Health News

Britain will provide the anti-viral drug remdesivir to certain COVID-19 patients that it is most likely to benefit as part of a collaboration with manufacturer Gilead Sciences, the health ministry said on Tuesday.

The Americas have emerged as the new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a Tuesday briefing, as a U.S. study forecast deaths surging in Brazil and other Latin American countries through August.

As Brazil's daily COVID-19 death rate climbs to the highest in the world, a University of Washington study is warning its total death toll could climb five-fold to 125,000 by early August, adding to fears it has become a new hot spot in the pandemic.

U.S. biotech company Novavax Inc has joined the race to test coronavirus vaccine candidates on humans and said it was targeting production of over a billion doses of its vaccine candidate next year.

World TeamTennis, an innovative mixed-gender professional tennis league, will start from July 5 at the Greenbrier, West Virginia, and up to 500 fans will be allowed to attend matches during its three-week season, tournament organisers said on Tuesday.

British health minister Matt Hancock hinted at a review of fines for families who faced penalties for breaking lockdown rules, after a top government adviser received widespread public condemnation for his lockdown travel.

Spain's Health Ministry on Tuesday defended changes to its methodology for recording coronavirus data that have led to wild fluctuations in daily statistics and provoked sharp criticism by opposition parties.

The United Kingdom's COVID-19 death toll surpassed 47,000 on Tuesday, a dire human cost that could define the premiership of Boris Johnson.

France again ranked fourth in coronavirus deaths after the United States, Britain and Italy, as Spain revised its tally down by nearly 2,000 on Monday.

Britain's health minister Matt Hancock said anti-viral drug Remdesivir was probably the most significant development yet in treating COVID-19 patients.

Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 78 on Tuesday, against 92 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new cases increased to 397 from 300 on Monday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) considers the Americas the new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, and now is not the time for countries to ease restrictions, officials said in a Tuesday briefing.

Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co Ltd said on Tuesday it plans to start clinical studies to test its experimental antibody against COVID-19 in the United States and China in the second quarter of the year, with partner Eli Lilly and Co.

The World Health Organization has urged Indonesia, one of the world's biggest advocates of two malaria drugs to treat the coronavirus, to suspend such treatment over safety concerns, a source familiar with the advice told Reuters on Tuesday.

The United Kingdom's death toll from confirmed cases of COVID-19 rose by 134 to 37,048, health officials said on Tuesday.

A day after Japan ended its state of emergency, Tokyo residents took to the streets with a mixture of relief and trepidation as they prepared for a "new normal" of living with the novel coronavirus.

India on Tuesday recorded a total of 145,380 coronavirus infections and a death toll of 4,167, comparatively low figures for the world's second-most populous country.

Germany aims to lift a travel warning for 31 European countries from mid-June, a government source said, and media reported that social distancing rules imposed to avoid the coronavirus could be eased from June 29, a week earlier than planned.

Fujifilm Holdings Corp will continue research on Avigan into June, Japan's government said on Tuesday, effectively dashing hopes by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the drug would be approved as a COVID-19 treatment this month.

Germany plans to ease social distancing steps from June 29, a week earlier than previously planned, and aims to lift a travel warning for 31 European countries from mid-June, German media reported.