Tag: Virus

Pres. Duterte explains why he reversed IATF resolution; says UK variant infecting even kids

  (Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte said that he was just taking precautionary measures when he decided to reverse the earlier resolution of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases on regarding the easing of restrictions for children aged 10 to 14 years in Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) areas. The 75-year old Philippine leader, who is also a doting grandfather, said that it is best to be extra careful especially with the […]

Indonesia passes one million coronavirus cases

  by Dessy SAGITA Agence France Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia’s Covid-19 cases topped the one million mark on Tuesday, as the archipelago launches one of the world’s biggest vaccine drives to clamp down on a soaring infection rate. The Southeast Asian nation of nearly 270 million has recorded 1,012,350 virus cases and almost 29,000 deaths, according to official data. But low testing rates mean the crisis is believed to be much more severe […]

Pres. Duterte advises Filipinos to wear masks properly, wash hands often amid UK variant entry

  (Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte appealed to all Filipinos to strictly follow minimum health protocols such as wearing of face masks, frequent hand washing and social distancing amid the entry of the highly infectious B.1.1.7 variant of the COVID-19 virus that was first detected in the United Kingdom. The 75-year old Philippine leader noted the rising COVID-19 cases in the country, which have now reached more than 500,000. If the situation worsens, the […]

New Zealand PM expects closed borders for much of 2021

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand’s borders are likely to remain closed for much of the year as health officials assess global vaccine rollouts, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned Tuesday. Ardern said the emergence over the weekend of New Zealand’s first case of community transmission in more than two months showed the danger Covid-19 still posed to a nation hailed for its response to the coronavirus. She said her government would not re-open its […]

US detects first case of Brazil coronavirus variant

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The first case of a coronavirus variant that recently emerged in Brazil has been confirmed in the United States, health authorities in the state of Minnesota said Monday. The Minnesota Department of Health said in a statement that the “Public Health Laboratory has found the variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus known as the Brazil P.1 variant in a specimen from a Minnesota resident with recent travel history to Brazil.” The […]

Gorilla treated with antibodies recovering from Covid, says US zoo

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — An elderly gorilla was recovering from a serious case of Covid-19 after he was treated with cutting-edge synthetic antibodies, the San Diego Zoo said Monday. Veterinarians are now identifying which animals to inject with the zoo’s limited supply of vaccines. Winston, 48, was one of several gorillas among the San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s troop who were confirmed positive for the virus on January 11, based on fecal samples. It […]

Moderna says Covid vaccine effective against UK, S.Africa variants

by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US biotechnology firm Moderna on Monday said lab studies showed its Covid-19 vaccine remains effective against variants of the coronavirus first identified in the United Kingdom and South Africa. But the positive news was tempered by the finding that there was a sixfold reduction in the level of highly-potent neutralizing antibodies produced against the South African variant, B.1.351. Out of caution, the company will test adding a […]

California ends wide lockdown as Covid hospital strain eases

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — California lifted blanket “stay-at-home” orders across the US state Monday, paving the way for activities such as outdoor dining to return even in worst-hit regions as the pandemic’s strain on hospitals begins to ease. The western state has suffered one of the nation’s worst winter Covid spikes, with hospital intensive care units overwhelmed, ambulances backed up for hours at a time, and cases more than doubling since December to […]

World lost equivalent of 255 million jobs in 2020: UN

  by Nina LARSON Agence France Presse The coronavirus pandemic took a huge toll on global jobs last year, the United Nations said Monday, with the equivalent of more than a quarter of a billion lost. In a fresh study, the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) found that a full 8.8 percent of global working hours were lost in 2020, compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. That is equivalent to 255 million full-time jobs, […]

Biden to reinstate Covid travel bans: White House official

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) –President Joe Biden will re-impose a Covid-19 travel ban on most non-US citizens who have been in Britain, Brazil, Ireland and much of Europe, a White House official said Sunday, as the new administration ramps up its pandemic response. Biden will also on Monday extend the ban to travelers who have recently been to South Africa amid warnings that new, more transmissible coronavirus variants are already establishing themselves in the United […]

PHL at 32nd spot for weeks among countries with COVID-19 cases, based on Johns Hopkins data

PHL is 2nd ASEAN country with most COVID-19 cases after Indonesia   (Eagle News) – The Philippines has dropped to no. 32 among countries with the most number of COVID-19 cases from 19th place four months ago. This was according to the virus dashboard of the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) on Monday, Jan. 25. The country has 513,619 COVID-19 cases and 10,242 deaths as of that date. Even the Philippine government has observed that the […]

Hong Kong lifts first virus lockdown after 13 new cases found

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong lifted its first neighbourhood coronavirus lockdown on Monday morning after testing some 7,000 people and finding 13 cases as debate swirled over the efficacy of the move. Over the weekend police moved in to seal off a poor and densely populated neighbourhood of about 150 apartment blocks where coronavirus clusters had sprung up in recent weeks. Officials went door to door conducting mandatory tests and found 0.17 percent […]