(2020-04-29). Iranian scientist in US jail contracts coronavirus. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 29 (MNA) — An Iranian scientist who has been pleading for weeks to be released from a US immigration jail due to his fragile health has contracted Covid-19, according to his family and attorneys.
(2020-04-29). Why did the World Health Organization wait until March to declare a global pandemic? peoplesdispatch.org The 2005 regulations pushed on the World Health Organization by the United States and the Europeans hampered the WHO's ability to declare an emergency and a pandemic…
(2020-04-29). Why Did the World Health Organization Wait Until March to Declare a Global Pandemic? zcomm.org The 2005 regulations pushed on the World Health Organization by the United States and the Europeans hampered the WHO's ability to declare an emergency and a pandemic…
(2020-04-29). What are the underlying transmission patterns of COVID-19 outbreak? An age-specific social contact characterization. thelancet.com With an in-depth characterization of age-specific social contact-based transmission, the retrospective and prospective situations of the disease outbreak, including the past and future transmission risks, the effectiveness of different interventions, and the disease transmission risks of restoring normal social activities, are computationally analyzed and reasonably explained. The conclusions drawn from the study not only provide a comprehensive explanation of the underlying COVID-19 transmission patterns in China, but more importantly, offer the social contact-based risk analysis methods that can readily be appl…
(2020-04-29). Guatemalans Stage a Funeral Procession to Protest. telesurenglish.net After staging a funeral procession through the streets of Guatemala City on Tuesday, social activists and workers came together in the Constitution Square to denounce the poor management of the health emergency by RELATED: | "Basic services were c…
(2020-04-29). International Workers' Day: Find an action! workers.org 
May Day — International Workers' Day — will be celebrated on May 1 across the U.S. despite the challenges imposed by the pandemic. Activists in many cities are protesting from their cars about a range of key working-class issues, including health, safety and economic well-being in the context of COVID-19. . . . |
(2020-04-29). Testing tsar 'confident' government will hit 100,000 target for Covid-19. thecanary.co 
The government's testing tsar has said he is confident the 100,000 daily target for coronavirus tests will be met on Thursday.Professor John Newton, director of public health improvement for Public Health England (PHE), said: "We are pretty confident we will hit that target. It puts us really right up there with countries like Germany, so we need that now but we need that for the future as well."There will be a lag in receiving the data but "by the end of the week we will know whether we have reached that target", he added.The government has been under pressure over the target, with health secretary Matt Hancock…
(2020-04-29). Almost 18,000 EXTRA cancer patients could die in England within year while nation focuses on treating Covid-19 — study. rt.com 
While the UK has put all efforts into battling the epidemic of the novel coronavirus, cancer could claim up to 18,000 additional lives in England due to lack of diagnostics and treatment, a new study warns. | Delays in diagnosing and treating cancer could hurt the survival chances of thousands of people across England, joint research by University College London (UCL) and the Health Data Research Hub for Cancer (DATA-CAN) suggests. Scientists analyzed data from more than 3.5 million patients and discovered that the Covid-19 outbreak could indirectly lead to more than 17,900 extra cancer deaths within a year, i…
(2020-04-29). China's parliament to begin annual meeting on May 22 as 'epidemic situation improves'. rt.com 
The parliament of China will start its annual meeting on May 22, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday. The session will be held over two months later than originally planned, owing to the fallout from the Covid-19 outbreak. | Conditions for holding the annual meeting of parliament have been met, now that the coronavirus epidemic situation has improved in the country, officials at the top decision-making body of the Chinese parliament were quoted as saying. | The top political consultative body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, has also proposed to start its annual sessio…
(2020-04-29). Colombia's southeast in crisis as coronavirus breaks out and promised medical aid is missing. colombiareports.com The government of Colombia's southeastern Amazonas province urged for help on Tuesday after a coronavirus outbreak almost instantly collapsed its healthcare system. The National Health Institute (INS) reported that the…
(2020-04-29). 73,791 recovered from COVID-19 in Iran. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 29 (MNA) — Iran's Health Ministry Spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said on Wednesday that 73,791 Covid-19 patients have so far recovered from the disease in the country.
