Health News Roundup: Brazil reports total of 37,312 coronavirus deaths; CDC reports 1,920,904 coronavirus cases in United States and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Brazil reports total of 37,312 coronavirus deaths, says health ministry

Brazil has registered 37,312 total coronavirus deaths while total cases in the country reached 685,427, according to the health ministry on Sunday. Unlike in the previous day, the government released cumulative figures on Sunday and not a tally of deaths and new infections in the last 24 hours.

CDC reports 1,920,904 coronavirus cases in United States

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday reported 1,920,904 cases of new coronavirus, an increase of 29,214 cases from its previous count, and said COVID-19 deaths in the United States had risen by 709 to 109,901. The CDC reported its tally of cases of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus, as of 4 p.m. EDT on June 6. Its previous tally was released on Friday.

New Zealand on course to eliminate coronavirus with zero active cases

New Zealand said on Monday it had no active cases of COVID-19 for the first time since the novel coronavirus arrived in the country, setting it on course to eliminate the disease, lift social distancing restrictions and open up its economy. The Pacific island nation is among only a handful of countries that have emerged from the pandemic, as big economies like the United States, Britain, India, and Brazil continue to grapple with the spreading virus.

Vietnam reports two new coronavirus cases, taking tally to 331

Vietnam on Monday reported two new coronavirus infections, both of which were imported cases involving Vietnamese citizens returning from Mexico who were quarantined on arrival, its health ministry said. The Southeast Asian country has gone 53 days without a domestically transmitted infection and has a total of 331 cases, with no deaths, the ministry said. Over 90% of the confirmed cases have recovered.

China reports four new confirmed, two asymptomatic COVID-19 cases in mainland

China reported four new confirmed and two asymptomatic COVID-19 cases in the mainland as of end-June 7, the country's health commission said on Monday. The National Health Commission said the four new confirmed cases were so-called imported cases involving travelers from overseas. The commission a day earlier reported 6 confirmed cases, five of which were imported, and five asymptomatic cases.

Fujifilm says COVID-19 drug research may drag on into July

Fujifilm Holdings Corp's research on Avigan as a potential treatment for COVID-19 may drag on until July, the company said on Sunday, a further setback for the Japanese firm's effort to prove the drug's effectiveness against the virus. "There is a possibility that clinical trials will continue in July," a Fujifilm spokesman said, responding to a Nikkei report that any approval will be delayed until July or later, due to a lack of patients for trials.

Global coronavirus cases near 7 million as outbreak grows in Brazil, India - Reuters tally

Global cases of the novel coronavirus neared 7 million on Saturday, as case numbers surge in Brazil and India, according to a Reuters tally. About 30% of those cases, or 2 million infections, are in the United States, though the fastest growing outbreak is in Latin America, which now accounts for roughly 16% of all cases.

Mexico stays on maximum virus alert entering second week of 'new normal'

Mexico remains at the highest level of contagion alert going into the second week of its phased return to normal after seven days that saw the death toll from the coronavirus and new infections hit new highs, the health ministry said on Sunday. On Monday, Mexico began transitioning towards a gradual reopening of the economy and society, which President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador dubbed the "new normal."

U.S. coronavirus deaths top 110,000 as cases approach 2 million: Reuters tally

The novel coronavirus has killed more than 110,000 people in the United States, according to a Reuters tally on Sunday, as nationwide protests against racial injustice spark fears of a resurgence of the virus. About 1,000 Americans have died on average each day so far in June, down from a peak of 2,000 a day in April, according to the tally of state and county data on COVID-19 deaths.

Shanghai Junshi Biosciences in human tests for coronavirus antibody drug

Shanghai Junshi Biosciences has started an early-stage study in China to test a potential antibody treatment against the coronavirus in uninfected people, the company said in a filing on Sunday. The experimental drug, JS016, is also expected to begin human study in the United States in the second quarter of this year, through collaboration with Eli Lilly and Co.