WHO denies report claiming China pressurised it to withhold Covid-19 info

German weekly Der Spiegel reported that Xi asked Tedros during the call to hold back information about human-to-human transmission of the virus and delay declaring a pandemic.

The World Health Organisation has dismissed a media report saying that it withheld information about Covid-19 following pressure from China, and termed it as 'false allegation'.

The UN agency said in a statement late Saturday that a German magazine's report about a telephone conversation between WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Chinese President Xi Jinping on January 21 was unfounded and untrue.

Weekly Der Spiegel reported that Xi asked Tedros during the call to hold back information about human-to-human transmission of the virus and delay declaring a pandemic. The magazine quoted Germany's foreign intelligence agency, BND, which declined to comment on Sunday.

Der Spiegel also claimed that the BND concluded up to six weeks of time to fight the outbreak had been lost due to China's information policy.

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WHO said Tedros and Xi have never spoken by phone and added that such inaccurate reports distract and detract from efforts to end the Covid-19 pandemic. It added that China confirmed human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus on January 20.

WHO officials issued a statement two days later saying there was evidence of human-to-human transmission in Wuhan, but more investigation was necessary.

Amid coronavirus crisis, world is short of six million nurses, says WHO

The report said that there are just under 28 million nurses on the planet. In the five years leading up to 2018, the number grew by 4.7 million.

As coronavirus (Covid-19) captures global headlines, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned Tuesday that the world needs nearly six million nurses.

The UN's health agency along with partners Nursing Now and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) underscored in a report the crucial role played by nurses, who make up more than half of all health workers worldwide.

"Nurses are the backbone of any health system," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

"Today, many nurses find themselves on the frontline in the battle against Covid-19," he noted, adding that it was vital they "get the support they need to keep the world healthy."

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The report said that there are just under 28 million nurses on the planet. In the five years leading up to 2018, the number grew by 4.7 million.

"But this still leaves a global shortfall of 5.9 million," the WHO said, pointing out that the greatest gaps were in poorer countries in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and parts of South America.

The report urged countries to identify gaps in their nursing workforce and invest in nursing education, jobs and leadership.

ICN chief executive Howard Catton told a virtual briefing that infection rates, medication errors and mortality rates "are all higher where there are too few nurses".

Coronavirus: Spanish football coach Francisco Garcia passes away aged 21

Atletico Portada Alta released an official statement on Instagram about the passing away of Garcia.

Spanish football trainer Francisco Garcia has died matured 21 in the wake of contracting coronavirus.

Garcia was filling in as the supervisor of Atletico Portada Alta's childhood group since 2016. He has become the most youthful casualty of the sickness in the district, goal.com revealed.

Atletico Portada Alta discharged an official explanation on Instagram about the dying of Garcia.

"We need to communicate our most profound sympathies to the family, companions and dear companions of our mentor Francisco Garcia who has left us, tragically, today," the announcement said.

"Presently what do we manage without you, Francis? You were consistently there with us at Portada or any place you were required, assisting. How might we continue covering each one of those kilometers in the group? We don't have the foggiest idea how, yet we will unquestionably do it for you. We won't overlook you, find happiness in the hereafter, marvel. Until always," it included.

He spent away on Sunday subsequent to testing positive for COVID-19 a week ago, having been sent to the Regional Hospital of Malaga for treatment. At the point when the administrator showed up at the office, it was likewise discovered that he was additionally experiencing leukemia.

Spanish football's significant classes have been closed down inconclusively to contain the spread of coronavirus. Something very similar has been followed in UK, France, and Italy.

All significant football rivalries like La Liga, Premier League, Champions League, and Serie A have been suspended due to the coronavirus flare-up.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday announced that the focal point of the coronavirus pandemic has moved from China, where new cases revealed have radically diminished, to Europe, where most nations are seeing a move in diseases and fatalities.

WHO warns overseas coronavirus spread may be 'tip of the iceberg'

The death toll in China from the novel coronavirus epidemic jumped to 908 and the number of confirmed cases has risen over 40,000.

The head of the World Health Organization said on Monday there have been "concerning instances" of coronavirus among people with no travel history to China, warning that it could be the "tip of the iceberg", as he urged all countries to prepare for the possible arrival of the novel virus that has killed over 900 people.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lauded the doctors, nurses and health workers for doing "their utmost" at personal risk to contain the epidemic, terming them "true heroes" of the outbreak that first surfaced in December in Wuhan city in China's central Hubei province where millions of people are under lockdown in a bid to stop it from spreading.

