Summary of Latest Developments.
India’s government has approved antiviral drug remdesivir for emergency use in treating COVID-19 patients. Remdesivir is the first drug to show improvement in COVID-19 patients in formal clinical trials.
Africa’s coronavirus cases have surpassed 150,000 while more than 4,300 deaths have been confirmed across the continent.
Throughout January, the WHO publicly praised China for its response, but behind the scenes, there was growing frustration over not getting the information to fight the virus.
More than 6.27 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed around the world, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. More than 375,500 people have died, including more than 105,000 in the US. At least 2.7 million have recovered from the disease.
Here are the latest updates:
Mali teachers strike over virus concerns as schools reopen.
Teachers in the West African state of Mali went on strike on the first day schools reopened after being closed for two months, over fears of inadequate protection against coronavirus.
Details of the number of students affected were unavailable, but seven teachers’ unions are striking, officials said, in a move that will hit public primary and secondary schools, as well as teacher-training colleges.
The government shut schools to curb coronavirus in late March. These reopened on Tuesday, but only for final year students who are facing exams.
Sambou Diadie Fofana, the general secretary of Mali’s National Union of Secondary School Teachers, told AFP news agency that the strike was triggered by a “lack of measures (taken) in schools to protect everyone”.
Trump, Bolsonaro discussed research effort on using hydroxychloroquine
US President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro discussed a joint research effort on using the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as both a prophylaxis and treatment for the coronavirus, the White House said.
Trump and Bolsonaro “expressed their mutual appreciation for the longstanding collaboration on health issues between the two countries,” the White House said, discussing the US delivery of 2 million doses of the controversial drug to Brazil and “a joint research effort to help further evaluate the safety and efficacy of hydroxychloroquine for both prophylaxis and the early treatment of the coronavirus.”
Black, Asian people in England more likely to die from COVID-19, says report.
Black and Asian people in England are up to 50 percent more likely to die after becoming infected with COVID-19, an official study said, putting pressure on the government to outline plans to protect the most at-risk communities.
While the report by Public Health England (PHE) reinforced previous studies which indicated ethnic minority groups were more at risk from the virus, it was not accompanied by specific government advice for those people.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that equalities minister Kemi Badenoch would look at the issue further.
“We will put action in place as soon as we can. We won’t wait for a report,” Hancock said.
Zimbabwe tightens virus lockdown reinforcement as cases spike.
Zimbabwean security forces have cleared Harare’s city centre and turned back thousands of commuters and motorists as authorities reinforced restrictions to combat the spread of coronavirus following a spike in new cases.
Using loudhailer, police drove around telling people to “leave town and go home”, according to AFP news agency. Shops were ordered closed.
In a statement, police said besides essential services workers, “the rest of the public should stay home in order for the nation to curtail the increase in new Covid-19 cases currently being recorded”.
Coronavirus cases spiked from 34 at the start of May to 203 on Tuesday, with the majority of the cases being citizens returning from abroad. The country has recorded four deaths.
South African High Court says some lockdown restrictions invalid.
South Africa’s cabinet has said it had taken note of a High Court judgement declaring its coronavirus restrictions as unconstitutional and that it was studying the judgment, though the lockdown remained in force for now.
The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria declaring lockdown Levels 4 and 3 unconstitutional and invalid vindicates the Bill of Rights and Constitution, the applicants’ attorney said on Monday.
Advocate Zehir Omar – who represented the Liberty Fighters Network which identifies itself as a renegade social justice organisation in its legal challenge – said the win defended citizens’ statutory rights.
A statement from the cabinet said the court had declared restrictions under the third and fourth levels of South Africa’s five-level lockdown system as invalid, but suspended the order for a period of 14 days.
The minister has 14 days to comply with the court order, while she has also been ordered to pay for the costs of the first and second applicants.
Source:News Agencies.