Month: November 2020

U.S. health officials have allowed emergency use of the first antibody drug to help the immune system fight COVID-19, an experimental approach against the virus that has killed more than 238,000 Americans.  The Food and Drug Administration on Monday cleared the experimental drug from Eli Lilly for people 12 and older with mild or moderate COVID-19 not requiring hospitalization. It’s a one-time treatment given through an IV.  The therapy is still undergoing additional testing to establish its safety and effectiveness. It is similar to a treatment President Donald Trump received after contracting the virus last month. Lilly’s studies of the antibody drug are continuing. Early results suggest it may help clear the coronavirus sooner and possibly cut hospitalizations in people with mild to moderate COVID-19. A study of it in hospitalized patients was stopped when independent monitors saw the drug did not seem to be helping in that situation. The government previously reached an agreement to buy and supply much of the early production of Lilly’s drug. FILE – Lab technicians load vials of investigational coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment drug remdesivir at a Gilead Sciences facility in La Verne, California, March 18, 2020. (Gilead Sciences Inc/Handout)Only one drug, Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir, has full FDA approval for treating COVID-19. Government treatment guidelines also back using dexamethasone and other steroids for certain severely ill, hospitalized patients. One other treatment has an emergency use designation now: convalescent plasma, made from the blood of COVID-19 survivors. No large studies have shown it to be more effective than usual …

The secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a department spokesperson. The HUD secretary “is in good spirits and feels fortunate to have access to effective therapeutics which aid and markedly speed his recovery,” the agency’s deputy chief of staff, Coalter Baker, said in a statement. After experiencing symptoms, Carson, 69, went to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where he was tested, reports say. The noted pediatric neurosurgeon is expected to fully recover. A memo sent to HUD staff said Carson was “resting at his house and is already beginning to feel better.” Anyone who came into contact with Carson will be notified, the memo said. Carson was one of several people who attended an election night party at the White House on Tuesday, where few attendees wore masks or practiced social distancing, several news organizations have reported. Also, the White House recently announced that chief of staff Mark Meadows and other staffers had tested positive for the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease. Meadows’ diagnosis was announced November 6. A few weeks ago, President Donald Trump was hospitalized at Walter Reed after he was diagnosed with the coronavirus.President-elect Joe Biden has called on Americans to wear a mask. He said at a news conference Monday that wearing a mask is “not a political statement.” Carson joined the Trump administration in 2017. Carson ran unsuccessfully as a Republican presidential candidate in 2016.      …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed the news from pharmaceutical company Pfizer that its potential vaccine showed better than 90% efficacy in Phase 3 tests. But he cautioned that a vaccine is still a long way off and that one vaccine is not a solution.Speaking to reporters in London, Johnson said the data released Monday by Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, indicated the vaccine is safe, but the findings must be peer reviewed.Johnson stressed these are the “very, very early days” of this vaccine search, and he compared this news to “the distant bugle of the scientific calvary coming over the brow of the hill.” The prime minister said the bugle is louder, but the calvary is still a long way off.Johnson said the British government earlier this year ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, enough for one-third of the British population. He said they had ordered 300 million more doses from five other potential vaccines as well.But the prime minister said if the Pfizer vaccine proves effective and passes all appropriate safety checks, then the government will begin a nationwide vaccine distribution program administered by the National Health Service.Johnson was also asked about the results of the U.S. election being called for Joe Biden, with Kamala Harris as his vice president-elect. He congratulated the two Democrats and said while his government has had a good relationship with the Trump administration, he has no doubt that will continue under Biden.Johnson said he was particularly excited to work with the …

