Tag: health

China authorities take over medical supplies production as Covid surges

by Sebastien RICCI with Luna LIN and Holmes CHAN in Hong Kong Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — China has requisitioned medical supplies production across the country as millions struggle to obtain basic drugs and testing kits in the face of a surge in Covid-19 cases. Pharmacies in major cities have been stripped bare in the wake of the Chinese government’s sudden decision to lift years of lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing. Authorities have urged […]

Elderly Covid patients fill hospital wards in China’s major cities

by Laurie CHEN and Vivian LIN in Shanghai Agence France-Presse CHONGQING, China (AFP) — Elderly patients lined the wards of hospitals in major cities in China Thursday as the country battled a wave of Covid cases. The virus is surging across the vast Asian nation in an outbreak authorities say is impossible to track after the end of mandatory mass testing. And with cases soaring, Washington called on Beijing to share its Covid outbreak data, […]

UK ambulance workers ready to join widening strikes

by Helen ROWE / Joe JACKSON Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — UK ambulance workers readied to walk out on Wednesday, a day after nurses staged their second stoppage, in a widening dispute with the government which is refusing to cede to above-inflation demands on pay. The series of walkouts has intensified, with industrial action by railway workers and passport control officers threatening to ruin festive holiday getaways. On Wednesday, ambulance staff including paramedics […]

Germany to pay more for children’s meds as shortages spike

Berlin, Germany (AFP) Germany will pay up to 50 percent more for common children’s medication such as cough syrup and fever drugs to combat a severe shortage this winter, the health minister said Tuesday. Like other European countries, Germany has for weeks struggled with supply bottlenecks abroad that have hampered the delivery of key medicines, particularly liquid ibuprofen and paracetamol for children. “Children must get the medication they need,” Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told reporters. […]

UK nurses stage new walkout over pay

London, United Kingdom (AFP) by Joe JACKSON UK nurses on Tuesday staged a second one-day strike amid an increasingly acrimonious fight with the government for better wages and warnings that patient safety could be jeopardised. Up to 100,000 members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland walked out for the first time in the union’s 106-year history last Thursday. They want an above-inflation pay increase to make up for […]

China megacity says people with symptomatic Covid can work ‘as normal’

  Beijing, China (AFP) People with Covid-19 symptoms in one of China’s largest cities can now go to work “as normal”, state media reported Monday, a dramatic reversal in a country where a single case could previously send thousands into lockdown. The world’s most populous nation is unwinding years of hardline coronavirus policy, with Covid spreading rapidly in the wake of the official end of mass lockdowns, testing and quarantines. And with authorities admitting the […]

Beijing crematoriums strain under China Covid wave

  Beijing, China (AFP) by Laurie CHEN Workers at Beijing crematoriums said Friday they are overwhelmed as China faces a surge in Covid cases that authorities warn could hit its underdeveloped rural hinterland during upcoming public holidays. Covid-19 is spreading rapidly across China after three years of strict containment measures ended last week, with health authorities now admitting the true scale of the outbreak is “impossible” to track. China’s top Covid response body on Friday […]

China says tracking Covid cases now ‘impossible’ as infections soar

BEIJING, China (AFP) — The true scale of Covid-19 infections in China is now “impossible” to track, the country’s top health body said Wednesday, as officials warned of a rapid spread in Beijing after the country abruptly dropped its zero-tolerance policy. China last week loosened restrictions for mass testing and quarantine after nearly three years of attempting to stamp out the virus, prompting officially reported infections to fall quickly from the all-time highs recorded last […]

Video game hub Japan confronts problem of addiction

by Kyoko HASEGAWA  Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — From Super Mario to Final Fantasy, Japan has long been synonymous with gaming, but some experts and parents fear a growing addiction problem is going unaddressed. While nearby nations like China and South Korea have imposed drastic restrictions on youth gaming in recent years — with mixed results — some Japanese families feel they are being left to deal with the issue on their own. Each […]

Musk targets US Covid response lead Fauci in viral tweet

  San Francisco, United States (AFP) Elon Musk on Sunday targeted America’s outgoing top infectious disease official and key advisor of the US response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Anthony Fauci, in a viral tweet that sparked backlash. “My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci,” the billionaire Twitter CEO said, alluding to the practice of indicating gender pronouns after one’s name as well as the right-wing campaign to charge Fauci with crimes related to his involvement in US Covid […]

China faces soaring Covid cases as hardline policy eases

Beijing, China (AFP) by Jing Xuan TENG / Laurie CHEN Covid cases are surging in the Chinese capital, officials said Monday, as the country navigates a rapid turn away from its zero-tolerance coronavirus strategy. Just a few days after China began loosening restrictions, Beijing authorities said more than 22,000 patients had visited hospitals across the city in the previous day — 16 times the number a week ago. “The current trend of the rapid spread […]

Striking UK nurses say walkouts over pay ‘last resort’

by Helen ROWE Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — UK nurses are set to walk out on strike for the first time in their union’s 106-year history this week, insisting they are taking action as a “last resort”. Up to 100,000 members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will hold a one-day stoppage on Thursday after rejecting a government pay offer. Chemotherapy, dialysis, intensive care and high-dependency […]