Health

Dexamethasone, a cheap and widely used steroid, has become the first drug shown to be able to save lives among COVID-19 patients in what scientists hailed as a "major breakthrough".

England's Chief Medical Officer has hailed a finding that steroid drug dexamethasone can save the lives of those severely ill with COVID-19 as the most important trial result so far, as scientists seek effective treatments for the new disease.

China National Biotec Group (CNBG) said on Tuesday its experimental coronavirus vaccine has triggered antibodies in clinical trials and the company plans late-stage human trials in foreign countries.

It took just eight days for New Zealand to lose its COVID-free status when two women who had been given permission to leave quarantine early after arriving from abroad tested positive for the coronavirus, authorities said on Tuesday.

People under 20 are around half as susceptible to COVID-19 as people aged 20 or above, according to research published on Tuesday, and clinical symptoms of the pandemic disease appear in only about a fifth of infections in children and teens.

French drugmaker Sanofi on Tuesday said it would invest 610 million euros ($679.4 million) at two of its French sites to turn them into a hub dedicated to research, development and production of vaccines.

Sanofi's Chief Executive Paul Hudson on Tuesday sought to set aside tensions with the French government and said the drugmaker was committed to helping France build up its healthcare independence.

New Zealand said on Tuesday that it has two new cases of the coronavirus, both related to recent travel from the UK, ending a 24-day streak of no new infections in the country.

Thailand on Tuesday reported no new coronavirus infections or deaths and marked 22 successive days without a domestic transmission.

Beijing banned high-risk people from leaving the Chinese capital and halted some transportation services on Tuesday to stop the spread of a fresh coronavirus outbreak to other cities and provinces.

U.S. airline passengers who refuse to wear face coverings during the novel coronavirus pandemic could have their flying privileges revoked under tougher enforcement policies, the industry's main lobby group said on Monday.

Shanghai will quarantine all people coming to the city from mid to high-risk COVID-19 areas in China for 14 days, a city official said on Tuesday amid concerns about a resurgence of the disease following a cluster outbreak in Beijing.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 378 to 186,839, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Tuesday.

New Zealand said on Tuesday that it has two new cases of the coronavirus, both related to recent travel from the UK, ending a 24-day streak of no new infections in the country.

Beijing authorities imposed more restrictions to stop the spread of a fresh outbreak of coronavirus in the Chinese capital to other provinces, banning outbound travel of high-risk people and suspending some transportation services out of the city.

The two most populous U.S. states took markedly different approaches to reopening on Monday with New York scolding local governments for not enforcing social distancing and California encouraging counties to restart economies if they met criteria.

Mainland China reported 40 new confirmed coronavirus cases for June 15, down from 49 a day earlier, the National Health Authority said on Monday.

Mexico passed the grim milestone of 150,000 total confirmed coronavirus cases on Monday, as the health ministry reported 3,427 new infections along with 439 additional fatalities.

Global cases of the novel coronavirus reached over 8 million on Monday, as infections surge in Latin America and the United States and China grapple with fresh outbreaks.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday revoked its emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, but quickly came under fire from President Donald Trump, who said only U.S. agencies have failed to grasp its benefit in fighting the coronavirus.