Month: August 2020

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is facing a growing Ebola outbreak in its northwest Equateur province in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. At his COVID-19 news briefing in Geneva on Thursday, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the outbreak is a “worrying” development, with 86 cases confirmed in the province.  He said the DRC government faces significant logistical challenges in trying to rapidly investigate and respond to the outbreak because the cases are spread over a vast area, sometimes separated by more than 250 kilometers, and many areas are accessible only by helicopter or boat. Tedros said the WHO has about 100 staff in the DRC and is working with the Ministry of Health, nongovernmental agencies, and people in communities to address the outbreak. He said his agency has also released $2.5 million in emergency response funds to support the immediate response. But he said more funding is needed to bring the outbreak under control and urged the international community to contribute.  He said the WHO, working with the DRC government as well as local and international partners collectively defeated a similar outbreak in the eastern part of the country, what he called “one of the most difficult Ebola outbreaks the world has ever faced.” Tedros said he knows from experience that this is not just a matter for one country’s health security. “It is a matter of global health security. Whether it’s COVID-19, Ebola or other high impact epidemics, we must be prepared, we need to be on …

This week the Trump administration announced $122 million in new programs and partnerships under the National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien speaks during a Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) online event, at the State Department, in Washington, Aug. 11, 2020.“This is the type of bold action to expand the efforts of the federal government, the private sector and other partners that restrict women’s ability to participate in the local economies that has been the American model for success,” Trump said.     The initiative comes in the face of fresh challenges as COVID-19 exacerbates existing gender inequalities around the world. Reports from numerous countries have shown that women are disproportionately and uniquely impacted by the coronavirus across every sphere, from health and the economy to security and social protection.   According to U.N. data, 60 percent of women’s employment is in the informal economy with limited protection. This means women are often overlooked by bailout programs seeking to reinvigorate the economy while being particularly vulnerable to poverty and food insecurity, according to Megan O’Donnell, assistant director of the Center for Global Development’s gender program. “We’ve seen evidence that women’s businesses are more likely to close compared with men’s.”   FILE – Vicky Li Yip sets up a bubble machine for her children, left to right, Kelsey, 8, Toby, 10 and Jesse, 5, outside their home, July 10, 2020, in Houston, Texas.And with children out of school, women are picking up even more caregiving responsibilities, forcing many to step back from the workplace and exacerbating the economic …

A senior World Health Organization official is calling for the equitable distribution of a future COVID-19 vaccine in Africa, warning that the virus will continue to spread if some countries are left behind. WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti sees worrying signs that nations in Africa may be among those last in the queue of low-income countries to receive a vaccine against COVID-19.  She notes some high-income countries that are financing the production or research of vaccines are reserving supplies for themselves.While it is understandable that governments would want to protect their own people, she tells VOA she hopes they are considering the needs of other countries as well. “We are continuing to analyze how this would work,” said Moeti. “We are continuing to advocate very strongly for this equity principle to be adhered to and respected by everyone and that we all work together to make sure that countries, low-income countries, least developed countries are not disadvantaged when it comes time to having access to a vaccine.”  Moeti warns it would be short-sighted of wealthy countries to think only of themselves.  In this interconnected world, she says, no one is safe until everyone is safe, adding a virus knows no borders.  She says COVID-19 will continue circulating around the world until everyone is protected from its deadly sting.She says a vaccine is not a magic bullet and nations must not wait to take action until a safe, effective vaccine is developed—a process that will take many months.  In the meantime, she says …

Two cities in China have found traces of the new coronavirus in imported frozen food and on food packaging, local authorities said on Thursday, raising fears that contaminated food shipments might cause new outbreaks.A sample taken from the surface of frozen chicken wings imported into the southern city of Shenzhen from Brazil, as well as samples of outer packaging of frozen Ecuadorian shrimp sold in the northwestern Xi’An city, have tested positive for the virus, local authorities said on Thursday.The discoveries came a day after traces of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 were found on the packaging of frozen shrimp from Ecuador in a city in eastern Anhui province. China has been stepping up screenings at ports amid the concerns over food imports.Shenzhen’s health authorities traced and tested everyone who might have come into contact with potentially contaminated food products, and all results were negative, the city’s notice said.The Brazilian embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not immediately reach the Ecuadorean embassy in Beijing.”It is hard to say at which stage the frozen chicken got infected,” said a China-based official at a Brazilian meat exporter.The Shenzhen Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters said the public needed to take precautions to reduce infection risks from imported meat and seafood.The health commission of Shannxi province, where Xi’An city is located, said authorities are testing people and the surrounding environment connected to the contaminated shrimp products sold in a local market.In addition to screening all meat …

