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94-502: The system also provide rights to particular types of family members, whether residing in the UK before IP completion day or not, of those EU and EFTA nationals, as long as the family relationship existed by IP completion day (with certain exceptions, like for later-born children). The system also extends rights to certain family members who resided with a British citizen in an EU or EFTA country prior to IP completion day. The application process

188-625: A healthy diet are also recommended. Supportive care in severe cases includes treatment to relieve symptoms , fluid therapy , oxygen support and prone positioning , and medications or devices to support other affected vital organs. More severe cases may need treatment in hospital. In those with low oxygen levels, use of the glucocorticoid dexamethasone is recommended to reduce mortality. Noninvasive ventilation and, ultimately, admission to an intensive care unit for mechanical ventilation may be required to support breathing. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used to address

282-482: A personal area network . GSMA defined a platform for the deployment of GSMA NFC Standards within mobile handsets. GSMA's efforts include, Single Wire Protocol , testing and certification and secure element. The GSMA standards surrounding the deployment of NFC protocols (governed by NFC Forum ) on mobile handsets are neither exclusive nor universally accepted. For example, Google's deployment of Host Card Emulation on Android KitKat provides for software control of

376-615: A variant of concern (VoC) or a variant of interest (VoI). Many of these variants have shared the more infectious D614G . As of May 2023, the WHO had downgraded all variants of concern to previously circulating as these were no longer detected in new infections. Sub-lineages of the Omicron variant (BA.1 – BA.5) were considered separate VoCs by the WHO until they were downgraded in March 2023 as no longer widely circulating. As of 24 September 2024 ,

470-630: A company or manufacturer, but can be utilized immediately with an NFC-equipped smartphone and an NFC tag. The NFC Forum published the Signature Record Type Definition (RTD) 2.0 in 2015 to add integrity and authenticity for NFC Tags. This specification allows an NFC device to verify tag data and identify the tag author. NFC has been used in video games starting with Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure . These are customizable figurines which contain personal data with each figure, so no two figures are exactly alike. Nintendo's Wii U GamePad

564-493: A comprehensive international study. Such deaths include deaths due to healthcare capacity constraints and priorities, as well as reluctance to seek care (to avoid possible infection). Further research may help distinguish the proportions directly caused by COVID-19 from those caused by indirect consequences of the pandemic. In May 2022, the WHO estimated the number of excess deaths by the end of 2021 to be 14.9 million compared to 5.4 million reported COVID-19 deaths, with

658-458: A day or longer outside the UK. Similarly, certain close family members who joined nationals of EU/EFTA countries in the UK or who joined "qualifying British citizens" in the UK after first residing in an EU/EFTA country together, and who have resided in the UK for five years, can also be eligible for 'settled status'. (In specific types of unusual situations, that five year minimum period may be reduced.) These close family members must register on

752-416: A distance of 4 cm ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be used for the bootstrapping of capable wireless connections. Like other proximity card technologies, NFC is based on inductive coupling between two electromagnetic coils present on a NFC-enabled device such as a smartphone . NFC communicating in one or both directions uses

846-484: A frequency of 13.56 MHz in the globally available unlicensed radio frequency ISM band , compliant with the ISO/IEC 18000-3 air interface standard at data rates ranging from 106 to 848 kbit/s. The NFC Forum has helped define and promote the technology, setting standards for certifying device compliance. Secure communications are available by applying encryption algorithms as is done for credit cards and if they fit

940-420: A further two years to those who had not yet attained settled status, for a total of seven years. A 2024 modification to the scheme made a further change and this extension was increased to five years, for a total of ten years. Time outside the UK totalling six months (180 days) or more within any 12-month period may disqualify an individual from becoming eligible for settled status. (There is an exception allowing

1034-451: A future possible alternatives to NFC technology due to further distances of data transmission, as well as Bluetooth and wireless technology. NFC is a set of short-range wireless technologies, typically requiring a separation of 10 cm ( 3 + 7 ⁄ 8  in) or less. NFC operates at 13.56  MHz on ISO/IEC 18000-3 air interface and at rates ranging from 106 kbit/s to 424 kbit/s. NFC always involves an initiator and

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1128-590: A large number of people". During the COVID-19 pandemic, as with other pandemics, the meaning of this term has been challenged. The end of a pandemic or other epidemic only rarely involves the total disappearance of a disease, and historically, much less attention has been given to defining the ends of epidemics than their beginnings. The ends of particular epidemics have been defined in a variety of ways, differing according to academic field, and differently based on location and social group. An epidemic's end can be considered

