There's been plenty of head-scratching over at Omega Diagnostics, one of the biotech minnows whose share price has shot up on the back of its efforts to tackle the pandemic.

Singer and guitarist Russell Hastings thinks the Government should set up a social deprivation fund to help people who have lost income due to the coronavirus.

The Mail on Sunday today launches a £3million support package to help Britain's legion of small firms beat the coronavirus crisis.

Debenhams is battling with property giant Hammerson over its decision to hand five of the department store's beauty halls to rival Next last week, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

From this Wednesday, small business owners can apply for £3,000 of free advertising in DMGT's stable of newspapers.

Indian and Chinese soldiers were injured during a face-off along the boundary in north Sikkim, sources said.Four Indian soldiers and half a dozen of Chinese troops were injured during the confrontation on Saturday which took place at Naku La sector, ahead of Muguthang, a pass at a height of more than 5,000 metres, the sources added.In total, 150 soldiers were present when the confrontation took place, which was later resolved at the local level.The sources said that temporary and short duration face offs occur as boundaries are not resolved."Incidents of face off article took place. Aggressive behaviour and minor injuries took place from both sides. They were disengaged after dialogue and interaction at local level," they added.Troops resolve such issues mutually as per established protocols.This

Mangaluru, May 10 () The Yenepoya medical collegehospital at Deralakatte here has become the first privatehospital in Dakshina Kannada district to get coronavirus(COVID-19) testing approval.The laboratory at the hospital has received the nod fromthe Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to conduct testsfor COVID-19, a release here said.Dakshina Kannada will now have two centres forcoronavirus tests, the first one being the district Wenlockhospital, the designated hospital for Covid-19. ICMR has approved 33 testing centres in the state ofwhich 21 are government hospitals and 12 are privatehospitals. MVGAPRRAVINDRANATH MVGAPRRAVINDRANATH

New York, May 10 () Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg and Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House have joined hands to provide food to the city's healthcare workers and first responders.The Boston-based burger chain Wahlburgers - run by Wahlberg brothers, Mark, Donnie and Paul - has been shipping its patties to the steak house in Midtown to be cooked up, and the city's legendary firefighter themed sports bar Bravest have been helping deliver the meals."They wanted to honour the hospital workers and first responders," Gerard Fitzgerald, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, told Page Six.The meal deliveries started in Manhattan last week and end in Staten Island on Monday.The 'Jason Bourne' star said it was nice to help champion for someone else and give them the credit they deserve.

New Delhi, May 10 () Delhi recorded five more deaths due to coronavirus, while 381 fresh cases of the virus were reported, the city government said on Sunday.With the fresh cases, the virus tally in the nationalcapital has climbed to 6,923.Between midnight of May 8 and midnight of May 9, five fresh fatalities due to the virus were reported, taking the death toll to 73, the government said in its health bulletin.While there are 4,781 active cases of the virus in the city, 2069 patients have so far recovered from COVID-19. SLB DVDV

Justin Gaethje tormented Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 on Saturday.Fighting in front of a reduced UFC production crew and no fans, Gaethje put together the best MMA win of the year so far.Gaethje relied on in-and-out footwork, leg kicks, and striking so accurate and powerful that he brutalized his opponent's thighs and tore his face apart.Gaethje now only has one opponent he wants to wage war against — lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov. "I'm happy to represent the United States of America against Dagestan … Russia's best."Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.Justin Gaethje tortured Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 on Saturday, bringing an abrupt end to one of the most intimidating runs in mixed martial arts.Ferguson had been on a 12-fight winning streak which created one half of a salivating match-up

Dubai, May 10 () The first batch of 88 nurses from India arrived in the UAE to help the country's stretched healthcare professionals amid a surge in the number of COVID-19 infections in the Gulf nation that has crossed 17,000, according to media reports.The Ministry of Health and Prevention said the UAE reported 624 new cases on Saturday, taking the total number of infections to 17,417.The number of fatalities reached 185 after 11 deaths were reported on the day.The nurses, who are from Aster DM Healthcare hospitals in the states of Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra, will be put under quarantine for 14 days after which they will be assigned to various field hospitals as per requirement, the Khaleej Times reported.They arrived on a special flight at the Dubai airport on Saturday.India's Ambassador

