The number of confirmed Covid-19 deaths in the UK shot up this week to more than 26,000, as fatalities outside hospitals are included in daily official figures for the first time.
The total reached by the new method of reporting is around 17% higher than previous data showed, and includes an additional 3,811 deaths recorded since the start of the outbreak. Of these, around 70% were outside hospital settings.
As scientists worldwide seek coronavirus cures, experts in the US are exploring using female sex hormones as a treatment to boost men’s chances of surviving Covid-19.
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According to figures from the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), men are twice as likely to die from the disease than women in all older age groups.
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Officials in the US say they have “clear-cut” evidence that an existing antiviral drug can cut the duration of coronavirus symptoms. Clinical trials in hospitals worldwide found that remdesivir, originally developed as a treatment for Ebola, reduced Covid-19 recovery times by an average of four days.
However, experts have warned that remdesivir is not a “magic bullet” for the disease, despite reports that the US Food and Drug Administration is planning to announce an emergency-use authorisation for the drug.
In non-coronavirus-related news, Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) has announced that the kingdom is to abolish the death penalty for citizens who commit crimes as minors. News of the royal decree came just two days after the country’s General Commission for the Supreme Court effectively abolished flogging as a punishment.
Back in the UK, meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds announced the birth of their son. The baby was born at a London hospital on Wednesday.
