Health News Roundup: England's COVID-19 prevalence hits record high; As Shanghai expands COVID lockdown, life on hold in city of 26 million and more

Canada is in a transition period and could still see "bumps along the way", including a resurgence in cases this spring as well as later in the year, the officials said. Vaccination after COVID improves immunity; ivermectin fails in major trial The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Deliberate infection trial finds COVID symptoms don't indicate viral shedding

The world's first "human challenge" trial in which volunteers were deliberately exposed to the coronavirus has found that symptoms had no effect on how likely an infected person is to pass the disease on to others. The findings underscore the difficulty in preventing community infections as the Word Health Organization (WHO) warns of a rise in cases.

Canada says hospitals could manage COVID impact as cases rise

Canada's health care system could withstand the impact from an anticipated rise in hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in the coming weeks, health officials said Friday, as signs emerge of a resurgence in infections in the country. Canada is in a transition period and could still see "bumps along the way", including a resurgence in cases this spring as well as later in the year, the officials said.

Vaccination after COVID improves immunity; ivermectin fails in major trial

The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. Vaccination after COVID-19 improves immunity

Italy ends COVID-19 state of emergency, curbs to be lifted gradually

Italy on Friday began to phase out its COVID-19 restrictions, ending a state of emergency public authorities declared more than two years ago that allowed it to bypass bureaucracy and swiftly impose rules via decrees. The state of emergency was introduced on Jan. 31, 2020, but Prime Minister Mario Draghi's government announced plans in March to return to normal after deciding not to extend it. It officially ended on Thursday.

S.Korea likely to lift outdoor mask mandate, most COVID curbs this month

South Korea said on Friday it would further relax its social distancing rules next week and possibly scrap most pandemic-related curbs later this month, including an obligation to wear masks outdoors. From April 4, a curfew on eateries and other businesses will be pushed back to midnight from 11 p.m., and private gatherings of up to 10 people will be allowed, Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said.

England's COVID-19 prevalence hits record high – ONS

The prevalence of COVID-19 among people in England rose to its highest since the pandemic began in 2020, data from Britain's Office for National Statistics showed on Friday. One 1 in 13 people were believed to have the coronavirus in the week ending March 26, the fourth consecutive increase and higher than 1 in 16 recorded in the previous week. The ONS estimated 4.1 million people in England had COVID-19.

As Shanghai expands COVID lockdown, life on hold in city of 26 million

China's commercial hub of Shanghai ground to halt on Friday after the government locked down most of the city's 26 million residents to stop the spread of COVID-19, even as official numbers put local cases falling for the second day in a row. The city government late on Thursday extended an existing lockdown in eastern districts, just as western parts of the city were shut down as scheduled.

Sanofi to float drug ingredients manufacturing business on May 6

Sanofi plans to list its drug ingredients subsidiary EUROAPI on May 6, saying the business is set to grow and improve its profitability as a separate business. Having received approval from the French markets regulator, the listing on the Euronext Paris exchange is set to take place shortly after a May 3 Sanofi shareholder vote on the listing, the French pharmaceutical giant said on Friday.

Russia's total number of COVID-related deaths hits nearly 778,000

Russia's total number of COVID-related deaths have reached almost 778,000 since the start of the pandemic in April 2020, Reuters calculations based on new data from the Rosstat state statistics service showed on Friday. Rosstat said that 43,201 people had died from COVID or related causes in February, up from 35,807 in January.

With carrot and stick, China presses ahead with COVID vaccinations for elderly

In China's southern Guangdong province, a teacher was told by her school that she must somehow find four unvaccinated individuals aged 60 or older and get them to take COVID shots to help boost the district's elderly inoculation rate. Otherwise, her performance review would be affected.