Category Archives: Medical research

Coronavirus live news: global deaths pass 95,000 as Easter begins under lockdown

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Boris Johnson leaves intensive care; cases worldwide top 1.6m; UN chief says virus threatens global security

Oman’s capital, Muscat, went under full lockdown this morning as number of confirmed coronavirus cases reach 484 in the sultanate with 27 recorded in last 24 hours, writes Akhtar Mohammad Makoii.

The government announced that the isolation procedure will be implemented until April 22. The plan started 10 am this morning by “activating control and checkpoints”.

The Decision to Lockdown Muscat Governorate
comes into effect.#عمان_تواجه_كورونا pic.twitter.com/F6evI3u2Zv

Singapore has suspended the use of video-conferencing tool Zoom by teachers, its education ministry said on Friday, after “very serious incidents” occurred in the first week of a coronavirus lockdown that has seen schools move to home-based learning, Reuters reports.

One of the incidents involved obscene images appearing on screens and strange men making lewd comments during the streaming of a geography lesson with teenage girls, according to local media reports.

These are very serious incidents. MOE (Ministry of Education) is currently investigating both breaches and will lodge a police report if warranted. As a precautionary measure, our teachers will suspend their use of Zoom until these security issues are ironed out.

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Coronavirus live news: confirmed worldwide Covid-19 death toll passes 100,000

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Italy extends lockdown; death rate in Spain begins falling again; cases worldwide top 1.6m

Here’s a summary of the most recent news:

The US has approved 661,000 loans to small businesses totalling $168bn (£134bn) under a programme to address the pandemic’s fallout, the White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow says.

A $2.3tn economic stimulus enacted last month allocated $349bn to loans to small businesses hurt by the crisis that can be turned into grants if they meet certain conditions.

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Care homes across globe in spotlight over Covid-19 death rates

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Residential homes have emerged as key breeding ground for infections from Madrid to New York

Care homes for older people across much of Europe and North America are struggling to cope with the global coronavirus pandemic, prompting allegations of inhumane treatment and calls for high-level inquiries.

Appalling stories have emerged from residential homes, which have emerged as a key location for infections. People aged 70 and older are at higher risk of getting very sick or dying from the coronavirus. And people 85 and over are even more vulnerable, global figures show.

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WHO warned of transmission risk in January, despite Trump claims

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Notes to global health leaders on 10 and 11 January highlighted possible infection routes

The World Health Organization warned the US and other countries about the risk of human-to-human transmission of Covid-19 as early as 10 January, and urged precautions even though initial Chinese studies at that point had found no clear evidence of that route of infection.

Technical guidance notes seen by the Guardian and briefings by top WHO officials warned of potential human-to-human transmission and made clear that there was a threat of catching the disease through water droplets and contaminated surfaces, based on the experience of earlier coronavirus outbreaks, such as Sars and Mers.

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Coronavirus live news: confirmed global cases pass 1.5m as Boris Johnson leaves intensive care

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Italy’s curve flattening but deaths rise by 610; UK’s PM improves in hospital; virus could push 500m people into poverty

The UK’s housing secretary Robert Jenrick has responded on Twitter to The Guardian’s story about him visiting his parents.

For clarity - my parents asked me to deliver some essentials - including medicines.

They are both self-isolating due to age and my father's medical condition and I respected social distancing rules.https://t.co/XlRujT8S5Y

Egypt reported 139 new cases of coronavirus, bringing its total since the start of the outbreak to 1,699, according to a health ministry statement.

The Arab world’s most populous country also recorded 15 new deaths, raising the total number to 118.

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How can coronavirus models get it so wrong?

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Analysis depends on data – so predictions for Italy and Spain, where peak has passed, are more reliable than for UK

The Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle, based at the University of Washington, is the best organisation in the world at collecting data on diseases and mapping out why we fall ill.

Its Global Burden of Disease study is a massive collaborative effort that is valued and used in every country. But even for such an organisation, predicting what will happen to us all as a result of Covid-19 is a tricky business.

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Cancer Research UK to cut funding for research by £44m

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UK’s biggest cancer charity expects income to fall by up to 25% as a result of the coronavirus crisis

The UK’s biggest cancer charity is cutting research funding by £44m because of a sharp fall in income and has acknowledged that the move could set back the fight against the disease for many years.

