Health

A coalition partner in the Kosovo government will file a motion for a no-confidence vote in the government following the sacking of the interior minister over a dispute whether to declare a state of emergency to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

Britain faces a "massive shortage" of ventilators that will be needed to treat critically ill patients suffering from coronavirus, after it failed to invest enough in intensive care equipment, a leading ventilator manufacturer said on Wednesday.

Patients with existing illnesses that cause breathlessness, wheezing or lung problems run a higher risk of developing severe cases of COVID-19 infection due to the new coronavirus, according to a pooled analysis study published on Wednesday.

British pharmaceutical company Synairgen said on Wednesday it had the go-ahead to test a drug that could boost the lung function of patients with coronavirus, potentially assisting in the global fight against the pandemic.

The Italian government threatened on Wednesday to ban all outdoor exercise as the coronavirus death toll soared to 2,978 and frustration grew over the number of people defying a nationwide lockdown order.

Italian unions urged the national post office Poste Italiane on Wednesday to cut the number of people at work and make sure that all employees have face masks and plastic gloves after two of them died from the coronavirus.

Britain faces a "massive shortage" of ventilators that will be needed to treat critically ill patients suffering from coronavirus, after it failed to invest enough in intensive care equipment, a leading ventilator manufacturer said on Wednesday.

The number of deaths of people who tested positive for coronavirus in the United Kingdom rose to 103 on Wednesday, from 71 a day earlier, the health ministry said in a statement.

The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in the northern Italian region of Lombardy, which has borne the brunt of a nationwide contagion, has risen by 319 in a day to 1,959, two sources with access to the data said on Wednesday.

The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has surged in the last 24 hours by 475 to 2,978, an increase of 19%, the biggest jump in numerical terms since the contagion came to light last month, officials said on Wednesday.

Confirmed coronavirus cases in Israel have jumped by 40% to 427 in the past 24 hours, authorities said on Wednesday, predicting a steeper rise as mass testing is implemented, and a blanket ban on entry of foreign nationals was imposed.

Hundreds of millions of people faced a world turned upside down on Wednesday by once-in-a-generation emergency measures against the coronavirus pandemic that is killing the old and vulnerable and threatening prolonged economic misery.

Social media is awash with myths about how people might stop the new coronavirus or treat infection with COVID-19, the disease it causes.

France's army transferred six patients in critical condition due to coronavirus to a military facility on Wednesday as it sought to ease the strain on hospitals in the east of the country that are struggling to cope with the spiralling number of cases.

The number of deaths of people who tested positive for coronavirus in England rose to 99 on Wednesday, from 67 a day earlier, a 48% jump, NHS England said in a statement.

The arrival of coronavirus in Venezuela is fueling concerns the disease could spread like a fast-moving fire through the country's notoriously overcrowded and unsanitary prisons.

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide were adjusting on Wednesday to once-in-a-generation measures to battle the coronavirus crisis that is not only killing the old and vulnerable but also threatening prolonged economic misery.

Coronavirus fears led to a historic drop in U.S. stocks, shut borders and disrupted daily life around the world, as governments took increasingly drastic measures to try to reduce the severity of the global outbreak.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday reported 7,087 cases of the coronavirus, an increase of 2,812 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 22 to 97.

China's imported coronavirus cases outnumbered domestic transmissions for a fifth straight day as infected travellers passed through major transport hubs in Beijing, Shanghai, and the southern cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen.