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HEALTH-VIRUS-US
US approves plasma to treat virus, global death toll above 800,000
WASHINGTON, Aug 24, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – The United States announced an
emergency authorization to use blood plasma from recovered coronavirus
patients as a treatment for the disease, which has killed more than 800,000
people around the world.
Many governments around the world are renewing efforts — including the
reimposition of lockdowns — to contain the virus, which has infected well
over 24 million people.
The United States remains the hardest-hit country with more than 176,000
fatalities, and President Donald Trump is under intense pressure to curb the
contagion.
The plasma therapy shows “an incredible rate of success” and “will save
countless lives”, Trump claimed on Sunday — but that went much further than
his own health officials’ cautious welcome of the treatment.
Plasma is believed to contain powerful antibodies that can help fight
COVID-19 faster, and has already been used on patients in the United States
and other countries.
But the extent of its effectiveness is still being debated by experts and
some have warned it could carry side effects.
When challenged by a reporter to explain the contradiction between his
confidence in the treatment and the caution among experts, Trump passed the
question to one of his experts and then ended the press conference.
Trump will attempt to galvanize support at the Republican convention, which
starts Monday, as he faces anger over the pandemic and the ensuing economic
turmoil ahead of the November presidential election.
In the polls, he is badly trailing Democratic challenger Joe Biden, who
slammed the president for “walking away” as the virus ravaged the United
States.
– Extended lockdowns –
Breakneck efforts to develop a vaccine or effective treatments are under
way around the world, but until one is available, social distancing measures
remain among the few weapons against the virus.
New Zealand on Monday extended the lockdown of its biggest city to Sunday
as it battled a small but persistent outbreak.
Auckland went into lockdown on August 12, a day after the virus re-emerged
in the city and ended New Zealand’s run of 102 days without local
transmission.
European nations have also tightened border restrictions, wary of new virus
clusters.
Strict border controls came into effect in Finland on Monday, with arrivals
from just a handful of countries able to enter without virus restrictions.
Norway had already tightened its border controls on Saturday, while South
Korea imposed social distancing measures nationwide on Sunday to fight its
latest outbreak.
Indonesian authorities have banned foreign tourists from Bali, a popular
holiday destination, for the rest of 2020 — scrapping plans to open up the
island from next month.
– ‘I don’t have money to bury her’ –
The pandemic has devastated the global economy, and policies to reduce the
high risk of transmission in large groups of people have impacted everything
from sport and religious services to music concerts and elections.
It caused the unprecedented delay of the summer Olympics and Paralympics in
Tokyo to next year.
The International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons warned in
an interview with AFP that, for the Paralympics to go ahead next year, a
guarantee of zero cases was needed.
Some major world sports have resumed but with no spectators.
There was no roar as Bayern Munich on Sunday won the Champions League final
— the biggest game in European club football — in an empty, 65,000-capacity
Lisbon stadium.
Some nations have had to deal with related tragedies as they have enforced
virus lockdowns.
At least 13 young people suffocated in a crush during a raid at a nightclub
in Peru’s capital Lima over the weekend, with people trying to escape through
a single exit.
“I found out that my daughter died, asphyxiated, this morning,” Gregoria
Velasquez, mother of 26-year-old Maryori Salcedo Velasquez, told the America
Television channel.
“I don’t have money to bury her.”
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1655 hrs