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: According to the website of the American Stroke Association (ASA) this eRumor is true. The American Stroke Association is a division of the American Heart Association. In an article published in February of 2003, the ASA says that a 60-second test can help determine whether someone may be experiencing a stroke. The three question test has been used by health care professionals as an initial way of determining whether someone may be experiencing a stroke. But a research project by North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, N.C. looked into the question of whether non-medical professionals could administer the short test and correctly identify the symptoms of a possible stroke. The conclusions was yes, that bystanders could be helpful in determining whether a person is experiencing a stroke. One of the reasons they looked into it was to see whether bystanders could be helpful to a 9-1-1 dispatcher in helping narrow down what is happening to a potential patient. The three questions given to the suspected stroke sufferers were: Can you raise your arms and keep them up?Can you smile?Can you repeat a simple sentence? The study found that when non-medical volunteers were asked by a telephone dispatcher to administer the test, they correctly identified the symptoms 96 percent of the timeespecially the raising of the arms and the speaking of a simple sentence. They were less effective in evaluating whether there was facial weakness in a smile, probably because of not knowing what the person's normal smile looked like. Doctors caution that this does not mean that citizens should try to diagnose stroke symptoms themselves.This study focused on citizens who were being given instruction over the telephone by emergency dispatchers. Any sign of weakness in the face, slurred speech, or weakness or numbness in the limbs should be evaluated by medical professionals immediately. If stroke victims are given proper help within 3 hours of the stroke, the ability to recover is greatly increased. CLICK HERE for more information posted on the the American Stroke Association website. updated 02/02/10 Comments

SOLUTION: The eRumor says that the American Stroke Associations suggests a simple three question test to give to someone who may be experiencing the symptoms of a stroke.

PROBLEM: Attractions such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum and the Ferrari World theme park will be closed from March 15-31, the Abu Dhabi Government Media Office said, while the country's civil aviation authority indefinitely suspended flights to and from Lebanon, Turkey, Syria and Iraq from March 17. The UAE, which has reported 85 coronavirus infections but no deaths, and other Gulf Arab states are intensifying measures to halt the virus as the number of cases rises. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have taken the most drastic steps, cancelling all international flights. Dubai, the UAE's regional business and transit hub, said it was cancelling all events planned in March and asked hotels to stop hosting wedding celebrations. Some shops have voluntarily closed to boost containment efforts. In the capital, Abu Dhabi, cinemas, arcades and entertainment venues have been shuttered, state news agency WAM reported. Seeking to soften the impact of the shutdowns on key sectors such as tourism and transportation, the central bank said its program would help banks and companies weather the crisis. Saudi Arabia also announced $13 billion to support small and medium enterprises. Saudi Arabia, which reported 17 new cases on Saturday bringing its total to 103, said two-week flight suspensions would start on Sunday, while Kuwait did not specify a length for its grounding which began on Saturday. Saudi Arabia has already suspended the Umrah pilgrimage and locked down its eastern Qatif region where many infections are located. On Saturday, it also closed popular family entertainment zones located inside many shopping malls. Health ministry spokesman Mohammed Abdelali urged the population of 30 million to avoid gathering in public, minimize movements and stay at home as much as possible. "(Such) measures slow the growth of cases so that we can control it, while the countries that take delayed measures experience fast growth which the health systems cannot deal with," he told reporters. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a group of six oil-rich Arab monarchies which also includes Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, has reported nearly 900 coronavirus cases, mostly in people who had traveled to Iran or who been infected by visitors to Iran. No deaths have been reported in the GCC, unlike Iran where the toll rose by nearly 100 on Saturday to 611, out of 12,729 total infections. Oman, with the lowest number of infections in the region at 20, said on Saturday all schools and educational institutions would close for a month, a precaution also taken by other GCC states and Yemen. Saudi Arabia and Oman canceled all sporting events until further notice, state media said. The UAE will stop issuing visas, except for foreign diplomats, from March 17, WAM reported, citing immigration authorities. Qatar will halt the issuance of visas upon arrival to a number of European nationalities from Sunday, the government communication office said, while the Qatar Olympic Committee suspended all local sports activities until March 29. Qatar confirmed 17 new infections on Saturday, bringing the total number of cases to 337, the highest in the GCC, followed by Bahrain with 211 and Kuwait with 104. Gulf health authorities have stepped up pleas to avoid gatherings and are sanitizing public places. Police in Kuwait used drones fitted with loudspeakers to urge people on the streets to avoid gathering. Health Minister Basel Al-Sabah said on state television: "I urge you by God to stay at home." The competing sides in Yemen's civil war announced airport closures including in the capital Sana'a, a measure that will affect flights operated by United Nations organizations taking part in humanitarian relief efforts.

SOLUTION: UAE cancels events, flights as central bank announces coronavirus fiscal plan.

PROBLEM: Japanese cases topped 2,000, and public broadcaster NHK said 78 cases in Tokyo took its tally of infections past 500. Media reports said 7 people in the city had died, five at one hospital. "This is the greatest increase up to now and is certainly of high concern, and I'm worried about what tomorrow's figures might show," Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said. A government spokesman said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told cabinet members he and his second-in-command, Taro Aso, would no longer attend the same meetings to protect the leadership from infection. But the two were later shown at the same gathering - although wearing masks and sitting apart. Last week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was obliged to switch to running the country from isolation after testing positive for the virus. Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said Japan was not yet in a situation that required a state of emergency, triggering a potential lockdown, although the situation was precarious. "We're just barely holding it together," Nishimura told reporters. "If we loosen our grip even a little, it wouldn't be surprising to see a sudden surge." Infections have now exceeded 770,000 worldwide, with more than 37,000 deaths, as confirmed cases in the United States, Italy and Spain overtake mainland China, where the virus originated late last year. In Tokyo, there has been intense speculation that a lockdown could come soon, fueled by the rising number of cases. The national total edged past 2,000 infections after a center for disabled people in Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, found seven more infections. There have been 66 deaths. With limited testing in Japan, there are questions about how widely the virus has spread. About 7.1% of nearly 64,000 respondents said they had at least one virus symptom, such as high fever or a bad cough, between Friday and Monday, according to a survey of users in Tokyo and neighboring prefectures run by the chat app Line (3938.T) and the health ministry. Such symptoms do not by themselves prove infection. But the 4,500 people who reported symptoms in the survey was markedly higher than Tokyo's official figure of 443 infections by Monday. Only last Tuesday, with a lockdown already in the offing, Japan and Olympic authorities gave in to pressure from athletes and sporting bodies worldwide to delay Tokyo's 2020 Summer Games for a year. Some businesses in the capital are moving to curtail operations even ahead of a lockdown. On Tuesday, department store operator Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd (3099.T) said it would close six stores in Tokyo on weekends through April 12. Koshidaka Holdings (2157.T), an operator of karaoke and hot spring outlets, said it would close 200 karaoke outlets until April 13. But any lockdown in Japan would look different from mandatory measures in some parts of Europe and the United States. Laws limit local authorities to requesting people to stay at home. Tokyo Governor Koike has asked residents to avoid unnecessary outings, while her counterpart in the second biggest city of Osaka felt the government should declare a state of emergency, media said. The government said it would seek data from wireless carriers, such as statistics on people's movements, to help gauge the effectiveness of a voluntary request. A director of Japan's top organization of doctors urged that an emergency be declared before it was too late. Development of medicines and vaccines would be crucial to contain the virus, Abe told Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, in a telephone call on Monday. Japan intends to promote clinical research on an anti-flu medicine called Favipiravir with other countries as a treatment, Abe said. The drug, also known as Avigan, was developed by Fujifilm Holdings Corp (4901.T), shares of which closed up 2.2%, after having risen as much as 6.6% in Tokyo. The company later said in a statement it was starting a Phase III clinical trial in Japan of the drug for the coronavirus. (Graphic: Tracking and explaining the new coronavirus, here)

SOLUTION:
Tokyo records most new coronavirus cases in a day as pressure for lockdown builds.