Corona Virus COVID19 (Apr24,2020) _CCP Virus_death toll passes 190,000

April 24, 2020 Update by AFP

The virus hit a grim new milestone on Friday, according to AFP, as the number of people who have lost their lives to the disease passed 190,00 and continues to rise while countries battle to keep populations safe.

The agency reports that a total of 190,089 people passed away and 2,698,733 have been infected since Covid-19 emerged in China in December. Europe has recorded the highest number of fatalities with 116,221 people dying across the continent.

More than 1.2 million Europeans have been diagnosed with the disease, putting the mortality rate around 8.9%.

The country with the highest recorded death toll has been the United States followed by Italy, France and Britain. But there is some cause for hope that the tide may be about to turn as testing capabilities grow worldwide and human trials for a vaccine get underway.

The UK, Germany and Israel have all reported early progress with vaccine trials, the biggest hope for stemming and eventually eradicating the virus. Testing is also being ramped up around the world in the hope better data will allow countries to ease the lockdown measures that have battered the global economy

April 12, 2020

Some patients infected with the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, could experience gastrointestinal symptoms including diarrhea as their first symptoms, a new study suggests

Coronavirus patients at two UK hospitals are reportedly now receiving hydroxychloroquine treatment. The drug, touted by US President Donald Trump as a “game changer,” quickly came under scrutiny from his political opponents.

According to a report published on Sunday in the Telegraph, Covid-19 patients at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London and the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital are being treated with hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug first developed in the 1950s.

“Barts Health NHS Trust has convened an expert clinical group to consider novel medications in the treatment of Covid-19,” a spokesman for the London hospital told the newspaper, adding that a select number of patients have been given hydroxychloroquine.

London April 12, 2020

NHS hospitals try treating Covid-19 with Hydroxychloroquine, anti-malaria drug hotly debated following Trump support

12 Apr, 2020 18:18 

A woman in Seattle, US, holds a bottle of hydroxychloroquine tablets © Reuters / Lindsey Wasson 

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Coronavirus patients at two UK hospitals are reportedly now receiving hydroxychloroquine treatment. The drug, touted by US President Donald Trump as a “game changer,” quickly came under scrutiny from his political opponents.

According to a report published on Sunday in the Telegraph, Covid-19 patients at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London and the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital are being treated with hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug first developed in the 1950s.

“Barts Health NHS Trust has convened an expert clinical group to consider novel medications in the treatment of Covid-19,” a spokesman for the London hospital told the newspaper, adding that a select number of patients have been given hydroxychloroquine.

‘It’s a sombre day’: UK Covid-19 death toll hits 10,000 milestone as 737 new fatalities recorded

If the tests at Bart’s and Royal Devon are successful, the drug could then see widespread use at NHS hospitals across the UK. 

Its effectiveness is hotly debated among scientists, and evidence for and against its effectiveness is thus far “anecdotal,”to quote President Trump’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Moreover, it is one of several existing medications – including HIV and Ebola drugs – currently showing potential in the treatment of Covid-19.

Trump’s support for the drug has made the hydroxychloroquine debate a political one. The National Institutes of Health began testing its effectiveness on Thursday, but Trump has long been an advocate for its use, describing it as a “game changer” after news media picked up on a promising study by French biologist Didier Raoult last month. French President Emmanuel Macron recently met with Raoult, in a three-hour private meeting Macron’s staff say was part of a wide consultation process.

Trump’s opponents have rounded on him for backing an unproven treatment. Though hydroxychloroquine has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the most desperately ill patients, its prescription to outpatients has been banned by Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak (D) and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D). Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) has meanwhile asked pharmacists not to prescribe it, in a bid to prevent hoarding.

Newspapers have talked up its potential side effects, and several jumped on the story of an Arizona couple who died after self-medicating with the drug, while neglecting to mention that the pair had consumed fish tank cleaner, and not actual medication.

Should the British trial find hydroxychloroquine effective, demand for the drug could soar. The drug’s patent has expired, and several manufacturers have ramped up production in recent days. Pharmaceutical firms Novartis, Mylan, Amneal and Teva have all pledged to deliver or donate tens of millions of tablets by the end of April. 

India, where 70 percent of the world’s hydroxychloroquine supply is manufactured, slapped a ban on the drug’s export last month, before partially easing the restriction last week under pressure from Trump. A consignment of the medication then touched down in the US on Saturday.

No proven cure or vaccine exists yet for Covid-19. Globally, the virus has infected 1.8 million people and killed more than 112,000.

April 01, 2020

World Coronavirus Cases Dramatically Surge to 800,000, Death Toll Nears 39,000

The number of Covid-19 infections around the world passed 801,000 confirmed cases on Tuesday, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, while more than 38,700 patients have lost their lives, many of the victims in the US and Europe.

As the world has reached another grim Covid-19 milestone on Tuesday, the United States accounts for over 164,000 cases, and followed by Italy with more than 101,700 and Spain with nearly 88,000, marking the three largest and most severe coronavirus outbreaks within the global pandemic.

