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by Robin Millard, with AFP bureaus Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization on Wednesday warned that the coronavirus crisis would not end any time soon, with many countries only in the early stages of the fight, as the global death toll surpassed 180,000. The pandemic has sparked not only a health emergency, but a global economic rout, with businesses struggling to survive, millions left jobless, and millions more facing starvation. […]
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran announced on Wednesday 94 new deaths from the novel coronavirus but said the cases of people infected in the country was on the way down. Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said the fatalities detected in the past 24 hours took Iran’s overall death toll to 5,391. The number of people infected with the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease rose by 1,194, bringing the total to 85,996. “The gradual downward […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Eight babies and toddlers at a Tokyo care centre have tested positive for the coronavirus after a staff member contracted the disease, its operator said on Wednesday. Tokyo Saiseikai Central Hospital, which operates the facility, said the affected children had been hospitalised, while another 21 tested negative and were under observation. The facility is for orphans or children separated from their parents because of possible abuse or neglect. A staff member […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany has authorized its first clinical test of a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, the country’s regulatory body said Wednesday, green-lighting trials on human volunteers for an RNA vaccine developed by German firm Biontech and US giant Pfizer. “The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut… has authorized the first clinical trial of a vaccine against COVID-19 in Germany,” the regulatory body said in a statement. It added that approval was the “result of a careful assessment […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — New clusters of coronavirus infections in northeastern China near the Russian border forced officials Wednesday to tighten restrictions on movement as they seek to prevent a second outbreak of the contagion. China has largely curbed the spread of the deadly virus, but there are growing fears of a second wave of cases and Heilongjiang province has emerged as a new front in the battle. The region has seen an influx of […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — More than 10 million employees in France — one out of every two in the private sector — have been laid off during the coronavirus lockdown and are now benefiting from an extended indemnity programme to weather the crisis, the government said Wednesday. “Today in France there are 10.2 million employees whose salaries are being paid by the state,” Labour Minister Muriel Penicaud told BFM television. Around 820,000 employers, or […]
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Two people who died in California in early and mid-February were confirmed Tuesday as coronavirus cases — weeks before the first reported COVID-19 fatality in the United States. Autopsies on the two individuals who died at home on February 6 and February 17 showed they had succumbed to COVID-19, the Santa Clara County coroner said, after receiving confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Another person […]
by Ludovic EHRET Agence France-Presse Beijing, China (AFP) — After Wuhan was sealed off from the world, acclaimed Chinese writer Fang Fang started an online diary about the coronavirus tragedy unfolding in her hometown. Her journal drew tens of millions of readers — but now that it is about to be published abroad in several languages, she is facing a nationalist backlash at home. Critics say the 64-year-old, who was awarded China’s most prestigious literary prize […]
by Michael Mathes Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Senate approved a bipartisan, nearly half-trillion-dollar coronavirus relief package Tuesday, with funding earmarked for devastated small businesses, overwhelmed hospitals, and a ramp-up of testing nationwide during the pandemic. The essential job-saving measure, which passed by unanimous consent after more than a week of negotiations between Democrats, Republicans and the White House, now heads to the House of Representatives where a vote […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — A total of 17,337 people in hospital with coronavirus have died in Britain, new health ministry figures showed Tuesday, an increase of 828 on the previous day. The daily increase in deaths, which excludes those in care homes, is a significant increase on Monday’s tally but numbers are always lower at the start of the week due to reporting delays over the weekend. © Agence France-Presse
by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Netflix on Tuesday reported soaring profits as subscriptions surged by almost 16 million at the streaming television service during lockdowns to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. “After record subscriber additions, Netflix is and will continue to be the media company least impacted by COVID-19,” said eMarketer forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom. “Their business is a near-perfect fit to a population that is […]
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy reported its second successive drop Tuesday in the number of current coronavirus cases as it neared a crucial decision on whether to extend its national lockdown. The civil protection service said the number of people officially being treated for COVID-19 fell by 528 to a total of 107,709. The number went down by 20 on Monday — its first decline since the Mediterranean country reported its initial cases two months […]
