Year: 2020

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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 ...

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…

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…

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…

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.…

Kenyan health officials say the public has failed to follow health protocols to limit the spread of COVID-19, leading to a jump in daily infections. Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta now is reintroducing new measures to curb the virus's spread, just weeks after lifting some restrictions. Speaking to the country Wednesday following several weeks of rising number of COVID-19 infections, President Uhuru Kenyatta called on Kenyans to adhere to public health protocols meant to limit the spread of the virus.   FILE - A health worker takes the temperature of a person standing in line for mass testing in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya, May 26, 2020.“County government and other government agencies [are] to enhance and strictly enforce all…

The United States formally exited the Paris Agreement on Wednesday, fulfilling a years-long promise by President Donald Trump to withdraw the world’s second-largest greenhouse gas emitter from the global pact to fight climate change. But the outcome of the tight U.S. election contest will determine for how long. Trump's Democratic rival, Joe Biden, has promised to rejoin the agreement if elected.  "The U.S. withdrawal will leave a gap in our regime, and the global efforts to achieve the goals and ambitions of the Paris Agreement,” said Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).   The United States still remains a party to the UNFCCC. Espinosa said the body will be "ready to assist the U.S. in any effort in order to rejoin the Paris Agreement.”   Trump first announced his intention to…

Organizers of next year’s rescheduled Tokyo Olympics will have measures in place to limit the spread of COVID-19. But little is known about how the virus affects the long-term health of those already infected, including athletes. South African researchers are leading an international effort looking for answers, as Marize de Klerk reports from Pretoria. Camera: Franco Puglisi  Produced by: Jon Spier   ...

As voters across the United States lined up to cast their ballots in a hotly contested presidential race Tuesday, the nation posted one of its biggest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 infections in a single day.  Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Research Center shows a total of 91,530 total confirmed cases on Election Day, including 1,130 deaths. Additionally, there were more than 50,000 hospitalizations on Tuesday, according to separate data compiled by The COVID Tracking Project, an effort launched by The Atlantic magazine. Votes are counted at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Election Day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Nov. 3, 2020.More than 20 states have announced more new COVID-19 cases in the past week than in any other seven-day period, with states like Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania — three states that play…

Hurricane Eta continues on a destructive path over the Central American nations of Nicaragua and Honduras hours after making landfall along the Nicaraguan coast. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Eta is moving inland over northeastern Nicaragua carrying maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers an hour.  Forecasters are warning of life-threatening storm surges, damaging winds and flash floods over portions of Central America.   Hurricane Eta made landfall Tuesday near the eastern Nicaraguan coastal town of Puerto Cabezas, carrying maximum sustained winds of 225 kilometers an hour, making it a Category 4 storm on the five-level scale that measures a storm’s potential destructiveness.  At least three people have been killed as a result of Eta. A 12-year-girl in Honduras was killed when her home was buried in a landslide, while two miners were killed in a…

The United States contributes much more to ocean plastic pollution than previously estimated, according to a In this April 23, 2019, aerial photo, plastic bottles and other garbage float in river Drina near Visegrad, eastern Bosnia-Herzegovina.In 2016, the U.S. recycled just 9% of its total plastic waste. About half of this was recycled domestically and half was shipped overseas. The researchers estimate that up to 1 million metric tons of U.S. plastic waste entered the environment from these exports in 2016.“For years, so much of the plastic we have put into the blue bin has been exported for recycling to countries that struggle to manage their own waste, let alone the vast amounts delivered from the United States,” said Kara Lavender Law, research professor of oceanography at Sea Education Association…

The United States formally exited the Paris Agreement on Wednesday, fulfilling a years-long promise by President Donald Trump to withdraw the world’s second-largest greenhouse gas emitter from the global pact to fight climate change. But the outcome of the tight U.S. election contest will determine for how long. Trump's Democratic rival, Joe Biden, has promised to rejoin the agreement if elected.  "The U.S. withdrawal will leave a gap in our regime, and the global efforts to achieve the goals and ambitions of the Paris Agreement,” said Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).   The United States still remains a party to the UNFCCC. Espinosa said the body will be "ready to assist the U.S. in any effort in order to rejoin the Paris Agreement.”   Trump first announced his intention to…

The U.S. National Football League, after at least three weeks with no new COVID-19 cases, saw three teams with positive cases, this time including two senior management officials. A statement from the Denver Broncos said General Manager John Elway and team Chief Executive Officer Joe Ellis each tested positive for the virus early this week. The team said after their review of contact-tracing data with the league, they “are confident these cases originated independently outside team facilities.” Both executives are reported to have minor symptoms. The Baltimore Ravens and the Green Bay Packers each had a player with a positive test result Monday, though the tests for both players were given before they played in games Sunday. Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey and Packers running back A.J. Dillion each were tested before their respective…

Nicaragua is bracing for the imminent arrival of Hurricane Eta. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the potentially catastrophic hurricane could make landfall early Tuesday, with winds in excess of 248 kilometers per hour.  Thousands of people on Monday began evacuating Nicaragua’s Atlantic coast, where a hurricane warning is posted from the Honduras-Nicaragua border to Sandy Bay Sirpi.  The hurricane is located 75 kilometers east of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua.  Forecasters warn of flooding and landslides, especially in central and northern Nicaragua and most of Honduras.  Eastern Guatemala, southern Belize and Jamaica are also expected to get heavy rain. Eta is already impacting life in Honduras. Cancellations are said to be coming in ahead of a five-day national vacation aimed at bolstering tourism and bringing some financial help to the pandemic weary economy.  Eta is the eighth Atlantic storm of the hurricane season, which ends November 30.  ...

The global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has surpassed 1.2 million people as many countries around the world contend with rising infection rates from the virus.  The fatalities are among the 46.8 million total cases compiled in the ongoing pandemic collected by the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center and comes as the European continent reaches its own grim threshold of more than 10 million confirmed coronavirus cases.  Europe is in the grip of a second wave of the virus, with a number of nations, including Belgium, Britain, France and Germany, imposing a new set of lockdowns in an effort to contain the surge.  In Spain, the number of coronavirus infections rose by 55,019 on Monday, the biggest increase since the start of the pandemic, according to health ministry…