Month: April 2020

U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that disinfectants could be used to treat coronavirus patients is triggering alarm among health experts, and warnings from a maker of the sanitizing solutions.Trump said at his regular White House coronavirus media briefing Thursday that scientists should investigate inserting disinfectants into patients' bodies to cure COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus."I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute," Trump said. "And is there a way we can do something like that by injection, inside, or almost a cleaning?"With coronavirus response coordinator and physician Deborah Birx looking on, Trump noted the virus "does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that." However, physicians and other health experts are warning against Trump's suggestion to use disinfectants…

The World Health Organization (WHO) Friday announced a collaborative effort with world leaders and private industry to ensure equitable distribution of any viable vaccines or treatments for COVID-19.WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus joined U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres via teleconference from Geneva, along with European Union leaders, to announce the project that is aimed at ensuring all countries get the latest tools to fight the coronavirus pandemic.  Calling it “the fight of our lives,” Guterres said treatments and vaccines for the virus should belong to the whole world, not to individual countries or regions. He added the treatments must be “affordable, safe, effective, [and] easily administered.”French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and representatives from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation…

After months of testing, a European space telescope finally begins its work studying far-off planets. Meanwhile, a crew return home from the International Space Station after more than two hundred days in orbit. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has the week in space. ...

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday lengthened her stay-at-home order through May 15, while lifting restrictions so some businesses can reopen and the public can participate in outdoor activities like golf and motorized boating during the coronavirus pandemic. The measure immediately replaces one that was scheduled to expire next week. Michigan has had nearly 3,000 deaths related to COVID-19, behind only New York and New Jersey among U.S. states. People are now required, rather than encouraged, to wear face coverings in enclosed public spaces such as grocery stores if they can medically tolerate it. Employers must provide non-medical grade masks to their in-person employees. Landscapers, lawn-service companies, plant nurseries and bike repair shops can resume operating, subject to social-distancing rules. Stores selling nonessential supplies can reopen for curbside pickup and…

One of the hard lessons the World Health Organization learned during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was this: Other diseases can be forgotten and take a deadlier toll. The WHO is now warning that the battle against malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, where it already kills hundreds of thousands of people a year, could be set back by 20 years as countries focus energy and resources on containing the coronavirus.   The WHO said new projections indicate that in a worst-case scenario, 769,000 people could die of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa this year as campaigns to combat it are interrupted. That's more than double the deaths in the last detailed count two years ago, when more than 360,000 people died, and would be the worst figures for the region since…

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration on Thursday, saying industry cannot avoid the Clean Water Act when it pumps wastewater into the ground instead of directly into oceans and rivers.In a 6-3 decision, Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the majority. He said putting the polluted water into the ground before it eventually reaches oceans and rivers is “the functional equivalent” of directly releasing it into the ocean, and permission from the Environmental Protection Agency is needed.In his dissenting opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that according to current laws, a permit is needed only for directly dumping polluted water into a waterway.Attorney David Henkin argued the case on behalf of the environmental group Earthjustice.“This decision is a huge victory for clean water. The Supreme Court has rejected the…

After last week's court ruling brought to light potential environmental concerns, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suspended a nationwide program meant to approve utility work, despite industry representatives' warnings it could stop important infrastructure projects.Nationwide Permit 12, a blanket permit used by utility companies to build gas and oil pipelines, powerlines and other infrastructure across wetlands and streams, was ruled illegal by U.S. District Judge Brian Morris concerning the Keystone XL pipeline's use of the permit for water crossings without the Army Corps' proper consideration of endangered wildlife.From there, the judge's findings were expanded to include any projects using Nationwide Permit 12.The Trump administration likely will counter the court's ruling, seeing as the original lawsuit was over the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, a project Trump supported.Currently, 360…

The arrival of the new coronavirus pandemic has made something of a wildlife celebrity of a previously not very well-known scaly mammal known as a pangolin.  These cute or creepy looking (depending upon whom you ask) creatures are hunted in sub-Saharan Africa for their scales and meat and illegally trafficked primarily to Southeast Asia.  Several conservation organizations say they are the most heavily trafficked wild mammal on the planet, bringing poachers and smugglers vast amounts of money. Between 2006 and 2015, more than 1 million pangolins are estimated to have been hunted. The creatures, which vary from the size of a domestic cat to a large dog, have gained notoriety during the coronavirus outbreak, as scientists explore whether the virus originated in the pangolin or whether it could have been a middleman, transmitting it from another wild animal, such…

