Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
WHO Reports Covid Fading Globally, But People Are Still Dying
AP: WHO: COVID Deaths Jump By 40%, But Cases Falling Globally
The number of people killed by the coronavirus surged by more than 40% last week, likely due to changes in how COVID-19 deaths were reported across the Americas and by newly adjusted figures from India, according to a World Health Organization report released Wednesday. In its latest weekly report on the pandemic, the U.N. health agency said the number of new coronavirus cases fell everywhere, including in WHO’s Western Pacific region, where they had been rising since December. (3/30)
Bloomberg: South Africa’s Coronavirus Death Toll Passes Grim Milestone
South Africa’s official death toll from the coronavirus has passed the 100,000 mark, a week after the country relaxed almost all restrictions in response to a decline in new infections. An additional 44 deaths from the disease have been reported, bringing the total to 100,020, the National Institute of Communicable Diseases said in a statement on Wednesday. Still, the actual number of Covid-19 related deaths may be triple that toll, studies by the South African Medical Research Council that track the number of deaths above the historical norm show. (Kew, 3/30)
In other global news —
AP: St. Jude Accepts 2nd Group Of Ukrainian Cancer Patients
A second group of Ukrainian children with cancer has arrived for treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee after they fled with their families from the war in their home country, the hospital said. Four children ages 6 to 17 and their 11 family members arrived at the Memphis hospital Monday after a flight on a chartered medical transport airplane departing from Poland, St. Jude said in a news release late Tuesday. (Sainz, 3/30)
AP: UK Maternity Scandal Review Finds 200 Avoidable Baby Deaths
A review into a scandal-hit British hospital group concluded Wednesday that persistent failures in maternity care contributed to the avoidable deaths of more than 200 babies over two decades. The review began in 2018 after two families that had lost their babies in the care of Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust in western England campaigned for an inquiry. (Lawless, 3/30)
AP: The Wanted Singer Tom Parker Dies Of Brain Tumor At 33
Tom Parker, a member of British-Irish boy band The Wanted, has died after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. He was 33. The band announced that Parker died Wednesday, “surrounded by his family and his band mates.” Parker announced his diagnosis in October 2020, and underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy. (3/30)
