North America

New York reports 15 child cases of rare disease linked to COVID-19

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Fifteen children have been hospitalized in New York with a rare inflammatory disease possibly linked to coronavirus, officials said Tuesday, in the latest reports of the worrying syndrome. Kawasaki disease is a mysterious illness that primarily affects children up to the age of five and causes the walls of arteries to become inflamed, resulting in fever, skin peeling and joint pain. Britain’s National Health Service first sounded the alarm […]

Doctor who treated first US COVID patient fears second wave

by Alina DIESTE Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The doctor who treated the first COVID-19 patient in the United States said Monday he fears a second outbreak of the disease when lockdown measures are lifted. George Díaz’s first patient, diagnosed in January in Washington state, has already recovered after receiving remdesivir, an experimental drug that the US approved on Friday for emergency use. While he feels encouraged by this anti-viral, Diaz emphasized […]

California to ease coronavirus restrictions from Friday

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Some retailers in California, including bookstores, flower shops and clothing stores, will be allowed to reopen for business at the end of the week, the state’s governor announced on Monday. “Millions of Californians answered the call to stay home and thanks to them, we are in a position to begin moving into our next stage of modifying our stay at home order,” Governor Gavin Newsom said. “But make no […]

US coronavirus deaths rise by 1,450 in 24 hours: Johns Hopkins

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Novel coronavirus deaths in the United States climbed by 1,450 in the past 24 hours, a tally by Johns Hopkins University showed Sunday, bringing the total number of fatalities to more than 67,600. The Baltimore-based university had recorded more than 1.15 million cases in the country as of 8:30 pm Sunday (0030 GMT Monday), with 67,674 deaths. The United States has by far the highest death toll of any country […]

Canada invests in online mental health care amid COVID-19 crisis

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada will invest CAN$240 million (US$170 million) to develop virtual care and mental health tools for residents to better cope with the consequences of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday. The funds will be used mainly to create new digital platforms and applications to give Canadians “strategies to manage stress or support from a procurement professional,” Trudeau said. It will also aim to strengthen online virtual care […]

Gilead Sciences exporting remdesivir, CEO says

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The head of the maker of remdesivir, an anti-viral shown to reduce recovery times in COVID-19 patients, said Sunday the company has been exporting the drug and is making it available to patients in the United States through the US government. Gilead Sciences CEO Daniel O’Day said the company is donating its entire existing supply of the drug — 1.5 million vials, enough to treat 100,000 to 200,000 patients. “We […]

US Secretary of State Pompeo steps up pressure on China over pandemic handling

by Brian KNOWLTON Agence France Presse Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday stepped up a US campaign to hold China accountable for the spread of the deadly coronavirus, asserting there is “enormous evidence” the virus originated in a laboratory in the city of Wuhan. The high-security bio-containment facility, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, has called such claims “impossible”. Pompeo, speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” did not elaborate on what he also described as “significant […]

Canada bans assault weapons after deadliest shooting

by Jacques LEMIEUX Agence France Presse OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced an immediate ban on military-grade assault weapons in response to the country’s deadliest-ever mass shooting, a rampage that left 22 people dead last month. “These weapons were designed for one purpose, and one purpose only: to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time,” Trudeau told a news briefing. He said his government […]

US issues emergency approval for remdesivir for COVID-19 patients

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The experimental drug remdesivir has been authorized by US regulators for emergency use against COVID-19, President Donald Trump announced Friday. It comes after the antiviral made by Gilead Sciences was shown in a major clinical trial to shorten the time to recovery in some coronavirus patients, the first time any medicine has had a proven benefit against the disease. “It is really a really promising situation,” Trump said at […]

Remdesivir shows ‘clear-cut’ effect in treating coronavirus: Fauci

  WASHINGTON, United States A major new study proves that the antiviral drug remdesivir is effective in saving people with serious cases of COVID-19, top US doctor Anthony Fauci said Wednesday. Fauci, speaking at the White House, said “the data shows remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery.” This proves “that a drug can block this virus,” he said, comparing the discovery to the fight for AIDS therapies four […]

US President Trump points finger at China lab as WHO asks to join virus probe

  by Sebastian Smith, with AFP bureaus Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump has said he has seen evidence the new coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab, an assertion that threatened on Friday to turn a global health emergency into a diplomatic crisis. The US president’s statement was immediately undermined by intelligence officials and top diplomat Mike Pompeo, who said: “We don’t know precisely where it began.” But the […]

More than 2,000 US coronavirus deaths in 24 hours: tracker

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States recorded more than 2,000 coronavirus deaths in a 24-hour period for the third day running, according to the latest real-time tally Thursday reported by Johns Hopkins University. The country — hardest hit by the pandemic in terms of the number of fatalities — recorded 2,053 deaths on Thursday, after 2,502 deaths on Wednesday and 2,207 on Tuesday. At least 62,906 people have now died in the United […]