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Tag: US

  • BREAKING: Trump okays manufacturing of thousands ventilators as U.S Covid-19 cases surpasses 100,000

    BREAKING: Trump okays manufacturing of thousands ventilators as U.S Covid-19 cases surpasses 100,000

    President Donald Trump invoked the rarely used Defense Production Act on Friday to order the Department of Health and Human Services to compel General Motors to manufacturer ventilators hours after he sharply criticized the company for slow-walking production.

    “Our negotiations with GM regarding its ability to supply ventilators have been productive, but our fight against the virus is too urgent to allow the give-and-take of the contracting process to continue to run its normal course,” Trump said in a statement.

    “GM was wasting time. Today’s action will help ensure the quick production of ventilators that will save American lives.”

    Trump himself has been criticized for not quickly invoking his authority to use the act as the nation’s hospitals and health care facilities are in dire need of critical medical supplies. He announced he would use the act this month, but did not invoke it until Friday.

    U.S. surpassed 100,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus Friday, led by a continued jump in infections in New York and in new hotspots across the country.

  • Coronavirus: US urges doctors, nurses around world to apply for visas

    Coronavirus: US urges doctors, nurses around world to apply for visas

    The United States has asked medical professionals seeking to work in America to apply for a work visa at the nearest US Embassy as part of measures to strengthen the health system to contain the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

    The government in a statement published on www.travel.state.gov on Friday, advised foreign medical professionals already in the US to consult with their sponsors to extend their programmes.

    According to World Health Organisation statistics as of 12:00 pm on Friday, 63,570 people have been infected with the virus and nearly 884 have died in the US which is quickly becoming the new epicenter of the outbreak.

    The statement read, “We encourage medical professionals seeking to work in the United States on a work or exchange visitor, particularly those working to treat or mitigate the effects of COVID-19, to reach out to the nearest embassy or consulate to request a visa appointment.

    “For those foreign medical professionals already in the United States:

    “J-1 Alien Physicians (medical residents) may consult with their programme sponsor, ECFMG, to extend their programmes in the United States. Generally, a J-1 program for a foreign medical resident can be extended one year at a time for up to seven years.”

    It noted that the expiration date on a US visa did not determine how long one can be in the United States.

  • U.S. cases soar beyond China, Italy’s figures, now world’s most-hit country by Coronavirus

    U.S. cases soar beyond China, Italy’s figures, now world’s most-hit country by Coronavirus

    The United States overtook China and Italy on Thursday as the world’s worst-hit country by the raging coronavirus pandemic.

    As at the time this report was filed, the U.S. took the morbid distinction after new 14,336 confirmed cases were added.

    The record figure shot the country to the top of the table with 82,547 cases.

    China where the pandemic began late last year has 81,285 cases.

    Italy, the worst hit country in Europe, has 80, 589 cases.

    According to worldometers.info figures, while Italy recorded 6,203 cases on Thursday, China logged just 67.

    The death toll in the U.S. has also spiralled to 1,182.

    157 new deaths were recorded on Thursday.

    However, there are some silver linings for the U.S.

    One is that it has been able to keep its fatalities low.

    Italy holds the world record of 8,215 deaths, followed by Spain, with 4,145.

    China, where the pandemic started has a death toll of 3,287.

    The second silver lining for America is that the recovery rate has increased. On Wednesday, it was just 394 recoveries. The figure jumped to 1,864 cases on Thursday.

  • Just in: US begins first human trial of coronavirus vaccine

    Just in: US begins first human trial of coronavirus vaccine

    The first human trial to evaluate a candidate vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 has begun in Seattle, US health officials said on Monday.

    “The open-label trial will enrol 45 healthy adult volunteers ages 18 to 55 years over approximately 6 weeks,” the US National Institutes of Health said in a statement.

    “The first participant received the investigational vaccine today.”

    But the candidate would still need to progress through various more stages, known as phases, to prove it works and is safe.

    US officials have estimated it may take a year to 18 months before it becomes available — if everything goes to plan.

    The vaccine is called mRNA-1273 and was developed by NIH scientists and collaborators at biotechnology company Moderna, which is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

    Funding was also provided by the Oslo-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).

    “Finding a safe and effective vaccine to prevent infection with SARS-CoV-2 is an urgent public health priority,” said Anthony Fauci, head of infectious diseases at the NIH.

