US secretary of state said there was ‘enormous evidence’ the virus emerged from a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan. China’s state broadcaster CCTV has attacked recent remarks from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, calling them “insane and evasive”. Pompeo, speaking …
Read More »WHO chief urges unity in long fight against virus
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday urged the world to unite to defeat the new coronavirus. “This virus will be with us for a long time and we must come together to develop and share the tools to defeat it,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told …
Read More »World leaders pledge billions for virus vaccine research
World leaders, organizations and banks on Monday pledged 7.4 billion euros ($8 billion) for research to find a vaccine against the new coronavirus, but warned that it is just the start of an effort that must be sustained over time to beat the disease. The funds, pledged at a video-conference …
Read More »Why Belgium has the highest coronavirus death rate in the world
It is rare for Donald Trump to credit other countries with world records, but at a press briefing last month the US President unveiled a list that put Belgium at the top. Unfortunately for Belgium, it was a ranking of deaths from the coronavirus. According to numbers collated by the …
Read More »‘One billion’ could become infected worldwide – report
One billion people could become infected with the coronavirus worldwide unless vulnerable countries are given urgent help, an aid group has warned. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) said financial and humanitarian aid was needed to help slow the global spread of the virus. It said, “fragile countries” such as Afghanistan …
Read More »Coronavirus infections top 3 MILLION cases worldwide – Johns Hopkins University
The global coronavirus count has just surged past 3 million, according to newly released statistics by Johns Hopkins University. The US, with nearly one-third of all Covid-19 infections, still remains the hardest-hit country. The number of registered cases of Covid-19 around the world stands at 3,002,303 as of Monday, April …
Read More »Global coronavirus death toll tops 200,000 fatalities
More than 200,000 people worldwide have now died with the coronavirus, figures from Johns Hopkins University show. There are more than 2.8 million confirmed cases of Covid-19, according to the tally. It comes after the number of fatalities in the US passed 50,000, as Americans endure the world’s deadliest outbreak. …
Read More »Don’t issue virus ‘immunity passports’, WHO says
Governments should not issue so-called “immunity passports” or “risk-free certificates” as a way of easing lockdowns, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. It said there was “no evidence” that people who had developed antibodies after recovering from the virus were protected against a second infection. Such a move could actually …
Read More »Virus toll nears 200,000 as UN pushes for global vaccine effort
The global coronavirus death toll approached 200,000 on Saturday as the United Nations launched an international push for a vaccine to defeat the pandemic. Governments around the world are struggling to limit the economic devastation unleashed by the virus, which has infected nearly 2.8 million people and left half of …
Read More »China investing millions in WHO to make up for Trump cuts, officials say.
China has pledged to invest millions of additional dollars into the World Health Organisation (WHO) after Donald Trump announced he was cutting off US funding for the group while reviewing its handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Beijing said it would contribute an additional $30m as the United Nations organization battles …
Read More »Coronavirus: Eyes could be contagious for weeks, study finds
The coronavirus can linger in patients’ eyes for several weeks and could act as a way of spreading the COVID-19 disease, according to a new study from Italy. Scientists at Italy’s National Institute for Infectious Diseases hospital in Rome studied the symptoms of an unnamed 65-year-old woman who developed the …
Read More »African nations to get ventilators from Ma foundation, stress need for WHO help
African nations that lack ventilators to treat COVID-19 patients will receive some from the Jack Ma Foundation, an African Union official said on Thursday, as Nigeria stressed Africa’s dependence on a properly-funded World Health Organization (WHO)to help it fight the pandemic. Africa’s 54 countries have so far reported fewer than …
Read More »WHO recommends continued prevention measures in Iraq
In Iraq, the World Health Organization has called on the government to continue to tighten its preventive measures against the coronavirus. The representative of the organization, Adham Ismail, said in a statement today, Thursday, that “the first day of lifting the partial ban was not good indicators, regarding adherence to …
Read More »WHO chief says ‘virus will be with us for a long time’
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that there were “worrying upward trends” in early epidemics in parts of Africa and Central and South America, while also warning that opening up global travel needed to be managed carefully. “Most countries are still in the early stages of their epidemics …
Read More »Australia seeks probe into coronavirus spread, France and UK say now not the time
Australia sought support for an international probe into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic in calls with U.S. President Donald Trump and major powers, but France and Britain said now was the time to fight the virus and not apportion blame. Australia’s push for an independent review of the origins …
Read More »US OKs 1st coronavirus test that allows self-swab at home
U.S. health regulators on Tuesday OK’d the first coronavirus test that allows people to collect their own sample at home, a new approach that could help expand testing options in most states. The test from LabCorp will initially only be available to health care workers and first responders under a …
Read More »WHO warns lifting of coronavirus lockdowns must be gradual
The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that any lifting of lockdowns to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus must be gradual, and if restrictions were to be relaxed too soon, there would be a resurgence of infections. Lockdown measures have proved effective, and people must be ready for …
Read More »Zarif to Trump: Stop interfering in other nations’ affairs
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has once again warned US President Donald Trump against interfering in the internal affairs of other countries in the age of the new coronavirus. Zarif made the remarks in a Sunday posting on Twitter in an apparent reference to Trump’s Saturday allegation that the …
Read More »WHO says no evidence antibody tests can determine immunity
The World Health Organization has warned there is no evidence to suggest the presence of antibodies in the blood can determine whether someone has immunity to the coronavirus. Dr. Mike Ryan, the WHO’s executive director for health emergencies, said Friday there was no indication so far that a large proportion …
Read More »China rejects news reports about COVID-19 origin, citing the WHO.
China’s Foreign Ministry has said that claims about the novel coronavirus originating in a lab are not based on science, citing the WHO as it rebuked the latest news story on COVID-19 ‘patient zero.’ “I want to remind you that the head of the [World Health Organization] has repeatedly stated …
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