands, evidence-based surveillance should also be conducted. There is a need of developing strong mechanisms for working jointly with various stakeholders such as wildlife, poultry, animal husbandry and human health departments.<br /><br />In the present scenario of changing demography and ecological manipulations, it is challenging to have checks on the encounters of bats with other animals and humans. Therefore, active and continuous surveillance remains crucial for outbreak alerts for bat-associated viral agents with epidemic potential, which would be helpful in timely interventions, the study said.<br /><br />Although CoVs in the subfamily Coronavirinae do not usually produce clinical symptoms in their natural hosts (bats), accidental transmission of these viruses to humans and other animals may result in respiratory, enteric, hepatic or neurologic diseases of variable severity. It is still not understood as to why only certain CoVs can infect people, the study said.<br /><br />--IANS<br /><br />san/rt

Coronavirus found in Indian bats, scrutiny crucial for outbreak alerts

<ul><li><strong>
As many as 100 million people in the country are suffering from the nation-wide water crisis. <br /></strong></li><li><strong>Moreover, 21 major cities are expected to be devoid of groundwater by 2020, says government think tank NITI Aayog. <br /></strong></li></ul><br />No drops, No rain, nothing. India is suffering from its worst-ever water crisis in history. It has already started affecting hundreds and millions of lives and livelihoods across the country. <br /><br />And, people are craving for water to drink as well.<br /><br />“How will three pots of water be sufficient for an entire family of five,” asks a resident of Chennai — India’s sixth largest city — which ran out of water after all four reservoirs dried up this summer.<br /><br />
  
  
  
  <div type="image" title="Chennai: People rush to fill their vessels from a water tanker following acute w..." msid="69988629" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;People rush to fill their vessels from a water tanker following acute water shortage, in Chennai.Photo)(&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>








<br />A large number of people are now washing utensils in dirty water, to save the clean water for cooking and drinking.<br /><br />There won’t be any relief anytime soon as the southwest monsoon — accounting 80% of India’s rainfall — is late and is expected to be <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/monsoon-to-be-below-normal-over-north-south-india-imd/articleshow/69602283.cms">lower than usual</a> in both north and south India. <br /><br />As many as 100 million people in the country are suffering from the nation-wide water crisis. Moreover, 21 major cities are expected to be devoid of groundwater by 2020, says government think tank NITI Aayog <br /><br />Only some parts of the country have received rainfall — that too almost a week late. Apart from the water crisis, the harsh heatwaves in the country took more than <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/22/india/chennai-india-water-crisis-intl/index.html">137 lives </a>. <br /><br />India’s dwindling water sources worsened the situation. <a href="http://202.159.215.252:83/DocumentUploadRoot/DocumentId_32837/20.06.2019_CWC_Bull.pdf">According to the Central Water Commission</a>, two-thirds water reservoirs in the country are below normal levels. <br /><br /><strong>Little Water, No Water — Current status of crisis across the country </strong><br />
  
  
  
  <div type="image" title="Women fetch water from an opening made by residents at a dried-up lake in Chennai" msid="69988642" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Women fetch water from an opening made by residents at a dried-up lake in Chennai, India, June 11, 2019. REUTERS/P. Ravikumar TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>









<br />On 2 June 2019, a video of women filling bucket from the water leaked by a water tanker over the road went viral on social media, reported India spend. <br /><br />More than 100 districts across the country are officially affected by drought. Most of the districts (80%) in Karnataka and Maharashtra (72%) are hit by drought and crop failure. As many as 8.2 million farmers are struggling for livelihood. <br /><br />With scarcity comes strife. The state governments of Karnataka and Maharashtra — are now fighting over sharing water resources. <br /><br />Every day, Maharashtra government is sending 6,000 water tankers to 4,920 villages and 10,506 hamlets or settlements (<em>bastis</em>) in drought-hit areas.<br /><br />In the South, the Tamil Nadu government had to sanction Rs 233 crore to initiate emergency water projects. The state capital — Chennai— had to shut down the air conditioning to save as much as 9,000 litres a day. People have to stand in line for hours and they get foul-smelling water that might have been mixed with sewage. <br /><br />Karnataka too was forced to shut schools for a week due to water scarcity. Separately, residents of Bhilwara in Rajasthan have to keep water ‘locked’ in tankers since they depend on drinking water that is supplied once in 10 days. They are worried that it might be stolen! <br /><br /><strong>No groundwater by 2020 </strong><br />
  
  
  
  <div type="image" title="India Water Shortage" msid="69988668" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Indiand stand in queues to fill vessels filled with drinking water from a water tanker in Chennai, capital of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Wednesday, June 19, 2019. Millions of people are turning to water tank trucks in the state as house and hotel taps run dry in an acute water shortage caused by drying lakes and depleted groundwater. Some private companies have asked employees to work from home and several restaurants are closing early and even considering stopping lunch meals if the water scarcity aggravates.Photo/R. Parthibhan)&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>









<sup>AP</sup><br />New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad are amongst the 21 cities that will run out of groundwater by 2020. This will affect as many as 100 million people, claims a report by NITI Ayog. <br /><br />Furthermore, 40% of India’s population will struggle for drinking water by 2030. With India’s water crisis deepening by the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently created Ministry of Jal Shakti that is going to look after the water resource management. <br /><br />Modi also reiterated his promise to provide piped water to every rural house in India by 2024. However, analysts have claimed that won’t be enough. <br /><br />A UN Human rights report claimed that soon only wealthy people in the world would be able to afford basic necessities in case of a drought, heatwave or famine. <br /><br /><strong>Falling rainfall levels in India</strong><br /><br />
  
  
  
  <div type="image" title="Chennai: School students offer prayers to rain god seeking rainfall following th..." msid="69988705" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;School students offer prayers to rain god seeking rainfall following the severe water crisis, in Chennai.Photo) (&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>










<br />The Drought Early Warning System (DEWS) reported that 43.4% areas in the country are under drought as of 30 May 2019. A delayed monsoon is among the primary reasons for the current crisis. <br /><br />In the last five years, 2017 was the only year when India did not experience drought, reported India spend. Both South west monsoon and North-east monsoon were lower than usual. <br /><br />Last year, India Meteorological Department said that the ‘post-monsoon’ rainfall — responsible for 10-20% of the India’s monsoon — was lower by 44%. And the pre-monsoon rainfall was the lowest it saw in the last 65 years. <br /><br />Experts fear that India is soon going to witness Day Zero if no action is taken on time. <br />

