World coronavirus dispatch: Now, an inflammatory syndrome among children

From how the pandemic pushed a 100-year-old to bankruptcy, to a study showing higher death risk linked to HCQ, and how children feel about the crisis - read these and more in today's world dispatcH

Even as scientists around the world race to develop treatments for Covid-19, New York has become the centre of a parallel effort to investigate an unnerving aspect of the outbreak: an illness that is sickening a small but growing number of children. The ailment has now been reported in at least 161 children in New York. Hundreds of other children across the US and Europe have also been sickened with the illness, now called multisystem inflammatory syndrome. The syndrome can be characterised by severe inflammation of the heart, blood vessels, the gastrointestinal tract or other organs, believed to be caused by a reaction to the coronavirus. Read more here.

Let’s look at the global statistics

Total confirmed cases: 5,211,172

Change over previous day: 89,533

Total deaths: 338,183

Total recovered: 1,964,097

Nations hit with most cases: The US (1,601,251), Brazil (330,890), Russia (326,448), the UK (255,544) and Spain (234,824).

Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

Brazil jumps to number two by coronavirus cases: Brazil on Friday became the second-most-affected country globally by the number of coronavirus cases. In Sao Paulo, the worst-hit city, aerial video showed rows of open plots at a cemetery, as it rushed to keep up with demand. The country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been widely criticised for his handling of the outbreak. Read more here. 

China’s first instance of reporting no new infection: China recorded no new confirmed Covid-19 cases on the mainland on May 22. This was the first time that it had seen no daily rise in the number of cases since the pandemic began. China has seen a sharp fall in locally transmitted cases since March as major restrictions on people’s movement helped it to take control of the epidemic. Read more here

Hydroxychloroquine, a potential covid drug, linked to higher death risk: The anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine – which US President Donald Trump said he had been taking and urged others to use also – may be tied to an increased risk of death in hospitalised Covid-19 patients, a new study has shown.

100-year-old Hertz files for bankruptcy: Hertz, a car-rental company founded in the US over a century ago, has filed for bankruptcy, with sweeping travel restrictions and the global economic collapse destroying demand for its vehicles. Hertz’s court petition listed about $25.8 billion in assets and $24.4 billion in debt. Its biggest creditors include IBM Corp and Lyft. Read more here. 

Specials

New retail landscape gives Chinese start-ups a boom amid pandemic: The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the development and adoption of technology that aid online sales, giving a boost to Chinese start-ups in the fields of contactless payment and video monitoring. Read more here. 

What the children are saying about the crisis: Time magazine received letters from students expressing their feelings during the crisis. Here’s what they had to say

What happened to the couple trapped on never-ending honeymoon? It began with a wedding in Egypt's capital Cairo on 6 March. A few days later, the Dubai-based couple left for Mexico, with barely a worry in the world: coronavirus seemed a distant concern. But by the time they were returning home to UAE via Turkey on 19 March, the pandemic had blown up. When they tried to board their connecting flight in Istanbul, they were told they could not board. The couple were left stranded at the airport for two days. Restrictions in Turkey meant they were not allowed to leave and enter the city. What happened after that? Read the full story here

Podcast

A teenager’s coronavirus history: From the earliest days of the coronavirus outbreak, health officials believed that it was largely sparing children and teenagers. But the rise of a mysterious inflammatory syndrome — with symptoms ranging from rashes to heart failure — in children testing positive for the virus is challenging that belief. Listen here to the story of this 14-year-old in Queens and how this case study is helping doctors understand a frightening new illness linked to the coronavirus.