Tag: health

Iran reports 117 new virus deaths, raising total to 4,474

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran on Sunday announced 117 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, bringing the overall official toll to 4,474, even as it eased some restrictions that had been imposed to slow the spread of the illness. Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour also told a news conference that 1,657 new infections had been confirmed in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 71,686. Iran has carried out 263,388 tests for the virus […]

Prime Minister Boris Johnson making ‘good progress’ in virus recovery as UK death toll nears 10,000

  LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson was making “very good progress” on Saturday in his recovery in hospital from coronavirus, officials said, as the country’s deaths toll from the disease approached the grim milestone of 10,000. The 55-year-old leader was spending his second full day out of intensive care at London’s St Thomas’ Hospital, where he has been able to take short walks between periods of rest, according to Downing […]

Quebec police investigate seniors’ home after 31 deaths

  MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — Quebec authorities are investigating a seniors’ home where 31 people have died since March 13, Quebec Premier Francois Legault announced Saturday, calling the situation “appalling”. “I find it unacceptable the way we treat our seniors in Quebec,” said a visibly moved Legault during a press conference, saying he feared “gross negligence” at the private residence. The care home, called the Herron and located in the Montreal suburb of Dorval, has […]

Boy from isolated Amazon tribe dies after being infected with coronavirus

  BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — A Yanomami indigenous boy has died after contracting the coronavirus, authorities in Brazil said Friday, raising fears for the Amazon tribe, which is known for its vulnerability to disease. The 15-year-old boy, the first Yanomami to be diagnosed with the virus, was hospitalized a week ago at an intensive care unit in Boa Vista, the capital of the northern state of Roraima, officials said. He died of severe respiratory complications […]

How false negatives are complicating COVID-19 testing

  by Issam AHMED Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — As COVID-19 tests become more widely available across the US, scientists have warned about a growing concern: Many people with negative results might actually have the virus. That could have devastating implications as a global recession looms and governments wrangle with the question of when to reopen economies shuttered as billions of people were ordered to stay home in an effort to break […]

Coronavirus found in air samples up to 13 feet from patients

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A new study examining air samples from hospital wards with COVID-19 patients has found the virus can travel up to 13 feet (four meters) — twice the distance current guidelines say people should leave between themselves in public. The preliminary results of the investigation by Chinese researchers were published Friday in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a journal of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They add to […]

Apple and Google team up on virus ‘contact tracing’ by smartphone

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Google and Apple unveiled a joint initiative Friday to use smartphones to trace coronavirus contacts to battle the pandemic. The move brings together the largest mobile operating systems in an effort to use smartphone technology to track and potentially contain the global COVID-19 outbreak. Smartphones powered by Apple software and Google-backed Android operating system would be able to exchange information with a joint “opt in system.” The tech giants […]

France reports 987 more coronavirus deaths, toll tops 13,000

PARIS, France (AAFP) — France on Friday reported 987 more COVID-19 deaths registered in hospitals and nursing homes over the last 24 hours, although the number of patients in intensive care fell for the second day in a row. The new deaths — including 554 in hospitals and 433 in nursing homes — brought the total toll in France to 13,197 since the epidemic began, top health official Jerome Salomon told reporters. A child aged […]

Global virus death toll passes 94,000, but some signs of hope

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Another horror day of the coronavirus pandemic saw the global death toll pass 94,000, although there were tentative signs of hope that the crisis was peaking in the United States and Europe. The picture of the unfolding economic catastrophe also became clearer with the IMF warning of a Great Depression and data showing 17 million Americans lost their jobs, but a European Union financial rescue package agreement offered some relief to […]

War-torn Yemen reports first coronavirus case

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Yemen reported its first case of coronavirus Friday in a southern government-controlled province, raising fears of an outbreak in the war-torn country as air strikes blamed on the Saudi-led coalition tested a unilateral truce. The announcement came on the second day of the two-week ceasefire declared by the military coalition supporting the government in what it said was a move to help fight the pandemic. “The first confirmed case […]

NY needs millions of coronavirus tests before reopening: governor

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Millions of New Yorkers must be tested for the new coronavirus before the state can reopen, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Friday, as he reported a continued slowing of COVID-19. Cuomo said intensive care admissions were at their lowest since the crisis began last month but called for an “unprecedented mobilization” of testing before residents are able to return to work. “Even with our high capacity and high performance on […]

US criticizes WHO for ignoring Taiwan virus warnings

  by Shaun Tandon with Amber Wang in Taipei Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Thursday accused the World Health Organization of putting politics first by ignoring early coronavirus warnings by Taiwan, which voiced outrage over criticism from the UN body’s chief. President Donald Trump has gone on an offensive with threats to withhold funding for the WHO, which is at the forefront of fighting the pandemic that has […]