Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Sunday announced a new series of measures to tackle the rising number of virus cases, with restrictions placed on bars and restaurants and push to increase working from home. Restaurants will have to display their maximum capacity, close at midnight at the latest and limit the number of people per table to six, while bars will have to close at 6pm unless they can offer […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The coronavirus remains active on human skin for nine hours, Japanese researchers have found, in a discovery they said showed the need for frequent hand washing to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. The pathogen that causes the flu survives on human skin for about 1.8 hours by comparison, said the study published this month in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal. “The nine-hour survival of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus strain that causes Covid-19) on […]
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Lockdown restrictions in Australia’s second-biggest city were eased slightly Sunday following a steady decline in new coronavirus cases, but officials stopped short of ending a controversial “stay-at-home” rule. More than 100 days after the lockdown was imposed on Melbourne’s five million residents to fight an out-of-control surge of Covid-19 cases, authorities said that as of midnight they were lifting a two-hour limit on the time people could spend outside their […]
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — The number of people in South Africa who have tested positive for coronavirus has topped 700,000, official figures showed overnight, another grim milestone for the continent’s worst-hit country. Statistics released by the health ministry showed 2,019 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, taking the country’s total to 700,203. Its total number of coronavirus-related deaths rose to 18,370 after 61 more were registered over the 24-hour reporting period. South Africa accounts for […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — The number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus in France over the past 24 hours has exceeded 30,000 for the first time, official data showed on Thursday. France’s public health agency said that a total 30,621 confirmed cases of Covid-19 had been detected in the past 24 hours, a record daily total. The number of people who have died from the novel coronavirus over the same 24-hour period stood […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — President Vladimir Putin announced on Wednesday that Russia has registered its second coronavirus vaccine, while the country reported a record number of new infections. “The Novosibirsk Vektor centre today registered the second Russian vaccine against coronavirus — EpiVacCorona,” Putin said during a video conference with cabinet members. Vektor, a top-secret laboratory in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, conducted biological weapons research in the Soviet era and stockpiles viruses ranging from Ebola […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Almost 10 million people in the Chinese city of Qingdao have now been screened for the coronavirus, officials said Thursday, as authorities rushed to quash an outbreak through an ambitious program of mass testing. Deputy mayor Luan Xin said more than 9.9 million samples had been collected and 7.6 million results returned, adding that no new cases had been found. The city has now confirmed 13 cases, Luan told a regular […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — The French government said on Wednesday it was re-imposing a state of health emergency to contain the spread of Covid-19. The move, announced shortly before President Emmanuel Macron was to appear on national television to announce fresh coronavirus measures, will allow “measures proportional to the health risks to be taken”, and will enter into force on Saturday, according to minutes from a cabinet meeting Wednesday. France was facing “a health catastrophe”, […]
by Lucie GODEAU / Peter BRIEGER JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Developing countries must have ‘equal access’ to future Covid-19 vaccines, Indonesia’s foreign minister warned, as wealthy nations scoop up billions of doses. Retno Marsudi said it was crucial for rich and poor nations to work together so “we can guarantee equal access to a safe and affordable vaccine”. “Can you imagine…if most vaccines go to developed countries?” Marsudi told AFP in a video interview from […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore’s coronavirus-hit economy shrank at a slower pace in the third quarter as restrictions were eased, official data showed Wednesday, but the trade-reliant city-state still faces a long road to recovery. The financial hub plunged into its first recession since the 2008 global financial crisis in the second quarter when the government closed businesses as part of drastic measures to contain infections. One of the world’s most open economies, Singapore is […]
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook on Tuesday announced a ban on ads that discourage people from getting vaccinated, in light of the coronavirus pandemic which the social media giant said has “highlighted the importance of preventive health behaviors.” “While public health experts agree that we won’t have an approved and widely available Covid-19 vaccine for some time, there are steps that people can take to stay healthy and safe,” the company said in […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The World Bank said Tuesday that it approved $12 billion for developing countries to finance the purchase and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, tests and treatment. The financing “aims to support vaccination of up to a billion people,” the bank said in a statement. The money is part of an overall World Bank Group (WBG) package of up to $160 billion through June 2021 designed to help developing countries battle […]
