by Patrick GALEY and Marlowe HOOD Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP)—Researchers in Australia said Tuesday they had mapped the body’s immune response to the novel coronavirus, in a potential breakthrough in the fight against the global killer. A team of scientists were able to test blood samples from a patient who had contracted COVID-19 and was hospitalized with moderate symptoms. Authors of the study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, said it was the first time […]
Life
New coronavirus can survive on surfaces for hours: study
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The novel coronavirus can survive on surfaces or in the air for several hours, according to a US-government funded study published Tuesday. Scientists found that the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease had similar levels of viability outside the body to its predecessor that caused SARS. This means that factors like greater transmission between people with no symptoms might be why the current pandemic is far greater than the SARS […]
Doctors map body’s COVID-19 immune response: study
by Patrick GALEY and Marlowe HOOD PARIS, France (AFP) — Researchers in Australia said Tuesday they had mapped the body’s immune response to the novel coronavirus, in a potential breakthrough in the fight against the global killer. A team of scientists was able to test blood samples from a patient who had contracted COVID-19 and was hospitalized with moderate symptoms. Authors of the study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, said it was the […]
Avoid self-medication with ibuprofen against COVID-19 symptoms: WHO
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization recommended Tuesday that people suffering from COVID-19-like symptoms should avoid self-medicating with ibuprofen after French authorities warned anti-inflammatory drugs could worsen the effects of the virus. The warnings over the weekend by French Health Minister Olivier Veran followed a recent study in The Lancet weekly medical journal that hypothesized that an enzyme that is boosted when taking anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen could facilitate and worsen COVID-19 infections. […]
Internet platforms vow joint effort to stem virus misinformation
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The large US internet platforms have pledged a joint effort to root out misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic and to promote “authoritative content” about the crisis. A joint statement was issued late Monday by Facebook, Google, Twitter, Microsoft and Reddit along with Google-owned YouTube and Microsoft-owned LinkedIn. “We are working closely together on COVID-19 response efforts.” the joint statement said. “We’re helping millions of people stay connected while also jointly […]
Cheerful masks help battle coronavirus in Bulgaria
by Diana SIMEONOVA SOFIA, Bulgaria (AFP) — Cheerful face masks are helping to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus in Bulgaria thanks to a small company in the capital Sofia. The masks are printed with owls, dinosaurs, llamas, and monkeys and will soon find their way to hundreds of doctors and policemen who are struggling to get their hands on the protective gear. They’re being made by the Angel Baby company, which normally produces […]
Czech PM urges EU to shelve Green Deal amid virus
PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AFP) — The Czech premier, whose country depends on nuclear energy and coal, said Monday the European Union should shelve its landmark green law seeking carbon neutrality as it battles the novel coronavirus. “Europe should forget about the Green Deal now and focus on the coronavirus instead,” Prime Minister Andrej Babis told reporters, without explaining how the two are connected. “Europe is now the biggest epicenter of the coronavirus in the world,” the […]
Coronavirus drugs: Who’s doing what, and when they might come
by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Pharmaceuticals and research labs across the world are racing to find vaccines and treatments for the new coronavirus, using a variety of different technologies. According to Benjamin Neuman, a virologist at Texas A&M University-Texarkana, immunizing against the pathogen is a long shot: There has never been a very successful human vaccine against any member of the coronavirus family. “This is going to be a lot of trials, […]
Air pollution ‘likely’ to cut COVID19 survival: experts
by Patrick GALEY PARIS, France (AFP) — Air pollution from petrol and diesel vehicles is likely to increase mortality from the novel coronavirus in cities, public health experts told AFP Monday. The European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) warned that dirty air in urban areas that causes hypertension, diabetes and other respiratory illness could lead to a higher overall death toll from the virus currently sweeping the world. Emissions from petrol and diesel engines were still […]
Strutting the ramp in ‘masks’ as coronavirus meets fashion week
https://youtu.be/eLRtQnOmbI0 CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AFP) — Models strutted the ramp with adhesive glittering rhinestones stuck around their mouths arranged in the shape of surgical face masks as the coronavirus pandemic took centre stage at a fashion week in Cape Town. Veteran South African designer Gavin Rajah on Thursday night used the stage at the African International Fashion Week in Cape Town, to highlight to the division and potential racism that protective surgical masks […]
Oil prices extend losses on price war, virus fallout
Singapore, Singapore (AFP) — Oil prices extended the gloom on Monday after a Saudi-Russian price war and an equities meltdown sparked by the coronavirus pandemic saw their biggest weekly losses in more than a decade. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) briefly fell below $30 a barrel, or 5.5 percent, in morning Asian trade before regaining its footing. It was trading at $31.14 a barrel at around 0200 GMT, down nearly two percent from Friday’s […]
Players treated like ‘guinea pigs’ over coronavirus: Rooney
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney claims the British government and football authorities have treated players like “guinea pigs” during the coronavirus crisis. While the rest of European football was shutting down due to the growing threat of the global pandemic, Rooney is angry it took several days for the Premier League and Football League to postpone their matches until April 3. It was only when Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta […]





