Health

Hundreds of meatpacking workers at a single BRF SA plant in southern Brazil have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the company said on Monday, amid global concerns about the pandemic disrupting food supplies.

A researcher leading Thailand's push to manufacture a coronavirus vaccine says its aim is to make it cost-effective and accessible to Southeast Asia, and play a part in preventing a supply shortage globally.

President Vladimir Putin made a rare lockdown appearance in the Kremlin on Monday after officials said improvements in the coronavirus situation may allow Russia to re-open some tourist resorts soon and relax restrictions in many regions.

The death toll from the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Sweden has topped 4,000, statistics published by the Public Health Agency showed on Monday.

Syria reported 20 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Monday, the largest single-day increase to date, the health ministry said.

Cases of the coronavirus in Russia climbed to 353,427 on Monday, having risen by 8,946 in the past 24 hours, the country's coronavirus crisis response centre said.

Singapore's health ministry on Monday confirmed 344 more coronavirus cases, taking its tally of infections to 31,960.

Bayer said on Monday it had made progress seeking a settlement over claims its glyphosate-based Roundup weedkiller causes cancer, after Bloomberg reported the company reached a verbal agreement on about 50,000 to 85,000 cases.

Switzerland's Bachem has begun round-the-clock production of Propofol, a drug needed to sedate ventilated patients whose plight during the pandemic -- prone, unconscious, hospitalised -- has become emblematic of COVID-19's hit to healthcare systems.

A French consortium announced on Monday the launch of the production phase for a saliva-based screening test to detect the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Americans sunbathed on beaches, fished from boats and strolled on boardwalks this holiday weekend, even as the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 fast approaches 100,000.

Thailand confirmed two new coronavirus cases and one additional death on Monday, a health ministry spokesman said.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 289 to 178,570, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Monday.

China reported 11 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the mainland as of end-May 24, up from three a day earlier, the National Health Commission reported.

Mexican health officials on Sunday reported 2,764 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 215 deaths, bringing the totals to 68,620 and 7,394, respectively.

Brazil, the world's No. 2 coronavirus hotspot behind the United States, registered 653 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday, taking the total number of fatalities to 22,666, the Health Ministry said.

Americans sunbathed on beaches, fished from boats and strolled on boardwalks this holiday weekend, but the occasional person wearing a mask was a constant reminder that the world is still battling the coronavirus pandemic.

French authorities reported the smallest daily rise in new coronavirus cases and deaths on Sunday since before a lockdown began on March 17, raising hopes that the worst of the epidemic is over in France.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday reported 1,622,114 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 26,229 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 1,047 to 97,049.

Chile's healthcare system is under strain and "very close to the limit," President Sebastian Pinera said on Sunday, as the number of confirmed novel coronavirus infections approaches 70,000 after a rapid increase in recent days.