Virtual working groups? You can’t really mingle with or dance with coworkers, and it’s hard to get into the disco vibe in your home office. On the other hand, you can’t spread disease, you don’t have to go home, and there is no chance of an ill-advised romantic encounter. In the Covid-19 era however, the gala options are limited. Businesses are looking to event planners to create virtual social events for staff. And with working from home here to stay, some expect demand to continue even after the pandemic. After…

Electronics stores in Hong Kong have seen a surge in demand for inexpensive burner phones as the Chinese-dominated city government relaxes coronavirus restrictions but pushes the use of a search app to contacts, which raised confidentiality concerns. The former British colony has seen anti-government and anti-Chinese protests erupt in 2019 and a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020 in response, as well as the arrest of most of its prominent pro-democracy activists. The government’s rapid turn to authoritarianism, which denies restricting the rights and freedoms of the…

The World Health Organization released its Covid-19 Updates app on Google’s Play Store almost eight months after removing it from the platform. The company released its WHO Covid-19 Updates app on the Google Play Store in April this year. But the world health body withdrew it shortly after saying the published app was supposed to be a private beta. Now, almost eight months later, the app is finally ready to ship to Android users around the world. You can download the WHO Covid-19 Updates application by going to the Play…

England’s Covid testing and tracing system is making available to people who self-isolate after receiving notification through its app a support payment of 500 pounds ($665), he said Thursday. Money was already available for people asked to self-isolate by contact tracers by phone, email or test message, but not previously through the app due to its anonymous nature. Anyone who receives a self-isolation alert in the app can now register their details to receive payment, the service said. Strong protection of user privacy was a key requirement defined by Apple…