Bhopal, May 10 () In a major administrativereshuffle amid the lockdown, the Madhya Pradesh government hastransferred 50 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers,including some additional chief secretaries, principalsecretaries and a former chief secretary.This is the first major bureaucratic rejig by theBJP-led state government since Shivraj Singh Chouhan becamechief minister in March this year.As per the order issued on Saturday night, formerchief secretary Gopal Reddy has been posted as chairman of therevenue board at Gwalior, I C P Keshari as vice chairman ofthe Narmada Valley Development Authority, Vinod Kumar asadditional chief secretary (ACS) of the general administrationdepartment and J N Kansotia as ACS of the animal husbandrydepartment, official sources said.Besides, Anupam Rajan

Shimla, May 10 () Himachal Pradesh reported two fresh cases of COVID-19, taking the total virus count in the state to 55, officials said on Sunday.Two people quarantined at Swarghat in Bilaspur district along the HP-Punjab border have tested positive, Bilaspur deputy commissioner Rajeswar Goel said. The two are taxi drivers and had recently ferried two families from Gujarat's Ahmedabad and Haryana's Gurgaon to their native places in Mandi and Kangra districts respectively.As the two showed symptoms during screening at the border, the two were quarantined and their samples were taken, he added.One of them is from Gujarat. They are being shifted to Nerchowk's Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College and Hospital (SLBSGMC) in Mandi, he added.Samples of their contacts will also be taken

New Delhi, May 10 () Former India opener Gautam Gambhir doesn't see major changes in the way cricket is played in the post COVID-19 scenario besides the ban on using saliva on the ball. The International Cricket Council is considering legalisation of the usage of artificial substances to shine the ball instead of saliva."I don't think a lot of rules and regulations will be changed, you can probably have an alternate for the usage of saliva – apart from that I don't think so many changes will happen," Gambhir told Star Sports. "Players and everyone else need to live with this virus; probably they have to get used to it that there is a virus and that it will be around. Players might end up catching it, and you got to live with it." Though social distancing is possible in cricket to a certain

Mumbai, May 10 () Nearly a month after recovering from the coronavirus, actor Zoa Morani says she has donated her blood plasma to do her bit in helping the patients currently suffering from the novel virus.The actor, who was quarantined and kept under medication in April, also urged those who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate their plasma."Donated my blood today for the Plasma therapy trials at Nair hospital. It was fascinating! Always a silver lining I suppose. The team there was so enthusiastic and careful. There was a general physician on standby just incase of emergency and the equipment brand new and safe (sic)," Zoa wrote on Instagram on Saturday.She thanked the doctors for taking care of her and hoped patients benefit from the donation."All #Covid19 recovered people can be a part

New Delhi, May 10 () Plans are in place to start outdoor training in premier centres in India later this month and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government had to tread a careful path to ensure that athletes remained free from COVID-19. Rijiju had already said that his ministry was devising a plan for a phased resumption of national camps for Olympic-bound athletes, starting with the athletes currently based at NIS Patiala and SAI Centre in Bengaluru by the end of this month. "A roadmap is being prepared. If something happens to top athletes it will be a set back and so we are careful and that's why there are no positive coronavirus cases for our athletes till now. Players are pride of our country and so we can't risk anything," Rijiju said. "Medical experts, technical committee are

New Delhi, May 10 () Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a review meeting with CEOs of public sector banks (PSBs) on Monday to discuss various issues, including credit offtake, as part of efforts to prop up the economy hit by the COVID-19 crisis. The meeting, to be held via video-conferencing, will also take stock of interest rate transmission to borrowers by banks and progress on moratorium on loan repayments, sources said. The RBI had on March 27 slashed the benchmark interest rate by a massive 75 basis points and also announced a three-month moratorium to be given by banks to provide relief to borrowers whose income has been hit due to the lockdown. Earlier this month, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das held a meeting with heads of both public and private sector banks to take stock

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a review meeting with CEOs of public sector banks (PSBs) on Monday to discuss various issues, including credit offtake, as part of efforts to prop up the economy hit by the COVID-19 crisis. The meeting, to be held via video-conferencing, will also take stock of interest rate transmission to borrowers by banks and progress on moratorium on loan repayments, sources said. The RBI had on March 27 slashed the benchmark interest rate by a massive 75 basis points and also announced a three-month moratorium to be given by banks to provide relief to borrowers whose income has been hit due to the lockdown. Earlier this month, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das held a meeting with heads of both public and private sector banks to take stock of the economic situation

