VOA Learning English

“Quarantines belong to the Stone Age,” the Iranian health minister said late last month at a press briefing about COVID-19. The country is in no danger from the virus he said, while coughing and sweating severely. One day later, he was under quarantine. The story helps explain how Iran became one of the countries most affected by the new coronavirus. The government reports more than 17,000 cases of infection and ov…

You have been told to wash your hands many times a day to help stop the spread of the new coronavirus. You have been told to avoid touching your face. But, you also should try to keep clean the device that you may be using now more than ever – your phone. Scientific studies have shown that the virus can live for two to three days on materials like plastic and stainless steel. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control a…

The Christ the Redeemer statue has sat on top of Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro for nearly 90 years. Almost 90 million people visited the nearly 40-meter high statue last year. Now, it is being forced to close, at least temporarily. The reason: the coronavirus outbreak. The Christ the Redeemer statue closed at day’s end on Tuesday and will not reopen for at least a week. Brazil’s Chico Mendes Institute ordere…

On Scotland’s Isle of Skye, scientists have identified two areas with evidence of ancient life forms. Researchers believe the markings are, in fact, footprints from dinosaurs that lived 170 million years ago. They say the prints date to the middle of the Jurassic Period, a time from which few dinosaur fossils have been recovered. Researchers reported this month on their study of about 50 fossilized footprints at th…

A small Italian company has used 3D printing technology to quickly produce oxygen valves to treat some coronavirus patients. Italy has been battling the world’s largest number of cases of the new coronavirus outside of China. Cristian Fracassi founded and heads the Italian start-up company Isinnova. He told the Reuters news agency that he heard about a shortage of the valves at a hospital near the northern city of …

Facebook and Twitter say they have removed numerous false social media accounts linked to Russia that targeted the American public. Facebook said in a statement that the network of accounts appeared to be in the process of building up a following of U.S.-based users. The network was operated by people in Ghana and Nigeria for individuals in Russia. Facebook said its investigation found that the accounts had ties to…

Wasima Khan stopped attending school six years ago. She has yet to complete her studies. The 19-year-old is not an exception. She is like many other young women in Nuh, where she lives, in northern India. Only about 30 percent of the women there can read and write. That is about half the national average. Wasima Khan left school because she had to do housework and help her mother with younger brothers and sisters, …

With schools shutting down and the ways of daily life-changing, children are hearing more about the coronavirus. They may not fully understand it, or know how seriously to take it, but their lives are affected. Many parents are trying to decide how to talk with their children about the virus and the outbreak. Some say they are checking in each day to see how their children are doing. But others worry that talking to…

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle Report. Every culture has some sort of person-to-person greeting. But they are different all over the world. In some countries such as the United States, handshakes and hugs are the norm. In many European cultures, kisses on the cheek or air kisses are the thing to do when greeting people. And if you play on a sports team, high fives may be the greeting -- n…

Saudi Arabia has directed the state oil company Aramco to increase its total possible oil production, or capacity. It announced the move at the Saudi Tadawul stock exchange Wednesday. A short time later, Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas company ADNOC said it was increasing production by 25 percent to 4 million barrels per day. Saudi Arabia is working to flood the market after another oil producer, Russia, refused to agree t…

A Chinese company says it has created a new facial recognition system that can identify people even if they are wearing masks. Developers began working on the new system in January, when cases of the new coronavirus began rising in China. The fast spread of the virus – which can be deadly – has led most Chinese citizens to wear face masks in public to help reduce infections. China is recognized as a world leader in…

Housing centers for old people in the United States are buying large numbers of masks and thermometers because of coronavirus. They are also screening visitors and preparing for shortages of health workers. In China, where the new virus began, the disease has been much deadlier for old people. In Italy, the most affected country in Europe, more than 100 people have died from COVID-19. All either were old, already ha…