Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. China's health authority to tighten rules on laboratory controls

China will require local health authorities to tighten their supervision over how virus strains and their samples are handled in labs, the National Health Commission said in a draft rule issued on Monday. Provincial governments should prevent unapproved transport of strains and samples of the new coronavirus that has killed over 280,000 people globally and provide central health authorities with details on any between-lab transportation of the virus. China's Wuhan reports first coronavirus cluster since lifting lockdown

Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, reported on Monday its first cluster of infections since a lockdown on the city was lifted a month ago, stoking concerns of a wider resurgence of the disease. The new infections sounded a note of caution amid efforts to ease coronavirus-related restrictions across China as businesses restart and individuals get back to work. Latin America's indigenous shield elderly 'cultural guardians' from coronavirus

Indigenous peoples across Latin America are cutting off their communities from the outside world, worried that the coronavirus could pose a grave threat to their culture by putting at risk tribal elders, the keepers of their heritage. From the rocky Patagonian regions of Argentina to the lush Brazilian Amazon and the Andean villages of Colombia, indigenous groups are barricading villages against outsiders and doling out harsh punishment to members who violate quarantine rules. South Korea scrambles to contain nightclub coronavirus outbreak

South Korean officials scrambled on Monday to contain a new coronavirus outbreak, searching for thousands of people who may have been infected in a cluster of cases linked to nightclubs and bars in the capital Seoul. South Korea has been lauded for its quick, effective action on its epidemic, significantly reducing the rate of new infections in recent weeks, but the resurgence of cases has raised worries about a second wave of infections. Low-skilled men suffer highest COVID-19 fatalities in England and Wales

Men in the lowest-skilled jobs have the highest death rates involving COVID-19 among working-age people, according to data for England and Wales that also showed fatalities among nurses and doctors were no higher than the average. Monday's official figures were published after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday that manufacturing and construction workers should be encouraged to go back to their jobs, drawing concern from trade union groups. Germany surge sounds coronavirus alarm as world takes steps to reopen

Germany reported on Monday that new coronavirus infections were accelerating exponentially after early steps to ease its lockdown, news that sounded a global alarm even as businesses opened from Paris hair salons to Shanghai Disneyland. Germany's Robert Koch Institute reported that the "reproduction rate" - the number of people each person infected with the coronavirus goes on to infect - had risen to 1.1. Any rate above 1 means the virus is spreading exponentially. UK COVID-19 study reassures pregnant women, but warns risks higher later

Pregnant women are no more likely to become severely ill with COVID-19 than other women, according to a preliminary study in Britain, but most expectant mothers who do develop serious illness tend to be in the later stages of pregnancy. The study looked at 427 pregnant women who were admitted to hospital with COVID-19, the lung disease caused by the new coronavirus, between March 1 and April 14. It found fewer than 0.5 percent of all pregnant women were admitted to hospital with the disease, and only around 1-in-10 of those needed intensive care. Coronavirus cases surge in Russia, tally now third highest globally

A new surge in coronavirus cases took Russia's tally past those in Italy and Britain on Monday, making it the third highest in the world just hours before President Vladimir Putin was due to issue an update on the situation. The number of new cases of the novel coronavirus rose by a record daily amount to 11,656 in the previous 24 hours, making the official tally 221,344. Only Spain and the United States have recorded more cases than the world's biggest country. Second wave of COVID-19 cases sweeps Senegal's holy city

Senegal's holy city of Touba is fighting a second wave of COVID-19 infections, dashing hopes that swift action by authorities had stopped the new coronavirus from spreading in the one-time epicentre. Confirmed cases in Touba have risen seven-fold to more than 190 since a market trader fell ill in April, ending a two-week lull in new cases. Now, as other countries in West Africa, including Nigeria and Ghana, are beginning to ease lockdowns to assist those whose livelihoods were disrupted, Senegal is tightening restrictions to try to contain the outbreak. Coronavirus cases in the Gulf Arab region surpass 100,000

The number of coronavirus cases in the six Gulf Arab states surpassed 100,000 on Monday, with 557 deaths, according to Reuters calculations based on official figures. Coronavirus cases in the energy producing region had initially been linked to travel. But despite taking early measures to combat the virus Gulf states have seen a spread of the virus among low-income migrant workers living in cramped quarters, prompting authorities to ramp up testing.