Wear a mask or face jail in Kuwait and Qatar

           
   
| 5/18/2020 12:00:00 AM

DUBAI: Kuwait and Qatar both said on Sunday they would start jailing
people or fining them thousands of dollars for f ailing to wear a f acemask to
combat the novel coronavirus.

Kuwait`s health ministry said anyone caught could face up to three months in
prison, while Qatar state TV reported the maximum penalty there would be
three years.

In Kuwait the maximum fine stood at 5,000 dinars ($16,200) and in Qatar
200,000 riyals ($55,000).

The six Gulf states have reported a total of more than 137,400 infections with
693 deaths from the virus.

Cases in the region were initially linked to travel but later saw a spread
among low-income migrant workers in cramped quarters.

Saudi Arabia, with a population of around 30 million people, has the largest
count at more than 54,700 cases with 312 deaths.

Qatar, a nation of some 2.8 million, has the second highest infection count at
above 32,600, with 15 deaths.

The United Arab Emirates has the second highest number of Covid-19 deaths
among the six states at 220. It has reported more than 23,350 cases.-Reuters
[TOP]

2020 list of UK`s richest shows first fall in wealth in

decade
           

   
| 5/18/2020 12:00:00 AM

LONDON: Britain`s wealthiest people have lost tens of billions of pound s in the
coronavirus pandemic as their combined annual wealth fell for the first time in a
decade, the Sunday Times reported in its RichList 2020.

The newspaper, which hasproducedtherespected annual ranking of the country`s

1,000 wealthiest people since 1989, found the past two months had resulted in the
super-richlosing 54 billion ($65 billion, 60 billion euros).

More than half of the billionaires in Britain had seen drops in their worth by as
much as 6bn, a decrease in their collective wealth unprecedented since 2009 and
the financial crisis.

Inventor James Dyson bucked the trend to top the list for the first time, with an
estimated wealth of 16.2bn.

The paper credited hisrise f rom fif th place in 2019 to both the strong performance
of his businesses and the plummeting fortunes of other billionaires in the top 10.

The Hinduja brothers, who topped last year`s list with a 22bn fortune, saw among
the biggest falls in worth 6bn and are now ranked jointly second with
entrepreneurs David and Simon Reuben.-AFP
[TOP]

China backs virus probe `after pandemic`

           
   
| 5/19/2020 12:00:00 AM

GENEVA: China supports an independent inquiry into the handling of the coronavirus pandemic
after it is `brought under control`, President Xi Jinping said on Monday, as Europe accelerated
its re-openings with landmarks Saint Peter`s Basilica and the Acropolis in Athens welcoming
visitors again.

After weeks dogged by allegations from the US and elsewhere that Beijing had covered up
the virus` origins, Xi insisted during the World Health Assembly that China has `always
had an open, transparent and responsible attitude`.

More than 4.7 million people have tested positive and 315,270 killed by the disease since it
emerged in Wuhan late last year, according to an AFP tally.

Russia offered a glimpse of hope as it reported that growth in new cases had been halted, and US
biotech firm Moderna reported `positive interim` results in the first clinical tests of its vaccine
against the new coronavirus.

But fears were growing over soaring infections in Brazil, India and South Africa.

The Covid-19 outbreak `must be a wake-up call`, UN chief Antonio Guterres told the same
virtual assembly, as he called out countries for failing to heed warnings from the World
Health Organisation about the virus.

`Different countries have followed different, sometimes contradictory strategies and we are
all paying a heavy price,` Guterres said, singling out in particular those who `ignored the
recommendations` of the WHO.

Beyond the heavy toll on human lives, the pandemic has left a trail of economic destruction as
governments shut borders, schools, offices and shops to halt transmission of the virus.

With infection tolls slowing, Europe`s worst hit countries are gingerly returning to normal.

World-famous landmarks like Saint Peter`s Basilica in the Vatican and the Athens Acropolis
joined a slew of re-openings in Europe, alongside other churches, shops and restaurants which
were allowed to welcome the public again.

Italy, once the hardest-hit country in the world, saw the first such openings after more than two
months of lockdown, although the public reacted cautiously.

In Venice, where gondolas returned to the waters again albeit with the gondoliers wearing with
gloves and masks, locals heaved a sigh of relief.

S. America, Africa hit hard UN chief Guterres warned that the eye of thestorm is turning to the
southern hemisphere, where its impact might be `even more devastating` The latest data has
focused fears concerning South America and Africa.

Deaths in Brazil have risen sharply in recent days, and with more than 241,000 infections reache
d over the weel(end, South America`s largest country now has the fourth-highest caseload in the
world.

Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has blamed lockdowns for unnecessarily hurting the Brazilian
economy and defied social distancing measures, but experts and regional leaders have warned
that healthcare infrastructure could collapse.

Latin America and the Caribbean have recorded more than half a million infections, almost half
of them in Brazil, and there is growing alarm about the impact of the virus on the least privileged
in the region.

Ecuador reported the first Covid-19 case in one of its indigenous Amazon tribes, deepening the
crisis in one of South America`s hardest-hit countries.

Nicaraguan hospital staff have said the country`s health system is overwhelmed with patients
suffering from respiratory illnesses and relatives say the bodies of loved ones are being carted
off in pick-up trucks for `express burials` without their consent.

`Mourners are forced to chase trucks with the coffin to find out where their loved ones are being
buried,` the opposition National Coalition said in a statement denouncing government secrecy.
Relatives `are threatened by police or paramilitaries so that they do not tell the truth aboutthe
causes of death,` it said.

There was also grim data in Africa, where the number of infections rose rapidly.

South Africa on Sunday reported 1,160 new coronavirus infections, the highest daily number
since the first case was recorded in March, taking the totalto15,515,the highest on the continent.

In Asia, India extended its lockdown covering 1.3 billion people to the end of May as it reported
its biggest single-day jump in infections on Sunday.

Deep economic pain Covid-19 has left the world economy facing its worst downturn since
the Great Depression, with Japan announcing its Erst recession since 2015, new evidence of
the deep economic damage.

The world`s biggest economy is also going to suffer a massive downturn, US Federal
Reserve chairman Jerome Powell warned.

`The data we`ll see for this quarter, which ends in June, will be very, very bad. There`ll be
a big decline in economic activity, big increase in unemployment,` Powell said.

He added that a full recovery may not happen without a vaccine.

In American virus hotspot New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo urged the public to
safeguard the state`s tentative reopening by proactively seeking coronavirus tests, himself
undergoing a nasal swab on live TV on Sunday.

In one Brooklyn park, circles were spray-painted on the grass to encourage social
distancing among people basking in the spring sunshine.-AFP 

EU may fast track remdesivir sale before US

           
   
| 5/19/2020 12:00:00 AM

BRUSSELS: The European Union may give an initial green light in the coming days for sale of
the drug remdesivir as a Covid-19 treatment, the head of its medicines agency said on Monday,
fast-tracking the drug to market amid tight global competition for resources.

The United States, which has angered the EU with aggressive tactics in a procurement race
during the global pandemic, has yet to issue a similar approval for the drug,made by US
pharmaceutical company Gilead.

Demand for remdesivir has been growing as there are currently no approved treatments or
vaccines for Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus.

`It might be that a conditional market [ing] authorisation can be issued in the coming days,` the
head of the European Union`s medicines agency Guido Rasi said on Mondayat a hearing in the
EU Parliament in Brussels.

An EU conditional marketing authorisation allows a drug to be sold for a year in the 27-nation
bloc before allnecessary data are available on its efficacy and side ef fects.

Under-trial vaccine succeeds in producing Covid-19

antibodies in humans
By Anwar Iqbal | 5/19/2020 12:00:00 AM

WASHINGTON: An American biotech company, Moderna, announced on Monday that initial

human trials of its coronavirus vaccine produced Covid-19 antibodies in all 45 participants.

`With today`s positive interim Phase 1 data and the positive data in the mouse challenge model,
the Moderna team continues to focus on moving as fast as safely possible to start our pivotal
Phase 3 study in July and, if successful, file a license application,` said Moderna`s Chief
Executive Of ficer Stéphane Bancel.

Coronavirus infections top 5m

           

   
| 5/22/2020 12:00:00 AM

PARIS: Global infections from the novel coronavirus passed five million on
Thursday as cases surged in Latin America, signs of normal life returned to parts
of Europe, and the US and China kept up their blame game over the pandemic.

The grim milestone comes after known cases of Covid-19 doubled in just one
month, according to data collected from official sources, with the death toll now
topping 328,000 worldwide.

While many hard-hit European countries have significantly curbed the contagion,
Latin America is becoming a new hotspot with cases on the rise. Brazil logged the
third-highest number of cases in the world after the US and Russia.

Peru, Mexico and Chile have also seen steady increases in infections, with nurses in
Lima warning that the health system is on the brink of collapse after cases and
deaths tripled over the past three weeks.
`It`s like a horror film,` Miguel Armas, a nurse at the Hipolito Unanue hospital in
the capital Lima, said.

`Inside it seems like a cemetery given all the bodies. Patients are dying in their
chairs (or) in their wheelchairs.

In Brazil, far-right President Jair Bolsonaro continues to scorn experts` advice on

curbing the contagion as he pressesregionalgovernorstoendstayat-home measures.

And like US President Donald Trump, he has promoted the use of antimalaria drugs
against the virus despite studies showing they have no benefitand could have
dangerous side effects.

Trump, for his part, insists the US is `Transitioning back to Greatness` as states
reopen at different speeds.

His optimism was in sharp contrast to the bleak health situation in the country,
which leads the world in cases and deaths.

While daily death tolls are no longer on a steadyincline, the losses are still
punishing with more than 1,500 additional fatalities reported in 24 hours on
Wednesday, bringing the total number in the US to more than 93,400.

On the economic front, the latest figures out of the US showed the rate of
unemployment slowing but the total number of jobs lost since mid-March stood at
an eye-watering 38.6 million.

Trump, who is desperate to boost his political fortunes ahead of November

elections, has also doubled down on his finger-pointing at China, who he blamed
for `this mass Worldwide killing` Beijing hit back, warning it would retaliate if the
US goes forward with a sanctions threat.

Republican US senators proposed legislation last week that would empower

Trump to slap sanctions on China if Beijing does not give a `full accounting` for
the outbreak that emerged in Wuhan late last year.

`It is neither responsible nor moral to cover up one`s own problems by blaming
others,` said China`s parliament spokesman Zhang Yesui. We `will make a firm
response and takecountermeasures based on the deliberation of these bills`, he
said.

Despite criticism of its initial handling of the virus, Beijing is determined to project
a narrative of strength and success in reining in its own outbreak and coming to the
aid of countries who have been hit far harder.
Domestic cases are now down to a trickle, according to its official figures.

In the latest symbol of normalisation, the country held an opening ceremony on

Thursday for its biggest political event of the year the Chinese People`s Political
Consultative Conference after months of delay over health concerns.

Second surge As governments pray for an end to the economic strangulation of

shutdowns, the race to develop a vaccine has been buoyed by experiments on
monkeys that offered hope that humans can develop immunity to the virus.

The US also pumped an additional $1 billion into the British pharmaceuticals group
AstraZeneca to help fund the production of a vaccine.

In the meantime, governments are testing ways to live with the dangers despite
fears of a second wave of infections.

Already a common sight in Spain, masks were officially made mandatory on

Thursday for anyone over the age of six in public places where social distancing is
not possible.-AFP
[TOP]

Touching surfaces not as dangerous as previously

thought
           

   
By Anwar Iqbal | 5/22/2020 12:00:00 AM

WASHINGTON: The coronavirus `does not spread easily` by touching surfaces or

objects, said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), changing
its previous guidelines which placed a greater emphasis on this possibility.

The CDC had previously warned that people can get infected `by touching a surface
or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or
possibly their eyes`.

But the new guidelines, issued this week, said `this is not thought to be the main
way the virus spreads`.

The CDC has now placed this possibility under a new category of causes that `do
not` allow the virus to `spread easily`, although such infections `may still be
possible`Explaining the change, the official US health agency clarified that `Covid-
19 is a new disease and we are still learning more about this virus` The CDC also
challenged the generalperceptionthattheviruscan easily spread from animals to
people. `At this time, the risk of Covid-19 spreading from animals to people is
considered to be low,` it said.

The new guidelines, however, warned that the virus `can spread from people to
animals in some situations`.

The CDC said it was `aware of a small number of pets worldwide, including cats and
dogs, reported to be infected with the virus that causes Covid-19, mostly after
close contact with people with Covid-19` The new guidelines also retained CDC`s
position that person-to-person contact was the main cause of the globally spread
of this disease, which hasalready infected more than five million people and killed
more than 330,000.

`The virus is thought to spread mainly from person to person.

Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about six feet),`
the new guidelines explained.

The virus spread rapidly `through respiratory droplets produced when

aninfectedpersoncoughs,sneezes,or talks. These droplets can land in the mouths or
noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs`, the CDC
warned.

`Covid-19 may be spread by people who are not showing symptoms.

How easily a virus spreads from person to person can vary. A major factor,
according to the CDC, `is whether the spread is sustained, which means it goes
from person to person without stopping`
[TOP]

Study shows half of Canadians fooled by conspiracy

theories
           

   
| 5/22/2020 12:00:00 AM
OTTAWA: Nearly half of Canadians subscribe to coronavirus conspiracy theories,
including debunked miracle cures, notions of a 5G cover-up or that the virus was
engineered in a Chinese lab, according to a new study.