(2020-04-29). What is contact tracing, and why is it important in fight against COVID-19? newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Contact tracing is one of those terms associated with the COVID-19 pandemic that has seemingly become a part of our everyday language. But it's a public health strategy that's been used for years to combat communicable diseases. Contact tracing is the process of finding out who has recently been in close contact with a person …
(2020-04-29). Why are more men dying from COVID-19 than women? newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Men appear to be hit harder by COVID-19 than women. Early data from China and the World Health Organization (WHO) show that more men than women are dying from COVID-19. Other countries like Spain and Italy also are seeing higher death rates among men. But why might that be? Dr. Gregory Poland, a Mayo Clinic …
(2020-04-29). NSAIDS and heart disease: Mayo Clinic Radio Health Minute. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org They're common over-the-counter pain medications that are used millions of times. But on this Mayo Clinic Radio Health Minute, Dr. Rekha Mankad explains why caution should be used when taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. To listen, click the link below. NSAIDS and heart disease…
(2020-04-29). Essential Workers Plan Unprecedented Strike. zcomm.org Workers from Amazon, Instacart, Whole Foods, Walmart, Target, and FedEx are slated to walk out on work, citing what they say is their employers' record profits at the expense of workers' health and safety during the coronavirus pandemic…
(2020-04-29). COVID-19 cases increase across Illinois as many counties push to reopen. wsws.org The pandemic poses enormous problems for rural areas where public health programs and hospitals have been greatly defunded over the last decade, leaving vulnerable residents in greater danger.
(2020-04-29). Jaffna health workers complain of poor facilities as pandemic spreads in Sri Lanka. wsws.org Health workers in northern Sri Lanka insist that the insufficiency of tests and shortcomings of health facilities has made the province vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(2020-04-29). Cuba: Interferon's Effectiveness Against COVID-19 Confirmed. telesurenglish.net Cuban scientific authorities confirmed this week that the use of Interferon to treat COVID-19 patients was indeed effective. | RELATED: | Eulogio Pimentel Vazquez, President of the Cuban Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), affirmed that the Interferon application complies with Cuban Health Ministry (Minsap) protocols. Pimentel stated that it is part of a patients' treatment but not for those in…
(2020-04-29). Brazil Admits Country Is Getting Worse Due to COVID-19. telesurenglish.net With 5,017 people affected by COVID-19, the Brazilian government on Tuesday admitted that emergency situation is getting worse in the country due to the pandemic. | RELATED: | In the last 24 hours, 474 deaths were reported, the highest number recorded since the beginning of the epidemic. | The country's health authorities said the number of infections and deaths continues to grow. That reality must be treated as…
(2020-04-29). Australian health workers infected with COVID-19 but governments cover up full picture. wsws.org Even according to the officially-reported cases, Melbourne's health system is one of the worst-affected in Australia.
(2020-04-29). Black Workers Unite, Covid-19 & Black Workers Under Attack On Front Lines In City of SF. indybay.org San Francisco Black Workers Unite covered a panel on the health and safety conditions of Black city workers in San Francisco. They discuss the systemic racism, health and safety violations and retaliations against whistleblowers…
(2020-04-29). Public Health and Private Profits Under COVID-19 Pandemic. zcomm.org There is a major problem with vaccines and the for-profit pharmaceutical industry…
(2020-04-29). BBC Panorama exposes government responsibility for UK health worker deaths. wsws.org Using documents from within the NHS supply chain, the investigation rips apart ministers' claims to have provided 1 billion items of personal protective equipment in the last two months.
(2020-04-29). Mayo Clinic partners with state of Minnesota, University of Minnesota on breakthrough COVID-19 initiative. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Mayo Clinic joined Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcom, the University of Minnesota, and other health system leaders to announce a breakthrough initiative to provide rapid, widespread testing for COVID-19 in Minnesota. The goal of this statewide strategy is to test all symptomatic people, isolate confirmed cases to limit the …
(2020-04-29). In the American Snake Oil Stain. counterpunch.org In his Journal of the Plague Year, 1664, De Foe tells us that "
(2020-04-29). Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: COVID-19 news briefing with Dr. Greg Poland. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group, covers the latest news on the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Poland discusses current outbreak numbers, why there may be a second wave of infections, and research on a vaccine. Click the player below: Mayo Clinic Q&A is …
(2020-04-29). Symptom list for COVID-19 expanded. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, affects people in many ways. Early symptoms have included fever, cough and chills. The list of symptoms in people with confirmed COVID-19 disease has expanded since early reports of the disease. "We're learning more about the virus and more about the syndrome that it causes as people …
(2020-04-29). Infographic: Informed but not overwhelmed. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org For the latest updates on the COVID-19 pandemic, check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. For more information and COVID-19 coverage, go to the Mayo Clinic News Network and mayoclinic.org.
