Health

PUTRAJAYA, Feb 11 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The recovery rate for patients infected by the 2029 novel coronavirus is high, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

He said the Geographical Information System of the Ministry of Health Malaysia found that 3,496 out of 40,555 or 8.6 per cent of the cases tested positive for the virus had recovered, while only 910 deaths were recorded as of yesterday (Feb 10).

With the mortality rate standing at 2.2 per cent, the recovery rate was four times higher, he said. 

BEIJING, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Chinese President Xi Jinping donned a face mask and had his temperature checked Monday while visiting medical workers and patients affected by the deadly coronavirus that has killed more than 900 people.

The Chinese president, who has called the virus a “demon”, made a rare visit Monday to meet frontline medical staff at a hospital treating infected patients.

Calling the situation at the virus epicentre “still very grave”, Xi urged “more decisive measures” to contain the spread of the epidemic, said state broadcaster CCTV.

WUHAN, Feb 8 (NNN-XINHUA) – Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak, is combing communities to ensure every confirmed or suspected patient is located and attended to, as a senior official vowed to nail any official deserter “to history’s pillar of shame.”

A conference on epidemic control, ordered the mega city, with a population of over 10 million, to make all-out efforts to locate patients, confirmed or suspected, to be infected with the virus, close contacts of confirmed cases, as well as, patients with fever.

LONDON, Feb 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — UK based The Wellcome Trust and the Gates Foundation are committing millions of dollars to help African countries battle the novel coronavirus, if and when it should come to the continent.

In a statement, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced that it will commit up to $100 million for the global response to the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) just a few days after the Wellcome Trust announced $13 million.

BEIJING, Feb 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Chinese doctor, among the first to raise the alert about China’s new coronavirus, himself died from the pathogen on Friday, emphasizing the depth of a worsening crisis that has killed at least 630 people.

Ophthalmologist Li Wenliang died at 2:58 am, Wuhan Central Hospital said in a post on its verified account on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

The 34-year-old sent out a message about the new coronavirus to colleagues on Dec 30, but was later among eight whistleblowers summoned by police for “rumour-mongering.”

BEIJING, Feb 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The official Chinese death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose on Friday to 636, with the government saying total infections had climbed past 30,000.

The toll was raised by 73 new deaths from the epidemic, the National Health Commission said in its daily update.

Another 3,143 new cases of infection were confirmed, bringing total infections in the country thus far to 31,161, it said.

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 5 (PTI) The Kerala government on Wednesday said three foreign nationals were among the 2,528 people under observation in the state for the novel coronavirus infection and no new cases have been reported.

At least 93 people with minor symptoms of the virus have been lodged in isolation wards of various hospitals, state Health Minister K K Shailaja told reporters here.

BEIJING, Feb 6 (NNN-XINHUA) – The registration for clinical trials on the antiviral drug, Remdesivir, has been approved, and the first batch of pneumonia patients infected by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) are expected to start taking the drug today (Thursday), according to an official conference, Wednesday.

The approval is jointly supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), the National Health Commission and the National Medical Products Administration.

Geneva, Feb 4 (AFP/PTI) The World Health Organization said Tuesday that the outbreak of the deadly novel coronavirus, which has spread from China to two dozen countries, does not yet constitute a "pandemic".

"Currently we are not in a pandemic," Sylvie Briand, head of WHO's Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness division, told reporters in Geneva.

LONDON (Reuters) - A leading British scientist has made a significant breakthrough in the race for a coronavirus vaccine by reducing a part of the normal development time from “two to three years to just 14 days”, Sky news reported.

Robin Shattock, head of mucosal infection and immunity at Imperial College London, said he is now at the stage to start testing the vaccine on animals as early as next week with human studies in the summer if enough funding is secured, Sky said.