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NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York’s famous New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square will be drastically scaled back due to the pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday, as the Omicron variant fuels a “staggering” surge in Covid cases. Typically some 58,000 New Yorkers gather to watch a giant ball drop marking the arrival of a new year, but next week the capacity will be reduced to 15,000, with each attendee required […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The UK on Thursday set another daily Covid-19 daily infections record, fuelled by the Omicron variant. Some 119,789 cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, a day after figures exceeded 100,000 for the first time at 106,122. The UK is among the worst hit countries in Europe with a virus death toll of 147,720. The Office for National Statistics estimated that nearly 1.4 million people in UK households had […]
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The United Nations will kick off a campaign Friday to raise $6.5 million in aid for victims of Typhoon Rai, which ravaged the Philippines last week, the organization’s in-country coordinator said. “Tomorrow, we’ll be launching at the local level with the international community represented in Manila… a presentation of the humanitarian needs and priority plan,” Gustavo Gonzalez told a virtual press conference Thursday. “The financial ask is $6.5 millions dollars,” he […]
MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Fifty-five people have tested positive for Covid-19 aboard a Royal Caribbean International cruise ship that set sail Saturday from the southeastern US state of Florida, the company said. The infections on the “Odyssey of the Seas” involved passengers and crew members, even though 95 percent of the people on board were vaccinated against the coronavirus, Royal Caribbean said late Wednesday. Out of an abundance of caution the ship did not […]
PHL FDA chief says EUA granted to Pfizer for administration to kids aged 5 to 11; vaccination could start in January next year depending on supplies (Eagle News) – The Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of Pfizer vaccines for children aged 5 to 11 years old in the country. FDA Director-General Undersecretary Eric Domingo said that they have already approved the emergency use authority (EUA) for the administration […]
by Jing Xuan Teng, with Agence France Presse Bureaus BEIJING, China (AFP) — China shut down a city of 13 million people on Thursday in a bid to extinguish a tiny Covid-19 outbreak and chase its zero-case goal, as other nations around the globe battled huge infection surges driven by the Omicron variant. Early studies from South Africa and Britain gave some cause for hope, however, indicating Omicron infections appear to result in fewer […]
“No country can boost its way out of the pandemic,” warns WHO chief LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The WHO warned Wednesday that rich countries cannot use boosters to escape the coronavirus and France became one of the first nations to vaccinate children over five, as nations scrambled to contain Omicron surges. China meanwhile cracked down on the latest outbreak of the virus, shutting down a whole city. And Britain, which reported a record […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca said Thursday that a third, or “booster”, dose of its Covid-19 vaccine Vaxzevria “significantly” lifted antibody levels against the Omicron strain in a laboratory study. “Vaxzevria significantly boosted levels of antibodies against the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant (B.1.1.529) following a third dose booster,” the company said in a statement citing the study. “The third dose booster vaccination neutralised the Omicron variant to levels that were broadly […]
(Eagle News) — The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council of Region VIII has temporarily disallowed any land travel from Luzon to Mindanao through any Eastern Visayas port. The RDRRMC said the suspension, which took effect on Dec. 22, was due to the increasing number of stranded passengers and the destruction wrought by “Odette.” The RDRRMC said so far, the seaport terminal in Liloan, Southern Leyte, in particular, was congested, while the San Ricardo […]
(Eagle News) — COVID-19 cases in the Philippines rose to 2,837,903 on Thursday, Dec. 23, after the Department of Health reported 288 additional cases. According to the DOH, of the total cases, 9251 were active. Of these, 480 were asymptomatic, 3204 were mild, 3393 were moderate, 1797 severe, and 377 were critical. Recoveries rose to 2,777,671 with the additional 270 ones. The death toll is now at 50,981, with the additional 65 deaths reported. Metro […]
by Ron LOPEZ Agence France-Presse SURIGAO CITY, Philippines (AFP) – Jennifer Vetonio stands on a road in the southern Philippines begging for money and food from passing drivers. A week after Super Typhoon Rai destroyed her house, she has not received a scrap of government aid. Hundreds of thousands of people are homeless after Rai cut a swathe through the vast archipelago last Thursday, knocking out power across entire islands and leaving desperate survivors pleading […]
by Issam AHMED Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – The United States on Wednesday authorized Pfizer’s anti-Covid pill for high-risk people aged 12 and up, as a surge of cases driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant threatened holiday plans and Americans struggled to find tests. Paxlovid, which comprises two types of tablet, was granted an emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after a clinical trial showed it to reduce […]
