Health

French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, warns of virus exploitation

by Dave CLARK Agence France-Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Prominent French intellectual, Bernard-Henri Levy, argues that the coronavirus epidemic is not an unprecedented health threat but that the way societies are responding is both new and dangerous. In an AFP interview, the 71-year-old philosopher and writer said the so-called “Asian Flu” outbreak in 1957 to 1958 and the “Hong Kong Flu” pandemic of 1968 to 1969 were similar in scale to the current deadly global situation. […]

COVID-19 to have ‘profound’ mental health fallout

by Patrick GALEY Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — The coronavirus pandemic is likely to have a “profound and pervasive impact” on global mental health as billions struggle to cope with isolated living and anxiety spikes, experts warned Thursday. In a paper published in Lancet Psychiatry, a panel of 24 specialists call for more funding for research into the impacts COVID-19 may have on society’s mental well-being. Two accompanying surveys of the British public […]

Actress Sylvia Sanchez gives emotional salute to all frontliners saving patients’ lives amid pandemic

(Eagle News) — Actress Sylvia Sanchez thanked all the health care workers who helped save her life and that of her husband, Art Atayde. Both have now tested negative for COVID-19. The Philippine actress said the health care workers who took care of them, and those who saved hundreds of lives, continue to make sacrifices, risking their own lives to save COVID-19 patients. “Tunay na kahanga-hanga po kayo (You are indeed admirable),” she said in […]

New EBC shows coming to YouTube

Eagle News — Quarantine got you running out of things to watch on Netflix? Or tired of watching the same thing on Netflix? Well you’re in luck! As EBC strives to create wholesome content for every member of the family, eight brand new shows will be streaming LIVE on Eagle News via YouTube starting Monday, April 13. For the HipHop/R&B enthusiast in your family, check out The Vocal Chamber—an E25 Records original series, independent artists […]

How false negatives are complicating COVID-19 testing

  by Issam AHMED Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — As COVID-19 tests become more widely available across the US, scientists have warned about a growing concern: Many people with negative results might actually have the virus. That could have devastating implications as a global recession looms and governments wrangle with the question of when to reopen economies shuttered as billions of people were ordered to stay home in an effort to break […]

Coronavirus found in air samples up to 13 feet from patients

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A new study examining air samples from hospital wards with COVID-19 patients has found the virus can travel up to 13 feet (four meters) — twice the distance current guidelines say people should leave between themselves in public. The preliminary results of the investigation by Chinese researchers were published Friday in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a journal of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They add to […]

Love and physical distance: How a daughter shows her love for 80-year old mom amid the virus pandemic

(Editor’s Note: This is a first-person account of our EBC correspondent in New Jersey, Elle Aguilar, who lives with her 80-year old mother in the US. She talks about how she tries to keep the required physical distance between her and her mom at this time of the virus pandemic. From the usual hugs and kisses, she is now learning a new way of showing love – by keeping her distance so her 80-year old […]

Coronavirus was spreading in NYC in February, came via Europe

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The novel coronavirus began spreading in New York City in February, before widespread testing began, and the strain so far identified in local samples came from Europe, a scientist said Wednesday. Adriana Heguy, a geneticist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine who led the research, told AFP that tracing back the virus’ chain of transmission will help policy makers make better informed social interventions in the future. “It’s very interesting […]

SG-based app eyed as potential tool in contact tracing of COVID-19 patients

(Eagle News) – The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is eyeing the use of a Singapore-based mobile app to help in tracing contacts of COVID-19 patients. In an online statement, the DICT said that it is currently coordinating with the Department of Health and other government agencies to look into ‘TraceTogether’, a community driven contact tracing app launched on March 20, 2020. The DICT explained that TraceTogether allows the exchange of short-distance Bluetooth […]

World short of six million nurses, WHO says

  by Robin MILLARD Agence France Presse As COVID-19 captures global headlines, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Tuesday that the world needs nearly six million nurses. The UN’s health agency along with partners Nursing Now and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) underscored in a report the crucial role played by nurses, who make up more than half of all health workers worldwide. “Nurses are the backbone of any health system,” WHO chief Tedros […]

Bronx zoo tiger tests positive for coronavirus

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A tiger at New York’s Bronx Zoo has tested positive for COVID-19, the institution said Sunday, and is believed to have contracted the virus from a caretaker who was asymptomatic at the time. The four-year-old Malayan tiger named Nadia along with her sister Azul, two Amur tigers and three African lions all developed dry coughs and are expected to fully recover, the Wildlife Conservation Society that runs the city’s […]

After the virus: What world will we live in?

by Didier LAURAS Agence France Presse One day, the battle against the novel coronavirus will be won. But the world that emerges may look very different from the one we lived in before the pandemic began. Over 60,000 people have lost their lives to COVID-19 and there are a more than a million confirmed cases with the outbreak yet to reach its peak across the developed and emerging world. But on top of the tragic […]