Health News

The World Health Organization (WHO) updated its guidance on Friday to recommend that governments ask everyone to wear fabric face masks in public areas where there is a risk of transmission of COVID-19 to help reduce the spread of the pandemic disease.

British scientists halted a major drug trial on Friday after it found that the anti-malarial hydroxychloroquine, touted by U.S. President Donald Trump as a potential "game changer" in the pandemic, was "useless" at treating COVID-19 patients.

The World Health Organization is continuing its clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine, after British scientists halted a large trial that had been exploring use of the drug to treat patients with COVID-19 when initial results showed no evidence of benefit.

France reported more coronavirus-linked deaths and cases on Friday, although a top health official said the respiratory disease caused by the new virus was under control.

AstraZeneca's cancer drug Calquence has shown initial signs of helping hospitalised COVID-19 patients get through the worst of the disease, as researchers scramble to repurpose existing treatments to help fight the deadly infection.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday reported 1,862,656 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 20,555 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,035 to 108,064.

All visitors to hospitals in England will be required to wear face coverings and all hospital staff must wear surgical masks from June 15, health minister Matt Hancock said on Friday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) updated its guidance on Friday to recommend that governments ask people wear fabric face masks in public places to curb the spread of the pandemic COVID-19 disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Spaniards are concerned about a new problem resulting from the coronavirus epidemic - how to safely get rid of vast amounts of disposable masks, gloves and other sanitary equipment.

The number of COVID-19 cases in India has been doubling every three weeks but the epidemic is not growing exponentially in the country and South Asia region, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday

The reproduction number of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom remains between 0.7 and 0.9, government scientists said on Friday, but has increased in parts of England after lockdown restrictions were eased.

Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 85 on Friday against 88 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new cases jumped to 518 from 177 on Thursday.

Some countries have seen "upticks" in COVID-19 cases as lockdowns ease, and populations must protect themselves from the coronavirus while authorities continue testing, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

The United Kingdom's death toll from confirmed cases of COVID-19 has exceeded 40,000, according to government data published on Friday.

Iraq recorded more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day for the first time on Friday, with its total approaching 10,000 confirmed cases, the health ministry said.

Even as South Africa eases its coronavirus lockdown, infection numbers have started to rise quickly and President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday he was particularly concerned about the province around Cape Town.

Japan aims to put coronavirus vaccines into use by June 2021, the health minister said on Friday, as the country strives to be fully ready to host the Tokyo Olympics, originally planned for this summer but postponed by one year due to the pandemic.

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:

An increase in the number of deaths in England and Wales in recent months that have not been linked to COVID-19 could indicate that undiagnosed cases are killing more people than previously thought, data from the Office for National Statistics showed on Friday.

Some countries have seen "upticks" in COVID-19 cases as lockdowns ease, and populations must continue to protect themselves against the coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.