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Australia begins pre-clinical testing for coronavirus vaccine

Reuters
Apr 02 03:07 PM

Australia's national science agency said on Thursday it has commenced the first stage of testing potential vaccines for COVID-19, as it joins a global race to halt the coronavirus pandemic.  Read more »

Australia gives free childcare as coronavirus case curve flattens

Byron Kaye, Reuters
Apr 02 02:31 PM | Updated Apr 02 04:47 PM

SYDNEY - Australia on Thursday announced free childcare for six months as part of a bid to keep businesses operating through the coronavirus pandemic, as data on new infections supported early signs of "flattening the curve."   Read more »

Frontliner abroad: Filipina nurse battles on in COVID-19 epicenter

Trishia Billones, ABS-CBN News
Apr 02 01:39 PM

Divina Guerrero's family in the Philippines dissuade her from going to work, fearing for her safety whenever she heads to a small hospital in Bergamo, a city within the Italian region that was hit hardest by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Read more »

Israel's health minister diagnosed with coronavirus

Reuters
Apr 02 01:02 PM

TEL AVIV - Israel's health minister and his wife were diagnosed with coronavirus and are in isolation following guidelines, the health ministry said on Thursday. Read more »

PH envoy to Lebanon dies of COVID-19 complications

ABS-CBN News
Apr 02 11:40 AM | Updated Apr 02 01:57 PM

The Philippines' ambassador to Lebanon passed away Thursday due to complications from COVID-19, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.   Read more »

Global virus cases near 1 million as US records youngest death

Dmitry Zaks, Hazel Ward, and Shaun Tandon, Agence France-Presse
Apr 02 10:09 AM

A six-week-old baby died of COVID-19 and global agencies warned of food shortages as coronavirus infections around the world neared one million Wednesday.   Read more »

Evacuating COVID-19 patients in France

Thomas Samson, AFP
Apr 02 09:28 AM

A medical staff watches from a platform of the Gare d'Austerlitz train station on Wednesday in Paris through the window of a medicalized TGV high speed trains before its departure to evacuate patients infected with the COVID-19 from Paris' region hospitals to other hospitals in the western France Brittany region where the outbreak has been limited so far.  Read more »

6-week-old newborn dies of coronavirus in US: state governor

Agence France-Presse
Apr 02 08:21 AM

A six-week-old infant has died of complications relating to COVID-19, the governor of the US state of Connecticut said Wednesday, in one of the youngest recorded deaths from the virus. Read more »

US intel say China hid outbreak extent, lawmakers warn citing report

Agence France-Presse
Apr 02 07:10 AM

WASHINGTON - The United States has accused China of lying about the extent of its deadly coronavirus outbreak, according to American lawmakers who on Wednesday cited an intelligence report presented to the White House. Read more »

186,101 coronavirus cases, 3,603 deaths in US - CDC

Reuters
Apr 02 04:04 AM | Updated Apr 02 04:32 AM

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday reported 186,101 cases of coronavirus, an increase of 22,562 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 743 to 3,603.   Read more »

Man found dead on Thai train tests positive for COVID-19

Agence France-Presse
Apr 02 04:00 AM

A man found dead on a passenger train in Thailand has tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said Wednesday, as the country's death toll from the contagion more than triples from a week ago.   Read more »

Spain's coronavirus cases top 100,000 as masks, sanitizers flown in

Nathan Allen and Joan Faus, Reuters
Apr 02 03:15 AM

MADRID - Two planes packed with protective equipment arrived to restock Spain's overloaded public health system on Wednesday as its confirmed coronavirus cases rose beyond 100,000 and it recorded its biggest one-day death toll from the outbreak.   Read more »

France passes 4,000 coronavirus deaths

Reuters
Apr 02 03:13 AM

PARIS - French health authorities reported 509 new deaths from the coronavirus on Wednesday, taking the total to 4,032, making the country the fourth to pass the 4,000-fatalities threshold after Italy, Spain and the United States.   Read more »

Italy coronavirus death rate slows but studies suggest true tally higher

Gavin Jones and Giuseppe Fonte, Reuters
Apr 02 03:03 AM

ROME - Italy's daily death toll from coronavirus on Wednesday was the lowest for six days, authorities said, but the overall number of new infections grew and the government extended a national lockdown until at least the middle of April.   Read more »

UK govt promises more coronavirus tests as death toll jumps

Agence France-Presse
Apr 02 02:19 AM

Britain on Wednesday recorded its biggest day-on-day increase in coronavirus deaths, as the government came under renewed pressure to ramp up mass testing of frontline medical staff and the wider community.   Read more »

US Navy evacuating virus-struck aircraft carrier

Paul Handley, Agence France-Presse
Apr 02 01:40 AM

The US Navy is evacuating thousands of sailors from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in Guam after its captain warned a coronavirus outbreak was threatening the lives of the crew.   Read more »

Japan to expand entry ban to 73 countries, regions amid coronavirus spread

Kyodo News
Apr 02 01:26 AM

Japan said Wednesday it will deny entry to foreign nationals travelling from a total of 73 countries and regions, or about a third of the world, expanding its ban to include the Americas and Africa due to the continued rise in global coronavirus infections.   Read more »

Japan to give face masks to 50 million households to fight coronavirus

Kyodo News
Apr 02 01:21 AM

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday the government will distribute cloth face masks to roughly 50 million households in Japan as stocks of disposable masks have run out at drugstores and other shops amid the coronavirus outbreak. Read more »

Europe toll tops 30,000 as UN warns of world's worst crisis since WWII

Mariette Le Roux, Michael Mathes, Hazel Ward and Dmitry Zaks, Agence France-Presse
Apr 01 09:42 PM

The coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 30,000 lives in Europe alone, a global tally showed Wednesday, in what the head of the United Nations has described as humanity's worst crisis since World War II. Read more »

Amid COVID-19 pandemic, Syria war records lowest monthly death toll in 9 years

Agence France-Presse
Apr 01 09:38 PM

Of the total deaths, some 51 people were killed in shelling and airstrikes by the Syrian regime, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.  Read more »

11-year-old Indonesian girl dies after contracting COVID-19

Agence France-Presse
Apr 01 08:40 PM

She had a fever and breathing difficulties, and died the following day. Read more »

Bangkok to close parks as Thailand's coronavirus cases rise

Reuters
Apr 01 07:13 PM

The Thai capital of Bangkok will close all parks as it tightens measures to rein in a coronavirus pandemic by limiting people's movements, a city hall spokesman said on Wednesday. Read more »

Spain death toll hits 9,053 as coronavirus cases pass 100,000

Agence France-Presse
Apr 01 07:07 PM

The coronavirus death toll in Spain surged over 9,000 on Wednesday after a record 864 deaths in 24 hours, with the number of confirmed cases passing the 100,000 mark, the government said.  Read more »

China reports 1,300 asymptomatic virus cases after public concern

Agence France-Presse
Apr 01 07:03 PM

Chinese respiratory expert Zhong Nanshan said in a state media interview last week that asymptomatic carriers could potentially infect "3 to 3.5 people each." Read more »

Masquerade or needed aid? China virus help proves controversial

Valérie Leroux and Joelle Garrus, Agence France-Presse
Apr 01 06:57 PM | Updated Apr 02 01:50 AM

China has stepped in to help the West tackle the coronavirus crisis after managing to quell its own outbreak. But critics view the aid, though indispensable, as part of a cynical ploy to project Chinese influence. Read more »