Remdesivir should be considered for COVID-19 treatment as early as possible: Study

6 months, 188 countries, 72 lakh cases and more than 4 lakh deaths. Billions may be emerging from months of lockdown but the virus from Wuhan hasn't disappeared yet.

The US leads the tally with more than 19 lakh 79 thousand cases and over 1 lakh 12 thousand deaths, followed by Brazil which has 7 lakh 39 thousand cases and more than 38 thousand lives lost.

Russia is on the third spot with more than 4 lakh 93 thousand cases while the death toll is comparatively lower. Over 6 thousand lives have been lost in Russia. Then there's the UK with over 2 lakh 90 thousand cases and more than 40 thousand deaths.

India remains at the fifth spot with more than 8 thousand new cases have been added in the last 24 hours.

The overall tally is 2 lakh 76 thousand. Out of this 1 lakh 33 thousand are active cases. More than 1 lakh 35 thousand people have recovered and over 7 thousand live have been lost.

Does the world have a cure yet? Not really. But a study in the medical journal nature says that Remdesivir, an anti-viral drug could be useful in preventing lung damage. The study says this drug can prevent lung disease in macaques infected with the coronavirus. The drug is still being tested on human. But the authors of the study have said that it should be considered as a treatment as early as possible to prevent progression of pneumonia in coronavirus patients.