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SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea reported its highest daily number of coronavirus cases since early March on Sunday as authorities warned the country was “on the brink of a nationwide pandemic” and tightened social distancing rules. The majority of the 397 new infections were in the greater Seoul region — home to half the country’s 51 million people, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Authorities warned of tougher social […]
(Eagle News) – The Department of Health said that most of the 643 COVID-19 active cases involving health care workers are mild and asymptomatic cases, with only three cases in severe condition and two are critical cases. The latest data reported on Saturday, Aug. 22, were as of Aug. 21, Friday. The DOH said that a total of 6,399 health care workers have been infected with coronavirus, but that 5,717 have already recovered, accounting for […]
NOVO PROGRESSO, Brazil (AFP) — Armed with spears and bows, dozens of indigenous protesters in Brazil vowed Thursday to maintain a roadblock on a key highway until the authorities listen to their demands for help fighting COVID-19 and deforestation. Members of the Kayapo Mekranoti ethnic group have been blocking highway BR-163 through the Amazon since Monday outside the northern town of Novo Progresso. But they vowed that they would no longer lift their blockade periodically to […]
LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Peru’s year-on-year GDP fell by 30 percent in the second quarter of 2020 as it was badly affected by coronavirus containment measures, the government said on Thursday. Meanwhile, Argentina’s state statistics institute said its economy contracted by almost 13 percent in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period last year. In Peru, mandatory confinement was in place throughout the whole of the second quarter and was only […]
MONTEVIDO, Uruguay (AFP) — Latin America and the Caribbean surpassed 250,000 deaths from the coronavirus on Thursday, according to an AFP tally based on official national statistics. The region recorded 6,463,245 infections and 250,969 deaths by 2200 GMT. Brazil is the region’s worst-affected country with 3.5 million cases and more than 112,000 deaths. The South American giant is second only to the United States as the world’s worst-hit country. Peru, where figures released Thursday showed […]
Numbers could go higher if pandemic drags on by Heather SCOTT Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The coronavirus pandemic may have driven as many as 100 million people back into extreme poverty, World Bank President David Malpass warned Thursday. The Washington-based development lender previously estimated that 60 million people would fall into extreme poverty due to COVID-19, but the new estimate puts the deterioration at 70 to 100 million, and he […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia said on Thursday it would start clinical trials of its controversial coronavirus vaccine next week, involving tens of thousands of people. President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month that Russia had become the first country to register a coronavirus vaccine, though the announcement was met with caution from scientists and the World Health Organization who said it still needed a rigorous safety review. Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, which finances the […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — France reported 4,771 new coronavirus cases over 24 hours on Thursday, 1,000 more than Wednesday, health authorities said. The spike in new cases marked the first jump of more than 4,000 in a day since May, although the number of new patients hospitalized at 149 was down on 162 for Wednesday, the DGS public health directorate said. Currently, 4,748 people are hospitalized with the virus across the country, which is down […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Anthony Fauci, the United States’ top infectious diseases official, said Wednesday the government wouldn’t make any future COVID-19 vaccine obligatory for the general public — though local jurisdictions could make it mandatory for some groups, like children. “You don’t want to mandate and try and force anyone to take a vaccine. We’ve never done that,” said Fauci, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, during a video […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany has recorded 1,707 new cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, the highest daily toll since April, official figures showed Thursday. Germany has fared better than many European neighbours in suppressing the virus so far but like elsewhere, the number of cases has jumped significantly over the summer holidays. Much of the rise has been blamed on returning holidaymakers as well as parties and family gatherings. The […]
by Sara HUSSEIN TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A new method to create insulin-producing pancreatic cells from stem cells and protect them from the body’s immune system could pave the way for improving experimental diabetes treatment. In type-1 diabetes, the body turns on itself and attacks the so-called beta cells inside clusters in the pancreas called “islets”. These beta cells are responsible for gauging sugar levels in the blood and releasing insulin to keep them stable. […]
by Andrew Beatty with AFP bureaus SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s leader called Wednesday for coronavirus immunizations to be mandatory, wading into ethical and safety debates raging around the world as the race to develop a vaccine gathers pace. Almost 30 potential vaccines are currently being tested on humans across the globe in hope of ending a pandemic that has now killed more than 775,000 people and infected nearly 22 million, according to an AFP […]