Uttarkashi, May 10 () Uttarkashi on Sunday reported its first COVID-19 case, raising Uttarakhand's coronavirus tally to 68.Uttarkashi district falls in the green zone. The red, orange and green zone classification is based on the number of coronavirus cases, doubling rate of coronavirus cases, and the extent of testing and surveillance The man, who tested positive, hails from Dhanaripatti village in Dunda block and had returned recently from Surat in Gujarat, Chief Medical Officer DP Joshi said.Three persons who came along with him in separate two wheelers from Gujarat have been kept in isolation, he said, adding contact tracing is underway.The 32-year-old man's swab sample was tested at AIIMS, Rishikesh, Joshi said. Corr ALM DVDV

Los Angeles, May 10 () With many celebrities and even former president Barack Obama taking part in virtual graduation ceremonies in times of social distancing, actor Alec Baldwin's President Donald Trump turned keynote speaker for this year's class of seniors in the remotely filmed season finale of "Saturday Night Live".Kate McKinnon, who portrayed the principal of a fictitious school, mentioned that he was the class' eighth choice, behind such favourites as Obama, murder hornets and the "Elon Musk-Grimes baby"."Hello, everyone, I'm Principal O'Grady. Welcome to the St Mary Magdalene By The Expressway class of 2020 virtual graduation," she said in a video shared on "SNL" Twitter page."I know this isn't how you expected your high school career to come to an end, but we're all making sacrifices.

New Delhi, May 10 () The coronavirus lockdown has brought a sea change in the buying behaviour of many Indians, such as purchasing vegetables and other consumables without asking for prices, far from the old habit of asking 'dhaniya' or 'mirchi' free from vendors, according to a survey by Enormous Brands. The web-based survey, conducted between March 30 and April 22, took feedback from 3,737 respondents in cities including Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune and Ahmedabad. It found that there has also been a sharp increase in adoption of digital technology by older people to join the e-commerce bandwagon for ordering items like milk, grocery and home essentials and paying through wallets and UPI. The study also found that COVID–19 has helped in forming an opinion for pushing the

By Uzmi Athar New Delhi, May 10 () Several NGOs working in the disability sector are facing severe financial crunch as most of the funds and donations they would earlier get has been diverted towards tackling the COVID-19 crisis.Prashant Verma, general secretary, National Association for the Blind, says he could just pay 65 per cent salary to his employees in the last two months due to financial crunch and if no fresh donations are made he does not have any money to pay his 120 staff members this month."We feel as if we are at the end of the line," he told .Verma said his organisation used to get grants from many companies under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and even from individuals, especially during March as it was the end of the financial year."But this year we didn't get any money.

Mumbai, May 10 () An Air India flight landed here from London at 1.30 am on Sunday carrying 239 Indians from the UK who were stranded there due to suspension of commercial passenger air services and the subsequent lockdown, an official statement said. In addition to this, two more repatriation flights -- one each from Singapore and Manila ( Philippines) -- are expected to arrive in Mumbai on Sunday, it said. While the flight from Singapore (AI 343) will be carrying 243 passengers, the Manila-Mumbai flight (AI 387) would bring back 241 Indian nationals from the South East Asian country, as per the statement. "1st flight 2 #Mumbai landed- crew interaction less with the passengers. Protective kit was given 2 all-along with snack n meal kept on the seat beforehand. Next #quarantine. Watch

New Delhi, May 10 () Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said 75 per cent of COVID-19 cases in the city are asymptomatic or with mild symptoms.The chief minister said the government has also issued an order for requisition of ambulances of private hospitals, adding that the decision has been taken in the wake of shortage of state-run ambulances."They (private ambulances) will have to be pressed into service when the government requires their service," Kejriwal said while addressing an online media briefing.The government has made arrangements for treatment of those at their homes with mild COVID-19 symptoms in accordance with the Centre's guidelines."Out of 6,923 COVID-19 patients, only 1,476 are admitted at hospitals, rest getting treatment at their homes and COVID-19 centres,"

