The UN has expressed solidarity with India in its fight against coronavirus, with a top official at the world body’s health agency praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 21-day nationwide lockdown as a “comprehensive and robust” response to the raging COVID-19 pendamic. Globally, the death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 18,915 with more than 422,900 cases reported in over 165 countries and territories, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The number of coronavirus cases in India stood at 562 on Wednesday with nine COVID-19 deaths reported so far, according to Health Ministry data.
Warner Bros Studios has postponed the release of the much-anticipated “Wonder Woman 1984” until August in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The DC superhero film, starring Gal Gadot in the lead which was scheduled to open on June 5, will now hit the screens on August 14, reported Variety. The sequel reunites Gadot with “Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins and co-star Chris Pine, with Pedro Pascal and Kristen Wiig joining the franchise. Gadot said she is looking forward to a brighter future in these “dark and scary times”.
US footballer Carli Lloyd planned to call time on a spectacular career after Tokyo 2020 — but now that plan is on hold. Lloyd, a two-time women’s world player of the year and a two-time World Cup winner, scored the goals that delivered gold to the United States in two Olympics. The 37-year-old said the decision to push back the Games, originally scheduled to run July 24-August 9, to 2021 was the right one in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. “This is bigger than sport, it’s bigger than an Olympics,” Lloyd said in a television interview after the International Olympic Committee announced the postponement on Tuesday.
Five persons admitted in different hospitals of Indore have tested positive for the coronavirus, taking the number of COVID-19 cases in Madhya Pradesh to 14, health officials said on Wednesday. None of the patients in Indore have history of travel to abroad. The five COVID-19 patients in Indore include a woman from neighbouring Ujjain while others are residents of Indore, Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Anusuya Gawli said.
Manufacturers of ventilators are on a mission to produce desperately needed medical ventilators for the coronavirus pandemic, even if it means converting assembly lines now making auto parts. Along with a shortage of masks and gloves, the spread of COVID-19 to almost every corner of the globe has highlighted a great need for specialised machines that help keep severely afflicted patients alive. “As the global pandemic evolves, there is unprecedented demand for medical equipment, including ventilators,” said Kieran Murphy, head of GE Healthcare.