Tag: health

Ireland recruits 30,000 in COVID-19 crisis drive

DUBLIN, Ireland (AFP) — More than 30,000 people have answered the Irish government’s call for qualified professionals and volunteers to join the healthcare workforce battling the coronavirus emergency, the health service said Thursday. “We’re looking for anyone who can offer their services and skills,” Anne Marie Hoey of the Health Service Executive said of the drive launched Tuesday, adding that more than 30,000 people had responded so far. HSE is seeking medical, nursing, ambulance and […]

Madrid launches coronavirus app

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — At the epicenter of Spain’s coronavirus outbreak, the Madrid region is launching an appl to help anyone feeling unwell evaluate their symptoms without ringing the overburdened call centers. Currently available online at www.coronamadrid.com, the tool “will be made available within days as a mobile application”, the regional government said on Thursday. “This application aims to help avoid the collapse of the Madrid region’s telephone helplines. Carry out this self-test only if […]

US Senate Republicans present $1 trillion virus relief package

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday presented a $1 trillion emergency relief package to combat the economic turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. The Republican-drafted text must now be examined by Senate Democrats before a date for a vote can be set. “This legislation takes bold action on four major priorities that are extremely urgent and very necessary,” McConnell told the Senate. “First, direct financial […]

US fast-tracking antimalarials to treat coronavirus

by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US is fast-tracking antimalarial drugs for use as a treatment against the new coronavirus, President Donald Trump said Thursday, following encouraging early results in France and China. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have not been given a formal green light in the US to fight the pandemic, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it would work with domestic makers to expand production as it studied their […]

Cruise ships could become floating hospitals, Trump says

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Cruise ships could be converted into floating hospitals to treat cases of the novel coronavirus, US President Donald Trump said Thursday. Micky Arison, the chairman of Carnival Corporation, which operates Carnival Cruise Line, “made the offer, it was a generous offer,” Trump said during a press conference. “He said that he has some ships that would be ideally suited for what we are doing,” the president said, since the ships […]

NBA Nuggets announce coronavirus positive in ‘organization’

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A member of the NBA’s Denver Nuggets organization tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus on Thursday, the club announced in a statement. The club did not specify whether the individual was a player or member of the organization’s staff. “A member of the Denver Nuggets organization tested positive for COVID-19,” the team statement said. “The person, who was tested after experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19 on March 16th, is […]

Spain virus death toll soars nearly 30 percent to 767

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain on Thursday announced that deaths from the novel coronavirus had jumped by nearly 30 percent over the past 24 hours to 767. The number of people who have contracted the disease has meanwhile grown by around 25 percent to 17,147, according to health ministry figures, bringing Spain’s tally near that of Iran, the world’s third most affected country after China and Italy. The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 is […]

Virus whistleblower doctor punished ‘inappropriately’: Chinese probe

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Police in China’s virus epicenter Wuhan acted “inappropriately” by punishing a doctor who blew the whistle on the outbreak that has now killed more than 9,000 worldwide, a Chinese government investigation found Thursday. Li Wenliang, one of a group of doctors in Wuhan who shared posts on social media warning of a SARS-like virus spreading in the city in December, was reprimanded by police for sharing the information and made to […]

103-year-old Iran woman survives coronavirus: report

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — A 103-year-old woman in Iran has recovered after being infected with the new coronavirus, state media reported, despite overwhelming evidence the elderly are most at risk from the disease. The unnamed woman had been hospitalised in the central city of Semnan for about a week, IRNA news agency said. But she was “discharged after making a complete recovery”, Semnan University of Medical Sciences head Navid Danayi was quoted as saying by […]

Iran says, 149 new coronavirus deaths, toll reaches 1,284

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iranian authorities on Thursday announced 149 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, raising the toll to 1,284 in a country that is one of the worst-hit by the pandemic. While Thursday’s death toll surpassed that of the previous day’s — 147 were reported on Wednesday — the number of new cases has fallen, according to figures provided by Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi. A total of 18,407 people have contracted the […]

Mexico reports first coronavirus death

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexico has reported its first coronavirus case — a 41-year-old man who died Wednesday in Mexico City, the health ministry said. The man, who suffered from diabetes, first began showing symptoms of the virus on March 9, the ministry said on its Twitter account. Local press reports said he had not previously visited any countries that have had outbreaks of the virus. The man’s wife, however, told Televisa, the Mexican […]