With the coronavirus pandemic entering its worst phase yet, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden says the country is “still facing a dark winter,” warning that 200,000 more people could die of COVID-19 before a vaccine is widely made available.  Speaking on Monday after receiving a briefing from his transition team’s new coronavirus advisory board, Biden, in a speech in Wilmington, Delaware, cautioned “the challenge before us right now is still immense and growing, and so is the need for bold action to fight this pandemic.”  The United States has surpassed 10 million cases of the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University, with infection rates, hospitalizations and the number of deaths all rising.  A White House coronavirus task force meeting, led by Vice President Mike Pence, is being held later Monday.  Earlier in the day, one drugmaker announced that an early analysis suggests its vaccine is very effective in preventing COVID-19.Pfizer said a data monitoring committee found no serious safety concerns with its vaccine, which requires two doses. The pharmaceutical company and its German partner, BioNTech, intend to apply for emergency authorization for the vaccine after the third week of November. It is one of four vaccines in the United States in the final stage of testing.  FILE – Pfizer says it will ask for emergency authorization later this month for its COVID-19 vaccine currently undergoing testing. Photo illustration.Biden, calling this a “positive note,” said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will soon run a process of rigorous reviews and approvals, but …

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced Monday the government will impose a partial lockdown in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic following a dramatic surge in hospitalizations and deaths. In a video posted to his Facebook account, Orban said, effective Wednesday, a nationwide general curfew will be imposed between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. with an exception for those commuting to work. Businesses will be required to close by 7 p.m., restaurants will be limited to home delivery, sporting events will be held in empty stadiums, and family gatherings will be limited to 10 people. Universities and high schools will make the transition to digital education, while preschools, kindergartens and classes for children 14 and under will remain open. Health care workers, teachers and childcare workers will be tested weekly for the virus, according to the statement. Orban said the new restrictions will remain in place for 30 days, after which they may be extended. Parliament is expected to pass a measure Tuesday to enact a state of emergency for 90 days. The raft of measures comes after a week of record-breaking hospitalizations and deaths. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reports that, as of Monday, Hungary had the third-highest death rate per million (10.4) in Europe over the past two weeks — behind the Czech Republic and Belgium.   More than 5,000 new infections were recorded Monday, with 6,061 coronavirus patients in the hospital, including 415 on ventilators, according to officials. Meanwhile, …

The director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Ghebreyesus, warns the COVID-19 pandemic is threatening decades of progress against infectious and communicable diseases. In an opening speech to a weeklong meeting of the World Health Assembly, Tedros urged nations to come together to defeat this common enemy.American singer-songwriter Kim Sledge who led the Tongan Nurses Choir, got the meeting off to an upbeat start with this rousing rendition of the classic song “We are Family.”In an appropriate gesture of thanks, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus paid tribute to the incredible contribution of nurses and midwives in braving the dangers of the coronavirus to save the lives of others.He struck a personal note by expressing his joy at becoming a grandfather for the first time two weeks ago—a joy, he said that was tinged with worry.“I wonder what sort of world Mia, my granddaughter, will grow up in. Although she knows nothing about it, the COVID-19 pandemic will shape her life and the world she grows up in,” said WHO chief.A world in which nearly 50 million people globally have been infected with the coronavirus, cutting short the lives of more than 1.2 million people.Tedros said many countries and cities have successfully prevented or curbed spread of the disease. But noted several countries, especially in Europe and the Americas, have re-imposed restrictions to battle a new wave of infections. “We might be tired of COVID-19. But it is not tired of us. It pays no heed to political rhetoric or conspiracy theories. …

Pharmaceutical company Pfizer says late-stage testing on its potential COVID-19 vaccine indicates it is more than 90% effective, exceeding expectations and bringing a rare piece of positive news to the fight against the coronavirus.  Pfizer’s chairman and chief executive Albert Bourla, along with Pfizer’s partner, BioNTech, made the announcement Monday regarding the Phase 3, late-stage study of their potential vaccine. The statement said the study showed the vaccine to be more than 90% effective in preventing the virus in participants without evidence of prior infection in the first interim efficacy analysis. Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, listens during a Senate hearing, Sept. 23, 2020, in Washington.Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the United States, said during a Monday press briefing that the results are “just extraordinary.” “Not very many people expected it would be as high as that,” he said. Fauci had previously said he was looking for a vaccine with 70% to 75% efficacy and that even 50% was acceptable. World Health Organization senior adviser Bruce Aylward said the results from Pfizer’s trial are “very positive” and should “hold great promise hopefully for the entire world.”The Pfizer analysis was conducted by an independent data monitoring board, which examined 94 infections recorded so far in a study that has enrolled nearly 44,000 people in the United States and five other countries. Some patients in the trial received a vaccine, while others were given a placebo. In his statement, Bourla said the results demonstrate the potential vaccine can help prevent COVID-19 in most of the people who receive it. He cautioned, however, that while …