Amaravati, May 10 (): The Chennai Koyambedu connectionhad a clear reflection on the number of fresh coronaviruscases in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday as the border districts ofChittoor and SPS Nellore reported 16 and five in the last 24hours as the states overall tally shot up by 50 to 1,980. The official bulletin showed one fresh Covid-19 death inKurnool district and put the overall count at 45, as the onefatality reported in Vizianagaram on Saturday was not added tothe table.Over 160 people with contacts to people who returned fromthe Koyambedu wholesale market in Chennai were traced inChittoor district and tests so far revealed 27 COVID-19positive cases in the last two days, official sources heresaid. With the fresh additions, the number of active cases inChittoor rose to 38.SPS Nellores

Sales rise 7.66% to Rs 172.38 crore

Around 224 Indians stranded in the US due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown are preparing to board the first repatriation flight from San Francisco to Mumbai and Hyderabad on Saturday. In the first phase of the US-India segment of the 'Operation Vande Bharat- A homecoming', flights have been planned from San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Washington DC to New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Bengaluru. As many as 1,961 Indians are likely to be repatriated through seven flights from the four cities in the first phase, officials said. More than 24,000 Indians stranded in the US have expressed their interest in travelling back home abroad the special Air India flights. The first of the series of special Air India flight carrying 224 Indian nationals is scheduled to fly from San Francisco on Saturday night. Over the next one week, as many as 1,961 Indians are likely to be repatriated through seven flights from four different cities. According to Indian Embassy ...

The UK government on Saturday announced a once in a generation transport sector investment of around 2 billion pound, with a major chunk ear-marked for emergency improvements to cycling and walking infrastructure for the country's green recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps made the announcement during the daily 10 Downing Street briefing, during which he also revealed the official death toll in hospitals and the wider community from COVID-19 as 31,587. The Cabinet minister said the new investment in transport looks ahead into the future to ensure the public is supported to use more greener travel options and avoid overcrowding in public transport as travel restrictions are gradually eased in the coming weeks. "Whilst it's crucial that we stay at home, when the country does get back to work we need to ask those people to carry on cycling or walking and for them to be joined by many others as well," he said. The minister also said the move beyond ..

At least six security personnel, including an Army major, were killed when a roadside bomb struck a patrol vehicle in southwestern Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, close to the border with Iran. The Army on Friday said in a statement that a vehicle of paramilitary Frontier Corps was targeted through a remote-controlled improvised explosive device (IED) in Kech district's Buleda area, about 14 km from the Iran border. A major and five soldiers were killed while one soldier was injured, according to the Army. Baloch militants on Saturday claimed responsibility for the attack. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) in a statement said the roadside bomb was planted by its operatives and it will continue its struggle until the establishment of an independent homeland and a free society". BLA is a banned entity in Pakistan. It was also declared a terrorist group by the US in 2019. Security sources said the route where the explosion took place was monitored round the clock because of ...

Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has sought Pakistan's support for reducing violence in Afghanistan and accelerate the intra-Afghan dialogue, the US Embassy here said on Saturday. Khalilzad discussed the Afghanistan peace process with Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday. During the discussion, he also asked for help to secure the release of American navy veteran-turned contractor Mark Frerichs, who went missing in Afghanistan. The embassy said Khalilzad discussed the ongoing efforts by the US to advance the Afghan peace process. He "sought Pakistan's support in pressing for a reduction in violence, the immediate start of intra-Afghan negotiations, and assistance in helping obtain the freedom of American Mark Frerichs", it said. The embassy noted that Pakistan's military leaders reaffirmed their support for the US efforts. Earlier, the Pakistan Army in a statement on Friday said during the meeting between ...

US regulators have approved a new type of coronavirus test that administration officials have promoted as a key to opening up the country. The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday announced emergency authorization for antigen tests developed by Quidel Corporation of San Diego. The test can rapidly detect fragments of virus proteins in samples collected from swabs swiped inside the nasal cavity, the FDA said in a statement. The antigen test is the third type of test to be authorized by the FDA. Currently, the only way to diagnose active COVID-19 is to test a patient's nasal swab for the genetic material of the virus. While considered highly accurate, the tests can take hours and require expensive, specialized equipment mainly found at commercial labs, hospitals or universities. A second type looks in the blood for antibodies, the proteins produced by the body days or weeks after fighting an infection. Such tests are helpful for researchers to understand how far a disease has spread

Italy said a near-record 4,008 people were released from hospitals in the past day after testing negative for COVID-19 as the country continues its cautious reopening after a two-month national lockdown. Another 1,083 people tested positive, half of them in hard-hit Lombardy, bringing Italy's confirmed number of cases to 218,268. Officials said the real number is as much as 10 times that. Another 194 people died, one of the lowest day-to-day death tolls in recent weeks. The confirmed COVID-19 toll in the onetime European epicenter is 30,395. Another 134 intensive care beds were freed up, bringing the total number close to 1,000. At the height of the outbreak, there were more than 4,000 people in ICUs, and the wards in Lombardy were nearly saturated.

