Year: 2020

Phones have been ringing off the hook lately for Brian Edwards, a sales manager of a small medical supply company in California.  And he has to say “No” to all the people who called.Edwards used to buy tens of thousands of facemasks from China. But not in the past three months.His company, the First Choice Industrial Supply Company, has not been able to get any masks from China since the outbreak of coronavirus in late December while the demand is soaring in the U.S."You can’t get a product. You are not going to get a product for months. " said Edwards, whose company advertises itself as "If it’s something you use, it’s something we stock".Edwards said in the interview with Voice of America last Friday that he gets about 50…

Shejirina Moni sits beside her children in front of their makeshift home in a shanty community in South Sudan's capital Juba. Six of her children have died of various illnesses. She’s got three left.“The first one died at nine months. Another one died at the age of 10 months. Another one died when he was crawling, about three months,” she tells VOA.Moni’s story highlights a sad fact:  Millions of children in South Sudan do not get routine vaccinations. They are vulnerable to preventable illnesses.UNICEF health specialist Dr. Patti Samuel (R) explains the importance of childhood immunizations to a young mother. (Chika Oduah/VOA)While South Sudan is currently free of the coronavirus pandemic alarming the global community, the country is battling a severe measles outbreak, with over 4,700 confirmed cases and 26…

One of the few Americans to see the moon close up has died. Astronaut Al Worden, who flew around the moon as part of the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, died in his sleep, his family said Wednesday. He was 88. Worden was a U.S. Air Force colonel when he joined NASA in 1966, getting his chance to fly to the moon five years later. Worden circled the moon in the command module while fellow astronauts Jim Irwin and David Scott explored the surface.  The highlight of the mission for Worden was when he performed the first deep-space spacewalk 322,000 kilometers above the Earth, inspecting the spacecraft’s scientific instrument bay.  “Al was an American hero whose achievements in space and on Earth will never be forgotten,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said Wednesday.  Worden once described flying to the moon as like driving a car, only with some analytical ability.  He wrote two books about his moon mission, including one for children. Worden retired from NASA in 1975 and worked in the aerospace industry, but he never…

Dharam Singh Rajput can't afford to buy hand sanitizer, which could help ward off transmission of the coronavirus in his community. The Rajput family could opt for something more basic — soap and water — to achieve hand hygiene. But sometimes there is no clean running water in their neighborhood, which sits next to open sewage canals and mounds of garbage in the heart of New Delhi, India's capital. "The kind of water we have access to has the potential to cause more diseases instead of warding off the virus if we use it to wash our hands," Rajput said. Experts say keeping hands clean is one of the easiest and best ways to prevent transmission of the new coronavirus, in addition to social distancing. But for India's homeless and…

Social distancing could qualify as an oxymoron in Italy, where walking arm-in-arm with friends, kissing neighbors in greeting and patting the heads of babies are part of the demonstrative culture.But a new virus has rapidly redefined the concept of respecting personal space for tactile Italians, as well as for South Koreans, Filipinos, Americans, Spaniards and citizens of many other crowded parts of the world.  Whether acting under government orders or following basic public health advice, people are putting distance between themselves to keep the coronavirus away. The new rules of engagement call for maintaining a gap of one to two meters (or three to six feet) to prevent possible exposure when an infected individual coughs or speaks.  The COVID-19 illness causes mild or moderate symptoms in most of those infected,…

The main Serbian hospital treating patients infected with coronavirus looks like an abandoned building, but it isn't. With its rundown facade, peeling walls and rooms crammed with metal beds, the downtown Belgrade clinic for infectious diseases has for decades been a symbol of Serbia's depleted health system that now has to cope with a major virus outbreak. "If coronavirus doesn't kill you, that hospital surely will," said Bane Spasic, a middle-aged man who recently visited the place for a minor infection.   Although the COVID-19 pandemic hasn't hit Eastern and Central Europe with such a force compared to Italy, Spain and France, health officials throughout the region are sounding the alarm about the lack of medical staff, facilities, equipment and enough hospital beds to handle several virus outbreaks simultaneously. The…

After months of bickering over new competitions, talks of closed  super leagues and complaints of greed by elite clubs, football's leaders have buried their differences to tackle the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.   On Tuesday, UEFA agreed to delay its flagship Euro 2020 competition for one year to allow domestic leagues to complete their seasons, once football resumes, and FIFA in turn recommended postponing its new Club World Cup from 2021.   "It was a relatively short call, probably the most united front of opinion I have seen in European football so far," said Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, general secretary of the global players' union FIFPRO, after a video conference with UEFA and representatives of clubs and leagues.   "It was a very cordial conversation --- not at all tense or…

It’s a sunny day in Miami, Florida with no chance of rain. But according to environmental scientist Margarita Kruyff, even on days like this, low-lying coastal communities like Miami and nearby Miami Beach may experience periodic flooding because of the porous bedrock underground that leaks water.“On the roads it means water could be coming up our drainage systems,” said the City of Miami Beach environmental scientist, who explained that the annual seasonal King Tides, or very high tides, also take their toll.  “Water may be coming up over seawalls for our residents, causing flooding in their homes and back yards,” she said.Rising seas linked to climate change are triggering chronic inland flooding in many parts of the world. In southern Florida, high tides are also threatening drinking water and causing…