Over 170,000 previously infected people have recovered, thankfully. But several hospitals across the world are facing a tsunami of virus patients and some are likely to be overwhelmed in a few days or weeks, especifically in the US and the UK.

In mid-March, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced that Europe has become the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. Days later, Margaret Harris, a spokesperson for the WHO, stated that the amount of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the United States is growing so rapidly that the country has the potential to become the new epicenter of the pandemic.

The Latest Figures

• The US: 164,610 cases, 3,170 deaths
• Italy: 101,739 cases, 11,591 deaths
• Spain: 94,417 cases, 8,189 deaths
• China: 82,276 cases, 3,309 deaths
• Germany: 67,051 cases, 651 deaths
• France: 45,171 cases, 3,030 deaths
• The UK: 22,465 cases, 1,412 deaths
• Switzerland: 16,176 cases, 373 deaths
• Belgium: 12,775 cases, 705 deaths
• Netherlands: 11,817 cases, 865 deaths
• Turkey: 10,827 cases, 168 deaths
• Austria: 9,876 cases, 128 deaths
• South Korea: 9,786 cases, 162 deaths
• Canada: 7,448 cases, 89 deaths
• Portugal: 7,443 cases, 140 deaths
• Israel: 4,831 cases, 17 deaths
• Brazil: 4,661 cases, 165 deaths
• Australia: 4,559 cases, 18 deaths
• Norway: 4,495 cases, 34 deaths
• Sweden: 4,028 cases, 146 deaths
• Czechia: 3,002 cases, 25 deaths
• Denmark: 2,994 cases, 90 deaths
• Ireland: 2,910 cases, 54 deaths

The COVID-19 emerged in the Central Chinese city of Wuhan in December, incrementally infecting some 200 countries across the world. Chinese authorities have stated that although the domestic transmission of the deadly disease has been largely stopped, the growing number of imported cases risks triggering a secondary wave of the infection.

But on Tuesday, WHO experts warned that while some Asian countries appear to have slowed down the spread of the Covid-19, no nation should let its guard down. They cautioned that the pandemic in Asia is "far from over".

March 31, 2020

At least 3,003 people have died in the United States from Covid-19, according to a CNN tally of data from state health departments. 

There have been at least 160,698 cases of coronavirus that have been detected and tested in the United States through US public health systems. 

The total includes cases from every state, the District of Columbia and several US territories, as well as repatriated cases.

Hawaii and Wyoming have not reported a death from coronavirus. 

Each day sees more reports of deaths than the previous day. There were more than 500 reports of deaths from coronavirus on Monday, the most death reports in a single day in the United States.

Almost one out of every five US deaths reported during the coronavirus crisis was reported Monday

March 28, 2020

The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 30,000 lives around the globe, according to the calculations by AFP news agency. Some 20,000 of the victims were in Europe where Italy and Spain remain the hardest-hit countries.

John Hopkins University in Maryland, which also keeps track of the Covid-19 death toll, has also updated its count to just above 30,000 deaths.

In AFP’s home country, France, the authorities said that 319 people succumbed to the disease Saturday, with the overall number of deaths reaching 2,314.

Coronavirus Cases:

662,541 

view by country

Deaths:

30,839


Recovered:

141,468

US alone has 2,000 deaths and over 100,000 active cases per John Hopkins Universities 

March 13, 2020

Europe becoming battle ground for covid-19 and South Korea is for Asia

Italy has reported 250 new deaths due to the Covid-19 virus – a one-day record since the country experienced the biggest outbreak of positive cases across Europe.

US confirms first coronavirus death in Washington state

Woman in her late 50s from King County, Washington is first coronavirus death

29.02.2020

Washington State

U.S. health authorities on Saturday confirmed the first coronavirus death in Washington state.

"The Washington State Department of Health confirms the first U.S. death from COVID-19 has occurred here in the state of Washington," the department said on Twitter.

The department emphasized that more information will be shared in a media briefing later in the day. 

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his condolences to the family of the woman in King County, Washington, who became the first loss from the epidemic.

The woman was a "medically high-risk patient in her late 50s," Trump told a press conference at White House along with Vice-President Mike Pence and health officials, after the first coronavirus death was confirmed.

"Since the early stages of the foreign outbreak, my administration has taken the most aggressive action in modern history to confront the spread of [coronavirus]," Trump said.

Asked about using word "hoax" regarding coronavirus disease during a campaign rally in North Charleston, South Carolina, Trump defended that he did not call the virus itself a "hoax" but Democrats' politicization of the content.

Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said there was no evidence that the woman’s death was linked to travel or contact.

Redfield said the risk "remains low" for average Americans, and added everyone should continue their daily life.

Pence, who was put in charge of the coronavirus task by Trump, announced that travel restrictions will be extended, while travel advisories to Italy and South Korea have been elevated to level 4 - Do Not Travel due to the outbreak. 

Same level alert was issued for Iran on Wednesday.

The novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, was first detected in Wuhan city in China's Hubei province last December. 

The global death toll has reached 2,837 with China being the worst hit, with over 79,250 confirmed cases.

