Health News (Reuters)

Washington, D.C. needs an estimated 3,600 hospital beds within the next two weeks as it braces for a coronavirus outbreak, the mayor wrote in a letter to hospitals in the U.S. capital.

Staff at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in New York City were seen disposing of their gowns and caps and other protective wear in a sidewalk trash can on Thursday after wheeling bodies out of the hospital and loading them into a refrigerated truck.

BodySphere, which describes itself as a distributor of medical products needed to combat the coronavirus pandemic, has falsely claimed that it has access to a rapid diagnostic test made by Safecare Biotech in China for sale in the United States, the test manufacturer told Reuters.

Canada faces "a critical week" in fighting the coronavirus, a senior official said on Thursday, as the death toll jumped and the most populous province said residents should brace for a stark scenario.

Spain's death toll from the coronavirus rose above 10,000 on Thursday after a record 950 people died overnight, but health officials were encouraged by a slowdown in daily increases in infections and deaths.

U.S. officials said on Thursday they would distribute a stockpile of personal protective equipment, including 192,000 N95 respirator masks, which they seized this week from an alleged hoarder.

Global coronavirus cases surpassed 1 million on Thursday as the pandemic explodes in the United States and the death toll continues to climb in Italy and Spain, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The World Bank on Thursday said it had approved an initial $1.9 billion in emergency funds for coronavirus response operations in 25 developing countries, with more than half the aid earmarked to help fight the fast-spreading disease in India.

Staff at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in New York City were seen disposing of their gowns and caps and other protective wear in a sidewalk trash can on Thursday after wheeling bodies out of the hospital and loading them into a refrigerated truck.

There is no vaccine against the novel coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2, that is spreading rapidly around the world. But scientists in several countries are testing a century-old tuberculosis (TB) vaccine to see if it might boost the immune system to reduce respiratory symptoms in people who get new coronavirus infections.

Britain is looking at issuing immunity certificates to people who have developed resistance to the coronavirus, but there needs to be more research into the science behind it, health minister Matt Hancock said on Thursday.

New York has enough ventilators in stock to last another 6 days at the current rate they are being used in hospitals to treat coronavirus patients, and is working to convert other machines to address any shortage, the governor said on Thursday.

U.S. doctors running out of narcotics needed for COVID-19 patients on ventilators are asking the federal government to raise production limits for drugmakers, according to a letter seen by Reuters, after national quotas had been tightened to address the opioid addiction crisis.

The British government's worst case scenario envisages a coronavirus death toll of 50,000 if self isolation is not fully adhered to, but the United Kingdom is not right now on course for a toll of that scale, a source familiar with the government's emergency discussions said.

Global coronavirus deaths topped 50,200 on Thursday as the pandemic ravages the United States and Europe, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday reported 213,144 cases of coronavirus, an increase of 27,043 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 910 to 4,513.

Initial tests in mice of a potential COVID-19 vaccine delivered via a fingertip-sized patch have shown it can induce an immune response against the new coronavirus at levels that might prevent infection, U.S. scientists said on Thursday.

Somali doctor Abdirizak Yusuf Ahmed has escaped an execution, battled deadly diseases and treated war victims. Now - at 35 years old - he's been tapped to lead his nation's response to the coronavirus.

Doctors in the Netherlands have been advising elderly patients to think twice before agreeing to COVID-19 treatment in hospital intensive-care units, drawing criticism that they are attempting to ration scarce ICU beds.

Health minister Matt Hancock will set out on Thursday how Britain will boost its testing regime to help tackle the coronavirus outbreak, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, acknowledging more needed to be done.