June 10 coronavirus news

The global economy will take at least two years to recover from the impact of coronavirus, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which is formed of 37 nations worldwide.

The report lays out two scenarios for the global economy.

In one scenario a second wave of infections, with renewed lock-downs, hits before the end of 2020.

In this so-called double-hit scenario the OECD sees world economic output falling 7.6% this year, before climbing back 2.8% in 2021. 

In the second scenario another major outbreak is avoided. If that were to occur, the OECD forecasts a 6% fall in economic activity in 2020.

Imagine taking a walk in your neighborhood, carefully staying 6 feet apart from others to ensure social distancing.

You see an elderly man collapse on the sidewalk, having a heart attack.

Everything you've heard of late tells you to avoid close contact with strangers, especially the elderly, during the pandemic.

Is it safe to perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) to try to save his life? Or are you risking being infected with the novel coronavirus?

There's an answer: It's strongly encouraged that people perform CPR or chest compressions on others during the global pandemic, according to a report published by a group of Seattle emergency room physicians in the journal Circulation.

In fact, you may actually be hundreds of times more likely to save the dying man's life than you yourself are to die from Covid-19 by coming to his aid.

Read more here.

The Chinese government has removed pangolin scales from its 2020 list of approved ingredients used in traditional Chinese medicine, a move campaigners describe as a "critical step" towards saving the world's most trafficked mammal.

According to Chinese state-run media Tuesday, the latest edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia -- an official government compendium of drugs covering traditional Chinese and Western medicines -- no longer includes pangolin scales on the list of approved ingredients, owing to "wild resources exhaustion."

The latest move to protect pangolins comes in the wake of new research that suggests pangolins kept in wildlife markets across China may have helped incubate the novel coronavirus before it spread to humans.

The virus has now infected more than 7 million people across the world since it was detected last December in the Chinese city of Wuhan, including at least 84,000 cases in mainland China.

According to a team of researchers from Duke University and Los Alamos National Laboratory, the virus swapped genes repeatedly with similar strains infecting bats, pangolins and a possible third species prior to jumping to humans.

The researchers concluded that although it was too soon to blame pangolins for the pandemic, it was clear that people must reduce their contact with wild animals that can transmit new infections.

Following the outbreak, the Chinese government outlawed the consumption of all wild animals countrywide in an effort to avoid further deadly outbreaks.

Read more here.

Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank just conducted voluntary Covid-19 antibody tests on more than 44,000 employees, their families, clients and outside medical professionals such as doctors and dentists. The company says it is the largest such test by a Japanese company.

To combat another possible wave of cases, "various tests are needed to ensure the safety of our employees and society, so that we can find an exit strategy as quickly as possible," said SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son during a live streaming event on Tuesday. He cautioned that a vaccine for the virus might not be able to be mass produced until "the middle of next year."

SoftBank on Tuesday said that of the 44,066 people it tested for Covid-19 antibodies, 191 tested positive. Among SoftBank staff, just 0.04% of employees working at SoftBank's mobile carrier retail stores tested positive, a number Son said was surprising. The rate of positive tests among workers people at the Japanese firm's office and call centers was slightly higher, though not by much: about 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively.

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SoftBank says it tested 44,000 people for Covid-19 antibodies, more than any other Japanese company

A factory in Siberia is recalling its flagship ventilator model from all Russian hospitals after two machines caught on fire in coronavirus hospitals a month ago, state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported Wednesday. 

In early May, two ventilators caught on fire in St Petersburg and Moscow coronavirus wards, killing six people. Russian supervisory bodies suspended the use of the model, the Aventa M, a few days after the incidents. 

The company, KRET, has initiated an additional check of the ventilators and said it will return the machines to hospitals once they are fixed, according to RIA Novosti. 

The Aventa-M is the flagship ventilator produced by KRET, which is part of a state-owned defense and high-tech producer Rostec.

According to a government contract, KRET was supposed to supply 6,711 ventilators in total this year to Russia’s regional hospitals. In April, KRET said it had increased production capacity from 10 ventilators to 100 ventilators a day. 

Russia sent several Avena-M models to the US in early April.

Following the incidents in Russian hospitals, a spokesperson for the Federal Emergency Management Agency told CNN that the ventilators had never been deployed and were eventually returned.

Health experts have long warned about a second peak in Covid-19, and now a rise in cases has pushed Arizona to tell its hospitals to activate emergency plans.

Arizona is one of the 19 states with the trend of new coronavirus cases still increasing. While 24 are trending downward, seven states' trends are holding steady. Nationally more than 1.9 million people have been infected by the virus and more than 112,000 have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

At its peak, Arizona's intensive care unit beds were 78% in use. As of Monday, 76% were occupied. Arizona's Director of Health Services Dr. Cara Christ asked that hospitals "be judicious" in elective surgeries to ensure bed capacity.

"We know Covid-19 is still in our community, and we expect to see increased cases," the Arizona Department of Health Services tweeted Tuesday night.

Bed capacity and medical resources were among the top concerns in treating the coronavirus pandemic when the nation first reached a peak. Health experts say it is a matter of when -- not if -- the country sees another surge in cases that could overwhelm healthcare systems once more.

Many states have loosened restrictions that were put in place starting in March to curb the spread of the virus. But with no vaccine and more people congregating in public places and national protests, health experts warn that the high rates of cases seen in the spring may come back.

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19 states see rising coronavirus cases and Arizona is asking its hospitals to activate emergency plans

The Indian capital New Delhi could see as many as 550,000 cases of Covid-19 if by July 31, if the situation continues unabated, Delhi's Disaster Management Authority said Tuesday.

Delhi's deputy chief minister, Manish Sisodia, said authorities still need another 80,000 hospital beds to treat new patients.

More than 275,000 people in India have been diagnosed with Covid-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

According to figures from the Indian government, the country is dealing with 133,632 active cases, while 135,205 have recovered or been discharged from hospital. A total of 7,745 have died.

In Delhi, more than 31,000 people have contracted the virus as of Wednesday afternoon. Of those, 11,861 have recovered and 905 have died.

The New York City Health Department is encouraging people to "be creative" in its updated guidelines to help people have safer sex during the Covid-19 pandemic.

While the department still urges people to stay home as much as possible and minimize contact with others, the guidance says that during the pandemic people "will and should have sex."

The guidelines were created to reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19. They've been updated periodically to reflect the changing understanding of the disease.

The transmissibility of Covid-19 through sex hasn't been studied closely.

Scientists have found the coronavirus in feces and in men's semen, even after the men have begun to recover from Covid-19. That means there's a possibility the virus could be sexually transmitted, but not enough is known, and some scientists think it is unlikely.

Some researchers have suggested that while abstinence carries the lowest risk of infection, it's not a realistic option for many and the idea that sex would be "dangerous" could have "insidious psychological effects at a time when people are especially susceptible to mental health difficulties," according to a study published in May.

Read more here.

On Tuesday, 24,773 new cases Covid-19 were reported throughout the United States, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. At least 1,299 virus-related deaths were also reported.

Since the pandemic began, at least 1,985,670 cases of coronavirus have been idenitified in the county, killing at least 112,289.

Track Covid-19 cases in the US:

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