Health News Roundup: Could the new coronavirus weaken 'anti-vaxxers'?; U.S. coronavirus cases top 500,000 and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Empty churches, food drive mark start of Easter weekend in coronavirus-hit U.S.

Political leaders and health experts urged Americans celebrating Good Friday and the Easter weekend under threat of the coronavirus to avoid church gatherings and observe the holidays at home as the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 18,600. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert, and other health officials pointed to declining rates of coronavirus hospitalizations and admissions to intensive care units - particularly in hard-hit New York state - as signs that social distancing measures are paying off.

U.S. coronavirus cases top 500,000: Reuters tally

U.S. coronavirus cases topped 500,000 on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, although there are signs that Americans staying home was helping to curb new infections. Confirmed U.S. cases of the COVID-19 illness caused by the virus have been rising by 30,000 to 35,000 cases a day as testing becomes more available. Globally, there have been over 1.6 million confirmed cases, with the death toll topping 100,000 on Friday.

UK's Johnson making "very good progress" in COVID-19 recovery

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is making very good progress in his recovery from COVID-19, his office said on Saturday, as his health minister said the peak of the outbreak in Britain had not yet been reached. The death toll in British hospitals from the virus has reached almost 9,000, with 980 more deaths reported on Friday. That figure exceeded the deadliest day so far in Italy, which has been the country with the most fatalities so far.

Latest on the spread of the coronavirus around the world

More than 1.6 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 102,151 have died, according to a Reuters tally, as of 0200 GMT.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

Indonesia reports 330 new coronavirus cases, 21 deaths

Indonesia confirmed 330 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, taking its tally to 3,842, health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said. It also confirmed 21 virus-related deaths, taking the total to 327, Yurianto told a televised news conference.

Malaysia reports 184 new coronavirus cases, death toll rises by 3

Malaysian health authorities reported 184 additional confirmed cases of the new coronavirus on Saturday, raising the cumulative tally to 4,530, the highest number for any country in Southeast Asia. The latest data includes 3 new deaths, raising total fatalities from the outbreak to 73.

WHO says looking into reports of some COVID patients testing positive again

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that it was looking into reports of some COVID-19 patients testing positive again after initially testing negative for the disease while being considered for discharge. South Korean officials on Friday reported 91 patients thought cleared of the new coronavirus had tested positive again. Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a briefing that the virus may have been "reactivated" rather than the patients being re-infected.

Trump says he thinks U.S. will lose fewer than 100,000 lives to coronavirus

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he thinks the United States will lose fewer than the initially projected 100,000 lives to COVID-19. Trump suggested that the United States is nearing its peak infection rate and said the nationwide number of new coronavirus cases is flattening, with the situations in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Detroit, Michigan, stabilizing.

Could the new coronavirus weaken 'anti-vaxxers'?

An American mother-of-three is a long-time member of "anti-vaxxer" groups online: a small but vocal global community that believes vaccines are a dangerous con and refuse to immunize themselves or their children. But COVID-19 is shaking her views. The woman who would identify herself only as Stephanie, citing a fear of reprisals from committed anti-vaxxers, says she is now 50:50 on taking a vaccine should one be discovered for the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Philippines reports 26 new coronavirus deaths, 233 more infections

The Philippines reported 26 new coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday, taking the total to 247. It also confirmed 233 new infections for a tally of 4,428. Seventeen more patients have recovered, the health ministry said in a bulletin, bringing the number of recoveries to 157.