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BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s health regulator on Monday denied a request from several states to import Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, saying it did not have the data needed to verify the jab’s safety and efficacy. “We will never allow millions of Brazilians to be exposed to products without due verification of quality, safety and efficacy, or at minimum, facing the grave situation we are now going through, that the benefits will outweigh the […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia on Tuesday announced a temporary ban on direct passenger flights from India, as the South Asian nation grapples with a massive surge in coronavirus infections. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the suspension would remain in place until at least May 15 due to “clearly present” risks of travel from India, leaving thousands of Australians — including high-profile cricketers — stranded. It follows similar moves by countries including Canada, the United […]
by Katie Forster / Natsuko FUKUE TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Three months before it hosts the Olympics — the biggest international event since the pandemic began — Japan has fully vaccinated less than one percent of its population in a cautious, slow-moving programme. Olympic organisers and local officials stress vaccines are not a prerequisite for the Games. Participants will not have to be inoculated before arrival and there are no plans to prioritise vaccination of […]
ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday announced a full lockdown from April 29 to May 17 to fight a surging third wave of coronavirus infections. The nation of 84 million has seen daily Covid-19 death tolls rise to around 350 — higher than during two previous spikes last year. Turkey’s 37,312 new infections reported on Monday were the highest in Europe but still down from the peak of nearly 60,000 […]
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Authorities in northern Italy announced Monday they had identified two cases of the Indian variant of coronavirus, in a father and daughter recently returned from India. The news follows reports of another case in the central region of Tuscany last month, and comes after the Italian government banned arrivals from the virus-hit country. “Today in (the city of) Bassano we have the first two patients, two Indians,” announced Luca Zaia, head […]
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — South Africa announced Monday it would shortly resume using Johnson & Johnson anti-Covid vaccines, two weeks after the jab was suspended to vet risks over blood clots. The vaccine will be included in South Africa’s much-delayed anti-Covid vaccination campaign from Wednesday after being given the green light by SAHPRA, the country’s health watchdog. “It has since been established there is a one in a million chance of getting the clot […]
NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (AFP) — Kazakhstan on Monday rolled out its homegrown coronavirus vaccine, with the Central Asian country’s health minister receiving the jab on live television. QazCovid-in, also known as QazVac, is a two-shot vaccine that is currently in third stage trials. The state broadcaster Khabar said that 50,000 doses of the vaccine developed by the state-backed Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems have been distributed across the vast oil-rich country. Health Minister Alexei Tsoi told […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong and Singapore on Monday announced plans to resurrect their scrapped coronavirus travel bubble with dedicated flights between the two cities starting on May 26. The two business hubs had to abandon a highly anticipated quarantine-free travel corridor late last year after Hong Kong was hit with a fourth wave of infections. From May 26, one flight per day carrying up to 200 passengers will shuttle between the two […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australian authorities on Monday lifted a snap three-day lockdown of Perth, but faced pointed questions about how the coronavirus leaked from a quarantine hotel for returning travellers. Stay-at-home orders for Perth and surrounding areas will expire at midnight Monday, after just two people contracted Covid-19 out of thousands tested in the region. “It was a circuit breaker we needed to limit community spread and keep our community healthy,” Western Australia state […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — New Covid restrictions came into force in Thailand on Monday to try to halt a spiralling outbreak that saw deaths hit a record single-day high over the weekend. In Bangkok — where the latest outbreak has been traced back to a nightlife district — as well as 46 other provinces, wearing masks is now compulsory in public spaces, backed up by the threat of a 20,000 baht ($640) fine. Authorities in […]
by Jalees Andrabi and Glenda Kwek with Bhuvan Bagga NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India’s capital New Delhi on Sunday extended its lockdown, as the country’s Covid-19 crisis grew with infections and deaths hitting record highs. The healthcare system has struggled to cope with the huge surge, with reports of severe oxygen and medicine shortages and patients’ families pleading for help on social media. India recorded 349,691 new cases and 2,767 deaths in the past […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccinations can restart, US health regulators said Friday, after the shots’ rollout was paused due to worries over blood clotting. Health authorities in the United States on April 14 proposed a halt on the vaccine following instances of severe blood clots among a handful of the millions of Americans who received the vaccine. The news came shortly after an expert panel recommended lifting the pause because […]
