Coronavirus pandemic: All stories

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has slammed the “spiteful” rejection of Taiwan’s bid to attend the World Health Organization’s annual meeting as an observer despite its success in tackling Covid-19. Beijing has insisted that Taiwan, a self-ruled island democracy that it claims as its own territory, be excluded from the World Health Assembly, the WHO’s decision-making body. It added that the previous inclusion of Taiwan should not count as a precedent, as the current Taiwanese government no longer recognized the one-China principle (under which both Taipei and Beijing agree there is only one China, but differ on how it is interpreted). “The United States condemns Taiwan’s exclusion from th

Years of social progress in China are at risk of being undone as the world’s second-largest economy grapples with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic that has driven unemployment to historical highs. Over the past few years, the country’s labor market has been underpinned by the rise in service sector jobs, allowing newly laid-off factory workers to take up employment as delivery drivers or store clerks. But the pandemic has broken this virtuous cycle, fanning the government’s worst fears about massive unemployment and the potential for ensuing social unrest that could undermine its iron grip on power. Across the country, it is not uncommon to see stores closing or popular rest

Scientists around the world are trying to trace the origin of the coronavirus, an effort that could help us get ahead of the next pandemic. In the video above, Inkstone speaks with infectious disease experts to find out what we know about how the devastating virus came into being and what we don’t know. The following is a lightly edited transcript of the video. The new coronavirus is thought to have originated in bats, and the initial outbreak has been linked to a live animal market in China. But there are other conspiracy theories about where it may have come from. So, what should we believe?  Understanding how the virus first infected humans may help us beat the pandemic or, at least, mit

Medical researchers around the world are racing to find drugs and vaccines to fight Covid-19. A process that usually takes years or even decades of laboratory work and tests has been fast-tracked to months in a rush to stop a virus that has infected more than 3 million people. Nine vaccine candidates have entered human trials and more than 70 others are under preclinical studies.  China was one of the first out of the blocks, with five vaccines being developed by companies there that are undergoing clinical trials. On the pharmaceutical front, a trial in the United States of experimental antiviral drug remdesivir made by US-based Gilead Sciences showed results on Wednesday that might lead to

As countries look to safely ease the coronavirus lockdowns that have crippled economic and social life, authorities around the world are seeking to strike a bargain with their citizens: a quicker return to normal life in return for embracing smartphone apps that streamline the business of contact tracing. But these digital tools remain largely untested and raise questions about privacy. Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called on the public to download such an app “as a matter of national service,” comparing it to the sale of wartime bonds to support the military efforts. Australia launched COVIDSafe on Sunday, attracting more than 2 million downloads within 24 hours. Singapore

Wuhan, the initial epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, no longer has any Covid-19 patients in the hospital after the last 12 were discharged on Sunday. Their release ended a four-month nightmare for the city, where the disease was first detected in December.  The number of patients being treated for Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, peaked on February 18 at 38,020 – nearly 10,000 of whom were in severe or critical condition. “With the joint efforts of Wuhan and the national medical aid given to Hubei province, all cases of Covid-19 in Wuhan were cleared as of April 26,” Mi Feng, a spokesman for the National Health Commission said on Sunday afternoon. The announcement c

A leading Hong Kong mental health expert has warned that the city might be on the brink of a wave of suicides brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. Professor Paul Yip Siu-fai, director of the University of Hong Kong’s Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, is part of an international group of mental health specialists who have sounded the alert about the potential psychological impact of the pandemic. Among those most at risk are workers who have lost their jobs, those facing severe financial hardship and elderly people who feel cooped up at home because of restrictions on movement. Yip said prolonged restrictions and social-distancing measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus cou

Of all the places to sit out the Covid-19 pandemic, few sound more appealing than a beachside villa on a tropical island.  For one family at least, that is the reality after they became stuck in Fiji on what was supposed to be a round-the-world trip of a lifetime. “We never imagined the coronavirus would spread so far and wide – or so quickly,” says Lau Hsu-yung from Hong Kong. “We soon learned it was impossible to outrun it.” In the first week of February, the family waved goodbye to their 2,000 sq ft home in Hong Kong, leaving their possessions in a 100 sq ft storeroom. Downsizing and simplifying their life was also part of the plan. “We were excited about new discoveries, new opportunitie

As deaths from the coronavirus mount in New York City, a temporary field hospital has been built in Central Park to help ease the burden on local hospitals. Covid-19 cases continue to surge in the city, with the death toll surpassing 900 on Monday, March 30. Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has estimated that about 200,000 Americans could die from the pandemic. US President Donald Trump has extended stay-at-home guidelines for the nation to the end of April. 

While mask-wearing has become a part of life in East Asia since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, it has remained rare in the United States and Europe. In some cases, mask wearers of Asian descent have been frowned upon or even assaulted. We look at the history of surgical mask use during disease outbreaks and how they have become shunned in the place where the practice originated: America.