Global Coronavirus Updates, July 11: Australia Approves Remdesivir as coronavirus treatment

Health workers wearing protective clothing arrive to screen people for COVID-19 symptoms at a slum in Mumbai, India, Friday, July 10, 2020. (AP Photo)

Australia Approves Remdesivir as coronavirus treatment

Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration has given provisional approval to the drug remdesivir, an experimental medicine that has shown promise in the recovery time of the most seriously ill COVID-19 patients. The approval comes as Australia is seeing a sharp increase in coronavirus infections in the state of Victoria, which reported a record 288 new confirmed cases Friday Authorities say remdesivir will be available only to patients who are severely ill, require oxygen or high-level support to breathe, and are in hospital care. It is the only drug licensed by both the US and the European Union as a treatment for people with severe illness from the coronavirus With a population of 26 million, Australia has recorded more than 9,000 coronavirus cases, with 106 deaths.

More COVID19 cases in Syrias overcrowded rebel enclave

At least two doctors in Syrias opposition held northwest have been infected with the coronavirus a monitoring group reported Saturday the latest confirmed cases in the overcrowded rebel enclave. The new infections raise the number of confirmed cases to three in the area where health care facilities have been devastated by years of civil war and where testing has been limited due to scarce resources.

Observers fear the virus could spread easily in Idlib province a concern compounded as Russia an ally of the Syrian government moved at the UN Security Council to reduce crossborder aid from Turkey.

Aid groups and UN agencies say such a reduction would hamper aid delivery of livesaving assistance amid a global pandemic. Doctors following up on the cases say testing and contact tracing is underway to attempt to isolate and prevent the spread of the virus The two new cases have been in contact with the areas first confirmed case _ a doctor who had moved between different hospitals and towns.

Dozens of US Marines in Japans Okinawa get coronavirus

Okinawan officials said Saturday that dozens of US Marines have been infected with the coronavirus at two bases on the southern Japanese island in what is feared to be a massive outbreak and demanded an adequate explanation from the US military. Okinawa prefectural officials said they could only say that a few dozen cases have been found recently because the US military asked that the exact figure not be released The outbreaks occurred at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma which is at the center of a relocation dispute and Camp Hansen Okinawan officials said.

Local media citing unnamed sources said about 60 people have been infected. Okinawans are shocked by what we were told by the US military Okinawa Gov Denny Tamaki told a news conference. He questioned disease prevention measures taken by the US military and renewed his demand for transparency regarding the latest development.

“Okinawan officials asked the US military on Friday to provide the number of cases and other details in order to address growing concerns among local residents,” Tamaki said.

The Marines said in a statement Friday that the troops were taking additional protective measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus and were restricting offbase activities. The statement said measures are to protect our forces our families and the local community without providing details on the infections. Okinawa is home to more than half of about 50000 American troops based in Japan under a bilateral security pact and the residents are sensitive to US baserelated problems Many Okinawans have long complained about pollution noise and crime related to US bases.

Go back to work, try to lead more normal lives: Boris Johnson

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called on the British public to try and start leading more normal lives as the country starts to gradually emerge from the coronavirus lockdown.

Addressing People’s Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) on social media, the UK prime minister urged people to start going back to work if they can and feel confident to return to shops and restaurants as they begin opening up by following the social distancing guidance.
“The best thing is to cautiously go back to work. My message now would be that if you can go back to work, then, provided your company’s obeying the guidelines, provided its safe, then you should go back,? he said.

“People should try to lead their lives more normally? I want to see more people feeling confident to use the shops, use the restaurants, get back into work. But only if we all follow the guidance,? he told People’s PMQs on Facebook on Friday.

While highlighting that the stay at home lockdown message was on its way out, he also indicated a rethink on compulsory face coverings and masks in public spaces besides just public transport in the UK.

“I do think we need to be stricter in insisting people wear face coverings in confined spaces where they are meeting people they don’t normally meet. We are looking at ways of making sure that people really do have face coverings in shops, for instance, where there is a risk of transmission,” he said, triggering speculation that the UK government was in the process of announcing new rules on face coverings soon.

South Africas confirmes cases doubled  to a quartermillion

South Africa now has more than 250000 confirmed cases including more than 3800 deaths. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

South Africas confirmed coronavirus cases have doubled in two weeks to a quartermillion. In Johannesburg at South Africas epicenter badlyneeded oxygen concentrators which help people with COVID19 breathe are hard to find as private businesses and individuals are buying them up a public health specialist volunteering at a field hospital Lynne Wilkinson told The Associated Press. Meanwhile South Africas struggling public hospitals are short on medical oxygen _ and they are now seeing a higher proportion of deaths than in private ones the National Institute for Communicable Diseases says.