Five years on, India may not even get a chance to solve its on-going water crisis risking hundreds of millions of lives

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Jack Nelson</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The Temple of Quechula is about the closest thing we have to a lost ruin of Atlantis.</p><p>Last month, a drought in Chiapas, Mexico, caused water levels in the Nezahualcoyotl reservoir to drop over 80 feet - <a href="http://www.techinsider.io/mexican-church-emerges-from-the-water-after-drought-2015-10">revealing a mid-16th century church</a> long-buried beneath the surface. Photos of the spectacular structure went viral online, and residents and tourists alike <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4e138c746a5a45ec9dce817349709554/colonial-church-emerges-falling-mexican-reservoir">recruited local fisherman</a> to row them out to the ruin.</p><p>As the dam gates close and the reservoir fills to a normal level, locals expect the church to sink back to its watery grave soon.</p><p>Photographer Jack Nelson and his family recently visited the Temple of Quechula to catch one last glimpse at the living time capsule. Nelson shared his photos exclusively with Tech Insider. Here's what happened on his maritime adventure.</p>

Dropping water levels from the drought in Mexico revealed something incredible

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (<keyword id="6379474" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="cdc">CDC</keyword>) recently released the cover art for the agency's Emerging and Infectious Diseases journal — and posted the artwork to Instagram.</li><li>The cover choice sparked outrage from people arguing that the decision to use imagery from the Qing Dynasty feeds into escalating anti-Asian sentiments amid the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> pandemic.</li><li>People have voiced outrage on Instagram and Twitter, calling the cover choice "shameful" and "irresponsible."</li><li>While the cover art and description are still available on the CDC website, it appears that the Instagram post has since been deleted — but the CDC's newest post featuring Asian <keyword id="6181" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Food">food</keyword> has spurred outrage once again.</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is facing backlash after posting its <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/current">Emerging and Infectious Diseases</a> journal cover to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cdcgov/">Instagram</a> on Tuesday. The peer-reviewed journal, which is published monthly, features art drawn from many periods in an attempt "to 'humanize' and enhance the scientific content by illustrating ideas, raising consciousness, revealing truth, stimulating the intellect, and firing the emotions," according to its <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/page/about-cover-art">website</a>. </p><p>The May 2020 cover art, which is accessible on the CDC <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/5/AC-2605_article">website</a>, features an 18th century Qing military rank badge.</p><p>The cover image, the Instagram caption explained, "depicts a muscular leopard standing on a small piece of light brown, green-tinged land amidst flowering plants and fruit trees. The surrounding sky is filled with swooping bats and tendrils of clouds."</p><p>The description goes on to say that the animals depicted on rank badges "may also serve as zoonotic reservoirs capable of transmitting viral pathogens that can cause respiratory infections in humans."</p><h2>After sharing the cover and explanation on Instagram, the CDC received swift backlash from people arguing that selected art feeds into escalating anti-Asian sentiments amid the coronavirus pandemic.  </h2><p>Twitter user <a href="https://twitter.com/jadeitecabbage">@jadeitecabbage</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/jadeitecabbage/status/1252771085524832256">shared</a> a screenshot of the Instagram post, calling the decision to use Qing dynasty insignia a "way to stoke up anti-asian sentiment while indulging in a hellish new take on orientalism."</p><p>The tweet received several hundred comments from outraged commenters, calling the choice "shameful" and "unreal."</p><p>"Rank badges come from across East Asia, China, Korea, Vietnam," one commenter <a href="https://twitter.com/xujnx/status/1253132564006678528">wrote</a>. "The beautiful wild creatures are not just markers of rank &amp; status, as the post claims, but also symbols of duty, dignity &amp; decency. Don't forget these virtues when you deride them as 'carriers of viruses.'"</p><p>Xiaoyu Weng, a curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, told <a href="https://www.dailydot.com/irl/cdc-chinese-instagram-post-infectious-diseases/">the Daily Dot</a> that the symbols used in the cover art have "rich meaning and knowledge" behind them.</p><p>"You can see such symbols featured in historical art objects in museums like the Met, for example. By stripping free of the complexity, this association with <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> is a baseless and very irresponsible way to disseminate fake knowledge," she said. </p><p>Weng also posted to her Instagram story, calling the cover art choice a "foundationless attack on Chinese cultural heritage."</p><p>It appears the CDC has since deleted the post.</p><h2>A recent study of online discourse found that anti-Asian racism has surged in online communities amid the coronavirus pandemic.</h2><p>The <a href="https://ncri.io/">Network Contagion Research Institute</a>, an independent organization that conducts research to track "misinformation, deception, manipulation, and hate across social media channels," released a <a href="https://ncri.io/reports/weaponized-information-outbreak-a-case-study-on-covid-19-bioweapon-myths-and-the-asian-conspiracy-meme/">report</a> in early April titled "Weaponized Information Outbreak: A Case Study on Covid-19, Bioweapon Myths, and the Asian Conspiracy Meme."</p><p>According to the study, online forums witnessed a distinct uptick in derogatory terms for Chinese people in February of 2020 — while other slurs toward minority groups flatlined in relation to discussion of the novel coronavirus. </p><p>While the racist dialogue begins in smaller online communities like 4chan, the research suggests, anti-Asian sentiments have spilled over onto more "mainstream" outlets like Reddit, Twitter, and Instagram. </p><h2>While the cover art post no longer appears on the CDC's Instagram, the agency is already receiving backlash for a new post.</h2><p>As one Twitter user <a href="https://twitter.com/junixu/status/1253111356045373440">pointed out</a>, the Instagram post featuring the May 2020 cover has been removed from the platform — but CDC's latest post, which details safety precautions patrons should take when ordering takeout, features Asian food. </p><p>"Protect yourself from <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/covid19/">#COVID19</a> while ordering delivery or take-out items: Order &amp; pay online, or over the phone if possible, ask for deliveries to be left in a safe spot outside your home, accept take-out items without in-person contact or stay at least six feet away from others, and wash your hands with soap and water or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol after getting your food," the caption reads. </p><p>In 24 hours, the post has racked up several thousand replies from commenters, many accusing the agency of feeding into racist "targeting" tactics.</p><p>"[D]id anyone think about insinuation of using a picture of Asian takeout food in your post about food safety? People of Asian descent have been targets of racist attacks due to the stigma and misinformation around the coronavirus," one commenter <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_SXibAlDAd/">wrote</a>. "Whether you meant to or not, people may interpret your post as suggesting Asian food is more likely to harbor the virus than other cuisines."</p><p>"Why did you use a picture of Chinese takeout food to convey this message? Did you think we wouldn't notice it, especially after your racist post yesterday connecting an ancient Chinese art piece with coronavirus?" another <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_SXibAlDAd/">said</a>. "STOP TARGETING ASIAN AMERICANS. PERIOD."</p><p>The CDC did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. </p>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.insider.com/cdc-accused-of-spreading-anti-asian-racism-with-instagram-posts-2020-4">Insider</a>

