Health News Roundup: Voestalpine evaluating production due to coronavirus; China approves coronavirus vaccine for clinical trials and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Voestalpine evaluating production due to coronavirus

Voestalpine is evaluating which parts of production can be continued, must be reduced or halted due to the spread of the coronavirus, the specialty steel company told shareholders. "Employees working in production, maintenance and other operationally critical areas will be on site until further notice," the statement said.

Regeneron plans coronavirus trials by early summer for newly identified antibodies

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Tuesday it had identified hundreds of antibodies that could treat the coronavirus and it planned to begin clinical trials by early summer, sending the drugmaker's shares up 10%. The announcement comes a day after the drugmaker started testing its rheumatoid arthritis drug, Kevzara, with partner Sanofi against the virus.

What you need to know about the coronavirus today

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus today: Looking for the "big number" Trump and U.S. states ramp up drive to slow spread of coronavirus

The White House, under pressure to escalate national action to combat the coronavirus, urged Americans on Monday to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people and called for closing bars, restaurants and other venues in states where local virus transmission exists. But President Donald Trump refrained from ordering sweeping public quarantines, lockdowns or curfews for the time being, even as some state and local authorities independently imposed mandatory restrictions on eateries, movie theaters and other places of leisure in a bid to contain the respiratory virus.

China approves coronavirus vaccine for clinical trials: state media

China has authorised clinical trials on its first vaccine developed to combat the new coronavirus, according to a report in the ruling Communist Party's People's Daily. The researchers are led by Chen Wei, of China's Academy of Military Medical Sciences, it said.

Spain turns back cars from land borders as coronavirus death toll rises to 491

Spain set up police checks at its land borders with France and Portugal on Tuesday and turned back foreigners attempting to enter, part of strict measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Europe's second hardest-hit country. The government reported 182 new fatalities overnight, bringing the total dead to 491 and making Spain the country with the world's fastest-rising toll behind Italy. The number of infected topped 10,000 for the first time to 11,178.

Pfizer, BioNTech to co-develop potential coronavirus vaccine

U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc has signed a deal with Germany's BioNTech SE to co-develop a potential vaccine for the coronavirus using BioNTech's mRNA-based drug development platform, the companies said on Tuesday. The drugmakers will start the collaboration immediately and have signed a letter of intent for the vaccine's distribution outside China, they said in a joint statement.

"Preparing for war": Africans scramble for groceries

Alarmed consumers thronged markets across Africa on Tuesday, many in masks and gloves, to stock up as the coronavirus spread on the world's poorest continent. Food prices rose in some parts, though at least one country, Rwanda, sought to control the costs of staple foods.

Sobering coronavirus study prompted Britain to toughen its approach

A crucial projection study that helped convince the British government to impose more stringent measures to contain COVID-19 painted a worst-case picture of hundreds of thousands of deaths and a health service overwhelmed with severely sick patients. In a sharp toughening of Britain's approach to the outbreak on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson closed down social life in the world's fifth-largest economy and advised those over 70 with underlying health problems to isolate.

Co-Diagnostics says new FDA policy to help expand use of COVID-19 test

Co-Diagnostics Inc said on Tuesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new policy to expand the availability of COVID-19 tests will allow the medical test maker's tests to be distributed to a wide array of U.S. labs. The agency said on Monday it would not object to commercial manufacturers distributing and labs using new commercially developed tests prior to the FDA granting a so-called Emergency Use Authorization.