Category:

Disaster & Management

WHO unsure antibodies protect against COVID, little sign of herd immunity

“A lot of preliminary information coming to us right now would suggest quite a low percentage of population have seroconverted (to produce antibodies),” Mike Ryan, the WHO’s top emergencies expert, said.

“The expectation that … the majority in society may have developed antibodies, the general evidence is pointing against that, so it may not solve the problem of governments.”

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Global coronavirus death toll hits 150,000 

The first death came in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on Jan. 9. It took 83 days for the first 50,000 deaths to be recorded and just eight more for the toll to climb to 100,000. It took another eight days to go from 100,000 to 150,000.The death toll is still far short of the so-called Spanish flu, which began in 1918 and is estimated to have killed more than 20 million people by the time it petered out in 1920.

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COVID-19 Pandemic:Wave of class action lawsuits against insurers in US for denial of business interruption claims

The suits represent the broadest effort yet to compel insurance companies to fulfill promises made to hundreds of thousands of U.S. businesses that purchased insurance coverage to protect against precisely this situation.

Lloyd’s of London, Aspen American Insurance, Auto-Owners Insurance, Society Insurance, Oregon Mutual Insurance, and Topa Insurance Company are Named in Lawsuits

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Some life insurers hit pause on older Americans during coronavirus crisis

Some insurers are also suspending applications for people in their 60s who previously may have been eligible for coverage despite common health problems such as diabetes or asthma.

Insuring older Americans can be a big risk for U.S. life insurers under the best of circumstances, but it brings in hefty premiums. A healthy 40-year-old woman pays about $180 annually for a $250,000 15-year term life policy, while a healthy 70-year-old woman pays $2,244, or 1,146% more, according to online brokerage Policygenius.

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COVID-19 Pandemic:China’s claim payments amount to $17.4 million as of April 10

At the direction of the Chinese government, domestic insurers started selling business interruption insurance to cover Chinese enterprises against disruptions from the coronavirus outbreak,
The policies are aimed at supporting the resumption of production and work within the Chinese economy after a lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus, said Fitch 

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Covid-19:India wants AIIB funding for its $500-million healthcare project

India is implementing a $500-million project to purchase equipment and detection capacity and strengthen its national health systems.
Requests for funding from member countries, numbering 102, of AIIB have substantially exceeded the $ 5 billion originally allocated for emergency relief, said press release by AIIB on Friday. 
The AIIB is doubling available funds under its COVID-19 Crisis Recovery Facility to provide USD5-10 billion due to high client demand. This follows AIIB’s announcement to make $5 billion available to help public and private sector clients manage through the COVID-19 pandemic.

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