Coronavirus: US set to recommend wearing of masks
The White House is expected soon to advise Americans living in coronavirus hotspots to wear cloth masks or scarves in public to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. President Donald Trump said “I don’t think it will be mandatory – if people want to...
After mocking Trump for promoting hydroxychloroquine, journalists acknowledge it might treat coronavirus
After repeatedly mocking President Trump for suggesting on March 19 that hydroxychloroquine could be an effective treatment for coronavirus, media organizations have begun acknowledging that the drug — now approved for emergency use to treat coronavirus by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — may...
Coronavirus may be most infectious when symptoms are mildest, small study finds
Editor’s note: The study described in this article has now been accepted for publication in the journal Nature. The journal published an unedited version of the manuscript on April 1. This article was originally published on March 11. People infected with the novel coronavirus shed...
New York nonprofit teams with high-end restaurant to help feed health care workers, others
A nonprofit organization is using the kitchen of a Michelin-starred restaurant in New York City to help feed needy residents and health care workers during the ongoing lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Matt Jozwiak, 32, the founder of ReThink, has converted the kitchen of...
Detroit bus driver dies of coronavirus after posting video to take virus seriously
A Detroit Department of Transportation bus driver died less than two weeks after he made a Facebook video encouraging people to take the new coronavirus seriously, a report said Thursday. MICHIGAN JUDGE JAILS DEFENDANTS FOR BEING LATE TO COURT AMID CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: REPORT In the...
Spain reports 117,710 total cases of coronavirus, surpassing Italy
Spain reported 117,710 total cases of coronavirus on Friday, surpassing Italy to become second most impacted country by the virus. Spain’s death count has already passed 10,000 and although Thursday night brought more grim news from Italy on the fatalities front, there is a glimmer...
Virtually open: Europe’s museums bid to enrich life on lockdown
As COVID-19 lockdowns continue to be extended across Europe, the continent’s cities are looking alien to art lovers. Amid social distancing, cultural landmarks have all but become off-limits. With museums, galleries, theatres, and concert halls all closed and wold be audiences told to stay home,...
Could more Western countries start recommending wearing masks to prevent coronavirus spread?
The US government is weighing whether or not to change its guidelines on covering one’s face to prevent further spread of coronavirus. Wearing a mask in public has been recommended by public health bodies in several Asian countries such as China and South Korea. But...
Coronavirus: A visual guide to the pandemic
There are now more than one million confirmed cases of coronavirus in 181 countries and at least 53,100 people have died. The United States has more confirmed cases than any other single country and more than half of all the cases have been in Europe,...
Coronavirus will transform UK work and travel, says AA
The aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis will transform the way we live, work and travel in the UK, the AA says. It predicts a permanent reduction in the demand for travel because people have learned during the crisis to use home-working technology. The implications are...
Coronavirus: India’s bailout may not be enough to save economy
Mohammad Alam is one of thousands of workers standing in a food queue in India’s capital, Delhi. The factory where he worked shut down after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus. A daily-wage labourer, he has no...
South Africa’s ruthlessly efficient fight against coronavirus
One week into South Africa’s nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, and it is tempting – dangerously tempting – to breathe a sigh of relief. After all, look at how much has already been achieved. More than 47,000 people have been tested, and...
Coronavirus: Peru limits movement by gender to stem spread
Peru has begun enforcing strict new measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease, restricting public movement by gender. Men can only leave home on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; women can do so on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. On Sundays, no-one is allowed out....
Coronavirus: Google reveals travel habits during the pandemic
Google is to publicly track people’s movements over the course of the coronavirus pandemic. The tech firm will publish details of the different types of places people are going to on a county-by-county basis in the UK, as well as similar data for 130 other...
Coronavirus: Confirmed global cases pass one million
More than a million cases of coronavirus have been registered globally, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University – another grim milestone as the world grapples with the spreading pandemic. Nearly 53,000 people have died and more than 210,000 have recovered, according to...
Number of daily US deaths reaches new peak
London’s NHS Nightingale hospital to open The first of the government’s new Nightingale hospitals will officially open in London later this morning. The UK’s largest hospital facility will open its doors to take in coronavirus patients needing intensive care treatment. East London’s ExCeL exhibition centre...