The School of Journalism at Carleton University in Ottawa surveyed 2,000

Canadians and found that 46 percent believe in at least one of four key myths
circulating online.

`This high rate is alarming because conspiracy theories risk overwhelming an

already overwhelmed health system,` study co-author and Carleton professor
Sarah Everts said on Thursday.

The fear, she said, is that people won`t take the COVID-19 threat seriously and will
ignore public health guidance such as social distancing, opening the door to a
resurgence of the outbreak.

The top fake, according to the study, that the coronavirus was engineered as a
bioweapon in a Chinese lab and released into the general population, was believed
by 26 per cent of Canadians.

Another 11 per cent of respondents said they thought COVID-19 is not a serious
illness but was being spread to cover up alleged harmful health effects associated
with exposure to 5G wireless technology.-AFP
[TOP]

Drug touted by Trump as virus treatment increases

death risk
           
   
| 5/23/2020 12:00:00 AM

PARIS: A study of nearly 100,000 coronavirus patients has shown no benefit in treating them
with anti-viral drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine and even increased the likelihood of
them dying in hospital.

Hydroxychloroquine is normally used to treat arthritis but pronouncement from public figures
including US President Donald Trump who announced this week he is taking the drug has
prompted governments to bulk buy the medicine.

Chloroquine is an anti-malarial.

Both drugs can produce potentially serious side effects, particularly heart arrhythmia. And
neither drug benefitted patients hospitalised with Covid19, according to a study published on
Friday in The Lancet.

Looking at the records of 96,000 patients across hundreds of hospitals, they found that
administering the drugs actually increased the risk of dying.

They compared outcomes from four groups: those treated with hydroxychloroquine alone, with
chloroquine alone, and then two groups given the respective drugs in combination with
antibiotics. There was also a control group of patients not given these treatments.

At the end of the study period around nine per cent of those in the control group had died. Of
those treated with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine alone, 18 per cent and 16.4 per cent
respectively had died.

And those given each drug in combination with antibiotics were even more likely to die: 22.8
per cent with chloroquine and 23.8 per cent with hydroxychloroquine.

The authors estimated that the drugs put patients at up to 45 per cent higher risk of dying
from Covid-19 compared with underlying health issues.
France warns Renault could disappear
           
   
| 5/23/2020 12:00:00 AM

PARIS: Europe`s car industry was put on alert for more job losses on Friday as a French
minister warned Renault could disappear if it didn`t get help soon and a Japanese news report
said partner Nissan was considering 20,000 layoffs, with many in Europe.

Renault and Nissan have been in a carmaking alliance for the past two decades and are due to
announce a strategy update next Wednesday.

The plan was originally billed as a reset of their relationship, which was rocked by the
November 2018 arrest in Japan of the alliance`s architect and long-time boss Carlos Ghosn on
charges of financial misconduct, which he denies.

However, the update has taken on greater significance since the coronavirus pandemic
hammered demand for vehicles and threw production into disarray.

Erdogan, Trump reiterate solidarity against Covid-19

           
   
| 5/24/2020 12:00:00 AM

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump spoke
on Saturday on the phone to discuss the coronavirus pandemic, bilateral relations and regional
developments.

According to an account of the phone call released by Erdogan`soffice,the twoleadersreiterated

their solidarityin the fight against Covid-19.

Top UN official warns of malicious emails on rise in

pandemic
           
   
| 5/24/2020 12:00:00 AM

UNITED NATIONS: The UN disarmament chief warned on Friday that cyber crime is on the
rise, with a 600 percent increase in malicious emails during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Izumi Nakamitsu told an informal meeting of the UN Security Council that the coronavirus
crisis is moving the world towards increased technological innovation and online collaboration.
But she said there have also been worrying reports of (cyber) attacks against health care
organisations and medical research facilities worldwide.

The high representative for disarmament affairs said growing digital dependency has increased
the vulnerability to cyberattacks, and it is estimated that one such attack takes place every 39
seconds.According to the International Telecommunication Union, she said, nearly 90 countries
are still only at the early stages of making commitments to cybersecurity.

Migrant workers mount protest over unpaid wages in

Qatar
           

   
| 5/24/2020 12:00:00 AM

DOHA: Migrant workers staged a rare protest in Qatar over unpaid wages, the
government said on Saturday, at a time of economic fallout from the coronavirus
pandemic and rock-bottom oil prices.

Images on social media showed more than 100 men blocking a main road in the
Msheireb district of the capital Doha late on Friday, clapping and chanting as police
looked on.

`In response to the late settlement of salaries, a small number of expatriate

workers conducted a peaceful protest in the Msheireb area on May 22,` the labour
ministry said in a statement.

`Following an immediate investigation (the ministry) has taken steps to ensure that
all salaries will be promptly paid in the coming days.

Legal action has been taken against the companies involved in non-payment of
salaries, it added.

The oil-rich Gulf is reliant on the cheap labour of millions of foreigners, mostly from
India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Many live in squalid camps far from the region`s showy skyscrapers and malls.

Almost 90 per cent of Qatar`s population is expatriate workers as the country

completes dozens of mega-projects ahead of the 2022 World Cup.

But the coronavirus and its devastating economic impact have lef t many workers
sick and others unemployed, unpaid and at the mercy of sometimes unscrupulous
employers.-AFP
[TOP]

reportMild coronavirus illness may confer some

immunity: study
              
   
| 5/27/2020 12:00:00 AM

PARIS: Even people with minor illness from the coronavirus can develop antibodies that could leave them
immunised for several weeks or more, according to an early French study that tested hospital staff with mild
infections.

Researchers said the results, which have not yet been peerreviewed, were `encouraging` since little is known
about the mechanisms of immunity against the novel coronavirus, especially in people with minor forms of the
disease.

`We knew that people with severe forms of the disease developed antibodies within 15 days of the onset of
symptoms, said Arnaud Fontanet, head ofthe global health department at the Institut Pasteur, which conducted
the research with the University Hospital in Strasbourg.

`We now know that this is also true for those who developminor forms, even if the rates of antibodies are
probably weaker.` The study was carried out on 160 members of staff at two hospital sites in Strasbourg who
had all tested positive for Covid-19 and suffered mildforms of the disease.

The researchers said in a statement on Tuesday that the neutralising activity of the antibodies appeared to
increase over time.

Olivier Schwartz, head of Pasteur`s virus and immunity unit, said the objective would now be to monitor the
`persistence of the antibody response and their capacity to neutralise` the virus over the longer term.

Saudi Arabia to end virus curfew next month

              
   
| 5/27/2020 12:00:00 AM

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday it would end its nationwide coronavirus curfew from June 21, except
in Makkah, after more than two months of stringent curbs.

Prayers will also be allowed to resume in all mosques outside Makkah from May 31, the interior ministry said
in a series of measures announced on state media.

Significant drop in freelance work amid Covid-19

              
    
By Ramsha Jahangir | 5/27/2020 12:00:00 AM

KARACHI: The global pandemic has not only affected regular jobs across the world but has also hit
freelance work, as most Pakistani freelancers believe that the demand for work has decreased
significantly amid Covid-19.

The opinion of these 64 per cent Pakistani freelancers that came up during a recent survey also
suggests that businesses and companies have cut freelancing costs and halted any new projects or
contracts.

Freelancers from over 100 countries, including emerging markets such as Pakistan, shared their
insights on the impact of Covid-19 on the economic outlook for freelance services with digital
payment platform, Payoneer.

Payoneer`s report titled `Freelancing during Covid-19`, based on a survey of over 1,000 freelancers,
showed that 64pc Pakistani freelancers 33pc of them graphic designers said demand for their
services had greatly decreased. For 15pc freelancers, business had remained as usual, while 18pc
reported that demand for their services had increased,according to the report.

In terms reducing team size, 24pc Pakistani freelancers said they would maintain the same team or
grow it while 9pc said they were cutting down on team members.

Future is competitive While demand for freelancers appears to have slowed in the short term, many
believe that it is just a matter of time until businesses get back on their feet and turn to outsourcing
in order to acquire quality talent.

In Pakistan, 82pc of freelancers said that demand would increase after Covid-19.

They predicted tighter competition ahead as more workers were making the switch to freelancing,
with 64pc stating that their rates remained unchanged or even increased during this period,
suggesting that they felt confident that their fees were fair and attractive even in the current
climate. On the other hand, 35pc freelancers said they had lowered rates.

Many respondents said they believed selfemployment could eventually become more stable than
full-time jobs.

`Payoneer surveyed more than a thousand freelancers and found that 53pc believe demand for
their services will increase once the pandemic is over. There`s already been rapid growth in new
freelancers entering marketplaces,` said Scott Galit, Payoneer CEO.

Ayman Sarosh, Freelancer of the Year 2019 from Pakistan said: `Currently businesses are moving
online and freelancers have tremen-dous opportunity, both in web/app development and digital
marketing to help grow their businesses.
`I have seen quite a few freelancers who have been very active not only on job portals but also
other social media channels, extending their expertise to help and advertise theirservices. The
current situation seems to be providing equal chance to opportunities and new online ventures that
were never considered viable before,` he added.

Global landscape According to the report, freelancers whowork with international clients based in
North America and Europe saw the highest slowdown in demand. Those with clients based in Asia
and Australia regions which first experienced the outbreak, saw less of a decrease in demand for
freelancers.

Freelancers managing their own team (21pc of those surveyed) had shown resilience in protecting
their employees and sub-contractors.

Around 76pc said they had kept their team`s rates the same, while around 17pc said they had
lowered the rates.

In addition, 74pc said they would either keep their team the same size or grow it while around 25pc
said they were reducing the size of their team.

The report said larger companies were seeking remote workers via online marketplaces, specifically
in the fields of customer service, sof tware and IT, and e-commerce.

Globally, the report pointed out, f reelancing rates remained stable despite the slowdown.

Demand for e-commerce In March 2020, Payoneer said it experienced a 33pc month-over-month
increase in SMBs in the US registering to the platform in order to pay their international freelancers.

Payoneer CEO said: `Companies will be looking to run leaner and to do this, they`ll need to fill skill
gaps they weren`t expecting.

Industries where we`re already seeing demand increase, include web and graphic design, content
writing and
marketing. 
[TOP]

WHO warns first wave of pandemic not over

              
   
| 5/27/2020 12:00:00 AM

BANGKOK: As Brazil and India struggle with surging coronavirus cases, a top health expert is warning that
the world is still in the very middle of the outbreak, dampening hopes for a speedy global economic rebound
and renewed international travel.

Right now, we`re not in the second wave. We`re right in the middle of the first wave globally,` said Dr Mike
Ryan, the World Health Organisation`s executive director.

We`re still very much in a phase where the disease is actually on the way up, Ryan said, pointing to South
America, South Asia and other parts of the world.

India, with a population of over 1.3 billion, saw a record single-day jump in new cases for the seventh straight
day. It reported 6,535 new infections on Tuesday, raising its total to over 145,000, including close to 4,200
deaths.
The virus has taken hold in some of the country`s poorest, most densely populated areas, underscoring the
challenges authorities face in trying to contain a virus for which no vaccine or cure has yet to be developed.

Most of India`s cases are concentrated in the western states of Maharashtra, home to the financial hub of
Mumbai, and Gujarat. Infections have also climbed in the east as migrant workers stranded by lockdowns
returned to their native villages from India`s largest cities.

Despite this, India allowed domestic flights to resume on Monday following a two-month hiatus, but at a
fraction of normal traf fic levels.

In Brazil, where President Jair Bosonaro has raged against state andlocalleaders enforcing stay-at-home
measures, WHO warned that before reopening the economy, authorities must have enough testing in place to
control the spread of the virus.

Brazil has 375,000 coronavirus infections second only to the 1.6 million cases in the US and has counted over
23,000 deaths, but many fear Brazil`s true toll is much higher.

Ryan said Brazil`s intense transmission rates means it should keep some stay-at-home measures in place,
regardless of the damage to the economy. You must continue to do everything you can, he said.

But Sao Paulo Gov. Joo Doria has ruled out a full lockdown in Brazils largest state economy and plans to start
loosening restrictions on June 1. A US travel ban was set to take effect on Tuesday for foreigners coming from
Brazil.

In Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the postponed military parade marking the 75th
anniversary of the allied victoryin the World War II will take place on June 24. Victory Day has become the
most important holiday in Russia, marked every year on May 9 with a show of armed might in Red Square.
Putin said the country has passed the peak of the outbreak.Meanwhile, seven public media outlets from the US,
Europe, Canada, Japan and Australia said they will work to beat back the proliferation, particularly on social
networks, of fake news` about Covid-19.

The broadcasters include France Mdias Monde, Deutsche Welle, the BBC World Service, NHK World, CBC
RadioCanada, ABC Australia and the US Agency for Global Media, whose networks include Voice of
America and Radio Free Asia.

Worldwide, the virus has infected 5.5 million people, killing about 350,000, according to a tally by Johns
Hopkins University. Europe has had about 170,000 deaths and the U.S.

has seen nearly 100,000. Experts say the tally understates the true toll of the disaster.-AP

Death toll in US crosses 100,000

              
   
By Anwar Iqbal | 5/27/2020 12:00:00 AM

WASHINGTON: The coronavirus death toll in United States passed the stark benchmark of 100,000 on
Tuesday as the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned against a second peak of this deadly disease.