People are accusing the CDC of stoking anti-Asian racism with 2 Instagram posts that an art expert called an 'attack on Chinese cultural heritage'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>England plans to allow bars, clubs, and pubs to operate at full capacity starting June 21.</li><li>Venues say visitors are raring to return - but health experts warn this could cause another COVID-19 surge.</li><li>Some venues will open without COVID-19 safety measures, including social distancing, owners told Insider.</li></ul><p>Sticky club floors, overpriced drinks, and raging hangovers could return for ravers if England's <keyword id="14733" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="nightlife">nightlife</keyword> opens at full capacity as planned later this month.</p><p>The government is planning to lift all legal limits on social contact on June 21 - but scientists warn that the return of nightlife "as normal" could lead to surging COVID-19 cases. Some nightlife operators told Insider they intended to reopen without COVID-19 safety measures.</p><p>This would be the first time clubs have been able to operate since March 2020.</p><div type="image" title="Empty Pryzm nightclub Nottingham" height="3686" width="5529" msid="83201937" hostid="261"></div><h2>Young people in the <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> largely haven't been vaccinated yet</h2><p>Brits are able to visit late-night pubs, clubs, and bars from the age of 18. But most people in the country under 30 haven't been vaccinated yet because the UK has largely prioritized vaccination based on age. Those in their 20s are expected to start getting invitations for their vaccines any day now.</p><p>"In fact, this is the age group where there might be the most risk in terms of ongoing viral infection and transmission, because they're just not been vaccinated," Dr. Julian Tang, a consultant virologist at Leicester Royal Infirmary and honorary associate professor at Leicester University, told Insider.</p><p>Tang noted that the number of daily new COVID-19 cases in the UK had leveled off - according to <a href="https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases">figures from the UK Government</a>, the daily number of new confirmed cases has hovered around the 2,000 mark for the past four weeks - indicating "the virus is not going away."</p><p>But last Wednesday, May 26, the UK reported more than 3,000 daily <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> cases for first time since early April.</p><p>"If anything, I think it's pushing back and what's happening is that the vaccine barrier that we've erected, and are still building on, is controlling the virus in those who were vaccinated," he said. "The unvaccinated may actually still be a reservoir for the virus."</p><div type="image" title="Manchester busy clubs bars 2018" height="2007" width="4015" msid="83201941" hostid="261"></div><p>When people go clubbing, they're going into "a pool of essentially nonimmune people" without social distancing, he said.</p><p>"You'll get a surge anyway with indoor dining opening up and increased household mixing anyway, but I think you may see a surge, perhaps isolated surges, among these nightclubbing populations," Tang added.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-bars-are-so-dangerous-for-spreading-the-coronavirus-2020-7">Insider's Hilary Brueck</a> previously reported that bars were particularly dangerous for spreading COVID-19 because people might be less likely to pay attention to social-distancing protocols when they've had something to drink. Most bar workers didn't have sick pay, making it harder to stay home if they got symptoms, and even people who don't have any symptoms and feel well can still carry, and spread, the virus, Brueck reported.</p><h2>Some venues are opening without safety measures in place</h2><p>The hospitality industry is adamant it can reopen - and can do so safely.</p><p>"There is no real evidence that pubs and restaurants, with strict hygiene regimes and social-distancing measures, were spreading the virus," Sharif Uddin, the owner of shisha bar and restaurant Dusk in Brentwood, Essex, said.</p><p>"Customers are probably safer here than in supermarkets or eating with friends and family at home," he added.</p><p>Research suggests this is false.</p><p>A 2020 study in Scotland published in the <a href="https://www.jsad.com/doi/10.15288/jsad.2021.82.42" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs</a> showed that despite the efforts of bar operators and guidance from the UK government, potentially significant risks of COVID-19 transmission persisted in a substantial minority of observed bars, especially when customers were drunk.</p><p>"Observed incidents of concern included close physical interaction between customers and with staff, frequently featuring alcohol intoxication and rarely effectively stopped by staff," the research concluded.</p><p>Peter Marks, the CEO of Rekom, Britain's largest specialist late-night bar operator, told Insider the company's venues were set to open on June 21 "without COVID measures."</p><p>Marks said that there had been talk of limits on capacity in the early days of nightlife reopening but that this "isn't something that we want to encourage."</p><p>Marks said proof of vaccination, as well as rapid tests, could be suitable for special events such as vacations or festivals, but was not worth the time or planning for "spontaneous" events like going to the pub, a nightclub, or a comedy club.</p><p>"There's no difference between a pub and a nightclub at midnight, and so it's daft to pretend that there is," he said.</p><p>Sacha Lord, nighttime-economy advisor at Greater Manchester Combined Authority in the northwest of England, said that social-distancing measures made venues more expensive to operate because of the extra costs of limited capacity, table service, and more security.</p><div type="image" title="Manchester Parklife festival big crowd 2018" height="2657" width="3992" msid="83201947" hostid="261"></div><p>Lord is also a cofounder of the Warehouse Project and Manchester's Parklife festival. He said Parklife would open at its normal 80,000 capacity in September with no social distancing in place, though he said staff members would hand out sanitizer and many festivals would go cashless.</p><p>"You can't run a festival or you can't run a nightclub or a live-music gig with social distancing," Lord said. "It's just impossible. So we are gearing up to operate as normal."