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LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Nearly 56 million people in England will return to a full coronavirus lockdown, possibly until mid-February, to try to cut spiralling infection rates, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday. The measures, which include the closure of primary and secondary schools, will come into effect Wednesday, he said in a televised address, after Scotland announced similar measures would come into force from midnight (0000 GMT) on Tuesday. Some 44 million […]
PGC to know in a matter of days if UK virus variant already in PHL https://youtu.be/9YK6HbVhD4I (Eagle News) — The Department of Health (DOH) said that the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) is expected to complete in the next seven days the genome sequencing of swab samples taken from travelers who had tested positive for COVID-19 recently, as well as other positive cases in the past two months. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — An 82-year-old man on Monday became the first person in the world to receive AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s new Covid jab outside a clinical trial, raising hopes the fight against a resurgent virus will accelerate. Brian Pinker, a retired maintenance manager from Oxford in south central England, received the jab at the city’s Churchill Hospital, the National Health Service said. Sam Foster, chief nursing officer at Oxford University Hospitals NHS […]
by Anna MALPAS with AFP bureaus LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain on Monday began rolling out the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, a possible game-changer in fighting the disease worldwide, while China raced to inoculate millions with a homegrown prophylactic. Britain started the new drive with 530,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, as it struggled to control a severe wave of infections that has threatened to overwhelm the public health system and prompted the government to […]
SINGAPORE (AFP) — Singapore’s economy suffered its worst ever annual contraction in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic hammered the city-state’s vital trade and tourism sectors, official data showed Monday. But the 5.8 percent decline was not as bad as feared — official forecasts had predicted a fall of up to 6.5 percent — as economic activity picked up with the easing of curbs. The financial hub plunged into its first recession since the 2008 […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Thousands of people were lining up in Beijing to receive a Covid-19 vaccine as China races to innoculate millions before the Chinese New Year mass travel season in February. More than 73,000 people in the Chinese capital have received the first dose of the vaccine over the last couple of days, state media reported Sunday, including community workers and bus drivers. Health authorities on New Year’s Eve granted “conditional” approval to […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Monday he was considering declaring a state of emergency in the greater Tokyo area over a “very severe” third wave of coronavirus infections. Speaking at a regular new year press conference, Suga also said he hoped vaccinations would begin in Japan in late February, adding that he would be among the first to receive one. He urged people to avoid non-essential outings, and said the […]
by James PHEBY LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday warned the country to expect tougher restrictions to combat spiralling coronavirus cases, as a row flared over whether schools should reopen. “It may be that we need to do things in the next few weeks that will be tougher in many parts of the country,” Johnson told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show. “I’m fully, fully reconciled to that.” Britain […]
MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — Canada surpassed the grim milestone of 600,000 coronavirus cases Sunday, two weeks after passing half a million, underscoring the pandemic’s persistence in the country during the end-of-year holiday period. On Sunday afternoon, Canada recorded 601,314 Covid-19 infections since the start of the pandemic and 15,860 deaths, according to data from provinces and territories reported by the public television station CBC. Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, recorded 2,964 new cases in 24 […]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia on Sunday announced the reopening of borders and the resumption of international flights after a two-week suspension aimed to stem the spread of a new Covid-19 strain. The government ordered the lifting of “precautionary measures related to the spread of a new variant of coronavirus”, the Ministry of the Interior said, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. Saudi Arabia has recorded more than 363,000 cases, including […]
CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — Egypt has approved the use of a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharma giant Sinopharm with its rollout to start later in January, the health minister said. “The Egyptian pharmaceutical authority approved on Saturday the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine,” Hala Zayed said late Saturday, on the local MBC Masr channel. The first batch of the vaccine was delivered in December, with further doses expected this month. “The second shipment of this vaccine […]
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India has authorized the emergency use of two coronavirus vaccines developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and by local pharmaceutical firm Bharat Biotech, the country’s drug regulator said Sunday. “The… vaccines of Serum Institute (AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine) and Bharat Biotech are being approved for restricted use in emergency situations,” the Drugs Controller General of India, V.G. Somani, said at a briefing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that the fast-track approvals […]