Tropical Storm Eta made landfall late Sunday in the Florida Keys on its way into the eastern Gulf of Mexico before taking another aim at the southeastern U.S. state later this week. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm had maximum sustained winds of 100 kilometers per hour as it brought heavy rainfall and life-threatening flash floods to parts of southern Florida. Forecasters expect the storm to strengthen slightly into a hurricane later Monday or Tuesday but weaken again into a tropical storm before making a mainland Florida landfall. Officials have closed beaches, ports and coronavirus testing sites in the state and urged people to stay home. Florida’s governor has also declared a state of emergency in several counties to speed the government’s response. Forecasters expect Eta to drop 15 to 30 centimeters of rain on central and southern Florida through Friday. Parts of the Bahamas, Jamaica and Cuba will also see some heavy rains. Eta was a strong hurricane when it hit Nicaragua last week, bringing flooding rains to communities from Panama to Mexico. Rescuers in Guatemala continued searching Sunday for people caught in a landslide and authorities raised the official death toll to 27 with more than 100 people still missing. The storm has been blamed for at least 20 deaths in southern Mexico and at least 20 more in Honduras.  …

The U.S. reported more than 121,000 new coronavirus cases Friday, the third day in a row the nation has recorded more than 100,000 new infections.Infections are surging in all regions in the United States as the COVID-19 death toll continues to climb.U.S. hospitalizations have significantly increased, forcing hospitals in Midwestern and Southern states to take urgent action to accommodate floods of new patients.Midwestern states have been especially hard hit, with a record number of infections reported in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Oklahoma.Since the surge in the U.S. began in mid-September, some states have periodically imposed piecemeal lockdown measures, including Maine, which has extended its mask- wearing requirement to apply to all public spaces.Officials in Denver, Colorado, on Friday urged residents to stay home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. to try to reduce a growing wave of coronavirus cases.India’s health ministry said Saturday that it had recorded more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases and nearly 600 coronavirus-related deaths in the previous 24-hour period.India has a total of 8.4 million COVID cases, according to Johns Hopkins statistics. Only the United States has more cases, with its 9.7 million tally.An empty street is seen after 10 p.m. on the first day of the national night time curfew due to new coronavirus measures, in Rome, Italy, Nov. 6, 2020.The International Monetary Fund approved a $370 million extended credit facility arrangement for Afghanistan on Friday. The IMF said in a statement that the 42-month arrangement “aims to support Afghanistan’s recovery …

President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows has been diagnosed with the coronavirus as the nation sets daily records for confirmed cases for the pandemic.Two senior administration officials confirmed Friday that Meadows had tested positive for the virus, which has killed more than 236,000 Americans so far this year.Meadows traveled with Trump in the run-up to Election Day and last appeared in public early Wednesday morning without a mask as Trump falsely declared victory in the vote count. He had been one of the close aides around Trump when the president came down with the virus more than a month ago but was tested daily and maintained his regular work schedule. …

France, Italy and Russia reported new daily records for coronavirus cases Friday, a day after the United States set its third record-setting day of new cases this week.France registered 60,486 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday, after posting a record of over 58,000 on Thursday, health ministry data showed. The ministry also reported 828 new deaths.Italy announced Friday 37,809 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, the country’s highest ever, while Russia also recorded its highest daily tally at 20,582.Diners have dinner outdoors, Nov. 6, 2020, in Boston’s North End. More stringent coronavirus restrictions are now in effect in Massachusetts, including requiring restaurants to stop providing table service at 9:30 p.m.The new high totals in those European countries follow a record high 121,888 new coronavirus cases reported in the United States on Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University.Infections are surging in all regions in the United States as the COVID-19 death toll continues to climb. More than 1,200 deaths were reported Thursday, the most since mid-September after a sharp spike during the summer, according to Johns Hopkins University.Hospitalizations in the United States have significantly increased, forcing hospitals in Midwestern and Southern states to take urgent action to accommodate floods of new patients.Midwestern states have been especially hard hit, with a record-high number of infections reported Thursday in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Oklahoma.Julian St. Laurent wear a face shield and two face masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus as he walks to a …

