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by James Pheby with Agence France Presse Bureaus LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Travellers were facing a nightmare holiday season on Monday with governments banning flights from Britain to contain a fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus, as the European Union approves its first vaccine and readies a mass rollout. More than two dozen countries from India to Argentina suspended flights from the UK offering a bleak reminder that the pandemic is far from over. […]
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) — The World Health Organization is calling on its members in Europe to step up measures against coronavirus in the face of the new variant circulating in Britain, its European branch said Sunday. Outside Britain, nine cases of the new strain have been reported in Denmark, as well as one case in the Netherlands and another in Australia, according to the WHO. “Across Europe, where transmission is intense and widespread, countries […]
by Agence France Presse Bureaus LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — European countries started banning flights coming from the UK on Sunday as government in London warned that a potent new strain of the virus was “out of control”. Following the example of the Netherlands, where a ban on all UK passenger flights came into effect on Sunday, a German government source said Berlin, too, was considering a similar move as “a serious option” for […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Sunday that the government has imposed a strict lockdown in London and southeast England because a new strain of the coronavirus was “out of control”. Hancock warned that the strict measures that affect almost a third of England’s population could stay in place until the virus vaccine is fully rolled out. “We acted very quickly and decisively,” Hancock told Sky News, justifying the […]
by Robin MILLARD Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been authorized for use in Switzerland, regulators announced Saturday, with immunisation set to start within days as the country battles rising coronavirus cases and deaths. The Swissmedic regulatory authority said it had given the green light following a two-month rolling review. It is the first Covid-19 vaccine approved in the wealthy Alpine nation, with rivals being assessed. “After a meticulous […]
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AFP) — Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic said Friday he had tested positive for Covid-19, a week after he attended an EU summit in Brussels. The summit is believed to be where French President Emmanuel Macron caught the virus, leading a host of European leaders and top French officials to go into self-isolation. “Today, I am one of you,” Matovic wrote on his Facebook page, attaching a screenshot of a text message […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, the presidency said, adding that he would now self-isolate for the next week. “The president tested positive for Covid-19 today,” it said in a statement, adding that he had been tested after the “onset of the first symptoms”. Macron will now, in accordance with national regulations, “self isolate for seven days. He will continue to work and carry out […]
by Marc PRÉEL STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) — Despite a sharper tone from authorities and new restrictions, Sweden, which has famously relied on non-coercive measures, is struggling to contain a strong second wave of Covid-19 it thought it could avoid. The capital Stockholm is once again at the epicenter of the epidemic and this week called on members of the public with medical training to help offset some of the burdens on healthcare. Lars Falk, a […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — France will receive around 1.16 million Covid-19 vaccine doses by year end, Prime Minister Jean Castex said Wednesday, adding another 2.3 million will arrive in the next two months. The delivery of some 3.5 million doses will innoculate around 1.7 million people, with priority given to the elderly, the vulnerable and carers. Covid vaccines are administered in two doses over several weeks. The government will “be much more transparent in this […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany will begin coronavirus vaccinations on December 27 with elderly care home residents, Health Minister Jens Spahn announced Wednesday, with the European Union aiming for all 27 member states to begin on the same day. In a statement, Germany’s 16 state-level health ministers said Spahn had announced “the expected approval and supply of the BioNTech vaccine” with distribution beginning shortly before year’s end. As Germany holds the EU’s rotating presidency, that […]
by Ed FRANKL Agence France Presse FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany reported a record number of deaths from Covid-19 on Wednesday, the first day of a new partial lockdown to try to halt a surge in infections. A total of 952 people died in the previous 24 hours, according to the Robert Koch Institute disease control centre. It said 27,728 new coronavirus cases were registered, a figure close to the daily record […]
by Danny KEMP Agence France Presse THE HAGUE, The Netherlands (AFP) — The EU’s medicines regulator on Tuesday dramatically advanced the decision day for the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus jab under pressure from Germany, meaning vaccinations in the bloc could start by the year’s end. The Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency’s announcement that it will meet on December 21 instead of December 29 to decide whether to authorise the shot, followed a growing backlash from desperate EU […]
