Health

Virus syndrome also found in French children, minister says

PARIS, France (AFP) — France has more than a dozen cases of children with inflammation around the heart, the health minister said Wednesday, after Britain sounded an alarm about a new disease with possible links to novel coronavirus. Olivier Veran said there was not enough evidence to confirm a link with the coronavirus sweeping the globe but France was taking the cases “very seriously”. Britain’s state-run National Health Service issued the alert at the weekend […]

US govt reveals details of sunlight study on virus

by Issam AHMED Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Department of Homeland Security revealed to AFP on Tuesday new technical details regarding its highly anticipated study into how ultraviolet radiation destroys the new coronavirus, saying that its experiment had accurately mimicked natural sunlight. A summary of the research was presented last week at the White House, with some scientists calling for caution until a more comprehensive report was made public. US […]

COVIDSafe App speeds up contact tracing of people exposed to COVID-19

Eagle News — The coronavirus 2019 or COVID-19, is one of the most unpredictable pandemics in recent history. Due to the fact that the world has never seen this type of coronavirus strain. As scientists and health officials, are learning more about the virus as it continues to spread around the world, tracing the spread of the virus, is crucial for vaccine development. Modern technology helps expedites the tracing process. However, there are many counties […]

Arthritis drug shows ‘significant’ promise in severe COVID-19 cases: study

PARIS, France (AFP) — The arthritis drug tocilizumab has shown early promise in preventing extreme inflammation in gravely ill COVID-19 patients, according to a French clinical study. The treatment, which suppresses the body’s natural immune response, was found to reduce “significantly” the number of deaths or life support interventions compared with a control group of patients. The study, carried out by the Paris university hospital trust (AP-HP), looked at 129 people hospitalised with moderate or severe […]

Mysterious blood clots are COVID-19’s latest lethal surprise

by Issam Ahmed and Ivan Couronne Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — After nearly three weeks in an intensive care unit in Los Angeles, doctors treating 41-year-old Broadway actor Nick Cordero for COVID-19 were forced to amputate his right leg. The flow of blood had been impeded by a blood clot: yet another dangerous complication of the disease that has been bubbling up in frontline reports from China, Europe and the United States. […]

LA mayor announces free COVID-19 testing for essential, frontline workers showing no symptoms

EAGLE NEWS — As the coronavirus continues to spread across the country, Los Angeles county accounts for 19,133 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Nearly half of the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state of California, at 42,810. In an effort to flatten the curve more quickly, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, coordinated with nonprofit emergency response organization, Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) and LA Fire and Personnel departments (LAFPD), to expand free testing […]

French watchdog warns about use of Trump-backed virus drug

PARIS, France (AFP) — The French drugs agency warned doctors for a second time Saturday about using hydroxychloroquine, the drug championed by US President Donald Trump as a “game changer” in the fight against COVID-19, as the number of cases of worrying side effects continued to rise. The agency, known by its initials ANSM, had already issued a “signal of vigilance” about the anti-malaria drug which is also used to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. […]

Tunisia hopes novel methods will aid virus fight

by Caroline Nelly Perrot Agence France-Presse TUNIS, Tunisia (AFP) — The feared impact of coronavirus on Tunisia’s fragile public health system has provoked a flurry of innovation from robotics to digitalisation efforts to bolster the North African country’s pandemic response. The government has even turned to students for help, asking the engineering school in Sousse, south of the capital Tunis, to task its students with designing a locally made ventilator as their end-of-year project. Ventilators are […]

Filipino-designed handwashers help battle coronavirus in Ethiopia

(Eagle News) – A team of Filipino engineers and teachers developed a pedal-operated handwasher to help combat COVID-19 in Ethiopia, according tothe Department of Foreign Affairs. The Filipino team “conceptualized a mechanically-operated technology that performs even without electricity and can be conveniently positioned in crowded places”, the DFA said in a statement. Filipino-Designed Pedal-Operated Handwashers Help Combat COVID-19 in Ethiopia: https://t.co/RZzDlLjcYr A team of Filipino engineers and teachers developed a handwashing technology to counter the […]

Hopes grow for antibody tests, but experts urge caution

by Femke COLBORNE Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — The sun is only just rising in Berlin but Lothar Kopp, 65, is already standing in line outside a clinic in the district of Reinickendorf. Along with a handful of mask-clad people standing two metres apart, he is here to give a blood sample — for antibody tests in the hope of finding out if he has previously contracted the coronavirus and since developed immunity. […]

Does sunlight rapidly destroy the coronavirus?

by Issam AHMED Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Does sunlight rapidly destroy the coronavirus? A White House presentation on a mysterious government study says so — but some scientists have called for caution as we await more evidence. An official from the Department of Homeland Security made the eye-catching announcement during President Donald Trump’s daily pandemic briefing Thursday, showing a dramatic reduction in the virus’ viability under the sun’s rays. But the […]

UN launches global push to speed virus vaccine production

  by Nina LARSON Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The UN on Friday joined forces with world leaders and the private sector on an initiative to speed up development of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, and ensure equal access for all. “This is a landmark collaboration to accelerate the development, production and equitable distribution of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics for COVID-19,” World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing. “United we […]