Coronavirus deaths top 5,000 in US as more states issue stay-at-home orders
Grim news of coronavirus infections and fatalities continued in the U.S. on Wednesday, with the number of confirmed cases rising above 200,000 and the number of deaths surpassing 5,000. The fatalities for Wednesday alone topped 1,000 — a one-day toll more than double that usually...
France warns of serious side effects of coronavirus ‘miracle cures’
A French medicine watchdog has warned of the dangerous side effects of malaria and HIV drugs being tested against the novel coronavirus after three people’s deaths were possibly linked to self-medication. Around 30 patients with symptoms of COVID-19 had reported serious side effects of heart...
Coronavirus: Spain sees record rise in unemployment amid lockdown
Spain has lost almost 900,000 jobs since it imposed strict measures to fight the coronavirus, another sign of the economic impact of the outbreak in Europe’s second worst-hit country. March’s figure is the highest monthly rise in unemployment ever recorded in the country, which already...
Coronavirus: We are helping fight invisible enemy, says NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg
A meeting of NATO foreign ministers will take place on Thursday by secure video link for the first time, because of the coronavirus pandemic. To be chaired by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, press conferences are to be held online and journalists are not being given...
San Francisco order bans reusable bags from grocery stores in effort to fight coronavirus
San Francisco, one of the cities hardest-hit by the coronavirus, banned reusable shopping bags Wednesday in a set of beefed-up social distancing protocols as part of the city’s extension of its stay-at-home order, meant to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, until May 3. The...
County in China locks down amid concerns of potential second coronavirus wave
A county in central China has reportedly gone into a mid-sized lockdown amid fears of a second coronavirus wave as Beijing is trying to emerge from the deadly outbreak and revive its economy. Roughly 600,000 residents near the city of Pingdingshan in Jia County were...
Netanyahu to Israel: During coronavirus, everyone outside should cover their faces
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ordering all citizens to wear masks while out in public space amid the coronavirus pandemic. He said: “We’re asking you, the citizens of Israel, all of you, to wear face masks in public spaces. If you don’t have a...
Coronavirus: Australian scientists begin tests of potential vaccines
Scientists in Australia have begun testing two potential coronavirus vaccines in “milestone” lab trials. The vaccines, made by Oxford University and US company Inovio Pharmaceutical, have been cleared for animal testing by the World Health Organization. Australia’s national science agency will assess if the vaccines...
Coronavirus: US death toll exceeds 5,000
The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic in the US has gone above 5,000, while confirmed cases worldwide are close to reaching one million. There were 884 deaths in the US in 24 hours, a new record, according to Johns Hopkins University, which has tracked...
Coronavirus: BA expected to suspend 36,000 staff
British Airways is expected to announce it will suspend around 36,000 staff. The airline, which grounded much of its fleet due to the coronavirus crisis, has been negotiating with the Unite union for more than a week. The two sides have reached a broad deal...
Coronavirus: A visual guide to the pandemic
There are now more than 900,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in 180 countries and at least 45,000 people have died. The United States now has more confirmed cases than any other single country, including China where the disease emerged in December 2019. Europe has also...
Tablighi Jamaat: The group blamed for new Covid-19 outbreak in India
The Tablighi Jamaat have come into the spotlight after an event they held in the Indian capital Delhi has spawned a number of Covid-19 clusters across the country. But exactly who is this group and why did they hold a big gathering in Delhi? BBC...
Coronavirus forces postponement of COP26 meeting in Glasgow
A key climate summit in Glasgow will be delayed until next year due to disruption caused by the coronavirus. The announcement was made in a joint statement from the UK and UN after a “virtual” meeting of officials. Dozens of world leaders were due to...
Coronavirus: Oil prices rise on hopes of a price war truce
Global oil prices have risen after Donald Trump said he expected Saudi Arabia and Russia to reach a deal soon to end their price war. The cost of crude had fallen to 18-year lows as the two countries slashed prices and ramped up production. At...