</p><p>Tristan Moffat, an operations director at the Piano Works, a nonstop live-music venue with two locations in London, said both sites would be opening as usual - but would use Twitter for music requests rather than written slips and would have a separate space for customers who want to be distanced from others.</p><p>"My biggest concern is the potential for conflict at our front door and the staff having to take abuse and harassment," he said, adding that it could be "human whack-a-mole."</p><h2>The <keyword id="43587" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="pandemic">pandemic</keyword> has devastated the hospitality industry, especially late-night venues</h2><p>"We have had an extremely testing year, and it will be a huge relief to get back to normality," Nikolas Opacic, the owner of <a href="https://www.seven54.co.uk/">Seven 54</a>, a restaurant and bar in Manchester, told Insider.</p><div type="image" title="The Leicester Arms pub in London had to temporarily close during the UK's winter lockdown." height="2782" width="4205" msid="83201949" hostid="261"></div><p>"As a neighbourhood operator we've particularly missed our regular customers who often dine with us on a daily basis," Opacic said. "They have become a big part of our day to day lives, and we can't wait to make up for lost time."</p><p>The UK has had various waves of local and national restrictions, though these can largely be boiled down to two main national lockdowns, one last spring and one in the winter, during which indoor and outdoor hospitality - including restaurants, cinemas, and nightlife - were off limits.</p><div type="image" title="Moon Under Water pub in London closed during lockdown" height="3001" width="4500" msid="83201955" hostid="261"></div><p>In the time between the two lockdowns, venues could reopen, though there were certain limits in place, including a curfew. Clubs weren't able to operate as usual but could stay open if they turned themselves into bars or restaurants. Bars, pubs, and restaurants on April 12 were allowed to reopen for outdoor service, with indoor seating returning May 17.</p><p>Hospitality sales from April 2020 to March of this year dropped by £80.8 billion ($114 billion) - or nearly two-thirds - year-over-year, <a href="https://cgastrategy.com/hospitality-sector-loses-80-8bn-of-sales-in-12-months-of-covid-19/">according to the research firm CGA</a>.</p><p>Marks said that, alongside events and travel, the hospitality sector was the worst affected sector during the pandemic and that within that late-night venues had been hardest hit.</p><p>"We've been shut for 15 months," he said. "That causes no end of grief with people that work with us, our partners, our suppliers."</p><div type="image" title="Empty Przym nightclub Leeds" height="3674" width="4899" msid="83201957" hostid="261"></div><p>The Piano Works, the live-music venue with two locations in London, told Insider it had been able to open for only two days over the past 14 months.</p><p>Opacic said that, as a family business, Seven 54 had struggled financially during the lockdowns but that government support such as the Eat Out to Help Out program - in which the government funded half-price restaurant meals in August - and furlough enabled the company to stay afloat.</p><div type="image" title="Eat Out to Help Out restaurant" height="507" width="676" msid="83201960" hostid="261"></div><p>"I feel like the government has tried their best to keep the industry in survival mode," he said.</p><p>But Marks said the level of government support businesses received during <keyword id="91743" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="lockdown">lockdown</keyword> depended on their size.</p><p>"The smaller operators have actually been proportionately helped more than the larger operators," he said, adding that Rekom "went bust" in 2020.</p><p>"If they'd been supportive," he said, "we wouldn't have gone bust."</p><div type="image" title="Empty Covent Garden pubs and restaurants in January 2021" height="3415" width="5123" msid="83201962" hostid="261"></div><p>The lockdowns had major staffing implications for the companies that Insider spoke with, too.</p><p>Staff have been able to recover wages through the UK government's furlough program, but many in the industry believe this wasn't enough, and <a href="https://cgastrategy.com/hospitality-sector-loses-80-8bn-of-sales-in-12-months-of-covid-19/">UKHospitality said</a> about 660,000 hospitality workers lost their jobs during the pandemic.</p><p>Lord said freelancers who make their money organizing festivals were at a "breaking point," while staffs at bars, pubs, and restaurants had lost tip income.</p><div type="image" title="A staff member puts signs outside a pub in central London in May 2021" height="3712" width="5568" msid="83201963" hostid="261"></div><h2>Venues are expecting bars and clubs to be full</h2><p>Marks said there would be "huge pent-up demand" when clubs and late-night bars reopened at full capacity, adding that Rekom was preselling events online and there was "loads and loads of interest."</p><p>He added that there would be a surge in nightlife in September when students started at university.</p><p>Marks sits on the board of the trade body UKHospitality. He said its surveys found that pubs that reopened outdoors in April "have outperformed nearly everybody's expectations" despite the cold weather.</p><div type="image" title="Crowds of people flock the outdoor restaurants and pub tables in Soho on April 12, 2021 in London, England" height="1750" width="3500" msid="83201968" hostid="261"></div><p>Spending in pubs and restaurants soared by 215% week-on-week after outdoor dining reopened, according to data from Cardlytics and Curve.</p><p>Lord said he expected city centers to take longer to recover because fewer people working in offices would mean fewer people gathering for drinks after work, because some people remained hesitant to take public transport, and because fewer tourists might visit. He said that instead, suburbs would "thrive."</p><p>Lord said Parklife usually took about three months to sell out but did so this year in 78 minutes.</p><p>Moffatt said the Piano Works was nearly fully booked from May 17, when venues were allowed to open indoors at limited capacity. He said its two music venues were looking at different ways to lure customers back in, including doubling prepaid bar tabs.</p><p>Uddin, in contrast, said demand for nightlife was "mixed."</p><p>"Many regulars are desperate to come back and socialize again," he said. "Others appear to be nervous until after they can have their second vaccination."</p>

