Health

Four passengers have died on board the MS Zaandam, a cruise ship currently off the coast of Panama with over 130 guests suffering from influenza-like symptoms, at least two of whom have coronavirus, the vessel's operator said on Friday.

Coronavirus cases in Los Angeles are spiking, putting the region on track to have as many cases as hard-hit New York in five days, Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Friday, speaking from a naval hospital ship in the Port of Los Angeles.

At least one New York hospital has begun putting two patients on a single ventilator machine, an experimental crisis-mode protocol some doctors worry is too risky but others deemed necessary as the coronavirus outbreak strains medical resources.

There are now more than half a million coronavirus cases across 202 countries and territories globally, with the United States overtaking China as the country with the most infections. Infection rates are starting to pick up in Africa, Latin America and parts of the Middle East.

Residents of the Japanese capital formed long queues at supermarkets and stores on Friday, in preparation for a weekend at home, after Tokyo's governor urged them to stay indoors in a bid to keep a coronavirus from spreading.

Britain is scaling up coronavirus testing for frontline National Health Service (NHS) staff, with hundreds of tests due to be carried out in coming days and many more next week.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he expected thousands of urgently needed ventilators will be produced as part of the United States' response to the coronavirus pandemic.

There was no room for error at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan on Friday as medical staff moved an 18-year-old patient from the coronavirus ward for urgent tests in another unit.

The Army Corps of Engineers is looking at potentially converting more than 100 facilities in the United States to assist with the strain on hospitals dealing with the spread of the coronavirus, the commanding general of the Corps said on Friday.

A German town has turned a gymnastics hall into a facility to hold potential offenders against quarantine rules that stipulate a 14-day isolation period for those who test positive for the coronavirus and those who come into contact with them.

President Tayyip Erdogan called on Friday for a "voluntary quarantine" in which Turks stay at home except for shopping or basic needs to stem a surge of coronavirus cases, which jumped by a third in a day to 5,698 with 92 dead.

Turkey's coronavirus death toll rose by 17 on Friday to 92, while the total number of cases rose by 2,069 to 5,698, the country's health minister told a press conference.

Armed with hand sanitizer and discouraged from using elevators, members of the U.S. House of Representatives aimed to quickly pass a sweeping $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill on Friday, though it was unclear if they would be forced to delay a day.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Netherlands rose by 1,172, or 16%, to 8,603, health authorities said on Friday, with 112 new deaths.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for coronavirus and is self-isolating at his Downing Street residence but said he would still lead the government's response to the accelerating outbreak.

It's a bit like tag, except that you get tagged when someone coughs on you and that means you have the virus and have to go into isolation. If you come out and get tagged again, you die.

The Thai government on Friday ordered the closing down of more public facilities and businesses in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus, and extended existing closures until the end of April.

Britain is working as quickly as it can to get ventilators, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday, after London was criticized for not taking part in an EU scheme to try to buy the breathing machines in the coronavirus outbreak.

Britain is working as quickly as it can to get ventilators, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday, after London was criticised for not taking part in an EU scheme to try to buy the breathing machines in the coronavirus outbreak.

Private hospitals in the Philippines capital Manila have stopped accepting coronavirus patients in the face of surging numbers of sufferers and people seeking tests, the hospitals said.