Agencies monitoring the spread of this virus in the country, reported that by Tuesday af ternoon, the death toll
in the United States had 100,030. The daily death toll, however, remained low as 505 deaths were reported on
Monday and 225 by Tuesday af ternoon.
At one stage, 2,000 plus deaths were reported daily, with more than half of them in New York alone. But on
Monday, New York reported only 79 deaths. Daily recorded Covid-10 cases in the United States have also
come down to 7,000+ from a record high of 20,000+ a day.

Scientists fight online virus misinformation war

              
   
| 5/27/2020 12:00:00 AM

Singapore faces worst contraction

              
   
| 5/27/2020 12:00:00 AM

SINGAPORE: Singapore`s virushit economy could shrink by as much as seven per cent this year the worst
reading since independence the government said on Tuesday,asitunveiled afreshmultibillion dollar stimulus
package.
A contraction of 7pc would be the worst since the city`s independence in1965.-AFP
[TOP]

23-5-20

The coronavirus pandemic has not spared a single nation or economy, but the way some
governments have handled the crisis has raised eyebrows. Brazil's right-wing populist leader Jair
Bolsonaro has been dismissive about the health crisis and implored people to ignore state governors
who had ordered lockdowns and social distancing measures. The result: Brazil has the third-highest
number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, behind the United States and Russia. A study by Imperial
College suggest that 70,000 to one million Brazilians could die depending on measures taken to halt
the progress of the pandemic. Brazil's healthcare system has been decimated since 2017; its
expenditure on its national health service has been slashed by $4.4bn - or slightly less than a third of
its current budget. And in some regions, it is close to collapse from the sheer number of COVID-19
patients. Despite a stimulus package, the economy is expected to contract 4.7 percent this year - the
biggest fall since 1900. The situation is so bad that President Donald Trump is considering banning
Brazilians from travelling to the US. Bolsonaro has been criticised at home and abroad, so how
much damage will this do to the economy and its 209 million people? We speak to Jimena Blanco,
the Head of Americas Risk Insights at Verisk Maplecroft. No longer recession-proof Millions of jobs
have been lost due to the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the saying that the virus does not
discriminate, it is having an unequal and devastating effect on low-income workers, immigrants and
women. But an altogether startling situation, despite the pandemic, is that medical personal are
losing their jobs, as Al Jazeera's Shihab Ritansi reports. We also speak to Sho Alexander Sugihara,
the co-founder and chief executive of gig-economy finance app Portify, who explains what has gone
wrong in the jobs market. Germany's big bazooka to save the euro Europe's biggest economy is
back in recession, a little over a decade since the last financial crisis. But trouble was brewing for
Germany before the pandemic - and like everywhere else, worse is yet to come. The government
has pledged one trillion euros to support the economy. But it is Chancellor Angela Merkel's radical
500 billion euro plan to help fellow European nations that could face opposition and push the union
towards another crisis. Al Jazeera's Dominic Kane reports and we speak to Claus Vistesen, chief
eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. - - Subscribe to our channel:
http://aje.io/AJSubscribe

More than 90 countries have requested bailouts from the IMF, which has collected trillions of
dollars from donors.

24-5-20

As the coronavirus pandemic rages in Brazil and Latin America, President Jair Bolsonaro's
political fight is also heating up. He has dismissed accusations he was trying to interfere in a
police investigation into his sons and has continued to downplay its spread. Brazil has now
become the second-worst affected country in the world after the United States.

25=5=20

Before the pandemic, the number of people in poverty had been steadily falling for years.
Now it is rising again for the first time since 1998. That is because all around the world most
people cannot go to work, and many have been laid off. And that is particularly difficult for
people in poor countries and for migrant workers. King’s College London estimates that the
number of extremely poor people globally could increase by 420 million over the next several
months. Al Jazeera speaks to Jayati Ghosh in New Delhi. She is the chairwoman of the
Centre for Economic Studies and Planning at the Jawaharlal Nehru University.

May 28, 2020

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A quarter of American workers have now applied for unemployment benefits since mid-
march when the coronavirus pandemic escalated in the country. Another 2.1 million
made claims last week. More than 40 million people are facing financial ruin in the worst
economic crisis to hit the United States since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Al
Jazeera's Andy Gallacher reports.

European states reopen borders after three months

              
    
| 6/16/2020 12:00:00 AM

BERLIN: European countries reopened borders on Monday after a three-month

coronavirus shutdown, although international visitors are still being kept away and
there was uncertainty over whether many Europeans will quickly embrace travel
outside their home countries.

The virus is far from being wiped out, and the need for constant vigilance came into
sharp focus again as China, where Covid-19 first emerged last year, rushed to
contain an outbreak in Beijing.

Germany and France dropped border checks nearly two weeks after Italy opened
its frontiers. Greece welcomed visitors on Monday with passengers on flights from
other European countries not having to undergo compulsory coronavirus tests.

The European Union`s 27 nations and a number of other European states aren`t
expected to start reopening to visitors from outside the continent until at least
the beginning of July and possibly later.

Spain put its tourism industry to the test on Monday by allowing thousands of
Germans to fly to its Balearic Islands without a 14-day quarantine. Officials said the
pilot programme will help authorities gauge what is needed to guard against
possible virus flare-ups.Martin Hofman was delighted to board a flight from
Dusseldorf to the island of Mallorca because he said his vacation could not be
postponed.

To stay in Germany was not an option for us, Hofman said. We are totally happy
that we can get out.

A long line of cars formed at Bulgaria`s main border crossing with Greece af ter it
reopened to visitors, with health officials conducting random tests on those
entering, with roughly one person in every 15 checked.

Slovenia lifted travel restrictions with Italy, and the mayors of two towns on
opposite sides of the border jointly removed a traffic sign that barred movement
from one to the other.

The towns of Nova Gorica in Slovenia and Gorizia in Italy are closely linked
culturally and economically.

In Beijing, where an outbreak was traced to a market that supplies much of the
city`s meat and vegetables, thousandslined up for tests at hospitals and other
facilities. Authorities confirmed 79 cases over four days in what looks to be the
largest outbreak since China largely stopped its spread at home more than two
months ago.

Tests were being administered to workers at the Xinfadi market, anyone who had
visited it in the past two weeks, or anyone who had come in contact with either
group. The market is Beijing`s largest wholesale food market, prompting
inspections of fresh meat and seafood in the city and elsewhere in China.

Authorities also locked down the neighborhood around a second market, where
three cases were confirmed. In all, 90,000 people are affected in the two
neighborhoods in the city of 20 million.-AP
[TOP]

Cheap steroid reduces deaths in severe Covid-19 cases:

researchers
              

   
| 6/17/2020 12:00:00 AM

LONDON: The steroid dexamethasone was shown on Tuesday to be the first drug to significantly reduce the
risk of death among severe Covid-19 cases, in trial results hailed as a `major breakthrough` in the fight against
the disease.

Researchers led by a team from the University of Oxford administered the widely available drug to more than
2,000 severely ill Covid19 patients.

Among those who could only breathe with the help of a ventilator, dexamethasone reduced deaths by
one third, and by one-fifth in other patients receiving oxygen only, according to preliminary results.

Normally used to treat a range of allergic reactions as well as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma, dexamethasone
is an anti-inflammatory.

Daily doses of the steroid could prevent one-in-eight ventilated patient deaths and save one out of every 25
patients requiring oxygen alone, the team said.

The trial, carried out by the RECOVERY research group that is searching for effective Covid-19
treatments,includedacontrolgroupof 4,000 patients who did not receive the drug.

The trial results are particularly promising as around 40 per cent of Covid-19 patients who require a ventilator
end up dying, often because of the body`s uncontrolled inflammatory response to the virus.

For those receiving the new treatment, the mortality rate dropped to less than 30 per cent.`This is a major
breakthrough: dexamethasone is the first and only drug that has made a significant difference to patient
mortality for Covid-19,` said Nick Cammack, Covid-19 therapeutics accelerator lead at the Wellcome Trust
health charity. `Potentially preventing one death in every eight ventilated patients would be remarkable.

A number of existing drugs have been trialled as a treatment against the novel coronavirus, with mixed
results. Trials of treatment of the anti-arthritis drug hydroxychloroquine were halted in several countries
after a major study in The L ancet medical journal suggested it showed no benefit among Covid-19 patients
and even increased the risk of death.

Remdesivir, an anti-viral that appears to reduce the length of treatment in some patients, is already being
used in Britain, but one study in April showed it had `no significant clinical benefit`.-AFP
[TOP]

Beijing cancels flights, shuts schools over virus

outbreak
              
   
| 6/18/2020 12:00:00 AM

BEIJING: Beijing`s airports cancelled two-thirds of all flights on Wednesday and schools in the Chinese
capital were closed again as authorities rushed to contain a new coronavirus outbreak and warned infections
might rise.

The city reported 31 new cases while officials urged residents not to leave Beijing, with fears growing about a
second wave of infections in China, which had largely brought the contagion under control since its emergence
in Wuhan late last year.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been tested so far following the fresh outbreak, which is believed to
have started in the sprawling Xinfadi wholesale food market.

Almost 30 residential compounds in the city are now under lockdown.

Beijing has reported 137 infections over the past six days and 95 per cent of them were `mild cases`, Pang
said.

The city has ramped up its testing capacity and is gathering about 400,000 samples a day, said Zhang Qiang,
an official from Beijing`s epidemic prevention task force.

Since June 13, 356,000 samples have been tested.

China races to prevent virus second wave

              
   
| 6/19/2020 12:00:00 AM
BEIJING: China imposed travel restrictions on nearly half a million people near its capital on Thursday to
contain a fresh coronavirus outbreak as deaths surged in other parts of the world.

The threat of a second wave hitting China, which had largely brought the virus under control, and rising tolls in
Latin America and South Asia underscore the global challenge in slowing down the pandemic that has killed
more than 450,000 people.

The world economy has also taken a hit, with the US Labour Department saying another 1.5 million
American workers filed for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the number of people laid off, at
least temporarily, by COVID-19 to 45.7 million.

With scientists around the globe racing to find a vaccine, the World Health Organization said it hoped
that a few hundred million COVID-19 vaccine doses could be produced this year, and two billion by the
end of 2021.

20-6-20

The disease was meanwhile already

present in Italy as far back as
December, experts said, underscoring
the difficulty of tracking and containing the
pandemic.ne w research
21 june
22 june

Brazil is the second worst-affected country with almost 50,000 deaths and more than one million
cases, helping to push Latin America`s total infections beyond the two million mark, according to
a tally early on Sunday.The virus is accelerating its spread in the region, with Mexico the second
hardest-hit country, followed by Peru and Chile.

Clusters have also emerged in the Palestinian territories, Morocco and Iran, where
officials have now registered more than 100 deaths a day forthree daysrunning.

Beijing is also battling an outbreak which hasso far registered over 200 cases.

The authorities have taken more than two million samples to test and banned imports of
chicken from an American producer, suspecting the outbreak could have been imported
in contaminated food.

The virus has now killed more than 460,000 people and infected almost ninemillion worldwide.

Although the spread has slowed in Europe, it remains the worst-affected continent with more
than 2.5 million cases.
On the eastern fringes of Europe, cases have spiked again in Azerbaijan, forcing the
government to institute another lockdown much to the irritation of local workers.
The United States is the worst-hit country overall and continues to post the second-highest daily
death figures.

Nevertheless, President Donald Trump held his first rally in months on Saturday, inviting
thousands to an arena in Oklahoma although there were many empty seats.

Scientists are still learning about the virus, its symptoms and the way it spreads and a vaccine
still remains a distant possibility.

The World Health Organisation has warned that lockdowns and other restrictions are still
the best way to control the spread and urged people not to become fatigued with stay-at-
home measures.-AFP

WHO warns of `accelerating` pandemic

              
   
| 6/23/2020 12:00:00 AM

DUBAI:TheWorldHealthOrganisation (WHO) sent out a fresh warning on Monday over the dangers of the
new coronavirus even as France returned to life by staging an annual music festival and sending millions of
children back to school.

In spite of numerous European countries further easing their lockdown restrictions, cases around the world are
rising especially in Latin America with Brazilnowregistering over 50,000 deaths.

There are also fears of a second wave with Australians being warned against travelling to Melbourne.

`The pandemic is still accelerating, WHO`s director general Te dros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the
virtual health forum organised by Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
`We know that the pandemic is much more than a health crisis, it is an economic crisis, a social crisis
and in many countries a political crisis. Its effects will be felt for decades to come.

Tedros said the greatest threat facing the world is not the virus itself, which has now killed over 465,000
people and infected nearly nine million worldwide, but `the lack of global solidarity and
globalleadership`.

`We cannot defeat this pandemic with a divided world,` he said. `The politicisation of the pandemic has
exacerbated it.

Saudi Arabia to allow around 1,000 pilgrims in scaled-

down Haj
              
   
| 6/24/2020 12:00:00 AM

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Tuesday said only around 1,000 pilgrims of various nationalities already in the
kingdom will be allowed to perform a dramatically scaled-down H aj, as it battles a coronavirus surge.

