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Coronavirus detected in the semen of COVID-19 patients
By Eleanor Frederick, MSc. MPH COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-Cov-2, was declared a global pandemic in February 2020. COVID-19 is a respiratory tract infection that affect your upper respiratory tract (sinuses, nose and throat) or the lower respiratory tract (trachea and lungs). SARS-Cov-2 is transmitted from person-to-person by respiratory droplets from…
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Here’s why this week is most important in Antigua and Barbuda’s COVID-19 fight
If there are no new COVID-19 cases this week, local authorities may be able to declare Antigua and Barbuda COVID-free, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has declared. “I say may, because sufficient time would have passed for [the two known individuals with COVID-19] to literally shred the virus,” Browne said Saturday on Pointe FM’s Browne &…
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Caribbean has achieved COVID-19 containment, says researcher
The coronavirus (COVID-19) has been contained in the English-speaking Caribbean and Haiti, according to a leading researcher and academic. However, Dr. Clive Landis, pro-vice-chancellor for undergraduate studies and research, and professor of cardiovascular research at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill campus in Barbados, and the chairman of the UWI COVID-19 task…
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Member of Cuban Medical Brigade dies in Dominica
Dominica’s Health Minister Dr. Irving McIntyre has confirmed the death of a member of the “Henry Reeve” Cuban Medical Brigade, which arrived on the island on March 29 to help in the fight against the COVID-19 disease. Dr. McIntyre announced, on Wednesday evening, at a COVID-19 press briefing that the 42-year-old male collapsed and died…
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The Wuhan lab at the center of the US-China blame game
Questions surrounding the origins of the novel coronavirus have sparked a war of words between Washington and Beijing — and threatens to worsen already strained relations.In recent days, US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have doubled down on the assertion that the virus originated from a laboratory in the central Chinese city of…
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PAHO Director calls on each country to analyze trends of the pandemic before relaxing social distancing measures
The Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Carissa F. Etienne, asked countries to analyze specific trends in the COVID-19 pandemic according to their unique contexts, and warned that reducing social distancing measures “too soon could accelerate the spread of the virus and open the door for a dramatic upsurge or for spread to…
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The impact of COVID-19 on individuals with sickle cell disease
By Amy Vanessa Frederick Globally the numbers of confirmed cases and resulting deaths due to the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes, COVID-19 are increasing daily. In an article in the British Journal of Hematology (BJH), Hussain, F, et al. (BJH, 16734, April 2020) stated that “Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, also…
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15 children Hospitalized in NY with mystery illness possibly tied to COVID-19
Fifteen children, many of whom had the coronavirus, have recently been hospitalised in New York City with a mysterious syndrome that doctors do not yet fully understand but that has also been reported in several European countries, the New York Times reports. Health officials announced Monday night that many of the children, ages 2 to…
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‘It will never be safe,’ those arguing about COVID-19 told
Prime Minister Gaston Browne has shared the following letter with residents, on both sides of the divide, about opening up the country. The author of the letter is unknown: Dear All, This is an important message for all ! For those who are arguing on both sides that we must open now or it is…
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World leaders pledge billions for virus vaccine research
World leaders, organisations and banks on Monday pledged 7.4 billion euros ($8 billion) for research to find a vaccine against the new coronavirus, but warned that it is just the start of an effort that must be sustained over time to beat the disease. The funds, pledged at a video-conference summit hosted by the European…
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International agencies call for care of HIV patients during COVID-19
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) call upon Caribbean countries to ensure that people living with HIV have reliable access to treatment, healthcare and human–rights based social support services, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regular access to essential…