Health

BAGHDAD, Apr 16 (NNN-NINA) – The Iraqi authorities decided to extend the nationwide curfew until the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, to contain the outbreak of COVID-19.

The decision came, after a video conference by the Higher Committee for Health and National Safety, headed by the caretaker Prime Minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, the committee said in a statement.

The committee also decided to hold another meeting next week, before Ramadan, which is expected to start on Apr 24 or 25, according the Islamic lunar calendar, the statement said.

UNITED NATIONS, April 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A COVID-19 vaccine may be the only thing that can bring back “normalcy,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, hoping for just that before the end of the year.

“A safe and effective vaccine may be the only tool that can return the world to a sense of ‘normalcy,’ saving millions of lives and countless trillions of dollars,” he added during a video conference with the 50 or so African countries that are members of the United Nations.

15 April 2020; MEMO: Following a presidential decree made yesterday, treatment for coronavirus in Turkey’s public hospitals will be completely free of charge. Patients will be provided protective gear and testing, in addition to medicine, even if they failed to pay state insurance.

Citing an anonymous Turkish official, Middle East Eye reported that the government had already begun allowing every citizen to benefit from the free health services.

15 April 2020; MEMO: The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov has asked Israel to release the Palestinian tax revenue that it is withholding to allow the Palestinian Authority to combat the social and economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

15 April 2020; MEMO: Palestinian Authority (PA)’s health ministry yesterday received an assistance package of 50,000 coronavirus testing kits from China’s e-commerce Alibaba Group.

The Palestinian Health Minister, Mai Al-Kaila, told local reporters that aid was provided in cooperation with Jack Ma, e-commerce giant Alibaba’s co-founder.

Al-Kaila thanked the Chinese president, government and people for their “generous assistance and support in light of the global spread of the coronavirus.

Washington, Apr 15 (PTI) The IMF has called on all countries to refrain from putting restrictions on exporting medical supplies in view of their massive requirement across the globe to combat the coronavirus pandemic that has killed at least 119,000 people and infected nearly two million.

Medical supplies like surgical masks, gowns and ventilators are required in massive number across the globe because of the coronavirus pandemic that surfaced in central China's Wuhan city last year and spread to at least 185 countries and territories.

New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) As the world grapples with coronavirus, researchers have found the presence of a different kind of coronavirus -- bat coronavirus (BtCoV) --in two bat species from Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, according to a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

There is no evidence or research to claim that these bat coronaviruses can cause disease in humans, said Dr Pragya D Yadav, Scientist at the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune and also the first author of study.

New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) All Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) security personnel who frisk passengers at airports will be provided personal protective equipment (PPE) suits once commercial flight operations resume in the country, a senior official said.

The force has procured about 500 pieces and is in the process of obtaining more.

Pune, Apr 15 (PTI) Three nurses working in the isolation ward of state-run Sassoon General Hospital here in Maharashtra have tested positive for coronavirus, an official said on Wednesday.

The other nurses of the Pune-based hospital have been quarantined and their samples have also been sent for testing, he said.

DUBAI, Apr 15 (NNN-WAM) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday announced 412 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 4,933.

UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention, said in a statement that, the new cases include different nationalities, and all are in a stable condition and receiving medical treatment.

And 81 more patients have recovered from the virus, taking the tally of recoveries in the UAE to 933, according to the ministry.