Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. UK cancels order for simple ventilators, needs more complex ones: source

Britain has cancelled an order for thousands of units of a simple model of ventilator developed by industrial companies to treat COVID-19 because more sophisticated devices are now needed, a source involved in the project said on Sunday. The government confirmed it no longer required that particular model, known as BlueSky. Broad coronavirus testing crucial in lifting restrictions: U.S. experts

The United States needs to ramp up testing for the coronavirus as the White House considers when and how to lift stay-at-home restrictions and lockdowns triggered by the pandemic, U.S. health experts said on Sunday. More than 2 million tests have been done in the country so far, but the tests are not available to many who need them, said Dr. Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Canada coronavirus deaths rise by more than 12% to 674: public health agency

The number of people killed by the coronavirus in Canada rose by more than 12% to 674 in a day, official data posted by the public health agency showed on Sunday. By 11:00 eastern time (1500 GMT), the total number of those diagnosed with the coronavirus had risen to 23,719. The respective figures at the same time on Saturday were 600 deaths and 22,559 positive diagnoses. One in eight of Portugal's coronavirus-related deaths in care homes as outbreak spreads

The coronavirus outbreak spread further into Portuguese care homes over the Easter weekend, with 100 new cases of COVID-19 reported in a single residence and care homes accounting for around one in eight of the country's 504 deaths. The death toll and 16,585 recorded cases are still a small fraction of the numbers in neighbouring Spain, but officials fear the disease could spread rapidly through care homes as it has in other parts of Europe. Americans spend grim Easter Sunday at home as COVID-19 deaths near 22,000

Americans spent a glum Easter Sunday largely confined to their homes by the still-raging coronavirus pandemic as the U.S. death toll neared 22,000, with more than half a million confirmed cases nationwide. With 42 states imposing strict stay-at-home orders most churches were shuttered, although many erected crosses outside or even offered drive-through services conducted by priests, pastors or ministers wearing latex gloves and surgical masks. Coronavirus forces U.S. churches to offer Easter Sunday services unlike any before

U.S. church leaders peppered their Easter homilies with references to the coronavirus on Sunday, in masses held online, on television and even in parking lots to people sheltering in cars to maintain social distancing during the pandemic. For the world's largest Christian population, the coronavirus pandemic has meant observing an Easter Sunday unlike any Americans have lived through before. China's new coronavirus cases rise to near six-week high

China reported the highest number of new daily coronavirus cases in nearly six weeks, driven by a rise in infected travellers arriving from overseas and underscoring challenges Beijing faces in preventing a second wave of COVID-19. A total of 108 new coronavirus cases were reported on Sunday, up from 99 a day earlier and marking the highest number of cases since 143 cases were reported on March 5. Health ministry reports 442 new cases of coronavirus in Mexico, 23 new deaths

Mexican health officials reported on Sunday 442 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 23 new deaths, bringing the country's total to 4,661 cases and 296 deaths. However, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said last week the country might have 26,500 people infected with the fast-spreading coronavirus. China's new coronavirus cases near 6-week high, Russian border new battleground

China's northeast Heilongjiang province which borders Russia has become the new battleground against the coronavirus as authorities reported the highest number of new daily cases in nearly six weeks, driven by infected travellers from overseas. China fears a rise in imported cases could spark a second wave of COVID-19 and push the country back into a state of near paralysis. U.S. CDC reports 525,704 coronavirus cases, 20,486 deaths

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday reported 525,704 cases of the coronavirus, an increase of 33,288 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths rose by 1,927 to 20,486. The numbers updated by the CDC on Sunday are not confirmed by the U.S. state and territorial health departments, and will be modified when the tally is updated on Monday.