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by Julia ZAPPEI VIENNA, Austria (AFP) — Austria said Wednesday it is suspending mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for all adults saying the pandemic no longer poses the same danger, just weeks after the law took effect in an EU first. The Alpine nation of nine million people was among few countries in the world to make jabs against the coronavirus compulsory for all adults. The law took effect in February and called for fines up to […]
by Xinqi SU HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s leader said Wednesday that mandatory coronavirus testing was no longer a priority after plans for mass screening of all 7.4 million residents and an accompanying citywide lockdown triggered panic. Wednesday’s announcement by Carrie Lam comes after weeks of uncertainty and mixed messages from the government, fuelling panic-buying sprees by residents snapping up vegetables, canned goods, frozen foods, and even over-the-counter medicine such as paracetamol, and […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Over six million people have died worldwide from Covid-19 since the pandemic began, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP on Tuesday. A total of 6,001,585 people have succumbed to the virus, AFP counted at 0900 GMT. The milestone comes as the number of infections and deaths continues to plummet in most regions of the world, except in Asia, where Hong Kong is suffering its worst-ever outbreak, […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — One of Hong Kong’s top coronavirus experts on Thursday joined a growing chorus of criticism over plans to test the entire city, saying doing so during its worst-ever outbreak would have little impact. The Asian financial hub is registering tens of thousands of new cases each day, overwhelming hospitals and shattering the city’s zero-Covid strategy. China has ordered local officials to stamp out the current wave even as studies […]
by Nina LARSON Agence France-Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) – The Covid pandemic has taken a dire toll on mental health, the WHO said Wednesday, indicating that cases of anxiety and depression had swelled by over 25 percent globally. In a fresh scientific brief, the World Health Organization also found that the Covid-19 crisis had in many cases significantly impeded access to mental health services and raised concerns about increases in suicidal behaviour. The brief, which […]
Total active Covid-19 cases down to 50,827 (Eagle News) – The Philippines reported only 866 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, March 2, the lowest number of new Covid-19 cases in a day so far this year in the country. There were also 1,622 new Covid-19 recoveries and 53 new deaths. This brings the total number of active Covid cases down to 50,827, equivalent to 1.4 percent of total confirmed virus cases since March 2020 […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China could move away from its zero-Covid strategy “in the near future” and co-exist with the virus, a top Chinese scientist said in a possible sign that the country’s leadership is rethinking its strict approach. The country where the coronavirus was first detected in 2019 is now one of the last places still hewing to a zero-tolerance approach, responding to small outbreaks with snap lockdowns and cutting off most international […]
by Nioucha ZAKAVATI Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Janice Obiang stifled sobs as she packed goods to send to the Philippines, gifts for loved ones she hasn’t seen in years as life for domestic workers in virus-hit Hong Kong goes from bad to worse. Few have suffered more during Hong Kong’s pandemic restrictions than the hundreds of thousands of women from the Philippines and Indonesia who work as domestic helpers. And […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kongers stripped supermarket shelves bare Tuesday as panic buying set in following mixed messaging from the government over whether it plans a lockdown this month. Uncertainty over Covid rules has sent the city’s residents flocking to supermarkets, chemists and vegetable stores to stock up, leaving shelves empty across the city. Photos circulating on social media showed people had trouble finding a variety of items including meat, vegetables, frozen foods, […]
(Eagle News) – The Philippines recorded only 951 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, February 28, the first time this year that new virus cases were less than a thousand. There were also more recoveries recorded, at 1,717, while 50 new deaths were also reported. This brought the total number of active cases down to just 52,179 or 1.4 percent of total confirmed Covid-19 cases that reached more than 3.66 million since the pandemic began […]
by Jerome TAYLOR Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong may impose a China-style hard lockdown that confines people to their homes, authorities signalled Monday, with the city’s zero-Covid strategy in tatters and bodies piling up in hospitals. Two years of strict zero-Covid policies kept the coronavirus largely bay but a breakthrough of the highly transmissible Omicron variant exposed how little authorities had done to prepare for a mass outbreak. Hong […]
The Philippines will lift most Covid-19 restrictions in the capital Manila next month, President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman said Sunday, after a sharp drop in infections and a rising number of people vaccinated. It comes weeks after the country reopened its borders to foreign tourists for the first time in two years and as campaigning for the May 9 national elections cranks up. Businesses, government agencies and public transport will be allowed to operate at full […]
