by Adam Plowright with Hui Min Neo in Berlin and AFP bureaus PARIS, France (AFP) — France announced a new month-long national lockdown and Germany imposed drastic new curbs on people’s daily lives as the EU’s biggest countries admitted that hospitals would soon be overwhelmed by patients suffering from coronavirus. The dramatic lockdown decision from French President Emmanuel Macron came after weeks of exponentially rising new infections across Europe that have forced governments across the […]
Tag: health
Ronaldo still positive for coronavirus before Barcelona game
TURIN, Italy (AFP) — Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive again for coronavirus on the eve of Juventus’s Champions League clash against his great rival Lionel Messi’s Barcelona, according to media reports in Italy and Portugal. Portuguese TVI reported that Ronaldo “has once against tested positive for Covid-19” following a swab carried out by Juventus. The 35-year-old is now awaiting the result of a UEFA test which, if also positive, would rule him out of […]
Pfizer says Covid-19 vaccine still possible in 2020 despite data lag
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Pfizer executives expressed measured optimism Tuesday over the prospect of providing a coronavirus vaccine in 2020 even as they signaled key data on the vaccine would not be released before the US election. Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said the drug giant could supply some 40 million doses in the United States in 2020 if clinical testing proceeds as expected and regulators approve a vaccine. “If all goes well, […]
Spanish doctors stage walkout as virus cases soar
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spanish doctors staged their first national strike in 25 years Tuesday to demand better working conditions and greater recognition as the country grapples with the second wave of coronavirus infections. About 85 percent of Spain’s 267,000 doctors took part in the walkout, most of them symbolically as they continued to see patients, said the State Confederation of Medical Unions (CESM) which called the 24-hour action. While officially declaring themselves to be […]
Russia seeks accelerated WHO registration for virus vaccine
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia has applied to the World Health Organization for accelerated registration and pre-qualification of its Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, the country’s sovereign wealth fund said Tuesday. Russia announced in August that it had registered the world’s first coronavirus vaccine, named after the Soviet-era satellite. On Tuesday, the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which finances the vaccine, said that accelerated registration would make Sputnik V “available globally in a shorter time frame than […]
Asymptomatic virus sufferers lose antibodies sooner: study
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Asymptomatic coronavirus sufferers appear to lose detectable antibodies sooner than people who have exhibited Covid-19 symptoms, according to one of the biggest studies of its kind in Britain published on Tuesday. The findings by Imperial College London and market research firm Ipsos Mori also suggest the loss of antibodies was slower in 18–24 year-olds compared to those aged 75 and over. Overall, samples from hundreds of thousands of people across […]
Poland’s president tests positive for coronavirus
by Mary SIBIERSKI Agence France Presse WARSAW, Poland (AFP) — Poland’s President Andrzej Duda said he had tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday, as the EU country faces a record rise in cases and mass protests despite a ban on public gatherings intended to stem infections. Duda is the latest in a string of leaders to have been diagnosed with the virus, including US President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazil’s […]
US sees daily record of nearly 80,000 new Covid-19 cases
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A record of nearly 80,000 new Covid-19 infections over the course of a day were reported in the United States on Friday, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. Between 8:30 pm Thursday and the same time Friday, 79,963 infections were recorded, bringing the total number since the start of the pandemic to nearly 8.5 million in the country. The United States had already approached the bar of 80,000 […]
Millions more head into UK virus lockdowns
by Jitendra JOSHI Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Millions more people headed into coronavirus lockdowns in Britain on Friday, as the government boosted a financial support package but acknowledged failures in a hugely expensive testing programme. Central Manchester was eerily quiet after the central government imposed its most stringent measures on the city and its surrounding region, following bitter resistance from local leaders who wanted more money to help affected businesses […]
US gives full approval to antiviral remdesivir to treat Covid-19
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday granted full approval to the antiviral drug remdesivir as a treatment for patients hospitalized with Covid-19, after conditional authorization was given in May. Gilead said the drug, sold under the brand name Veklury, was the only specific treatment for Covid-19 approved so far under a more rigorous process. However, other treatments have received authorization for emergency use, though that approval can be […]
Spain becomes first EU nation with one million virus cases
by Daniel SILVA Agence France Presse Spain has become the first European Union nation to record a million coronavirus infections, official data showed on Wednesday, as the government mulled fresh restrictions on public life to curb the spread of the disease. The country recorded 16,973 confirmed cases of Covid-19 over the past 24 hours, the health ministry announced, taking the total to 1,005,295 since its first case was diagnosed on January 31 on the […]
Germany reports record new virus cases in 24 hours
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany recorded 11,287 new Covid-19 infections in 24 hours, a sharp jump from the previous day and a record for the country since the outbreak of the pandemic, according to official data Thursday. The figure far exceeds the next highest total of 7,830 recorded last Friday, and is a steep jump from the 7,595 cases reported on Wednesday by the Robert Koch Institute. A press conference was expected later Thursday morning, […]





