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NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India will reopen gyms and end a nighttime curfew from August, but cinemas, bars and schools will remain closed in the vast South Asian nation as the number of coronavirus cases passed 1.5 million and deaths neared 35,000 on Wednesday. The country of 1.3 billion people — the world’s third-most infected nation — has gradually eased its virus restrictions imposed since late March to boost the flagging economy. But the […]
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy’s parliament on Wednesday gave the go-ahead to extend the country’s state of emergency until October 15, allowing the government more flexibility to fight the lingering coronavirus pandemic. The state of emergency serves primarily to cut red tape and accelerate decision-making for the government when faced with disasters such as earthquakes, floods and other catastrophes. Italy was the first European country to be hit by the coronavirus crisis and a more […]
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The European Commission has ordered 30,000 treatment doses of the antiviral medication remdesivir from US drugs giant Gilead, it announced Wednesday. Sold under the brand name Veklury, remdesivir is the first medicine to be approved by the EU to treat victims of the COVID-19 pandemic in EU member states and Britain. It is hoped the drug will shorten recovery times for patients with severe infections and it will be made available […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US biotech firm Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine induced a robust immune response and prevented the coronavirus from replicating in the noses and lungs of monkeys, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine said Tuesday. The fact that the vaccine prevented the virus from replicating in the nose is seen as particularly crucial in preventing it from being transmitted onward to others. The same outcome did not occur when […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The spread of the novel coronavirus does not appear to be impacted by seasonality, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, warning against false beliefs that summer is safer. “Season does not seem to be affecting the transmission of this virus,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told reporters in a virtual briefing. She pointed out that some of the hardest-hit countries are currently in the midst of different season. While it is summer […]
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Madrid moved to make mask-wearing obligatory at all times in public Tuesday as Spain grappled with the fallout from a spike in virus cases that has triggered several international travel warnings. Wearing masks in public has been obligatory in Spain since May 21 where social distancing was not possible, but in recent weeks almost all of its 17 regions have made it compulsory at all times, with Madrid one of the […]
by Barney Spender with AFP bureaus PARIS, France (AFP) — Governments across the world imposed new restrictions Tuesday in a bid to cool coronavirus hotspots as new infections shot up in some countries, sparking fears of a second wave. The World Health Organization warned that the virus does not appear to be affected by seasonality and the global death toll from the pandemic passed 654,000 Tuesday, nearly a third of that number in Europe, according […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A new coronavirus cluster in a port city in northeast China has spread to other provinces and prompted fresh restrictions, authorities said Tuesday, as Beijing scrambles to prevent a second wave of infections. China had largely brought the virus under control since it first emerged in the country late last year, through a series of strict lockdowns and travel restrictions. But in recent months a number of small outbreaks have given […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The International Monetary Fund on Monday said it had approved $4.3 billion in aid to South Africa to help it fight the coronavirus pandemic. “The IMF approved $4.3 billion in emergency financial assistance under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to support the authorities’ efforts in addressing the challenging health situation and severe economic impact of the COVID-19 shock,” the Washington-based crisis lender said in a statement. South Africa is the […]
by Su Xinqi HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Everyone in Hong Kong will have to wear masks in public from this week, authorities said Monday, as they unveiled the city’s toughest social distancing measures yet to combat a new wave of coronavirus infections. The ramped-up rules came as authorities revealed China would help officials build an emergency field hospital to help deal with a surge in patients. “The epidemic situation in Hong Kong is remarkably […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump’s national security advisor, Robert O’Brien, has tested positive for COVID-19, the White House said Monday. O’Brien, who holds a key role in the administration, “has been self-isolating and working from a secure location off site,” the White House said in a statement. “There is no risk of exposure to the president or the vice president,” it added. © Agence France-Presse
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Coronavirus cases in Latin America and the Caribbean surged on Sunday, briefly overtaking the total in North America, an AFP tally showed. As the worldwide case count passed 16 million, Latin America and the Caribbean recorded the highest number of infections, taking its total caseload to more than 4.34 million, according to an AFP tally at 2100 GMT, based on official sources. It was the first time the total number […]
