Geneva, Switzerland
Reuters
The “vast majority” of children with COVID-19 have mild cases and recover completely, but a small number in a few countries have developed a rare inflammatory syndrome, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.
Italian and British medical experts are investigating a possible link between the coronavirus pandemic and clusters of severe inflammatory disease in infants who are arriving in hospital with high fever and swollen arteries.
People wearing face masks walk out of Zhongguancun subway station following the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Beijing, China, on 27th April. PICTURE: Reuters/Tingshu Wang
Three US children infected with the virus are being treated for a rare inflammatory syndrome that appears similar to one that has raised concerns in Britain, Italy and Spain, a specialist treating them told Reuters on Tuesday.
“I want to emphasise, for all the parents out there, the vast, vast majority of children who get COVID will have mild symptoms and recover completely,” Dr Mike Ryan, the WHO’s top emergencies expert, told a virtual news conference on Wednesday.
Ryan declined comment on reports that Gilead Science’s antiviral drug remdesivir could help treat COVID-19, saying further data was needed from clinical trials already under way.
“But we are hopeful this drug and others may prove to be helpful in treating COVID-19,” he said.
More than 3.11 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus around the world, and more than 216,000 have died, according to a Reuters tally on Wednesday.
Until now, children have largely escaped some of the more serious complications of COVID-19, which has hit older adults and those with chronic conditions hardest.
The WHO’s clinical network has discussed the report from Britain about a small number of children with an inflammatory response, WHO epidemiologist Dr Maria van Kerkhove said.
“There are some recent rare descriptions of children in some European countries that have had this inflammatory syndrome, which is similar to Kawasaki syndrome, but it seems to be very rare,” she said.
“We have asked the global network of clinicians to be alert on this so they capture information systematically, so we can better understand and guide treatment.”
Ryan, asked about Sweden’s strategy of shunning lockdowns and allowing most schools and businesses to remain open, said: “If we are to reach a ‘new normal’, in many ways Sweden represents a future model.”
“What it has done differently is that it really, really has trusted its own communities to implement that physical distancing,” he said, adding that Sweden had put in place a “very strong public health policy”.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus defended the agency’s record in handling the pandemic since the new virus emerged late last year in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
The Geneva-based UN body has been heavily criticised in recent weeks, especially by its top donor, the United States, which has cut off funding.
Tedros presented a timeline of what the agency knew when in the lead-up to declaring COVID-19 a global emergency on 30th January.
“From the beginning, the WHO has acted quickly and decisively to respond to warn the world,” he said. “We sounded the alarm early, and we sounded it often.”
CORONAVIRUS LATEST
More than 3.13 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 218,169 have died, according to a Reuters tally as of 1400 GMT on Wednesday.
EUROPE
• Britain’s death toll is probably above 27,241, making it one of the worst-hit countries in Europe, the opposition Labour Party leader said.
• The number of people who have died from coronavirus infection in France rose by 427 to 24,087, while hospitalizations and people in ICU units continued to decline.
• Spain recorded 325 deaths overnight, against 301 the previous day, but health officials said the epidemic was evolving favourably ahead of a gradual easing of its lockdown next week.
• Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 323 on Wednesday, against 382 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new infections stood at 2,086, broadly stable from 2,091.
• Big insurers face fresh coronavirus claim threat from the UK hospitality sector.
• Italy’s crime rate slumped 66.6 per cent in March, thanks to a government lockdown introduced to halt the coronavirus, the interior ministry said.
• The coronavirus pandemic will plunge Germany’s economy into its deepest recession since World War II, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said.
• Russia’s confirmed cases neared 100,000 on Wednesday after 5,841 new cases were registered overnight along with a record daily rise in the death toll.
• The total confirmed cases in Sweden topped 20,000 on Wednesday.
• Polish hotels and shopping malls will reopen on 4th May and pre-schools can open on 6th May.
AMERICAS
• More than 1.01 million people have been infected in the United States and 58,605 have died, according to a Reuters tally as of 0200 GMT on Wednesday.
• US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he is keeping some $US259 billion worth of coronavirus aid capital in reserve for new or expanded Federal Reserve lending programs, but is not considering further aid to airlines at the moment.
• US President Donald Trump greeted as good news reports that a Gilead Sciences Inc experimental antiviral drug might help fight the coronavirus, and infectious disease official Anthony Fauci said data shows it appears to help patients hospitalised with COVID-19.
• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis prepared to unveil his plan for easing restrictions on businesses in his state, as data showed the US economy contracted 4.8 per cent in the first quarter.
• The US Navy said it would carry out a broader review into the spread of the coronavirus aboard an aircraft carrier, a move likely to delay a decision on the future of the ship’s fired captain.
• US consumer advocates are urging Congress to resist growing demands by companies for protections from coronavirus-related lawsuits as states start to ease pandemic restrictions and businesses begin to reopen.
• Stress tests conducted by Brazil’s central bank show in the COVID pandemic worst case scenario Brazilian banks would need around 70 billion reais ($US13 billion) in additional capital to face higher provisions for losses, according to a Financial Stability report.
ASIA-PACIFIC
• The Japanese Government is planning to extend the state of emergency over the new coronavirus pandemic by about one month for the entire country, the Nikkei business daily reported.
• China said its parliament will open a key annual session on 22nd May, signalling that Beijing sees the country returning to normal.
• Mainland China reported 22 new cases for 28th April, against six a day earlier, bringing total infections to 82,858.
• The Serum Institute of India said it plans this year to produce up to 60 million doses of a potential vaccine against the new coronavirus that is under clinical trial in Britain.
• Japan’s Prime Minister said the Tokyo Olympics could not take place next year unless the pandemic is contained, as the city governor requested an extension of Japan’s state of emergency.
• Indonesia confirmed 260 new infections on Wednesday, taking its total to 9,771, while deaths rose by 11 to 784.
• The Philippines’ tally of confirmed cases rose to more than 8,000.
• Australia’s Prime Minister said bans on international travel and large gatherings would continue even as the government eases lockdowns and moves towards a “COVID-safe” economy and society.
• Azerbaijan will keep borders closed until 31st May.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
• COVID-19 death toll in Turkey has risen by 89 in the last 24 hours to 3,081, Health Ministry data showed.
• Nigeria will ease new coronavirus lockdowns in three key states over a six-week period from 4th May.
• Yemeni authorities reported multiple coronavirus infections for the first time, after the United Nations said it feared the disease could be spreading undetected in a country where millions are already facing famine.
• Turkey extended the closure of schools until the end of May.
• Iran’s death toll rose by 80 in the past 24 hours to 5,957.
• Sudan has postponed a key economic conference meant to formulate subsidy reforms demanded by foreign donors until after the coronavirus pandemic.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
• The Federal Reserve, which has pumped trillions in emergency funding into US financial markets, is expected on Wednesday to reiterate its promise to do whatever it takes to support the world’s largest economy.
• Eurozone economic sentiment suffered its steepest ever decline in April as lockdowns halted much economic activity.
• Germany slashed its economic growth forecast for this year, predicting the pandemic would plunge Europe’s largest economy into its deepest recession since World War Two.
• China will roll out measures including tax, credit and foreign trade policies to support economic development in Hubei province.
– Compiled by MILLA NISSA, SARAH MORLAND, UTTERESH V and VINAY DWIVEDI.
