Tag: health

Italy launches antibody tests for virus immunity

by Alexandria SAGE Agence France Presse ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy began conducting antibody tests in the northern region of Lombardy on Thursday, seeking information about coronavirus immunity to help guide authorities as they reopen the long locked-down country. Lombardy, the region hardest-hit by the coronavirus crisis in Europe’s worst-affected country, is betting that the science about “herd immunity” derived from the blood tests will help the prosperous industrial region return to work faster and […]

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Birds in paradise: Albania’s flamingos flourish in virus lockdown

by Briseida MEMA Agence France Presse NARTE, Albania (AFP) — With tourists home, boats docked and factories silenced under a coronavirus lockdown, Albania’s pink flamingos and curly pelicans are flourishing in the newfound tranquility of lagoons dotting the country’s western coastline. Beating their pink and black-lined wings, a growing flock of thousands of flamingos have recently been soaring over and splashing in the glistening waters of Narta Lagoon, an important site for migratory birds on […]

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Virus kills WWII veteran 100 years after twin died of Spanish flu

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A 100-year-old World War II veteran has died of the new coronavirus a century after his twin brother was killed in the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic, US media reports said. Philip Kahn fought at the Battle of Iwo Jima and helped with aerial surveys after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Newsday said Wednesday in its online edition. Kahn and his twin Samuel were born in December 1919 […]

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Coronavirus highlights role of foreign staff in British hospitals

  by David HARDING Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Joan Pons Laplana is a senior digital charge nurse working on the frontline in an intensive care unit treating coronavirus patients at Sheffield Teaching Hospital in the north of England. Like many of his colleagues in the state-run National Health Service (NHS), the 45-year-old medic is not British. The Spanish national works alongside people from Germany, Italy, Portugal, Philippines and India, as well […]

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China to give WHO $30 million more after US freezes funds

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China announced Thursday it will donate another $30 million to the World Health Organization to help in the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic, days after Washington said it would freeze funding. “China has decided to donate another $30 million in cash to the WHO, in addition to the previous donation of $20 million, to support the global fight against COVID-19 and strengthen developing countries’ health systems,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng […]

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UAE considers reopening malls after virus shutdown

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — The United Arab Emirates said Thursday it is looking into reopening its massive shopping malls, a month after they were closed as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus. The restrictions have hit businesses hard, particularly retailers who had expected to cater to a rush of Ramadan shoppers. Health ministry and crisis authorities have requested a study into “the possibility of reopening commercial centers with their private […]

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‘Fourteen dead’ in Yemen’s flood-hit Aden

ADEN, Yemen (AFP) — Fourteen people, including at least five children, have been killed and dozens injured in flash floods in Yemen’s second city Aden, authorities said Wednesday, amid submerged streets and destroyed homes. The deaths take the national toll to at least 21 after the United Nations said that seven other people were killed by flooding in the north, where the country’s long conflict between the government and the Iran-backed Huthi rebels continues. Deputy […]

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14 more crew have virus on cruise ship docked in Japan

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — At least 48 crew aboard a cruise ship docked in the Japanese city of Nagasaki has tested positive for coronavirus, local authorities said Thursday after confirming 14 additional cases. The Costa Atlantica first arrived in Nagasaki in January to undergo repairs, with around 600 crew on board. Officials said they hoped to test all crew members by the end of the week with “some 200 to 300” tests likely to be […]

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S.African president unveils $26 billion virus relief plan

by Michelle GUMEDE Agence France-Presse Johannesburg, South Africa (AFP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday announced a $26 billion relief package to support the economy and the vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic. In a special address to the nation, Ramaphosa announced “a massive social and economic support package of 500 billion rand ($26.3 billion), which amounts to about 10 percent of our GDP.” “The impact of the coronavirus requires an extraordinary coronavirus budget…the scale […]

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US sees 1,738 new coronavirus deaths in 24 hours: Johns Hopkins

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Wednesday recorded 1,738 deaths from the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, a lower toll than the day before, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. The new deaths bring the total number of COVID-19 fatalities in the US to 46,583 since the outbreak began there, by far the highest figures recorded by any country caught in the global pandemic. © Agence France-Presse

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France reports 544 new coronavirus deaths, total toll 21,340: official

PARIS, France (AFP) — France on Wednesday reported 544 more deaths from COVID-19 in hospitals and nursing homes over the last 24 hours but registered new falls in the total numbers of coronavirus patients. The total toll from the epidemic in France has now risen to 21,340, top health official Jerome Salomon told reporters while adding that there were now 365 fewer coronavirus patients in the hospital and 215 fewer in intensive care compared with […]

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UK virus measures could last for months, health official warns

by Alice RITCHIE Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Social-distancing measures to tackle coronavirus are likely to be in place for many more months, one of Britain’s top health officials warned on Wednesday, as the world waits for either a vaccine or drugs that can stop people dying. “Until we have those — and the probability of having those any time in the next calendar year is incredibly small… we are going to […]

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