Latest World Health Organization News

In this handout photo taken on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, and provided by Russian Direct Investment Fund, an employee works with a coronavirus vaccine at the Nikolai Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, Russia. Russia on Tuesday, Aug. 11 became the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine for use in tens of thousands of its citizens despite international skepticism about injections that have not completed clinical trials and were studied in only dozens of people for less than two months. (Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/ Russian Direct Investment Fund via AP)

The Latest: WHO: Russian vaccine not in advanced test stages

Aug. 13, 2020 12:57 PM EDT

LONDON — The World Health Organization says the vaccine approved by Russia this week is not among the nine that it considers in the advanced stages of testing. WHO and partners have included nine experimental COVID-19 vaccines within an investment mechanism it is encouraging countries to join, known as the...

People wearing face masks to protect against the coronavirus ride an escalator past a sign of a nail salon at a shopping and office complex in Beijing, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020. Mainland China and semi-autonomous Hong Kong saw declines in their recent outbreaks Tuesday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

The Latest: China's community virus cases hit single digits

Aug. 11, 2020 11:03 PM EDT

BEIJING — China’s newly confirmed community transmitted cases of coronavirus fell into the single digits on Wednesday, while Hong Kong saw another 33 cases of infection. The National Health Commission said all nine new cases were found in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, whose capital Urumqi...

Women wearing face masks to help protect against the coronavirus walks by an advertising board displaying an American flag and Statue of Liberty on a street in Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020. China's biggest recent outbreak of coronavirus has grown slightly. Hundreds people have developed COVID-19 in the far northwestern region of Xinjiang, with more than dozens of new cases reported Thursday in its capital and largest city, Urumqi. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

The Latest: Confirmed coronavirus cases reach 20 million

Aug. 10, 2020 9:53 PM EDT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The confirmed number of coronavirus cases in the world has reached 20 million. That’s according to the tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. Health officials believe the actual number is much higher, given testing limitations and the fact that as many as 40% of all those who...

FILE - In this April 29 2020, file photo, a resident from the Alexandra township gets tested for COVID-19 , in Johannesburg, South Africa. Africa’s confirmed coronavirus cases have surpassed 1 million, but global health experts tell The Associated Press the true toll is several times higher. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

The Latest: Brazil surpasses 100,000 deaths from COVID-19

Aug. 8, 2020 6:26 PM EDT

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazil has surpassed a grim milestone — 100,000 deaths from COVID-19. And five months after the first reported case, the country is showing no signs of crushing the disease. The nation of 210 million people has been reporting an average of more than 1,000 daily deaths from the pandemic...

A dog of the French rescue team searches for survivors at the scene of this week's massive explosion in the port of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Three days after a massive explosion rocked Beirut, killing over a hundred people and causing widespread devastation, rescuers are still searching for survivors and the government is investigating what caused the disaster. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

The Latest: Trump says US help on way for Beirut disaster

Aug. 7, 2020 7:25 PM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — The latest on the explosion in Beirut (all times local): 2:20 a.m. President Donald Trump has spoken about the explosion in Beirut during calls with Lebanese President Michel Aoun and French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump said Friday that he told Aoun that three large aircraft filled with...

In this photo made from footage provided by the Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday, July 15, 2020, medical workers in protective gear prepare to draw blood from volunteers participating in a trial of a coronavirus vaccine at the Budenko Main Military Hospital outside Moscow, Russia. Russia is boasting that it’s about to be the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine, but scientists worldwide are sounding the alarm that the headlong rush could backfire. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Russia's race for virus vaccine raises concerns in the West

Aug. 7, 2020 7:11 AM EDT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia boasts that it’s about to become the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine, with mass vaccinations planned as early as October using shots that are yet to complete clinical trials -- and scientists worldwide are sounding the alarm that the headlong rush could backfire....

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, presides over an executive policy council meeting at the ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. Kim Jong Un directed his government agencies to act immediately to stabilize the livelihoods of residents in a city locked down over coronavirus concerns, state media reported Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads:

N. Korea's escalating virus response raises fear of outbreak

Aug. 6, 2020 4:36 AM EDT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea is quarantining thousands of people and shipping food and other aid to a southern city locked down over coronavirus worries, officials said, as the country’s response to a suspected case reinforces doubt about its longstanding claim to be virus-free. But amid...

This satellite image taken on Wednesday Aug. 5, 2020 shows the port of Beirut and the surrounding area in Lebanon following a massive explosion on Tuesday. Residents of Beirut confronted a scene of utter devastation a day after a massive explosion at the port rippled across the Lebanese capital, killing at least 100 people, wounding thousands and leaving entire city blocks blanketed with glass and rubble. (Planet Labs Inc. via AP)

The Latest: Australia pledges $1.4M for Beirut relief effort

Aug. 5, 2020 11:13 PM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the explosion in Beirut (all times local): 6 a.m. Thursday The Australian government has pledged an initial 2 million Australian dollars ($1.4 million) to the relief effort in Lebanon following the deadly blast that ripped across the capital Beirut. Prime Minister Scott...

A man wearing a face mask to protect against the new coronavirus walks by a mural depicting various cultural dance on display on a street in Beijing, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. Both mainland China and Hong Kong reported fewer new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday as strict measures to contain new infections appear to be taking effect. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

China, WHO in talks on plans to trace coronavirus origin

Aug. 4, 2020 6:56 AM EDT

BEIJING (AP) — China and the World Health Organization are discussing plans to trace the origin of the coronavirus outbreak following a visit to the country by two experts from the U.N. agency, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters the experts conducted...

A worker wearing a mask to protect against the coronavirus walks past space themed displays promoting an online service in Beijing, China on Monday, Aug. 3, 2020. An outbreak in China's far northwestern region of Xinjiang is continuing to subside. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

The Latest: Mainland China, Hong Kong report fewer new cases

Aug. 3, 2020 11:00 PM EDT

BEIJING — Both mainland China and Hong Kong reported fewer new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday as strict measures to contain new infections appear to be taking effect. Mainland China announced 36 new cases across the country, down from 43 the previous day. Of those, 28 were in the northwestern region of...

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