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Coronavirus pandemic accelerating with Americas worst, warns WHO

With many nations easing restrictions but fearful of a second wave of infections, WHO emergencies expert Mike Ryan urged a gradual and scientific approach.“Exiting lockdowns must be done carefully, in a step-wise manner, and must be driven by the data,” he said. “If don’t know where it is the chances are the virus will surprise you.”

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South Asian COVID-19 patients in UK hospitals 20% more likely to die: study

Explanations could be that more South Asians work in jobs where they would face a higher viral load, such as health and care, or genetic differences which made the group biologically more susceptible to the disease, but more work needed to be done, he told reporters.Data from the Office for National Statistics on Friday supported the idea that ethnic minorities are more at risk from COVID-19, although whether it is because certain groups are more likely to contract it to start with, or are more susceptible to it, is still unclear.

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Glenmark launches Covid-19 drug FabiFlu, priced at Rs 103 per tablet

The Mumbai-based firm had on Friday received the manufacturing and marketing approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

“This approval comes at a time when cases in India are spiralling like never before, putting a tremendous pressure on our healthcare system,” Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Chairman and MD Glenn Saldanha said in the statement.

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India reports 14,516  new coronavirus cases; death toll at 12,948

Ireland became the latest country to warn its citizens that medical assistance may become difficult with India’s sharp spike in cases and urged them to consider making use of a series of evacuation flights in the next few weeks.In an email seen by Reuters, the embassy’s second secretary, Máirtín Cronin, warned Irish citizens that access to medical care for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 treatment may become increasingly difficult in the coming period.

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Robot butlers, digital menus are hotels’ latest weapon against Covid-19

According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association, “leisure and hospitality” was the hardest-hit industry in the Covid-19 era, far worse than retail and construction. In the U.S., hotels have lost more than $31 billion in room revenue since mid-February; as of June 3, 60% of open-for-business accommodations are sitting empty. Some 7.7 million hospitality and leisure jobs were lost in April alone

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China finds Coronavirus contamination in seafood and meat in Beijing food market

China has found the trading sections for meat and seafood in Beijing’s wholesale food market to be severely contaminated with the new coronavirus and suspects the area’s low temperature and high humidity may have been contributing factors, officials said on Thursday.

Their preliminary report comes as the country’s capital tackles a resurgence of COVID-19 cases over the past week linked to the massive Xinfadi food center, which houses warehouses and trading halls in an area the size of nearly 160 soccer pitches.
The latest outbreak infected more than 100 people and raised fears of wider contagion in China.

Among the patients who work at the Xinfadi market, most serve at seafood and aquatic product stalls, followed by the beef and mutton section, and patients from the seafood market showed symptoms earlier than others, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a daily briefing on Thursday.

Low temperatures favorable to viral survival as well as high humidity might be possible explanations for why seafood markets could be a source of outbreaks based on a preliminary assessment, Wu said, cautioning that further investigation was necessary.

China has halted imports from European salmon suppliers this week amid fears they may be linked to the recent outbreak in Beijing.

Health officials have also warned against eating raw salmon after the virus was discovered on chopping boards used for imported salmon, although the origin of the outbreak is not known.

Low standards of hygiene in wholesale food markets and vulnerabilities in its food supply chain need to be urgently addressed, a leading body of the ruling Communist Party said this week.

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