The decision to exclude pilgrims outside Saudi Arabia, a first in the kingdom`s modern history, sparked
disappointment among Muslims worldwide even as many accepted it was necessary due to the health risks
involved.

The reduced number is a f ar cry f rom the 2.5 million who attendedthefive-
dayrituallastyearanditremainsunclear what the selection process will be for this year`s Haj, scheduled for the
end of July.

`The number of pilgrims will be around 1,000, maybe less, maybe a little more,` Haj Minister Mohammad
Benten told reporters in Riyadh.

`The number won`t be in tens or hundreds of thousands` this year, he added.

The pilgrimage will be limited to those below 65 years of age and with no chronic illnesses, Health Minister
Tawfiq al-Rabiah said.

The pilgrims will be tested for coronavirus before arriving in the holy city of Makkah and will be required to
quarantine at home after the ritual, Rabiah added.

The Saudi decision to hold a `very limited` Haj is fraught with political and economic peril and comes after
several Muslim nations pulled out of the ritual that forms one of the main pillars of Islam.

The Haj a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime could be a major source of contagion, as
it packs millions of pilgrims into congested religious sites.

The decision comes as Saudi Arabia grapples with a major spike in infections, which have now risen to more
than 161,000 cases the highest in the Gulf with more than 1,300 deaths.

A scaled-down Haj represents a major loss of revenue for the kingdom, already reeling from the twin
shocks of the virusinduced slowdown and a plunge in oil prices.
The smaller year-round Umrah pilgrimage was already suspended in March.

Together, they add $12 billion to the Saudi economy every year, according to government figures.-AFP
[TOP]

Virus may plunge 100m children in South Asia into

poverty
              

   
| 6/24/2020 12:00:00 AM

KATHMANDU: More than 100 million children in South Asia could slip into poverty
as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, a UN report said on Tuesday of the long-
term impact of the crisis.

Cases across the densely-populated region home to almost a quarter of the world`s
population have risen in recent weeks even as the region lifts its lockdown to revive
economies badly shattered by the virus.

`While they may be less susceptible to the virus itself, children are being profoundly
affected by the fallout, including the economic and social consequences of the
lockdown,` the report by the UN children`s agency Unicef said.

South Asia which includes India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka, the Maldives and Bhutan -is home to some 600 million children, with around
240 million already living in poverty, the agency said.

In a worst-case scenario, the virus could push another 120 million into poverty and
food insecurity within six months,it warned.

`Without urgent action now, Covid-19 could destroy the hopes and futures of an
entire generation,` Unicef`s South Asia regional director Jean Gough said in a
statement.

Progress in healthcare such as immunisation, nutrition and other services were

being `severely disrupted`.

In Bangladesh, Unicef said it found that some of the poorest families could not
afford three meals a day, while in Sri Lanka its survey showed that 30 percent of f
amilies had cut their food intake.
With schools shut, poorer children have struggled to keep up with their education,
particularly those in rural households without internet access or even electricity.

`There are concerns that some disadvantaged students may join the nearly 32
million children who were already out of school before Covid-19 struck,` the report
added.

Other major concerns include the risks of domestic violence, depression and other
mental health issues with youths spending more time at home.-AFP
[TOP]

Virus death toll nears half a million as cases surge in

US, Latin America
              
   
| 6/25/2020 12:00:00 AM

WASHINGTON: Coronavirus cases are surging across large parts of the United States and in Latin America,
according to experts and figures, highlighting how far the world remains from stopping the pandemic as the
global death toll neared half a million on Wednesday.

Six months into a crisis that has devastated the global economy, the International Monetary Fund was set to
issue its latest growth forecasts later on Wednesday.

The World Trade Organisation already warned on Tuesday that the outlook for the world economy over the
nexttwo years remains `highly uncertain` and that global trade is expected to see a huge coronavirus-driven
plunge in the second quarter.

The number of deaths worldwide from the outbreak has surged past 477,000, a doubling of the toll in less than
two months, according to a tally on Wednesday.

Studies of antibody test accuracy fall short: report

              
   
| 6/26/2020 12:00:00 AM

ZURICH: Many studies assessing the accuracy of Covid19 antibody tests had major shortcomings, a review
released on Thursday concluded, offering further evidence the blood tests are of little use for people seeking to
know with certainty if they have been infected.

Cochrane, a British-based journal that reviews research evidence to help decision makers adopt better health
policies, looked at 54 studies, mostly from Asia, that sought to measure the reliability of tests purporting to
show whether somebody has developed antibodies against the new coronavirus.

The studies were often small, did not use the most reliable methods, and results were often incomplete,
Cochrane said in its 310-page report.
Also, most of those tested had been admitted to hospital, offering no insight into how well the tests could
detect antibodies in the majority of people with milder symptoms.

There is intense interest in these antibody tests, which rely on either a finger pricl( or a venous blood draw, by
people eager to know whether they have had Covid-19 or not.

There has been speculation that a positive result might mean people have some protection, at least temporarily,
against re-infection. Such hopes are unrealistic, said Jon Deeks, a professor of biostatistics at the University of
Birmingham who leads Cochrane`s test evaluation efforts.

`A lot of people in the UK are very interested and keen to know, but there is no decision they should be
making at the moment based on the results of that test,` Deeks told reporters.

In all, the Cochrane researchers identified data from 25 commercial Covid-19 tests, a fraction of roughly 300
such tests that exist. Their review did not include tests of fered by Roche or Abbott Laboratories, which were
approved by regulators after the cut-off deadline of April 27.

Updates of Cochrane`s report plan to include data from both companies` tests, which are now being sold by the
millions in the United States and Europe.

Europe faces virus upsurge as cases soar in Americas

              
   
| 6/26/2020 12:00:00 AM

PARIS: Europe is facing an upsurge in coronavirus cases, the World Health Organisation warned on Thursday,
as the disease continued its rampage through the Americas.

The WHO said some European health systems risked being overwhelmed, yet officials have continued to
rescind restrictive measures designed to combat the virus`s spread, with France reopening the Eiffel Tower to
tourists for the first time in three months.

However, Europe`s current caseload compares favourably with that of the Americas, where Brazil and the
United States recorded almost 80,000 infections between them on Wednesday. While some US states have
moved to reimpose restrictions, Brazilian expert Domingos Alves warned that his country was sending people
`to the slaughterhouse` by reopening too soon.

Governments are still struggling to balance public health needs of fighting a virus that has infected almost 10
million people and killed almost 500,000 with the damage that lockdown measures are doing to their
economies.

The International Monetary Fund is the latest to quantify the economic harm, predicting that global GDP will
plunge by 4.9 per cent this year and wipe out $12 trillion over two years.

Until a vaccine or treatment is found, however, experts have warned that restrictions could be the norm.

Several drugs have been tested and the EU gave a boost to the prospects of antiviral drug remdesivir on
Thursday by recommending it for use the first treatment to be given the green light in Europe.
Over $30bn needed to develop Covid-19 tests,
treatments, vaccines, says WHO
           
   
| 6/27/2020 12:00:00 AM

GENEVA: The World Health Organisation said on Friday that a global initiative to speed up the
development and production of Covid-19 tests, vaccines and treatments will require more than
$30 billion over the next year.

Providing details of the so-called ACT accelerator, launched in April and

aimedatpoolinginternationalresources to combat the pandemic, WHO said `the costed plans
presented today call for $31.3 billion in funding`.

So far, $3.4 billion of that had been pledged, the UN health agency said, pointing out that an
additional $27.9 billion was needed over the next12 months, including nearly $14 billion to
coverimmediate needs.

The announcement came ahead of a major pledging event in Brussels in support of the ACT
accelerator, set to take place on Saturday.

India passes 500,000 coronavirus cases

           
   
| 6/28/2020 12:00:00 AM

NEW DELHI: India now has more than 500,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to
government figures released on Saturday that showed a record daily leap of 18,500 new
infections.

Authorities said a total of 15,685 people had died after another 385 fatalities were added to the
toll in 24 hours.

The pandemic is not expected to peak in India for several more weeks and experts say the
number of cases could pass one million before the end of July.

Some state governments are considering imposing new lockdowns. A hard-hitting nationwide
lockdown that started March 25 is gradually being eased because of the damage caused to the
economy.
The virus has particularly hit India`s densely populated cities and there are now major concerns for New
Delhi which has overtaken Mumbai with nearly 80,000 cases.

Top US virus expert warns of `serious problem` as

cases surge
            
   
| 6/28/2020 12:00:00 AM

HOUSTON: America`s top infectious diseases expert has warned the United States is facing a
`serious problem` from a resurgent coronavirus as the illness puts the brakes on reopening two of
the country`s largest states.
We are facing a serious problem in certain areas,` leading US immunologist Anthony Fauci said at the
first briefing in two months by the White House`s Coronavirus Task Force.

`The only way we`re going to end it is by ending it together,` he said of the outbreak.(fauci)

Covid-19 cases hit 10m mark across the world

           
   
| 6/29/2020 12:00:00 AM

ROME: Worldwide confirmed coronavirus infections hit the 10 million mark on Sunday as
voters in Poland and France went to the polls for virusdelayed elections.

US Vice President Mike Pence called off campaign events in Florida and Arizona after surges in
infections prompted worries that America has lost control of its outbreak.

New clusters of cases at a Swiss nightclub and in the central English city of Leicester showed
that the virus was still circulating widely in Europe, though not at the exponential rate of growth
seen in parts of the US, Latin America and India.

Widodo likely to reshuffle cabinet over Covid-19

response
           
   
| 6/29/2020 12:00:00 AM

JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo has told his cabinet he is ready to reshuffle
ministers or even disband government agencies that he feels have not done enough to fight the
coronavirus outbreak, accordingtohis ofEce.

WHO reports record hike in virus cases

           
   
| 7/5/2020 12:00:00 AM

LONDON: The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported arecordincreasein global

coronavirus cases on Saturday, with the total rising by 212,326 in 24 hours.

The biggest increases were from the United States, Brazil and India, according to a daily
report.

The previous WHO record for new cases was 189,077 on June 28. Deaths remained steady at
about 5,000 a day.

Global coronavirus cases exceeded 11 million on Friday, according to a tally, marking another
milestone in the spread of the disease that has killed more than half a million people in seven
months.

China displays Covid-19 vaccines for first time

 2020-09-08
BEIJING: China has put its homegrown coronavirus vaccines on display for the first time, as the
country where the contagion was discovered looks to shape the narrative surrounding the
pandemic.

High hopes hang on the small vials of liquid on show at a Beijing trade fair this week vaccine
candidates produced by Chinese companies Sinovac Biotech and Sinopharm.

Neither has hit the market yet but the makers hope they will be approved af ter all-important
phase 3 trials as early as year-end.

India overtakes Brazil in coronavirus infections

 2020-09-08
MUMBAI: India overtook Brazil in coronavirus infection numbers on Monday, making it second
only to the United States after a record jump, but the government resumed underground train
services and announced plans to re-open the Taj Mahal this month.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s government, faced with a pandemic that is showing no sign of
abating, has chosen to end most curbs in a bid to resuscitate an economy in deep trouble after a
severe lockdown.

The world`s second-most populous country posted more than 90,000 cases on Monday, taking its
tally past 4.2 million, more than 68,000 ahead of Brazil, which means the latter has around4.13m
of cases.

At current rates, India could exceed the US figure of 6.2m by next month as the disease spreads
from the big cities of Delhi and Mumbai to the vast hinterland where two-thirds of India`s 1.3
billion people live, experts say.
US Covid-19 deaths cross 200,000
By Our Correspondent  2020-09-20

WASHINGTON: Covid19 deaths in the United States topped 200,000 on Saturday while more than
6,740,400 confirmed cases were also recorded.

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre had recorded 198,921 deaths by Friday afternoon,
which crossed the 200,000 mark on Saturday.

Global Covid-19 cases

 2020-09-22

AS countries continued with the unhappy dance of locking down and then reopening, the total number
of Covid-19 cases worldwide crossed the 30m mark last week. Daily global cases are averaging close to
300,000. This figure is a sharp increase from July when worldwide cases diagnosed each day averaged
about 200,000. The new cases are accelerating at a rate which shows that it took merely five weeks to
cross the latest milestone of 10m; the first 10m were reached after six months.

According to data compiled by a team of infectious disease experts at Johns Hopkins University, the US
remains the worst-hit country with more than 6.6m confirmed infections, and nearly 200,000 deaths
even though the number of new infections per day has been dropping after a spike in July. In Asia, India
is driving the numbers with confirmed infections surpassing 5m the world`s second highest after the US.
While the death rate in India is relatively lower as compared to the size of its population, the virus is
spreading faster there than in any other country as it clocks 100,000 cases per day. This spread is largely
attributed to the lifting of restrictions to boost economic activity, but is also a reflection of increased
testing. After India, Brazil has the third-highest number of cases at over 4m but sadly, the most number
of deaths at 140,000.

The global total for coronavirus-related deaths is fast approaching a staggering 1m.

It is clear that Covid-19 is not going away anytime soon, with some fearing that even with a vaccine the
threat will persist. Just last week, the WHO warned Europe of a Covid-19 surge and said the data from
September should serve as a `wake-up call`. As several countries brace for a serious surge and second
wave, it is important to remember that science and the research on Covid-19 today have evolved from
when the virus first hit earlier in the year. Then, hospitals lacked equipment, and staff had to work on
Covid-19 patients without adequate PPE. But today, many countries are better equipped to tackle the
infection. Still, having more information does not mean that recklessness should be permitted.

