COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 17 June

1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe

2. WHO welcomes lifesaving drug trial breakthrough

The World Health Organization has said it will update its clinical guidance after a UK trial of dexamethasone was shown to reduce mortality of critically ill COVID-19 patients.

It was shown to reduce mortality by about one third in patients on ventilators, and by about one fifth for patients requiring only oxygen.

The inexpensive and widely available steroid has been used since the 1960s to reduce inflammation and is part of a larger trial by the University of Oxford which tests existing drugs for their effectiveness in COVID-19 patients.

“This is the first treatment to be shown to reduce mortality in patients with COVID-19 requiring oxygen or ventilator support,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

“This is great news and I congratulate the Government of the UK, the University of Oxford, and the many hospitals and patients in the UK who have contributed to this lifesaving scientific breakthrough.”

3. Nepal facing COVID-19 remittance crisis

As the world slides into recession, Nepal faces twin issues of falling remittances - a lifeline to workers' families and a key source of liquidity for banks - as well as thousands of stranded or returning migrants now out of work.

Earnings sent home as remittances by Nepal's migrant workers in the Gulf states and elsewhere represent more than a quarter of the Nepal's economic output.

Lockdowns in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, two of the most popular destinations for migrant workers from Nepal and India, have hit the tourism, hospitality and construction sectors hardest, where many migrant workers were concentrated.

More than 210,000 Nepalis need to be rescued and repatriated, Nepali Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali told a parliamentary committee in May.

Globally, it's projected there will be a 20% in remittances in 2020, according to KNOMAD and the World Bank, equal to $110 billion.

But global cooperation efforts are underway to address the crisis. The governments of Switzerland and the UK are spearheading a high-level call to action to keep remittances flowing.

The World Economic Forum’s Regional Action Group for South Asia is supporting a multi-stakeholder working group to devise recommendations to manage the fallout from the remittance crisis.