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MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AFP) — More than one million people have died of Covid-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean since the pandemic began, according to an AFP count based on official figures as of Friday at 2105 GMT. The region has also recorded more than 31.5 million infections. More than 90 percent of deaths have been registered in five countries that account for 70 percent of the region’s population: Brazil (446,309 dead), Mexico (221,080), Colombia […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — California is on track to remove nearly all pandemic restrictions by June 15, with no mandatory capacity restrictions or social distancing requirements for those who have been vaccinated, health officials said Friday. The most populous US state suffered a severe winter Covid-19 outbreak, but now has among the nation’s lowest infection rates per capita, in part due to its vaccination program. Some 35.5 million doses have been administered. More […]
OSLO, Norway (AFP) — Norway said Friday it would ease some virus restrictions on May 27, making it easier to serve alcohol in bars and invite guests home as the pandemic seems to be under control. “I’m very happy today that we can see the beginning of the end of the pandemic,” Prime Minister Erna Solberg told reporters. “We’re gradually returning to normal life.” With declining Covid-19 cases and its vaccination campaign progressing, the Nordic […]
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson told a G20 health summit Friday they will supply around 3.5 billion vaccine doses at cost or discount to middle and low income countries this year and next. Pfizer will deliver two billion doses, Moderna “up to” 995 million doses, and Johnson and Johnson “up to 500 billion doses”, representatives of the three pharmaceutical companies said. © Agence France-Presse
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AFP) — Kyrgyzstan was forced to dump nearly 1,000 doses of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine after a fridge in a state clinic was unplugged to charge a mobile phone, authorities in the impoverished Central Asian country said. The spoilt vaccines were part of a package of 20,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine donated to ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan by Russia. Kyrgyzstan began mass vaccinations in March using shots of the Sinopharm vaccine donated […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — France will confer a special honour on health workers who die from Covid while fighting the pandemic, President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday. He said a status called “died in the service of the republic” would be created to honour public employees who lose their life “in exceptional circumstances”. A similar “died in the service of the nation” status already exists for police and the military, while “died for France” is […]
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — States across India ordered emergency measures Thursday to counter a surge in the rare deadly “black fungus” infection among coronavirus sufferers. Two new states declared epidemics of Mucormycosis while New Delhi and other major cities have opened special wards to treat thousands of cases of the infection commonly known as black fungus. India normally deals with less than 20 cases a year, but the infection has become a new threat […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — The Eiffel Tower will reopen on July 16 after several months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Paris landmark’s operator said on Thursday. Visitor numbers will be limited to 10,000 a day to meet social distancing requirements, fewer than half of their pre-Covid levels, operator Sete told AFP. All floors of the monument will be accessible to visitors, except some areas where renovation work is ongoing. Only 50 percent […]
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AFP) — Bangladesh authorities on Thursday imposed a lockdown in five Rohingya refugee camps in the country’s southeast after a spike in coronavirus cases in recent days, officials said. The restrictions barred gatherings and movement between camps, which are home to more than 100,000 Rohingya refugees, Bangladesh’s deputy refugee commissioner Shamsud Douza told AFP. “We imposed the restrictions from today after sudden spikes in coronavirus cases in the five camps,” he said, […]
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil has detected its first six cases of the so-called Indian variant of the Covid-19 virus, in crew members who arrived aboard a Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship, officials said Thursday. Tests “identified the B.1.617.2 variant of the Covid-19 virus in samples taken from crew of the MV Shandong Da Zhi,” which arrived from South Africa, the health ministry for the northeastern state of Maranhao said in a statement. “In […]
by Neil SANDS WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern unveiled a big-spending budget Thursday aimed at stimulating the coronavirus-hit economy while carrying out long-awaited progressive reforms. The center-left leader — who faced criticism before last year’s election for her cautious approach to implementing change — announced major funding boosts to welfare payments, social housing and health. “We’re making sure our recovery leaves no one behind,” Ardern said. “It’s what some […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine can be stored at refrigerator temperatures for up to a month in the United States, the country’s health regulator announced Wednesday, in a change expected to help distribution of the shot. The US Food and Drug Administration said it had made the decision “based on a review of recent data submitted by Pfizer,” and will allow vials of the vaccine to be stored at refrigerator temperatures […]