UK nightclubs are set to open for the first time in over a year, some without any COVID-19 safety measures. Venues can't wait - but some fear a virus surge among young people.

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Felipe Dana</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>A viral story is making the rounds online that the upsurge in cases of the birth defect microcephaly, a disorder where babies are born with abnormally small heads, is not linked to the Zika virus, but to a pesticide used to kill mosquito larvae.</p><p>It's almost certainly not true.</p><p>The number of babies born with microcephaly in northeast Brazil, the country hardest hit by the Zika outbreak, has increased about 40-fold from baseline levels in the last six months, according to reports from Brazil's Ministry of Health. While a link between microcephaly and Zika infections has not been proven, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/microcephaly-case-linked-to-zika-2016-2">there's evidence to suggest</a> the virus may be passed from mothers to their babies via the placenta.</p><p>But a <a href="http://secondnexus.com/ecology-and-sustainability/zika-is-not-to-blame/?utm_content=inf_10_1164_2&amp;tse_id=INF_4ab9f595c08c437995b23c08d4b800ea">story</a> now claims that a chemical mosquito larvicide called Pyriproxyfen, manufactured by Japanese company Sumitomo Chemical, a business partner of agriculture giant Monsanto, was added to the drinking water in 2014, and is to blame for the recent rise in Brazilian cases of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-microcephaly-2016-2">microcephaly</a>.</p><p>The Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul has reportedly already <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/2/16/headlines/brazilian_state_suspends_larvicide_use_after_reports_point_to_microcephaly_link">stopped using the larvicide</a>. Even <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2016/02/15/say-it-aint-so-george-george-takei-falls-for-a-zika-virus-conspiracy-theory/">Star Trek actor George Takei</a> seems to be buying it.</p><h2><strong>Why a larvicide isn't to blame</strong></h2><p>But <a href="https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/expert-reaction-is-a-pesticide,-not-zika-virus,-causing-microcephaly">experts say</a> that Pyriproxyfen cannot plausibly be responsible for the birth defects for several reasons.</p><ul><li>The chemical works by interfering with the hormones that help insect larvae hatch, which doesn't happen in humans.</li><li>The pesticide is not easily absorbed by our bodies, but instead is quickly flushed from our digestive tracts.</li><li>Animal studies of the chemical have found it has no health effects on reproduction or development at doses up to at least 100 mg per kg of body-weight per day.</li></ul><p>"In terms of how much is present in water reservoirs that have been sprayed with pyriproxyfen to control mosquito larvae, a person would have to drink well over 1,000 liters of water a day, every day, to achieve the threshold toxicity levels seen in animals," Ian Musgrave, a senior lecturer in the medical school at the University of Adelaide in Australia, said <a href="https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/expert-reaction-is-a-pesticide,-not-zika-virus,-causing-microcephaly">in a statement</a>.</p><p>The link between Montsanto and Sumitomo <a href="http://news.monsanto.com/news/facts-about-monsanto-zika-virus-and-microcephaly">is also weak</a> - Montsanto does not manufacture or sell larvicides, and does not own any part of Sumitomo, although the companies do <a href="http://www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp/english/newsreleases/docs/20141209e.pdf">partner in the area of weed control</a> in Latin America.</p><p>While the levels of pyriproxyfen in drinking water may be harmless to humans, the effect of banning the larvicide may not be.</p><p>Andrew Batholomaeus, a consultant toxicologist at Australia's University of Canberra and the University of Queensland, <a href="https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/expert-reaction-is-a-pesticide,-not-zika-virus,-causing-microcephaly">states that</a> "the potential human health consequences of discouraging the use of pyriproxyfen in drinking water storage and other mosquito-reduction programs is catastrophic with potential deaths and serious disease from otherwise avoidable malaria, dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases numbered in at least the hundreds of thousands."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/curiosity-rover-mars-takes-selfies-photos-outer-space-nasa-2016-2">There's something unsettling about these photos from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="A5d2dwMDE6k7a5W_p92Tz4lr9sTPvcDb" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

No, a Monsanto-linked pesticide is not to blame for more microcephaly birth defects