"There've been some concerning instances of onward 2019nCoV spread from people with no travel history to China. The detection of a small number of cases may indicate more widespread transmission in other countries; in short, we may only be seeing the tip of the iceberg," tweeted Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO.

"In an evolving public health emergency, all countries must step up efforts to prepare for #2019nCoV's possible arrival and do their utmost to contain it should it arrive. This means lab capacity for rapid diagnosis, contact tracing and other tools in the public health arsenal," he said.

The death toll in China from the novel coronavirus epidemic jumped to 908 and the number of confirmed cases has risen over 40,000, Chinese health officials said on Monday.

Ghebreyesus said the spread of coronavirus outside China appeared to be slowing, but could accelerate, warning that any breach in solidarity is a victory for the virus.

"Containment remains our objective, but all countries must use the window of opportunity created by the containment strategy to prepare for the virus's possible arrival," he said.

"In the spirit of financial solidarity, donors have been stepping up, but we have not reached our goal of US$675 million for @WHO and vulnerable countries," Ghebreyesus said.

"Containment remains our objective, but all countries must use the window of opportunity created by the containment strategy to prepare for the virus's possible arrival," he said.

Delhiites exposed to five times more black carbon than Americans, Europeans

Car drivers in Asia are exposed to up to nine times more pollution than Europeans and Americans.

Delhi Pollution : Travelling by car in Delhi exposes people to black carbon levels five times higher than Europe and America, say scientists who found that Asian residents are exposed to nine times more air pollution than their Western counterparts.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 88 per cent of premature deaths in low- and middle-income countries in Asia can be attributed to air pollution.

The number of road vehicles in Beijing increased from 1.5 million in 2000 to more than 5 million in 2014 and the number in Delhi is expected to increase from 4.7 million in 2010 to 25.6 million by 2030.

In a study published in the journal Atmospheric Environment, researchers looked at studies of pollution exposure and concentration levels in Asian transport microenvironments (walking, driving, cycling, motorbike riding and bus riding).

Researchers from the University of Surrey in the UK focused on the levels of fine particles, black carbon produced by carbon-rich fuels such as gasoline and diesel fuel, and ultrafine particles (UFP) small enough to travel deep into a citizen's lungs.

The study found evidence that pedestrians walking along busy roadsides in Asian cities are exposed to up to 1.6 times higher fine particle levels than people in European and American cities.

Car drivers in Asia are exposed to up to nine times more pollution than Europeans and Americans, while black carbon levels were seven times higher for Asian pedestrians than Americans.

The study reported that in Hong Kong, UFP levels were up to four times higher than in cities in Europe. In New Delhi, average black carbon concentration in cars was up to five times higher compared to Europe or North America.

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India worse than Bhutan, Bangladesh in healthcare, ranks 145th globally

India has improved its ranking on a global healthcare access and quality (HAQ) index from 153 in 1990 to 145 in 2016, yet ranks lower than neighbouring Bangladesh and even sub-Saharan Sudan and Equatorial Guinea.

In 2016, India scored 41.2 points on the healthcare access and quality (HAQ) index created by the Global Burden of Disease study published in the medical journal The Lancet on May 23, 2018. This 16.5-point improvement in 26 years leaves India’s score well below the global average of 54.4.

Despite improvements in healthcare access and quality, India lags way behind its BRICS peers Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa on the HAQ index, but matches China in disparity in healthcare access and quality between states.

Within India, best performers Goa and Kerala scored more than 60 points on the HAQ index in 2016, whereas worst performers Assam and Uttar Pradesh scored below 40. This gap between the highest and lowest scores increased from a 23.4 point difference in 1990 to a 30.8 point difference in 2016. (China fared the worst with a 43.5-point difference, ranging from 91.5 in Beijing to 48.0 in Tibet.)

The index is based on 32 causes of death considered preventable with effective medical care.

It assigns a 0-100 score to each of the 195 countries and territories assessed. For the first time, this year’s study analysed healthcare access and quality between regions within seven countries: Brazil, China, England, India, Japan, Mexico and the USA.

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