Air pollution linked with higher COVID-19 death rate: Study
Berlin: Higher levels of nitrogen dioxide pollutants in the air may be associated with an increased number of deaths from COVID-19, according to a study. The research, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, combined satellite data on air pollution and air currents with confirmed deaths related to COVID-19. It revealed that regions […]
Woman dies of starvation amid lockdown in Pakistan
Karachi: A pregnant woman has died of starvation in Pakistan’s Sindh province amid the coronavirus lockdown imposed in the country, according to media reports. Sughra Bibi, 30, died in Jhudo town of Sindh’s Mirpur Khas district last week, reported the “Daily Express” newspaper. Bibi’s husband Allah Baksh said he is a daily wager and due […]
Myanmar ships 800 freed Rohingya prisoners back to Rakhine
Sittwe (Myanmar): Myanmar shipped hundreds of recently released Rohingya inmates back to the country’s restive western borderlands on Monday, after fears that its overcrowded prisons could become hotbeds for runaway coronavirus outbreaks. Men, women and children belonging to the stateless and long-persecuted Muslim minority were among nearly 25,000 prisoners freed last week by a presidential […]
WHO-recommended disinfectants effective against novel coronavirus: Study
Berlin: Alcohol-based hand disinfectants recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) are effective against the novel coronavirus which causes COVID-19, according to a study. The formulations can be prepared quickly and easily by pharmacies and help alleviate the current shortage of disinfectants, said researchers from Ruhr-Universitat Bochum (RUB) in Germany. In the study published in […]
Genetic variation in immune system may affect COVID-19 severity: Study
Washington: Genetic variability in the human immune system may affect susceptibility to, and severity of disease due to the novel coronavirus, according to a study which may help identify people at higher risk of the disease. The research, published in the Journal of Virology, noted that individual genetic variation may explain differences in the strength […]
Coronavirus: Pakistani cleric booked again for defying ban on Friday congregations
Islamabad: A prominent cleric in Pakistan has been booked for a third time for defying the government ban on Friday congregations imposed as a part of measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus, according to a media report. Islamabad police registered a case against cleric of Lal Masjid, Maulana Abdul Aziz, on Saturday for […]
Coronavirus: China declares Wuhan low-risk area
Beijing/Wuhan: China has classified the coronavirus epicentre Wuhan as a low-risk area, days after it revised the city’s death toll by 50 per cent, even as 16 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the country, health officials said on Sunday. According to the risk criteria defined in a guideline issued by China’s State Council, cities, […]
COVID-19 ‘cannot be man made’, says Wuhan virology lab chief
Denies virus originated from institute
Beijing: A premier Chinese virology laboratory in Wuhan, which is in the eye of the storm for allegedly being the source of the novel coronavirus, has for the first time refuted the charge, including those of US President Donald Trump, that the deadly virus originated from his lab before it spread across the world and […]
World economy bound to suffer ‘severe recession’: IMF
Washington: The world economy, already “sluggish” before the coronavirus outbreak, is now bound to suffer a “severe recession” in 2020, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva has warned and said the current crisis posed “daunting challenges” for policymakers in many emerging markets and developing economies. Addressing the Development Committee Meeting during the annual Spring Meeting of the […]
WHO: others will revise virus death tolls like China
Geneva: The World Health Organization has said that many countries would likely follow China in revising up their death tolls once they start getting the coronavirus crisis under control. Wuhan, the COVID-19 epicentre, admitted missteps in tallying its death toll, abruptly raising the city’s count by 50 percent — following growing world doubts about Chinese […]