1222-428: A lower transfer rate than Bluetooth low energy . With NFC, instead of performing manual configurations to identify devices, the connection between two NFC devices is automatically established in less than .1 second. The maximum data transfer rate of NFC (424 kbit/s) is slower than that of Bluetooth V2.1 (2.1 Mbit/s). NFC's maximum working distance of less than 20 cm ( 7 + 7 ⁄ 8  in) reduces

1316-448: A median range of 0.24% to 1.49%. IFRs rise as a function of age (from 0.002% at age 10 and 0.01% at age 25, to 0.4% at age 55, 1.4% at age 65, 4.6% at age 75, and 15% at age 85). These rates vary by a factor of ≈10,000 across the age groups. For comparison, the IFR for middle-aged adults is two orders of magnitude higher than the annualised risk of a fatal automobile accident and much higher than

1410-687: A modified Miller coding with 100 percent modulation is used. In all other cases Manchester coding is used with a modulation ratio of 10 percent. Every active NFC device can work in one or more of three modes: NFC tags are passive data stores which can be read, and under some circumstances written to, by an NFC device. They typically contain data (as of 2015 between 96 and 8,192 bytes) and are read-only in normal use, but may be rewritable. Applications include secure personal data storage (e.g. debit or credit card information, loyalty program data, personal identification numbers (PINs), contacts). NFC tags can be custom-encoded by their manufacturers or use

1504-670: A new Reader Mode to act as readers for HCE cards and other NFC-based transactions. On September 9, 2014, Apple announced support for NFC-powered transactions as part of Apple Pay . With the introduction of iOS 11, Apple devices allow third-party developers to read data from NFC tags. As of 2022, there are five major NFC apps available in the UK: Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Barclays Contactless Mobile and Fitbit Pay. The UK Finance's UK Payment Markets Summary 2021 looked at Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay and found 17.3 million UK adults had registered for mobile payment (up 75% from

1598-815: A random sample have consistently found that total infections considerably exceed the reported case counts. Many countries, early on, had official policies to not test those with only mild symptoms. The strongest risk factors for severe illness are obesity, complications of diabetes , anxiety disorders, and the total number of conditions. During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic it was not clear whether young people were less likely to be infected, or less likely to develop symptoms and be tested. A retrospective cohort study in China found that children and adults were just as likely to be infected. Among more thorough studies, preliminary results from 9 April 2020 found that in Gangelt ,

1692-665: A single absence of up to 12 months for an "important reason" as well as exceptions for certain long absences caused by the COVID-19 pandemic .) Rights and status of all EU, EEA and Swiss citizens living in the UK remained unchanged until 30 June 2021. By 31 December 2022, the Home Office had received 7,040,670 applications to the EU settlement scheme. Of these 6,128,070 (89%) were granted settled or pre-settled status whilst 731,600 (11%) were either refused, invalid, withdrawn or void. The countries with

1786-457: A social phenomenon, not just a biological one. Time reported in March 2024 that expert opinions differ on whether or not COVID-19 is considered endemic or pandemic, and that the WHO continued to call the disease a pandemic on its website. During the initial outbreak in Wuhan , the virus and disease were commonly referred to as "coronavirus", "Wuhan coronavirus", "the coronavirus outbreak" and

1880-947: A target; the initiator actively generates an RF field that can power a passive target. This enables NFC targets to take very simple form factors such as unpowered tags, stickers, key fobs, or cards. NFC peer-to-peer communication is possible, provided both devices are powered. NFC tags contain data and are typically read-only, but may be writable. They can be custom-encoded by their manufacturers or use NFC Forum specifications. The tags can securely store personal data such as debit and credit card information, loyalty program data, PINs and networking contacts, among other information. The NFC Forum defines five types of tags that provide different communication speeds and capabilities in terms of configurability, memory, security, data retention and write endurance. As with proximity card technology, NFC uses inductive coupling between two nearby loop antennas effectively forming an air-core transformer . Because

1974-451: A test. Conversely, deaths of people who died from underlying conditions following a positive test may be included. Countries such as Belgium include deaths from suspected cases, including those without a test, thereby increasing counts. Official death counts have been claimed to underreport the actual death toll, because excess mortality (the number of deaths in a period compared to a long-term average) data show an increase in deaths that

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2068-1375: A universal radio. In this HCE Deployment the NFC protocol is leveraged without the GSMA standards. Other standardization bodies involved in NFC include: NFC allows one- and two-way communication between endpoints, suitable for many applications. NFC devices can act as electronic identity documents and keycards . They are used in contactless payment systems and allow mobile payment replacing or supplementing systems such as credit cards and electronic ticket smart cards. These are sometimes called NFC/CTLS or CTLS NFC , with contactless abbreviated as CTLS . NFC can be used to share small files such as contacts and for bootstrapping fast connections to share larger media such as photos, videos, and other files. NFC devices can be used in contactless payment systems, similar to those used in credit cards and electronic ticket smart cards, and allow mobile payment to replace/supplement these systems. In Android 4.4, Google introduced platform support for secure NFC-based transactions through Host Card Emulation (HCE), for payments, loyalty programs, card access, transit passes and other custom services. HCE allows any Android 4.4 app to emulate an NFC smart card, letting users initiate transactions with their device. Apps can use