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Mario Tama/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">The Zika epidemic was a surprise that the world was totally unprepared for.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Just one year ago, most of the world had no idea the Zika virus existed. But it's not new. Researchers and others have known about Zika for 69 years now, and for about 68 of those years, the vast majority of the world didn't worry about it at all.</p><p>Now, just about everyone has at least a general idea of what the Zika virus is. People know it's transmitted by mosquitoes and occasionally sex, and they know it's dangerous for pregnant women, since the virus can cause fetal defects including microcephaly: smaller-than-normal heads and brains.</p><p>But this story of a virus no one worried about turning out to be far more dangerous than expected is not a unique story or an outlier. Instead, as a new review <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aaf8160">published in the journal Science</a> notes, it's just another example of how woefully unprepared we are for dealing with emerging viruses.</p><p>"Despite knowing about this disease for nearly 70 years, we were completely surprised and rushing to discover the very basic things about it when it invaded the Americas," Justin Lessler, lead author of the study and an associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, <a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/emb_releases/2016-07/jhub-ncs070716.php">says in a press release</a>.</p><p>"We have been completely unable to stop its spread. That is a problem for how we approach public health," <a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/emb_releases/2016-07/jhub-ncs070716.php">says</a> Lessler. "We will always be in this situation when something new comes about or something little-known reemerges unless we do a better job planning for threats more generally instead of always fighting the last battle."</p><p>We're struggling to try to contain Zika's impact now, but without addressing at least some of the factors that made us vulnerable to Zika in the first place, the next epidemic could hit just as hard or could easily be far more devastating.</p><h2>The Zika puzzle could have answers for any new virus</h2><p>As Lessler and co-authors highlight, there's still a staggering amount we don't know about Zika.</p><p>But perhaps the most important question is this: Why did a virus that seemed relatively harmless suddenly explode, causing real and tragic health consequences?</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Venezuela-Zika-Challenges/76b6a3767e484007ac84654819b6cfe0/202/0">Fernando Llano/AP</a></span></p><p class="caption">We need more research on ways to control mosquito populations.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>There are two major possibilities. Perhaps the Zika epidemic in Latin America is the result of the (perhaps predictable) spread of a virus to a place with the same mosquitoes that can carry it in other places but a vulnerable population with no immunity against it (people in Africa and Southeast Asia already have some Zika immunity). Or maybe the virus mutated and became more dangerous.</p><p>There are other possibilities mentioned in the review as well: Perhaps the mosquitoes in Latin America had some genetic quirk that made them more likely to spread the virus; perhaps exposure to related viruses like dengue and chikungunya made Zika's effects worse.</p><p>Solving that main question could help public health officials better anticipate future viral threats. History has shown that unknown viruses repeatedly emerge, and some may be far more dangerous than Zika.</p><p>Other recent viral outbreaks that surprised the world with their emergence or re-emergence include dengue, chikungunya, and West Nile - and those are just the mosquito-borne viruses in the same family as Zika, flaviviruses. We already knew some of those viruses, like dengue, were dangerous, but the world <a href="http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/148532/1/dbv21p16.pdf">was still surprised</a> when they re-emerged with force after previously being controlled.</p><p>And Zika isn't the only virus that we've thought harmless unless proven otherwise. The world used to think the same about another family of viruses called coronaviruses.</p><p>"But then SARS came around," Dr. Michael Kurilla, director of the Office of Biodefense Research Resources and Translational Research at the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), <a href="http://www.techinsider.io/zika-virus-shows-why-emerging-diseases-are-so-dangerous-2016-1">told me earlier </a>this year. During the 2002-2003 outbreak, SARS <a href="http://www.who.int/csr/sars/country/table2004_04_21/en/">infected more than 8,000 and killed approximately 10%</a> of those infected.</p><p>Ten years later, MERS, another dangerous coronavirus, emerged <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-mers-new-middle-east-coronavirus-2014-4">spread in the Middle East</a> and eventually <a href="http://www.who.int/csr/don/07-july-2015-mers-korea/en/">in South Korea</a>.</p><p>"Within 10 years, there'll probably be another example," Kurilla said.</p><p>Not being able to anticipate these outbreaks and not having an immediate potential response to a new virus puts lives at risk.</p><h2>The next big one</h2><p>In the newly published study, the authors recommend having steps in place to deal with an emerging virus.</p><p>In the case of something like Zika, where there's no immediate cure or treatment available, one possible strategy they suggest is figuring out how to better control the mosquitoes that spread the virus.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>CDC/Joel G. Breman, M.D., D.T.P.H.</span></p><p class="caption">Ebola's first emergence required a mission to the Congo to try to find the origin of the virus.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Since mosquitoes spread a number of diseases, Lessler and co-authors argue that funding for mosquito control research is essential. So far, they say, we know that door and window screens reduce the odds of developing dengue, which is spread in a very similar way to Zika, by 78%. We know using insect repellent reduces bug bites. But we don't have evidence that indoor spraying, bed nets, or mosquito traps reduce disease rates. Finding the best way to control mosquitoes could make a huge difference.</p><p>And there are other potential solutions too. Many researchers are interested in finding anti-viral agents that can be used against a broad range of viruses, just as certain antibiotics can be used against many different bacterial infections.</p><p>Since a new virus - or a mutated version of an existing one - can spread around the world before researchers have the chance to try and develop a way to treat it, an antiviral agent that could be used against any such surprise would be a valuable tool.</p><p>These treatments, called "broad-spectrum antivirals," could be the biggest advance in medicine since the invention of antibiotics.</p><p>There are promising compounds out there. An interferon compound, for example, is based on something our body naturally produces; it's <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Hepatitis-C/Pages/Treatment.aspx">already been used to treat hepatitis C.</a> That compound has also been tested in humans against SARS, certain influenza viruses, and Ebola. But so far, we haven't discovered anything that is safe, effective, and well-tested enough to be used widely.</p><p>Viruses are, by their nature, unpredictable. They can be found in reservoirs all over the world. Some thrive in bats and rodents and monkeys. Others lurk in shellfish, ticks, or other creatures. They mutate frequently when they replicate, which can make a virus all of a sudden jump a species barrier to infect humans. A mild virus can become deadly.</p><p>Every year different flus circulate around the world. In <a href="http://www.flu.gov/pandemic/history/1918/the_pandemic/index.html">1918, a flu strain emerged</a> that killed up to 50 million people. There's no reason the same thing couldn't happen again.</p><p>As journalist David Quammen explains in his book "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Spillover-Animal-Infections-Human-Pandemic/dp/0393066800?tag=TIsafetynet-20">Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic</a>," a deadly new virus will inevitably appear: "If you're a thriving population, living at high density but exposed to new bugs, it's just a matter of time until the [Next Big One] arrives."</p><p>The question is whether we'll be any more prepared tomorrow than we are today.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/most-popular-map-of-the-world-is-totally-misleading-2016-6">Here's why the most popular map of the world is totally misleading</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="hibTJkNDE6lMai9-4GbPeFO3VSDazzTm" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

'We have been completely unable' to stop the spread of Zika. That's part of a larger problem

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"></div><p class="source"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ebola_virus_virion.jpg">en.wikipedia.org</a></p></div>The terrifying hemorrhagic fever known as <keyword id="1380291" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ebola-virus">Ebola virus</keyword>, or one of its relatives, seems to have made its way into <keyword id="21718" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Asia">Asia</keyword>, specifically <keyword id="6354759" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</keyword>, a new report indicates.</p>
<p>Ebola Zaire, the deadly version of the <keyword id="10860" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Virus">virus</keyword>, was previously only known to exist in <keyword id="12925" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Africa">Africa</keyword>, where it was discovered in 1976. In 2012, an outbreak killed dozens of people in Africa.</p>
<p>Related, less dangerous, strains of Ebola-related virsues have been seen in monkeys in other areas of the world. Ebola Reston was found in monkeys in labs around the world, but has never casued a human disease.</p>
<p>The Zaire strain of the disease is often fatal (up to 80 percent of infected people die) and can be extremely infectious. Other Ebola-related diseases and subtypes are less lethal, but still dangerous.</p>
<p>The new study, published in the February 2013 issue of the <a href="http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/">CDC journal Emerging Infectious Diseases</a> and conduced by the EcoHealth Alliance, indicates that bats in Bangladesh could be an animal reservoir for the disease. There haven't been any reported cases of Ebola in the country, but this means there is potential. </p>
<p>Between April 2012 and March 2011, researchers tested several species of bats for antibodies to Ebola-related viruses (evidence the virus had infected the bats and caused an immune reaction). They found anti-Ebola antibodies in 5 of the 276 bats (3.5 percent) they tested from the region. The antibodies they found were specifically a reaction to Ebola Zaire, the most dangerous of the viral strains.</p>
<p>This is the first time they've seen antibodies to Ebola in the area, but it's also the first screen for them. We don't know if they've always been in the area or if the virus is spreading.</p>
<p>What the researchers can say, though, is that this evidence extends the known range of the Zaire Ebola virus to mainland Asia. This could have important consequences for human <keyword id="6354750" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="health">health</keyword>, they write. Authorities in Asia should be on the lookout for hemorrhagic fevers that could be Ebola, or related to Ebola.</p>