Turkey reported 50 new COVID-19 deaths and 1,546 fresh cases on Saturday as it prepared steps to return to normal life. Total fatalities stand at 3,739, while infections number 137,115. According to figures posted on Twitter by Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, 89,480 patients have recovered. Shopping malls, barber shops, hairdressers and beauty salons will open for business on Monday as Turkey starts easing restrictions. Meanwhile, one of Turkey's biggest soccer clubs, Besiktas, announced a player and a club employee had tested positive for the new coronavirus. Earlier this week, the Turkish Football Federation said matches behind closed doors would resume next month, prompting the resumption of limited training sessions.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk threatened Saturday to pull the company's factory and headquarters out of California in an escalating spat with local officials who have stopped the company from reopening its electric vehicle factory. On Twitter, Musk also threatened to sue over Alameda County Health Department coronavirus restrictions that have stopped Tesla from restarting production its factory in Fremont south of San Francisco. Frankly, this is the final straw, he tweeted. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately. He wrote that whether the company keeps any manufacturing in Fremont depends on how Tesla is treated in the future. Musk has been ranting about the stay-home order since the company's April 29 first-quarter earnings were released, calling the restrictions fascist and urging governments to stop taking people's freedom. An order in the six-county San Francisco Bay Area forced Tesla to close the Fremont plant starting March 23 to help prevent the virus'

A fire at a Moscow hospital treating people infected by the new coronavirus killed one patient and forced the evacuation of about 200 others. News reports said the fire at the facility in the northern part of the city has been extinguished. No cause was immediately determined for the fire, which affected a ward of the hospital that had been repurposed for treating victims of the new coronavirus. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed reports that a patient had died and said those evacuated would be transferred to other hospitals. It was not clear how many of the evacuees were suffering from COVID-19.

At least two people have died in separate avalanches in northern Italy on the first weekend Italians have been allowed to venture far afield after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. The Trento Alpine Rescue service said the body of one man was found late Saturday on the Folgaria plateau after an avalanche separated him from his dog. The pet was found unharmed. At the ski resort of Cortina, the body of a skier was found after a separate avalanche. His brother was rescued, the ANSA news agency said. Italian authorities closed ski lifts early on in Italy's lockdown and they remain closed, but skiers can still venture out on ungroomed, unmarked terrain.

Fighting between forces loyal to rival governments over Libya's capital intensified Saturday with heavy artillery shelling hitting the sole functioning airport in Tripoli, setting jet fuel tanks ablaze and damaging passenger planes, authorities in west Libya and the UN said. The Tripoli-based Transportation Ministry said one of the damaged aircraft had been scheduled to leave Tripoli to bring back Libyans stranded in Spain by the coronavirus lockdown. It blamed east-based forces fighting to take the capital for over a year for the attack. Libya has been in turmoil since 2011, when a civil war toppled long-time dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. The country has since split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each backed by armed groups and foreign countries. Brega Petroleum Marketing Company said the shelling at Mitiga airport set its jet fuel tanks on fire. The company, which is part of Libya's National Oil Corporation, shared footage of apparent ...

Former President Barack Obama harshly criticized President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic as an absolute chaotic disaster during a conversation with ex-members of his administration. Obama also reacted to the Justice Department dropping its criminal case against Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, saying he worried that the basic understanding of rule of law is at risk. More than 78,400 people with COVID-19 have died in the United States and more than 1.3 million people have tested positive, according to the latest estimates from the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Obama's comments came during a Friday call with 3,000 members of the Obama Alumni Association, people who served in his administration. Obama urged his supporters to back his former vice president, Joe Biden, who is trying to unseat Trump in the Nov. 3 election. What we're fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish, being

South Korea's capital closed down more than 2,100 bars and other nightspots Saturday because of a new cluster of coronavirus infections, Germany scrambled to contain fresh outbreaks at slaughterhouses, and Italian authorities worried that people were getting too friendly at cocktail hour during the country's first weekend of eased restrictions. The new flareups and fears of a second wave of contagion underscored the dilemma authorities face as they try to reopen their economies. Around the world, the US and other hard-hit countries are wrestling with how to ease curbs on business and public activity without causing the virus to come surging back. In New York, the deadliest hot spot in the US, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said three children died from a possible complication of the coronavirus involving swollen blood vessels and heart problems. At least 73 children statewide have been diagnosed with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease a rare inflammatory condition and toxic shock syndrome. ..

