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WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The head of the US Food and Drug Administration raised the possibility in an interview published Sunday that a future vaccine against the coronavirus might be given emergency approval before the end of trials designed to ensure its safety and effectiveness. A request for such extraordinary approval would have to come from the vaccine developer, Stephen Hahn told the Financial Times. “If they do that before the end of […]
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Three Nigerian migrants attacked staff in a military hospital in Rome after testing positive for the new coronavirus, the defence ministry said Saturday. The incident at the Celio military hospital, now turned into a COVID-19 treatment centre, occurred when they saw a Bangladeshi migrant walking out after testing negative and then tried to flee but were stopped. They are accused of violence, resistance and causing bodily harm. “The attacks at […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — France on Friday said there had been an “exponential” rise in coronavirus cases with more than 7,000 new infections in 24 hours. “The dynamic of the progression of the epidemic is exponential,” France’s directorate general of health said, adding that there were 7,379 new infections in mainland France against 6,111 on Thursday and 5,429 on Wednesday. This was the highest figure recorded since testing was expanded in France. The 4,000-mark […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s government on Friday urged people to return to work amid concern about the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on the economy and struggling high street businesses. “It is now safe to go back to work,” Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told Sky News television in an interview. “I think there’s a limit, just in human terms, to remote working. And there are things where you just need to spark […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Thursday pledged to “crush” the coronavirus pandemic with a vaccine by the end of the year, as he accepted the Republican nomination for a second term. “We are marshaling America’s scientific genius to produce a vaccine in record time,” Trump said. “We will have a safe and effective vaccine this year and together we will crush the virus.” © Agence France-Presse
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The WHO said Thursday it was setting up a committee to consider changing the rules on declaring an international health emergency, following criticism of its Covid-19 pandemic response. The World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) over the new coronavirus on January 30 — at which time the respiratory disease had infected fewer than 100 people outside China, and claimed no lives beyond its borders. But […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — France’s prime minister on Thursday announced face masks will become compulsory throughout Paris, expressing concern over an “undeniable” trend of expanding coronavirus infection in the country. Jean Castex said 19 more departments have been added to a map with “red” zones of active virus circulation, meaning 21 of France’s 94 departments are classified as such. Official figures released Wednesday showed more than 5,400 confirmed new cases in just 24 hours, […]
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Rampant fires in the Amazon are “poisoning the air” of the world’s biggest rainforest, causing a sharp rise in respiratory emergencies in a region already hit hard by Covid-19, said a study published Wednesday. The fires that engulfed the Brazilian Amazon last year to global outcry caused an estimated 2,195 people in the region to be hospitalized for respiratory distress driven by inhaling smoke-polluted air, found the study by […]
by Kelly MACNAMARA Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A new study looking at male and female immune responses to the new coronavirus may shed new light on why men are more likely to become seriously ill with Covid-19, researchers said Wednesday. Since early in the pandemic it has been clear that men, particularly older men, are at a far higher risk of dying from the virus than women of a similar age, but scientists […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s parliament was shut down on Thursday and a group of lawmakers were in self-quarantine as the country recorded more than 400 new coronavirus infections. The South endured one of the worst early outbreaks of Covid-19 outside mainland China before bringing it broadly under control with extensive tracing and testing, but is now battling several clusters mostly linked to Protestant churches. Thursday’s 441 new cases were mostly in the […]
LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Peru on Wednesday began registering volunteers for clinical trials of a Chinese vaccine against the coronavirus. Six thousand volunteers, who must be aged between 18 and 75 and not have contracted the virus, will be recruited by Cayetano Heredia and San Marcos universities via a dedicated website. “The universities will select 3,000 volunteers each,” San Marcos rector Orestes Cachay told reporters. The vaccine, being developed by Chinese company Sinopharm, will be […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean state media on Wednesday showed leader Kim Jong Un at a meeting of a top committee issuing warnings about the coronavirus and a looming typhoon, following international speculation over his state of health. Kim’s comments come amid conjecture over his condition after South Korea’s spy agency said he had delegated some authority to his sister Kim Yo Jong to relieve his “governance stress”. A former aide to late […]
