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MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia said Saturday that it has produced the first batch of its coronavirus vaccine, after President Vladimir Putin announced it had been first in the world to approve a vaccine. Putin’s announcement on Tuesday about the vaccine was met with caution from scientists and the World Health Organization who said it still needed a rigorous safety review.afety review. “The first batch of the novel coronavirus vaccine developed by the Gamaleya research […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York’s museums, art galleries and other cultural institutions will be allowed to reopen starting August 24, state governor Andrew Cuomo said Friday after a five-month shutdown due to the coronavirus. However, there will be mandatory face masks, timed ticketing with staggered entry and just 25 percent occupancy, he tweeted. The reopening does not include performing arts venues, which will remain shut until the end of the year. […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s economy suffered its worst contraction in more than 20 years during the second quarter, hit by a collapse in global trade and tough curbs to contain the coronavirus, the central bank said Friday. The economy shrank 17.1 percent on-year in April-June — the first since the global financial crisis in 2009 and the deepest since the Asian financial turmoil 11 years before that — putting it on course […]
by Robin MILLARD Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The WHO on Thursday urged countries to invest billions of dollars in searching for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments — calling it a snip compared to the vast economic cost of the coronavirus crisis. The World Health Organization insisted it was a smarter bet than the trillions of dollars being thrown at handling the consequences of the global pandemic. The UN agency’s chief Tedros Adhanom […]
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexico on Thursday surpassed half a million confirmed cases of COVID-19 after registering 7,371 new infections in 24 hours, authorities said. The country now has 505,293 cases overall, with 55,293 deaths, the Ministry of Health said. © Agence France-Presse
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — If a COVID-19 vaccine is proven effective, the US will ensure it’s distributed for free to all Americans, officials said Thursday, underscoring there will be no shortcuts on safety. “We are not at all reducing the regulatory rigor with which we will evaluate and hopefully approve vaccines,” Paul Mango, a senior health department official, told reporters. Washington has invested more than $10 billion in six vaccine projects and signed contracts […]
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) — A combination of eased restrictions, less strict rule-following in summer and increased testing explains the rising number of COVID-19 cases seen around Europe, the European chapter of the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday. Nevertheless, deaths have not kept pace even as countries around Europe have seen an increase in cases. Richard Peabody, epidemiologist leading the High Threat Pathogens Team at the WHO Regional Office for Europe, insists “there is no […]
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The European Union said Thursday it had reserved up to 400 million doses of a potential new coronavirus vaccine being developed by US giant Johnson & Johnson. Preliminary talks concluded Friday for a first purchase of 200 million doses followed by an equal number later, a statement said. “The envisaged contract with Johnson & Johnson would provide for the possibility for all EU Member States to purchase the vaccine, as well […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Temperature checks, hand sanitizers, and face masks are being enforced across Pyongyang’s public transport system as North Korea intensifies its fight against the coronavirus pandemic. North Korea — whose crumbling health system would struggle to cope with a major outbreak — has long insisted it has not had cases of the disease. But it raised its state of emergency to the maximum level in July, saying it had discovered what […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand rushed to track the source of a sudden return of the coronavirus Thursday as the number of new cases in its biggest city rose to 17 and officials warned more infections were inevitable. National health chief Ashley Bloomfield said there were 13 new confirmed infections in Auckland, all linked to four family members found on Tuesday, ending the country’s record of 102 days without community transmission. The surge […]
BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — The Brazilian state of Parana signed a deal Wednesday to test and produce Russia’s new coronavirus vaccine, though officials stressed they would have to be sure of its safety and effectiveness first. The vaccine would have to receive Brazilian regulatory approval and complete Phase 3 clinical trials, or large-scale testing in humans, before being produced in Brazil, said officials from the southern state. Production, if it goes ahead, would likely only […]
by Jean-Baptiste OUBRIER LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s economy shrank by a fifth in the second quarter, higher than any European neighbour, as the coronavirus pandemic slammed businesses and plunged the country into a record recession. “It is clear that the UK is in the largest recession on record,” the Office for National Statistics said after gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 20.4 percent in April-June. Britain’s recession — its first since 2009 amid […]
