Health News

Authorities in Congo announced a new Ebola outbreak in the western city of Mbandaka on Monday, adding to another epidemic of the virus that has raged in the east since 2018.

The World Health Organization (WHO) should have enough information in 24 hours to decide whether to continue suspending its trial of hydroxychloroquine for use against coronavirus, its chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said on Monday.

Britain's AstraZeneca has clinched expanded regulatory backing for two medications, including one for blockbuster cancer treatment Lynparza, in a development pipeline that now includes a possible coronavirus vaccine.

Britain's new coronavirus test-and-trace system is working well and some of the thousands of contact-tracers who have been recruited are not yet fully occupied, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Monday.

More than a quarter of the confirmed novel coronavirus cases in Brazil's southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul are among meat plant workers, the labor prosecutors' office said on Monday.

The United Kingdom's death toll from people who have tested positive for COVID-19 has risen by 111 to 39,049, the government said on Monday.

Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 60 on Monday, against 75 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new cases fell to just 178 from 355 on Sunday.

(This May 28 story corrects to say CordenPharma is a German company, not Swiss, in paragraph 2)

Spain's Health Ministry reported no new deaths from the new coronavirus on Monday, with the total death toll unchanged from Sunday at 27,127, the health ministry said.

(This May 29 story corrects to clarify in paragraph 5 that it was unclear how much of Chinese pledge would go to the WHO)

Chile has surpassed 100,000 cases of the coronavirus, the health minister said on Monday, as infections have spiraled in the capital Santiago, putting the South American nation´s healthcare system under "extraordinary" strain.

India's annual monsoon arrived on the Kerala coast on Monday, an official at the state-run weather office said, marking the start of the four-month rainy season that is crucial for the country's farm-dependent economy.

The Philippine health ministry on Monday reported three new deaths and 552 more confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

Indonesia reported on Monday 467 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of cases to 26,940, said Health Ministry official Achmad Yurianto.

A self-driving robot equipped with cameras and an LED screen greets visitors at the lobby in the headquarters of South Korea's largest mobile operator, checking their temperature, dispensing hand sanitiser and disinfecting the floor.

Russia on Monday reported 9,035 new cases of the novel coronavirus, taking the nationwide tally of infections to 414,878.

Singapore confirmed 408 new coronavirus cases on Monday, its health ministry said, bringing the city-state's tally to 35,292.

Gene and cell therapy firm Oxford Biomedica plc said on Monday it had appointed French pharmaceutical industry veteran Roch Doliveux as its non-executive chairman, as it eyes a potentially major role in producing coronavirus vaccine.

Drugmakers AstraZeneca Plc and Merck & Co Inc said on Monday their blockbluster cancer drug, Lynparza, has received positive recommendation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as a maintenance treatment for a form of pancreatic cancer.

Russia will start administering its first approved antiviral drug to treat coronavirus patients next week, its state financial backer told Reuters, a move it described as "a game changer" that should speed a return to normal economic life.