Evidence Of Ebola Virus Found In Asia For The First Time

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"></div><p class="source"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HIV-budding-Color.jpg">CDC/public domain</a></p></div>Hot on the heels of a report a few weeks ago about a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/doctors-say-they-have-cured-baby-of-hiv-2013-3">baby being "functionally cured" of HIV</a>, a new study by researchers at the Institute Pasteur indicate that this same result could be attained for 10 percent of patients.</p>
<p>Their study was tiny — it consisted of 14 patients who had stopped therapy but haven't shown signs of the <keyword id="10860" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Virus">virus</keyword> reemerging from its hiding place in the white blood cells.</p>
<p>These people were started on drugs within 10 weeks of their initial infection. Most people carry the virus for awhile before noticing they are infected. On average they were on drugs for about three years, but stopped taking them.</p>
<p>Usually, when a patient stops taking the anti-HIV drugs, the viral levels in their blood go up, because there's nothing to stop the virus from copying itself. That didn't happen in the case of these 14 patients, the researchers said. Even after up to a decade without drugs, some are going strong. The average was about 7.5 years without treatment.</p>
<p>Taking people off treatment is a good idea, because viruses constantly exposed to anti-HIV drugs are more likely to develop resistance to those drugs.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21783945#?utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter">BBC talked to one of the authors</a> of the study, <a href="http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1003211">published in PLoS Pathogens</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Dr Asier Saez-Cirion, from the Institute Pasteur in Paris, said: "Most individuals who follow the same treatment will not control the infection, but there are a few of them who will."</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">He said 5-15% of patients may be functionally cured, meaning they no longer needed drugs, by attacking the virus soon after infection.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"They still have HIV, it is not eradication of HIV, it is a kind of remission of the infection."</p>
<p>The researchers think that early treatment gets to the virus early enough that it hasn't been able to get a foothold on the immune system. The researchers checked to make sure that the people didn't have any special genetics that make them "long-term non-progressors," a group of people that, though they are infected with HIV, don't develop the crippling immune disorder <keyword id="19472" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="aids">AIDS</keyword>.</p>
<p class="infuse">"There are three benefits to early treatment," Sáez-Cirión <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23276-more-hiv-cured-first-a-baby-now-14-adults.html">told New Scientist</a>. "It limits the reservoir of HIV that can persist, limits the diversity of the virus and preserves the immune response to the virus that keeps it in check."</p>
<p class="infuse">"This whole area is fascinating, and we've been looking very closely at issues of early initiation of treatment, and the potential for functional cures," Andrew Ball, senior adviser on <keyword id="63552" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="HIV/AIDS">HIV/AIDS</keyword> strategy at the World <keyword id="6354750" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="health">Health</keyword> Organization in Geneva, <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23276-more-hiv-cured-first-a-baby-now-14-adults.html">told New Scientist</a>. "The big challenge is identifying people very early in their infection."</p>

