Tag: novel coronavirus

Arthritis drug shows ‘significant’ promise in severe COVID-19 cases: study

PARIS, France (AFP) — The arthritis drug tocilizumab has shown early promise in preventing extreme inflammation in gravely ill COVID-19 patients, according to a French clinical study. The treatment, which suppresses the body’s natural immune response, was found to reduce “significantly” the number of deaths or life support interventions compared with a control group of patients. The study, carried out by the Paris university hospital trust (AP-HP), looked at 129 people hospitalised with moderate or severe […]

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Trump says US may seek damages from China over virus

WASHINGTON DC, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that he may seek damages from China over the coronavirus outbreak which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan and spread around the world. “We are not happy with China,” Trump said at a White House briefing. “We are not happy with that whole situation because we believe it could have been stopped at the source. “It could have been stopped quickly […]

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Coronavirus calm reveals flourishing Venice Lagoon ecosystem

by Giovanna GIRARDI Agence France-Presse VENICE, Italy (AFP) — “The flora and fauna of the lagoon have not changed during lockdown. What has changed is our chance to see them,” says zoologist Andrea Mangoni, plunging his camera into Venice’s normally murky waters to observe life. A crab tries to grab the intruding lens, jellyfish propel themselves along near the surface, schools of fish swim peacefully by, crustaceans cling to the city’s famous jetties, and seaweed of […]

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LA mayor announces free COVID-19 testing for essential, frontline workers showing no symptoms

EAGLE NEWS — As the coronavirus continues to spread across the country, Los Angeles county accounts for 19,133 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Nearly half of the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state of California, at 42,810. In an effort to flatten the curve more quickly, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, coordinated with nonprofit emergency response organization, Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) and LA Fire and Personnel departments (LAFPD), to expand free testing […]

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French watchdog warns about use of Trump-backed virus drug

PARIS, France (AFP) — The French drugs agency warned doctors for a second time Saturday about using hydroxychloroquine, the drug championed by US President Donald Trump as a “game changer” in the fight against COVID-19, as the number of cases of worrying side effects continued to rise. The agency, known by its initials ANSM, had already issued a “signal of vigilance” about the anti-malaria drug which is also used to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. […]

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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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Is Nevada ready to reopen?

Eagle News — “When will we reopen our economy?” — is the biggest question that hangs over business owners and politicians. Time lost, is money lost. The Las Vegas strip,  is an economic powerhouse. Not only for the city of Las Vegas but for the entire state of Nevada. The impacts of visitor (tourism/conventions) spending in 2018, Southern Nevada’s tourism industry contributed $57.6 billion in total output. It’s no wonder that Mayor Carolyn Goodman, wants […]

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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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S.African president unveils $26 billion virus relief plan

by Michelle GUMEDE Agence France-Presse Johannesburg, South Africa (AFP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday announced a $26 billion relief package to support the economy and the vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic. In a special address to the nation, Ramaphosa announced “a massive social and economic support package of 500 billion rand ($26.3 billion), which amounts to about 10 percent of our GDP.” “The impact of the coronavirus requires an extraordinary coronavirus budget…the scale […]

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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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‘Collapsology’: Is this the end of civilisation as we know it?

by Stéphane ORJOLLET Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — “The world will never be the same again,” has been the oft-repeated refrain since the coronavirus brought the global economy to a juddering halt. For many it has shown how fragile our civilization is. The crisis has come as a new movement called “collapsology” — which warns of the possible collapse of our societies as we know them — is gaining ground. With climate change exposing how […]

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