UPDATES: COVID-19 in Armenia and Worldwide as per 31.03.2020
As per March 31 2020, information from the RA Ministry of Healthcare the number of Cases of Coronavirus in Armenia are 532, 30 of which have already been recovered, 2533 tests with negative answers and 3 death case. Worldwide, the number of COVID-19 cases is 799,723 out of which 38,720 are death cases, which is 4.8% of total cases.
World Health Organization (WHO) has updated operational planning guidelines in balancing the demands of responding directly to COVID-19 while maintaining essential health service delivery and mitigating the risk of system collapse. This includes a set of targeted immediate actions that countries should consider at national, regional, and local level to reorganize and maintain access to high-quality essential health services for all and will help ensure that people continue to seek care when appropriate and adhere to public health advice.
The US FDA has issued the first emergency use authorization to chloroquine phosphate and Hydroxychloroquine sulfate as treatments against coronavirus.
The drugs currently are used to prevent or treat malaria infection, as well as lupus. During a press briefing earlier this month, US President Donald Trump suggested that the treatment may be effective for use against the disease, driving the demand to increase rapidly.
According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, both forms of the drug have shown in-vitro activity against various forms of coronavirus, with a further study in China reporting that chloroquine treatment of COVID-19 patients displayed clinical and virology benefit against a comparison group.
Following the developments, manufacturers of the substances announced that they are scaling up production of the drugs, with several companies, donating significant amounts of the product to the US Strategic National Stockpile.