Early Treatment Could 'Cure' Ten Percent Of HIV-Positive Adults

<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Jonathan Ernst/Reuters; Allan Smith/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">Rob Porter, all the way in the back of this photo.</p></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><ul><li><strong>A relatively unknown White House aide has seen the importance of his job grow under new chief of staff John Kelly.</strong></li><li><strong>Rob Porter, the White House staff secretary </strong><strong>is tasked with vetting all the information that makes it to President Donald Trump's desk.</strong></li><li><strong>His role is important for Trump, who has been known to share dubious and false information.</strong></li></ul><p>The photo went viral six weeks ago.</p><p>Many of the most bombastic players of the Trump campaign and administration - past and present - are there. There's Corey Lewandowski, Trump's first campaign manager. There's Omarosa Manigault, the "Apprentice" contestant turned communications director for the office of public liaison.</p><p>There's Anthony Scaramucci, he of the week-long stint as White House communications director, wearing his trademark sunglasses. There's Sebastian Gorka, the counterterrorism adviser and cable-television blusterer, who was ousted two weeks ago.</p><p>Then there's Rob Porter. He's in the background, observing and taking it all in. He's the most important person in the photo.</p><p>One former top Senate aide compared the photo to something out of the Quentin Tarantino movie "Reservoir Dogs." The aide said the photo perfectly illustrates "just sort of how I view" Porter in the White House.</p><p>"He's there but he's not quite being of the circus aspect of it," the aide said. "Which is what you want."</p><p>In all likelihood, Rob Porter isn't a name that comes to mind when you think of President Donald Trump's White House.</p><p>Based on what he's tasked with, it should be.</p><p>Porter is the White House staff secretary and assistant to the president for policy coordination. He has been at the helm since the Trump administration's first day. He's tasked with vetting and filtering what reaches Trump's desk. And under new chief of staff John Kelly, his role has been further reinforced.</p><p>Last month, <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/24/john-kelly-trump-control-241967" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Politico</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/24/us/politics/trump-white-house-kelly-memos.html?_r=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times</a> reported on a pair of memos Porter and Kelly signed that codified the procedures for presenting Trump with any sort of information. As it goes now, Porter must vet and clear all news articles, legal documents, internal and external policy memos, and agency reports before they make it to Kelly's desk. Once Kelly then signs off, the information lands on Trump's desk. In the latter of the two memos, Porter and Kelly devised a system to ensure that all sides of a policy issue for those which have a legal aspect are run past them prior to making it to the president.</p><p>So Porter, a little-known White House aide who has avoided getting caught up in any of the West Wing drama that has plagued the administration for the better part of seven months, serves to review everything before it makes it to the president's desk.</p><p>Given how the president has both shared dubious information at times when aides have presented him with reports from less-than-credible sources, Porter's role has an outsized importance.</p><p>Porter, a Rhodes scholar who attended Harvard with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, was close with former chief of staff Reince Priebus from shared time at the Republican National Committee. He served in the offices of Republican Sens. Mike Lee, Rob Portman, and Orrin Hatch. Porter finds himself as someone who can connect to the various factions and ideologies competing in the West Wing. He's managed to keep a low profile, stay above the fray, and avoid stepping into many of the squabbles in the administration's early months.</p><p>The White House did not return a request for comment. But as a roughly half-dozen former Senate colleagues told Business Insider, many on Capitol Hill are thrilled that Porter is working within the administration. Talk to people who worked with him in the past, and they'll repeatedly mention his intelligence, experience, and team-first attitude.</p><p>"It's not surprising to anybody who knows Rob that he's avoided the squabbles and turf battles that have consumed so many others in this White House," Brian McGuire, a former chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, told Business Insider. "He's a master of discretion whose instincts and experience suit him perfectly for the task of ensuring that personality clashes and process fouls never interfere with the president's right to get only the best information and advice from his team."</p><h2>An 'important ally'</h2><p>McGuire said Porter is someone who is both "an honest broker who respects diverse viewpoints" and "also knows when to close the window and drive a decision."</p><p>Saying that Trump is "lucky to have someone of his caliber in that role," McGuire pointed to Porter's judgment as crucial for the role of vetting what makes it to Trump's desk. That, he said, will help "not only in terms of identifying helpful and unhelpful information, but also presenting it to the president in a way that will serve the president's interests above all else."</p><p>"I think you want somebody in that job who has the president's interests at heart," McGuire said. "And again, the fact that Rob has not found himself at the center of any of these various turf battles has shown that he is not in this for himself so much as he's in it for the president."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Jonathan Ernst/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Porter and Donald Trump.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>One former top Senate aide was not surprised that Kelly, who the aide said brings a "high level of discipline and detachment but also commitment to the task at hand" in the White House, would identify Porter as an "important ally" in getting the ship sailing in the right direction.</p><p>Josh Holmes, also a former chief of staff to McConnell, said Porter's presence in the White House gives him "comfort," knowing his "caliber and credentials."</p><p>"I think what makes him particularly valuable is he'll concern himself with the substance of the job and the execution of the task that he's given," he said. "There's an awful lot of folks who just want to show up in the background of a camera shot, and that's just not Rob. He's not in it for the glory or the perceived power, he's focused on trying to get the job done right."</p><p>Porter's staying out of the spotlight while top West Wing officials were caught up in rampant infighting that often spilled out publicly is a "testament to his character," Holmes said.</p><p>"Whatever you want to say about the Trump administration, for the first seven months, the West Wing was a soap opera," he said. "But one character you never heard from was Rob. And that's because he was focused on doing his job."</p><p>"He didn't get caught up in who's up and who's down," Holmes said. "He didn't get caught up in whose fault things were when something went wrong or who takes the credit when something went right. He just kept the trains moving. And in all honesty, if you could fill an entire West Wing or Senate office or whatever with folks like that, you'd be in a very, very good place for execution."</p><p><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/24/john-kelly-trump-control-241967" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">As Politico reported</a>, Porter "has assumed a pivotal behind-the-scenes role" in the White House. He worked even before Kelly's arrival to help serve as a mediator between competing factions in the building. Politico reported that he has mediated trade disputes between free-trade-favoring Gary Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council, and the more protectionist Peter Navarro, the head of the National Trade Council.</p><h2>'Donald Trump is his own man'</h2><p>Still, there are obvious limits to Porter's role as a sort of vetter-in-chief. The president still accesses his Twitter daily, where a select group of 45 accounts have the ability to present him with any piece of unvetted information they decide to promote onto his feed.</p><p>In addition, the president has even lately found himself in hot water for his retweets - like when he promoted a meme of an image of himself "eclipsing" an image of President Barack Obama. <a href="https://twitter.com/Weinsteinlaw/status/900743011205820420" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The person whose account he promoted the meme</a> from had just days earlier posted anti-Semitic comments.</p><p>Trump <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-retweets-antifa-obama-charlottesville-arpaio-2017-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">later promoted comments</a> from fringe far-right author Dinesh D'Souza. He also highlighted a comment from conservative pundit Katie Pavlich that had incorrectly said Obama pardoned Chelsea Manning, the US Army soldier who had provided documents to WikiLeaks, to help defend his controversial pardon of former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio. Obama had commuted her sentence.</p><p>And as both <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/during-a-summer-of-crisis-trump-chafes-against-criticism-and-new-controls/2017/08/31/8fb32d72-8d97-11e7-91d5-ab4e4bb76a3a_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Washington Post</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/01/us/politics/john-kelly-trump.html?_r=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times</a> reported last week, Trump has bristled at Kelly's tightening grip on the White House. The Times wrote that Trump has "bridled at what he perceives as being told what to do."</p><p>"It is inevitable that a guy who will not be contained and does not want to be handled or managed was going to rebel against the latest manager who wanted to control him," Roger Stone, a longtime Trump confidant, told The Times. "Ultimately Donald Trump is his own man, and he's going to resist all the control and regimented systems Kelly is trying to impose."</p><p>Stone told Business Insider he did not know Porter, but is interested in finding out more about him.</p><p>The president still relies on Fox News as his primary source of information, Trump aides told The Times. With Kelly and Porter now approving all the news printouts that make it to the president's desk, some of Trump's favorite outlets are now - at least for the most part - nowhere to be seen. That led Trump to ask a friend where the stories from Breitbart and The Daily Caller were in his news package, The Times reported.</p><p>But even with the president reportedly peeved at some of the new controls, there remains little doubt that once Kelly's tenure as chief of staff began, order has - for the most part - begun to fall into place. And Porter's service has helped usher in that stability.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Gary Cohn, Porter, and Ivanka Trump</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Mark Isakowitz, Portman's chief of staff who worked closely with Porter when both were at the senator's office, said Porter's message from when he first decided to work for Trump has been "'I want to serve the president, I want to serve the country, I know what the job requires.'"</p><p>"What sort of struck me is this wasn't someone who was driving a factional agenda or was there to represent some subgroup of the party," Isakowitz told Business Insider. "He was there to serve the president of the United States and do an excellent professional job. And he had the discipline to not take his eye off that ball. That's how he conducts himself, that's how people see him. He's trusted. ... You need someone of a very high level of competence in that job."</p><p>And Porter is someone who "really gave everything to work," as a current top staffer for a Republican senator told Business Insider.</p><p>"I'd leave the office at 8:30 or 9 at night and he'd still be in there working," the aide said. "He would always joke around with people who would leave at 7 or 7:30 p.m., which was already late for a lot of people, 'getting out early tonight ah?' You know, he was good natured about it. It was never like, stay in the office just to stay in the office."</p><p>The staffer described Porter's "dedication and work ethic" as "unmatched by anyone I've ever met."</p><p>With Porter now finding himself in a central White House position executing what in the Trump era is a more-than-usual critical job, the staffer said Porter deserves credit for helping the West Wing start to mellow out.</p><p>"It's good for people to see what he's doing," the staffer said. "He's kept a low profile, which I think is smart. But I think as people see order come into the White House, they should have the opportunity to see part of the reason why."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-where-the-most-hate-crimes-occur-in-the-us-politics-racism-kkk-white-supremacist-2017-8">Here's where the most hate crimes occur in the US - it's not where you think</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

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