GENEVA – A total of 152 countries and regions have reported 167,511 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as of Monday morning, an increase of 13,903 infections compared to the previous day, according to a daily situation report released by the World Health Organization... Read More
UNITED NATIONS – UN teams around the world are working with national authorities to meet health priorities in the battle against the coronavirus outbreak and address broader social and economic impacts, a UN spokesman said on Monday.Different UN entities are fast-tracking procurement of... Read More
ANKARA – Governments need to improve precautions about the spread, diagnosis, and treatment of the coronavirus, World Health Organization’s (WHO) senior spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told Anadolu Agency on Monday.Chaib said emergency systems will be ready, but the capacity for diagnosis and... Read More
BEIJING – Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone talk with Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Sunday saying China is willing to do its utmost to help the Philippines fight against coronavirus disease (Covid-19).On behalf of the Philippine side, Locsin... Read More
MOSCOW/TORONTO — The number of confirmed cases of the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) in Canada jumped by more than 30 percent in a single day, according to health agency data. Canada now has 138 confirmed cases after 35 were reported on Thursday.On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin... Read More
ROME – Italy will close all its shops, bars, restaurants and main commercial activities except essential services in its latest effort to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte made the key announcement late Wednesday in a speech to the nation after the death... Read More
DA NANG – The economic ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) on Wednesday released a joint statement, vowing to work together to deal with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) which World Health Organization declared “a global pandemic”.The economic... Read More
WASHINGTON — The US will restrict all travel from Europe with the exception of the UK starting later this week in an effort to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday evening.Addressing the nation from the Oval Office, Trump said the... Read More
Award-winning American actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson have tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) amid the ongoing global outbreak of the disease. Hanks posted a statement on his Instagram account.Hanks and Wilson were in Australia for the pre-production of Baz... Read More
BEIJING — The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday characterized the Covid-19 outbreak as a pandemic.As the world is striving to push back the pandemic, it must be fully aware of the lurking danger of pan-panic.Already, the daily update of the fast-growing number of new infections and... Read More
WASHINGTON – The United Nations (UN) announced on Tuesday it will be closing its New York City headquarters to the public "out of an abundance of caution" because of the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). The international body earlier decided to reduce the number of staff... Read More
WASHINGTON – At least 12 US states have declared states of emergency so far over the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak as global cases exceed 110,000.On Feb. 29, the US reported the first death from the novel coronavirus in the country, in Washington state.On March 2, the governor... Read More
ANKARA – Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in China’s central Wuhan city on Tuesday morning, his first visit since the city shot to global infamy last December as the epicenter of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak.According to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency,... Read More
GENEVA – Of the around 80,000 reported cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in China, more than 70 percent have recovered and been discharged, the chief of World Health Organization (WHO) said here Monday.Among the countries with the most cases, China is bringing its epidemic under... Read More
BRUSSELS — The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that the novel coronavirus has got a foothold in so many countries and the threat of a pandemic has become very real.His words came as Cyprus confirmed its first two Covid-19 cases, which means all EU members have... Read More
SHARJAH, UAE – The success of public communications is not the sole responsibility of the government but also lies with multiple stakeholders from across various sectors.Speaking during the opening session of the International Government Communication Forum (IGCF 2020) here on March 4, Ruler... Read More
ANKARA – More than 290 million students have been affected by school closures across 13 countries amid efforts to curb the coronavirus outbreak, the UN said Thursday.“While temporary school closures as a result of health and other crises are not new unfortunately, the global scale and... Read More
TEHRAN – A member of Iran's Expediency Council died Monday from coronavirus disease 2019 (CoVid-19), according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).Mohammad Mirmohammadi, 76, lost his life from the virus at a hospital in the capital Tehran, IRNA said.Mirmohammadi was a former... Read More
ANKARA – North Korea has launched "projectiles" past its coast for the first time in 2020, media reports said Monday.According to a statement by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), Pyongyang fired two unidentified short-range projectiles into the East Sea, Yonhap news reported.North... Read More
WUHAN – Central China's Hubei Province, where the novel coronavirus outbreak was most severe, has received over 13 billion yuan (around USD1.86 billion) in donations by Saturday, local authorities said Sunday.The donation includes 6.76 billion yuan directed to the provincial level and 4.63... Read More
The Philippine News Agency is a web-based newswire service of the Philippine government under the supervision of the News and Information Bureau (NIB) of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).