(2020-04-29). US teachers' unions vow action against early reopening. yenisafak.com Major teachers' unions in the US are gearing up to call for strikes or major protests if states reopen schools without taking proper precautions amid the coronavirus pandemic.The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and The National Education Association (NEA), the nation's two biggest teachers' unions, told Politico news outlet Tuesday that they will not remain silent when it comes to student safety.AFT President Randi Weingarten said schools need funding to implement public health measures, including personal protective equipment, to prevent possible exposure to the virus.If schools reopen without proper safet…
(2020-04-29). 1985 LA Times Poll Found 51% of Americans Supported Quarantining AIDS patients, 15% Wanted Them Tattooed. anti-empire.com 
Large numbers of Americans stand ready for strong new government action in the fight against the AIDS epidemic. | A Los Angeles Times Poll found that more than half of the adults in the nation support quarantining AIDS patients, nearly half would approve of ID cards for those who test positive for AIDS antibodies, more than a third would be willing to pay a one-penny national sales tax to finance greater research, and one in seven would favor such radical action as tattooing those with the disease. | The poll also found great public aversion to electing homosexuals, the largest AIDS risk group, to office. And…
(2020-04-29). How Mayo Clinic is using artificial intelligence in its COVID-19 research. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Artificial intelligence has a vital role in helping researchers in their efforts to fight COVID-19 and is an important tool in the work being done at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Andrew Badley is an infectious diseases specialist and leads Mayo Clinic's COVID-19 Research Task Force. In this Q&A, Dr. Badley answers questions about the task force …
(2020-04-29). Physicians, scientists and physician-scientists connect dots between heart disease, potential for worse COVID-19 outcomes. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org ROCHESTER, Minn. ? People with certain heart diseases may be more susceptible to worse outcomes with COVID-19, but the reason why has remained unknown. New research from Mayo Clinic indicates that in patients with one specific type of heart disease ? obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) ? the heart increases production of the ACE2 RNA transcript …
(2020-04-29). The Deterioration of the United States. indybay.org COVID-19 is just a Virus. Propaganda is the Disease.
(2020-04-29). Pompeo says no sign of North Korea's Kim, real risk of famine in country. yenisafak.com The United States has caught no sight of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and is watching reports about his health closely, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday, adding there is a real risk of famine in the country amid the coronavirus outbreak.North Korean media has not reported on Kim's whereabouts since he presided over a meeting on April 11, provoking intense speculation about his health and raising concerns about instability in the nuclear-armed country that could affect other North Asian countries and the United States."We haven't seen him. We don't have any information to report today, we'r…
(2020-04-29). English hospital COVID-19 death toll rises 445 to 19,746. yenisafak.com A further 445 people who tested positive for COVID-19 have died in English hospitals, bringing the total there to 19,746, the health service said.Of the 445, 27 had no known underlying health condition and were aged between 14 and 94.
(2020-04-29). Sweden's confirmed COVID-19 cases rise above 20,000. yenisafak.com The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Sweden rose past the 20,000 mark on Wednesday as the Nordic country reported 107 new deaths to put the tally at 2,462 since the outbreak began.Statistics compiled and reported daily by Sweden's Public Health Agency showed 681 new cases of the disease caused by the new coronavirus that emerged in China late last year, bringing the accumulated number to 20,302.Sweden has taken a less strict approach to curbing the the spread of the disease than most European countries, allowing most schools and businesses to remain open even as its mortality rate in the pandemic has r…
(2020-04-29). Zero Fatalities: What is Behind Vietnam's Success in Combatting Coronavirus? sputniknews.com The World Health Organisation's latest estimates put the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Vietnam at just 270, a far cry from the situation in neighbouring China where the figure stands at a whopping 84,347.
