Latest On Coronavirus

Latest on Coronavirus

The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world reached almost 322,000, over 4.87 million cases of infection were detected, and over 1.67 million of those patients were cured, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University, which tracks and compiles data from federal and local authorities, media and other sources

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th May, 2020) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world reached almost 322,000, over 4.87 million cases of infection were detected, and over 1.67 million of those patients were cured, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University, which tracks and compiles data from federal and local authorities, media and other sources.

As of 21.00 GMT Tuesday, the number of people infected globally is 4,876,906, of them 321,999 died.

The United States still has the highest case count in the world, with 1,523,534, including 91,570 fatalities and 283,178 recoveries.

All 50 US states have embarked on gradual reopening of their economies after coronavirus-induced lockdowns, Vice President Mike Pence announced.

Canada and the United States have agreed to extend border restrictions that limit non-essential travel for another 30 days to June 21 amid the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of the so-called Visegrad Group, which includes the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland, have agreed to gradually lift the border movement restrictions as soon as the epidemiological situation improves, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said.

The Spanish government announced that it was lifting a ban on air and sea travel from Italy as the epidemiological situation in both countries continues to improve.

All French citizens returning from countries outside the European Union starting on May 20 will be asked to follow voluntary stay-home procedures for 14 days, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.

People in Israel will no longer be required to have masks on while outdoors or in schools as it undermines resilience during extreme hit waves that have covered the country over the past several days, Health Minister Yuli-Yoel Edelstein said.

Lebanon's Supreme Defense Council has decided to extend until June 7 the state of epidemiological emergency caused by COVID-19, the presidential office said.

The disruption to the world economy caused by the COVID-19 outbreak will continue to have disastrous effects over the next 18 months resulting in job losses and economic distress if world leaders fail to take action, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said in a new report.

The US economy risks sustaining permanent damage if the shutdown over the novel coronavirus pandemic is allowed to persist without gradual reopening, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said.

A decision has been made in Russia to suspend vaccination under the national immunization schedule due to the coronavirus outbreak, Deputy Health Minister Oleg Gridnev said.

The Russian economy has begun rebounding following the coronavirus slowdown, although slower than one would like, Sberbank CEO Herman Gref said.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which is already having significant health and economic impacts, will also increase the risk of insecurity in the Sahel region and the international community must increase its activities to ensure peace, Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou said.

The international community has shown a lack of solidarity during the COVID-19 outbreak as a temporary freeze on external debt will not come close to the losses that African countries will soon be facing as a result of the economic disruption caused by the pandemic, Senegalese President Macky Sall said.

The COVID-19 crisis has further crippled the Syrian economy and led to soaring prices, with which most Syrian citizens cannot cope, Philip Spoerri, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Delegation in Syria, said.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reiterates the need to pursue inclusive approach and fight the anti-migrant stigma amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Director of IOM's Migration Health Division Jacqueline Weekers said.

Russia hopes that a resolution adopted at the WHO's World Health Assembly that calls for international solidarity to combat the COVID-19 outbreak will result in the global community cooperating in a depoliticized manner, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

The Russian government and the Central Bank will soon finalize the national plan of action, aimed at stabilizing the business and restoring employment amid the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said.

The United States will use a military aircraft to deliver ventilators to Russia to help the country treat patients with novel coronavirus disease, a US Defense Department spokesperson told Sputnik.

The European Union, countries of the Western Balkans, and Turkey have agreed on a closely coordinated response to the economic disruption caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic that will see countries take immediate measures to foster long-term recovery, according to a statement published by the Council of the European Union.

The Chilean Health Ministry has ordered private hospitals to double the number of beds equipped with artificial lung ventilation machines, according to a resolution published on Tuesday in the government's official newspaper, Diario Oficial De La Republica De Chile.

Yemen's exhausted health care system requires an injection of additional funds from the United Nations and other donors to ensure that medical personnel is adequately paid, protected and equipped to battle the coronavirus outbreak, representatives of Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) told Sputnik.

The treatment of COVID-19 in Yemeni hospitals has been experiencing disruptions due to fears on the end of both doctors and patients to contract the virus, with the former lacking personal protective equipment to continue working and the latter avoiding asking for help until it is too late, Marc Schakal, MSF Deputy Operations Manager for Yemen, told Sputnik.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) aims to raise $256 million to support the COVID-19 response in conflict zones across the world, but fears that much more funds will be needed to deal with the ramifications of the pandemic-induced crisis, Pawel Krzysiek, the public relations adviser for the ICRC Asia-Pacific told Sputnik.

The 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA) has unanimously voted to adopt the resolution on improving access to test kits for the COVID-19 lung disease, as well as future vaccines and treatments, Keva Bain, the WHA president and the Bahamas' ambassador to Geneva, announced.

All countries must have fair access to any vaccines against COVID-19 once they reach the market and pharmaceutical firms must not pursue profits on these vital supplies, the African Union's Special Envoy for COVID-19 Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said.

An antibody that can block SARS-CoV-2 and other similar viruses has been discovered in the blood of a person who recovered from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003, according to research published in the Nature journal.

Patients who are admitted to hospital with COVID-19 may experience confusion and delirium and the long-term psychological effects of the disease could lead to anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, UK-based scientists said in The Lancet medical journal.

Almost all children diagnosed with the Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome (PMIS) tested positive for the novel coronavirus or have antibodies to it, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters.

Parents of children under six years old should try to put masks on their children, especially during visits to hospitals, as there is the possibility of a link between COVID-19 and a rare but deadly inflammatory disease, dubbed Kawasaki disease, President of the Italian Federation of Pediatricians (FIMP) Paolo Biasci told Sputnik in an interview, adding that the issue still requires further investigation.

The anti-malaria drug, hydroxychloroquine, has no significant effect when administered to COVID-19 patients suffering from mild or moderate symptoms and can bring more harm instead, the Shanghai-based Ruijin Hospital said in a study published by local media. US President Donald Trump has publicly said that hydroxychloroquine, a drug used to both prevent and treat malaria and autoimmune diseases, could possibly be a "game changer" in efforts to contain the disease. On Monday, Trump even told reporters that he is taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventive measure against COVID-19.

Trump said the World Health Organization (WHO) must clean up their act related to its handling of the pandemic.

The US president in his recent letter to the WHO made "factually inaccurate" statements about the timing of reports on the spread of the novel coronavirus, the medical journal The Lancet said in a statement.

Russia has a negative attitude towards US threats against the World Health Organization (WHO), Washington's attacks are inconsistent, Gennady Gatilov, Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, said.

Canada will continue to support the World Health Organization (WHO) amid growing concerns about the international body's response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) seeks to continue its cooperation with the United States despite the country's feud with its parent entity World Health Organization (WHO), PAHO Director Carissa Etienne said.