Coronavirus Global Roundup, May 5: New US death toll projection, Israel develops antibody vaccine, cases in Russia rise

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the world went up to 3.6 million today, out of which over 250,000 people have died and more than 1.2 million have recovered.

New Zealand reportedly noticed zero new cases for the second day in a row. New Zealand Prime minister Jacinda Arden and Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that their countries will soon have a travel bubble (corridor) since the two countries are showing a consistent reduction in cases.

The world observed the World Hand Hygiene day today, which aims to promote proper handwashing hygiene in healthcare facilities to stop the spread of infections in hospitals. The theme of this year’s world hygiene day was ‘Save Lives: Clean your hands’. With this theme, the World Health Organisation aims to recognise nurses and midwives as frontline heroes in infection prevention; 2020 is the year of nurses and midwives.

US and Russia still observe rise in cases, a new model predicts 135,000 deaths in the USA by August

For the third day in a row, the total number of cases in Russia jumped by more than 10,000. With 10,501 new cases and 95 deaths on Tuesday, the country now has over 155,000 cases and a death toll of 1,451.

As the USA opens the economy, researchers say that the country would see 3,000 new deaths and about 200,000 new cases every day until June 1 and that nearly 135,000 Americans will reportedly die of the disease by August.

On Monday, more than 24,000 new cases showed up in the USA and 1,324 people succumbed to the disease, bringing the total number of cases to more than 1.2 million and the death toll to above 69,000.

Hong Kong relaxes social distancing measures as cases go down

With no new local transmission cases for two weeks now, Hong Kong finally seems to have controlled the second wave of coronavirus. The city recorded about 15 cases in total since April 15, all of which have been imported. Social distancing measures will now be relaxed slowly in Hong Kong from Friday with more people allowed at restaurants. Though the restaurant owners will still have to maintain a 1.5 m distance between tables, conduct temperature checks and provide hand sanitizers. Massage parlours, gaming zones, theatres and fitness centres will also start opening around the same time and schools will start opening by May 27.

Israel’s defence biological research institute developed an antibody vaccine for COVID-19

Israel’s Defence Minister Naftali Bennet announced on Monday that the Israel Institute of Biological Research (IIBR) has developed a monoclonal antibody against COVID-19.

IIBR is an R&D lab in Israel which works to counter biological threats and natural pathogens in the country.

Monoclonal antibodies are special proteins made in a lab that can be used to target specific sites on antigens (any substance that can provoke an immune response) - in this case, a part of SARS-COV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. This is unlike polyclonal antibodies which attack various parts of an antigen.

Monoclonal antibodies are made from and are clones of a single parent, hence the same action. When introduced into the body, these antibodies attack the antigen and neutralise it.

IIBR has reportedly completed the development of the vaccine and is set to produce it in bulk. Though, there are no reports of the vaccine passing clinical trials yet - which is one of the most important phases of vaccine development.

For more information, read our article on COVID-19 potential vaccines .

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