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YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Myanmar authorities announced stay-at-home measures in parts of commercial capital Yangon on Wednesday, as the country reported its highest daily coronavirus caseload in months. From Thursday, a ban on more than one person leaving home for non-medical reasons will apply to 10 Yangon townships, which together are home to around 1.5 million people. No timeframe was given for the restrictions, on townships including Hlaing Thar Yar — scene of huge pro-democracy […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US biotech firm Moderna said Wednesday it had dosed its first participants in a human study of an mRNA vaccine that targets multiple strains of influenza. The company intends to recruit 180 adults in the United States for the Phase 1/2 portion of the trial to evaluate the safety and strength of immune response to the shot, called mRNA-1010. It is based on the same messenger ribonucleic (mRNA) technology deployed […]
by Robin MILLARD GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization on Wednesday urged “extreme caution” for countries considering lifting Covid-19 restrictions, warning that high vaccination rates would not stop transmission of the virus increasing. The UN health agency urged governments not to squander hard-won gains and return to scenes of overwhelmed hospitals and exhausted health workers. Asked about England’s plans to ditch most of its coronavirus restrictions from July 19, WHO emergencies director Michael […]
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — The highly contagious coronavirus Delta variant “is already circulating” in Brazil’s most populated state, Sao Paulo, said authorities Wednesday in the country with the world’s second-highest death toll. The variant, which has boosted infection numbers even in countries with high vaccination rates, “is already indigenous, that is to say, it is already circulating in our environment in people who have not traveled or have had contact with someone who had […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The Japanese government plans to impose a virus state of emergency in Tokyo during the Olympics, reports said Wednesday, meaning spectators could be barred from venues. The emergency measures — less strict than a blanket lockdown — will be in force until August 22, several Japanese media outlets reported, following a rise in cases less than three weeks before the Games begin. “The government decided to declare the fourth state of […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia expanded nationwide coronavirus curbs Wednesday to battle its deadliest Covid-19 wave yet, as the death toll rocketed with the government warning that the worst may be yet to come. The new restrictions would apply to dozens of cities and extend from Sumatra island in the west to easternmost Papua as the highly infectious Delta variant rips across the Southeast Asian archipelago after battering densely populated Java. “Cases are also rising […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A Covid-19 outbreak on China’s porous border with Myanmar pushed new cases to the country’s highest level in six months, according to official data Wednesday, despite tightened border security. The coronavirus first emerged in central China in late 2019, but a series of strict measures and harsh border restrictions have succeeded in mostly stamping out cases within its borders. But on Wednesday, 57 new infections were reported — the highest daily […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — More than five million Sydney residents will spend at least another week in coronavirus lockdown, Australian authorities said Wednesday, after detecting another 27 new cases. Stay-at-home orders have already been in place in the country’s biggest city for two weeks, as authorities try to curb an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant. State officials said progress had been made, but light-touch measures — allowing residents to leave home for work, […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — An American Airlines flight from North Carolina to the Bahamas was delayed by a day after around 30 teenagers refused to wear masks, local media said Tuesday. Flight 893 was scheduled for take-off from Charlotte Douglas airport late Monday but only left the tarmac on Tuesday morning, with the troublemakers still on board. An initial delay of several hours was caused by mechanical problems, but when the plane was finally […]
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israel agreed on a Covid vaccine swap with South Korea Tuesday, sending 700,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab to Seoul “immediately” in return for the same number in coming months. A statement from Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office said the deal, the first of its kind for Israel, would allow more effective use of the vaccine stocks of both countries. The statement added that Bennett had spoken to Pfizer chief executive […]
by Sebastian Smith WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States began sending Vietnam two million doses of Covid-19 vaccine Tuesday, the White House said, in its latest assistance to countries struggling to tame the pandemic. The Moderna vaccine shipment — part of a first 80 million doses that President Joe Biden has pledged to allocate worldwide — should arrive in Vietnam this weekend, a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The UK announced plans to further relax to its pandemic curbs on Tuesday despite warning that the number of daily new cases is set to more than treble to reach 100,000. From August 16, adults in England who have received both doses of a coronavirus vaccine will no longer need to self-isolate if they are in close contact with a positive case, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said. Instead they will […]
