Blogroll

The Australian government launched a controversial coronavirus tracing app on Sunday and promised to legislate privacy protections around it as authorities try to get the country and the economy back onto more normal footing.

Germany changed course on Sunday over which type of smartphone technology it wanted to use to trace coronavirus infections, backing an approach supported by Apple and Google along with a growing number of other European countries.

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases increased by 1,737 to 154,175, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday.

Singapore registered 931 new coronavirus infections, its health ministry said on Sunday, taking the city-state's total number of COVID-19 cases to 13,624.

Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems said on Sunday it won a contract worth about $103 million to supply electronic warfare (EW) suites for an air force of an Asian country.

(This April 23 story clarifies that masks are disinfected, not sterilized, in paragraph 2)

Singapore is rapidly building bed space for coronavirus patients in cavernous exhibition halls and other temporary facilities as it faces a surge in cases, mainly among its large community of low-paid migrant workers.

Thailand on Sunday reported 15 new coronavirus cases and no new deaths, bringing the total number of cases since its outbreak in January to 2,922 cases and 51 deaths.

Health Canada cautioned on Saturday against the use of malaria drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to prevent or treat COVID-19.

The group of 20 rich and emerging economies on Sunday launched an international initiative to accelerate access to health tools needed to fight the new coronavirus.

Confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in Panama reached 5,538 on Saturday, a rise of 200 from the previous day, while related deaths increased by five to 159, the health ministry said.

Mexico's health ministry on Saturday reported 970 new cases of coronavirus infection and 84 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 13,842 cases and 1,305 deaths.

China reported 11 new coronavirus cases on April 25, compared to 12 on the previous day, with no fatalities, according to official data published on Sunday.

Eight mobile coronavirus testing units staffed by the army are starting to travel around Britain, with dozens more to follow, to help the government approach its target of 100,000 tests a day for the new coronavirus.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday reported 895,766 cases of new coronavirus, an increase of 30,181 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,623 to 50,439.

Prescriptions for two malaria drugs surged by more than 46 times on the day that U.S. President Donald Trump touted his opinion about their effectiveness in the coronavirus fight during a March briefing, the New York Times reported on Saturday. https://nyti.ms/2S9W1D3

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that there was currently "no evidence" that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second coronavirus infection.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in an address to the nation on Saturday that people will be allowed out to exercise from May 2 if the number of new coronavirus cases continues to fall.

Iran should draw up economic plans based on a worst-case scenario of nearly a year of disruptions due to the coronavirus, President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday, as the death toll from the disease rose by 76 to 5,650.

New York will on Saturday begin conducting antibody tests for workers at four hospitals hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic and will allow local pharmacies to begin collecting samples for diagnostic tests, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.