Coronavirus updates: 75 million Americans under virtual lockdown as restrictions tighten
Live Blog
Confined by lockdown, Frenchman runs marathon on his balcony
In the age of confinement, Elisha Nochomovitz figured out a way to run a marathon anyway - back and forth on his 23-foot-long balcony
He saw the 26.2 miles as a physical and mental challenge, but he told the Associated Press that he also shared the images online as a way "to extend my support to the entire medical personnel who are doing an exceptional job,"
Like athletes who ran around their Wuhan apartments or cyclists who found ways to train in their locked-down Abu Dhabi hotel rooms, Nochomovitz said he wanted to show others from his apartment in Balma, a suburb of the southern French city of Toulouse, that it is possible to stay fit as virus containment measures tighten around the world.
He also wanted to lighten the mood. "It was about launching a bit of a crazy challenge and bringing a bit of humor, to de-dramatize the confinement situation," he said.
Erika Edwards
1h ago / 7:17 PM IST
'A slow burn': symptoms often linger before worsening
As physicians across the country diagnose and care for a growing number of people with COVID-19, distinct patterns are emerging, giving clues about how the illness manifests in patients.
Very often, people start off with minor physical complaints — slight cough, headache, low-grade fever — that gradually worsen.
"Patients tend to have symptoms for about a week before either getting better, or getting really sick," said Dr. Joshua Denson, a pulmonary medicine and critical care physician at Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans.
Denson, who estimated he's treated 15 to 20 patients with the coronavirus, described that first phase of the illness as "a slow burn."
Matthew Mulligan and Reuters
1h ago / 7:03 PM IST
Jordan blares sirens for start of nationwide curfew
Sirens blared out as Jordan began a nationwide curfew on Saturday, limiting the mobility of its 10 million citizens to combat the spread of coronavirus. The government ordered all shops to close indefinitely and all people to remain off the streets until at least Tuesday.
Amman-based academic Nadwa Dawsari filmed the curfew coming into effect in Jordan, with sirens and restrictions read from mosque loudspeakers.
Anyone violating the curfew — which restricts movement beyond emergencies and essential services — can be jailed up to a year, the army said. Thousands of soldiers have been deployed in cities and on main highways.
Jordan's Health Ministry said on Friday that 85 cases of coronavirus had been confirmed in the country.
Leou Chen
3h ago / 5:44 PM IST
China gives first COVID-19 vaccine to volunteers, local media reports
Clinical trials of coronavirus vaccines are being conducted on volunteers, local media in China reported on Saturday.
Chen Wei, the project leader — a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering — explained the process to the Tech Daily newspaper as constructing the vaccine using genetic engineering methods to "express the new coronavirus antigen."
There are not many volunteers required for Phase I trials, the newspaper reported. They are limited to residents of Wuhan, and residents of the Wuchang, Hongshan and Donghu Scenic Areas are preferred.
Volunteers will be divided into three groups of low-dose, medium-dose and high-dose groups, with 36 people in each group, Tech Daily said.
Henry Austin
3h ago / 5:27 PM IST
Hundreds of thousands defy Iraq's curfew to visit martyred imam's shrine
The Iraqi government has been forced to deploy troops after hundreds of thousands of people defied coronavirus and attempted to visit a shrine sacred to Shiite Muslims, two senior security sources with knowledge of the situation told NBC News.
An estimated 300,000 to 400,000 people arrived at the shrine of Musa al-Kadhim, the seventh of the 12 imams who are considered to be the spiritual and political successors of the Prophet Muhammad, to the north of the country's capital Baghdad, one of the sources said Friday. More were expected Saturday.
"Security forces closed the area around the shrine in order to prevent people from entering them, gathering inside," he said, adding: "We believe that the number of infected people will increase next week because of this visit."
Iraq imposed a weeklong curfew Monday after 10 deaths were recorded in the country. Another three people have since died from COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, and 195 cases have been confirmed.
Isobel van Hagen
4h ago / 4:27 PM IST
WHO partners with WhatsApp for health alert messaging service
The World Health Organization partnered with social messaging platforms WhatsApp and Facebook to launch a "WHO Health Alert" messaging service to provide the latest news and information on COVID-19, including details on symptoms and how people can protect themselves.
The "easy-to-use" messaging service has the potential to reach 2 billion people — from government leaders to health workers and family and friends, the WHO said in a press release Friday.
Similarly, on Saturday Alphabet Inc's Google said it launched a United States — focused website with information about coronavirus guidance and testing, as the country works on slowing the outbreak.
The site (google.com/covid19) will be available in more languages and countries in coming days, Google said in a blog post.
The Associated Press
5h ago / 3:25 PM IST
National Spelling Bee called off
The Scripps National Spelling Bee won't be held as scheduled this year because of the coronavirus, meaning years of preparation by some of the country's top spellers could be for naught.
Scripps cited both state and federal recommendations against large gatherings Friday, as it canceled plans to hold the contest during the week of May 24. Scripps said it would try to reschedule but did not commit to a new date — it's possible the bee won't be held at all.
"Canceling the bee would cause an emotional breakdown for most spellers," Navneeth Murali, a 14-year-old bee veteran from Edison, New Jersey, told The Associated Press. "It would basically be crushing their dreams."
Most nationally competitive spellers devote years of their lives to mastering the dictionary and learning roots and language patterns, hoping for a win before they age out. Navneeth — who finished fifth in 2018 and 11th last year — is among the eighth-graders preparing for their last shot at the title.
The Associated Press
6h ago / 2:20 PM IST
Overseas passengers flying to Beijing may be quarantined in Inner Mongolia
Overseas passengers flying to Beijing may have to quarantine in Inner Mongolia — an autonomous region of northern China — if they have the coronavirus or have been in close contact with anyone that does, local news reported Saturday.
The Chinese capital is rerouting flights to three other cities as it tries to prevent fresh outbreaks started by infected people arriving from abroad. One is Hohhot — the capital of China's Inner Mongolia region — about 250 miles northwest of Beijing. The other cities are Tianjin and Taiyuan.
This comes as China has recently reported a slow-down in domestic cases, and more internationally imported cases — more than 80 in recent weeks.
As of Saturday, Wuhan — the virus outbreak's epicenter — reported no new or suspected cases for a third straight day. It even allowed some businesses to reopen.
Reuters
5h ago / 3:04 PM IST
Weekend curfew begins in Sri Lanka as South Asia accelerates battle against virus
Mosques in Sri Lanka were shut indefinitely on Friday, as the island imposed a countrywide curfew across the whole weekend until Monday, as South Asian countries step up efforts to check the spread of COVID-19 cases.
The densely populated region of some 1.9 billion people has been less badly affected than other parts of the world, but new cases in Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka have all been accelerating recently. The total cases across South Asia now exceeding 850 and seven people have died in the region.
India's western state of Maharashtra has also decided to close all shops and offices except those providing essential services — including in India's financial capital Mumbai — until the end of the month.
Authorities worry that these countries could be especially at risk, should the virus begin to spread locally, due to poor health facilities and infrastructure in much of the region.
Comments
Post a Comment