Health News

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.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd said on Tuesday it will begin a new clinical trial in India to test a combination of two anti-viral drugs, favipiravir and umifenovir, as a potential COVID-19 treatment.

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Italy's nursing homes, ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic which claimed the lives of thousands of residents, face financial pressures that threaten to put many out of business and create a fresh elderly care crisis.

Novavax Inc said on Monday it has started the Phase 1 clinical trial of a novel coronavirus vaccine candidate and has enrolled the trial's first participants, with preliminary results slated for July.

Children under the age of two shouldn't wear masks because they can make breathing difficult and increase the risk of choking, a Japan medical group said, launching an urgent appeal to parents as the country reopens from the coronavirus crisis.

Thailand on Tuesday reported three new coronavirus cases and no new deaths, bringing its total to 3,045 confirmed cases and 57 fatalities.