Other News

MIAA releases list of operational commercial flights for Tuesday, March 16

(Eagle News) — The Manila International Airport Authority has released its list of operational commercial flights for Tuesday, March 16: MIAA advised passengers to secure confirmation of their flights as only those with the same will be allowed entry into the airport. Travel restrictions have so far been eased in the Philippines. Health authorities, however, have noted a surge in COVID-19 cases, with the Octa research group predicting as many as 20,000 COVID-19 cases daily […]

N. Korean leader’s sister slams US as Biden envoys begin Asia trip

by Sunghee Hwang SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s influential sister slammed the US and South Korea on Tuesday, state media reported, as the new US secretaries of state and defence began a visit to Tokyo and Seoul. The US and South began joint military exercises last week and Pyongyang’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper carried a statement from Kim Yo Jong offering “a word of advice to the new administration […]

MPD Station 11 under special quarantine after 46 cops test positive for COVID-19

(Eagle News) — The Manila Police District Station 11 in Binondo is under a “special quarantine.” MPD district director Police Brigadier General Leo Francisco gave the order for the lockdown after 46 policemen stationed there tested positive for COVID-19. The results were based on COVID-19 testing done on the 121 MPD station personnel assigned in the station. The PNP has said those concerned have been isolated, while contact tracing was underway. The Octa research group […]

Bolsonaro changes health official again, as Brazil’s Covid cases surge

BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro announced Monday that he will appoint cardiologist Marcelo Queiroga as health minister, the fourth to hold the post during the pandemic, as the country’s health system staggers amid surging Covid-19 cases. “It was decided now in the afternoon to appoint physician Marcelo Queiroga to the Ministry of Health,” Bolsonaro said in a brief meeting with his supporters at the Alvorada presidential palace. The transition process “should take […]

Health worker in Norway dies after AstraZeneca jab

OSLO, Norway (AFP) — A health worker in Norway has died of a brain haemorrhage after receiving the AstraZeneca anti-Covid vaccine, though no direct link to the jab has been established, health authorities said Monday. This is the second such fatality within a few days in the Nordic country, which had suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine as a precaution last Thursday. On Saturday, Norway’s health authorities said three health care employees had been […]

Russia says Sputnik V production deals reached in key EU states

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The developers of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine said Monday they had reached production agreements in key European countries as the EU’s medical agency deliberates official approval for the jab. The head of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev said in a statement that his organization had secured agreements with companies from Italy, Spain, France and Germany. Dmitriev said the deals would allow for the supply of Sputnik to the […]

Trudeau urges Canadians to take ‘safe’ AstraZeneca shot

MONTREAL, Canada ( AFP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday urged Canadians to take the AstraZeneca vaccine, in response to reports of hesitancy after several nations halted its rollout over fears of blood clots and other side effects. “Our experts and scientists have spent an awful lot of time making sure that every vaccine approved in Canada is both safe and effective,” Trudeau told a news conference in Montreal, where he toured a Covid-19 […]

Portugal suspends AstraZeneca jabs

LISBON, Portugal (AFP) — Portugal has followed the lead of other EU countries and stopped rolling out AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine after reports of “serious but rare” side effects, health chief Graca Freitas said on Monday. The decision was taken “as a precaution” pending advice from the EU’s regulator, said Freitas, head of Portugal’s public health agency the DGS. The European Medicines Agency will hold a special meeting on Thursday to decide whether measures are needed […]

Brazil orders 100 million doses of Pfizer vaccine

BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil has ordered 100 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine and another 38 million of Johnson & Johnson’s, the health minister said Monday, seeking to accelerate the hard-hit country’s lagging immunization campaign. Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello said Brazil had secured a total of 563 million vaccine doses by the end of the year — some single- and some double-dose vaccines — and defended his handling of the pandemic, as rumors […]

German ICU doctors urge ‘immediate return’ to partial lockdown

  BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Intensive care doctors in Germany warned Monday that the country would need to make an “immediate return” to partial lockdown if it is to avoid stumbling into a dangerous third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. “From the data we currently have and with the spread of the British mutation, we would argue strongly to return immediately into a lockdown to avoid a strong third wave,” Christian Karagiannidis, director of Germany’s […]

Italy under virus curbs again as Dutch, Irish stop AstraZeneca shots

by Agence France Presse Bureaus Coronavirus restrictions were reimposed across much of Italy on Monday, while Ireland and the Netherlands became the latest countries to suspend AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 shots over blood clot fears despite the firm and the WHO insisting there is no risk. More than 350 million vaccine doses have been administered globally so far, and the AstraZeneca shot — among the cheapest available — is crucial to roll-outs in poorer parts of the […]

PHL reports 5,404 additional COVID-19 cases today, the most COVID-19 cases reported in a day in 7 months

(Eagle News) — Active COVID-19 cases reached 53,479 after the Department of Health reported 5404 additional cases today, March 15, the most COVID-19 cases reported in a single day in seven months. The figure does not include data from five laboratories, and pushed the total COVID-19 cases to  626,893. According to DOH data, of the active cases, 92.4 percent were mild, 4 percent asymptomatic, 1.4 percent critical, 1.4 percent severe, and 0.73 percent were moderate. […]