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NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India on Wednesday reported a record 4,529 coronavirus deaths in a single day even as the number of new cases in its devastating new wave fell. The daily pandemic death toll has been rising in recent days as cases spread into rural districts with poor health facilities. With the latest deaths, India’s official toll has now risen to 283,248 behind the United States on more than 600,000 deaths and Brazil […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine to teenagers aged 12 to 15, officials said on Tuesday, in a first for Asia. The city-state’s Health Sciences Authority extended the use of the vaccine — currently only approved for individuals aged 16 and above — after reviewing clinical data submitted by the manufacturer. Singaporean authorities “assessed that the Pfizer-BioNTech covid-19 vaccine demonstrated high safety and efficacy for this age group […]
VIENNA, Austria (AFP) — Austria will phase out AstraZeneca from its Covid-19 immunization program because of delivery problems and wariness among the population following reports of the vaccine’s rare side effects, the health minister said. Austria becomes the third European country, after Norway and Denmark, to completely drop the AstraZeneca vaccine from its national immunization program over rare cases of severe blood clots in people receiving the jab. “We will probably continue to do first […]
by Aziz EL Massassi DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Egypt is prioritizing the vaccination of tourism workers to support the sector’s recovery and is on track to announce full inoculation of two resort areas this month, its tourism minister said Monday. While Egypt’s tourism industry is still reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic, the sector has picked up in recent months, with more visitors heading to resorts along the Red Sea and Mediterranean coasts. “We […]
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — The Palestinian enclave of Gaza’s only Covid-19 laboratory is no longer able to carry out testing due to an Israeli air strike Monday on the clinic housing it, local authorities said. Al-Rimal clinic, in the town of the same name in the Gaza Strip, was partly destroyed, while the territory’s health ministry and the office of Qatar’s Red Crescent were also hit, officials said. Medical personnel at the […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines should remain highly effective against two coronavirus variants first identified in India, according to new research carried out by US scientists. The lab-based study was carried out by the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Langone Center and is considered preliminary because it has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. “What we found is that the vaccine’s antibodies are a little […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — More than 80 percent of Japanese polled oppose hosting the virus-postponed Olympics this year, a new survey showed on Monday, underlining public antipathy less than 10 weeks before the Tokyo Games. The latest downbeat poll comes after Japan expanded a coronavirus state of emergency Friday as the nation battles a fourth wave of infections. The surge in cases has put pressure on the country’s healthcare system, with medical professionals […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand reported a new daily high of nearly 10,000 coronavirus cases on Monday, more than two-thirds of them in prisons, as the kingdom battles its third wave of the pandemic. The kingdom’s Covid-19 task force reported 9,635 new cases, 6,853 of which were among prisoners. Nearly half of 24,000 inmates tested at eight prisons, mainly in Bangkok and its suburbs, including several where prominent democracy activists have been detained, were found […]
Avoid mass gatherings to avoid virus transmission, mutation, Dr. Gloriani says (Eagle News) — The head of the vaccine expert panel said that the presence of more transmissible variants in the country, including the latest B.1.617.2 first detected in India, is enough reason for the public not to let their guard down even if Metro Manila and surrounding provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal have shifted into General Community Quarantine (GCQ) with heightened […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand’s economy shrank in the first quarter, official data showed Monday, as it was battered by coronavirus restrictions that have hit the key tourism sector hard. The kingdom last year suffered its worst full-year performance since the Asian financial crisis of 1997 with a 6.1 percent contraction. The Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) said gross domestic product shrank 2.6 percent on-year in the first three months. […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — French pharmaceuticals giant Sanofi and Britain’s GSK reported on Monday “strong immune responses” in early tests of their Covid-19 vaccine, raising hopes it could join the fight against the pandemic. The companies said the results of the Phase 2 study will enable them to move to a late-stage trial in the coming weeks — a reversal of fortune after their research was dealt a setback late last year. The experimental vaccine […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore will close schools from Wednesday as authorities warned new coronavirus strains like the one first detected in India were affecting more children in the city-state. The government has been tightening restrictions following a recent rise in local transmissions after months of near-zero cases. At a virtual news conference late Sunday, authorities announced that primary and secondary schools as well as junior colleges would shift to full home-based learning from Wednesday […]
