Scientists at the University of Oxford said they have identified the first drug proven to reduce coronavirus-related deaths, after a 6,000-patient trial of the drug in Britain showed that a low-cost steroid could reduce deaths significantly for hospitalized patients. The steroid, dexamethasone, reduced deaths by a third in patients receiving ventilation, and by a fifth in patients receiving only oxygen treatment.
Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has announced that the number of coronavirus cases are expected to double within next two weeks and can reach 1.2 million cases by the end of July. The minister also said that testing capacity by the end of July will be increased to 100,000 tests daily from 30,000 daily tests currently.
A day after PML-N Secretary-General, Ahsan Iqbal tested positive for COVID-19, Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif has also tested positive for the virus. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president has quarantined himself at his residence in Model Town, Lahore. A PML-N leader claimed that Shehbaz had not met anyone except for his appearance before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on June 9.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said Pakistan has been ranked among the top 10 countries in the world reporting the highest number of new cases of Covid-19. In a letter to the four provinces, WHO stated Pakistan did not meet any of the prerequisites for opening of the lockdown and advised to observe a strict two-week lockdown.
Norwegian scientist Birger Sørensen’s claim that novel coronavirus was lab made have been dismissed by scientific and intelligence experts. Sørensen and British professor Angus Dalgleish claimed the coronavirus’s spike protein contains sequences that appear to be artificially inserted. Virologists, however, note that similar sections appear naturally in other viruses. Intelligence sources from Britain’s MI5 dismissed the idea as “rumor and conspiracy”.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that asymptomatic patients is of coronavirus rarely transmit the disease. During a press briefing, head of WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, said spread from asymptomatic and presymptomatic people does occur, but recommended focusing on tracing and isolating symptomatic people to better attack the outbreak.
Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Railway Minister Sheikh Rasheed, have both tested positive for the coronavirus. The ex Prime Minister and PTI minister are currently quarantined in their houses. On Sunday, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Sharjeel Memon also tested positive for the contagion. Memon is currently under self-isolation as well.
Norwegian scientist Birger Sørensen has claimed the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is not natural in origin. The study from Sørensen and British professor Angus Dalgleish show that the coronavirus’s spike protein contains sequences that appear to be artificially inserted. They also highlight the lack of mutation since its discovery, which suggests it was already fully adapted to humans.
Hit hard by the Coronavirus, British luxury carmaker Bentley Motors has decided to shed up to 1,000 jobs, nearly a quarter of its workforce. The company has a total workforce of 4,200 and said it was offering voluntary redundancy terms but could not rule out compulsory redundancies. The firm faces hundreds of millions of pounds of deferred or lost revenue due to the pandemic.
Over 100 shops were sealed in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad for violating the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the Punjab government. In addition to shops, two commercial centres, 22 industrial units were also sealed in the twin cities. Administration officials state that severity and frequency of raids would increase with each coming day in order to stop the spread of Coronavirus.