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BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand is to cut the quarantine for vaccinated travellers to seven days starting in October, officials said Monday, as it seeks to revive its battered tourism industry. Pre-pandemic Thailand attracted nearly 40 million visitors a year, but Covid-related travel restrictions have hammered the sector, contributing to the economy’s worst performance in more than 20 years. The kingdom is pushing to reopen despite still being in the grips of a deadly third […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Vaccinated Sydney residents will finally emerge from a lengthy Covid lockdown by mid-October, Australian officials said Monday, outlining a “blueprint for freedom” as case numbers fell in the city. Stay-at-home orders are set to be lifted in Sydney and surrounding New South Wales when the double-dose vaccination rate hits 70 percent, with state premier Gladys Berejiklian saying “quite confidently” that was now expected to occur on October 11. Shuttered pubs, restaurants […]
by Paavan MATHEMA KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP) — Nepal has restarted visas on arrival for vaccinated tourists as South Asian nations attempt to revive tourism businesses devastated after 18 months of the pandemic. A near travel shutdown has been in place in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka for more than a year as successive waves of coronavirus took a deadly toll. Nepal reopened to tourists and scrapped quarantine requirements for vaccinated foreigners on Thursday […]
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — A high-profile shaman who tried to end Sri Lanka’s Covid-19 outbreak with “blessed” water has died of the virus, his family said Thursday. Eliyantha White, 48, who treated sports stars and top politicians including the country’s prime minister, claimed in November he could end the pandemic in Sri Lanka and neighbouring India by pouring pots of his “blessed” water into rivers. Health minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi endorsed the water treatment, but […]
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The EU’s drug watchdog said Thursday it expected to decide in early October whether to approve boosters of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for over 16s. A decision on further jabs of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for at-risk people and the elderly is due at the same time, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said. Protection against coronavirus is shown to decrease in the months following the first jabs, the […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday recommended the synthetic antibody treatment Regeneron for Covid-19, but only in patients with specific health profiles. Persons with non-severe Covid-19 who are nonetheless at high risk of hospitalization can take the antibody combo, as should critically ill patients unable to mount an adequate immune response, according to a WHO finding published in BMJ. Regeneron is only the third treatment for Covid to be recommended […]
by Paul RICARD PARIS, France (AFP) — With global Covid cases declining and pandemic fatigue on the rise, many countries are easing restrictions put in place to block the spread of the virus. But it’s far too soon to declare victory, say experts, who warn that unequal vaccine access could still lead to the emergence of new and more deadly variants of the virus. Positive signs On September 14 the World Health Organization (WHO) announced […]
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — Biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong on Thursday said he will begin transferring technology to make Covid-19 and cancer vaccines in South Africa. The South African-born and now United States-based doctor, provided details of the plan that will see coronavirus vaccine production starting next year in an online press conference with President Cyril Ramaphosa. Soon-Shiong’s company NantWorks will transfer the technology within the next three months and vaccine production is expected to […]
by Hashem Osseiran BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — The phones at Lebanon’s only suicide hotline hardly ever stop ringing as people grow more and more desperate in the face of a financial downturn that has spurred a mental health crisis. In one call, a father says he is thinking of taking his own life because he is unable to feed his children, and in another, a man recently made homeless says he has lost all hope. […]
by Robin MILLARD Agence France-Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) – The World Health Organization strengthened its air quality guidelines on Wednesday, saying air pollution was now one of the biggest environmental threats to human health, causing seven million premature deaths a year. Urgent action is needed to reduce exposure to air pollution, said the UN body, ranking its burden of disease on a par with smoking and unhealthy eating. “WHO has adjusted almost all the air […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Wednesday authorized the use of boosters of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for people aged over 65, or adults at high-risk of severe disease as well as those in high-exposure jobs. The announcement means tens of millions of Americans are now eligible for a third shot once six months have passed since their second. “Today’s action demonstrates that science and the currently available data continue to guide the […]
by Robin MILLARD GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization strengthened its air quality guidelines on Wednesday, saying air pollution was now one of the biggest environmental threats to human health, causing seven million premature deaths a year. Urgent action is needed to reduce exposure to air pollution, said the UN body, ranking its burden of disease on a par with smoking and unhealthy eating. “WHO has adjusted almost all the air quality guideline […]
