Hospitals in the Brazilian city of Manaus have reached breaking point while treating Covid-19 patients, amid reports of severe oxygen shortages and desperate staff.
 

The city, in Amazonas state, has seen a rapid rise in deaths and infections.

Health professionals, quoted by local media, warned "many people" could die due to lack of supplies and assistance.

As news of President Donald Trump's shock diagnosis with Covid-19 spread Friday, the experience of United Kingdom Prime Minster Boris Johnson, who tested positive six months ago, could offer a clue to what might come next.

Johnson, 55, announced on March 27, at the height of the pandemic in the U.K., that he was suffering "mild" symptoms and would self-isolate while continuing to work. He was thought to be the first world leader confirmed to have contracted Covid-19.

The World Health Organization gave China its support and understanding to start administering experimental coronavirus vaccines to people while clinical trials were still underway, a Chinese health official said on Friday.

China launched its emergency programme in July, having communicated with the WHO in late June, according to Zheng Zhongwei, a National Health Commission official.

Ethiopia has agreed to purchase 1.5 million coronavirus testing kits that will be manufactured at a factory in the African country that has been newly built by China's BGI Group, China's state media agency Xinhua said late on Tuesday.

The World Health Organization has warned the coronavirus pandemic could overwhelm strained public health systems in Africa. On Wednesday, the continent was approaching a million infections and around 21,000 deaths, according to a Reuters tally. Here are measures some countries are taking to curb the virus.

APRNEWS - Besides the loss of many lives, outbreaks of pandemics or epidemics could cost Nigeria trillions of naira if adequate preparations are not made to contain health emergencies.

A pandemic is the worldwide spread of a new disease while an epidemic is a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time.

APRNEWS - France's interior minister is backing off allegations that anti-government protesters carried out an "attack" on a hospital during a chaotic May Day protest that saw marchers scale a fence and enter the hospital grounds.

APRNEWS - For nearly 5000 years, malaria has continued to plague humanity causing immeasurable deaths and economic loss. Over the past few years, however, a lot of progress has been made concerning diagnosis, treatment and prevention of malaria.

APRNEWS - What is Pityriasis Versicolor?
Pityriasis versicolor (PV) is a fungal infection of the skin caused by an organism called Malassezia. There are different species of this organism that can cause this infection. The organism that causes PV is actually a normal commensal of the skin that can be found there in up to 90 percent of healthy individuals.

APRNEWS - Thirteen people were confirmed dead with sixteen others sustaining varying degrees of injury when a church collapsed in South Africa’s KwaZulu Natal province.

The incident which occured late Thursday took place at the Pentecost Church located at the Dlangubo area of eMpangeni in the province.