Health News Roundup: Rise in new coronavirus cases; Air pollution crossing U.S. state lines and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

China pushes for cheaper health insurance products to the battle virus: sources

China is nudging insurers to work on cheaper medical cover linked to the coronavirus and is assuring them of fast-track approval for these new products, people with knowledge of the matter said. The move will mark a shift in the Chinese insurance market where the bulk of existing products are essentially investment schemes and pure healthcare coverage accounts for only about a fifth of the total life insurance premium.

The rise in new coronavirus cases in China reflects 'broader definition' of infection: WHO

A jump in the number of new cases of coronavirus in China reflects a "broader definition" of a case of infection, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Thursday. "It is our current understanding that the new case definition widens the net, and includes not only lab-confirmed cases but also clinically diagnosed cases based on symptoms and exposure," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told Reuters.

Cruise passengers shunned over coronavirus to head home after Cambodia reprieve

Passengers on a cruise ship that spent two weeks at sea after being turned away by five countries over fears that someone aboard might have the coronavirus cheered and clapped as the vessel finally arrived at a port in Cambodia on Thursday. The MS Westerdam, carrying 1,455 passengers and 802 crew, docked in Sihanoukville in the evening after anchoring offshore early in the morning to allow Cambodian officials to board the vessel and collect samples from passengers with any signs of ill health or flu-like symptoms. The U.S.

CDC says not yet invited to assist with coronavirus investigation in China

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday it had not yet been invited to send in experts to assist with the investigation of the coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 1,000 people. An advance team of World Health Organization medical experts arrived in China on Monday to help investigate the outbreak, and the United States has been waiting for approval to send its experts as part of the WHO team.

Results from Chinese drug trials for coronavirus due in weeks: expert

Chinese scientists are testing two antiviral drugs against the new coronavirus and preliminary clinical trial results are weeks away, the co-chair of a World Health Organization (WHO) meeting said on Wednesday. Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, a former WHO virologist, co-chaired the two-day, closed-door research forum in Geneva of more than 300 scientists and researchers, including some who took part virtually from China and Taiwan.

Chinese public dial-in for support as coronavirus takes a mental toll

Hundreds of 24-hour mental health support telephone hotlines have sprung up in China in recent weeks as millions of people fret about catching the coronavirus - and try to avoid infection by staying at home. Medical professionals welcomed the launch of several official services in a country where mental health remains a relatively taboo subject but cautioned that unofficial talk lines could do more harm than good.

Air pollution crossing U.S. state lines, causing premature deaths

A study 11 years in the making has found that half of the premature deaths related to air pollution in U.S. states are caused by pollution that originated from another state, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday. The study, published in Nature, is the first to calculate how pollution crossing state lines impacts early deaths in each state, said co-author Steven Barrett, an associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.

Hunt on for 'patient zero' who spread coronavirus globally from Singapore

As lion dancers snaked between conference room tables laden with plastic bottles, pens, notebooks and laptops, some staff from British gas analytics firm Servomex snapped photos of the performance meant to bring good luck and fortune. But the January sales meeting in a luxury Singapore hotel was far from auspicious.

What spurt in China's cases suggests about coronavirus

A new diagnostic method has led the Chinese province at the epicenter of a coronavirus outbreak to report a record rise in deaths and thousands of more cases on Thursday. The central province of Hubei had previously only allowed infections to be confirmed by RNA tests, which can take days to process. RNA, or ribonucleic acid, carries genetic information that enables the identification of organisms such as viruses.

Coronavirus deaths, cases leap in China; markets shiver

The Chinese province at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak reported a record rise in deaths and thousands of more cases on Thursday under a new diagnostic method, raising fresh questions about the scale of the crisis. The sharp rise in the headline number of deaths and infections unnerved world markets, as traders halted a recent rally in stocks and retreated back to the safety of government bonds and gold.