Tag: Virus

Hong Kong unveils $22 billion budget for virus plagued economy

by Su Xinqi and Jerome Taylor HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s finance chief on Wednesday unveiled a costly HK$170 billion ($21.79 billion) budget, including tax breaks and consumer spending vouchers, as the city reels under its worst coronavirus outbreak to date. While rival finance centres emerging from pandemic isolation and reopening to the world, Hong Kong has found itself overwhelmed by the highly infectious Omicron variant after the city’s previously successful zero-Covid strategy […]

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Hong Kong parents decry child separations during virus surge

by Jerome Taylor and Su Xinqi HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong parents are being separated from children and babies who test positive for the coronavirus, compounding public anger over the financial hub’s lack of readiness for a major outbreak now sweeping the city. The densely populated metropolis is in the throes of its worst-ever Covid wave, registering thousands of cases every day as hospitals and isolation units run out of space. A strict […]

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PH new Covid cases drop for 4th straight day, down to new record-low for this year at 1,019

Positivity rate down to 6.4 percent at the national level, and below 5 percent in NCR   (Eagle News) — The country’s new Covid-19 cases continued to drop on Tuesday, February 22, when the Department of Health reported 1,019 new cases, a new record low this year. This is the fourth straight day that new Covid cases have been decreasing. There were also 2,988 new recoveries that brought the total number of recoveries to 3,541,840 […]

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Hong Kong to see three rounds of compulsory virus tests

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s population must undergo three rounds of compulsory coronavirus testing, the city’s leader said Tuesday, as she confirmed that mainland Chinese officials were now coordinating the response to the financial hub’s worst outbreak. The densely populated metropolis is in the throes of a record virus surge with thousands of confirmed cases every day as hospitals and isolation units run out of space. On Tuesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam revealed […]

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Firing Hong Kong domestic workers with coronavirus ‘immoral’: consul

MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The Philippines’ top diplomat in Hong Kong said Tuesday it was illegal and “immoral” for residents to fire and turf out domestic workers who test positive for the coronavirus, as the Chinese city endures its worst outbreak yet. Charities said last week that foreign domestic workers in the wealthy city were being “abandoned” amid the Covid-19 wave, with some forced to sleep outdoors or being denied treatment after testing positive. Residents […]

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Riot police clash with New Zealand anti-vax protesters

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) – New Zealand anti-vaccine protesters pelted police with a “stinging substance” sending three to hospital with injuries Tuesday, as tensions spilled over in an angry weeks-long protest. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern decried “absolutely disgraceful” scenes after the suspected acid attack, and a startling incident that saw one protester speed a car toward police lines before coming to a quick halt just centimetres away. The brief but intense confrontations erupted near New […]

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Brazil storm toll rises to 176, search continues

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — The death toll from violent floods and landslides that hit the scenic Brazilian city of Petropolis last week rose to 176 Monday, including 29 children, officials said. Another 112 people remain missing, police said, raising fears the toll could rise further still as rescue workers continue digging through the mud and wreckage left by last Tuesday’s torrential rains. The new toll means the storm is now the deadliest in […]

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Hong Kong to launch vaccine pass as Omicron outbreak rages

  HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong will launch a vaccine pass scheme this week, officials said Monday, as hospitals struggle under an Omicron-fuelled outbreak and the finance hub sees record-high departures. The densely populated metropolis is currently in the throes of its worst-ever coronavirus outbreak, registering thousands of confirmed cases every day as hospitals and isolation units run out of space. Starting Thursday, all residents aged 12 and above entering restaurants and clubhouses […]

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UK’s Johnson to scrap all Covid legal curbs as criticism mounts

by Jitendra JOSHI LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set Monday to announce an end to all pandemic legal curbs in England, insisting it is time to move on despite political opposition and unease from the UN’s health agency. Two years after Covid-19 sparked the worst health crisis in generations, Johnson will address parliament to outline his plan, pressing ahead despite news on Sunday that Queen Elizabeth II had tested […]

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Hong Kong foreign domestic workers ‘abandoned’ in virus crisis

  by Jerome TAYLOR Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s foreign domestic workers are being “abandoned” in the current coronavirus wave sweeping the city, with some forced to sleep rough or being denied treatment after testing positive, charities said Friday. The warning came as Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam told residents to encourage helpers to stay indoors and said police would step up social distancing fines. The Chinese financial hub is […]

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‘Fortress Australia’ re-opens after two-year Covid closure

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australia opened its international borders to all vaccinated tourists Monday, nearly two years after the island nation first imposed some of the world’s strictest Covid-19 travel restrictions. A Qantas flight from Los Angeles was the first to touch down in Sydney at 6:20 am (1720 GMT) followed by arrivals from Tokyo, Vancouver and Singapore. “It’s fair to say we’ve all been waiting a long time to welcome visitors back to Australia,” […]

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China helps virus-ravaged Hong Kong build isolation units

  HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Construction crews from mainland China were helping Hong Kong build two temporary isolation facilities to house thousands of coronavirus patients on Sunday as a senior official declared the city “in full combat mode”. The crowded Chinese financial hub is in the throes of its worst-ever coronavirus outbreak, registering thousands of confirmed cases a day as hospitals reach breaking point. A strict zero-Covid policy like China uses kept infections at […]

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