The Rolling Stones are postponing its 15-city North American tour because of the growing coronavirus outbreak.The band announced Tuesday that its No Filter Tour, originally expected to kick off in San Diego on May 8, is postponed. The band's tour was also planned to visit some North American cities they haven't played in years, including Cleveland, St. Louis, Austin, Texas, Louisville, Kentucky, Charlotte, North Carolina and Tampa, Florida. "We're hugely disappointed to have to postpone the tour. We are sorry to all the fans who were looking forward to it as much as we were, but the health and safety of everyone has to take priority. We will all get through this together — and we'll see you very soon," the Stones said in a statement.Tour promoter AEG is advising…

 Medicare said Tuesday it will immediately expand coverage for telemedicine nationwide to help seniors with health problems stay home to avoid the coronavirus. The new option will allow millions of older people to take care of ongoing medical problems as well as new concerns, while heeding public health advice to stay home during the outbreak. For example, a patient with diabetes wouldn't have to postpone a regular follow-up visit with the doctor to keep safe — he or she could do it via Skype. And people concerned they may have the virus could "see" their doctor or nurse practitioner virtually to find out how to get tested in person. "It helps us prevent the spread of the virus," said Medicare administrator Seema Verma. For seniors who don't navigate technology, relatives or friends can assist.…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set up four new committees to help respond to a growing coronavirus outbreak, focusing on health, public sector preparedness, the economy and the international response to the pandemic.   The four committees will feed into a daily meeting on coronavirus, part of new stringent measures to try to tackle an outbreak, and will help "refine" decisions taken at emergency meetings, which will continue to be chaired by Johnson, his office said in a statement.  ...

The Pentagon is already helping combat the coronavirus outbreak in the United States and is considering ways to do more.  But the military faces limits. Its health care system is geared more toward handling combat casualties than infectious diseases. And there are logistical and legal concerns about expanding the military's role in civilian affairs, such as tasking it with enforcing quarantines. Defense officials also want to be careful not to do anything to weaken its ability to defend the nation.A look at the military's role in the crisis:What the military is doing At the request of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Pentagon has made housing available at four military bases for some passengers taken from the Grand Princess cruise ship, which was hit with a cluster of…

Britain will on Tuesday unveil a rescue package for businesses threatened with collapse by the coronavirus outbreak as budget forecasters said the scale of the borrowing needed might resemble the immense debt splurge during World War II.  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who told people to avoid pubs, clubs, restaurants, cinemas and theaters on Monday, was expected to address the nation alongside finance minister Rishi Sunak later on Tuesday.  Sunak last week announced help for business, including some tax suspensions for smaller firms, alongside emergency moves by the Bank of England.  But the virtual shutdown of swathes of the economy since then has forced the government - like many other countries around the world - to come up with a new plan.  Britain's independent budget office drew comparisons with World…

Several U.S. states are closing dine-in restaurants and bars, limiting the establishments to carry-out or delivery service, in an effort to stem the spread of coronavirus. The governors of California, Connecticut, Ohio, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Washington State are among those who have ordered the restrictions. Mayors in some towns across the United States are also putting similar measures in place. "These are very difficult decisions, but hours count here and very strong measures are necessary to slow the spread of the virus," Washington state Governor Jay Inslee said.Customers order and wait for their food at a restaurant in Chicago, March 15, 2020.Ben Chapman, a professor and food safety specialist at North Carolina State University, says it is important for people to remember that, when it comes to coronavirus, the risks of eating out have nothing to do with the food…

The U.S. surgeon general said Monday that the number of coronavirus cases in the United States has reached the level that Italy recorded two weeks ago, a sign that infections are expected to rise in America as the government steps up testing and financial markets continue to fall.        “We are at a critical inflection point in this country, people. We are where Italy was two weeks ago in terms of our numbers," U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams told Fox News. When you look at the projections, there's every chance that we could be Italy.”       Two weeks ago, there were 1,700 cases of coronavirus in Italy and the country had reported 34 deaths. Now, Italy is reporting an estimated 25,000 cases and more than 1,800 people have died. There are…

Spain's tally of coronavirus cases rose to 8,744 on Monday and the number of fatalities rose to 297, said Fernando Simon, the head of the country's health emergency center.   The previous tally was 7,753 cases on Sunday, with 288 fatalities ...

Experts say the Coronavirus got its start through animal to human transmission at a live wildlife market in Wuhan, China. In the months since, the deadly virus has rapidly spread throughout the world and the outbreak has been declared a pandemic. The crisis has prompted the Chinese government to impose a ban on consumption and trade of illegal wildlife.  But as VOA's Julie Taboh reports, not all at-risk countries are following their example. ...

The United Nations' aviation agency has approved restrictions for a global program designed to help airlines offset their carbon emissions, a move that curbs industry funding for older projects whose environmental benefits have been challenged by climate activists.The International Civil Aviation Organization council on Friday approved recommendations to exclude offset projects begun before 2016 while delivering emission reductions through the end of 2020, ICAO said in a statement.ICAO cannot impose rules but sets standards approved by its 193 member countries. Its 36-member council was tasked with weighing which programs would be eligible under the venture for airlines, known as the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).The council's decision to accept credits from six programs for CORSIA's pilot phase from 2021 to 2023 came despite protests from Brazil, China and India, which…