The COVID-19 Pandemic – News and Features

A preprint of a study conducted by researchers from Utrecht University, in collaboration with Erasmus MC and Harbor BioMed, outlines the first report of a human monoclonal antibody that can block SARS-CoV-2.

Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, should be avoided if you have coronavirus symptoms because they could worsen the condition, warns French authorities.

Undetected cases, many of which were likely not severely symptomatic, were largely responsible for the rapid spread of the COVID-19 outbreak in China, according to new research.

The US Food and Drug Administration has issued an additional two COVID-19 diagnostic Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA), bringing the total to four so far in the outbreak. The authorizations will help to increase national testing capacity in the US, a crucial factor in the rapid identification and containment of cases.

The time between cases of the novel coronavirus in a chain of transmission is less than a week, but researchers found that more than 10% of patients are infected by somebody who has the virus but does not yet have symptoms.

An overview of published scientific information on potential therapeutic agents and vaccines for the new coronavirus, highlighted that to date, more than 500 patents have been issued for vaccines and therapeutic agents that could help prevent or treat coronavirus infections.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an automated solution that can scale quickly to match the speed of a growing epidemic. In the wake of the current coronavirus outbreak being declared a pandemic, we take a look at how the IoT is being employed here.

People who rate themselves as highly knowledgeable about a new infectious disease threat could also be more likely to believe they don’t know enough, a new study suggests.

Analysis of publicly available data on infections with the new coronavirus yielded an estimate of 5.1 days for the median disease incubation period, suggesting that the 14-day quarantine period is reasonable.

As COVID-19 reaches more than 60 countries, the World Bank Group is making available an initial package of up to $12 billion in immediate support to assist countries coping with the health and economic impacts of the global outbreak.