Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. As Japan fights coronavirus with shutdowns, rats emerge onto deserted streets

As more Japanese restaurants shut down and people stay home during the country's state of emergency to fight the coronavirus, experts say rats may be expanding their search for food to deserted streets once crowded with humans. In Tokyo's Kabukicho nightlife district, where many bars and adult entertainment venues have closed, rats scurried through mostly empty streets one recent evening. Exclusive: U.S. medical testing, cancer screenings plunge during coronavirus outbreak - data firm analysis

Routine medical tests critical for detecting and monitoring cancer and other conditions plummeted in the United States since mid-March, as the coronavirus spread and public officials urged residents to stay home, according to a new report by Komodo Health. Diagnostic panels and cancer screenings typically performed during annual physician visits fell by as much as 68% nationally, and by even more in coronavirus hotspots. Mainland China reports six new coronavirus cases vs three a day earlier

Mainland China reported 6 new coronavirus cases for April 27, up from 3 reported a day earlier, putting its total number of COVID-19 infections to date at 82,836. The National Health Commission said in a statement on Tuesday the number of imported cases involving travellers from overseas rose to 3 on Monday from a day earlier. New asymptomatic cases, involving patients infected with the virus but not showing symptoms, rose to 40 on Monday from 25 the previous day. On Japan's stretched frontline, doctors and nurses DIY a coronavirus response

At any given time, seven out of eight beds in the intensive care unit of St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo are taken up by critically ill coronavirus patients. "If we max out eight beds we can't place patients who suddenly take a turn for the worse, so we always keep one bed open," said Fumie Sakamoto, who manages the 500-room hospital's infection control division. Germany reports 1,144 new coronavirus cases, 163 more deaths

The number of Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases increased by 1,144 to 156,337, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Tuesday. The death toll rose by 163 to 5,913, according to the tally. Exclusive: More than 2,200 Indonesians have died with coronavirus symptoms, data shows

More than 2,200 Indonesians have died with acute symptoms of COVID-19 but were not recorded as victims of the disease, a Reuters review of data from 16 of the country's 34 provinces showed. Three medical experts said the figures indicated the national death toll was likely to be much higher than the official figure of 765. WHO chief says pandemic 'far from over', worried about children

The coronavirus pandemic is "far from over" and is still disrupting normal health services, especially life-saving immunisation for children in the poorest countries, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. The U.N. agency is concerned about rising numbers of cases and deaths in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and some Asian countries, even as the numbers flatten or decline in some wealthier nations. CDC reports 957,875 coronavirus cases, 53,922 deaths

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday reported 957,875 cases of the coronavirus, and said the number of deaths had risen to 53,922. Over the weekend, the CDC updated its case count to 928,619 and said 52,459 people had died across the country, but that the numbers were preliminary and had not been confirmed by individual states. Global coronavirus cases pass three million as lockdowns begin to ease

Global confirmed coronavirus cases surpassed 3 million on Monday, as the United States neared 1 million cases, according to a Reuters tally. It comes as many countries are taking steps to ease lockdown measures that have brought the world to a standstill over the past eight weeks. Japan needs to keep emergency in place, 2021 Olympics 'difficult,' top doctor says

It is too early to consider lifting Japan's state of emergency over the coronavirus, the head of the Japan Medical Association said on Tuesday, adding that it will be difficult for Tokyo to host the Olympics next year without an effective vaccine. The comments by the head of the powerful physician's lobby illustrate Japan's near and longer term concerns as it battles the epidemic that prompted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to declare a nationwide state of emergency through May 6, the final day of a stretch of holidays known as Golden Week.