Cancer Research UK (CRUK), which funds nearly half of the cancer research in the country, said it was the most difficult decision it had ever taken but explained that it believed limiting spending now would enable it to continue to support life-saving research in the long-run.

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Lockdown has cut Britain’s vibrations, seismologists find

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There’s a kind of hush all over the world as the reduction in human activity stops the Earth buzzing so much

The dramatic quietening of towns and cities in lockdown Britain has changed the way the Earth moves beneath our feet, scientists say.

Seismologists at the British Geological Survey have found that their sensors are twitching less now that human activity has been curtailed, leading to a drop in the anthropogenic din that vibrates through the planet.

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Egypt reports 149 new virus cases – as it happened

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New toll comes as UK prime minister, who has coronavirus, has been moved into hospital intensive care

We are going to close this live blog. But you can stay up to date on all the latest developments on our new blog here.

In the mean time, you can find all the latest developments below in our At A Glance summary:

Related: Coronavirus latest: at a glance

Just back to Donald Trump’s marathon press conference and he is fielding questions on the US naval commander who was fired over his coronavirus memo, suggesting he doesn’t think his life should be “destroyed” as a result, Sam Levin writes:

He made a mistake. He shouldn’t be sending letter. He’s the captain … you don’t send letters and then it leaks into a newspaper. I may get involved ...If I can help two good people, I’m going to help him

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Coronavirus live news: Italy reports lowest increase in deaths in two weeks

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Spain records smallest rate of increase in infections; Trump tells Americans to expect ‘a lot of death’; Global deaths approach 65,000

Here are the key developments of the last few hours:

The country’s health minister has announced that Barbados has recorded its first death from the coronavirus.

The victim is said to be an 81-year-old male who had an underlying medical condition and had travelled to the UK.

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Germany’s devolved logic is helping it win the coronavirus race

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With 400 public health offices forging ahead with testing, the country is a model for others to emulate

As the coronavirus crisis tests the resilience of democracies around the globe, Germany has gone from cursing its lead-footed, decentralised political system to wondering if federalism’s tortoise versus hare logic puts it in a better position to brave the pandemic than most.

Under German federalism – which has roots going back to the Holy Roman Empire but was entrenched after the Nazi era to weaken centralised rule – key policy areas, such as health, education and cultural affairs, fall under the jurisdiction of the country’s 16 states, or Länder.

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We are fighting a 21st-century disease with 20th-century weapons

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Better and faster joined-up data systems are key to coping with and preventing pandemics such as Covid-19 – as well as more everyday diseases

Covid-19 has exposed the deficiencies of national disease detection and prevention systems in many countries of Europe, and in the United States. In the UK, contact tracing was abandoned early due to lack of capacity. Just three weeks ago the government was prepared to let thousands of Scots travel through England to Wales and back for a rugby match, and it has taken a month to develop a strategy for scaled-up testing. After a decade of austerity and decentralisation, we are trying to recover the lost muscle memory of the public health response.

It will not be 100 years until the next pandemic. Population growth, human invasion of animal habitats and the resumption of fast travel between continents will take care of that. More urgently, we need a system in place after the lockdown to prevent a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic being worse than the first.

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Brazil coronavirus: medics fear official tally ignores ‘a mountain of deaths’

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Lack of testing and failure to report on cases means scale of outbreak could be far greater than thought, doctors warn

  • Coronavirus – latest updates
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    • Brazil is bracing for a surge in coronavirus cases as doctors and researchers warn that underreporting and a lack of testing mean nobody knows the real scale of Covid-19’s spread.

    “What’s happening is enormous underreporting,” said Isabella Rêllo, a doctor working in emergency and intensive care in Rio de Janeiro hospitals, in a widely shared Facebook post challenging official numbers. “There are MANY more,” she wrote.

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    US accused of ‘modern piracy’ after diversion of masks meant for Europe

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    German politician adds to chorus of complaints about American tactics to source protective gear

    The US has been accused of “modern piracy” after reportedly diverting a shipment of masks intended for the German police, and outbidding other countries in the increasingly fraught global market for coronavirus protective equipment.

