Medicine

The Jakarta Post reports: Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto has reiterated the importance of praying amid the country’s ongoing battle against China’s coronavirus (COVID-19), saying that the weary public should use religion as a guiding principle in turbulent times. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Terawan answered questions regarding his previous statements in which he suggested that prayers were among reasons …

The New York Times reports: Health officials in Italy raced to contain the first major coronavirus outbreak in Europe, locking down more than 50,000 people in 10 towns in the northern Lombardy region, where a sizable cluster of coronavirus infections has emerged, and passing emergency measures that apply throughout the country. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Italy has …

Time Magazine reports: Americans evacuated from the virus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship are arriving in the United States, where they will be quarantined for another 14 days on military bases in California and Texas. “I have no idea where they will send me from here and I’m told we don’t get a choice,” Sarah Arana, 52, who was on the …

Politico reports: A federal appeals court on Friday ruled against Trump-approved Medicaid work requirements, the latest legal setback to the administration’s efforts to remake the safety net health care program. A three judge panel in a unanimous ruling said HHS didn’t have the authority to require some Medicaid enrollees to work in order to receive coverage. The decision, which upheld …

NBC News reports: China’s Hubei province, the center of the coronavirus outbreak, reported a stark rise in the number of new cases Thursday, dashing hopes that the epidemic may have been slowing down. Health officials in Hubei reported 14,840 new cases, most of them in Wuhan. The province also said another 242 people had died from the coronavirus Wednesday, bringing …

NBC News reports: The new coronavirus that’s sickened more than 42,000 people in China now has an official name: COVID-19. It stands for the coronavirus disease that was discovered in 2019. The World Health Organization announced the name Tuesday, saying it was careful to find a name without stigma. “We had to find a name that did not refer to …

The Washington Post reports: Eleven Americans are among 66 additional people on board the Diamond Princess who have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the cruise ship operator said Monday. The latest results bring to 136 the number of passengers and crew who have tested positive for the virus, not including a former passenger from Hong Kong who is thought …

The New York Times reports: The Chinese government has announced a temporary name for the illness caused by the coronavirus, ordering the local authorities and state news media to adopt it. In English, it will be called NCP, for novel coronavirus pneumonia, the National Health Commission said on Saturday. The naming of viral illnesses is a complicated matter that involves …

CBS News reports: Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai rebuked claims about the origins of the coronavirus, calling any theories it is linked to biological weapons research “absolutely crazy” and warning such allegations could stir up racial discrimination and xenophobia. Cui was responding to an assertion from Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who tweeted that Wuhan, the …

NBC News reports: Facebook groups that routinely traffic in anti-vaccination propaganda have become a resource for people seeking out a wide variety of medical information — including about the ongoing flu season. One recent post came from the mother of a 4-year-old Colorado boy who died from the flu this week. In it, she consulted group members while noting that …

CNN reports: The Diamond Princess cruise ship has been quarantined off the coast of Yokohama, near Tokyo, since Tuesday, after a former passenger tested positive for the coronavirus. There are more than 3,700 people on board, including 2,600 passengers, of whom 428 are American. So far, 61 passengers have tested positive for the virus, and the quarantine is expected to …

The New York Times reports: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services notified Congress on Sunday it may need to transfer up to $136 million to help combat the fast-moving coronavirus epidemic, a new sign of how the White House has increased its response in recent days. The notification came as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is …

From a statement by the National Institutes of Health: The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has stopped administration of vaccinations in its HVTN 702 clinical trial of an investigational HIV vaccine. This action was taken because an independent data and safety monitoring board (DSMB) found during an interim review that …

The Associated Press reports: China’s death toll from a new virus rose to 259 on Saturday and a World Health Organization official said other governments need to prepare for “domestic outbreak control” if the disease spreads in their countries. The number of confirmed cases in China rose to 11,791, surpassing the number in the 2002-03 outbreak of SARS, or Severe …

CNBC reports: The World Health Organization said the fast-spreading coronavirus that’s infected more than 8,200 across the world is a global health emergency — a rare designation that helps the international agency mobilize financial and political support to contain the outbreak. The announcement comes just hours after the U.S. confirmed its first human-to-human transmission of the virus, which has killed …

The Associated Press reports: Life expectancy in the United States is up for the first time in four years. The increase is small — just a month — but marks at least a temporary halt to a downward trend. The rise is due to lower death rates for cancer and drug overdoses. “Let’s just hope it continues,” said Robert Anderson, …

The Washington Post reports: The World Health Organization will reconvene its emergency committee Thursday to determine whether the coronavirus outbreak amounts to a public health emergency of international concern, as the total number of people infected in mainland China surpassed those infected with SARS during the 2002-2003 epidemic. More than 6,000 cases have been confirmed in China, with thousands more …

Business Insider reports: Scientists in Melbourne, Australia, have successfully grown the Wuhan coronavirus from a patient sample, which could help provide international experts with crucial information to beat the virus. It’s the first time the virus has been grown in a cell culture outside China. The scientists come from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity — a joint …

The BBC reports: Hong Kong has announced plans to slash cross-border travel between the city and mainland China as the new coronavirus continues to spread. More than 100 people have now died in China, with confirmed infections surging to more than 4,500. High-speed trains and ferries that cross the border will be suspended from Thursday, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam …

The Associated Press reports: On the eve of the Lunar New Year, transportation was shut down in at least 13 cities home to more than 36 million people. The cities are Wuhan, where the illness has been concentrated, and 12 of its neighbors in central China’s Hubei province. Normally bustling streets, malls and other public spaces were eerily quiet in …