Global Covid cases nearing 37.9m
Tuesday, 13 October 2020
The overall number of global coronavirus cases was nearing the 37.9 million mark, while the deaths have soared to more than 1,080,000, according to the worldometer tally.
As of Monday night, the total number of cases stood at 37,889,262 and the fatalities increased to 1,083,144, according to the latest update.
The US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 7,761,637 and 214,767, respectively, report agencies.
India comes in second place in terms of cases at 7,053,806, while the country's death toll soared to 108,334.
Brazil currently accounts for the second highest number of fatalities at 150,488.
The countries with a death toll above 10,000 are Mexico (83,781), the UK (42,915), Italy (36,166), Peru (33,223), Spain (32,929), France (32,601), Iran (28,544), Colombia (27,834), Argentina (23,868), Russia (22,471), South Africa (17,780), Chile (13,272), Ecuador (12,191), Indonesia (11,844) and Belgium (10,175).
As scientists scramble to find a vaccine, they have also been scouring readily available drugs that might alleviate symptoms caused by the Covid-19 disease.
South Korean drugmaker Celltrion Inc said on Monday it has received regulatory approval for Phase 3 clinical trials of an experimental Covid-19 treatment.
The approval comes as the company plans to seek conditional approval for its antibody drug, CT-P59, for emergency use by the end of this year.
The treatment, the most advanced antibody drug in terms of research in South Korea, is directed against the surface of the virus and designed to block it from locking on to human cells.
In Hong Kong, scientists announced on Monday that an affordable anti-microbial drug used to treat stomach ulcers and bacterial infections has shown promise in combatting the coronavirus in animals.
Researchers set out to explore whether metallodrugs - compounds containing metal that are more commonly used against bacteria - might also have anti-viral properties that could fight the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
Using Syrian hamsters as tests subjects, they found that one of the drugs, ranitidine bismuth citrate (RBC), was "a potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 agent".
"RBC is able to lower the viral load in the lung of the infected hamster by tenfold," Hong Kong University researcher Runming Wang told reporters on Monday.