Life

Tunisia hopes novel methods will aid virus fight

by Caroline Nelly Perrot Agence France-Presse TUNIS, Tunisia (AFP) — The feared impact of coronavirus on Tunisia’s fragile public health system has provoked a flurry of innovation from robotics to digitalisation efforts to bolster the North African country’s pandemic response. The government has even turned to students for help, asking the engineering school in Sousse, south of the capital Tunis, to task its students with designing a locally made ventilator as their end-of-year project. Ventilators are […]

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Filipino-designed handwashers help battle coronavirus in Ethiopia

(Eagle News) – A team of Filipino engineers and teachers developed a pedal-operated handwasher to help combat COVID-19 in Ethiopia, according tothe Department of Foreign Affairs. The Filipino team “conceptualized a mechanically-operated technology that performs even without electricity and can be conveniently positioned in crowded places”, the DFA said in a statement. Filipino-Designed Pedal-Operated Handwashers Help Combat COVID-19 in Ethiopia: https://t.co/RZzDlLjcYr A team of Filipino engineers and teachers developed a handwashing technology to counter the […]

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Hopes grow for antibody tests, but experts urge caution

by Femke COLBORNE Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — The sun is only just rising in Berlin but Lothar Kopp, 65, is already standing in line outside a clinic in the district of Reinickendorf. Along with a handful of mask-clad people standing two metres apart, he is here to give a blood sample — for antibody tests in the hope of finding out if he has previously contracted the coronavirus and since developed immunity. […]

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Does sunlight rapidly destroy the coronavirus?

by Issam AHMED Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Does sunlight rapidly destroy the coronavirus? A White House presentation on a mysterious government study says so — but some scientists have called for caution as we await more evidence. An official from the Department of Homeland Security made the eye-catching announcement during President Donald Trump’s daily pandemic briefing Thursday, showing a dramatic reduction in the virus’ viability under the sun’s rays. But the […]

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UN launches global push to speed virus vaccine production

  by Nina LARSON Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The UN on Friday joined forces with world leaders and the private sector on an initiative to speed up development of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, and ensure equal access for all. “This is a landmark collaboration to accelerate the development, production and equitable distribution of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics for COVID-19,” World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing. “United we […]

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Coronavirus boosts sales for French pharma giant Sanofi

  PARIS, France (AFP) — French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi said Friday that its first quarter sales surged in part due to stockpiling of the painkiller Doliprane, as other companies around the world struggle during the coronavirus pandemic. Sales of Doliprane — paracetamol which can alleviate the fever and aches associated with the virus — shot up by more than 20 percent, helping boost the firm’s net sales by 6.9 percent to nearly nine billion euros […]

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New Era General Hospital to start using rapid test kits for COVID-19 starting April 25

  (Eagle News) — The New Era General Hospital has announced that it will begin using “Rapid Test Kits”  starting Saturday, April 25, 2020, as part of its “unwavering quest” to fight COVID-19 and in line with the Philippine government’s initiative to fight the pandemic that has so far killed at least 462 in the country, The announcement was made to mark the hospital’s commemoration of its 27th anniversary on Thursday, April 23. “In line […]

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Oxford University pushing science to the limit in vaccine hunt

by Sylvain PEUCHMAURD Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Oxford University is launching a human trial of a potential coronavirus vaccine, with the daunting aim of making a successful jab available to the public later this year. Of the more than 100 research projects around the world to find a vaccine — described by the United Nations as the only route back to “normality” — seven are currently in clinical trials, according to the London […]

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Swiss launch country-wide study on COVID-19 immunity

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Researchers said Thursday they had begun collecting blood samples and interviewing people across Switzerland to determine what proportion of the population has antibodies to the novel coronavirus, and their level of immunity. The new research programme, called “Corona Immunitas”, said in a statement that over the next six months it would collect epidemiological data on immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19. The deadly disease has so far killed nearly […]

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Birds in paradise: Albania’s flamingos flourish in virus lockdown

by Briseida MEMA Agence France Presse NARTE, Albania (AFP) — With tourists home, boats docked and factories silenced under a coronavirus lockdown, Albania’s pink flamingos and curly pelicans are flourishing in the newfound tranquility of lagoons dotting the country’s western coastline. Beating their pink and black-lined wings, a growing flock of thousands of flamingos have recently been soaring over and splashing in the glistening waters of Narta Lagoon, an important site for migratory birds on […]

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Filipino ingenuity: Who can beat this face shield?

  (Eagle News) — Amid the shortage of face shields and face masks, this resident in Manila made his own version of this personal protective equipment (PPE) — a plastic water tank to protect himself. Filipinos have resorted to do-it-yourself PPEs to protect themselves amid the COVID-19 pandemic — from hand-sewn face masks, face shields made from plastic covers, to this ultimate head cover shown in the photo above, raising the DIY face shield to […]

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Chinese writer faces backlash for ‘Wuhan Diary’

by Ludovic EHRET Agence France-Presse Beijing, China (AFP) — After Wuhan was sealed off from the world, acclaimed Chinese writer Fang Fang started an online diary about the coronavirus tragedy unfolding in her hometown. Her journal drew tens of millions of readers — but now that it is about to be published abroad in several languages, she is facing a nationalist backlash at home. Critics say the 64-year-old, who was awarded China’s most prestigious literary prize […]

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