Health

Britain may have hit its daily target of 100,000 COVID-19 tests, or come close, putting in place the beginnings of a network to test, track and trace people through the pandemic, housing minister Robert Jenrick said on Friday.

Japan's health ministry will introduce a system for health centres to report new coronavirus cases online instead of by hand-written faxes, phone or email - drawing praise from some but scorn from others wondering what took it so long.

Afghanistan, beset by a poor healthcare system, malnutrition, war and other vulnerabilities, likely is facing a "health disaster" from the coronavirus, a watchdog report to the U.S. Congress warns.

Moderna Inc and Swiss contract drugmaker Lonza Group AG said on Friday they would accelerate the manufacturing of the U.S. drug developer's potential coronavirus vaccine.

Thailand reported six new coronavirus cases and no new death on Friday, taking its tally to 2,960 infections while fatalities remained at 54 since the outbreak began in January.

Japan's coronavirus experts said it was desirable for the nation to keep its current framework of coronavirus containment policies until the number of new infections fell to a certain level, according to Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura.

China reported 12 new coronavirus cases for April 30, up from four a day earlier, data from the country's health authority showed on Friday.

Mexican health officials on Thursday reported 1,425 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 127 new deaths in the country, bringing the total to 19,224 cases and 1,859 deaths.

Gilead Sciences Inc , maker of the closely-watched experimental coronavirus drug remdesivir, on Thursday said it will work with international partners to expand production of the potential COVID-19 treatment.

The U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort departed New York harbor on Thursday, just a month after arriving to help ease the strain on overburdened city hospitals dealing with the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Canada's coronavirus curve is flat but worrying trends are emerging, particularly outbreaks in vulnerable indigenous communities, the country's top medical officer said on Thursday.

The Trump administration has tightened restrictions on the use of ethanol in hand sanitizer, citing safety concerns and forcing some suppliers to halt sales at a time of soaring demand, according to sources and documents seen by Reuters.

Brazil has reported a record 7,218 confirmed cases of new coronavirus in the last 24 hours, raising the total to 85,380 cases, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

At least 10 different drug compounds ranging from cancer therapies to antipsychotics and antihistamines may be effective at preventing the new coronavirus from multiplying in the body, according to a multidisciplinary study conducted by a team of scientists in the United States and France.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday reported 1,031,659 cases of new coronavirus, an increase of 26,512 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 2,552 to 60,057.

As the coronavirus pandemic engulfed the United States, Joe Shia, a consultant to Chinese medical companies, said he was bombarded with inquiries from American firms who saw a golden opportunity in selling tests to determine coronavirus immunity.

The number of deaths from COVID-19 in Peru has surpassed 1,000, the country´s ministry of health said on Thursday.

The number of people who died of coronavirus infection in France increased by 289 or 1.2% to 24,376 on Thursday, the lowest increase on a weekday since end March, government data showed.

South Africa reported another 297 positive cases of the coronavirus on Thursday, another big jump after cases climbed by their most in single day on Wednesday, bringing the total in the country to 5,647, the health department said in a statement.

A total of 26,771 people have died of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom, up by 674 in a 24-hour period, data from the health ministry showed on Thursday.