    About 200,000 N95 masks were diverted to the US as they were being transferred between planes in Thailand, according to the Berlin authorities who said they had ordered the masks for the police force.

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    ‘Immunity passports’: can they end the UK coronavirus lockdown?

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    Certificates to prove people are immune to Covid-19 could ease restrictions. How would such as scheme work in Britain?

    No 10 has pointed to immunity passports as a way to end the lockdown. How would the policy work in practice?

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    Confirmed cases pass 1 million – as it happened

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    This blog is now closed

    We are about to wrap up our coverage on this blog for the day, but you can follow all developments on our new global live blog here. In the interim, you can catch up on all the day’s latest news here, on our latest At a Glance:

    Related: Coronavirus latest: at a glance

    Just dipping back into the Trump press conference at the White House, and the president has blame states for lack of supplies.

    “By the way, the states should have been building their stockpiles,” Trump said, reiterating that the federal government is “a backup.”

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    Coronavirus live news: Spain passes 100,000 cases, as UN says world faces worst crisis since WW2

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    US has one 1 in 5 cases globally; global cases pass 860,000; record daily fatalities in UK, France, Spain and Russia

    The European Commission has proposed a short-time work scheme to avoid mass lay-offs across the bloc during the coronavirus pandemic.

    The scheme, which is modelled on Germany’s Kurzabeit programme, was announced by Commission head Ursula von der Leyen in a video message.

    Companies are paying salaries to their employees, even if, right now, they are not making money. Europe is now coming to their support, with a new initiative.

    “It is intended to help Italy, Spain and all other countries that have been hard hit. And it will do so thanks to the solidarity of other member states,” she said.

    Italy has extended lockdown restrictions until 13 April as signs emerge indicating the coronavirus contagion might be reaching a “plateau”.

    “Italians have shown great maturity,” Roberto Speranza, the health minister, told parliament on Wednesday. “Experts say we are on the right track, and that the drastic measures taken are starting to give results.”

    However, Speranza warned “we must not drop our guard” as the recovery will be “prudent and gradual”.

    “It would be unforgiveable to mistake this first result for a
    definitive defeat of Covid, it’s a long battle.”

    The number of new confirmed infections rose by 2,107 on Tuesday, taking the total number of current cases to 77,635, according to figures from Italy’s civil protection authority.

    The rise in infections was higher than the daily increase registered on Monday (1,648), but lower than Sunday’s increase of 3,815.

    On Tuesday, there was a 2.8% increase in new (i.e current) infections, compared with an average daily rise of 15% during one of the most critical weeks.

    The death toll rose by 837 on Tuesday to 12,428, higher than the 812 deaths registered on Monday. The number of people who have recovered from the virus rose by 1,109 to 15,729 on Tuesday, following a record leap of 1,590 on Monday.

    The daily death toll and infection rate have also started to slow in Lombardy, the region worst-affected by the virus.

    “The curve tells us that we’re at a plateau,” said Silvio Brusaferro, the president of the Higher Health Institute (ISS).

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    Coronavirus live news: rise in Italy, US and France deaths takes global confirmed toll past 40,000

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    Worldwide confirmed cases pass 800,000 as Spain and Russia also report record single-day death tolls and Mexico wakes to state of emergency

    Do you ever run out of questions, you people? Trump asks a room full of reporters.

    Trump is talking about the impeachment. “They probably illegally impeached me... you don’t hear much about that nowadays because everyone’s talking about the virus,” which he is happy about, the US president says.

    “The democrats their whole live their whole being their whole existence was to try and get me out of office any way they can even if it was a phony deal.”

    "I think I'm getting A pluses now for how I handled myself during a phony impeachment," Trump says.

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    New blood test can detect 50 types of cancer

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    System uses machine learning to offer new way to screen for hard-to-detect cancers

    A new blood test that can detect more than 50 types of cancer has been revealed by researchers in the latest study to offer hope for early detection.

    The test is based on DNA that is shed by tumours and found circulating in the blood. More specifically, it focuses on chemical changes to this DNA, known as methylation patterns.

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