2162-403: A work posting. During the COVID-19 pandemic , allowance has also been extended for an additional long absence of up to 12 months for reasons related to COVID-19, and for absences beyond 12 months where COVID-19 meant that the person was prevented from returning to the UK or advised against such a return for a period of time. However, both a second long absence and an absence beyond 12 months affect

2256-497: Is a pan-European consortium supported by the European Commission 's Information Society Technologies program. StoLPaN will examine the potential for NFC local wireless mobile communication. NFC Forum is a non-profit industry association formed on March 18, 2004, by NXP Semiconductors , Sony and Nokia to advance the use of NFC wireless interaction in consumer electronics, mobile devices and PCs. Its specifications include

2350-423: Is a soccer ball that contains an NFC chip within. The chip enables users to interact with the ball using a smartphone. NFC and Bluetooth are both relatively short-range communication technologies available on mobile phones . NFC operates at slower speeds than Bluetooth and has a much shorter range, but consumes far less power and doesn't require pairing. NFC sets up more quickly than standard Bluetooth, but has

2444-548: Is able to eavesdrop the RF signal depends on multiple parameters, but is typically less than 10 meters. Also, eavesdropping is highly affected by the communication mode. A passive device that doesn't generate its own RF field is much harder to eavesdrop on than an active device. An attacker can typically eavesdrop within 10 m of an active device and 1 m for passive devices. Because NFC devices usually include ISO/IEC 14443 protocols, relay attacks are feasible. For this attack

2538-518: Is associated with COVID-19 and is reported in as many as 88% of cases. The disease is mainly transmitted via the respiratory route when people inhale droplets and small airborne particles (that form an aerosol ) that infected people exhale as they breathe, talk, cough, sneeze, or sing. Infected people are more likely to transmit COVID-19 when they are physically close to other non-infected individuals. However, infection can occur over longer distances, particularly indoors. SARS‑CoV‑2 belongs to

2632-515: Is at a premium and high power charging is less critical. The NFC Forum also facilitates a certification program, labeled as Test Release 13.1 (TR13.1), ensuring that products adhere to the WLC 2.0 specification. This certification aims to establish trust and consistency across NFC implementations, minimizing risks for manufacturers and providing assurance to consumers about the reliability and functionality of their NFC-enabled wireless charging devices. NFC

2726-600: Is discouraged altogether by the World Health Organization (WHO), due to limited evidence of its efficacy. The severity of COVID-19 varies. It may take a mild course with few or no symptoms, resembling other common upper respiratory diseases such as the common cold . In 3–4% of cases (7.4% for those over age 65) symptoms are severe enough to cause hospitalisation. Mild cases typically recover within two weeks, while those with severe or critical diseases may take three to six weeks to recover. Among those who have died,

2820-547: Is especially suitable for smaller devices like earbuds, wearables, and other compact Internet of Things (IoT) appliances. Compared to the more widely known Qi wireless charging standard by the Wireless Power Consortium , which offers up to 15W of power over distances up to 4 cm ( 1 + 5 ⁄ 8  in), NFC WLC provides a lower power output but benefits from a significantly smaller antenna size. This makes NFC WLC an ideal solution for devices where space

2914-439: Is intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID-19 ). Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, an established body of knowledge existed about the structure and function of coronaviruses causing diseases like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). This knowledge accelerated

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3008-485: Is not explained by COVID-19 deaths alone. Using such data, estimates of the true number of deaths from COVID-19 worldwide have included a range from 18.2 to 33.5 million (≈27.4 million) by 18 November 2023 by The Economist , as well as over 18.5 million by 1 April 2023 by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and ≈18.2 million (earlier) deaths between 1 January 2020, and 31 December 2021, by

3102-427: Is predominately digital. Applicants are encouraged to apply online, using an NFC -enabled iOS or Android device, and corresponding app , to scan the biometric chip on their EU/EFTA relevant passport or national identity card, where applicable, UK-issued biometric residence permit (BRP) or biometric residence card (BRC), after which they are free to complete the application on any internet-enabled device. During

3196-533: Is rooted in radio-frequency identification technology (known as RFID) which allows compatible hardware to both supply power to and communicate with an otherwise unpowered and passive electronic tag using radio waves. This is used for identification, authentication and tracking . Similar ideas in advertising and industrial applications were not generally successful commercially, outpaced by technologies such as QR codes , barcodes and UHF RFID tags. Ultra-wideband (UWB) another radio technology has been hailed as