Countries must strategise their next steps by thinking of the most vulnerable among the population as
well as those working in healthcare and delivering essential services. As has been demonstrated, with
compassion and a data-driven approach to restrictions, loss can be minimised.
US surpasses grim milestone of 200,000 Covid-19 deaths
 2020-09-23

WASHINGTON/LONDON: The death toll from the spread of the coronavirus in the United States
exceeded 200,000 on Tuesday, by the far the highest number of any nation.

The United States, on a weekly average, is now losing about 800 lives each day to the virus, according
to a tally. That is down from a peak of 2,806 daily deaths recorded on April 15.

During the early months of the pandemic, 200,000 deaths was regarded by many as the maximum
number of lives likely to be lost in the United States to the virus.

`The idea of 200,000 deaths is really very sobering and in some respects stunning,` Dr Anthony Fauci, the
top US infectious diseases expert, told CNN.

Fauci said that it was not inevitable that the United States will fall into another dire situation with
coronavirus cases surging during cold weather months, but that he was worried about parts of the
country where public health measures were not being implemented.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump said he had done a phenomenal job on the pan-demic that
has infected nearly 6.9 million Americans.

`It affects virtually nobody.

It`s an amazing thing,` Trump told supporters at a Swanton, Ohio,campaignrallyonMonday night. `It
affects... elderly people with heart problems and other problems if they have other problems that`s
what it really af fects, that`s it.` Trump has admitted to playing down the danger of the coronavirus
early on because he did not want to `create a panic.` With barely six weeks left before the election on
Nov 3, Trump is behind Democratic rival Joe Biden nationally in every major opinion poll and is neck
and neck in key swing states. Trump`s handling of the pandemic and subsequent economic downturn
has battered his standing among many voters.

Trump has frequently questioned the advice of scientific experts on everything from the timing of a
vaccine to reopening schools and businesses to wearing a mask. He has refused to support a national
mask mandate and held large political rallies where few wore masks.

US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Director Robert Redfield recently told Congress
that a face mask would provide more guaranteed protection than a vaccine, which would only be
broadly available by `late second quarter, third quarter 2021.` Trump refuted the timeline for the
vaccine and said that it may be available in a matter of weeks and ahead of the Nov 3 election.
Global coronavirus death toll passes one million
 2020-09-29

PARIS: More than one million people have died from coronavirus, according to a toll, marking a grim
milestone in the spread of the disease that has ravaged the world economy, inflamed diplomatic
tensions and upended lives from Indian slums to New York City.

In the nine months since the virus was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan, schools, businesses,
live entertainment, and international travel have been upended by strict stay-at-home measures
designed to curb the contagion.

Drastic controls that put half of humanity more than four billion people under some form of lockdown
by April at first slowed the spread, but since restrictions were eased, infections have soared again.

By 1100 GMT on Monday, the disease had claimed 1,002,036 victims from 33,162,930 recorded
infections, according to a tally collected from official sources byjournabsts stadoned around the world,
and compiled by a dedicated team of data specialists.

The United States has the highest death toll with more than 200,000 f atalities, followed by
Brazil, India, Mexico and Britain.
The IMF has warned that the economic upheaval could cause a `crisis like no other`, though the Fund`s
outlook appears brighter now than it did in June.

WHO unveils speedy Covid tests for Third World

 2020-09-30

GENEVA: Coronavirus tests that deliver results in 15-30 minutes are to be rolled out across the United
States and in scores of poorer countries, as health authorities worldwide try to get a handle on a disease
that has now killed more than a million people.

US President Donald Trump announced 150 million tests would be distributed in America, while the
World Health Organisation said 120 million more would be available for the developing world at $5 each
as long as funding was secured.

The testing push comes as the virus shows no sign of receding, with infection numbers climbing rapidly
in Europe again and governmentsthere clamping down on movement in an attempt to curb the surge.

The kits are far faster, cheaper and easier to administer than regular standard polymer-ase chain
reaction (PCR) swab tests but are less sensitive and more likely to return false negatives.
`This will enable the expansion of testing, particularly in hard-to-reach areas that do not have lab
facilities or enough trained health workers to carry out PCR tests,` WHO directorgeneral Tedros
Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtualpressconference.

Experts have for months been calling for widespread adoption of this low-cost technology so that people
can test themselves several times a week.

Harvard epidemiologist Michael Mina said the testing drive `is terrific and is agreat start`.

But the amount being distributed by the US government was `simply not sufficient` and production
should be multiplied tenor twentyfold, he added.

The tests are part of a limited toolkit available to governments as they seek ways to get the wheels
turning on economies that have been crippled in recent months by lockdowns and other restrictions on
people`s lives.

Trump contracts Covid amid race for White House

 2020-10-03

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump is experiencing `mild symptoms` of Covid-19, his chief of
staff said on Friday after the bombshell news of his infection upended the White House race a month
before the Republican faces challenger Joe Biden at the polls.

The 74-year-old Trump, who has continued to cast doubt on the seriousness of the pandemic even as
theUS death toll topped 200,000, announced in an overnight tweet that he and First Lady Melania
Trump, 50, had tested positive and were going into quarantine.

Trump biggest driver of virus misinformation: study

 2020-10-02

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has been the world`s biggest driver of Covid-19
misinformation during the pandemic, a study from Cornell University said on Thursday.

A team from the Cornell Alliance for Science evaluated 38 million articles published by English-language,
traditional media worldwide between Jan 1 and May 26 this year.

The database they used aggregates coverage from countries such as the United States, Britain,India,
Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and other African and Asian nations.
They identified 522,472 news articles that reproduced or amplified misinformation related to the
coronavirus pandemic, or what the World Health Organisation has called the `infodemic`. These were
categorised into 11 main sub-topics, ranging from conspiracy theories to attacks on top scientist
Anthony Fauci to the idea that the virus is a bioweapon unleashed by China.But the most popular topic
by far was what the study authors termed `miracle cures,` which appeared in 295,351 articles more than
the other 10 topics combined.

The authors found that comments by President Trump drove major spikes in the `miracle
cures` topic, led by his April 24 press briefing where he mused on the possibility of using
disinfectants inside the body to cure the coronavirus.

Similar spikes were seen whenhe promoted unproven treatments like hydroxychloroquine.

`We conclude therefore that the president of the United States was likely the largest driver of
the Covid-19 misinformation `infodemic`,` the team wrote.

S. Arabia to reopen holy sites for Umra after 7-month pause

 2020-10-03

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will reopen the holy places for the year-round Umra pilgrimage on Sunday, scaled
back and with extensive health precautions, seven months after coronavirus prompted its suspension.

Umra usually attracts millions of Muslims from across the globe each year.

It will be revived in three stages, with the initial phase seeing just 6,000 citizens and residents already
within the kingdom allowed to take part each day.

`In the first stage, the Umra will be performed meticulously and within a specified period of time,Haj
Minister Mohammad Benten told state television last week.

He said pilgrims will be divided into groups to ensure social distancing within the Grand Mosque in
Makkah.

Worshippers will on Sunday be able to perform the ritual of circling the sacred Kaaba along socially
distanced paths.

On October 18, the number of pilgrims will be increased to 15,000 per day, with a maximum of 40,000
people allowed to perform prayers at the mosque.

Visitors from abroad will be permitted from November 1, when capacity will be raised to 20,000
pilgrims, with 60,000 people allowed into the mosque.
The decision to resume the pilgrimage was in response to the `aspirations of Muslims at home
andabroad` to perform the ritual and visit the holy sites, the interior ministry said last month.
Relying on testing to ward off virus put White House at risk
 2020-10-04

EARLY in the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump put his faith in a toastersized machine that
could spit out test results in a matter of minutes.

In late March, Trump hailed thelaunchof Abbott L aboratories ID NOW test at a Rose Garden
event and embraced its widespread use at the White House to keep the deadly virus at bay.
The president often skipped his own administrations public health recommendations on mask
wearing and social distancing, explaining that everyones tested around him using the Abbott
device.

His strategy was no match for the virus.

The president`s announce-ment that both he and his wife, Melania, had tested positive,
threw the final weeks of the presidential campaign into disarray.

The reliance on a rapid test, with its limitations, unfortunately gave the White House and its

staff a false sense of security that they were in control of the virus,
said William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University School
of Medicine.

`You cannot rely on that test to create a barrier between you and the virus,` he said, adding that people
have to wear masks, do social distancing and not go to all these rallies.

While rapid tests can help contain the spread of a highly contagious virus, they were notdesigned to be
used in isolation.

A negative result merely captures a snapshot in time and doesn`t guard against infection soon af ter.
And a person may be infectious for days before the amount of virus in their body registers positive on a
test.

Krutika Kuppalli, an assistant professor and expert on infectious diseases at the Medical University of
South Carolina, said not enough is known about how these rapid tests perform in people who are
asymptomatic.

Trump was playing with fire and it was really a matter of time before something like this was going to
happen, she said. Even if Trump had been around someone who was sick, wearing a mask could have
prevented himfrom getting the virus.

The White House said in a statement Thursday that Trump takes the health and safety of himself and
everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously and that the
administration followed guidelines for limiting Covid-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible.

India`s virus death toll passes 100,000

 2020-10-04

NEW DELHI: The death toll from coronavirus in India passed 100,000 on Saturday, official data
showed as the pandemic continued to rage across the world`s second most populous country.

A total of 100,842 people have now died, health ministry figures showed, giving India the third-highest
death toll in the world behind the United States and Brazil.

In terms of infections, India has recorded 6.47 million cases and is on course to overtake the
US as the country with the most infections in the coming weeks.

India`s population of 1.3 billion is, however, around four times larger than that of the United States,
which has seen more than twice as many deaths, raising doubts about India`s of ficial numbers.`We do
not know the reliability of death rates in India,` virologist T. Jacob John said.

`India does not have a public health surveillance system, documenting real-time all disease events and
deaths,` he said.

Even though India is carrying out around one million tests per day, as a percentage
ofthepopuladonitstesdngrateis much lower than many other countries.

The United States, for example, has tested more than five times as many people as India
proportionately, according to tracking website Worldometer.

That India`s real numbers might be much worse than the of ficial data suggest is borne out by
a string of studies measuring antibodies to the virus among the population.-AFP
WHO believes 10pc of world has had Covid-19
 2020-10-06

GENEVA: The WHO estimated on Monday that 10 percent of the world has been infected by the new
coronavirus way more than has been recorded as it mulled speeding up internal reforms.

To date, more than 35 million cases of Covid-19 have been registered worldwide, including some 1.04
million who have died, according to a tally based on official sources.

But the World Health Organisation now estimates that around a tenth of the planet`s 7.8 billion or so
people have already been infected since the virus first surfaced in China late last year more than 20
times the official count.

`Our current best estimate tells us that about 10 percent of the global population may have been
infected by this virus,` WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told a special meeting of the agency`s
executive board.

He stressed that infection levels varied `from urban to rural, it varies between different
groups.` `But what it does mean is that the vast majority of the world remains at risk,` he
warned.

WHO chief Tedros AdhanomGhebreyesus meanwhile told Monday`s meeting that the pandemic should
serve as a `wake-up call for all of us.

`We must all look in the mirror and ask what we can do better.` he said.

China joins global Covid-19 vaccine alliance

 2020-10-10

TAIPEI: China, which has at least four coronavirus vaccine candidates in the last stage of
clinical trials, said on Friday it is joining an international initiative to distribute Covid-19
vaccines to countries worldwide known as COVAX, a move that may help the country find an
international market for its coronavirus shots.

The World Health Organisation, which also leads COVAX, welcomed the announcement,
saying in a statement that the number of countries joining the COVAX f acility grows every
day, and we are pleased to see China formally join.

The country signed an agreement with Gavi, the coleader of the project, on Thursday, China`s foreign
ministry said. Initially, China did not agree to join the alliance, af ter missing an early deadline to join in
September.
We are taking this concrete step to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines, especially to developing
countries, and hope more capable countries will also join and support COVAX,` ministry spokeswoman
Hua Chunying said in a statement. She added later at a daily news briefing that many Chinese vaccine
companies expressed a willingness to join the partnership and that China would buy vaccines for about
1pc of its population through COVAX.

The exact terms of the agreement and how China will contribute are not yet clear. Countries can choose
to buy vaccines to cover up to 50pc of their population but many developed countries are using COVAX
as a type of insurance policy to obtain extra doses on top of any bilateral deals signed with
pharmaceutical companies.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping previously said the country would make the vaccine a global public good and
woulddistribute its shots in Africa but only after China`s own immunization programme had been
completed.The initiative is designed so that richer countries agree to buy into potential vaccines and
help finance access for poorer ones, but critical questions remain about how its goal will be carried
out. Many countries including Britain, the US, France, Germany, and others have directly negotiated
their own deals with pharmaceutical companies to receive billions of doses, meaning that the vast
majority of the world`s vaccine supply next year is already reserved.

Some experts point out that without significant ef forts to quickly boost manufacturing capacity
globally, Chinese vaccine producers may offer the best chance to supply the developing world. China`s
decision to join COVAX might give the country an opportunity to sign multimillion dollar deals that
Gavi and partners will need to enter to secure billions of vaccine doses.

