covid19

Doctor's Note: Why Are Smokers More Vulnerable To Coronavirus? A doctor explains why smokers are more likely to contract respiratory illnesses. Smoking is one of the leading causes of death in the world, killing more than  eight million  people a year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Now, it is thought that smoking may also make people more vulnerable to developing serious complications if they catch coronavirus. In the United Kingdom, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, has  said : "It is abundantly clear from the research into previous coronaviruses that smoking makes the impact of a coronavirus worse." We do know that smokers contract more  respiratory illnesses , including the common cold which is also a coronavirus, than non-smokers. They also tend to have a higher rate of  bacterial pneumonia   and tuberculosis. During the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak in 2012, smokers were found to be  more ...

How will the coronavirus pandemic change Ramadan for Muslims? Traditional Ramadan lanterns on display for sale at a stall in the run-up to Ramadan at Al Khayamia street in old Cairo, Egypt [Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters] Muslims around the world will observe the holy month of Ramadan under lockdown and tight restrictions due to the coronavirus outbreak that has paralysed entire countries. Ramadan is the holiest month for Muslims, in which they fast during daylight hours, congregate for prayers and share meals as a community. But with strict curfews and physical distancing directives enforced to limit the spread of the highly contagious COVID-19 disease, many of Ramadan's rituals and traditions will be curtailed this year. "I can't remember anything like this happening before," Mohd Faizal Musa, a research fellow at the National University of Malaysia's Institute of the Malay World and Civilization (ATMA), told Al Jazeera. "There was World War I...

Coronavirus pandemic will cause global famines of 'biblical proportions,' UN warns The world is facing multiple famines of "biblical proportions" in just a matter of months, the UN has said, warning that the coronavirus pandemic will push an additional 130 million people to the brink of starvation. Famines could take hold in "about three dozen countries" in a worst-case scenario, the executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP) said in a stark address on Tuesday. Ten of those countries already have more than 1 million people on the verge of starvation, he said. He cited conflict, an economic recession, a decline in aid and a collapse in oil prices as factors likely to lead to vast food shortages, and urged swift action to avert disaster. "While dealing with a Covid-19 pandemic, we are also on the brink of a hunger pandemic," David Beasley told the UN's security council. "There is also a real danger that more people c...

With weekend lockdowns and age-specific restrictions, Turkey takes a different coronavirus approach Taksim Square's flocks of resident pigeons, normally waddling around with full bellies thanks to cups of grains that children toss at them, swoop unhindered straight at the heads of the few passers by, mostly policemen and media. It feels more like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's horror thriller "The Birds" than one of Istanbul's most crowded squares, normally teeming with Turks and tourists alike. Then again, nothing about the impact Covid-19 is having across the globe is normal or familiar. Last weekend, the Turkish government implemented a 48 hour curfew for 31 provinces, impacting three quarters of Turkey's population. And while critics of the government have been calling for these types of severe measures to curb the rise of Covid-19, the initial outcome was disastrous. The curfew was announced just two hours before it was to go in...

Protests Are Popping Up Across The US Over Stay-At-Home Restrictions Protesters gathered in several state capitals this week to voice their opposition to stay at home orders issued to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Michigan Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina and Utah  states led by both Republican and Democratic governors have all seen protests in recent days as people grow more concerned about the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. "A small segment of the state is protesting and that's their right," Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, told CNN. People are getting "stir crazy" at home, she said, and they're worried about paying the bills. "The sad part is, though, that the more they're out and about, the more likely they are to spread Covid-19," Whitmer said, "and the more likely we're going to have to take this posture for a longer period of time." Protesters i...