Tag: health

Brazil indigenous protesters defy court, resume roadblock

NOVO PROGRESSO, Brazil (AFP) — Indigenous protesters in Brazil defied a court order Tuesday and resumed a roadblock of a key highway through the Amazon rainforest, demanding help against the new coronavirus and an end to illegal mining and deforestation. Brandishing bows and wearing traditional feather headdresses and body paint, dozens of protesters from the Kayapo Mekranoti ethnic group have been blocking highway BR-163 through the Amazon rainforest since Monday morning. They briefly lifted their […]

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Brazil approves final tests of J&J virus vaccine

REIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazilian health regulators said Tuesday they had approved Johnson & Johnson’s experimental vaccine against the new coronavirus for the final stage of clinical trials, the fourth vaccine to receive widespread testing in the hard-hit country. The US pharmaceutical company’s subsidiary Janssen will test the vaccine on 7,000 volunteers across seven states in Brazil, part of a group of up to 60,000 worldwide, health regulator Anvisa said in a statement. […]

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‘Test-&-trace’ crucial but won’t beat coronavirus alone: study

by Marlowe HOOD PARIS, France (AFP) — Testing for COVID-19 and tracing the prior contacts of those found to be infected are crucial measures for slowing the disease’s spread, but inadequate unless combined with other measures, researchers said Wednesday. By itself, the test-and-trace approach can reduce the virus’ reproduction rate, or R number, by 26 percent, they reported in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, using mathematical models to examine data from previously published studies. The reproduction […]

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WHO urges nations to join global shared vaccine bid

by Robin MILLARD GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The WHO wrote to every country on Tuesday urging them to quickly join its global shared vaccine program and spelled out who would get its eventual coronavirus jabs first. The World Health Organization’s director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that without vaccinating the highest-risk populations around the world all at the same time, it would be impossible to rebuild the global economy. And he said the most exposed 20 […]

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Australia to manufacture ‘promising’ virus vaccine and give free to citizens

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia has secured access to a “promising” potential coronavirus vaccine, the prime minister announced Tuesday, saying the country would manufacture it and offer free doses to the entire population. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia had reached a deal with Swedish-British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to receive the COVID-19 vaccine it is developing with Oxford University. “The Oxford vaccine is one of the most advanced and promising in the world, and under […]

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S. Korea tightens restrictions in Seoul area to tackle virus surge

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea on Tuesday ordered nightclubs, museums and buffet restaurants closed and banned large gatherings in and around the capital as a burst of new coronavirus cases sparked fears of a major second wave. The country’s “trace, test and treat” approach to curbing the virus has been held up as a global model, but it is now battling several clusters mostly linked to Protestant churches. Authorities reported 246 new infections […]

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Mexican president says he will get Russian vaccine if effective

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday that he would be among the first to receive a Russian coronavirus vaccine if it is shown to be effective. Russia’s announcement last week that it was the first in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine was met with caution from Western scientists who said it still needed to be proved safe and effective. “I would be the first to get […]

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COVID-19 deaths spike among Syria medical personnel

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — The number of COVID-19 deaths among medical personnel in government-held parts of Syria has shot up in recent weeks amid a rise in infections, several sources told AFP. The capital Damascus has been especially hard hit, with doctors warning of a deteriorating situation in overcrowded hospitals struggling to cope with the influx of patients. The Syndicate of Doctors in Damascus on July 25 started to publish lists of doctors it said […]

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Volunteers flock to vaccine trials in virus hotspot Florida

by Leila MACOR MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Heather Lieberman is betting that she will gain immunity from the coronavirus. Sandra Rodriguez wants to work with scientists for the good of the community. Both have signed up for clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines in Florida, the new US epicenter of the global health crisis. “I want to be part of history. I want to help,” said Rodriguez, a 63-year-old teacher sitting in the offices of […]

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India coronavirus deaths hit 50,000

  by Bhuvan BAGGA gence France Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India’s death toll from the coronavirus hit 50,000 on Monday, with more than 900 new fatalities reported in 24 hours, health ministry data showed. The country last week overtook Britain with the world’s fourth-highest number of deaths, behind the United States, Brazil and Mexico, and has recorded 2.6 million infections. India’s death toll from the pandemic now stands at 50,921, an increase of […]

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Thailand’s economy shrinks most in more than 20 years

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand’s economy suffered its worst contraction since the Asian financial crisis more than two decades ago, data showed Monday, as the coronavirus shattered the country’s crucial tourism industry. The kingdom has largely escaped the worst of the disease — registering 3,300 cases and 58 deaths despite being the first country outside China to register an infection in January. But pandemic-spurred lockdowns brought the economy to a staggering halt, shrinking 12.2 percent […]

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New Zealand PM delays election after virus return

by Neil SANDS WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday delayed New Zealand’s looming election by four weeks to October 17 after a renewed coronavirus outbreak hampered campaigning. Ardern was under pressure from political opponents and her coalition partners to shift the original September 19 vote following the shock discovery of COVID-19 in Auckland last week, sending the country’s largest city into lockdown. She said the return of the virus after […]

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