Health News Roundup: Japan urges nightclubs to act to stem coronavirus spikes; Hong Kong to suspend all schools and more

The call from Yasutoshi Nishimura, tasked with leading Japan's pandemic response, comes after Tokyo reported a record daily high of 224 new infections on Thursday. Tokyo reported a record daily high of 243 new infections on Friday, following 224 the day before, as authorities stepped up testing in nightlife districts.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

U.S. sets one-day record with more than 60,500 COVID cases; Americans divided

More than 60,500 new COVID-19 infections were reported across the United States on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, setting a one-day record as weary Americans were told to take new precautions and the pandemic becomes increasingly politicized. The total represents a slight rise from Wednesday, when there were 60,000 new cases, and marks the largest one-day increase by any country since the pandemic emerged in China last year.

Japan urges nightclubs to act to stem coronavirus spikes

Japanese host and hostess clubs must act quickly to ensure they abide by rules to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus after nightlife districts became new hot spots in a resurgence of infections, the economy minister said on Friday. The call from Yasutoshi Nishimura, tasked with leading Japan's pandemic response, comes after Tokyo reported a record daily high of 224 new infections on Thursday.

Gilead says additional data on remdesivir shows improved clinical recovery

Gilead Sciences Inc said on Friday additional data from a late-stage study showed its antiviral remdesivir significantly improved clinical recovery in severely ill COVID-19 patients. Findings from an analysis of its late-stage study showed that 74.4% of remdesivir-treated patients recovered by Day 14 versus 59.0% of patients receiving standard of care, the company said.

WHO advance team on way to China to set up probe into virus origin

An advance team from the World Health Organization (WHO) has left for China to organise an investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus which sparked the global pandemic, a spokeswoman said on Friday. The virus is believed to have emerged in a wholesale market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, since then closed, after jumping the species barrier from the animal kingdom to infect humans.

Pfizer, BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine expected to be ready for approval by year end: WSJ

BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine candidate is expected to be ready to seek regulatory approval by the end of 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing the German biotech firm's chief executive officer. The experimental vaccine, which showed promise against the fast-spreading respiratory illness in early stage human testing, is expected to move into a large trial involving 30,000 healthy participants later this month, pending regulatory nod.

Hong Kong to suspend all schools due to spike in coronavirus cases

Hong Kong's Education Bureau on Friday announced the suspension of all schools from Monday after a sharp rise in locally transmitted coronavirus cases fuelled fears of renewed community spread. Schools in the Asian financial hub have been mostly shut since January, with many having switched to online learning and lessons by conference call. Many international schools are already on summer break.

Scientists focus on how immune system T cells fight coronavirus in absence of antibodies

As scientists question whether the presence, or absence, of antibodies to the novel coronavirus can reliably determine immunity, some are looking to a different component of the immune system, known as T cells, for their role in protecting people in the pandemic. Recent studies show that some recovered patients who tested negative for coronavirus antibodies did develop T cells in response to their COVID-19 infection. While the studies are small and have yet to be reviewed by outside experts, some scientists now say that people who experience a mild illness, or no symptoms at all, from the new coronavirus, may be eliminating the infection through this T cell response.

"It's going to happen again," says former New Zealand PM Clark tasked with WHO COVID-19 review

New Zealand's former prime minister Helen Clark warned if the world remained "flat-footed" in its response to pandemics it faces future economic, social and political crisis, after she was appointed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to lead a review of the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. WHO announced late on Thursday that Clark and Liberia's former president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will lead a panel scrutinising the global response.

Tokyo shopkeepers brace for another slowdown as coronavirus flares

Two straight days of record novel coronavirus infections in the Japanese capital have dashed shopkeepers' hopes that business can get back to normal any time soon. Tokyo reported a record daily high of 243 new infections on Friday, following 224 the day before, as authorities stepped up testing in nightlife districts.

Australia approves Gilead's remdesivir for COVID-19 treatment

Australia has granted provisional approval to Gilead Sciences Inc's remdesivir as the first treatment option for COVID-19 in the country, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said on Friday. The approval is for adults and adolescent patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms and have been hospitalised, the Australian regulator said. (https://bit.ly/2BWzAw7)

(With inputs from agencies.)