The United States, the world`s largest economy, declined to join under President Donald Trump,
saying COVAX was influenced by the corrupt WHO and China.

China has the second-largest economy in the world.

China joining COVAX serves a dual purpose of filling the leadership vacuum lef t by the United States
in terms of global public health, and in terms of securing a future vaccine for its population, said
Natasha Kassam, a research fellow at the Lowy Institute in Australia.

A successful vaccine candidate from China could help it repair its reputation abroad. A recent
survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that negative views of
China have risen sharply in 2020 in some countries.-AP
Covid-19 cases surge past seven million in India
 2020-10-12
NEW DELHI: India`s coronavirus cases surged past seven million on Sunday as the health ministry data
showed a rise of almost 75,000 cases, taking the total to 7.05 million second only to the US which has
recorded 7.67 million infections.

But experts say the true number may be much higher, with testing rates in the country of 1.3 billion
people much lower than elsewhere in the world.

Coronavirus can last 28 days on glass, currency: study

 2020-10-13

BRISBANE: The coronavirus that causes Covid-19 can survive on items such as banknotes and phones for
up to 28 days in cool, dark conditions, according to a study by Australia`s national science agency.

Europe tightens curbs as Covid cases surge out of control

 2020-10-14

LONDON: European governments are battling to curb coronavirus surges with new controls and
increased testing, while trying to avoid the devastating nationwide lockdowns of March and April.

Cases climbed rapidly in Britain, France, Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic on Tuesday,
raisingfearsthatthe deathrate could rise.

Hospitals in Paris will have most of their intensive care beds packed with Covid-19 patients as soon as
next week, the system`s chief warned on Tuesday.

Row over remdesivir`s efficacy as Covid-19 drug

 2020-10-17

ZURICH: A row broke out on Friday over a World Health Organisation (WHO) clinical trial which
concluded that the antiviral drug remdesivir has little or no impact on a patient`s chances of surviving
Covid-19.

Gilead Sciences Inc., the US company that developed the drug, said the findings appeared inconsistent
with evidence from other studies validating the clinical benefit of remdesivir, which was used to treat
US President Donald Trump`s coronavirus infection.

`We are concerned the data from this open-label global trial has not undergone the rigorous review
required to allow for constructive scientific discussion,` Gilead said.
But Richard Peto, an independent statistician hired by the WHO to scrutinise the results of its Solidarity
trial, dismissed Gilead`s criticism.

`It`s a reliable result, don`t let anybody tell you otherwise, because they`ll try to,` Peto told reporters.

`This is real world evidence.

China`s experimental Covid-19 vaccine costs $60

 2020-10-18

BEIJING: A Chinese city is offering Sinovac Biotech`s experimental Covid-19 vaccine to essential
workers and other high-risk groups as part of a national programme for about $60.

The eastern city of Jiaxing`s center for disease control and prevention (CDC) said in a statement on
WeChat that two doses of the vaccine candidate, called CoronaVac, will cost 200 yuan ($29.75) per dose
and that vaccinations for key groups including medical professionals have begun.

Chinese authorities have to date not released pricing details for potential Covid-19 vaccines. Hundreds
of thousands of people have been given experimental vaccines in late-stage trials as part of an
emergency inoculation programme launched in July.

It was not clear if Jiaxing city`s pricing includes subsidies.

The city`s CDC declined to comment.

Sinovac did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Its vaccine is in late stage trials in Brazil,
Indonesia and Turkey, and the company has said that an interim analysis of Phase three trial data could
come as early as November.

Bio Farma, a state-owned firm in Indonesia which has reached a deal for at least 40 million doses from
Sinovac, said this week the vaccine will cost around 200,000 rupiah ($13.60) per dose when it becomes
available in the southeast Asian country.

China has said that while reasonable profits for companies are permitted, Covid-19 vaccines should be
priced close to cost.

China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) said in August that a vaccine candidate developed by
a unit may cost no more than 1,000 yuan ($148.80) for two shots. An official at China`s National Health
Commission has said, however, the price will be lower.-Reuters
Virus restrictions in Europe; Merkel warns of hard days
 2020-10-18

BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans to come together like they did in the spring to slow
the spread of the coronavirus as the country posted another daily record of new cases on Saturday.

Difficult months are ahead of us, she said in her weekly video podcast.

How winter will be, how our Christmas will be, that will all be decided in these coming days and
weeks, and it will be decided by our behavior.

FMs of Austria, Belgium test positive after EU meeting

 2020-10-18

VIENNA: The foreign ministers of Austria and Belgium have tested positive for coronavirus after
attending a meeting with EU colleagues earlier this week, raising concerns the gathering may have
been a so-called `super-spreader` event.

Austria`s Alexander Schallenberg and Belgium`s Sophie Wilmes sat next to each other during a group
breakfast at the meeting of EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday in Luxembourg,a spokeswoman for
Austria`s Foreign Ministry said.

`It is suspected that Schallenberg might have been infected at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg
on Monday, the spokeswoman said, adding that he did not have symptoms and had been tested as a
routine measure.

Wilmes said on Saturday she had tested positive for Covid-19, a day after going into self-isolation with
suspected symptoms of the illness.-Reuters

Coronavirus remains active on human skin for nine hours,

say Japanese experts
 2020-10-19

TOKYO: The coronavirus remains active on human skin for nine hours, Japanese researchers have
found, in a discovery they said showed the need for frequent hand washing to combat the Covid-19
pandemic.

The pathogen that causes the flu survives on human skin for about 1.8 hours by comparison, said the
study published this month in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal.
`The nine-hour survival of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus strain that causes Covid-19) on human skin may
increase the risk of contact transmission in comparison with IAV (influenza A virus), thus accelerating the
pandemic,` it said.

The research team tested skin collected from autopsy specimens, about one day after death.

Both the coronavirus and the flu virus are inactivated within 15 seconds by applying ethanol, which is
used in hand sanitisers.`The longer survival of SARSCoV-2 on the skin increases contacttransmission risk;
however, hand hygiene can reduce this risk,` the study said.

The study backs World Health Organisation`s guidance for regular and thorough hand washing to limit
transmission of the virus, which has infected nearly 40 million people around the world since it first
emerged in China late last year.-AFP

Emergency declared in Spain; global virus cases soar

 2020-10-26

MADRID: Spain declared a national state of emergency on Sunday to tackle a second coronavirus wave
as the World Health Organisation reported a third straight day of record new infections across the
world.

The WHO has warned that some countries are on a `dangerous track`, with too many witnessing an
exponential increase in cases, and called on countries to take further action to curb the spread of the
disease.

In total, the UN agency`s figures showed that 465,319 cases were declared on Saturday alone, half of
them in Europe.

Covid-19 has now claimed the lives of 1.1 million people a fifth of them in the United States and infected
more than 42 million globally.

The WHO has said that the northern hemisphere was at an especially critical juncture with winter
looming.

Antibodies `fall rapidly after Covid infection`

 2020-10-28

LONDON: Antibodies against the novel coronavirus declined rapidly in the British population during
the summer, a study found on Tuesday, suggesting protection after infection may not be long lasting
and raising the prospect of waning immunity in the community.

Scientists at Imperial College London have tracked antibody levels in the British population following the
first wave of Covid-19 infections in March and April.
Their study found that antibody prevalence fell by a quarter, from 6pc of the population around the
end of June to just 4.4pc in September.

That raises the prospect of decreasing population immunity ahead of a second wave of infections in
recent weeks that has forced local lockdowns and restrictions.

Although immunity to the novel coronavirus is a complex and murky area, and may be assisted by T
cells, as well as B cells that can stimulate the quick production of antibodies following reexposure to the
virus, the researchers said the experience of other coronaviruses suggested immunity might not be
enduring.

`We can see the antibodies and we can see them declining and we know that antibodies on their own
are quite protective,` Wendy Barclay, head of the Department of Infectious Disease at Imperial College
London told reporters.

Europe braces for fresh lockdowns as Covid-19 cases double

in 5 weeks
 2020-11-02

LONDON: Europe`s new Covid-19 cases have doubled in five weeks as the United Kingdom, France and
Germany have announced nationwide lockdowns for at least the next month that are almost as strict as
the restrictions in March and April. Portugal has imposed a partial lockdown and Spain and Italy are
tightening restrictions.

Europe`s coronavirus infections top 11m

 2020-11-04

PARIS: Europe passed a grim milestone on Tuesday after reporting more than 11 million coronavirus
cases, as Austria and Greece became the latest countries on the continent to impose shutdowns.

Still reeling from a deadly shooting spree in the streets of Vienna on Monday evening, Austria went into
partial lockdown while Greece shut down major cities.

They joined Belgium, France, Germany and Ireland in re-imposing tough curbs on people`s lives in an
echo of last spring as the virus that first emerged in China at the end of 2019 shows no sign of abating.

Europe has now registered 11,008,465 infections and almost 285,000 deaths according to a tally of
official sources on Tuesday.

WHO sees `explosion` of Covid-19 cases in Europe

 2020-11-06
COPENHAGEN: The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday said it was observing an
`explosion` of coronavirus cases in Europe and warned of a `tough time` ahead as mortality rates rose.

`We do see an explosion.... in the sense it only takes a couple of days to have over the European region
an increase of one million cases, WHO`s regional director for Europe Hans Kluge said.

Kluge, who was wearing a mask even as he was interviewed over a webcam meeting, also said the
mortality rate could be seen rising `little by little`.

`It`s going to be a little bit of a tough time, we need to be honest on that,` he said.

In spite of the rapidly rising cases, Kluge cautioned that closing schoolsshould be seen as
alastresort,especially in light of there being `no reasons to say that schools are a main driver of the
transmission`.

`We need to keep the schools open really until last because we cannot afford a Covid-19 lost generation,
Kluge said.

751,000 seek US jobless benefits as coronavirus hobbles

economy
 2020-11-06

WASHINGTON: The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell slightly last week to
751,000, a still-historically high level that shows that many employers keep cutting jobs in the face of
the accelerating pandemic.

A surge in viral cases and Congress failure so far to provide more aid for struggling individuals and
businesses are threatening to deepen Americans` economic pain.

Eight months after the pandemic flattened the economy, weekly jobless claims still point to a stream
of layoffs. Before the virus struck in March, the weekly figure had remained below 300,000 for more
thanhve straightyears.

Thursday`s report from the Labor Department said the number of people who are continuing to receive
traditional unemployment benefits declined to 7.3 million.

Covid-19 causing immunisation gaps for vulnerable children

 2020-11-07

LONDON: Severe disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic to immunisation campaigns against
measles and polio are putting millions of vulnerable children at risk from deadly and debilitating
diseases, United Nations agencies said on Friday.
Issuing an urgent call for funding to avert epidemics of the contagious diseases, the UN children`s fund
Unicef and the World Health Organisation (WHO) said $655 million was needed to address `dangerous
immunity gaps` in poor and middle-income countries.

`We cannot allow the fight against one deadly disease to cause us to lose ground in the fight
againstother diseases,` Unicef`s executive director Henrietta Fore said in a statement.

Fore said the $655m needed included $400m for polio and $255m for measles.

Measles has staged a global resurgence in recent years, with ongoing outbreaks in all parts of the world.

Vaccination coverage gaps have been further exacerbated in 2020 by Covid-19, and the WHO said data
on measles death rates for 2019, due to be released next week, `will show the continued negative toll
that sustained outbreaks are having`.

With polio, case numbers worldwide had been reduced to extremely low levels before the Covid-19
pandemic, but transmission of the crippling virus is now expected to increase in Pakistan and
Afghanistan, and in areas of Africa where polio vaccination coverage rates have dipped.

`The Covid-19 pandemic (has) hurt momentum as... immunisation efforts were suspended,` the
WHO`sdirector general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news briefing on Friday.

`This left children, especially in high-risk areas, more vulnerable to killer diseases like polio, measles and
pneumonia. And now we`re starting to see outbreaks of these diseases.

The WHO`s director of immunisation, vaccines and biologicals Catherine O`Brien told a separate
briefing that disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic to health services had led to 91
routine vaccination campaigns being stopped in 53 countries.

`They`re coming back, but they haven`t come back fully or as quickly as we were hoping they will,` she
said, adding that this was creating `immunity gaps` for measles, polio and several other infectious
diseases.

`If we don`t act quickly soon for both polio, measles, yellow fever, cholera, typhoid, we will see
significant outbreaks in 2021 or 2022, O`Brien said.-Reuters

Mink-related virus infects 214 humans in Denmark

 2020-11-07

COPENHAGEN: Denmark`s State Serum Institute, which deals with infectious diseases, has found mink-
related versions of coronavirus in 214 people since June, according to a reportonits website updated on
Nov 5.
Concern has been raised over the possible impact of Denmark’s mink-
related coronavirus outbreak on the development of a future vaccine.

More than 200 people in Denmark have now been infected with a mutated
version of the coronavirus.

Large areas of North Jutland, the country's northernmost region, have been
placed under lockdown and prime minister Mette Frederiksen ordered a cull of
all 15 million mink in the country's farms.
What is mink-related coronavirus?

Mink-related coronavirus refers to several mutated versions of Covid-19

that developed when mink caught the virus from humans working on
Denmark's farms.  

