The EU is working on centralising purchases of vaccines and treatments for monkeypox, with details to be agreed in the “coming days,” the European Commission told AFP on Thursday. The push, through the commission’s Health Emergency and Preparedness Authority (HERA), comes as the EU’s disease agency said the number of monkeypox cases in humans worldwide in the current spread had reached 219. Former EU member Britain has the highest number of cases, at 71, followed […]
Tag: Virus
Japan to allow mass tourism, but only in tour groups
Japan announced Thursday it will reopen to tourists from 36 countries starting June 10, ending a two-year pandemic closure, but travellers will only be allowed in with tour groups. The decision comes after the government last week said it would test allowing small group tours with visitors from the United States, Australia, Thailand and Singapore from this month. On Thursday, the government revised border controls to resume accepting package tours from 36 countries and regions […]
‘The pandemic won’t stop us’: the Beijingers skirting Covid rules
by Poornima WEERASEKARA / Michael ZHANG Mothers hosting playdates near cordoned-off parks, mahjong maestros huddled in streets and youngsters slugging night-time beers on barricaded sidewalks — Beijingers are making the most of the small spaces available as China’s coronavirus controls close in. Meanwhile in Shanghai, a growing number of residents are being allowed to briefly venture outside as the city gradually eases out of an extended lockdown, celebrating their first hours outside in weeks with […]
More than 200 cases of monkeypox worldwide: EU disease agency
The number of confirmed cases of monkeypox worldwide has reached 219 outside of countries where it is endemic, according to an update released by the European Union’s disease agency. More than a dozen countries where monkeypox is unusual, mostly in Europe, have reported at least one confirmed case, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said in an epidemiological note released Wednesday night. “This is the first time that chains of transmission are […]
China premier issues warning on Covid-hit economy
by Beiyi SEOW China’s premier has sounded an unusually stark warning about the world’s second-largest economy, saying it must return to normal as the country’s zero-Covid strategy bites into growth. China is the last major economy welded to a policy of mass testing and hard lockdowns to eliminate virus clusters, but the strict curbs have battered businesses. Restrictions around the nation in recent months — including on the manufacturing hubs of Shenzhen and Shanghai as […]
WHO says monkeypox outbreak can still be contained
https://youtu.be/fGsCY5xwt2U The monkeypox outbreak that has been reported in 16 countries and several regions of the world can still be contained and the overall risk of transmission is low, the UN health agency said on Tuesday (24 May). “What we know from this virus and these modes of transmission, this outbreak can still be contained, it is the objective of the World Health Organization and Member States to contain this outbreak and to stop […]
Canada says 15 cases of monkeypox in Quebec, more expected
Montreal, CANADA (AFP) — Health authorities in Canada said Tuesday they had identified 10 new cases of monkeypox in Quebec, bringing the total number to 15, with additional cases expected in other provinces. Monkeypox, detected in recent weeks in Europe and North America, is a rare disease originating in Africa which usually clears up on its own. “We expect more cases to be confirmed in the coming days,” said Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, who said […]
Czech Republic registers first monkeypox case
PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AFP) — The Czech Republic has its first case of monkeypox, Pavel Dlouhy, head of the Czech Society for Infectious Diseases, told AFP on Tuesday. Dlouhy said the disease was detected in a man at Prague’s Military University Hospital but declined to give any details. “It was only a question of time, we have been expecting this for days,” Dlouhy added. Over the past few days, several European and North American countries […]
Switzerland reports first monkeypox case
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Swiss health officials on Saturday reported the country’s first case of monkeypox in a person living in the canton of Bern but who was exposed while abroad. Bern’s health authority said the patient had been treated as a walk-in case and was now isolating at home. Everyone who had come into contact with him had been informed, it added in a statement. “As far as we know, the person concerned […]
Israel reports monkeypox case as virus spreads to Middle East
JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel confirmed its first case of monkeypox Saturday, joining several European and North American countries in detecting the disease endemic to parts of Africa. A spokesman for Tel Aviv’s Ichilov hospital told AFP that a 30-year-old man, who recently returned from western Europe with monkeypox symptoms, had tested positive for the virus. On Friday, the health ministry said the man had been exposed to a person with monkeypox abroad, noting a […]
Biden warns of potentially ‘consequential’ monkeypox spread
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Monkeypox has caught the attention of US President Joe Biden, who said Sunday that people should be on guard against the disease which has the potential for “consequential” impact, if it were to spread further. Several cases of monkeypox have been detected in North America and Europe since early May, sparking concern the disease, endemic in parts of Africa, is spreading. The US leader, on his maiden trip to […]
Spanish monkeypox outbreak linked to sauna
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — A sauna in Spain’s capital has been forced to close over a suspected link to a monkeypox outbreak in the country, health authorities said Friday. Several European countries have reported cases in recent days, and the World Health Organisation is investigating whether some outbreaks spread within the gay community. The Paraiso sauna, a gay-friendly establishment whose name means “paradise” in the heart of Madrid, said on Twitter it was shutting its […]