Iran shut down a newspaper on Monday after it published remarks by an expert who said the official figures on coronavirus cases and deaths in the country account for only 5% of the real toll, allegations rejected by the Health Ministry. Mohammad Reza Sadi, the editor-in-chief of Jahane Sanat, told the official IRNA news agency that authorities closed his newspaper, which began publishing in 2004 and was mainly focused on business news. On Sunday, the daily quoted Mohammad Reza Mahboobfar, an epidemiologist the paper said had worked on the government’s anti-coronavirus campaign, as saying the true number of cases and deaths in Iran could be 20 times the number reported by the Health Ministry. He also said the virus was detected in Iran a month earlier than February 19, when authorities announced the first confirmed case. He said they held up the announcement until after the commemorations of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and parliamentary elections earlier that month. “The administration resorted to secrecy for political and security reasons,” he said, and only provided “engineered statistics” to the public. He also criticized testing efforts and warned of a renewed outbreak next month as universities hold entrance exams and people mark major Shiite holidays. Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari rejected the allegations and said Mahboobfar had no role in the government’s anti-coronavirus campaign. IRNA quoted her as saying the ministry has provided figures in a “transparent” way. “The Health Ministry is not a political body and health of people is its main priority,” she said. The ministry …

A study suggests a possible link between vaping and COVID-19, suggesting teens and young adults in the United States who inhale could be five to seven times more at risk of contracting the disease caused by the coronavirus.Results were published in the Journal of Adolescent Health based on survey data collected in May and analyzed by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.“Young people may believe their age protects them from contracting the virus or that they will not experience symptoms of COVID-19, but the data show this isn’t true among those who vape,” study leader Shivani Mathur Gaiha said in a press statement.The study asked participants if they had ever vaped before, whether they had vaped or smoked in the last 30 days, if they had COVID-19 symptoms, were tested for it or contracted the disease.The results showed that those who had used cigarettes and e-cigarettes in the last 30 days were nearly five times more likely to have COVID-19 symptoms compared to participants who had never smoked or vaped.The study does not prove vaping causes COVID-19. One possible explanation put forward by the researchers is that vaping requires repeated touching of the mouth and face, which would help spread the infection. Additionally, they say nicotine in e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes can cause lung damage, which makes contracting COVID-19 more dangerous.The researchers at Stanford say they hope their findings “will prompt the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to further tighten regulations governing how vaping products are sold to …

A team of researchers from Australia and China has developed a way to desalinate and purify salty or brackish water into potable drinking water using solar energy, a process that could provide hope for developing areas without reliable or abundant electricity.The World Health Organization says about 2 billion people worldwide do not have access to water that is safe to drink. Contaminated water can lead to cholera, dysentery, typhoid and a host of other diseases. And the WHO says that situation will only worsen in the next five years.In a study published Monday in the science journal Nature Sustainability, the scientists said they had created a sustainable solution that relies on sunlight to jump-start the filtration process instead of heat or electricity.Along with sunlight, the other key factor in their process is a special, incredibly porous metal compound composed of metal ions configured into a crystalline pattern.The researchers enhanced the viability of this material by adding another material to its pores, called PSP-MIL-53.After testing this material on both natural saltwater and synthetic saltwater, they found that the compound was able to absorb enough water in 30 minutes to create nearly 151 liters of fresh drinking water per single kilogram of the absorption material. They also discovered that this drinking water was even cleaner than WHO’s official guidelines.The researchers say the material could have other applications as well, for example, in mineral mining. The next step, they say, is getting their process out of the lab and into the field.  …

The World Health Organization is releasing guidance on measures to be taken by dental health professionals and patients in oral health services to minimize the risk of being infected with COVID-19. As everyone in the world can attest, having a tooth ache is no fun and when the pain is bad enough, people will go to the dentist. However, a World Health Organization survey of 103 countries between May and mid-July finds COVID-19 has affected dental services around the world in unprecedented ways.      Dental officer in WHO’s Department of Noncommunicable Diseases, Benoit Varenne, says 75 percent of survey respondents reported dental services have been completely or partially disrupted because of the coronavirus.   He says the high-level of disruption is linked to the nature of the work provided by the oral health care personnel.   “As you know, dentists, dental nurses, hygienists, and dental assistants work in close contact with patients and are exposed to saliva and blood, and as so, they are using, what we call, spray-generating equipment … and all this equipment are generating, what we call, airborne particles or aerosol,” said Varenne. In communities where transmission of the coronavirus is high, Varenne says WHO recommends priority be given to urgent or emergency oral cases.  And in the treatment of patients, he says dental workers should avoid or minimize procedures that may generate aerosols, which can spread the infection and prioritize the use of hand instruments.“And, of course, to delay routine, non-essential oral health care,” said Varenne. “This means …

The World Health Organization said Tuesday said it was holding talks with Russia regarding its recently approved COVID-19 vaccine. Russia on Tuesday became the first country to approve a vaccine for use in tens of thousands of its citizens. In an appearance on Russian television, President Vladimir Putin claimed the vaccine has proven efficient and has passed “all the necessary tests.”  Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the government via video link at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Aug. 11, 2020. (Sputnik/Aleksey Nikolskyi/Kremlin)He said his own daughter has taken the vaccine and after two shots had a normal temperature and a “high number of antibodies.” The announcement came amidst global skepticism because the vaccine received approval after less than two months of human trials in Russia with a limited number of test subjects. “We are in close contact with Russian health authorities and discussions are ongoing with respect to possible WHO prequalification of the vaccine, but again prequalification of any vaccine includes the rigorous review and assessment of all required safety and efficacy data,” WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told a U.N. briefing in Geneva.Jasarevic says he is encouraged by the speed in which possible vaccines are being developed around the world. He said the WHO’s main concern is equitably distributing whatever viable vaccines are developed around the world.     …