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WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — In his first White House briefing as President Joe Biden’s top advisor on Covid-19, Anthony Fauci said it was “liberating” that he could focus on science without fear of repercussion now that Donald Trump had left office. The top infectious disease scientist was briefing reporters Thursday on the state of the US outbreak that has claimed more than 408,000 lives. Asked to compare his experience under the previous administration […]
by Nina LARSON with AFP Bureaus Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The United States on Thursday said it would resume its funding for the UN’s health agency as President Joe Biden shifts towards greater international cooperation in the fight against Covid-19, while also launching a $1.9 trillion plan to tackle the pandemic at home. On his first day in the job, Biden confirmed he had reversed the decision of former president Donald Trump […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The number of US Covid-19 deaths on Wednesday surpassed the country’s toll of military fatalities in World War II, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University. As of the evening, the tracker showed that 405,400 people have died from the disease caused by the new coronavirus in the United States. The total number of combat and non-combat deaths in World War II was 405,399, according to the […]
LOS ANGELES. United States (AFP) — Memphis’ NBA game at the Portland Trail Blazers scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed with the Grizzles depleted by coronavirus contact tracing, the league said. The 16th such postponement of the season came on the day the league announced that of 502 players tested for Covid-19 since January 13, 11 new players had returned a confirmed positive test. The league’s coronavirus protocols require anyone who tests positive, or who […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain on Wednesday announced 1,820 fatalities from Covid-19 in a 24-hour period, breaking the previous day’s record toll and taking its total death toll to 93,290. Recent weeks have seen the UK register the highest tallies of daily deaths since the pandemic began, as a virus variant believed to be more contagious has swept the country and threatened to overwhelm hospitals. © Agence France-Presse
BEIJING, China (AFP) — 1.6 million residents were banned from leaving Beijing on Wednesday as two Covid-19 cases linked to a new UK virus variant were found in the Chinese capital. China has lauded its response to the pandemic, which emerged in the central city of Wuhan just over a year ago but has been broadly brought to heel, officially killing fewer than 5,000 Chinese people. Authorities have been swift to stamp out local clusters […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A partial lockdown was imposed on the Chinese capital Wednesday, with 1.6 million residents banned from leaving Beijing, after a handful of cases were detected. Seven cases were reported in the city on Wednesday, including six in southern Daxing district. All 1.6 million residents of Daxing must not leave Beijing unless they have received special permission from the authorities and tested negative for Covid-19 in the past three days, the […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The United Nations said Tuesday that $76 million was urgently needed to help over one million people in southern Madagascar facing potentially life-threating shortages of food, water and health assistance. The UN humanitarian agency OCHA issued its so-called flash appeal after the impoverished island country in eastern Africa saw its agricultural season ruined by the worst drought in a decade. At the same time, the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic […]
by Kelly MACNAMARA PARIS, France (AFP) — People may be able to fight off reinfection for at least six months after they recover from Covid-19 thanks to cells that can “remember” the virus, according to research published Monday. Researchers in the United States and Switzerland studied dozens of people who had recovered from Covid-19 and found that while their antibodies may fade over time, they maintained levels of specific memory B cells. These cells can […]
by Carlos MANDUJANO Agence France-Presse CARAL, Peru (AFP) — Having survived for 5,000 years, the oldest archeological site in the Americas is under threat from squatters claiming the coronavirus pandemic has left them with no other option but to occupy the sacred city. The situation has become so bad that archeologist Ruth Shady, who discovered the Caral site in Peru, has been threatened with death if she doesn’t abandon investigating its treasures. Archeologists told an […]
BELGRADE, Serbia (AFP) — Serbia launched on Tuesday a mass Covid-19 vaccination campaign and became the first European country to use the Chinese-made Sinopharm jab. “It is the only way to return to normal life,” said Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar, the first who received the vaccine. “These are all very safe vaccines,” Loncar said as the state-run RTS television carried his vaccination live at the virology institute in Belgrade. There is no reason for concern […]
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — The Israeli government decided Tuesday to extend the country’s coronavirus lockdown to the end of the month after a spike in infections, despite an intensive vaccination campaign. Israel began its third lockdown in late December and tightened it on January 8, with officials saying at the time it would be lifted after two weeks if the daily caseload decreased sufficiently. Since the rollout of vaccinations one month ago, the Jewish state […]
