Global Health

Hospitals are facing widespread shortages of personal protective equipment, or PPE, for health care workers. Columbia University alumni associations are raising money to purchase much needed N95 masks, seen here, gowns and other gear.

Health & Safety

Alumni In China Lead Effort To Procure PPE For Medical Workers In New York

2:33pm April 10, 2020

Spurred by the concerns of members in China, Columbia University's alumni associations raised more than $1 million to buy desperately needed masks and other gear.

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A recent flight from Senegal brought some 150 people back to the U.S., due to the coronavirus. The crew were wearing personal protective equipment — but when the flight landed, its passengers were taken to baggage claim, rather than to a health checkpoi

Americans Returning To U.S. Say They're Surprised By Lack Of Stringent Health Checks

2:28pm April 10, 2020

by Bill Chappell

Travelers are finding a wide range of health screenings at U.S. airports, even after repatriation and other international flights.

Medical staff, seen at a Paris hospital Thursday, treat a patient infected with COVID-19. The worldwide death toll connected with the disease topped 100,000 on Friday — a startling statistic that may have seemed unthinkable just several months ago.

COVID-19 Death Toll Surpasses 100,000 As Globe Grapples With Containment

1:49pm April 10, 2020

by Colin Dwyer

Just over a week ago, the death toll was roughly half what it is now. Confirmed cases of the coronavirus have been reported in nearly every country across the world.

A crow flies near Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace in New Delhi, on April 2. Air quality has markedly improved in India's capital since the country's coronavirus lockdown began last month.

With Coronavirus Lockdown, India's Cities See Clear Blue Skies As Air Pollution Drops

12:06pm April 10, 2020

by Sushmita Pathak

India has ordered 1.3 billion people to stay home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown seems to have inadvertently solved, at least temporarily, another public health crisis: air pollution.

The coronavirus outbreak began during the cold of winter in Wuhan, China. Scientists are asking if heat and humidity in countries like Malaysia (right) — and in regions where summer is soon starting — could slow transmission.

Will Summer Slow The Spread Of COVID-19? Scientists Try To Figure It Out

11:23am April 10, 2020

by Jason Beaubien

Experts consider the effect of humidity on the virus and the method of transmission as they keep an eye on where the disease spikes next.

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A patient on a wheelchair waits in the emergency room at a hospital in Güiria, Venezuela, on March 14. Human rights organizations recently warned that Venezuela faces catastrophic consequences from the new coronavirus pandemic, which threatens to overwhe

Many Venezuelan Hospitals Lack Basics To Function, Let Alone Handle COVID-19

11:20am April 10, 2020

by Philip Reeves

Doctors tell NPR many health workers have left the country and many hospitals don't have necessities, including soap and running water.

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A Thai woman wearing a face mask purchases cases of beer on Thursday, the night before a citywide alcohol ban in Bangkok. Thai authorities have banned alcohol sales for 11 days in an attempt to stop social gatherings and slow the spread of COVID-19.

In Bangkok, Holiday Alcohol Ban Results In Panic Buying — And No Social Distancing

10:40am April 10, 2020

by Michael Sullivan

Authorities in Thailand's capital are prohibiting alcohol sales for 11 days in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19 during the Thai New Year. Instead, it caused long lines at liquor outlets.

Laura Spinney: What Does The 1918 Flu Teach Us About Our Response To Pandemics?

10:24am April 10, 2020

by NPR/TED Staff

A century after the 1918 flu, we see similar patterns in the ways we're responding to COVID-19. Laura Spinney reflects on the Spanish flu and how societies learn to move forward after pandemics.

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Heidi Larson: Why Is Trust In Vaccines Just As Important As Vaccines Themselves?

9:43am April 10, 2020

by NPR/TED Staff

In 2003, polio reemerged in twenty countries that had long been declared polio-free. Anthropologist Heidi Larson says to stop the spread of disease, we need to first build trust in vaccines.

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Daniel Streicker: What If We Could Stop A Virus At Its Animal Source?

9:43am April 10, 2020

by NPR/TED Staff

MERS, Ebola, and COVID-19—the viruses that cause these diseases likely have the same patient zero: bats. For researcher Daniel Streicker, the key to preventing an outbreak is the bats themselves.

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