Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. CDC reports 1,193,813 coronavirus cases, 70,802 deaths

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday reported 1,193,813 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 22,303 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 2,523 to 70,802. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by the new coronavirus, as of 4 p.m. ET on May 5, compared with its count a day earlier. (https://bit.ly/2SGLijD) India now has 52,952 cases of coronavirus, death toll 1783: health ministry

The number of coronavirus infections rose to 52,952 in India, up by 3,561 over the previous day, the health ministry said on Thursday, with no signs of abating despite a strict weeks-long lockdown in the world's second most populous country. The death toll was up by 89 to 1783, still low compared with the United States, United Kingdom and Italy which officials said was because the government imposed the stay-at-home order on 1.3 billion people much earlier in the cycle. Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 1,284 to 166,091: RKI

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 1,284 to 166,091, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Thursday. The reported death toll rose by 123 to 7,119, the tally showed. Coronavirus pandemic is pushing up the price of illegal drugs, U.N. says

Coronavirus-related border controls, lockdowns and flight shortages are making illegal drugs more expensive and difficult to obtain around the world, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said in a report published on Thursday. The pandemic is having a mixed effect on drug production in different regions and on smuggling by air, land and sea, but the overall trend in countries where drugs are consumed appears to be relatively uniform, the UNODC said in the report on COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Some U.S. senators worry that without tests they could bring coronavirus home

Several U.S. senators have urged congressional leaders to accept the White House's offer of rapid coronavirus testing for lawmakers, saying they could otherwise unwittingly spread the disease when they returned to their home districts. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, and Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a rare joint statement on Saturday declining the offer for 1,000 rapid coronavirus testing kits, saying those were needed for front-line workers fighting the virus. WHO warns against rushed end to coronavirus lockdowns

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday that countries emerging from restrictions to halt the new coronavirus must proceed "extremely carefully" or risk a rapid rise in new cases. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said countries needed to ensure they had adequate measures to control the spread of the COVID-19 respiratory disease like tracking systems and quarantine provision. China reports two new coronavirus cases, both imported

China reported two new coronavirus cases for May 6, unchanged from the same number of increases the day before, data from the national health authority showed on Thursday. Both were so-called imported cases involving travellers from overseas, the National Health Commission said in a statement. The two cases from the day before were also imported. Mexico coronavirus infections rise to 27,634 cases and 2,704 deaths

Mexico's health ministry on Wednesday reported 1,609 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections and 197 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 27,634 cases and 2,704 deaths. The government has said the real number of infected people is significantly higher than the confirmed cases. Will Gilead price its coronavirus drug for public good or company profit?

Gilead Sciences Inc faces a new dilemma in deciding how much it should profit from the only treatment so far proven to help patients infected with the novel coronavirus. The drugmaker earned notoriety less than a decade ago, when it introduced a treatment that essentially cured hepatitis C at a price of $1,000 per pill. How lax rules, missed warnings led to Japan's second coronavirus cruise-ship hot spot

Seven days before Japan quarantined a cruise ship near Tokyo early this year, in what became one of the first coronavirus hot spots outside China, another cruise ship docked in southern Japan. For the next five weeks, as the virus took hold in Japan and the Diamond Princess in Yokohama port grabbed global attention, the Japanese authorities issued no warnings to the Costa Atlantica 1,200 km (750 miles) to the southwest.