Health News Roundup: Obesity is major COVID-19 risk factor; WHO denies being 'China-centric' after Trump comment and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Mainland China reports 62 new confirmed cases of coronavirus

Mainland China reported on Wednesday 62 new confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, up from 32 a day earlier, the National Health Commission said, as the number of infections from people arriving from abroad surged. Mainland China's imported cases stood at 1,042 as of Tuesday, up 59 from day earlier, according to the health authority.

Obesity is major COVID-19 risk factor, says French chief epidemiologist

Being overweight is a major risk for people infected with the new coronavirus and the United States is particularly vulnerable because of high obesity levels there, France's chief epidemiologist said on Wednesday. Professor Jean-François Delfraissy, who heads the scientific council that advises the government on the epidemic, said as many as 17 million of France's 67 million citizens were seriously at risk from the coronavirus because of age, pre-existing illness or obesity.

Generic drugmakers win EU okay to cooperate in coronavirus fight

Generic drugmakers will be allowed to cooperate to supply hospital medicines for COVID-19 patients without fear of breaching the bloc's competition rules, EU antitrust regulators said on Wednesday. The step is the latest loosening of the bloc's strict antitrust rules to help tackle the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Dutch coronavirus cases rise by 969 to 20,549, 147 new deaths

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Netherlands rose by 969 to 20,549 as of Wednesday, health authorities said, with 147 new deaths. The country's total death toll from the disease is now 2,248, the Netherlands' National Institute for Health (RIVM) said in a daily update.

Spain hits 14,500 coronavirus deaths, big economic slump forecast

Spain's overnight death toll from the coronavirus edged higher again on Wednesday while the main business lobby warned the economy could slump up to 9% this year if lockdown restrictions remain beyond May. The health ministry said 757 people died over the past 24 hours, up from 743 people the previous day, marking the second daily rise in a row and bringing the total death toll to 14,555 - the world's second-highest after Italy.

'Hardest day': New York's Cuomo sees virus slowing despite record death toll

Even as medical teams struggled to save an onslaught of gravely ill coronavirus patients and deaths hit new highs, the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations seemed to be leveling off in New York state, the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday. New York was one of several states, along with the nation as a whole, to post their highest daily loss of life from COVID-19, the highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the virus. A staggering 731 fatalities were reported in Cuomo's state alone.

Novavax to start human trial for novel coronavirus vaccine

Novavax Inc said on Wednesday it had identified a novel coronavirus vaccine candidate and would start human trials in mid-May. The Maryland-based late-stage biotechnology company said its Matrix-M adjuvant would be used with the vaccine candidate - NVX-CoV2373 - to enhance immune responses.

WHO denies being 'China-centric' after Trump comment

World Health Organization officials on Wednesday denied that the body was "China-centric" and said that the acute phase of a pandemic was not the time to cut funding, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would put contributions on hold. The United States is the top donor to the Geneva-based body which Trump said had issued bad advice during the new coronavirus outbreak.

Explainer: Do men fare worse with COVID-19?

Death and infection tolls from the COVID-19 pandemic spreading around the world point to men being more likely than women to contract the disease and to suffer severe or critical complications if they do.

Here are some insights from research and experts:

Singapore confirms 142 new coronavirus infections, biggest daily jump

Singapore's Health Ministry confirmed 142 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases to 1,623. Forty of the new cases were linked to foreign worker dormitories, the health ministry said in a statement.