In parts of Italy, 16 million people went into lockdown Friday as the country moved to prevent another wave of coronavirus in hard-hit areas despite stiff opposition from local authorities. Italian health authorities have zoned the country into red, orange and yellow, depending on identified risk factors — red for high risk and yellow for low risk. Lombardy, Piedmont and Aosta Valley in the north as well as Calabria in the south are considered high risk and are in the red zone. These regions closed all nonessential businesses and activities. Residents may leave their homes only for work, medical reasons or emergencies, and essential shopping. Mayors like Calabria’s have pushed back against the red zone restrictions, expected to last 15 days, which halt bar, restaurant and gym operations. Restaurants may provide only takeout service. Mask-wearing is encouraged: People wearing masks may briefly step out of their homes to exercise. Meanwhile, hairdressers can keep their shops open. Italy’s Health Ministry reported a record 37,809 cases on Friday after performing more than 234,000 swab tests in 24 hours. The ministry said this new infection record, which was 9% higher than the previous day, was accompanied by 445 deaths, the highest daily death toll in six months. The densely populated Lombardy region contributed nearly 10,000 cases. People who live in medium-risk regions, such as Puglia and Sicily in the south, can move about freely in their region but cannot travel outside their region. In the yellow zone, including Rome, only the national restrictions apply. The national restrictions include …

Health officials in Poland reported a record number of coronavirus-related deaths on Friday as the first treatments began for patients at a makeshift hospital in the country’s national stadium. The government reported 445 deaths and 27,086 new infections in its latest report. The caseload was the second highest number of in a single day during the pandemic — second only to Thursday’s total. The figures coincided with the admission of the first patient at a new field hospital located in Warsaw’s National Stadium. The rapidly growing number of COVID-19 cases has placed Poland among the 20 most-affected countries in the world.  If the level of infections reaches 70 people per 100,000 or if 30,000 patients are hospitalized, a full national lockdown will take effect, according to the government. The health ministry said the health care system is facing shortages of hospital beds, equipment and medical personnel. The health ministry added that, as of Friday, COVID-19 patients occupied 19,479 of 29,407 available hospital beds and were using 1,703 of 2,238 available ventilators.    …

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned Friday the COVID-19 pandemic’s restrictions and demands on resources have stifled immunization programs, leading to polio and measles outbreaks among children in the poorest parts of the world.   At the WHO’s regular briefing in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that earlier this year, Africa was certified as free of wild polio, thanks to the coordinated efforts of multiple organizations, governments, and millions of health care workers.   But he said that since the pandemic hit, regular immunization programs like the one that stopped wild polio in Africa were suspended, leaving children in high-risk areas vulnerable to diseases like polio, measles and pneumonia. He said the agency is now starting to see outbreaks of those diseases. Tedros said before COVID-19, measles was seeing a resurgence around the world. Last year saw the highest number of new infections in more than two decades. At the same time, he said, poliovirus transmission is expected to increase in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and in many under-immunized areas of Africa.   The WHO director general said failure to eradicate polio now would lead to global resurgence of the disease, and within 10 years, there could be as many as 200,000 new cases annually.    Tedros said the WHO and the United Nations children’s fund (UNICEF) have launched an emergency appeal to donors worldwide to raise $655 million – $400 million for polio and $255 million for measles – to address dangerous immunity gaps and target age groups. …

Russia reported 20,582 new COVID cases Friday, a record daily high. Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, did not give any details about what steps public health officials would take to curb the uptick.  With more than 1.7 million COVID infections in Russia, only the United States, India and Brazil have more coronavirus cases. India reported more than 47,000 new COVID cases Friday. Anyone traveling from Denmark to Britain must now self-isolate for 14 days. Denmark was removed Friday from Britain’s corridor of travel, following a coronavirus outbreak on mink farms in the Scandanavian country. Denmark has announced it is culling more than 15 million minks in an effort to halt the spread of a mutated form of the coronavirus that has appeared in the minks. The coronavirus is sweeping across Europe again. England began a four-week lockdown Thursday, while Greece begins a three-week shutdown Saturday.Italy starting is beginning new coronavirus restrictions across the country. In the so-called ‘soft lockdown’ the country has been divided by colors according to risk with set of restrictions differing by color.An aerial view of vehicles queuing at a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at the Alliant Energy Center complex, as the coronavirus disease outbreak continues in Madison, Wisconsin, Nov. 5, 2020.US hits another daily record On Thursday, the United States recorded its highest number of COVID cases since the start of the pandemic – more than 117,000 new infections.  The rapid spread of the virus in the U.S. comes as voters await the final results of the country’s presidential election. The virus is “coming after all of us,” Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said.  “This virus doesn’t care if we voted for Donald Trump, doesn’t care if we …

