TASK DEFINITION: Given a paragraph, generate a claim that is supported by the given paragraph. 1) The claim must contain information from within the paragraph. 2) A sentence within the paragraph can be used as a claim. 3) The claim should not have contradictions within the paragraph. 4) The claim should be at most one sentence long.
PROBLEM: We were surprised to see that a story that covered as much ground as this one did somehow missed costs. The competing story by NBC spelled out the costs. The story nicely explained that while one of the new studies showed, as expected, that following the updated statin guidelines did increase the number of people who would be treated with statins, following the guidelines would apparently not have saved a significant number of people from dying or having a heart attackor stroke. The story said, "Among the people eligible for statins under the old guidelines, 6.9 percent had a heart attack orstrokeor died from coronary disease over the ensuing nine years. Among those eligible for statins under the new guidelines, the figure was 6.3 percent, almost as high. That suggests that the new guidelines do not lead to treatment of many more people who do not need statins." At the same time, the story noted that the new guidelines "over all did a better job in discriminating between those who should and should not get statins." It said that "only 1 percent of participants deemed ineligible for statins under the new guidelines had a heart attack or stroke over nine years, compared with 2.4 percent of those ineligible under the old guidelines." While an NBC story also used absolute numbers in talking about the potential benefits in terms of heart attacks, we liked the greater level of context provided in the Times piece. Nevertheless, we think it would have been useful for the Times to include the Number Needed to Treat in its discussion of benefits this is an easy-to-understand metric that was reported in the study. In addition, we question the Times's contention that the new criteria "do not lead to treatment of many more people who do not need statins." According to the study, approximately 94% of both guideline groups did not have a cardiovascular event, and yet the new criteria now extend the use of statins to much larger number of people. In light of such findings, it's unclear that the new criteria don't lead to unnecessary treatment for more people as the Time states. We wish the story had explored this result more thoroughly. We thought that NBC did a better job detailing some of the potential harms from statin use, but we give the Times credit here for framing the story as a discussion of risks vs. benefits and making it clear that experts critical of the new guidelines believe that they "would lead millions of additional people to take statins, exposing them to potential side effects such asmuscle painor damage with little to gain." Covering two studies in little more than 1,000 words is already a feat. Doing so while bringing in enough context to explain the caveats to the study is an order of magnitude greater. Compared to the NBCpiece, the Times did a superior job showing that, despite the enthusiasm in some quarters of the scientific community, the two studies did not settle the debate over whether statins should be more widely prescribed. The story did not engage in disease mongering. The story sought out and made good use of independent sources. It mentions that the guidelines were widely criticized and links to some printed criticisms made at the time. It quotes a variety of supportive and critical researchers regarding their opinions on the new research. The storydid not make any reference to dietary changes, lifestyle changes, or exercise. The story made it clear that statins are widely prescribed. One in four Americans take them by some estimates. The story established that the findings of the studies were not novel but rather were in keeping with earlier findings about statins. Because it contains comments from independent experts, we can be sure the story did not rely excessively on any news release.

SOLUTION: 2 Studies Back Guidelines for Wider Use of Statins

PROBLEM: Some 100 medical workers are reported to have died from the disease so far, including many nurses, Howard Catton, ceo of the International Council of Nurses, told a news briefing. The world's 28 million nurses, 59% of all health workers, were overstretched before the crisis began, the WHO, the Nursing Now campaign, and Geneva-based council said in the first "State of the World's Nursing Report". Some have become targets out of people's fear of contagion. "We have picked up reports around the world of abuse, harassment of health workers, we had one case of somebody being spat on as well. It is completely unacceptable, reprehensible," Catton said. He called for governments to have a "zero tolerance approach" to such abuse and to ensure that public health messages are clear and fact-based. Giorgio Cometto of WHO's health workforce department said it was a relatively new phenomenon "whereby health workers are seen as a potential risk, as a potential threat as opposed to being a solution to the current crisis". "This really reinforces the need to have adequate communication for the public as well as specific measures to be put in place to protect health workers particularly in the context of the response to the current pandemic," he said. Baroness Mary Watkins, chair of Nursing Now, said nurses have been attacked previously during outbreaks of Ebola and the AID-HIV epidemic. Referring to COVID-19, she said: "We have not had active violence that I know of in the UK, but we have had people trying to take nurses' badges because they have been allowed to go into supermarkets early to buy food before going on their shift... That seems to have had a stop put to it. "But there has been a very very clear directive from the police in many countries that attacking a health care worker is unacceptable. We need to keep pressure up," Watkins added. There is still a global shortage of nearly 6 million nurses, mainly in low- and lower-middle income countries, where the number of new recruits barely keeps pace with population growth, the report said. Nurses are particularly lacking across Africa, in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Venezuela, it added.

SOLUTION: Nurses must be protected from abuse during coronavirus pandemic: WHO, nursing groups.

PROBLEM: President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the 21-day lockdown from midnight on Thursday in an address to the nation on Monday, saying Africa's most advanced economy needed to escalate its response to curb the spread of the respiratory pandemic. South Africa has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in sub-Saharan Africa, and public health experts are worried that the virus could overwhelm the health system if infection rates rise steeply. Ramaphosa deployed the army in the streets, ordered underground mines to suspend operations and confined tourists who had arrived recently from "high-risk" countries to their hotels - some of the toughest measures on the continent. Rwanda has also imposed severe restrictions on movement, including "non-essential movements outside the home". Many analysts have praised Ramaphosa for acting swiftly to impose restrictions on movement before the virus has claimed any lives, drawing on the experience of badly affected countries in Europe and Asia. "The numbers, we mustn't be shocked when we see them increase. But these measures if we all work together must turn the curve around," said Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, adding that two patients were in intensive care. Mkhize said South Africa could reach a turning point in its infection curve two or three weeks after its lockdown restrictions enter into force. Unlike developed economies, South Africa hasn't promised massive fiscal stimulus to cushion the blow from the coronavirus, partly because it has limited room for new spending as it battles to preserve its last investment-grade credit rating. "We will have to use all what's possible in terms of reprioritisation to address the current challenges," senior finance ministry official Dondo Mogajane said on Tuesday. The lockdown will pile added pressure on an economy that is already in recession and where roughly 30% of the population is unemployed. Many business owners are worried, despite a handful of support measures like tax subsidies announced by Ramaphosa. Kristalia Syrrafos, the 31-year-old owner and founder of the Tilt cafe in Johannesburg's Melville district, said she expected a "real big knock". "You can't prepare...We'll get as much food out of here as possible and then close our doors," she said. Across town, people ignored government pleas to stop hoarding basic goods. "I was expecting this shutdown, so I already bought quite a lot of things," Patience Khumalo, 35, a retired security company manager who now drives an Uber, said while loading up his trolley with oil, peppers and rice. "The president made a good move to stop infections early, but some people are going to suffer." Johannesburg-listed companies have started taking emergency measures to cut costs and minimise expenditure. Aviation company Comair suspended all its flights for franchise partner British Airways and the kulula.com low-cost airline from Thursday until April 19. Tsogo Sun Gaming said its casinos would be closed by Wednesday, and packaging firm Mpact postponed paying a dividend.

SOLUTION:
South Africa braces for lockdown as coronavirus cases spike to 554.