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by Adrien MAROTTE ZADIE CAVE, Gabon (AFP) — The scene looks like something out of a science fiction movie, or maybe some dystopian TV series. Six men in yellow biohazard suits clamber in suffocating heat towards a cave in the heart of the Gabonese jungle. Their quest: to unlock new knowledge on how pathogens like coronavirus leap the species barrier to humans. In the cave is their goal — a colony of bats. “Our job […]
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexico will receive its first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccines on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Tuesday. “What they are confirming to us is that the first shipment to Mexico will arrive tomorrow,” he said. The first 1.4 million doses of the vaccine produced by the partnership between US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech will arrive from Belgium. Mexico has been promised 34.4 million doses by […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — A coronavirus outbreak linked to a seafood market in Thailand passed 1,000 cases on Tuesday, as authorities weighed whether to introduce a wider lockdown. Thailand has been on tenterhooks since Thursday following the positive virus test of a 67-year-old prawn seller from Mahachai market, Samut Sakhon province, about 40 minutes southwest of Bangkok. As of early Tuesday morning, there were 1,063 confirmed positive cases out of 6,156 tested — a major […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Hundreds of foreigners in France whose jobs expose them to high Covid-19 risks will be naturalised quickly for their commitment during the health crisis, the interior ministry said Tuesday. The ministry had in September invited people who “actively contributed” to the fight against the novel coronavirus to apply for fast-track naturalization. Of the nearly 3,000 people who responded, 74 had already obtained citizenship and 693 more were in the final stage […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — The co-founder of BioNTech said Tuesday it was “highly likely” that its vaccine against the coronavirus works against the mutated strain detected in Britain, but it could also adapt the vaccine if necessary in six weeks. “Scientifically, it is highly likely that the immune response by this vaccine also can deal with the new virus variant,” said Ugur Sahin. But if needed, “in principle the beauty of the messenger technology is […]
by Heather SCOTT WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US lawmakers on Monday approved a $900 billion relief package for the world’s biggest economy that will provide a long-sought boost for millions of Americans and businesses battered by the coronavirus pandemic. Overwhelming approval in the Senate and House of Representatives cleared the way for the legislation to be sent to President Donald Trump to be signed into law. Trump signed a stopgap measure early Tuesday to […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan reported its first local coronavirus transmission Tuesday, ending 253 days of being virus-free in a major blow for an island that has been lauded for its pandemic response. Health authorities said a woman in her thirties had tested positive for the coronavirus after coming into contact with a “foreign pilot” working for a Taiwanese airline who was a carrier. “Health units arranged for her to be tested and she was […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States surpassed 18 million reported Covid-19 cases on Monday, figures from Johns Hopkins University showed, as the virus surges nationwide. The US has the world’s highest absolute number of cases as well as the most deaths related to the virus, according to the figures. It had a total of 18,006,061 reported cases on Monday evening and more than 319,000 deaths. The country began administering vaccines a week ago […]
DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Qatar received its first novel coronavirus vaccines on Monday, just hours after regulators approved the jab for use in the Gulf state, which says it will innoculate all residents free of charge. A shipment of 14 boxes of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine landed at Doha’s Hamad International Airport aboard a Qatar Airways passenger Boeing 787 from Brussels shortly after 2000 GMT, according to AFP correspondents on site. Authorities have not said how […]
NEWARK, United States (AFP) — US President-elect Joe Biden received a Covid-19 vaccine live on television Monday in a campaign to boost Americans’ confidence in the jabs. The 78-year-old incoming president got the Pfizer vaccine at the Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware. His wife Jill received the shot earlier, the presidential transition team said. Biden told Americans “there’s nothing to worry about” when they get vaccinated and that in the meantime they should keep wearing […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea banned gatherings of more than four people in the capital and surrounding areas Monday as the country recorded its highest daily coronavirus death toll since the epidemic began. While South Korea has suffered relatively lightly compared to other nations, officials said a surge in infections had left hospitals in the capital region with a chronic shortage of intensive care beds. The country reported 926 new coronavirus cases Monday, […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong on Monday said it would ban all flights from Britain following the discovery of a new and highly infectious strain of the coronavirus there. “From midnight there will be no more passenger flights arriving in Hong Kong from the United Kingdom,” health secretary Sophia Chan told reporters. Anyone arriving in Hong Kong who has been the UK in the last 14 days will also have to undergo a […]
