Health News Roundup: Italians embrace coronavirus tracing app; Coronavirus spreads among fruit and vegetable packers and more

The graves were dug overnight on the beach opposite the ritzy Copacabana Hotel in a protest mounted by non-governmental organization Rio de Paz. Brazil research institute in deal to help test, produce Chinese coronavirus vaccine The Butantan Institute, one of Brazil's leading biomedical research centers, on Thursday announced an agreement with China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd to potentially produce a vaccine against the new coronavirus.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Italians embrace coronavirus tracing app as privacy fears ease

Italy, the first major European country to roll out a smartphone app to trace COVID-19 infections that does not rely on a centralized database, has already seen 2.2 million downloads in 10 days, a sign Italians are setting aside privacy concerns. The government, like those of other European countries hit by the virus, is touting the software as a vital tool to help avoid a second wave of infections. Germany launches its own version next week.

Coronavirus spreads among fruit and vegetable packers, worrying U.S. officials

From apple packing houses in Washington state to farm workers in Florida and a California county known as "the world's salad bowl," outbreaks of the novel coronavirus are emerging at U.S. fruit and vegetable farms and packing plants. A rising number of sick farm and packing house workers comes after thousands of meat plant employees contracted the virus and could lead to more labor shortages and a fresh wave of disruption to U.S. food production.

Graves dug in Rio beach to protest handling of COVID-19 pandemic

Brazilians critical of their government's ambiguous response to a surging coronavirus pandemic dug 100 graves and stuck black crosses in the sand of Rio's Copacabana beach on Thursday in a tribute to the nearly 40,000 people who have died so far. The graves were dug overnight on the beach opposite the ritzy Copacabana Hotel in a protest mounted by non-governmental organization Rio de Paz.

Brazil research institute in deal to help test, produce Chinese coronavirus vaccine

The Butantan Institute, one of Brazil's leading biomedical research centers, on Thursday announced an agreement with China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd to potentially produce a vaccine against the new coronavirus. Butantan president Dimas Covas and Sao Paulo Governor João Doria said the vaccine being developed by the Chinese laboratory was entering the third phase of clinical testing and could be ready to vaccinate millions of Brazilians by June next year.

Scientists to study sleep, or lack of it, during COVID-19 pandemic

An international group of neuroscientists will examine how the world is sleeping, or failing to, during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has upended work, social and family life for countless people. Sleep is known to be critical to physical and mental health - essential for tissue repair, cell regeneration, immune function, memory, and regulating mood and emotions.

U.S. CDC reports 1,994,283 coronavirus cases

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday reported 1,994,283 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 20,486 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 834 to 112,967. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on June 10, versus its previous report on Wednesday.(https://bit.ly/3cUcwKI)

No means to say goodbye: Bolivian brigades gather corpses of poor COVID victims

Most weekdays since the coronavirus broke out in Bolivia, Harvard-educated Luis Fernando Ortiz leaves his job managing the country's biggest freight forwarding agent and dons a hazmat suit to go in search of a body. Ortiz, 37, is a member of the "Goodbye Brigades", teams of volunteers that have sprung up around the impoverished country to pick up bodies of people who have died from coronavirus but whose families are too poor to pay for their burials.

Chile's coronavirus cases climb past 154,000 in 100 days since virus landed

Chile on Thursday exceeded 154,000 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus and 2,600 deaths, one hundred days after the outbreak began and with the health service straining under massive admissions numbers. "It has been a very hard 100 days," health minister Jaime Mañalich told reporters in the capital Santiago on Thursday. "June is going to be the toughest month in the fight against the disease."

EU wants to buy COVID-19 vaccines up front - unless they're made in America

The European Commission is seeking a mandate from EU countries to buy promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates in advance from pharmaceutical firms, as long as they are not produced solely in the United States, officials said. The EU executive wants to pay for up to six potential vaccines in deals where the makers would commit to providing doses when and if they become available.

IMF says $10 trillion spent to combat pandemic, far more needed

Governments around the world have spent $10 trillion in fiscal actions to respond to the novel coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout, but significant further efforts are needed, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said new estimates suggested that up to 100 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty as a result of the crisis, and further spending should focus on minimizing job losses and preventing a rise in inequality.