COVID-19 current figures
Today's COVID-19 headlines
New tool to analyse response measures across Europe
The COVID-19 Health System Response Monitor (HSRM) is a new online platform being launched today to provide countries and stakeholders in the WHO European Region with evidence of how national health systems are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in countries across the Region, health systems are facing enormous pressure to both manage COVID-19 patients and maintain essential services. As these challenges grow, governments and policy-makers are calling for clear and comparable health systems evidence to inform their policies and to strengthen their capacity to respond to this unprecedented crisis.
The new website will systematically map and analyse health system responses to the pandemic across the Region. It is a joint undertaking between the WHO Regional Office for Europe, the European Commission and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies.
International guidance on treating ICU patients with Covid-19
An international team of researchers has come together to issue guidelines for healthcare workers treating intensive care unit (ICU) patients with Covid-19.
The Surviving Sepsis Campaign COVID-19 panel has released 54 recommendations on such topics as infection control, laboratory diagnosis and specimens, the dynamics of blood flow support, ventilation support, and Covid-19 therapy. The guidelines were co-published in the journals Critical Care Medicine and Intensive Care Medicine.
The Surviving Sepsis Campaign COVID-19 panel included experts in guideline development, infection control, infectious diseases and microbiology, critical care, emergency medicine, nursing, and public health. The corresponding author of the guidelines is Andrew Rhodes of St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust, UK.
New Cochrance review of quitting smoking during the pandemic
Tobacco smoking has been identified as a major risk factor for developing Covid-19 and complications that may arise as a result. In addition, second-hand smoke increases the risk of acute respiratory infections. Therefore, official advice is for people to stop smoking tobacco to minimise the risks associated with the current Coronavirus pandemic.
Cochrane has created this Special Collection of existing Cochrane Systematic Reviews that summarise evidence for people wishing to give up smoking and for those helping them to give up. The Cochrane Reviews focus on interventions that are feasible under public health measures that restrict face to face contact with health practitioners.
The Cochrane Special Collection, COVID-19: Effective options for quitting smoking during the pandemic, includes Cochrane Reviews on nicotine replacement, behavioural support such as telephone, internet and text messaging programmes, and gradual quitting. This is one of several Special Collections relevant to COVID-19, other recently published collections include evidence relevant to critical care and infection control and prevention measures.
Other news roundup
- Almost 950,000 people have applied for Universal Credit benefits in the past fortnight
- Spain records 950 deaths bring the total number to over 10,000
- Indonesia is reported to have released over 18,000 prisoners
- Zambia records its first Covid-19 related death
- US jobless claims double to record high of 6.6 million