Coronavirus World Update, May 13: Wuhan to test 11 million people, EU to relax borders, situation in Brazil worsens

Over 4.37 million people globally have tested positive for COVID-19 so far. Out of these, 292,937 people have died and 1.6 million have already recovered. [caption id=“attachment_7940891” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Image source: Getty Images.[/caption] In a press release yesterday, the UNICEF has warned that due to the weakened healthcare system during the COVID-19 pandemic, an additional 6,000 children may die per day of preventable causes for the next six months. A study published in The Lancet Global Health Journal reportedly mentioned an additional 1.2 million deaths of children (in six months) under the age of five due to lack of vaccinations and postnatal care. The estimate was based on the worst-case scenario in 118 countries.

Brazil crosses Germany’s cases, Wuhan to test 11 million residents

On Tuesday, Brazil reported 8,459 new cases and crossed Germany’s count of total cases. As of now, Brazil has over 178,214 cases and more than 12,000 people have died of the disease there. After the new coronavirus cluster, authorities in the Chinese city of Wuhan have decided to test all the 11 million people in the city. The city had not reported any new cases since early April.

European Union to relax borders

Given the gradually declining cases and in support of the tourism industry, the European Union has set guidelines to relax borders in the member countries. The Union has asked member countries to allow people to visit their relatives in neighbouring countries. All air passengers will be asked to take preventive measures including the use of masks. The borders have been closed since March. Austria has already announced that it’ll open borders with Germany on June 15.

Twitter employees to work from home indefinitely, Greenhouse restaurants in Netherland

Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey has reportedly announced that due to changed work culture needs, any employee that doesn’t need to be physically present at the office to do his/her work will likely be allowed to work from home forever. For those who want to work from the office, the company will not open any offices until September. An Amsterdam restaurant has come out with an interesting solution to maintain social distancing amidst the relaxing restrictions. The restaurant (right now open for staff only but with all reservations sold out for a while) has tiny quarantine greenhouses where you can eat with your closest friends and family members. The waiters will reportedly wear face shields and gloves and use long trays to serve food to minimise infection risk.

Potentially positive data on COVID-19 treatment

In a press briefing on Tuesday, the WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris said that even though drug trials are going on all over the world and there is no absolute treatment for the disease yet, we do have some positive data on some drugs that can reduce the length or severity of the disease. Though she did not disclose which drugs exactly, she added that we don’t yet have data to say with full confidence that a certain treatment is preferable over the others. For more information, read our article on List of drugs being repurposed for COVID-19 treatment Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, India’s first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health.