    “This Phase 1 study, launched in record speed, is an important first step toward achieving that goal.”

    Coronaviruses are spherical and have spikes protruding from their surface, giving them a crown-like appearance. The spike binds to human cells, allowing the virus to gain entry.

    The Moderna candidate vaccine carries the genetic information of this spike in a substance called “messenger RNA.”

    Injecting human tissue with the spike’s messenger RNA makes it grow inside the body, thereby eliciting an immune response without having actually infected a person with the full-blown virus.

  • Prominent Nigerian physician dies of Coronavirus

    Prominent Nigerian physician dies of Coronavirus

    A prominent Nigerian medical doctor, Olumide Okunuga has died of the raging Coronavirus disease in Canada.

    According to reports by US-based blog, Irohinoodua, Okunuga died on Saturday morning at 63 years.

    Okunuga is the first Nigerian known to have died of the dreaded disease.

    He was the President of Egbe Omo Yoruba, Emila Romagna and Vice-President of Yoruba National Community in Italy.

    He was a pathologist and native of Ikenne Remo, in Ogun State.

    Dr Okunuga was also a two-time Councillor for Modena in Italy where he had lived for 35 years. He was diagnosed to have contacted Coronavirus in Canada, a country which has recently been hit by the deadly virus, Irohinoodua said.

    It quoted sources as saying that the remains of Dr. Okunuga were asked to be recognised from a distance by his daughter, Dr. Bolanle Okunuga, whose mother is a Caucasian of Italian origin.

    Irohinoodua further quoted Canadian health officials as saying that Dr Okunuga’s body would not be released but had to be cremated.

    “His death has left the Yoruba community in Italy totally devastated. We have lost a very great man who is in the apex of his career,” an official of the Egbe Omo Yoruba who does not wish to be named told Irohinoodua.

    Also mourning Dr Odunuga, Mr Abiodun Gbadamosi, an official of Egbe Omo Yoruba in North America, said: “We lost a great man this weekend. He was an affectionate and decent man who lived for others through his meritorious services since he left Nigeria for Canada many years ago.”

  • Nigerian tests positive for coronavirus in US

    Nigerian tests positive for coronavirus in US

    Mayor of Washington D.C. Muriel Bowser said a Nigerian who passed through the US capital city has tested positive for coronavirus in neighbouring state of Maryland.

    She announced this at a news conference on Saturday night.

    She said the Nigerian had visited Washington D.C. and tested positive later in Maryland. All his contacts are being traced in the city.

    Bowser had earlier announced that a man in his 50s has tested positive for coronavirus, marking the first presumptively confirmed case in the capital.

    She said the man started exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 in late February and was hospitalized Thursday.

    President Donald Trump says he isn’t concerned “at all” about the coronavirus getting closer to the White House after the first Washington case and an attendee of a recent political conference where Trump himself had spoken also tested positive for the virus.

    Nineteen people have died in the U.S. from the virus. The number of infections in the U.S. is now above 400.

  • Coronavirus: Death toll rises to 19 in US, New York declares emergency

    Coronavirus: Death toll rises to 19 in US, New York declares emergency

    Two more persons died of coronavirus in the US State of Washington, bringing the nationwide toll to 19 as confirmed cases in New York jumped by 21 overnight and the disease spread to more than half of all U.S. states.

    The two latest deaths were in Washington’s King County, the hardest hit area in the United States after the virus spread among residents at a nursing facility in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland.

    The first deaths on the East Coast were announced late Friday, with two people succumbing in Florida.

    Organizers of the Conservative Political Action Conference, a high-profile annual gathering that took place in Maryland last month, said on Saturday one of their attendees had tested positive for the virus after exposure prior to the event. The person had no interactions with President Donald Trump or Vice President Mike Pence, who were in attendance, the American Conservative Union said in a statement.

    Off California, passengers on a cruise ship that was barred from docking in San Francisco after some aboard tested positive for the novel coronavirus did not know on Saturday when they might be able to step ashore.

    In New York, the number of confirmed cases jumped by 21 overnight to a statewide total of 76 people, 10 of whom have been hospitalized, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday. He issued a declaration of emergency.

    “It allows expedited purchasing and expedited hiring, which is what we need right now,” Cuomo told a news conference.

    Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, told a news conference at the White House on Saturday that a total of 2.1. million coronavirus tests will have been shipped to non-public labs by Monday, as the Trump administration aims to counter criticism that its response to the disease has been sluggish.