3290-558: Is standardized in: NFC incorporates a variety of existing standards including ISO/IEC 14443 Type A and Type B, and FeliCa (also simply named F or NFC-F). NFC-enabled phones work at a basic level with existing readers. In "card emulation mode" an NFC device should transmit, at a minimum, a unique ID number to a reader. In addition, NFC Forum defined a common data format called NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) that can store and transport items ranging from any MIME -typed object to ultra-short RTD-documents, such as URLs . The NFC Forum added

3384-452: Is the ratio of deaths to diagnoses. This metric can be misleading because of the delay between symptom onset and death and because testing focuses on symptomatic individuals. Based on Johns Hopkins University statistics, the global CFR was 1.02 percent (6,881,955 deaths for 676,609,955 cases) as of 10 March 2023. The number varies by region and has generally declined over time. Several variants have been named by WHO and labelled as

3478-406: Is the seventh known coronavirus to infect people, after 229E , NL63 , OC43 , HKU1 , MERS-CoV , and the original SARS-CoV . The standard method of testing for presence of SARS-CoV-2 is a nucleic acid test , which detects the presence of viral RNA fragments. As these tests detect RNA but not infectious virus, its "ability to determine duration of infectivity of patients is limited." The test

3572-614: Is typically done on respiratory samples obtained by a nasopharyngeal swab ; however, a nasal swab or sputum sample may also be used. The WHO has published several testing protocols for the disease. Preventive measures to reduce the chances of infection include getting vaccinated, staying at home or spending more time outdoors, avoiding crowded places, keeping distance from others, wearing a mask in public, ventilating indoor spaces, managing potential exposure durations, washing hands with soap and water often and for at least twenty seconds, practising good respiratory hygiene, and avoiding touching

3666-653: Is under deployment by France Brevets, a patent fund created in 2011. This program was under development by Via Licensing Corporation, an independent subsidiary of Dolby Laboratories , and was terminated in May 2012. A platform-independent free and open source NFC library, libnfc , is available under the GNU Lesser General Public License . Present and anticipated applications include contactless transactions, data exchange and simplified setup of more complex communications such as Wi-Fi . In addition, when one of

3760-633: The Department for Work and Pensions and His Majesty's Revenue and Customs cannot confirm the duration of stay using the applicant's National Insurance number . The EU Settlement Scheme applies to all EU , EEA and Swiss citizens resident in the United Kingdom prior to its departure from the European Union, and their family members. Relevant nationals who are not in their own right British nationals, or who do not already have indefinite leave to enter

3854-501: The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market there, but it is possible that human-to-human transmission began earlier. Molecular clock analysis suggests that the first cases were likely to have been between October and November 2019. The scientific consensus is that the virus is most likely of a zoonotic origin, from bats or another closely related mammal. While other explanations such as speculations that SARS-CoV-2

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3948-407: The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimating the true number of cases as of early 2022 to be in the billions. One measure that public health officials and policymakers have used to monitor the pandemic and guide decision-making is the test positivity rate ("percent positive"). According to Johns Hopkins in 2020, one benchmark for a "too high" per cent positive is 5%, which was used by

4042-553: The Simple NDEF Exchange Protocol (SNEP) to the spec that allows sending and receiving messages between two NFC devices. The GSM Association (GSMA) is a trade association representing nearly 800 mobile telephony operators and more than 200 product and service companies across 219 countries. Many of its members have led NFC trials and are preparing services for commercial launch. GSM is involved with several initiatives: StoLPaN (Store Logistics and Payment with NFC)

4136-597: The basic reproduction number (R 0 ) for COVID-19 in January 2020 were between 1.4 and 2.5, but a subsequent analysis claimed that it may be about 5.7 (with a 95 per cent confidence interval of 3.8 to 8.9). In December 2021, the number of cases continued to climb due to several factors, including new COVID-19 variants. As of that 28   December, 282,790,822 individuals worldwide had been confirmed as infected. As of 14 April 2022 , over 500 million cases were confirmed globally. Most cases are unconfirmed, with

4230-474: The variants of interest as specified by the World Health Organization are BA.2.86 and JN.1, and the variants under monitoring are JN.1.7, KP.2, KP.3, KP.3.1.1, JN.1.18, LB.1, and XEC. Symptoms of COVID-19 are variable, ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Common symptoms include headache, loss of smell and taste , nasal congestion and runny nose , cough, muscle pain , sore throat , fever, diarrhoea , and breathing difficulties . People with