Two members of the White House coronavirus task force placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, another stark reminder that not even one of the nation's most secure buildings is immune from the virus. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will be teleworking for the next two weeks" after it was determined he had a low risk exposure" to a person at the White House, the CDC said in a statement Saturday evening. The statement said he felt fine and has no symptoms. Just a few hours earlier, the Food and Drug Administration confirmed that FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn had come in contact with someone who tested positive and was in self-quarantine for the next two weeks. He tested negative for the virus. Both men were scheduled to testify before a Senate committee on Tuesday, along with infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, also a task force member. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the ...

South Korea reported 34 additional cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours as a spate of transmissions linked to clubgoers threatens the country's hard-won gains in its fight against the virus. Figures released Sunday by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention increased national totals to 10,874 with 256 deaths. The agency said 9,610 have recovered and 10,128 others were undergoing tests to determine whether they've contracted the virus. The agency said a tentative assessment showed 26 of the 34 new patients were locally transmitted cases, while the rest were imported. South Korean media reported it was the first time that South Korea's daily jump has marked above 30 in about a month. The agency didn't immediately provide further details. But most of the new cases in the past few days were linked to nightclubs in Seoul's Itaewon entertainment neighborhood. Officials on Friday said they detected at least 15 infections linked to a 29-year-old man who had visited three ...

The coronavirus in Japan has brought not just an epidemic of infections, but also an onslaught of bullying and discrimination against the sick, their families and health workers. A government campaign to raise awareness seems to be helping, at least for medical workers. But it's made only limited headway in countering the harassment and shunning that may be discouraging people from seeking testing and care and hindering the battle against the pandemic. When Arisa Kadono tested positive and was hospitalized in early April, she was only identified as a woman in her 20s in food business. Soon, friends let her know that groundless rumours were circulating: that the family-run bar she helps with was a hotbed of virus; that she had dined with a popular baseball player who was infected earlier but she has never met; that she was sneaking out of the hospital and spreading the virus. It was as if I was a criminal, Kadono said in an interview from her home in Himeji, western Japan, after ending

China has reported 14 new coronavirus cases including one from the first COVID-19 epicentre of Hubei province, taking the number of infections in the country to 82,901, while over 4,630 people have succumbed to the disease, health officials said on Sunday. According to China's National Health Commission (NHC), 12 cases were domestically transmitted, with 11 reported from Jilin Province and one in Hubei Province, the first COVID-19 epicentre which has remained free from coronavirus infections for the last 35 days. A total of 14 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in the country on Saturday. Also on Saturday, 20 new asymptomatic cases were reported. As of Saturday, 794 asymptomatic cases, including 48 from overseas, were still under medical observation, the NHC said. Hubei province has 628 asymptomatic cases, the highest in the country. Asymptomatic cases refer to people who are tested COVID-19 positive but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. However, they ...

Three members of the White House coronavirus task force, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, another stark reminder that not even one of the nation's most secure buildings is immune from the virus. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a leading member of the task force, has become nationally known for his simple and direct explanations to the public about the coronavirus and COVID-19, the disease it causes. Also quarantining are Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Stephen Hahn. Fauci's institute said that he has tested negative for COVID-19 and will continue to be tested regularly. It added that he is considered at relatively low risk based on the degree of his exposure, and that he would be taking appropriate precautions" to mitigate the risk to ...

