Health

Breastfeeding mothers do not seem to be passing on the new coronavirus to their infants, and based on current evidence the benefits outweigh any potential risks of transmission, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

A study of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine in mice lends some assurance that it will not increase the risk of more severe disease, and that one dose may provide protection against the novel coronavirus, according to preliminary data released on Friday.

The U.S. Department of Transportation unveiled plans on Friday to send nearly 100 million face coverings to airports, transit agencies and U.S. passenger railroad service Amtrak over the coming weeks, in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

U.S. health officials on Friday urged Americans to continue adhering to social distancing and other COVID-19 safety measures following rising concerns among experts that the reopening of the country's economy could lead to a fresh wave of infections.

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.

Breastfeeding mothers do not seem to be passing on the new coronavirus to their infants, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert said on Friday.

Vaccines for the new coronavirus should be made available as a global public good, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, to ensure everyone had fair access to any life-saving products that are developed.

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.

Facing budget shortfalls and double-digit unemployment, governors of U.S. states that are COVID-19 hotspots on Thursday pressed ahead with economic reopenings that have raised fears of a second wave of infections.

Britain's government have brought in quarantine rules to protect public health, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday, declining to comment on legal action brought by British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair.

Italy, the first major European country to roll out a smartphone app to trace COVID-19 infections that does not rely on a centralized database, has already seen 2.2 million downloads in 10 days, a sign Italians are setting aside privacy concerns.