Mink have in turn infected humans with a mutant version of the virus.

Denmark's State Serum Institute said several mutant versions of the virus
had been found in mink, some of which have mutations in the spike protein,
which is significant in the body’s immune response and is a key target for
vaccines.

US sets daily record, crosses 126,000 coronavirus cases

 2020-11-08

BALTIMORE: The United States set a record of more than 126,400 confirmed cases in a single day on
Friday.

The seven-day rolling average of new daily cases in the country approached 100,000 for the first time,
according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Total US cases since the start of the pandemic neared 10 million and confirmed cases globally
approached 50 million.

Surge in Iran Iran has reported 9,460 cases of the coronavirus, breaking its previous single-day record
earlier this week.

The health ministry registered 423 deaths on Saturday, pushing its confirmed death toll to 37,832, the
highest in the Middle East.
`Milestone` Covid vaccine claims boost hope
 2020-11-10

WASHINGTON: One of the teams racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine announced on Monday its
drug had shown 90 per centeffectiveness against the illness, sending stock markets soaring and raising
hopes of an end to draconian restrictions on movement.

US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said tests involving more than 40,000 people had provided results that
were a `critical milestone` in the search for a vaccine, as global infections soared passed50 million
almost one-fifth of them in the United States.

Stock markets had already jumped af ter Democrat Joe Biden was called as the winner of the US
presidential election on the weekend, and accelerated rapidly on the vaccine news.

An effective vaccine is seen as the best hope to break the cycle of deadly virus surges followed by
severe restrictions across much of the world since Covid-19 first emerged in China late last year.Tens
of millions of people in Europe are currently living under restrictions preventing them from leaving
their homes, and millions of business owners are enduring forced shutdowns.

`Much-needed breakthrough` The lockdowns and other curbs on daily life have shredded the global
economy but with few other tools at their disposal to protect vulnerable populations, politicians have
felt their hands forced.

`We are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed
breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis,` Pfizer chairman and CEO Albert Bourla
said in a statement.

The drug, being developed jointly with German firm BioNTech, is one of more than 40 candidate
vaccines,butno other hasyet made similar claims about its effectiveness.

The companies said they could pass the final hurdles for a US rollout later this month, and could
supply up to 50 million doses globally this year and up to 1.3 billion next year.

The scientific community reacted positively to the news, with top US expert Anthony Fauci describing
the results as `extraordinary`.

World Health Organisation director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hailed the news as `encouraging`
shortly after warning that the world `might be tired of Covid19. But it is not tired of us.

But others pointed out that no information had yet been disclosed about the ages of the participants in
the trial.

`If a vaccine is to reduce severe disease and death, and thus enable the population at large to return to
their normal day-to-day lives, it will need to be ef fective in older and elderly members of our society,`
said Eleanor Riley, professor of immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Edinburgh.

Biden task force Outgoing US President Donald Trump was among the first to react, writing on Twitter:
`STOCK MARKET UP BIG, VACCINE COMING SOON. REPORT 90% EFFECTIVE. SUCH GREAT NEWS! Joe
Biden quickly followed, congratulating `the brilliant women and men who helped produce this
breakthrough`.

American voters handed victory to Biden at least partly because of Trump`s failure torein in the
epidemic often refusing to back restrictive measures or even wear mask in public and repeatedly
undermining his own experts.

Biden, who will not be sworn in until January, has already announced a task force charged with
handling the virus.

`Out of control` The vaccine news will be of particular relief to people in Europe the current focal point
of the pandemic and the region subject to the most widespread restrictions.

On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky became the latest leader to test positive for the
virus, with his office saying he felt well and would self-isolate and continue to work.

`Infodemic` risks jeopardising virus vaccines

 2020-11-29

PA RIS: As early as February, with the global pandemic spreading fast, the World Health Organisation
issued a warning about an `infodemic`, a wave of fake news and misinformation about the deadly
new disease on social media.

Now with hopes hanging on Covid-19 vaccines, the WHO and experts are warning those same
phenomena may jeopardise roll-out of immunisation programmes meant to bring an end to the
suffering.

`The coronavirus disease is the first pandemic in history in which technology and social media are being
used on a massive scale to keep people safe,informed, productive and connected, the WHO said.

`At the same time, the technology we rely on to keep connected and informed is enabling and
amplifying an infodemic that continues to undermine the global response and jeopardises measures
to control the pandemic.

More than 1.4 million people have died since the pandemic emerged in China late last year, but three
developers are already applying for approval for their vaccines to be used as early as December.

Beyond logistics, though, governmentsmustalsocontendwithscepticismover vaccines developed with

record speed at a time when social media has been both a tool for information and falsehood about the
virus.
The WHO defined an infodemic as an overabundance of information, both online and offline, including
`deliberate attempts to disseminate wrong information`.

Last month, a study from Cornell University in the United States found that US President Donald Trump
has been the world`s biggest driver of Covid19 misinformation during the pandemic.

In April, Trump mused on the possibility of using disinfectants inside thebody to cure the virus and also
promoted unproven treatments.

Since January, this news agency has published more than 2,000 fact-checking articles dismantling false
claims about the novel coronavirus.

`Without the appropriate trust and correct information, diagnostic tests go unused, immunisation
campaigns (or campaigns to promote effective vaccines) will not meet their targets, and the virus will
continue to thrive,` the WHO said.

Three vaccine developers Pfizer/ BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca/ Oxford University are leading
the packand some governments are already planning to start vaccinating their most vulnerable this year.

But with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or WhatsApp acting as vectors for dubious facts and fake news,
`disinformation has now reached an unapparelled scale,` said Sylvain Delouvee, a researcher in Social
Psychology at Rennes-2 University. Rory Smith of the anti-disinformation website First Draft agreed.

`From an information perspective, (the coronavirus crisis) has not only underlined the sheer scale of
misinformation worldwide, but also the negative impact misinformation can have ontrust in vaccines,
institutions and scientific findings more broadly,` he said.

Katherine O`Brien, head of the WHO`s immunisation department, said the agency was worried false
information propagated by the so-called `antivaxxer` movement could dissuade people from immunising
themselves against coronavirus.

`We are very concerned about that and concerned that people get their info from credible sources, that
they are aware that there is a lot information out there that is wrong, either intentionally wrong or
unintentionally wrong,` she said.-AFP

UK becomes first nation to roll out Covid vaccine

 2020-12-03

LONDON: Britain on Wednesday became the first western country to approve a Covid-19 vaccine for
general use, while Italy and Japan promised free inoculations for all even as the global death toll ticked
towards 1.5 million.

A mere 12 months after the pandemic began in China, the UK`s independent medicines regulator gave
its green light to the BioNTech-Pfizer drug in doublequick time but insisted safety had come first.

`Everybody can be confident that no corners whatsoever have been cut,` saidMedicines and Healthcare
products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) chief executive June Raine. `The public deservenothing less.

UK issues allergy warning over Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

 2020-12-10

LONDON: British health officials on Wednesday warned that anyone with a history of significant
allergic reactions should not have the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid jab for the time being.

The warning came af ter two members of the state-run National Health Service who were among the
first to receive the vaccine on Tuesday suffered allergic reactions and needed treatment.

NHS England medical director Stephen Powis said both people, who had a history of reactions, were
now recovering well.

The independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has now advised that
`people with a significant history of allergic reactions do not receive this vaccination` as a precaution, he
added.

`Significant` allergic reactions include those to medicines, food or vaccines, according to the MHRA.

Men with Covid-19 three times more likely to need intensive

care: study
 2020-12-10

PARIS:Meninfectedwith Covid-19 are three times more likely to require intensive care than women
and are at significantly higher risk of dying from the virus, scientists said on Wednesday.

Researchers analysed over three million confirmed coronavirus cases from 46 countries and 44 states
in the US between Jan 1 and June 1 of this year.

They found that the risk of Sars-Cov-2 infection was the same for women and men, as `exactly half` of
the confirmed cases were men.

But men are almost three times more likely than women to be hospitalised in an intensive care unit
and are 39 percent more likely to die from the virus, the study said.

`These data may help doctors to recognise that gender is a risk factor for severe disease when managing
patients,` co-author Kate Webb said.

`Gender is an underreported variable in many studiesand thisisareminder that it is an important factor

to consider in research,` the Cape Town University researcher said.

The trend is global -aside from a few exceptions -and can mostly be put down to biological differences,
researchers said.

Pandemic putting democracy under threat, says study

 2020-12-10

STOCKHOLM: More than six in 10 countries around the world have adopted measures during the
Covid-19 pandemic that threaten democracy or human rights, a report by democracy institute
International IDEA said on Wednesday.

The study, which examined the situation in almost all countries of the world, concluded that 60
percent of nations `implemented restrictions that were either illegal, disproportionate, indefinite or
unnecessary` in at least one area of democratic freedoms.

Among countries widely considered democracies, 43 percent fell into this category, a figure that rose
to 90 percent for authoritarian regimes, according to the Stockholm-based intergovernmental
organisation.

`It was to be expected that authoritarian regimes that had less checks and balances would use the
excuse provided by the pandemic to tighten their grip,` secretary general Kevin Casas-Zamora said.

`What is more surprising is that so many democracies have adopted measures that are problematic
from the standpoint of democracy and human rights.

India held the unenviable top spot, withmeasures of `concern` in nine of 22 areas studied including
freedom of movement, freedom of expression and freedom of the press ahead of Algeria and
Bangladesh with eight areas of concern.

They were followed by China, Egypt, Malaysia and Cuba, which each had seven.

Virus `exposing all our failures` Russia was the top European nation with six, a score shared by Saudi
Arabia, Myanmar,Jordan,SriLankaandZimbabwe.

IDEA examined the various measures adopted around the world to determine if they were problematic
from a democracy and human rights standpoint, regardless of ef fectiveness from a health perspective.

Along with India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Iraq -all considered democracies, albeit some of
them `fragile` -were among the top 15 countries with the worst records. `The pandemic is an accelerator
of trends that were in place before the virus struck,` Casas-Zamora said.

UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet meanwhile echoed that notion on Wednesday, warning that
the coronavirus crisis had laid bare weaknesses and divisions within societies, including a destructive f
ailure to respect basic rights.

`Covid-19 has zeroed in on the fissures and fragilities in our societies, exposing all our failures to invest
in building fair and equitable societies,` Bachelet told reporters in Geneva.-AFP

ADB launches $9bn initiative to help nations procure Covid

vaccines
By Amin Ahmed  2020-12-12

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank launched on Friday a $9 billion vaccine initiative the Asia
Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX) offering rapid and equitable support to its developing
members as they procure and deliver ef fective and safe vaccines for coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

The APVAX provides a comprehensive framework and resource envelope for supporting developing
Asia`s vaccine access, using two complementary components. The Rapid Response Component will
provide timely support for critical vaccine diagnostics, procurement of vaccines, and transporting
vaccines f rom the place of purchase to ADB`s developing members.

`As ADB`s developing members prepare to vaccinate their people as soon as possible, they need
financing to procure vaccines as well as appropriate plans and knowledge to be able to safely,
equitably, and ef ficiently manage the vaccination process,` said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa.

`APVAX will play a critical role in helping our developing members meet these challenges, overcome the
pandemic, and focus on economic recovery,` Asakawa said.

ADB financing for vaccines will be provided in close coordination with other development partners
including the World Bank Group, World Health Organisation (WHO), Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access
Facility (COVAX), GAVI, and bilateral and multilateral partners.

Promoting safe, equitable, and effective access to vaccines is a top priority for ADB`s Covid-19 response
efforts.

Vaccination programmes can break the chain of virus transmission, save lives, and mitigate the negative
economic impacts of the pandemic by restoring confidence in people`s ability to work, travel, and
socialise safely.

ADB is also making available a $500 million Vaccine Import Facility to support the ef forts of its
developing members to secure safe and effective vaccines, as well as the goods that support distribution
and inoculation. The f acility is part of ADB`s Trade and Supply Chain Finance Programme.

AAA-guarantees available through the programme`s vaccine import facility will mitigate payment risks
and facilitate import of these goods. This will employ the same eligibility criteria on vaccines as COVAX.
co-financing with private sector partners could result in the Import Facility supporting $1 billion in
vaccine and related imports within a year.

In April, ADB approved a $20 billion package to support its developing members in addressing the
impacts of the pandemic and streamlined some procedures to deliver quicker and more flexible
assistance.

The ADB has committed $14.9 billion in loans, grants, and technical assistance, including $9.9 billion in
quick-disbursing budget support from the Covid-19 Pandemic Response Option (CPRO) and support for
the private sector.

In November, ADB announced $20.3 million in additional technical assistance to establish systems to
enable ef ficient and equitable distribution of vaccines across Asia and the Pacific.

EU states ban flights as Britain says new virus strain is `out

of control`
 2020-12-21

LONDON: European countries banned flights from the UK on Sunday and the WHO called for stronger
containment measures as the British government warned that a highly infectious new strain of the
virus was `out of control` As the World Health Organisation urged its European members to
strengthen measures against a new variant of Covid-19 circulating in Britain, European nations
including Germany, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Romania, The Netherlands and Belgium said they were
moving to block air travel.

