Our weekly update of the Corona news worldwide 11 – 17 May 2020

  1. Europe:
    1. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that Britain will impose a mandatory quarantine on air travelers to try to avert a new wave of coronavirus infections. – The New York Times
    2. Days after easing restrictions, coronavirus cases in Germany are rising. (BBC) However, the country is not alarmed by this rise in infection rates (BBC).
    3. As elderly deaths due to COVID-19 rise significantly, Sweden is having to readjust its lax coronavirus plan. Sweden’s death rate is about 32 per 100,000, compared with 24 in the U.S. and roughly 9 in neighboring Denmark. – Bloomberg
    4. As Russia becomes another coronavirus hotspot, healthcare workers are suffering as more workers become infected with COVID-19 due to a lack of protective gear and alleged failure by local administrators to take appropriate quarantine measures. – ABC News

     

    Middle East:

    1. In Yemen, the World Health Organization is ordering staff to stop working in Houthi rebel-controlled areas to protect staff and to pressure the rebels to be more transparent about coronavirus spread. The United Nations assumes that there is “full-blown transmission” of COVID-19 in Yemen. – Al Jazeera

     

    Asia:

    1. Taiwan owes its successful fight against coronavirus to Vice President Chen Chien-jen, who is actually a Johns Hopkins University-trained epidemiologist. His unique dual role as a politician and epidemiologist has led him to push early policies during the pandemic that are backed by scientific evidence to help public health. Taiwan has reported about 400 confirmed cases and six deaths, far fewer than many countries. – The New York Times
    2. China reported new coronavirus clusters since lifting the lockdown in Wuhan city, where the virus first emerged, and the north-eastern province of Jilin. China warned that cases would begin to re-emerge as restrictions loosen. – BBC
    3. South Korea was one of the first countries to loosen restrictions. However, as coronavirus cases rise, the country is delaying reopening schools. – NPR

     

    Research & Technology:

    1. A new study in Canada shows that temperature and latitude are not associated with COVID-19 spread. However, School closures, physical distancing and public health measures do have a positive effect to combat transmission. – Science Daily
    2. Children hospitalized with COVID-19 fare significantly better than adults. Early findings from North American hospitals found a 5% mortality rate among ICU-admitted children, compared to 50% to 62% reported for ICU-admitted adults. – JAMA Pediatrics