Tag: Virus

G20 vows ‘sufficient’ global food supplies amid virus

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — G20 agriculture ministers on Tuesday pledged to ensure “sufficient” global food supplies amid the coronavirus pandemic as the UN warned the number of people facing acute hunger globally could nearly double. “We will work together to help ensure that sufficient, safe, affordable, and nutritious food continues to be available and accessible to all people, including the poorest, the most vulnerable, and displaced people,” said the ministers from the 20 most […]

At least seven dead in Yemen flash floods

SANAA, Yemen (AFP) — At least seven people have been killed and 85 injured in flash flooding in Yemen this month, the UN said Tuesday, as the war-torn nation braces for the spread of the novel coronavirus. Yemen’s prime minister Moeen Abdulmalik Saeed declared the southern city of Aden, where the government is based, a “disaster zone”. Yemen announced its first case of COVID-19 on April 10 and aid organizations have warned that its health […]

No benefit, higher death rate for malaria drug in coronavirus study

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A malaria drug widely touted as a potential cure for COVID-19 showed no benefit against the disease over standard care — and was in fact associated with more deaths, the biggest study of its kind showed Tuesday. The US government-funded analysis of how American military veterans fared on hydroxychloroquine was posted on a medical preprint site and has not yet been peer-reviewed. The experiment had several important limitations but adds […]

Mexico raises health emergency level as virus cases mount

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexico raised its health emergency level following a rapid increase in coronavirus cases and amid fears the health system could collapse, the government said Tuesday. Health Undersecretary Hugo Lopez-Gatell said the country was moving to “phase three” of its response to the deadly pandemic. “We’re in a phase of rapid increase, where we’re accumulating a large number of infections (and) hospital admissions,” he said. The government has suspended all non-essential […]

Iran records 88 new virus deaths, has freed prisoners

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran on Tuesday announced 88 new deaths from the novel coronavirus as the country said it had released more than 1,000 foreign prisoners over the outbreak. According to health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour, the latest fatalities in the past 24 hours brought the total to 5,297, in one of the world’s deadliest outbreaks. The foreign prisoners were among 100,000 inmates temporarily released in several stages since March. They included British-Iranian woman […]

Spain sees slight hike in daily toll with 430 deaths

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain saw a slight increase in the daily virus death toll on Tuesday, with 430 people dying in the past 24 hours, health ministry data showed. So far, 21,282 people have succumbed to the pandemic in Spain, which has suffered the third-highest number of deaths in the world after the United States and Italy. Officials say the numbers tend to go up slightly on Tuesdays following a slight delay in receiving […]

Italian PM to unveil reopening plan

ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy’s Prime Minister said on Tuesday that by the weekend he would reveal the steps the country will take to loosen restrictions, reopen the economy and emerge from the coronavirus crisis. Italy, which has reported more coronavirus deaths than any other European country, has been under national quarantine since March 9, with some regions imposing lock-downs even earlier. The quarantine period, which has been extended twice, is due to expire on […]

Trump vows immigration ban as US protestors demand lockdown end

by Michael Mathes, with Catherine Triomphe in Harrisburg and AFP bureaus Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump pledged a temporary ban on immigration to the United States because of the “invisible enemy” of coronavirus, as the disease sparked angry demonstrations on American streets to demand an end to crippling lockdowns. In just four months, the virus has turned the world upside down, confining half the planet indoors and killing nearly 170,000 […]

Humans to blame for spread of coronavirus and other ‘zoonoses’

by Stéphane ORJOLLET Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Whether it came from a bat or a pangolin is not certain, but one thing is: the coronavirus outbreak that has killed tens of thousands and turned the world upside down comes from the animal world. It is human activity enabled the virus to jump to people, and specialists are warning that if nothing changes many other pandemics of this nature will follow. The name given to […]

Italy mulls psychological tests to gauge lockdown impact

ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italian scientists want the government to conduct psychological tests on a sample of the population to determine how long people can stay confined to their homes, a report said Monday. The Corriere della Sera newspaper said scientists want to understand how long Italians “are able to endure a lockdown” in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will announce a new set of social guidelines this week that […]

Italy’s current virus cases fall for first time

by Dmitry ZAKS Agence France Presse ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy reported its first drop on Monday in the number of people currently suffering from the novel coronavirus since it recorded its first infection in February. Those receiving intensive care treatment also fell to the lowest level in a month as Europe’s hardest-hit country began to see the first direct health benefits of its economically devastating lockdown. The civil protection service said 108,237 people were […]

Merkel urges ‘transparency’ from China on outbreak

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday urged China to be as transparent as possible about the coronavirus outbreak, as Beijing faces mounting pressure over its management of the crisis. Critics have accused China of downplaying the scale and scope of the outbreak when it first emerged late last year, while conspiracy theories have swirled in the US the virus could have been leaked from a lab. Merkel urged for more information […]