OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — The Canadian government announced Friday it will require all federal workers and most commercial rail, air and ship passengers to get vaccinated against Covid-19, amid a surge in virus cases due to the Delta variant. “We know that vaccines are the best way to end this pandemic,” said Dominic LeBlanc, a government minister in charge of Canada’s federal bureaucracy. “We expect federal public servants to want to comply with this mandatory […]
Tag: health
Guatemala declares state of emergency over Delta Covid surge
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AFP) — Guatemala has declared a new state of emergency and will impose an overnight curfew from Sunday to contain a surge in Covid infections due to the Delta variant, President Alejandro Giammattei said. The 30-day state of emergency is being implemented due to a rebound in cases attributed to the “more aggressive” Delta variant, Giammattei said in a televised address on Friday. “The Delta variant is highly contagious. It is causing […]
Russia reports record virus deaths third day in a row
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Saturday recorded its highest daily coronavirus death toll for a third day running, as the country continues to struggle with the Delta variant amid sluggish vaccination rates. A government tally showed 819 fatalities over the past 24 hours and 22,144 new cases. Russia, the fourth worst-hit country in the world in terms of cases, has since mid-June been hit by a new wave of infections driven by the aggressive […]
Denmark removes last of its obligatory mask rules
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) — Masks will no longer be required on Danish public transport, the government said on Friday, as the Nordic country lifted the last of its compulsory face-covering regulations. “We are now in a situation… where a large part of the population has been vaccinated and we are returning to a more normal everyday life,” transport minister Benny Engelbrecht said in a statement. From Saturday, “We can say goodbye to masks on buses, […]
Russia reports record virus deaths second day in a row
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Friday recorded its highest daily coronavirus death toll for a second day running, as a third wave of infections persists despite efforts from authorities to boost vaccinations. A government tally showed 815 fatalities over the past 24 hours and 22,277 new cases. Russia, the fourth worst-hit country in the world in terms of cases, has since mid-June been hit by a new wave of infections driven by the highly […]
Serbian cave hermit gets Covid-19 jab, urges others to follow
by Miodrag SOVILJ PIROT, Serbia (AFP) — Almost twenty years ago, Panta Petrovic made social distancing a lifestyle choice when he moved into a tiny Serbian mountain cave to avoid society. Last year, on one of his visits to town, the dreadlocked man with a long beard found out there was a pandemic raging. After vaccines against Covid-19 became available, he got jabbed and urges everyone to do the same. “It (the virus) does not […]
Israel begins Covid booster shots for over 50s
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israelis aged 50 and over began receiving vaccine booster shots against the coronavirus Friday as part of a government bid to stem spiking infections driven by the Delta variant. The government announced on Thursday that it was offering third shots to people aged over 50, two weeks after launching a campaign to give the elderly booster jabs. “This is an important step in the fight against the Delta pandemic,” Prime Minister […]
Asian markets drop as traders eye Fed move, Delta spread
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets fell Friday as a broadly positive week drew to a close with investors pricing in the likelihood that Federal Reserve officials will start withdrawing the vast financial support put in place at the start of the pandemic. The fast-spreading Delta virus variant, which is forcing governments to introduce containment measures, and the Chinese government’s campaign to tighten its grip on the world’s number two economy were also playing […]
China rejects need for further WHO coronavirus origins probe
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Friday rejected the World Health Organization’s calls for a renewed probe into the origins of Covid-19, saying it supported “scientific” over “political” efforts to find out how the virus started. Pressure is once more mounting on Beijing to consider a fresh probe into the orgins of a pandemic which has killed more than four million people and paralyzed economies worldwide since it first emerged in the central Chinese city […]
Indonesian parents grieve for child COVID victims amid Delta variant outbreak
by Dessy SAGITA / Haeril HALIM Agence France Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Tirsa Manitik gave birth to her first girl in June and buried her a month later — another casualty of virus-battered Indonesia’s soaring child death toll. The Southeast Asian nation has been hit by its worst Covid-19 surge yet as the ultra-infectious Delta variant sent deaths skyrocketing and left a trail of devastated parents in its wake. “My heart is broken. […]
Palace extends travel restrictions on 10 countries until Aug. 31; updates list of green countries
(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte approved the recommendation to extend the travel restrictions in 10 countries with high Delta variant cases, namely India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia until the end of the month. The travel restrictions were supposed to end on Aug. 15, but the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) decided to extend the current travel restrictions from Aug. 16 to Aug. 31 to […]
WHO urges China to share raw data on early Covid cases
by Robin MILLARD GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The WHO on Thursday urged China to share raw data from the earliest Covid-19 cases to revive the pandemic origins probe — and release information to address the controversial lab leak theory. The World Health Organization stressed it was “vitally important” to uncover the origins of the worst pandemic in a century, which has killed at least 4.3 million people and battered the global economy since the virus […]