The world has lost more than one quarter of its land-dwelling insects in the past 30 years, according to researchers whose big picture study of global bug decline paints a disturbing but more nuanced problem than earlier research. From bees and other pollinators crucial to the world's food supply to butterflies that beautify places, the bugs are disappearing at a rate of just under 1% a year, with lots of variation from place to place, according to a study in Thursday's journal Science.  That's a tinier population decline than found by some smaller localized studies, which had triggered fears of a so-called insect apocalypse. But it still adds up to something "awfully alarming," said entomologist Roel van Klink of the German Centre for Integrative Biology, the study's lead author. "The decline across…

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said a fundamental reform of the World Health Organization was needed following its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and that the United States, the WHO's biggest donor, may never restore funding to the U.N. body.   As Pompeo launched fresh attacks on the U.N. body on Wednesday, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives accused the Trump administration of trying to "scapegoat" the WHO to distract from its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.   In a letter to President Donald Trump, they called for the immediate restoration of U.S. funding, which Trump suspended last week accusing the WHO of being "China-centric" and of promoting China's "disinformation" about the outbreak.   Pompeo told Fox News late on Wednesday there needed to be "a structural fix…

The United Kingdom's economy is crumbling under the strain of the coronavirus lockdown and government borrowing is soaring to the highest levels in peacetime history, increasing pressure on the government to set out an exit strategy.   Prime Minister Boris Johnson, recuperating at his country residence after being seriously ill with COVID-19, is facing criticism from opposition politicians and some epidemiologists for reacting too slowly to the novel coronavirus outbreak.   Ministers are already struggling to explain high death rates, limited testing and shortages of protective kit, and the grim reality of the damage to the world's fifth largest economy hit home on Thursday.   The past century, or possibly several centuries," Bank of England interest-rate setter Jan Vlieghe said, the recovery, he said, was unlikely to be swift.  …

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg joined calls for a combined effort to tackle coronavirus and the climate crisis, saying the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on Wednesday was the time to choose a "new way forward." Dramatic improvements in air and water quality as coronavirus lockdowns have cut pollution have prompted calls for a low-carbon future, but the need to get millions back to work is clouding the picture for the future.  Thunberg, taking part in a streamed event to mark Earth Day, said the extraordinary measures to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus did not mean the climate crisis had gone away.   Climate activist Greta Thunberg, center, talks with other climate activists youth at the COP25 climate talks summit in Madrid, Dec. 6, 2019."We need to tackle two crises at…

China will pay close attention to clusters of coronavirus infections, especially in hospitals, according to a top level meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday.   China's northeastern city of Harbin has had several clusters of infections in local hospitals.   The government also called for efforts to increase coronavirus testing capability and produce more effective testing equipment, according to a statement on the state council's website. (Reporting by Colin Qian and Nori Shirouzu; Editing by Andrew Heavens) ...

The World Meteorological Organization is warning that if the planet keeps warming at its current pace, the average global temperature could increase by 1.5 degrees C  in the next 10 years.  This rise would worsen extreme weather events, and many of the dangerous effects of climate change might become irreversible, it said.  WMO reported Wednesday that the national lockdowns of transportation, industry and energy production because of the coronavirus pandemic have resulted in a 6 percent drop of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.  However, WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said this good news would be short-lived.  He said the startup of industry might even trigger a boost in emissions.  He said the pandemic also was making it more difficult to monitor and manage weather and other hazards.“This current COVID crisis…

As people across the globe stay home to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, the air has cleaned up, albeit temporarily. Smog stopped choking New Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the world, and India's getting views of sights not visible in decades. Nitrogen dioxide pollution in the northeastern  United States is down 30%. Rome air pollution levels from mid-March to mid-April were down 49% from a year ago. Stars seem more visible at night. People are also noticing animals in places and at times they don't usually. Coyotes have meandered along downtown Chicago's Michigan Avenue and near San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. A puma roamed  the streets of Santiago, Chile. Goats took over a town in Wales. In India, already daring wildlife has become bolder with…

