Keeping you up to date on the latest novel coronavirus (Covid-19) news from around the world.

FOLLOW THE LIVE UPDATE | All the latest coronavirus and lockdown updates

Improved air quality in Europe due to lockdowns to combat the coronavirus pandemic has delivered health benefits equivalent to avoiding 11 300 premature deaths, according to a study published on Thursday.

Researchers extrapolated the likely impact on diseases caused or made worse by air pollution, which has fallen dramatically as hundreds of millions of people have stayed at home over the past month.

"You could compare it to everyone in Europe stopping smoking for a month," said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), which conducted the study.

"Our analysis highlights the tremendous benefits for public health and quality of life that could be achieved by rapidly reducing fossil fuels in a sustained and sustainable way."

The benefits in Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy exceeded the equivalent of more than 1 500 premature deaths in each country.

The average European citizen was exposed to nitrogen dioxide levels 37% below what would normally have been expected in the 30 days that ended on 24 April, CREA said.

The gas is mostly produced from road transport.

Exposure to particulate matter, generated by transport, industry and coal-fired heating, was 12% below normal levels, according to the study, which covered 21 European countries.

If sustained, a drop in pollution of this scale could lead to 1.3 million fewer days of absence from work and 6 000 fewer new cases of asthma in children, CREA said.

At the same time, the researchers noted that prolonged exposure to dirty air prior to the pandemic could have caused or exacerbated diabetes, lung disease, heart disease and cancer - all conditions that increase the risk of death for Covid-19 patients.

- Al Jazeera

He has learnt to suppress his fear of catching the virus, but no amount of mental discipline can help him cope with more than five hours in suffocating protective gear.

Italian anaesthetist Marino De Rosa, father of two, pinches his mask tight over the bridge of his nose before flipping his face shield into place as he starts his afternoon shift in a Covid-19 unit in Rome.

The 54-year old has a gruelling six hours ahead of him inside Building B of the San Filippo Neri hospital in the north of the capital. Night shifts last 12 hours, though they are shared with another anaesthetist.

"Working 12 hours in a row in these conditions is impossible," he said.

"The gear is oppressive; you can't breathe properly in the masks, the glasses fog up, it's difficult to read and write. The longest I've lasted is five hours, and I came out utterly frazzled."

The doctors and nurses looking after patients in the 20-bed unit try not to do more than four hours in the gear at a time.

On Wednesday, 14 of the beds were occupied, some by patients on mechanical ventilation.

"Patient contact is visual. We talk to them, they describe their symptoms. We have a tool that allows us to measure blood oxygen levels, which gives us an idea of the level of respiratory insufficiency.

"But we don't physically examine them. It's difficult, if not impossible, to use our fundamental tool: the stethoscope."

He and colleagues have been relying instead on chest ultrasounds to get as clear an idea of the situation as possible

As the weeks have passed, De Rosa has learnt to "put aside" his fear of being infected.

Over 27 000 people have died since the pandemic gripped Italy two months ago, including 150 doctors.

- AFP

The Lebanese government met on Thursday to approve a long-awaited plan to rescue the debt-saddled economy from its worst crisis in decades, following a fresh wave of angry streets protests.

A lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic has added to the economic woes besetting the country, which include soaring inflation, a liquidity crunch and a plummeting currency.

In March the cash-strapped government defaulted on its sovereign debt for the first time.

The cabinet began meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, following a third straight night of violence in northern Lebanon.

The army clashed again with protesters angered by soaring inflation and an unprecedented devaluation of the Lebanese pound.

Leaks on the economic plan to Lebanese media suggest the country needs $80 billion in funds to exit the crisis, including $10 billion to $15 billion in external financing in the next five years.

Planned reforms reportedly include cuts to state spending and a restructuring of the public debt, one of the highest in the world at 170% of gross domestic product.

- AFP

- Stay healthy and entertained during the national lockdown. Sign up for our Lockdown Living newsletter. Register and manage your newsletters in the new News24 app by clicking on the Profile tab