    Hahn said the focus is on getting tests to the highest risk areas in Washington state and California.

    Multiple manufacturers will soon send millions more tests, he said. “What they told us is they believe they could scale up by the end of next week … for the capacity for 4 million additional tests that could be shipped,” Hahn said.

    The respiratory illness has spread to more than 90 countries, killing more than 3,400 people and infecting more than 100,000 worldwide.

  • Coronavirus: Death toll hits 19 in US, New York declares emergency

    Coronavirus: Death toll hits 19 in US, New York declares emergency

    Two more persons died of coronavirus in the US State of Washington, bringing the nationwide toll to 19 as confirmed cases in New York jumped by 21 overnight and the disease spread to more than half of all U.S. states.

    The two latest deaths were in Washington’s King County, the hardest hit area in the United States after the virus spread among residents at a nursing facility in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland.

    The first deaths on the East Coast were announced late Friday, with two people succumbing in Florida.

    Organizers of the Conservative Political Action Conference, a high-profile annual gathering that took place in Maryland last month, said on Saturday one of their attendees had tested positive for the virus after exposure prior to the event. The person had no interactions with President Donald Trump or Vice President Mike Pence, who were in attendance, the American Conservative Union said in a statement.

    Off California, passengers on a cruise ship that was barred from docking in San Francisco after some aboard tested positive for the novel coronavirus did not know on Saturday when they might be able to step ashore.

    In New York, the number of confirmed cases jumped by 21 overnight to a statewide total of 76 people, 10 of whom have been hospitalized, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday. He issued a declaration of emergency.

    “It allows expedited purchasing and expedited hiring, which is what we need right now,” Cuomo told a news conference.

    Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, told a news conference at the White House on Saturday that a total of 2.1. million coronavirus tests will have been shipped to non-public labs by Monday, as the Trump administration aims to counter criticism that its response to the disease has been sluggish.

    Hahn said the focus is on getting tests to the highest risk areas in Washington state and California.

    Multiple manufacturers will soon send millions more tests, he said. “What they told us is they believe they could scale up by the end of next week … for the capacity for 4 million additional tests that could be shipped,” Hahn said.

    The respiratory illness has spread to more than 90 countries, killing more than 3,400 people and infecting more than 100,000 worldwide.

  • Coronavirus deaths jump to six in US

    Coronavirus deaths jump to six in US

    Four new patients have died from COVID-19, in the Seattle area of Washington State in the United States, bringing the total deaths to six.

    Public health officials near Seattle reported the nation’s first two deaths in a nearby suburb and several new cases over the weekend.

    Local officials also said that about 50 residents and employees of a nursing care facility were being tested for the new coronavirus after several people there tested positive.

    “Unfortunately, we are starting to find more COVID-19 cases here in Washington that appear to be acquired locally here in Washington,” Washington state health officer Dr. Kathy Lofy told reporters at a press conference.

    “We now know that the virus is actively spreading in some communities.”

    Washington state currently has 18 cases, 14 of which are in King County where the nursing facility is located and four in Snohomish County, she said.

  • US records first Coronavirus death

    US records first Coronavirus death

    The first death from the novel coronavirus has been confirmed on US soil, in Washington state, health officials said Saturday, after a handful of cases of unknown origin were detected, indicating the disease was spreading in the country.

    This is coming barely a week after President Donald Trump said America was doing a great job and there was no case of the novel virus in the US.

    The fatality occurred in King county, the most populous in the state and home to Seattle, a city of more than 700,000 people, says officials in the state.

    The victim was not immediately identified.

    “It is a sad day in our state as we learn that a Washingtonian has died from COVID-19. Our hearts go out to his family and friends,” Washington state Governor Jay Inslee said in a statement.

    US President Donald Trump said he would address the media about the “latest coronavirus developments” at about 1:30 pm (1830 GMT).

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 60 people are infected with the disease in the United States — the majority of them passengers from the stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship.

    An American citizen died of the new coronavirus in early February at the Chinese epicenter of the global outbreak, the city of Wuhan, the US embassy confirmed at the time.

    Worldwide, the virus has hit 59 countries across the globe, with more than 2,900 people killed and over 85,000 infected since it was first detected at an animal market in Wuhan late last year.

    Authorities in Washington state set a press conference for 1:00 pm Pacific time (2100 GMT).