4324-429: The "Wuhan coronavirus outbreak", with the disease sometimes called "Wuhan pneumonia ". In January 2020, the WHO recommended 2019-nCoV and 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease as interim names for the virus and disease per 2015 international guidelines against using geographical locations (e.g. Wuhan, China), animal species, or groups of people in disease and virus names in part to prevent social stigma . WHO finalised

4418-520: The European Union . Nationals of EU and EFTA countries who resided in the UK prior to 31 December 2020 (whether nominally under the scope of EU free movement law or not) for a continuous period exceeding five years ('continuous residence') will usually receive 'settled status' – formally Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) under Appendix EU to the Immigration Rules. They are able to remain in the UK as long as they wish, subject to conditions, and retain

4512-567: The NFC Forum. NFC is standardized in ECMA-340 and ISO/IEC 18092. These standards specify the modulation schemes, coding, transfer speeds and frame format of the RF interface of NFC devices, as well as initialization schemes and conditions required for data collision-control during initialization for both passive and active NFC modes. They also define the transport protocol , including protocol activation and data-exchange methods. The air interface for NFC

4606-507: The Scheme when they become resident. Children born in the UK to parents, at least one of whom is a citizen with 'settled status' at the time of the child's birth, automatically have British citizenship from birth. Children born in the UK, at least one of whose parents acquire 'settled status' after the child's birth, have an entitlement to acquire citizenship before the child's 18th birthday. Nationals of EU and EFTA countries who started living in

4700-654: The UK by 11pm on 31 December 2020. 'Settled status' requires five years of continuous residence, with certain exceptions, like for children of EU and EFTA nationals who have settled status. Continuous residence is defined as living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for five consecutive years, and for at least six months in any 12-month period during those years. Longer absences are permitted for specified reasons, such as one period of up to 12 months for an "important reason", such as childbirth, illness, study, training or

4794-404: The UK on or before 31 December 2020, but do not have five years' continuous residence at the time they apply, are usually granted pre-settled status. They are allowed to stay in the UK for a further five years from the date of grant, and can apply during that time to change their status to 'settled', on completing five years' continuous residence. A 2023 modification to the scheme automatically added

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4888-413: The UK or indefinite leave to remain in the UK, and who wish to remain in the United Kingdom, are encouraged to apply under the Scheme, or seek another appropriate immigration route, lest they face enforcement action. Applicants who are EU and EFTA nationals relying on their own residence in the UK, and not on being the family member joining such a person after IP completion day, must have started living in

4982-636: The WHO in the past. As of 10 March 2023, more than 6.88   million deaths had been attributed to COVID-19. The first confirmed death was in Wuhan on 9 January 2020. These numbers vary by region and over time, influenced by testing volume, healthcare system quality, treatment options, government response, time since the initial outbreak, and population characteristics, such as age, sex, and overall health. Multiple measures are used to quantify mortality. Official death counts typically include people who died after testing positive. Such counts exclude deaths without

5076-419: The WHO, US, European Union, and Australia. On 12 November 2022, the WHO released its Global Vaccine Market Report. The report indicated that "inequitable distribution is not unique to COVID-19 vaccines"; countries that are not economically strong struggle to obtain vaccines. On 14 November 2022, the first inhalable vaccine was introduced, developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical company CanSino Biologics , in

5170-601: The adversary forwards the request of the reader to the victim and relays its answer to the reader in real time, pretending to be the owner of the victim's smart card. This is similar to a man-in-the-middle attack . One libnfc code example demonstrates a relay attack using two stock commercial NFC devices. This attack can be implemented using only two NFC-enabled mobile phones. NFC standards cover communications protocols and data exchange formats, and are based on existing RFID standards including ISO/IEC 14443 and FeliCa . The standards include ISO/IEC 18092 and those defined by

5264-448: The broad family of viruses known as coronaviruses . It is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA (+ssRNA) virus, with a single linear RNA segment. Coronaviruses infect humans, other mammals, including livestock and companion animals, and avian species. Human coronaviruses are capable of causing illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS, fatality rate ≈34%). SARS-CoV-2

5358-630: The centre of a major infection cluster in Germany, 15 per cent of a population sample tested positive for antibodies . Screening for COVID-19 in pregnant women in New York City , and blood donors in the Netherlands, found rates of positive antibody tests that indicated more infections than reported. Seroprevalence -based estimates are conservative as some studies show that persons with mild symptoms do not have detectable antibodies. Initial estimates of

5452-746: The city of Shanghai, China. For the first two years of the pandemic, no specific and effective treatment or cure was available. In 2021, the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) approved the oral antiviral protease inhibitor , Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir plus the HIV antiviral ritonavir ), to treat adult patients. FDA later gave it an EUA. Most cases of COVID-19 are mild. In these, supportive care includes medication such as paracetamol or NSAIDs to relieve symptoms (fever, body aches, cough), adequate intake of oral fluids and rest. Good personal hygiene and

