Tag: Virus

Google to publish user location data to help govts tackle virus

PARIS, France (AFP) — Google will publish location data from its users around the world from Friday to allow governments to gauge the effectiveness of social distancing measures put in place to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the tech giant said. The reports on users’ movements in 131 countries will be made available on a special website and will “chart movement trends over time by geography,” according to a post on one of the company’s blogs. […]

Coronavirus cases worldwide now more than a million, with more than a fifth of them recovering

  (Eagle News) – The total number of coronavirus cases worldwide has gone past a million, with more than a fifth of the number recovering, according to the latest data from the Johns Hopkins University virus dashboard. Global COVID-19 cases has reached 1,014,673 and those who have recovered from the disease also increased to 210,263. COVID-19 related deaths had also gone past 50,000 as of Friday, April 3, reaching 52,973, based on the Johns Hopkins […]

As world battles virus, governments under fire

  by Pierre DONADIEU Agence France Presse As the world battles the coronavirus pandemic, the main question for most is simply: “When will it end?”. But other, troubling questions are starting to be asked of governments. Why did Western governments not predict the risk of an epidemic in their territories after the novel coronavirus first emerged in China? Were sufficient preparations made to secure masks and test kits? Did lockdowns to slow the spread of […]

Malawi announces first coronavirus cases

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AFP) — Malawi on Thursday announced its first three coronavirus infections, one of the last African countries to report the potentially deadly disease. The southern African country was one of the few without any confirmed cases along with the Comoros, Lesotho, Sao Tome, and Principe and South Sudan. President Peter Mutharika said the infections were in the capital Lilongwe. The first was detected in an elderly woman who had recently traveled to India […]

Mayor advises all New Yorkers to cover faces while outside

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday urged all of the city’s residents to cover their faces when outside and near others to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. “Let’s be clear. This is a face covering. It could be a scarf. It could be something you create at home. It could be a bandana,” de Blasio told reporters. “It doesn’t need to be a professional surgical […]

Trump announces he tested negative on new coronavirus test

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he has taken his second coronavirus test at the White House since the outbreak began and it was again found to be negative. “I just took it this morning,” he told a news conference. “It said the president tested negative for COVID-19.” This was Trump’s second test. This time he used a new rapid method that he said took a minute to complete and […]

Turkey mayor urges lockdown for Istanbul

by Fulya OZERKAN ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Istanbul’s opposition mayor on Thursday called for a lockdown in Turkey’s largest city after it reported the country’s highest number of coronavirus cases and criticized the lack of coordination with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey’s government has announced measures to contain the spread of the virus from shutting schools, banning mass prayers, suspending international flights to restricting intercity trips. But Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s demand is likely to put […]

France reports 471 more coronavirus hospital deaths, toll tops 4,500

PARIS, France (AFP) — France reported 471 more deaths in hospital from COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the country’s official toll from the coronavirus epidemic to 4,503. The French figures include only those who died in the hospital and not those who died at home or in old people’s homes. However, top health official, Jerome Salomon told reporters for the first time that an initial count had shown 884 people had died in old people’s homes […]

Iran parliament speaker tests positive for COVID-19

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran’s parliament speaker tested positive for COVID-19, state television reported Thursday, becoming the latest official to contract the disease in the hard hit country. Ali Larijani “was tested for coronavirus after showing certain symptoms, and as the result was positive, he is currently in quarantine and undergoing treatment,” the report said. Larijani, 62, is close to the Iranian leadership and president and was re-elected in 2016 for a second term as […]

Antibody tests key to ending COVID-19 lockdowns

by Paul RICARD PARIS, France (AFP) — It’s the key that opens to door from total lockdown: serologic testing, which will show definitively who has contracted COVID-19 and is in theory safe to return to work. “Everyone’s waiting for serologic testing, the whole world,” said France’s Health Minister Olivier Veran. He said that the global research community was focussing on ways of perfecting the tests, which measure viral antibodies in a person’s blood that signal […]

First prisoner dies of virus in Italy – watchdog group

ROME, Italy (AFP) — A first prisoner in Italy has died of coronavirus, a prison watchdog group said on Thursday, calling for more early releases of inmates from the country’s overcrowded system. Two prison guards have died of the virus, and 19 inmates out of a total inmate population of 58,000 have tested positive, according to Italy’s justice ministry. “The first prisoner death from COVID-19 confirms all our worries about the tragic consequences of contagion […]

Coronavirus drives 6.65 million to file for US jobless benefits

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Another 6.65 million US workers filed for unemployment benefits last week, the most ever recorded, as the coronavirus forces businesses to shut down nationwide, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The  number of first-time applications for jobless benefits for the week ended March 28 was double the number registered in the previous week, which was revised up by 24,000 to 3.3 million — the previous record, according to the data. “Nearly […]