by Maggy DONALDSON Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — As she emerges from quarantine, recovered COVID-19 patient Diana Berrent is eager to join the battle against the pandemic and donate precious antibodies that researchers hope might help others. In mid-March, the New Yorker woke up with a 102-degree (39 Celsius) fever and intense chest heaviness, becoming one of the first from her Long Island neighbourhood to test positive for coronavirus. This week, Berrent was […]
Life
Coronavirus casts shadow over Everest
by Paavan MATHEMA Pictures by PRAKASH MATHEMA Agence France-Presse KHUMJUNG, Nepal (AFP) — The Himalayan hilltown of Khumjung should be bustling ahead of Everest’s climbing season, but the coronavirus has forced the shut down of the world’s tallest mountain and threatened the livelihood of the famed local Sherpas. While there are no reported cases in the town — home to many of the ethnic Sherpas who dominate the industry helping climbers — the Himalayas have been closed by […]
Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals to be streamed online for free starting April 3
(Eagle News) – The full musicals of renowned English composer and musical threater impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber will be streamed for free online weekly every Friday in a new Youtube channel called “The Shows Must Go On”. It starts on April 3 (US time), with Webber’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” which will be streamed at Universal Pictures’ new Youtube channel, “The Shows Must Go On.” Webber himself announced this in a video […]
Antibody tests key to ending COVID-19 lockdowns
by Paul RICARD PARIS, France (AFP) — It’s the key that opens to door from total lockdown: serologic testing, which will show definitively who has contracted COVID-19 and is in theory safe to return to work. “Everyone’s waiting for serologic testing, the whole world,” said France’s Health Minister Olivier Veran. He said that the global research community was focussing on ways of perfecting the tests, which measure viral antibodies in a person’s blood that signal […]
Local group of speech pathologists develop “communication boards” for intubated COVID-19 patients
(Eagle News) – A local group of speech pathologists has developed a tool to allow COVID-19 patients to communicate even when intubated. The Philippine Association of Speech Pathologists (PASP) have come up with “communication boards” which will allow patients on ventilators to express their needs to their caregivers even when they are unable to talk. “Sadly, many of these [COVID-19] patients will need intubation or other escalated respiratory support, rendering them unable to speak. Patients […]
DICT offers free eBooks for children during quarantine
(Eagle News) – The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), through its Tech4ED project, has made available free eBooks and other educational content for children during the quarantine period. In an online statement posted in its website and FB page, the DICT announced that the books, sourced from the Let’s Read free digital library for children, are meant to boost learning beyond the classroom. “The educational materials aim to practice the reading comprehension skills […]
Doctors warn of malaria drug scarcity
by Patrick GALEY PARIS, France (AFP) — Limited global stocks of two anti-malarial drugs could wreck plans to use the medicines, currently in clinical trials, to treat COVID-19, doctors cautioned on Thursday. Around the world, countries are expanding access to chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), which are used to treat malaria and are known to have anti-viral properties. The medicines have shown early promise against the COVID-19 illness in studies in France and China. CQ, […]
UN’s COP26 climate summit postponed due to coronavirus
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The UN’s COP 26 climate change summit due to take place in the Scottish city of Glasgow in November has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the British government said on Wednesday. “In light of the ongoing, worldwide effects of COVID-19, holding an ambitious, inclusive COP26 in November 2020 is no longer possible,” the government said in a statement, adding that dates for a rescheduled conference in 2021 would […]
Kantang Kwarantin: Stay at home, SING and win a prize!
QUEZON CITY, Philippines (Eagle News) — Ever dreamed of being a singer performing on the big stage? Performing for people all over the world and not just to your cat? But it’s kind of hard to make your dream become a reality, because you know, lockdown. Now it’s your time to shine! With Kantang Kwarantin, presented by EBC Films—it’s your chance to create your own cover song of “Tuloy ang Laban,” for fame and your […]
Coronavirus having little impact on climate: UN agency
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Though factories have shut, planes have been grounded and cars left in the garage, the coronavirus pandemic is having very little impact on climate change, the World Meteorological Organization said Wednesday. Any reductions in pollution and carbon dioxide emissions are likely to be temporary, said Lars Peter Riishojgaard, from the infrastructure department of the WMO, a United Nations agency based in Geneva. “It does not mean much for climate,” he told […]
Australia enlists particle accelerator in coronavirus fight
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australian scientists are using the largest particle accelerator in the southern hemisphere to help fast-track the hunt for a vaccine against COVID-19, researchers said Tuesday. The Australian Synchrotron in Melbourne uses intense X-rays emitted by electrons coursing through the accelerator to examine key proteins in the virus, program director Andrew Peele told AFP. Acting as a kind of microscope, the accelerator lets the researchers construct atomic-level 3-D maps of the proteins […]
Chinese ‘light painter’ takes artistic inspiration from virus
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A Chinese artist has paid tribute to doctors and nurses and their months-long battle to treat virus-stricken patients in his latest light painting creations. Roy Wang and his team used the photographic technique of light painting to “draw” white wings on the back of a model posing in a white hazmat suit, the protective gear that has come to symbolize medical workers fighting the virus worldwide. The model stood frozen as […]





