China has released genome data for the coronavirus found in a new outbreak in Beijing, which state experts suggest share similarities to European strains, as the number of cases neared 200 on Friday.
Tens of thousands of people in the Chinese capital are being tested for the contagion while neighborhoods have been locked down and schools closed as authorities seek to contain a cluster linked to the Xinfadi food market.
Chinese authorities shared the genome data of the latest outbreak with the World Health Organization and international scientific community.
Initial findings suggest it “came from Europe” but is different from what is currently spreading there, said Zhang Yong of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“It is older than the virus currently circulating in Europe,” Zhang said in a report published by the Communist Party’s anti-corruption watchdog on Friday.
Zhang raised the possibility of the virus lurking in imported frozen food or in the wholesale market itself, resulting in similarities to older strains.
The virus had been detected on chopping boards used to handle imported salmon at the market.
Shortage of monkeys and weekends
Inside one of the Chinese labs racing to create a coronavirus vaccine, researchers work weekends, lab monkeys are in short supply and plans are being made for human trials abroad.
Yisheng Biopharma, a company based in the northeastern city of Shenyang, has been working non-stop since January to find the silver bullet against the disease that emerged in China late last year.
A resurgence of cases in Beijing – after China had largely brought the virus under control – has highlighted the urgency for the world to find a vaccine against the coronavirus, which has killed more than 450,000 people around the world.
Tests on mice and rabbits had shown good results, giving the animals high levels of neutralizing antibodies.
The next step will be to test it on monkeys, which have become expensive due to high demand from labs testing an array of COVID-19 antibody drugs and vaccines, according to Yisheng chief executive David Shao.
Fauci predicts no more US lockdowns
The United States does not need more widespread lockdowns to bring its COVID-19 outbreak under control, despite the fact that the national daily infection rate has stayed flat, leading government expert Anthony Fauci said Thursday.
Speaking to AFP, the physician-scientist added he was optimistic the world would soon have a vaccine that would end the pandemic, calling early trial results “encouraging.”
“I don’t think we’re going to be talking about going back to lockdown,” he said when asked whether places like California and Texas that are seeing a surge in their caseload should reissue stay-at-home orders.
The US leads the world in the number of confirmed infections and in deaths, with the fatality toll approaching 120,000.
UK unveils $1.2b schools ‘catch-up’ plan
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday said English schools would receive $1.2 billion in funding to help pupils catch up after missing months of classes due to the coronavirus.
The financial boost comes as his government faces withering criticism over its broken pledge to have all primary school children back for a month before the summer holidays.
It is also struggling to get all pupils back for the new academic year in September if social distancing rules requiring people to keep two metres apart remain in force.
“This catch-up package will help head teachers to provide extra support to children who have fallen behind while out of school,” Johnson said.
Yoga against coronavirus
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extolled yoga as a way of building a “protective shield” of immunity against the coronavirus, as his nation battles a surge in infections.
Modi, a keen yoga practitioner who has long espoused the benefits of the ancient Indian practice, gave the advice in a YouTube message ahead of World Yoga Day on Sunday.
“We all know that until now nowhere in the world have they been able to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 or coronavirus,” Modi said.
“Which is why right now, only a strong immunity can act as a protective shield or a bodyguard for us and our family members… yoga is our trusted friend in building this protective shield (of immunity).”
The Indian leader, a teetotal vegetarian, set up a ministry to promote yoga, Ayurveda and other traditional Indian treatments when he came to power in 2014.