5546-651: The configuration of Wi-Fi networks. Samsung Galaxy devices have a feature named S-Beam —an extension of Android Beam that uses NFC (to share MAC address and IP addresses ) and then uses Wi-Fi Direct to share files and documents. The advantage of using Wi-Fi Direct over Bluetooth is that it permits much faster data transfers, running up to 300 Mbit/s. NFC can be used for social networking , for sharing contacts, text messages and forums, links to photos, videos or files and entering multiplayer mobile games . NFC-enabled devices can act as electronic identity documents found in passports and ID cards, and keycards for

5640-551: The connected devices has Internet connectivity, the other can exchange data with online services. Near-field communication (NFC) technology not only supports data transmission but also enables wireless charging, providing a dual-functionality that is particularly beneficial for small, portable devices. The NFC Forum has developed a specific wireless charging specification, known as NFC Wireless Charging (WLC), which allows devices to charge with up to 1W of power over distances of up to 2 cm ( 3 ⁄ 4  in). This capability

5734-509: The counting of the period of continuous residence. The system also extends rights to certain family members who resided with a British citizen in an EU or EFTA country, when that residence was consistent with EU free movement law under Directive 2004/38/EC , prior to IP completion day. This protects rights existing under the Surinder Singh decision and related decisions of the Court of Justice of

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5828-928: The criteria for being considered a personal area network . NFC standards cover communications protocols and data exchange formats and are based on existing radio-frequency identification (RFID) standards including ISO/IEC 14443 and FeliCa . The standards include ISO/IEC 18092 and those defined by the NFC Forum. In addition to the NFC Forum, the GSMA group defined a platform for the deployment of GSMA NFC Standards within mobile handsets. GSMA's efforts include Trusted Services Manager, Single Wire Protocol , testing/certification and secure element. NFC-enabled portable devices can be provided with application software , for example to read electronic tags or make payments when connected to an NFC-compliant system. These are standardized to NFC protocols, replacing proprietary technologies used by earlier systems. A patent licensing program for NFC

5922-480: The cumulative number of infected individuals (including asymptomatic and undiagnosed infections and excluding vaccinated infected individuals). It is expressed in percentage points. Other studies refer to this metric as the infection fatality risk . In November 2020, a review article in Nature reported estimates of population-weighted IFRs for various countries, excluding deaths in elderly care facilities, and found

6016-441: The development of various vaccine platforms during early 2020. The initial focus of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines was on preventing symptomatic and severe illness. The COVID-19 vaccines are widely credited for their role in reducing the severity and death caused by COVID-19. As of March 2023, more than 5.5 billion people had received one or more doses (11.8 billion in total) in over 197 countries. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

6110-473: The distances involved are tiny compared to the wavelength of electromagnetic radiation (radio waves) of that frequency (about 22 metres), the interaction is described as near field . An alternating magnetic field is the main coupling factor and almost no power is radiated in the form of radio waves (which are electromagnetic waves, also involving an oscillating electric field ); that minimises interference between such devices and any radio communications at

6204-456: The early stages of the Scheme's rollout process, there was a £65 fee for applicants above the age of 16 (the fee was halved for younger applicants) at the point of application. This was, however, dropped following pressure from a number of groups and individuals. To complete an application through the online portal, citizens must have a valid passport or national identity card, and may be asked to provide proof of continuous residence if checks with

6298-513: The eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands. Those diagnosed with COVID-19 or who believe they may be infected are advised by healthcare authorities to stay home except to get medical care, call ahead before visiting a healthcare provider, wear a face mask before entering the healthcare provider's office and when in any room or vehicle with another person, cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, regularly wash hands with soap and water and avoid sharing personal household items. A COVID-19 vaccine

6392-440: The five distinct tag types that provide different communication speeds and capabilities covering flexibility, memory, security, data retention and write endurance. NFC Forum promotes implementation and standardization of NFC technology to ensure interoperability between devices and services. As of January 2020, the NFC Forum had over 120 member companies. NFC Forum promotes NFC and certifies device compliance and whether it fits in

6486-525: The general public beginning in December 2020, made available through government and international programs such as COVAX , aiming to provide vaccine equity . Treatments include novel antiviral drugs and symptom control. Common mitigation measures during the public health emergency included travel restrictions , lockdowns , business restrictions and closures, workplace hazard controls , mask mandates , quarantines, testing systems, and contact tracing of

6580-400: The industry specifications. Although the range of NFC is limited to a few centimeters, standard plain NFC is not protected against eavesdropping and can be vulnerable to data modifications. Applications may use higher-layer cryptographic protocols to establish a secure channel. The RF signal for the wireless data transfer can be picked up with antennas. The distance from which an attacker

