GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) – Monkeypox cases fell by a fifth last week as infections in Europe dropped but the outbreak is going through “intense transmission” in the Americas, the World Health Organization said Thursday. The WHO sounded the alarm for Latin America in particular, pointing to a lack of awareness and public health measures to control the spread of the virus. A surge in monkeypox infections has been reported since early May outside the African […]
Tag: infection
Australia’s Omicron surge drives infections record, testing rush
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australia reported a record daily tally of nearly 50,000 Covid-19 cases Tuesday as the Omicron variant raced through the population and sent people scrambling for tests. While the Omicron surge has apparently left relatively few dangerously ill, it has driven a rush on increasingly scarce self-administered rapid antigen kits and created hours-long queues at centres providing more reliable PCR tests. Australia had successfully suppressed infections for much of the pandemic through […]
Use of face shield with face mask more effective in preventing COVID infection, says DOH expert
Dr. Salvaña cites study in India that covered community health workers (Eagle News) – A member of the Department of Health’s advisory group vouched for the reliability of wearing face masks together with face shields to prevent transmission of COVID-19, as well as being infected with the virus. Dr. Edsel Salvaña, a member of the DOH’s Technical Advisory Group (DOH-TAG), said that the use of face shield together with a face mask has been […]
New Zealand announces return of coronavirus after 102 days
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP )– New Zealand announced its first locally transmitted coronavirus infections in 102 days on Tuesday, prompting the country’s prime minister to issue a stay-at-home lockdown order for the country’s largest city. Jacinda Ardern said four cases had been detected in a single family in Auckland from an unknown source. “After 102 days, we have our first cases of COVID-19 outside of managed isolation or quarantine facilities… While we have all worked […]
IATF issues moratorium on transport of LSIs in C. Visayas, E. Visayas, CARAGA, Cebu and Mactan
(Eagle News) – A moratorium is now imposed on the travel of locally-stranded individuals (LSIs) in Central Visayas, Cebu island, Mactan, Eastern Visayas, and CARAGA region, Malacanang announced today, Monday, June 29. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) came out with the decision today after noting the COVID-19 situation in these areas. The IATF is currently meeting on the country’s COVID-19 situation, and so […]
Iran reports one more death among 10 new coronavirus cases, bringing to 5 number of deaths due to virus
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran on Saturday reported one more death among 10 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths in the Islamic republic to five and infections to 28. “We have 10 new confirmed cases of COVID-19,” health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said on state television. “One of the new cases has unfortunately passed away,” he added, noting that eight of them had been hospitalized in Qom and two in […]
South Korea coronavirus cases spike as infection spreads in religious sect
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A cluster of novel coronavirus infections centred on a sect in the South Korean city of Daegu leaped to 39 cases Thursday, with its mayor advising residents to stay indoors as the country’s total spiked for the second successive day. Almost half the country’s patients are linked to a 61-year-old woman who is a member of the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, an entity often accused of […]
Three Japanese evacuated from Wuhan test positive for virus
by Miwa SUZUKI / Natsuko FUKUE Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Three Japanese evacuated from the epicentre of a deadly new coronavirus outbreak have tested positive for the illness, the government said Thursday, as it faced criticism for the country’s minimal quarantine measures. The new cases were announced as another evacuation flight from Wuhan landed in Tokyo, and the government confirmed a second local case of apparent person-to-person transmission of the virus. […]
China’s health commission warns of “walking source of infection”- patients without fever but have nCoV
(Eagle News) — People who have either no symptoms of the novel coronavirus or have not developed them yet seem to be able to spread the virus, according to China’s Director of the National Health Commission Ma Xiaowei. Based on new information and research on the latest coronavirus strain, the 2019-nCoV, Ma said that the spread of the epidemic is “relatively fast” and there are cases, even those from outside China, where patients have […]
Asian nations try to shield against deadly outbreak
Asian nations were ramping up defences against a deadly viral epidemic Tuesday, sealing borders, shuttering public places and clamping down on visitors from China. Concern over the steadily expanding contagion, which has killed over 100 in China and sickened more than 4,500, is prompting an increasingly urgent push for protection. Hong Kong, which has eight reported cases of the SARS-like disease, announced the sealing of six of its 14 border crossings to the mainland […]
‘See the doctor’: fever-hit patients fret in Wuhan as city is locked down
by Sebastien Ricci and Leo Ramirez Agence France Presse WUHAN, China (AFP) — Trapped in a Chinese city at the centre of a deadly viral outbreak, residents who should have been celebrating Lunar New Year lined up to have their temperatures taken by medical staff wearing full-body protective suits. At hospitals across Wuhan in central Hubei province, tense patients with high temperatures turned out in large numbers to get checked as the death toll […]
Superbugs to ‘kill millions’ by 2050 unless countries act
by Patrick Galey Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Millions of people in Europe, North America and Australia will die from superbug infections unless countries prioritize fighting the growing threat posed by bacteria immune to most known drugs, experts predicted Wednesday. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned of “disastrous consequences” for public healthcare and spending unless basic hospital hygiene is boosted and unnecessary antibiotic use slashed. Drug-resistant bacteria killed more […]





