Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. New York City posts sharp spike in coronavirus deaths after untested victims added

New York City, the hardest hit U.S. city in the coronavirus pandemic, revised its official COVID-19 death toll sharply higher to more than 10,000 on Tuesday, to include victims presumed to have perished from the lung disease but never tested. The new cumulative figure for "confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths" released by the New York City Health Department marked a staggering increase of over 3,700 deaths formally attributed to the highly contagious illness since March 11. New York City hospitals cancel temporary workers as coronavirus cases stabilize

Staffing agencies, which have deployed thousands of healthcare workers in recent weeks to jobs at hospitals in New York City and other areas hit hard by the coronavirus, say some of those temporary workers are no longer needed. The trend, coupled with a flattening in the number of New Yorkers hospitalized with coronavirus infection, reinforces the sense that New York may have reached the peak of the health crisis. Fujifilm says significantly boosts capacity for COVID-19 treatment Avigan

Japan's Fujifilm Holdings Corp said it has expanded manufacturing capacity to "significantly increase" production of its anti-flu drug Avigan that is being tested as a treatment for COVID-19. Fujifilm expects to increase the production of Avigan up to 100,000 treatment courses by July 2020, about 2.5 times more compared to the beginning of March when the company first began its current production run, and then to 300,000 by September, it said in a statement on Wednesday. U.S. deaths set record daily increase; Spain and Austria ease restrictions

U.S. coronavirus deaths set a single-day record on Tuesday, a grim milestone as the country debated how to reopen its economy and as Spain and Austria allowed partial returns to work but the UK, France and India extended lockdowns. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that infections had "certainly" not yet peaked. China reports fewer coronavirus cases but infections from Russia a worry

China reported on Wednesday a decline in new confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the mainland, although an increasing number of local transmissions in its far northeast bordering Russia remained a concern for authorities. China reported 46 new confirmed cases on Tuesday compared with 89 cases a day earlier, according to the National Health Commission. Of the new cases, 36 involved travellers arriving in China from overseas, compared with 86 a day earlier. 'Isolated within isolation': keeping out coronavirus in the frozen Antarctic

In the frozen and desolate expanse of Antarctica, Alejandro Valenzuela Pena is used to a feeling of isolation. Now, however, that has taken on a new meaning as the only continent still free from the coronavirus looks to keep the pandemic out. The global spread of the disease, with almost 2 million cases and 120,000 deaths, has put the Antarctic region into lockdown, with researchers hunkering down in their bases and tourist visits canceled. New York hospitalizations fall for first time in coronavirus pandemic: governor

The total number of people hospitalized in New York fell for the first time since the onset of the coronavirus outbreak, a further sign the state at the epicenter may be at the peak of its crisis, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday. He told a daily briefing that President Donald Trump had inaccurately asserted the president had total authority over when states reopen schools and businesses but added that he did not want, or have the time, to fight with Trump. 'Bigger than winning the war': WWII vet, aged 99, survives coronavirus in Brazil

World War Two veteran Ermando Piveta, aged 99, became the oldest Brazilian to recover from the coronavirus on Tuesday. Wearing an army cap and saluting from his wheelchair, Piveta left the Armed Forces Hospital in Brasilia to an ovation from medical staff and a soldier's trumpet homage. Trump cuts WHO funding over coronavirus, global death toll mounts

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday halted funding to the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, drawing condemnation from infectious disease experts as the global death toll continued to mount. Trump, who has reacted angrily to criticism of his administration's response to the worst epidemic in a century, has become increasingly hostile towards the WHO. Exclusive: Emails reveal breakdowns in U.S. drive-through virus testing

As coronavirus infections exploded in New Orleans, state and local officials repeatedly told the Trump administration that its new drive-through testing effort wasn’t going well. Those tested often waited more than a week for results, and local officials had no information on who had been notified by a federally contracted call center, according to emails between local and federal officials reviewed by Reuters. As deaths mounted, local officials requested details on the notifications as they increasingly fielded calls by those left in limbo - including health workers. But Washington officials largely brushed off their concerns, according to the correspondence, which has not been previously reported.