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by Beiyi SEOW Agence France Presse China’s economic growth accelerated in the first quarter of the year to 4.8 percent, official data showed Monday, but the government warned of “significant challenges” ahead while massive Covid-19 lockdowns started to bite. The world’s second-biggest economy had lost steam in the latter half of last year with a property slump and regulatory crackdowns, pulling down growth. But it exceeded expectations in the first three months of 2022, […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Shanghai reported the first Covid deaths since the start of its weeks-long lockdown, three elderly people with underlying conditions, the city government said Monday. “The three people deteriorated into severe cases after going into hospital, and died after all efforts to revive them proved ineffective,” the city said on social media. The deceased included two women aged 89 and 91, and a man aged 91, the city said, adding that […]
by Robin MILLARD GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Twenty mostly African countries have still not vaccinated even 10 percent of their population against Covid-19, the World Health Organization’s vaccine advisers lamented Monday. The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) said the speed of the Covid jab rollout had been “unprecedented”. However, 20 countries — down from 34 in January — had still not managed a 10-percent immunisation rate, Kate O’Brien, the WHO’s vaccines chief, […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China is battling its biggest spike in coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, with millions under lockdown and the healthcare system feeling the pressure. One of the last countries sticking to a zero-Covid strategy, China aims to stamp out every infection with strict lockdowns and by sending all cases to secure facilities. That is placing a strain on China’s already under-pressure medical system, as the highly transmissible Omicron […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — After two years of racing to vaccinate the world against Covid-19, the number of available doses now surpasses demand in many areas. Yet a yawning gap remains in vaccination rates between the richest and poorest countries. On Friday, Gavi, which co-leads the Covax global distribution scheme, is holding a summit calling for more funds to address the issue of inequality in vaccine access. – Huge production – More than 13 […]
SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — China’s President Xi Jinping praised the country’s “tested” zero-Covid strategy on Friday, even as Shanghai authorities prepared nearly 130,000 beds for Covid-19 patients amid surging cases and mounting public anger. Until March, China had kept cases low with localized lockdowns, mass testing, and strict restrictions on international travel. But the country has reported thousands of daily cases in recent weeks, with economic hub and outbreak epicenter Shanghai placed under lockdown over […]
by Beiyi Seow © Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Shanghai’s grinding coronavirus lockdown is slowly clogging China’s supply chains, as delays hit the world’s busiest container port where staff are tangled in a morass of Covid controls. Beijing has refused to tack away from its strict zero-Covid strategy that has protected its public health system through the pandemic but at a mounting economic cost. China’s financial hub Shanghai — home to multinational firms […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — People who are vaccinated and have had a booster shot against Covid-19 recover from symptoms from the Omicron variant more than three days earlier than those with the Delta variant, a study said Friday. The study also found that people with Omicron are significantly less likely to lose their sense of smell, and confirmed previous research that it is less severe. To find out the differences in how Omicron and […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan will move away from a zero-Covid policy and instead focus on tackling the most severe infections in an effort to live with the coronavirus, its health minister said Thursday. The decision leaves China — and its financial hub Hong Kong — as the only major economy still sticking to the strategy even as Omicron breaks through those defences. Taiwan has largely closed its borders and implemented strict quarantine rules […]
BRASÍLIA, Brazil | AFP Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have provided aid funds to artists and cultural programs hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, triggering an outcry from opposition lawmakers, who vowed to override him. Named for a widely beloved comedian and actor who died of Covid-19 last year, the Paulo Gustavo Bill aimed to provide 3.86 billion reais ($820 million) in federal funds to local and state governments to […]
SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Shanghai health officials on Monday defended a policy of separating babies and young children from their parents if they test positive for Covid-19, as frustration at the city’s tough virus controls builds. Around 25 million people in Shanghai, China’s largest city and financial centre, remain locked down as authorities try to snuff out the country’s most severe virus outbreak since the end of the first pandemic wave in early 2020. Under […]
SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Shanghai residents voiced growing frustration on Friday at confusion over a week of snap Covid lockdowns, taking to social media to complain about food shortages and bewildering stay-at-home orders. After initially vowing they would avoid a city-wide lockdown, officials changed tack this week and announced a phased shutdown which divided China’s financial centre in two so authorities can test its 25 million residents. A four-day lockdown of the Pudong area […]