Raul Luis Lopez never had the chance to say goodbye. Lopez was hospitalised for COVID-19 on April 3 before succumbing nearly three weeks later. The 39-year-old native of Oaxaca, Mexico, suffered from diabetes which worsened his illness. The day he left for treatment was the last time his wife, Sara Cruz, saw him. Now Lopez's family, clad in surgical masks and gloves, was gathered in the widow's living room in the Corona neighbourhood of Queens, New York, around a black box of his cremated remains. A rendering of the Virgin of Guadalupe, patroness of Mexico and the Americas, watched over his ashes on a table beside flowers and prayer candles. The Rev. Fabian Arias, a Catholic priest from Buenos Aires, Argentina, is the pastor of Iglesia de Sion, a congregation with a mission relationship alongside Saint Peter's Church in Manhattan, and has performed funeral services 14 times in the last two months. Saturday's service for Lpez was the first he's been able to perform in a private ...

The US PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament will use radio frequency identification (RFID) chips in spectator badges to ensure fans maintain social distance at the July 16-19 event, Golf Digest reported. Dan Sullivan, director of the tournament hosted by 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus in Ohio, said on Saturday a Zoom presentation conducted by the Greater Columbus Sports Commission that the high-tech badges were just one measure that will be used to maintain safety amid the coronavirus pandemic. "At any time we can know around the golf course how many people are collecting in a certain area," Sullivan said of the benefits of the tracking technology. "We're going to use that technology to make sure that we're protecting everyone around us, protecting the folks that are inside those various venues and make sure that we're monitoring effectively and producing a tournament that everyone can be comfortable with." In a phone interview with Golf Digest Sullivan explained that a small group of

French tennis chief Bernard Guidicelli admitted Sunday that Roland Garros, already controversially pushed back four months due to the coronavirus, could be staged behind closed doors. Guidicelli, who said that the French federation (FFT) had "no regrets" over its unilateral decision to move the clay court Grand Slam from May 24-June 7 to September 20-October 4, insisted all options remain on the table. "We haven't ruled out any option. Roland Garros is first and foremost a story of matches and players," he told the Journal du Dimanche. "There is the tournament taking place in the stadium, and the tournament on TV screens. "Millions of viewers around the world are waiting. Organising it behind closed doors would allow part of the business model -- television rights (which account for more than a third of the tournament's revenues) -- to go ahead. This cannot be overlooked." The spread of the coronavirus has halted all tennis since mid-March and will not resume until July 13 at the ...

Mary Pratt, believed to be one of the last surviving members of the women's baseball league which was celebrated in the Hollywood film "A League of Their Own," has died. She was 101. The baseball icon Pratt pitched in the 1940s for the Rockford Peaches, one of the original teams in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She was the last surviving member of the Peaches. She died peacefully in her sleep at the John Scott Nursing home in Quincy, Massachusetts. "We are terribly sad to report that former Rockford Peaches and Kenosha Comets pitcher, Mary Pratt passed away on May 6th. She was 101 years old," the AAGPBL wrote on its Twitter account. "Mary was the last known original Peaches player that played on the 1943 team. Her stories, her energy will be missed for a long time." The league was immortalized in the 1992 film which was directed by Penny Marshall and starred Tom Hanks and Geena Davis. Born in 1918 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Pratt joined the inaugural season of

Former New Zealand head coach and current England defence chief John Mitchell believes some good may come for rugby union from the coronavirus if it creates "greater professionalism" thanks to a concentration of talent at fewer clubs worldwide, including Super Rugby. Even before COVID-19 saw this year's edition of Super Rugby suspended after seven rounds in March, there was a widespread view the southern hemisphere's now 15-string premier club tournament had become increasingly unattractive for fans and broadcasters alike, with talent spread too thinly. The pandemic has already had a huge financial impact on rugby and there are concerns current club structures won't survive the outbreak fully intact. England's Rugby Football Union has lost ?15 million ($19 million) so far due to the crisis, with Twickenham chiefs forecasting a total loss of ?107 million if the autumn internationals are cancelled. Meanwhile Rugby Australia, already reeling after reaching a multi-million dollar ...

U2 frontman Bono believes the future of live gigs looks "very different" as the world struggles to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. According to Contactmusic, the singer said drive-in shows can be a successful alternative as there is a possibility to maintain social distancing. "I think it will be very different for a while. I heard discussion of sort of drive-in type shows. "Outside the stadiums, you have these big (parking lots) -- so setting up drive-ins, where you have bands playing live from their rehearsal rooms," Bono said. The 59-year-old singer, whose real name is Paul David Hewson, is happy that his band was able to finish of its tour before the lockdown. "We haven't learned to phone in our shows. They're full-tilt for us," he said.