By Associated Press LONDON: The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 15 million people were killed either by coronavirus or by its impact on overwhelmed health systems during the first two years of the pandemic, more than double the current official death toll of over 6 million. Most of the deaths occurred in Southeast Asia,
By James Muonwa COVID-19 has resulted in the decline in the literacy rate across the world, with over 670 million learners in 47 countries out of school two years after the first case was detected, the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) says in its latest report. The UN agency said children were spending too
By Associated Press LONDON: The British government is ending the supply of free rapid coronavirus tests to most of the population even though COVID-19 infections remain at record levels, and health officials warn the pandemic could still have nasty surprises in store. More than 1.7 billion test kits have been handed out in workplaces, pharmacies
By Associated Press HIGH-RISK COVID-19 patients now have new treatments they can take at home to stay out of the hospital — if doctors get the pills to them fast enough. Health systems around the country are rushing out same-day prescription deliveries. Some clinics have started testing and treating patients in one visit, an initiative that President
By Associated Press WASHINGTON: Pfizer and its partner BioNTech asked U.S. regulators Tuesday to authorize an additional booster dose of their COVID-19 vaccine for seniors, saying data from Israel suggests older adults would benefit. Currently the U.S. urges two primary shots followed months later by a booster dose for everyone age 12 and older. The
By Associated Press LONDON: Britain’s government said Monday all remaining coronavirus measures for travelers, including passenger locator forms and the requirement that unvaccinated people be tested for COVID-19 before and after their arrivals, will end Friday to make going on holiday easier for the Easter school vacation. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the changes will
By Associated Press CHINA banned most people from leaving a coronavirus-hit northeastern province and mobilized military reservists Monday as the fast-spreading “stealth omicron” variant fuels the country’s biggest outbreak since the start of the pandemic two years ago. The National Health Commission reported 1,337 locally transmitted cases in the latest 24-hour period, including 895 in
By Associated Press GENEVA: The World Health Organization is creating a global training center to help poorer countries make vaccines, antibodies and cancer treatments using the messenger RNA technology that has successfully been used to make COVID-19 vaccines. At a press briefing in Geneva on Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the new hub
By Associated Press LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is scrapping the last domestic coronavirus restrictions in England, including the requirement for people with COVID-19 to self-isolate, even as he acknowledged Monday the potential for new and more deadly variants of the virus. Johnson told lawmakers in the House of Commons that the country was
Wires LOCKDOWNS during the first Covid-19 wave in the spring of 2020 only reduced mortality by 0,2% in the U.S. and Europe, according to a Johns Hopkins University meta-analysis of several studies. “While this meta-analysis concludes that lockdowns have had little to no public health effects, they have imposed enormous economic and social costs where
The Guardian THE Netherlands has lifted its toughest Covid controls, Denmark is to remove all restrictions within days and France will begin easing curbs next week, as many – but not all – EU countries opt to reopen despite record infection numbers. The moves come as data shows hospital and intensive care admissions are not surging in line
By Reuters IVORY Coast soccer fans watching the Africa Cup of Nations are being greeted at dedicated fan zones with rapid tests, masks and COVID-19 vaccines, an initiative of the health ministry to spur vaccination. Soccer is the West African country’s favourite sport and thousands of fans have flocked to the “Cup of Nations villages”
Bloomberg THE UK government is weighing up plans to cut the Covid-19 self-isolation period from seven days to five, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, as he prepares for coronavirus to move from pandemic to endemic in Britain. In a pooled clip with broadcasters Monday, Johnson also paved the way for the end of free rapid
BBC THE World Health Organisation (WHO) chief says he is optimistic that the coronavirus pandemic will be defeated in 2022, provided countries work together to contain its spread. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu warned against “narrow nationalism and vaccine hoarding” in a new year statement. His comments come two years since the WHO was first notified of
USA TODAY THE restrictions were implemented to slow the spread of the omicron variant in the United States, and they applied to South Africa – where omicron was first detected – as well as Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Most noncitizens who have been in those countries within the past 14 days have not been
BBC MILLIONS of people are facing travel disruption and increased Covid restrictions over Christmas, as the surging Omicron variant sees flights cancelled and safety curbs tightened. Italy, Spain and Greece have made face masks compulsory outdoors again. Catalonia, in northern Spain, has imposed an overnight curfew, and the Netherlands is in a strict lockdown. Despite
The Associated Press FEDERAL health officials are requiring airlines to gather contact-tracing information on passengers heading to the U.S. who have been in southern Africa in the previous two weeks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that it issued the latest requirement “to prevent the importation and spread of a communicable disease
Al Jazeera NATIONS are adopting differing levels of border control with countries such as Israel, Morocco and Japan closing their borders entirely, while others have only tightened COVID testing at the border. The map below shows countries that have imposed travel bans. It will be updated as more information becomes available. Total bans China – China
BBC A TEAM at University College London said some people had a degree of Covid-immunity before the pandemic started. This likely came from the body learning how to fight viruses that are related to the one which has swept the world. Upgrading vaccines to copy this protection could make the jabs even more effective, the
Wall Street Journal IN ZIMBABWE, where just 18% of the population are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, the armed forces have a surplus of shots thanks to a gift from a powerful benefactor: China’s People’s Liberation Army. In the Philippines, another PLA donation has helped the majority of service members get vaccinated. In Ethiopia, where the