The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak an international health emergency and said the global risk level remains high

CURRENT SITUATION AR THE GLOBE

Coronavirus Outbreak: Deaths Rise in S. Korea, Italy, Several Countries Report First Cases

As coronavirus is spreading across Europe and Asia, authorities of several countries declared their first and new cases of infection, with several deaths reported in two of the most COVID-19-hit states; South Korea and Italy.

South Korea urged citizens on Saturday to stay indoors as it warned of a "critical moment" in its battle against the coronavirus after as Seuol has reported more than 800 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total infections to 3,150, with 17 deaths.

Authorities in Italy announced the deaths of four more coronavirus patients on Friday, bringing the number of people who have died from the illness to 21 - the most in Europe

At a press conference on Friday evening, health authorities stated that the number of overall cases had risen to 821, up from 650 the previous day. The number includes around 45 people who had been infected but are now fully recovered.

On Saturday, Qatar became the latest Middle Eastern country to report its first case of coronavirus, as the country's health ministry reported the first case of a coronavirus infection - a 36-year-old Qatari man.

Mexico's government announced on Friday it had detected three cases of coronavirus infection in three men who had all recently traveled to Italy, making the country the second in Latin America to register the fast-spreading virus.

Canada’s province of Ontario confirmed its eighth case of the COVID-19 disease caused by the newly-identified coronavirus in its capital city of Toronto, health officials said late on Friday. The infected individual was identified as an old man who had a travel history to Egypt. The Toronto Public Health service is actively tracing the man’s contacts.

A British man who was infected by the coronavirus on the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship in Japan died, bringing the death toll among people who were aboard the vessel to six, the Japan's government announced on Friday.

The Britain's Health Ministry announced on Friday that the number of people infected with coronavirus in the United Kingdom had risen to 20, after another patient in England had tested positive for the disease.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that taking measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus was his government's top priority and that the public were right to be concerned, in his first television appearance to talk about the issue.

Also, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday confirmed one more case of the coronavirus among citizens evacuated from the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship, bringing the tally among evacuees to 44.

France on Friday reported 19 new confirmed coronavirus cases, taking the total to 57, and French Health Minister Olivier Veran recommended that people refrain from shaking hands in order to prevent infection.

A German government crisis committee on Friday enacted new measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak that include the widening of cross-border travel guidelines and the cancellation of major international events.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for stronger efforts to guard against coronavirus, saying there will be "serious consequences" if the outbreak spreads to the country. Pyongyang has not reported a single case of COVID-19.

In Japan, the traditional cherry blossom festivals in Tokyo and Osaka, which attract millions of people wanting to seeing the white and pink flowers, will not go ahead as planned in April.

Switzerland on Friday banned large events expected to draw more than 1,000 people in a drive to curb the new coronavirus epidemic, prompting cancellation of the Geneva car show and grumbling from businesses watching demand vanish.

Also, the United States will postpone a meeting with leaders of Southeast Asian countries it planned to host on March 14 amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, according to two US officials familiar with the matter.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has also refused to rule out postponing international football matches in response to the escalating global threat of the coronavirus.

"The health of persons is much more important than any football game," Infantino stated as he arrived in Belfast on Friday for this weekend's annual general meeting of the rule-making International Football Association Board.

Guests at two Abu Dhabi hotels who interacted with two Italians diagnosed with coronavirus have been placed under quarantine in the hotels.

Thailand recorded a new coronavirus infection, taking its tally to 42 cases since January, a health official said on Saturday.

Taiwan reported a five-person jump in new cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, including four people who had contact with another infected patient in a hospital and one person returning from the Middle East, bringing Taiwan's total to 39.

Lebanon announced on Friday it was closing the country's schools effective February 29 until March 8 as a precautionary measure against the spread of coronavirus, an education ministry statement said.

Death toll over infection of the new coronavirus, officially named as COVID-19, has risen to 66 in Iran, said the latest report by Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education on Monday.

Kianush Jahanpur, head of Public Relations and Information Center of the ministry, said that the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Iran has affected 1,501 people, adding that 291 of them have recovered.

On Monday, it was announced that Mohammad Mir Mohammadi, a member of Iran's expediency council, died from the coronavirus.

The Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiee said on Monday that there are still two weeks of tough days regarding the virus outbreak in the country.

Earlier, the Iranian Minister of Health and Medical Education Saeed Namaki warned that the week ahead is the peak of virus rampage in the country. He urged people to observe the instructions by the officials for their health sake.

Iran announced the first cases of viral infection in central Qom city on Feb. 18

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has recommended that ministers and diplomats skip a meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York next month due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Mainland China had 427 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on Friday, the country's National Health Commission announced on Saturday, up from 327 cases a day earlier. It brings the total accumulated number of confirmed cases in mainland China so far to 79,251. The death toll from the outbreak in mainland China had reached 2,835 as of the end of Friday, up by 47 from the previous day.

Since it first appeared in Wuhan at the end of November, the coronavirus has spread to around 60 countries, infecting more than 82,000 people and killing over 2,900 — the majority of them in China.