Laboratory and drug development services provider LabCorp said on Wednesday it would expand the availability of its antibody tests for the new coronavirus to more hospitals and healthcare organizations starting next week. The tests, earlier made available mainly to healthcare workers in late March, aim to identify individuals exposed to the virus but without any visible symptoms by detecting the presence of antibodies to the virus in blood samples. LabCorp said it offers separate tests to identify three major classes of antibodies for the virus. Physicians would be able to direct asymptomatic patients to the company's approximately 2,000 patient service centers for specimen collection for the antibody test, SARS-CoV-2 IgG, starting April 27, the company said.While the tests are neither the sole basis for a diagnosis nor assurance of immunity, they could play…

On the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, teen climate activist Greta Thunberg says we should not let the coronavirus pandemic make us forget the ongoing climate crisis. She spoke from the Nobel Museum in Stockholm, in a video conversation with Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Professor Johan Rockstrom in Germany. Thunberg said both the climate crisis and the pandemic are similar in that "we listen to scientists, to science and to the experts." She said times like these require people to put aside their differences and act.  Thunberg and Rockstrom held their digital conversation in honor of Earth Day, and discussed "courage, solidarity and opportunities in times of crisis." Earth Day was first observed April 22, 1970, as the result of student activism and a bipartisan effort in Congress to call…

Health officials say two people died with the coronavirus in California weeks before the first reported death from the disease.   Santa Clara County officials said Tuesday the people died at home Feb. 6 and Feb. 17. Before this, the first U.S. death from the virus had been reported on Feb. 29 in Kirkland, Washington. The Medical Examiner-Coroner received confirmation Tuesday that tissue samples sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested positive for the virus, officials said.   The announcement came after California Gov. Gavin Newsom promised a "deep dive" update Wednesday of the state's ability to test for the coronavirus and to track and isolate people who have it, one of the six indicators he says is key to lifting a "stay-at-home" order that has…

Frequent hand-washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds is recommended by health experts to help prevent exposure to COVID-19. That is exactly what many people do these days. But while washing hands and bathing signifies personal hygiene in our time, it was not always the case.  Louis XIV of France, for example, is said to have taken only two baths in his adult lifetime — both times recommended by his doctors. The king had headaches, and his doctors thought bathing would help cure the condition. It did not, and he never bathed again.  The hygiene rituals of Louis XIV and other historical figures are recounted in the new book “The Clean Body: A Modern History” by Peter Ward. The history professor emeritus at the University of British Colombia explores the transformation of body care habits in the West over the past four centuries.  In the 19th century, advancements in industry, plumbing, architecture and science helped spread the practice of bathing and hand-washing.Cleanliness now and then According…

The United Nations' food chief warned Tuesday that while the world fights the coronavirus pandemic, it is also on the brink of a hunger pandemic."Millions of civilians living in conflict-scarred nations, including many women and children, face being pushed to the brink of starvation, with the specter of famine a very real and dangerous possibility," World Food Program Executive Director David Beasley told a remote meeting of the U.N. Security Council.Beasley said 821 million people worldwide are chronically hungry, and 135 million face crisis levels of hunger. With the added stress of COVID-19, an additional 130 million people could be pushed to the brink of starvation by the end of 2020."In a worst-case scenario, we could be looking at famine in about three dozen countries," he warned.FILE - A homeless…

SARS-CoV2 should be a good candidate for a vaccine. The question is which vaccine will be the best solution? ...

Pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have decreased across the globe, as countries strive to contain the spread of the coronavirus by ordering people to stay at home.Among the many unknown facts about this new virus is what kind of long-term impact it will have on the environment.Since the outbreak in December 2019 and the subsequent pandemic, businesses have shuttered, airlines have slashed services, and more and more people are working from home or not working at all, cutting traffic to a minimum.The global shutdown has inadvertently become an experiment in the reduction of greenhouse gases.NASA recently released satellite data of the northeastern U.S., revealing a 30% drop in air pollution over densely populated metropolitan areas. Nitrogen dioxide from transportation fossil fuels and electricity generation shows that March 2020 has the…