Health

Coronavirus the worst global crisis since WW II, says UN chief

  By Agence France Presse The coronavirus pandemic is the worst global crisis since World War II, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday, expressing concern that it could trigger conflicts around the world. Guterres said that the scale of the crisis was due to “a disease that represents a threat to everybody in the world and… an economic impact that will bring a recession that probably has no parallel in the recent past.” “The combination […]

Race for vaccine tests limits of drug innovation

by Kelly Macnamara with Issam Ahmed in Washington PARIS, France (AFP) — From medical workers struggling to care for the rising tide of COVID-19 patients to the billions of people told to stay home to slow the pandemic, everyone is waiting for one thing: a vaccine. There is no known treatment for the new coronavirus that emerged in China late last year and has since proliferated across the planet, infecting more than half a million […]

Study shows middle-age COVID-19 mortality risk

by Patrick GALEY PARIS, France (AFP) — Middle-aged people, and not just the elderly, have a dramatically higher risk of dying or developing serious illness from COVID-19, new research from Britain showed Tuesday. The findings came in a new comprehensive analysis of virus cases in mainland China. Researchers from Britain analyzed more than 3,600 confirmed COVID-19 cases as well as data from hundreds of passengers repatriated from the outbreak city of Wuhan. They found that […]

#PlayApartTogether: WHO, gaming companies team up against Covid-19

(Eagle News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) has enlisted the help of the gaming industry to disseminate and encourage observance of physical distancing and other health guidelines meant to stop the spread of COVID-19. “The games sector will launch #PlayApartTogether, an initiative to inform and encourage their vast network of users to follow the WHO’s important health guidelines – including physical distancing, hand hygiene and other powerful preventive actions to slow the spread of […]

Mental issues sparked by pandemic could be ‘silent killer’: Red Cross

by Nina LARSON Agence France-Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The Red Cross called Friday for increased psychological support to health workers and others fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, warning of rising suicides as a result of pressure and isolation. Countries around the world have taken dramatic measures to try to halt the spread of the virus, which first emerged in China late last year, with more than three billion people now living under lockdown. The demand for […]

US regulator approves limited use of malaria drugs for virus

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A limited emergency-use authorization for two antimalarial drugs touted as game-changers by President Donald Trump has been issued by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat coronavirus patients. In a statement published Sunday, the US Department of Health and Human Services detailed recent donations of medicine to a national stockpile — including chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, both being investigated as potential COVID-19 treatments. It said the FDA had allowed them […]

Nature takes back world’s empty city streets

by Laure FILLON / Julie Pacorel Agence France-Presse Paris, France (AFP) — As humans retreat into their homes as more and more countries go under coronavirus lockdown, wild animals are slipping cover to explore the empty streets of some of our biggest cities. Wild boar have descended from the hills around Barcelona while sika deer are nosing their way around the deserted metro stations of Nara, Japan. Indian social media has gone wild about footage of […]

Total coronavirus cases worldwide reach more than 720,000 as more than 151,000 patients recover

  (Eagle News) – The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) worldwide have reached more than 720,000 with recoveries reported at more than 150,000, according to the latest data from the virus dashboard of Johns Hopkins University tracking global cases of COVID-19. The cases have reached 721,817 as of 9:30 a.m. Monday, March 30,  (Philippine time) with 33,968 total deaths and 151,204 total recoveries. -US still leading countries with most COVID-19 cases- […]

Hospitals turn to snorkel masks to ease respirator overload

by Marc BURLEIGH Agence France Presse Brussels, Belgium (AFP) — As hospitals face an overload of COVID-19 patients struggling to breathe, innovative medical staff are turning to snorkelling masks from sports stores to stop their lungs collapsing. The idea started in Italy, the European country worst-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with hospitals in other nations taking note and adding their own specific medical parts to make it work. One such is the Erasme Hospital on […]

US lab unveils portable 5-minute COVID-19 test

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A US-based lab has unveiled a portable test that can tell if someone has COVID-19 in as little as five minutes, it said in a statement Friday. Abbot Laboratories said the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had given it emergency authorization to begin making the test available to healthcare providers as early as next week. The test, which is the size of a small toaster and uses molecular […]