South Africa now has more than 250000 confirmed cases including more than 3800 deaths. To complicate matters the countrys struggling power utility has announced new electricity cuts in the dead of winter as a cold front brings freezing weather Many of the urban poor live in shacks of scrap metal and wood And in Kenya some have been outraged by a local newspaper report citing sources as saying several governors have installed intensive care unit equipment in their homes.

WHO believes ‘unknown pneumonia’ in Kazakhstan could be COVID-19

The emergencies chief of the World Health Organization says the agency believes an unexplained pneumonia outbreak in Kazakhstan is likely due to the coronavirus. Dr Michael Ryan says Kazakh authorities have reported more than 10,000 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in the last week and just under 50,000 cases and 264 deaths as of Tuesday. “We’re looking at the actual testing and the quality of testing to make sure that there haven’t been false negative tests for some of those other pneumonias that are provisionally tested negative,” Ryan said.

He added that many pneumonia cases were likely to be COVID-19 and “just have not been diagnosed correctly.” Ryan says WHO was working with local authorities to review X-rays and look at the pattern of pneumonia cases to see if they were consistent with COVID-19.

“While we believe that many of these cases will be diagnosed as COVID-19, we keep an open mind,” says Ryan, noting a WHO team was already in Kazakhstan.

New cases decline in China

With new coronavirus cases dropping sharply in China, authorities have turn their attention to concerns that the virus could spread through imported food. Testing has been ramped up on incoming food shipments, and customs officials Friday said they were halting imports from three Ecuadorian shrimp producers after tests showed the presence of the virus in recent shipments. Authorities said the virus was detected on the outer packaging of shipments on July 3. The inner packaging and the shrimp, had, however tested negative.

South Korea reports 35 new infections

South Korea reported 35 new cases of coronavirus, bringing its total caseload to 13,373, with 288 deaths. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday that 13 of the new cases came from Seoul. Infections have also been detected in other major cities such as Gwangju and Daejeon. At least 15 new cases were linked to international arrivals.

Lab technicians Dionn Silva and Esai Fonseca exchange COVID-19 testing samples Friday, July 10, 2020, as the lab staff work to receive and process samples for testing at the UT Health RGV Clinical Lab on the UTRGV campus in Edinburg, Texas. (AP)

New York eases visitor ban aimed at curbing virus in nursing homes

Certain nursing homes in New York can allow visitors — with restrictions — starting July 15 as the state eases a ban aimed at limiting the spread of Covid-19 among vulnerable elderly residents.

Only nursing homes and long-term care facilities without any new coronavirus cases among residents and staffers in the last 28 days can allow limited visits, state Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said Friday. The department said the state’s policy follows federal guidance and is limited to nursing homes without staffing shortages that have tested all residents.

In other news, Kentucky’s Governor said a new requirement for people to wear face masks in public took effect at 5 pm Friday. Governor Andy Beshear said masks were mandatory regardless of anything other information being circulated.

Meanwhile, Florida is facing an alarming surge in cases, two months after businesses began reopening.

Texas governor Greg Abbott said things would get worse in the state as more than 10,000 patients were hospitalised with the virus. Around 95 deaths were recorded on Friday.

The Destiny USA mall reopens as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions are eased in Syracuse, New York, U.S., July 10, 2020. (Reuters)

Australia records over 200 new cases

Health officials in Australia’s Victoria reported 216 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, down from 288 cases yesterday. Victoria now has 3,560 confirmed cases of Covid-19. The entire country, meanwhile has over 9,000 cases of the virus, and 107 deaths.

South Africa reports over 12,000 cases

South Africa reported around 12,348 confirmed cases of coronavirus, taking the tally to 2,50,687 with 3,860 deaths. The epicentre of the outbreak has now shifted to Gauteng province, home of Johannesburg and the capital of Pretoria.

Of all adults infected with COVID-19 in the country, 50 to 66 per cent are asymptomatic, with many infections going undetected, a health official claimed.

A priest checks the temperature of a worshipper at Sagrada Familia church during the start of gradual reopening of religious activities in Mexico City, July 10, 2020. (Reuters)

Covid-19 hits dozens of Latin leaders including presidents

The pandemic has spared no one, including the leadership of Latin America, with two more presidents and powerful officials testing positive this week for the coronavirus.

An Associated Press review of official statements from public officials across Latin America found at least 42 confirmed cases of new coronavirus in leaders ranging from presidents to mayors of major cities, along with dozens, likely hundreds, of officials from smaller cities and towns. In most cases, high-ranking officials recovered and are back at work. But several are still struggling with the disease.

In Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro, 65, announced his illness Tuesday and said he was taking hydroxychloroquine to treat the virus. Bolsonaro has been advocating the unproven malaria drug for COVID-19 for the last few months.

Bolivian interim President Jeanine Añez, 53, made her own diagnosis public Thursday, throwing her already troubled political prospects into further doubt.