Health News

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday reported 2,016,027 cases of new coronavirus, an increase of 21,744 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 947 to 113,914.

The global coronavirus pandemic remains "very much in the upswing" with a danger the disease could swiftly return to countries as they emerge from lockdowns, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

Canada will take airline passengers' temperatures before they fly and anyone with a fever will not be allowed to travel, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday.

The number of new coronavirus cases in Turkey rose above 1,000 in the last 24 hours for the first time since May 29, Health Ministry data showed on Friday, after the easing of travel restrictions and reopening of public facilities at the start of last week.

German insurers are putting together plans for a multi-billion euro public-private fund to help companies deal with business interruptions from future pandemics, according to an industry paper.

A second wave of the coronavirus could derail efforts by governments to reopen economies and ease lockdown restrictions. Here is a rundown of countries and regions with the highest infection rates and measures taken to curb infection rates.

Japan aims to launch a smartphone app based on technology from Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google next week to help curb the spread of coronavirus by tracking close contact with those infected, the health ministry said on Friday.

Indian drugmaker Zydus Cadila said on Friday it signed a non-exclusive licensing pact with Gilead Sciences Inc to manufacture and market antiviral drug remdesivir, the first treatment to show improvement in COVID-19 trials.

Drugmakers are warning of a potential shortage of vials to bottle future COVID-19 vaccines, but their rush to secure supplies risks making matters worse, some major medical equipment manufacturers warn.

Fears of a second wave of COVID-19 infections grew on Friday, with a record daily increase in India, warnings against complacency in Europe and news from half a dozen U.S. states that their hospital beds were filling up fast.

The European Commission received a mandate from EU governments on Friday to negotiate advance purchases of promising coronavirus vaccines, the EU's top health official said, but it is unclear whether there is enough money available.

The public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 epidemic in Europe is not over yet, the European Union's top health official warned on Friday, urging governments to remain vigilant and plow ahead with testing and tracing the population.

The risk of a second wave of COVID-19 infections big enough to require European lockdowns to be reimposed is moderate to high, EU health experts said on Friday, and depends on the gradual easing of restrictions and how people stick to them.

Beijing city government on Friday reported two new confirmed COVID-19 cases, marking the second consecutive day of new infections being reported in the Chinese capital.

Russia reported on Friday 8,987 new cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing its nationwide tally of infections to 511,423.

A single mother in Thailand is doing brisk business out of face shields with characters from cartoons, games and sci-fi movies, hoping to cash in and promote safety for children as her country emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.

About half a dozen states including Texas and Arizona are grappling with a rising number of coronavirus patients filling hospital beds, fanning concerns that the reopening of the U.S. economy may spark a second wave of infections.

Thailand will lift a nationwide curfew and ease more restrictions next week, a spokesman for its coronavirus task force said on Friday, after the country has reported no local transmissions of the virus for 18 days.

An experimental drug developed by an Australian researcher could help prevent deaths from COVID-19 by controlling the formation of blood clots responsible for breathing difficulties, organ failure, stroke and heart attack.

South Korea will extend prevention and sanitation guidelines against the coronavirus until daily new infections drop to single digits, the health minister said on Friday, failing which he warned of a return to tough social distancing measures.