Coronavirus

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is asking people who have recovered from Covid-19 to donate their blood so they can assess the therapy in trials.

The hope is that the antibodies they have built up will help to clear the virus in others.

The US has already started a major project to study this, involving more than 1,500 hospitals.

When a person has Covid-19, their immune system responds by creating antibodies, which attack the virus.

Over time these build up and can be found in the plasma, the liquid portion of the blood.

Starting last night's address to the nation, Prime Minister Henry Puna thanked God for giving people courage and strength during the country's greatest threat in modern history.

He said hundreds of Covid-19 tests taken in the Cook Islands had come back negative, and the country can officially be confirmed as a Covid-free zone - one of the first nations in the world to do so.

This means some of the more restrictive Code Yellow measures introduced in late March to stop the virus, will now be eased.

"We have just come too far, we've lost too many loved ones, we've already sacrificed far too much to ease up now, especially when we are beginning to see the evidence that our efforts are starting to pay off," Raab told reporters.

Raab is deputising while Prime Minister Boris Johnson recuperates from Covid-19 complications that nearly cost him his life.

The Mobility Trends Report produces three daily percentage figures, showing how many fewer people are driving, walking and using public transport compared with on 13 January, before the coronavirus lockdowns came into effect.

It covers major cities and national figures for 63 countries. Hong Kong is included but not mainland China.

It follows a similar effort by Google.

According to the New Zealand High Commission in Tonga, 200 passengers boarded the return flight to Auckland.

All passengers arriving in Auckland are required to comply with health screening and go into managed isolation.

The flight, a weekly scheduled Air New Zealand service, received an exemption from the current flight diversion order.

Peter Lund, Deputy High Commissioner went out to see the flight and the New Zealanders and foreign nationals on it off on their journey.

On March 21 – as coronavirus shook the globe – flights from Tonga to Fiji and New Zealand were abruptly canceled with no prior alerts or notifications, Americans on the island claim, leaving hundreds of people stranded with no way home.

"We are aware of four full flights out that were abruptly canceled, (people) on them had been confirming throughout the week, and everyone was taken by sudden surprise when they (were not allowed to board)," Dr. Jason Weeks, a U.S.-based physician attempting to coordinate options for getting Americans home to their families, told Fox News.

The arrangement covers an accountable cash grant for assistance regarding the provision of performance linked aid/budget support of AUD $4 million for 2019/20, AUD$3.5 million for 2020/21, and AUD$3.5 million for 2021/22.

The arrangement includes assistance up to AUD12 million in response to the global COVID-19 crisis, of which AUD$7 million, will be received, as additional budget support to assist the Government of Tonga’s immediate response to COVID-19.

There are now 135 confirmed coronavirus cases in Guam.

Five people have died from the virus.

Governor Lou Leon Guerro said the Health Department tested 30 samples and all were negative.

But she says one postive case was reported from the Diagnostic Laboratory Services.

66 people have recovered from Covid-19 in Guam.

Johnson, 55, was taken to London's St Thomas' Hospital on Sunday (local time) - 10 days after testing positive for Covid-19.

He spent three nights in intensive care before returning to a ward on Thursday.

He said in a video on Twitter that he had witnessed the "personal courage" of hospital staff on the front line.

Johnson said two nurses - Jenny from Invercargill, New Zealand and Luis from Portugal - stood by his bedside for 48 hours at the most critical time and named several other hospital workers who cared for him this past week that he wanted to thank.

A tally from the US-based Johns Hopkins university shows the number of reported cases worldwide has roughly doubled since April 2, while the global death toll stands at 119,483.

Restrictions imposed to halt the spread of coronavirus have been slightly eased in some countries although health officials around the world are concerned that halting quarantine and social distancing measures could easily undo hard-earned progress.