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GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is the sole candidate for the leadership of the UN health agency when his current term expires, a diplomatic source told AFP on Friday. The 56-year-old Ethiopian former health and foreign minister has been at the forefront of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Elected to the WHO leadership in 2017, his term expires in August next year. vog/rjm/spm © Agence France-Presse
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China placed a third city under lockdown on Thursday to tackle Covid-19 numbers, with around six million people now under orders to stay home as Beijing chases zero cases before the upcoming Winter Olympics. The country has taken a zero tolerance approach to the virus since it first emerged in central China in 2019, stamping out emerging flare-ups with border closures, targeted lockdowns and strict quarantines. Although the hard-line measures have […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Moscow on Thursday shut shops, schools and restaurants for 11 days in a bid to stop a surge in coronavirus infections and deaths that came after vaccination efforts stalled. All non-essential services, including retail outlets, restaurants, and sporting and entertainment venues will be closed until November 7, along with schools and kindergartens. Only shops selling food, medicine and other essentials will remain open, as authorities try to tackle a coronavirus […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Thailand’s re-opening to vaccinated foreign tourists marks a major easing of border controls for Asia, where governments have been far slower to roll back coronavirus travel curbs than in much of the West. Here is a look at which countries are opening up across the Asia-Pacific region and those staying sealed off from the world. – Southeast Asia – Thailand will allow vaccinated travellers from 46 countries and territories […]
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Attention beach-lovers seeking a break from the pandemic: Rio de Janeiro is lifting its Covid-19 mask requirement for outdoor areas effective from Thursday, the state’s governor said, as once-pandemic-battered Brazil advances quickly with vaccinations. “We are going to relax the requirement on wearing masks outdoors, which is cause for celebration,” Governor Claudio Castro wrote on Twitter. “More than a year and a half after the state of public emergency […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong will tighten coronavirus travel restrictions to bring it more into line with the Chinese mainland, its leader said Tuesday, as the city extended its streak of more than two months without a major local outbreak. The announcement came despite concerns from the international hub’s business community that the city remains indefinitely cut off from the rest of the world, with one of the strictest mandatory quarantine regimes of […]
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Vaccinated tourists will be allowed into Israel from November 1, the government said on Wednesday, after a campaign to get booster shots into arms succeeding in driving down infections. Israel was the first country to launch a mass booster campaign, with more than 3.9 million getting a third dose since the summer. In late August and early September, cases rose to more than 10,000 a day, a number that has since […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Switzerland on Tuesday authorized booster shots of Covid-19 vaccines for the over-65s, as it urged those with no protection at all to get immunized. The Swissmedic regulatory authority said the booster would be one shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, or a half-dose of Moderna. “People at especially high risk can receive a booster dose of a vaccine in order to remain adequately protected against severe episodes of Covid-19,” the agency said. […]
by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A medical panel of US government advisors endorsed the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in five-to-11-year-olds Tuesday, paving the way for younger children to get their shots within weeks. The independent experts concluded the known benefits — both directly to kids’ health but also in ending school and other disruptions — outweighed the known risks. After a day of presentations and debate, the final vote was 17 in favor […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The Covid-19 crisis is far from over, the World Health Organization’s emergency committee said Tuesday as it called for research into next-generation vaccines for long-term control of the pandemic. The 19-member committee meets every three months to discuss the pandemic and make recommendations. “While progress has been made through increased uptake of Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics, analysis of the present situation and forecasting models indicate that the pandemic is far from […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China placed a city of four million under lockdown on Tuesday in a bid to stamp out a domestic coronavirus spike, with residents told not to leave home except in emergencies. The restrictions came as China reported 29 new domestic infections — including six cases in Lanzhou, the provincial capital of northwestern province Gansu. Officials in Lanzhou said the “entry and exit of residents” would be strictly controlled and limited to […]
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexico on Monday began Covid-19 vaccinations for adolescents with chronic diseases in the capital, the latest step in an immunization drive in one of the countries hit hardest by the pandemic. Authorities in Mexico City said they had begun using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to inoculate minors with comorbidities aged between 12 and 17 years old. Fifteen-year-old Paola Abigail Chocooj, who has diabetes, was among those participating, some in their school […]