(2020-04-29). Pakistan Resumes Importing Food Items from Iran. iranian.com At least 20 trucks loaded with dates arrived in Pakistan through the Taftan border crossing after Islamabad decided to resume importing food items from Iran as the coronavirus disease in the region continues to slow down. The crossings of Chagai, Washuk, Panjgur, Turbat and Gwadar will remain open for three days every week to import …
(2020-04-28). French NGO Nominates Cuban Doctors For Nobel Peace Prize. telesurenglish.net French organization Cuba Linda advocated Tuesday to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the Cuban Henry Reeves medical brigades, deployed in more than 20 countries to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | "The international community is witnessing the solidarity of health professionals who leave their own country to provide services and share experiences in other parts of the world, which in the case of the pandemic…
(2020-04-28). Health care workers resist bigots and bosses. workers.org 
Antiscientific and right-wing attacks have intensified against efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. — with the U.S. president recklessly recommending bogus "treatments" and fascists protesting social distancing. During an April 23 press conference, President Trump actually suggested treating COVID-19 by injecting people with household disinfectants or giving . . . |
(2020-04-28). Health Outcomes With Vitamin D Supplementation. jamanetwork.com To the Editor In an Editorial, Drs Lucas and Wolf stated that randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of vitamin D and health outcomes have failed to confirm observational study findings. However, that is not the case for several health outcomes. Secondary analyses of the Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial (VITAL) revealed significant reductions in overall cancer incidence with supplementation with 2000 IU/d of vitamin D3 in participants with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 25 and in black individuals and reduced overall cancer mortality when the first 1 or 2 years of data were omitted. Secondary analyses of the Vitamin…
(2020-04-28). Here's How to Cover Uninsured Americans During the Pandemic. commondreams.org For the duration of this crisis, under the act, Medicare will cover all medically necessary health care, including prescription drugs, for the uninsured, whether those who have recently lost their jobs or those who have been long without insurance. (Photo: Sally Prevost/flickr/cc) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-04-28). Matt Hancock asked for apology by son of doctor who died after PPE warning. thecanary.co 
Matt Hancock has been asked for a public apology by the son of a doctor who died after warning the government about a lack of PPE.On Tuesday morning the health secretary took part in a live radio phone-in with Nick Ferrari on LBC, taking questions from members of the public.The first question came from Intisar Chowdhury, the son of Dr Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, who died earlier this month with Covid-19.Five days before he was admitted to hospital, Dr Chowdhury wrote a Facebook post asking Boris Johnson urgently to provide every NHS worker with personal protective equipment (PPE).Dr Chowdhury died on April 8 with Covi…
(2020-04-28). A cautious reopening, but gatherings still off the cards: How Europe is lifting its lockdown. rt.com 
Across Europe, leaders have made tentative steps toward easing their countries' coronavirus lockdowns. However, a return to total normality has been all but written off for the year. | The Austrian government announced on Tuesday that the spread of the coronavirus has slowed to a point where restrictions can now be lifted. Health Minister Rudolf Anschober said that Austrians may freely leave their homes from May 1, with public gatherings to follow in the near future. Though social distancing rules will still apply, businesses like hairdressers will reopen, followed two weeks later by cafes and restaurants, and…
(2020-04-28). Trump attacks trans health access during a pandemic. liberationnews.org 
Under an expected rewrite of part of the ACA, discrimination against trans people in health care would be legally permitted.
(2020-04-28). Care home deaths will be published daily as well as hospital toll from Wednesday. thecanary.co 
The number of deaths involving Covid-19 in care homes and other settings will be published daily as well as the hospital death toll, the health secretary said.Matt Hancock said that, in an effort to "bring as much transparency as possible" to the death figures, "from tomorrow we will be publishing not just the number of deaths in hospital each day, but the number of deaths in care homes and the community too"."This will supplement the ONS [Office for National Statistics] and CQC [Care Quality Commission] weekly publication and all add to our understanding of how this virus is spreading day by day, and it will hel…
(2020-04-28). Workers Memorial Day: OSHA failing to protect people during pandemic. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON— Donald Trump's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is deliberately failing to force firms nationwide to protect their workers — and the public at large — against the coronavirus pandemic, a panel of speakers say. And the result, they add, is needless deaths and illnesses not just among the workers themselves, but in the …
(2020-04-28). 'Front Line' Doctor in NYC: Covid Cases Peaked in Early April. End the Lockdown NOW! anti-empire.com 
I'm an emergency physician at St. Barnabas Hospital in The Bronx. I have been in the ER every day these last few weeks, either supervising or providing direct care. I contracted a COVID-19 infection very early in the outbreak, as did two of my daughters, one of whom is a nurse. We are all well, thank God. | COVID-19 has been the worst health-care disaster of my 30-year ≠career, because of its intensity, duration and potential for lasting impact. The lasting impact is what worries me the most. And it's why I now believe we should end the lockdown and rapidly get back to work. | From mid-March through mid-Apr…
(2020-04-28). New Zealand eases lockdown as coronavirus tamed in Australasia. thecanary.co 
New Zealand has eased a strict lockdown amid hopeful signs coronavirus (Covid-19) has been all but vanquished in Australasia for the moment.But elsewhere, Brazil is emerging as a potential new hotspot for infections, and fresh doubts have been raised over whether Japan would be able to host the already postponed Olympic Games next year.Europe and some US states are also continuing to gradually ease limits on movement and commerce as they try to restart their economies.But in a reminder of the virus's increasing toll, president Donald Trump said the numbers of deaths could reach 70,000 in the US, after putting the…
(2020-04-28). Most Americans will ditch live events until a Covid-19 vaccine is found — poll. rt.com 
In a potential major blow to the US' economy, arts scene and social life, a poll has found that more than half of Americans would not consider attending a live arts or sporting event before a Covid-19 vaccine is made available.