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by Natsuko FUKUE TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Even under ordinary circumstances, feeding an Olympic Village is a mammoth task, with chefs preparing tens of thousands of meals a day for elite athletes from around the world. But at Tokyo 2020, there’s an added pressure: strict coronavirus rules forbid athletes from eating at local restaurants, so it’s their only chance to sample Japan’s famous cuisine. “I feel it’s a lot of responsibility for us,” admitted Tsutomu […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Food and Drug Administration updated its warning labels Monday for the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine to include information about an observed “increased risk” of a rare neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). The news is a further blow for the company, which was granted an emergency use authorization for its shot in February but has played a minor role in America’s coronavirus immunization campaign. Based on analysis […]
TEL AVIV, Israel (AFP) — Israel on Monday began administering a third shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to patients with compromised immune systems, as cases in the country rise, the health ministry said. Those immediately eligible for a third shot include people who have had heart, lung and kidney transplants and some cancer patients. “There is accumulating evidence that patients with immunosuppression do not develop an adequate antibody response after two doses of the […]
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — The Spanish tourist regions of Catalonia and Valencia on Monday announced new measures to rein in the growing spread of coronavirus. Regional leaders in northeastern Catalonia said all public activities must finish at half past midnight, and no more than 10 people will be allowed to gather in private or public places. “The data are more than worrying, they are frankly very, very bad,” Catalonia’s public health secretary Josep Maria Argimon […]
by Bassem al-Rikabi NASIRIYAH, Iraq (AFP) — At least 41 people died when fire engulfed the coronavirus isolation ward of an Iraqi hospital on Monday, the second such deadly blaze in three months, a health official said. The fire broke out at the Al-Hussein hospital in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah late Monday and was brought under control by local civil defence forces. Another health official, Haydar al-Zamili, told AFP that the “fire… ripped […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Over ten million people were placed under fresh Covid-19 restrictions and a curfew in the Thai capital Monday, as the kingdom battles a surge of cases worsened by the highly infectious Alpha and Delta variants. Thailand has so far recorded more than 345,000 cases and 2,791 deaths — with the bulk of them coming in this latest wave that kicked off in April. First detected in clubs frequented by the Thai […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea reported 1,378 new coronavirus cases Saturday, a record high for the third day in a row as the country prepared to impose its highest-level curbs in the greater capital area next week. The country had previously been held up as a model of how to combat the pandemic, with the public largely following social distancing and other rules, but it was slow to start its vaccine roll-out due […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — A 90-year-old woman who died after falling ill with Covid-19 was infected with both the Alpha and Beta variants of the coronavirus at the same time, researchers in Belgium said Sunday, adding that the rare phenomenon may be underestimated. The unvaccinated woman, who lived alone and received at-home nursing care, was admitted to the OLV Hospital in the Belgian city of Aalst after a spate of falls in March and tested […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia announced its first coronavirus-related death in the current Sydney virus outbreak on Sunday, as the country’s biggest city struggles to bring the Delta variant under control. The woman in her 90s died Saturday, hours after testing positive for Covid-19, and was also the first death from a locally-acquired infection in Australia this year. It came as authorities announced a record 77 new cases, and warned that numbers were expected to […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — The Chinese CoronaVac jab, a key tool in Brazil’s fight against Covid-19, is less effective against the Gamma variant first detected in the virus-ravaged South American country, a study said Friday. Researchers found that antibodies generated by the vaccine work less well against the variant than a previous coronavirus strain, while Gamma may also be able to reinfect people who had previously had the virus. Gamma’s capacity to evade these […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Pfizer and BioNTech announced Thursday they would seek regulatory authorization for a third dose of their Covid-19 vaccine. It comes after initial data from an ongoing trial showed a third shot pushed antibody levels five to 10 times higher against the original coronavirus strain and the Beta variant, first found in South Africa, compared to the first two doses alone, according to a statement. “The companies expect to publish more […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — The Southeast Asian Games, which were due to take place in Vietnam this year, have been postponed because of the pandemic and will most likely be held in 2022, a member of the organising council said Thursday. The regional Olympics were scheduled to be held in Hanoi and 11 other locations from November 21 to December 2. But Vietnam is struggling to contain a new coronavirus outbreak, and many Southeast […]
