Tag: Virus

Pres. Duterte hopes PHL to return to “normal” by December; P20-B budget eyed for COVID vaccines

  (Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Dutete assured the public that his government has plans in place to acquire COVID-19 vaccines as soon as these have passed clinical trials and approval by the  Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the respective countries where they are being developed. President Duterte said the country would be able to go back to normal by December, as by that time, most likely there is already a vaccine against the […]

Florida hits another record virus death toll as hurricane looms

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Hurricane Isaias was barreling towards Florida on Friday, a day after the state registered a record 253 coronavirus deaths and authorities closed down some COVID-19 testing centers to prepare for the looming storm. Florida has emerged as a major new epicenter of the US battle against the disease, with confirmed cases recently surpassing New York and now second only to California. The state toll has leapt over the past week […]

Russia vows ‘promising’ virus vaccines in September

  MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia said Wednesday that it plans to begin production of two “promising” coronavirus vaccines in September and October as Moscow races to develop a formula before Western countries. At a meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova singled out two vaccines under development by a research institute in Moscow and a lab in Siberia. “Today there are two vaccines that are the most promising,” Golikova said. […]

Pres. Duterte: NCR, Cavite, Rizal, Batangas, Bulacan, 4 cities under GCQ; others under MGCQ, as vaccine acquisition plans bared

Palace says COVID vaccines could be acquired by December if approved in October   (Eagle News) – President Rodrigo Duterte said that Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, Batangas, Cavite, three cities in Visayas, and Zamboanga City in Mindanao would be under the General Community Quarantine as increased transmission of the COVID-19 is observed in the country. The cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue in Cebu province will be under GCG, while Zamboanga City will continue to […]

Japan to lift virus ban on re-entry of foreign residents

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan will from next week lift a ban on the re-entry of some foreign residents, imposed to limit the spread of coronavirus, the foreign ministry has announced. Up to 90,000 foreign nationals with residence permits, including students, business people and trainees, are currently stuck outside Japan after authorities banned re-entry from over 100 countries in response to the global pandemic. From August 5, those who left Japan before their destination countries […]

Brazil doctors volunteer to test coronavirus vaccines

by Florence GOISNARD / with Jorge SVARTZMAN in Rio de Janeiro SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — In Brazil, health care workers are on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic in more ways than one, treating patients but also volunteering to test some of the most promising experimental vaccines. Brazil is the country with the second-highest number of infections and deaths in the pandemic, after the United States, and the virus is still spreading quickly […]

Shell dives to $18.1bn Q2 loss on virus-hit oil market

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Anglo-Dutch energy major Royal Dutch Shell posted Thursday a colossal net loss of $18.1 billion (15.4 billion euros) for the second quarter, blaming massive asset writedowns on the coronavirus-hit oil market. The performance, contrasting sharply with profit after tax of $3.0 billion a year earlier, was sparked by a huge $16.8-billion charge on chronic fallout both from COVID-19 and collapsing oil prices. The vast charge was taken “as a result […]

Brazil’s COVID-19 death toll surpasses 90,000

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil registered record daily numbers of infections and deaths from the new coronavirus Wednesday, sending its overall death toll surging past 90,000 people. Despite the record figures, the government issued a decree reopening the country to foreign visitors arriving by plane, ending a four-month travel ban in hopes of reviving a lockdown-devastated tourism industry. Brazil, which has been hit harder than any country except the United States in the […]

India reopens further as virus cases hit 1.5 million

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India will reopen gyms and end a nighttime curfew from August, but cinemas, bars and schools will remain closed in the vast South Asian nation as the number of coronavirus cases passed 1.5 million and deaths neared 35,000 on Wednesday. The country of 1.3 billion people — the world’s third-most infected nation — has gradually eased its virus restrictions imposed since late March to boost the flagging economy. But the […]

Italy extends coronavirus state of emergency

ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy’s parliament on Wednesday gave the go-ahead to extend the country’s state of emergency until October 15, allowing the government more flexibility to fight the lingering coronavirus pandemic. The state of emergency serves primarily to cut red tape and accelerate decision-making for the government when faced with disasters such as earthquakes, floods and other catastrophes. Italy was the first European country to be hit by the coronavirus crisis and a more […]

EU orders 30,000 remdesivir coronavirus treatments

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The European Commission has ordered 30,000 treatment doses of the antiviral medication remdesivir from US drugs giant Gilead, it announced Wednesday. Sold under the brand name Veklury, remdesivir is the first medicine to be approved by the EU to treat victims of the COVID-19 pandemic in EU member states and Britain. It is hoped the drug will shorten recovery times for patients with severe infections and it will be made available […]

Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine worked well in monkeys: study

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US biotech firm Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine induced a robust immune response and prevented the coronavirus from replicating in the noses and lungs of monkeys, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine said Tuesday. The fact that the vaccine prevented the virus from replicating in the nose is seen as particularly crucial in preventing it from being transmitted onward to others. The same outcome did not occur when […]