Researchers in Australia say a jelly-like sea sponge found along the Great Barrier Reef could provide clues about an elusive part of the human DNA. Their newly released study, which looks at 700 million years of evolution, concludes that elements of the human genome, what scientists describe as “an incredibly complex and ever-changing instruction manual of life,” work in the same way as the genome of the prehistoric sea sponge.Researchers at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Sydney say that while the DNA of humans and these simple, yet highly adaptable aquatic invertebrates are not similar, they do share a comparable set of instructions that control how information contained in a gene is decoded and used. The scientists believe these genetic links have been preserved across millions of years of evolution.Lead researcher Emily Wong said the new study has allowed them to better “read” and understand how our genetic library works.“We focused on sequences in the genome called enhancers, and they are responsible for switching on and off genes,” she said. “We found that similar sequences are deeply conserved all the way from humans to sea sponges. So, that is over 700 million years of evolution. We are really excited about this discovery because it is the first time that such a deeply conserved enhancer has been discovered.”Long before the dinosaurs, the sea sponge was one of the species that dominated life on Earth.The researchers believe that it is not only people that share a genetic link to sea …

The world’s largest iceberg is on course to collide with the island of South Georgia, a key haven for wildlife in the south Atlantic Ocean, scientists say. They add it could have a grave impact on the ecology and economy of the island. The giant iceberg carved off the Larsen C ice shelf on the eastern Antarctic peninsula in 2017. Named by scientists as A68a, it has since drifted toward South Georgia, a remote British island.  Satellite images show the iceberg is still largely intact. Some 150 kilometers long and 48 kilometers wide, it is traveling at one kilometer per hour and is on course to hit South Georgia in around 30 days. FILE – A rift across the Larsen C Ice Shelf is seen during an airborne survey of changes in polar ice over the Antarctic Peninsula from NASA’s DC-8 research aircraft, Nov. 10, 2016.Its shallow depth of 200 meters means it could drift very close to the island and ground just offshore. South Georgia is home to huge colonies of penguins and seals. Their feeding grounds could be blocked just as breeding season gets under way, says scientist Geraint Tarling of the British Antarctic Survey. “That means they have to go a lot further, they have to go around the iceberg, or to actually go further to find sources of food. And that time is quite critical at this particular period of their life cycle. They have to get back to their chicks and pups in short amounts of time so …

The world’s biggest iceberg is on course to collide with the island of South Georgia – a key haven for wildlife in the south Atlantic Ocean. Scientists say it could have a grave impact on the ecology and economy of the island, as Henry Ridgwell reports. Camera: Henry Ridgwell   Produced by: Marcus Harton    …

A new documentary titled “In Case of Emergency” is the product of seven years of interviewing, photographing and filming nurses across America. As Karina Bafradzhian reports, the film explores the challenges of America’s frontline health care workers. Camera: David Gogokhia …

People in London packed pubs and bars late Wednesday for one last drink before all of England shutdown for one month in an attempt to halt a surge in COVID-19 infections.   Streets in London’s Soho neighborhood were blocked so pubs could put out tables for outdoor seating, but that appeared to be the only indication the city was in the midst of a pandemic. People sat shoulder to shoulder or stood arm-in-arm, and the only masks in sight were on the policemen standing by to make sure the revelry did not get out of hand.   One man told a reporter the scene felt like a bittersweet New Year’s Eve atmosphere — festive, but with the knowledge it would all be ending.     London and the rest of England began the shutdown at 1:00 am Thursday to combat a surge in new infections that scientists said could, if unchecked, cause more deaths than a first wave that forced a three-month lockdown earlier this year.  On Wednesday, the United Kingdom reported 492 deaths from the virus, the most reported since mid-May.   The nation has the biggest official death toll in Europe from COVID-19 and is grappling with more than 20,000 new coronavirus cases a day. Scientists warned the “worst-case” scenario of 80,000 dead could be exceeded without action.   Under the lockdown, all non-essential businesses in England will be closed and people will be asked to work from home if possible until at least December 2nd. Masks and …

