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by Kelly MACNAMARA Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — To monitor changes to the coronavirus that could supercharge the pandemic or render vaccines less effective, scientists must sequence its genetic code to catalogue potentially dangerous mutations as they emerge. But so few countries are conducting and sharing surveillance that experts are as worried about the mutations they cannot see as those they can. Publication of the first genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 in January […]
by Deborah COLE Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany on Friday recorded more than 50,000 deaths from the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, as public health officials expressed cautious optimism about a slowing infection rate. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) disease control centre said 859 people died from the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of fatalities to 50,642. “That is a distressing, incomprehensible number to […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Beijing on Friday kicked off a drive to test two million people in 48 hours as the city rushed to snuff out a new local cluster of cases believed to be linked to a more contagious virus variant. Long queues snaked through the Chinese capital — which reported 19 coronavirus cases in the past week — as the mass testing campaign got under way in Dongcheng and Xicheng districts. The […]
Mayor Belmonte warns against discrimination if resident is allowed to return to community (Eagle News) – The country’s first UK-COVID-19 variant positive case who has now tested negative for the virus might soon be allowed to return to his community once assessed to have fully recovered, according to the Quezon City government on Friday, Jan. 21. The patient who is a resident of Quezon City is still staying at a quarantine facility and doctors […]
(Eagle News) — Four kidnappers were killed in a shootout with police who also rescued the kidnap victim on Friday, Jan. 22, the Philippine National Police said. The PNP did not identify the fatalities in the shootout in an alley in Barangay Holy Spirit, but PNP Chief Debold Sinas said they were “remnants of the ‘Waray-Waray’ Group employed by the Chinese syndicate for kidnapping activities.” The PNP said the shootout ensued after the suspects opened […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Thousands of Hong Kongers will be ordered to stay in their homes for the city’s first coronavirus lockdown, local media reported Friday, as authorities battle an outbreak in one of its poorest and most densely packed districts. The order bans anyone from leaving their apartment unless they can show a negative test where cases have surged in recent days, and will last until everyone within the designated area has […]
(Eagle News) — A 4.1-magnitude earthquake struck off Surigao del Norte on Friday, Jan. 22. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake hit 35 kilometers southeast of General Luna at 3:59 p.m. It had a depth of 16 kilometers. No damage to property nor aftershocks were recorded.
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A South Korean court Thursday sentenced a former national speed skating coach to over a decade in prison for sexually assaulting double Olympic gold medallist Shim Suk-hee. Shim filed her complaint against her former coach Cho Jae-beom in January 2019, accusing him of having sexually abused her for years. The Suwon District Court on Thursday sentenced Cho to 10 and a half years in jail for the “highly condemnable” act […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Protests struck Portland and Seattle just hours after US President Joe Biden’s inauguration, police said Thursday, with Democratic Party and federal immigration offices vandalized and reports of tear gas and stun grenades used. The Pacific Northwest region emerged as a hotbed of demonstrations last year, but any hopes that the end of Donald Trump’s term in office would quickly halt violent unrest tied to far-left groups were dashed Wednesday. […]
by Agnès PEDRERO Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The Covax programme, bolstered by the new US presidency on Thursday, aims to secure enough Covid-19 vaccines this year for the most vulnerable 20 percent in every country, rich or poor. Top US government scientist Anthony Fauci told the World Health Organization (WHO) that the United States intends to join Covax, the globally-pooled coronavirus vaccine procurement and equitable distribution effort. The move should give […]
Around 200,000 vaccine doses from COVAX facility to arrive by late February (Eagle News) – About 200,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, “most likely Pfizer” will be coming into the country by February based on the COVAX facility of the World Health Organization, according to Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. Answering questions at the Senate hearing, Galvez said that the COVAX facility has pledged a total of 40 million vaccine doses for the Philippines which will […]
(Eagle News) — Cloudy skies and rainshowers are expected in parts of the country today, Jan. 22. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said Cagayan Valley and Cordillera Administrative Region will have cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms. PAGASA said these conditions were due to the tail-end of a frontal system (shear line) affecting the eastern section of Northern Luzon. Flashfloods or landslides due to moderate with at times heavy rains are […]