6674-657: The infected. The pandemic caused severe social and economic disruption around the world, including the largest global recession since the Great Depression . Widespread supply shortages , including food shortages , were caused by supply chain disruptions and panic buying . Reduced human activity led to an unprecedented temporary decrease in pollution . Educational institutions and public areas were partially or fully closed in many jurisdictions, and many events were cancelled or postponed during 2020 and 2021. Telework became much more common for white-collar workers as

6768-484: The issue of respiratory failure. Existing drugs such as hydroxychloroquine , lopinavir/ritonavir , and ivermectin are not recommended by US or European health authorities, as there is no good evidence they have any useful effect. The antiviral remdesivir is available in the US, Canada, Australia, and several other countries, with varying restrictions; however, it is not recommended for use with mechanical ventilation, and

6862-584: The likelihood of unwanted interception, making it particularly suitable for crowded areas that complicate correlating a signal with its transmitting physical device (and by extension, its user). COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic ), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ( SARS-CoV-2 ), began with an outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan , China, in December 2019. It spread to other areas of Asia, and then worldwide in early 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared

6956-576: The majority of the unreported 9.5 million deaths believed to be direct deaths due the virus, rather than indirect deaths. Some deaths were because people with other conditions could not access medical services . A December 2022 WHO study estimated excess deaths from the pandemic during 2020 and 2021, again concluding ≈14.8 million excess early deaths occurred, reaffirming and detailing their prior calculations from May as well as updating them, addressing criticisms. These numbers do not include measures like years of potential life lost and may make

7050-489: The most applications were Romania (1,415,310) and Poland (1,181,550) whilst the countries with the fewest were Liechtenstein (90) and Luxembourg (1,980). 881,040 applications (15%) to the scheme were repeat applicants, meaning that an estimated 6,159,630 people had applied to the scheme by 31 December 2022. Near-field communication Near-field communication ( NFC ) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over

7144-495: The official names COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 on 11 February 2020. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained: CO   for corona , VI   for virus , D   for disease and 19 for when the outbreak was first identified (31 December 2019). WHO additionally uses "the COVID-19 virus" and "the virus responsible for COVID-19" in public communications. WHO named variants of concern and variants of interest using Greek letters . The initial practice of naming them according to where

7238-534: The outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020, and assessed the outbreak as having become a pandemic on 11 March. COVID-19 symptoms range from asymptomatic to deadly, but most commonly include fever, sore throat , nocturnal cough , and fatigue. Transmission of the virus is often through airborne particles . Mutations have produced many strains (variants) with varying degrees of infectivity and virulence . COVID-19 vaccines were developed rapidly and deployed to

7332-407: The pandemic 2021's leading cause of death . The time between symptom onset and death ranges from   6 to 41 days, typically about 14 days. Mortality rates increase as a function of age. People at the greatest mortality risk are the elderly and those with underlying conditions. The infection fatality ratio (IFR) is the cumulative number of deaths attributed to the disease divided by

7426-491: The pandemic evolved. Misinformation circulated through social media and mass media , and political tensions intensified . The pandemic raised issues of racial and geographic discrimination , health equity , and the balance between public health imperatives and individual rights . The WHO ended the PHEIC for COVID-19 on 5 May 2023. The disease has continued to circulate, but as of 2024, experts were uncertain as to whether it

7520-446: The pickup antenna may be quenched in an eddy current by nearby metallic surfaces, the tags may require a minimum separation from such surfaces. The ISO/IEC 18092 standard supports data rates of 106, 212 or 424 kbit/s . The communication takes place between an active "initiator" device and a target device which may either be: NFC employs two different codings to transfer data. If an active device transfers data at 106 kbit/s,

7614-471: The population's age structure and the age-specific pattern of infections. There have also been reviews that have compared the fatality rate of this pandemic with prior pandemics, such as MERS-CoV. For comparison the infection mortality rate of seasonal flu in the United States is 0.1%, which is 13 times lower than COVID-19. Another metric in assessing death rate is the case fatality ratio (CFR), which

7708-458: The risk of dying from seasonal influenza . In December 2020, a systematic review and meta-analysis estimated that population-weighted IFR was 0.5% to 1% in some countries (France, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Portugal), 1% to 2% in other countries (Australia, England, Lithuania, and Spain), and about 2.5% in Italy. This study reported that most of the differences reflected corresponding differences in

7802-644: The same frequency or with other NFC devices much beyond its intended range. NFC operates within the globally available and unlicensed radio frequency ISM band of 13.56 MHz. Most of the RF energy is concentrated in the ±7 kHz bandwidth allocated for that band, but the emission's spectral width can be as wide as 1.8 MHz in order to support high data rates. Working distance with compact standard antennas and realistic power levels could be up to about 20 cm ( 7 + 7 ⁄ 8  in) (but practically speaking, working distances never exceed 10 cm or 3 + 7 ⁄ 8  in). Note that because