A new documentary titled “In Case of Emergency” is the product of seven years of interviewing, photographing and filming nurses across America. As Karina Bafradzhian reports, the film explores the challenges of America’s frontline health care workers. Camera: David Gogokhia …

People in London packed pubs and bars late Wednesday for one last drink before all of England shutdown for one month in an attempt to halt a surge in COVID-19 infections.   Streets in London’s Soho neighborhood were blocked so pubs could put out tables for outdoor seating, but that appeared to be the only indication the city was in the midst of a pandemic. People sat shoulder to shoulder or stood arm-in-arm, and the only masks in sight were on the policemen standing by to make sure the revelry did not get out of hand.   One man told a reporter the scene felt like a bittersweet New Year’s Eve atmosphere — festive, but with the knowledge it would all be ending.     London and the rest of England began the shutdown at 1:00 am Thursday to combat a surge in new infections that scientists said could, if unchecked, cause more deaths than a first wave that forced a three-month lockdown earlier this year.  On Wednesday, the United Kingdom reported 492 deaths from the virus, the most reported since mid-May.   The nation has the biggest official death toll in Europe from COVID-19 and is grappling with more than 20,000 new coronavirus cases a day. Scientists warned the “worst-case” scenario of 80,000 dead could be exceeded without action.   Under the lockdown, all non-essential businesses in England will be closed and people will be asked to work from home if possible until at least December 2nd. Masks and …

Health officials in South Korea have approved a new test that’s designed to detect both COVID-19 and seasonal influenza from the same samples, which would help prevent disruption at hospitals as the pandemic stretches into the flu season.The country has struggled to stem the coronavirus, which some experts say could spread more broadly during cold weather when people spend more time indoors.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Wednesday reported 118 new cases of COVID-19, most of them in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area. The national caseload is now at 26,925, including 474 deaths.People have been increasingly venturing out in public after the government eased social distancing restrictions last month to support the weak economy. “Despite efforts by health authorities to trace contacts and suppress transmissions, such efforts have been outpaced by the speed of viral spread,” senior Health Ministry official Yoon Taeho said during a virus briefing.The new test, which targets genes that are specific to both COVID-19 and seasonal flu, is an evolved version of PCR tests that are used to detect COVID-19 from samples taken from noses or throats. Laboratories use machines to amplify genetic materials so that even tiny quantities of the virus can be detected.The illnesses are hard to tell apart by their symptoms, so having a diagnosis for both in three to six hours “would be convenient for patients and also reduce the burden of medical workers,” Yoon said.  …

Organizers of next year’s rescheduled Tokyo Olympics will have measures in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus. However, little is known about how the virus affects the long-term health of those who were already infected, including athletes. South African researchers are leading an international effort to try to find answers. South African Olympic hurdler Wenda Nel is grateful to be back on track for next year’s rescheduled Tokyo Olympics after recovering from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.  “It was about two to four weeks that I’ve took it very slowly with the training. Checked my heart rate every training session. Just monitor that. And from there I actually went into full program. And I feel stronger … fit … and actually fully recovered right now,” she said.  FILE – South Africa’s Wenda Nel runs the 400m hurdles during the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Championships held in Durban, June 26, 2016.The International Olympic Committee tasked a prominent South African sports physician, Martin Schwellnus, to lead international scientists in compiling guidelines for doctors treating athletes recovering from acute respiratory infections, including the coronavirus. The University of Pretoria’s Sport, Exercise Medicine, and Lifestyle Institute (SEMLI), through the IOC Research Center in South Africa, initiated the international AWARE Research Study as part of this work. The project includes data from the COVID-19 Recovery Clinic for athletes. Schwellnus, who is a professor at the University of Pretoria and the director of SEMLI, says COVID-19 seems to affect various organ systems.  “In the returning …