(HealthDay News) — As the U.S. coronavirus death toll climbed to 30,000 on Wednesday, state and federal officials hammered out the details of plans for re-opening some parts of the country in May. Amid those efforts, President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the United States will halt payments to the World Health Organization pending a…  read on >

It’s clear that age and chronic disease make bouts of the pandemic coronavirus more severe — and even deadly — but obesity might also put even younger people at higher risk, a pair of new studies suggest. The researchers suspect that inflammation throughout the body linked to obesity could be a powerful factor in the…  read on >

As the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic grows, it is increasingly clear the infection is more than a lung disease. Many patients are developing heart complications, though the reasons are not fully understood. People with heart disease or a history of stroke are at increased risk of the coronavirus infection, and of suffering more severe…  read on >

Coronavirus cases and deaths in several of America’s early hotspots showed signs of plateauing on Tuesday, and governors from those states announced regional pacts to help re-open those areas when social distancing orders can be relaxed. The governors from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Massachusetts and Rhode Island said Monday they would begin…  read on >

The numbers are staggering: More than 3,600 nursing home and long-term care residents have died due to COVID-19 infections, with a huge number occurring in just the past two weeks. The stories are tragic: A California nursing home with more than a third of residents infected with COVID-19 had to be evacuated when fearful staff…  read on >

Many health care workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic are struggling with sleep, a new study finds. The researchers also found that those with insomnia were more likely to have depression, anxiety and stress-based trauma. The study included nearly 1,600 health care workers who completed an online questionnaire between January 29 and…  read on >

It is safe to donate blood during the coronavirus pandemic? Do cloth face masks offer meaningful protection against COVID-19? These are among the questions Americans are asking, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the agency is offering some answers. A number of measures are being taken to protect the nation’s blood supply,…  read on >