7896-496: The same infection may have different symptoms, and their symptoms may change over time. Three common clusters of symptoms have been identified: one respiratory symptom cluster with cough, sputum , shortness of breath, and fever; a musculoskeletal symptom cluster with muscle and joint pain, headache, and fatigue; a cluster of digestive symptoms with abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhoea. In people without prior ear, nose, and throat disorders, loss of taste combined with loss of smell

7990-404: The same rights to employment, welfare, education and public funds as previously; they may also apply for British citizenship upon meeting particular requirements. Those granted 'settled status' may spend up to exactly five continuous years outside the United Kingdom without impacting their immigration status, and will lose their 'settled status' if they spend any continuous time of five years and

8084-411: The time from symptom onset to death has ranged from two to eight weeks. Prolonged prothrombin time and elevated C-reactive protein levels on admission to the hospital are associated with severe course of COVID-19 and with a transfer to intensive care units (ICU). Between 5% and 50% of COVID-19 patients experience long COVID , a condition characterised by long-term consequences persisting after

8178-694: The typical convalescence period of the disease. The most commonly reported clinical presentations are fatigue and memory problems, as well as malaise , headaches, shortness of breath , loss of smell, muscle weakness , low fever and cognitive dysfunction . Many countries attempted to slow or stop the spread of COVID-19 by recommending, mandating or prohibiting behaviour changes, while others relied primarily on providing information. Measures ranged from public advisories to stringent lockdowns. Outbreak control strategies are divided into elimination and mitigation. Experts differentiate between elimination strategies (known as " zero-COVID ") that aim to completely stop

8272-415: The use in fare cards , transit passes , login cards , car keys and access badges . NFC's short range and encryption support make it more suitable than less private RFID systems. NFC-equipped smartphones can be paired with NFC Tags or stickers that can be programmed by NFC apps. These programs can allow a change of phone settings, texting, app launching, or command execution. Such apps do not rely on

8366-543: The variants were identified (e.g. Delta began as the " Indian variant") is no longer common. A more systematic naming scheme reflects the variant's PANGO lineage (e.g., Omicron 's lineage is B.1.1.529) and is used for other variants. SARS-CoV-2 is a virus closely related to bat coronaviruses , pangolin coronaviruses, and SARS-CoV . The first known outbreak (the 2019–2020 COVID-19 outbreak in mainland China ) started in Wuhan , Hubei, China, in December 2019. Many early cases were linked to people who had visited

8460-546: The year before) and of those, 84% had made a mobile payment. NFC offers a low-speed connection with simple setup that can be used to bootstrap more capable wireless connections . For example, Android Beam software uses NFC to enable pairing and establish a Bluetooth connection when doing a file transfer and then disabling Bluetooth on both devices upon completion. Nokia, Samsung, BlackBerry and Sony have used NFC technology to pair Bluetooth headsets, media players and speakers with one tap. The same principle can be applied to

8554-443: Was accidentally released from a laboratory have been proposed, as of 2021 these were not supported by evidence. Official "case" counts refer to the number of people who have been tested for COVID-19 and whose test has been confirmed positive according to official protocols whether or not they experienced symptomatic disease. Due to the effect of sampling bias , studies which obtain a more accurate number by extrapolating from

8648-457: Was still a pandemic. Pandemics and their ends are not well-defined, and whether or not one has ended differs according to the definition used. As of 24 November 2024, COVID-19 has caused 7,075,455 confirmed deaths. The COVID-19 pandemic ranks as the fifth- deadliest pandemic or epidemic in history . In epidemiology , a pandemic is defined as "an epidemic occurring over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries, and usually affecting

8742-710: Was the first console system to include NFC technology out of the box. It was later included in the Nintendo 3DS range (being built into the New Nintendo 3DS/XL and in a separately sold reader which uses Infrared to communicate to older 3DS family consoles) and the Nintendo Switch range (being built within the right Joy-Con controller and directly in the Nintendo Switch Lite). The amiibo range of accessories utilize NFC technology to unlock features. Adidas Telstar 18

8836-445: Was the most widely used. According to a June 2022 study, COVID-19 vaccines prevented an additional 14.4 million to 19.8 million deaths in 185 countries and territories from 8 December 2020 to 8 December 2021. On 8 November 2022, the first recombinant protein-based COVID-19 vaccine (Novavax's booster Nuvaxovid ) was authorised for use in adults in the United Kingdom. It has subsequently received endorsement/authorisation from

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