Life

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 […]

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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 […]

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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- […]

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Nextdoor, the network for neighbors, grows in age of social distancing

by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France Presse San Francisco, United States (AFP) — There are offers to pick up groceries or medicine for neighbors, to share supplies, or walk people’s dogs — and even intel on where to find scarce items like toilet paper. For people forced to stay home to ride out the coronavirus pandemic, Nextdoor, a hyperlocal social network, has found itself playing an increasingly important role. Daily usage of the network — an […]

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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 […]

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Why the novel coronavirus became a social media nightmare

by Arthur MacMillan with W.G. Dunlop in Washington Agence France Presse New York, United States (AFP) — The biggest reputational risk Facebook and other social media companies had expected in 2020 was fake news surrounding the US presidential election. Be it foreign or domestic in origin, the misinformation threat seemed familiar, perhaps even manageable. The novel coronavirus, however, has opened up an entirely different problem: the life-endangering consequences of supposed cures, misleading claims, snake-oil sales […]

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Actress Iza Calzado tests positive for COVID-19; but her condition is improving, says manager

(Eagle News) – Philippine Actress Iza Calzado, who was earlier confined for pneumonia, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, her manager confirmed today, Satuday, March 28. In a Facebook post, Noel Ferrer, the actress’ manager, said “Iza Calzado received her results yesterday that she tested positive for CoVid.  She is recovering as she was aggressively treated for pneumonia and the virus.  She can actually breath now without any oxygen assistance.” Calzado will be tested […]

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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 […]

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Surviving quarantine: five tips from a Russian cosmonaut

Moscow, Russia (AFP) — With more than third of the global population confined to their homes to slow the coronavirus pandemic, many are worried how long they will be cooped up. But being quarantined can be “a good thing” and something “to enjoy,” says veteran Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin. The 61-year-old, who has made five flights to space spending a combined 671 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS), says the main thing is to […]

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Australians trial TB vaccine to fight coronavirus

SYDNEY. Australia (AFP) — Australian researchers are fast-tracking large-scale human testing to see if a vaccine used for decades to prevent tuberculosis can protect health workers from COVID-19, they announced Friday. The trial of the BCG vaccine will be conducted with 4,000 health workers in hospitals around Australia to determine if it can reduce COVID-19 symptoms, the researchers at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne said. “Although originally developed against tuberculosis, and still given […]

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WHO says “lockdown” not enough; urges aggressive isolation, testing, treatment and tracing of cases

  (Eagle News) – The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries currently implementing a lockdown, to go one step further in attacking the virus spread by strengthening and expanding the public health force and to aggressively “isolate, test, treat and trace” coronavirus cases. “We have overcome many pandemics and crises before. We will overcome this one too. The question is how large a price we will pay?” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, […]

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