A German government source said the restriction could be adopted by the entire 27-member European
Union and that countries were also discussing a joint response over sea, road and rail links with Britain.
Rome and Berlin said on Sunday they would both be suspending flights to and from Britain from
midnight.

The Netherlands imposed a ban on UK flights from 6am on Sunday and Belgium said it would follow suit
from midnight with a ban on planes and trains from the UK.

Alarm bells were ringing across Europe which last week became the first region in the world to pass
500,000 deaths from Covid-19 since the pandemic broke out a year ago after it appeared that a new,
even more infectious strain of the virus was raging in parts of Britain.

Scientists first discovered the new variant which they believe is 70 percent more transmissible in a
patient in September. And Public Health England notified the government on Friday when modelling
revealed the full seriousness of the new strain.

US Congress approves $900bn stimulus package

 2020-12-23

WASHINGTON: US lawmakers on have approved a $900 billion relief package for the world`s biggest
economy that will provide a long-sought boost for millions of Americans and businesses battered by
the coronavirus pandemic.

Overwhelming approval in the Senate and House of Representatives on Monday cleared the way for the
legislation to be sent to President Donald Trump to be signed into law.

Trump signed a stopgap measure early Tuesday to keep the federal government funded until December
28 and avert a shutdown.

`The American people can rest assured that more help is on the way, immediately,` Republican Senate
leader Mitch McConnell said on Twitter.

As the Covid-19 death count rises amid a massive coronavirus resurgence that further threatens the
economy, Republican and Democratic legislators have finally hammered out a bill af ter months of
wrangling and partisan finger-pointing.

Pandemic reaches Antarctica

 2020-12-24

SANTIAGO: The pandemic has finally reached every continent on Earth. Chilean authorities announced
that at least 58 people that were at two military bases in Antarctica or on a navy ship that went to the
continent tested positive for the new coronavirus.

So far no other country with a presence in Antarctica has publicly reported any other cases.
Chile`s army announced that 36 people at the Gen. Bernardo O`Higgins Riquelme Antarctic base have
tested positive, and on Tuesday the health minister for the Biobio region in Chile said there are 21
infections involving people aboard the Chilean navy`s Sergeant Aldea supply vessel.

One more case was reported in Las Estrellas` village, where civilian personnel working at the Lieutenant
Rodolfo Marsh Martin Air Force Base live, said Eduardo Castillo, regional health secretary for the
Magallanes area, which oversee Chilean operations in the Antarctic. The Sargento Aldea ship docked at
that village, he added.

The army said the first group of 36 people includes 26 members of the military and 10 civilian
employees of a maintenance contract company. It said none so far had shown complications.-AP

Masks block 99.9pc of large Covid-linked droplets: study

 2020-12-24

PARIS: Face masks reduce the risk of spreading large Covid-linked droplets when speaking or coughing
by up to 99.9 percent, according to a lab experiment with mechanical mannequins and human
subjects, researchers said on Wednesday.

A woman standing two metres (yards) from a coughing man without a mask will be exposed to 10,000
times more such droplets than if he were wearing one, even if he is only 50 centimetres away, they
reported in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

`There is no more doubt whatsoeverthat face masks can dramatically reduce the dispersion of
potentially virus-laden droplets,` senior author Ignazio Maria Viola, an expert in applied fluid dynamics
at the University of Edinburgh`s School of Engineering, said.

Large respiratory droplets which act like projectiles before being pulled towards the ground by gravity
are thought to be the main driver of SARSCoV-2 transmission, he noted.

Smaller ones, sometimes called aerosol droplets, can remain suspended in the air for longer periods.`We
continuously exhale a whole range of droplets, from micro-scale to millimetre-scale,` Maria Viola said by
phone. `Some of the droplets will drop faster than others` depending on temperature, humidity and
especially air speed, he said.

The study focused on particles larger than 170 microns in diameter roughly two to four times the width
of a human hair.

Aerosol particles, which tend to follow currents in the air, are generally described as smaller than 20 or
30 microns. Intermediate size dropletscan behave either way, the study found.

`If you wear a mask, you are mitigating the virus transmission
New virus strain to cause more deaths in UK: study
 2020-12-25

PARIS: A mutated coronavirus strain spreading in Britain is on average 56 percent more contagious
than the original version, scientists have warned in a study, urging a fast vaccine rollout to help
prevent more deaths.

The new variant, which emerged in southeast England in November and is spreading fast, is likely to
boost hospitalisations and deaths from Covid next year, according to the study published Wednesday
by the Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine.

Researchers, focusing on theEnglish south east, east and London, said it was still uncertain whether the
mutated strain was more or less deadly than its predecessor.

`Nevertheless, the increase in transmissibility is likely to lead to a large increase in incidence, with
Covid-19 hospitalisations and deaths projected to reach higher levels in 2021 than were observed in
2020, even if regional tiered restrictions implemented before 19 December are maintained,` they said.

UK`s virus variant has spread to 50 countries, says WHO

 2021-01-14

GENEVA: The coronavirus mutation first found in Britain has now spread to 50 territories,
according to the World Health Organisation, while a similar South African-identified strain
has now been found in 20.

The UN body also noted a third new coronavirus `variant of concern` found in Japan may impact upon
immune response and needs further investigation.

`The more the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads, the more opportunities it has to change. High levels of
transmission mean that we should expect more variants to emerge,` said the WHO. SARS-CoV-2 is the
virus which causes Covid-19 disease.

Since first being reported to the WHO on December 14, the Britishidentified variant VOC 202012/01 has
been found in 50 countries, territories and areas, the agency said.

Test results showed the age and sex distribution was similar to that of other circulating variants, while
contact tracing data revealed `higher transmissibility (secondary attack rates) where the index case has
the variant strain`.

The South African-identified variant 501Y.V2, first reported on December 18, has now been
detected in 20 countries, territories and areas.
`From preliminary and ongoing investigations in South Africa, it is possible that the 501Y.V2 variant is
more transmissible than variants circulating in South Africa previously,` the WHO weekly report said.

21-1-21

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying, in her press briefing in Beijing,
said: `The pandemic is a common challenge to all humankind. As President Xi Jinping pointed out on
various occasions, solidarity and cooperation is the most powerful weapon to defeat Covid-19.

`Victory in the global fight against Covid19 cannot be achieved until the virus is eliminated in the last
country. China will continue strengthening anti-epidemic cooperation with the international
community, she added.

Pfizer to supply 40m Covid shots for poor nations

 2021-01-23

GENEVA: Pfizer on Friday committed to supplying up to 40 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine this
year to a World Health Organisation-backed effort to get affordable shots to poor and middle-income
countries.

The deal is a boost to the global programme known as Covax, as wealthy nations have snapped up
most of the millions of coming shots.

The commitment, announced at a virtual press conference held by the Geneva-based WHO, is seen as
important because PHzer and its partner BioNTech won the first emergency authorisation from the
influential US Food and Drug Administration in midDecember. That clearance makes it easier for
international health groups and poor nations to quickly approve the medicine for emergency use.

Earlier this week, WHO Director GeneralTedrosAdhanomGhebreyesus criticised drug-makers for

seeking profits from the pandemic and mostly supplying wealthy countries.The 40 million doses for a
vaccine requiring two doses are a tiny sliver of what`s needed for Covax, which aims to vaccinate
billions of people in 92 lowand middle-income countries. The global programme previously secured
access to nearly two billion doses of vaccines from five other producers, plus options on a billion
doses more.

New York-based Pfizer Inc. had not previously committed to providing its Covid-19 vaccine to poor
countries without making a profit during the pandemic, as a couple rivals have.

Czech trainers teach dogs to sniff out Covid

 2021-01-25

KLNY: In a dog training centre built inside a shipping container located in a Czech mountain village,
Renda, Cap and Laky are beingput tothe test.

They sniff at six vessels, each containing a piece of cloth with scent from patients with Covid-19,
negative donors, or fake samples.

`Good boy!` exclaims Lenka Vlachova, a trainer working at Prague`s fire brigade, as jagdterrier Renda
sits down by one sample, wagging his tail.

The team of dog trainers are working in their own time and report a 95-percent success rate in Covid-19
detection in samples of human scent.

`The study is designed to verify dogs` ability to detect Covid-19 and generate a method enabling the use
of trained dogs in combatting the pandemic,` project head Gustav Hotovy said.

`The method should also work with other diseases, even more lethal than Covid-19,` Hotovy said.

`In the end, we should be able to detect a huge number of people in a very short time with a trained
dog,` he said, speaking in the snowy village of Kliny near the German border.

Vlachova said the first study con-firming dogs are able to detect tissue attacked by a virus was
conducted in the United States about a decade ago.

`The virus changes the human tissue, affecting the scent signature of the person,` she said.

Hotovy, a retired cynologist whose team started training the dogs last August, said that the signature
changes `so much that it is immediately discernible for the dogs` 100percentaccuracy? The samples used
are obtained merely by rubbing a piece of cotton against the patient`s skin.

The team then has to ensure the sample is virus-free to prevent the dogs from catching the disease.

Using the same sampling method, a Finnish team has been using dogs for testing at Helsinki airport,
reporting its dogs can detect the virus with close to100 percentaccuracy.

Vlachova said the Czechs would like to work together with the Finns or with French and German teams
working on similar projects.

Unlike their western peers, the Czech team works in its free time and relies on scant financial means
pro-vided by a local dog food mal(er.

`Looking for Wally` Cynologist Katerina Jancarikova said the virus-affected tissue made up `just a tiny
fragment in the overall scent, a part of the dogs` puzzle`.

`It`s like looking for Wally,` she said, referring to the popular children`s books in which a tiny character in
red and white stripes has to be found in pictures of a huge crowd.

Jancarikova said any dog can be trained for detection as long as it is cooperative. As Vlachova led Renda
back to the van, Hotovy walked into the training centre with a sturdy giant schnauzer named Laky who
eagerly sniffed at the vessels, placed in a different pattern, before easily identifying the positive one.

`He was once reluctant to cooperate,` he chuckled, adding that the dogs showed the same eager
response when let loose in a nearby house where a guest who tested positive for Covid-19 had been
staying.

`They immediately jumped at his bed with the same happy reaction they show over a positive sample in
the centre,` he said.-AFP

WHO trashes notion virus leaked from Chinese lab

 2021-02-10

WUHAN: The coronavirus most likely first appeared in humans after jumping from an animal, a team
of international and Chinese scientists looking for the origins of Covid-19 said on Tuesday, dismissing
as unlikely an alternate theory that the virus leaked from a Chinese lab.

A closely watched visit by World Health Organisation experts to Wuhan the Chinese city where the first
coronavirus cases were discovered did not dramatically change the current understanding of the early
days of the pandemic, said Peter Ben Embarek, the leader of the WHO team.

But it did add details to that story, he said at a news conference as the group wrapped up a nearly four-
week visit to the city.

And it allowed the joint Chinese-WHO team to rule out one theory on the origins of the virus.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology has collected many virus samples, leading to allegations that it may
have been the source of the original outbreak, whether on purpose or accidentally.

But experts now consider the possibility of such a leak so improbable that it will not be suggested as an
avenue of future study, said Embarek, a WHO food safety and ani-mal diseases expert.

China had already strongly rejected that possibility and has promoted other theories. The Chinese and
foreign experts considered several theories for how the disease first ended up in humans, leading to a
pandemic that has now killed more than 2.3 million people worldwide.

Embarek said the initial findings suggest the most likely pathway the virus followed was from a bat to
another animal and then to humans, adding that would require further research.

The findings suggest that the laboratory incidents hypothesis is extremely unlikely to explain the
introduction of the virus to the human population,` he said.

The mission was intended to be an initial step in the process of understanding the origins of the virus,
which scientists have posited may have passed to humans through a wild animal, such as a pangolin or
bamboo rat. Transmission directly from bats to humans or through the trade in frozen food products are
also possibilities, Embarek said.

The WHO team`s visit is politically sensitive for Beijing, which is concerned about being blamed for
alleged missteps in itsearly response to the outbreak.

The team which includes experts from 10 countries who arrived on Jan 14 also visited the Huanan
Seafood Market, the site of an early cluster of cases in late 2019. The market dealt in frozen seafood
and also domesticated wildlife, and Embarek said the team had identified the traders, suppliers and
farms connected to the market.

Liang Wannian, the head of the Chinese side, said the virus appeared to have been spreading in other
parts of the city than the market, so it remains possible that the virus originated elsewhere.

The team found no evidence that the disease was spreading widely any earlier than the initial outbreak
in the second half of December 2019.

We haven`t been able to fully do the research, but there is no indication there were clusters before
what we saw happen in the later part of December in Wuhan, Liang said.

Another member of the WHO team, British-born zoologist Peter Daszak, said late last week that they
enjoyed a greater level of openness than they had anticipated, and that they were granted full access to
all sites and personnel they requested.-AP

Virus expected to last for long time despite vaccine rollout

 2021-02-14

STOCKHOLM: The head of the EU`s disease control agency has warned that the novelcoronavirus could
last indefinitely even as global infections slowed by nearly half in the last month and vaccine rollouts
gathered pace in parts of the world.

In an interview, ECDC chief Andrea Ammon urged European countries in particular not to drop their
guard against a virus that `seems very well adapted to humans` and may require experts to tweak
vaccines over time, as is the case with the seasonal flu.

`So we should be prepared that it will remain with us, according to Ammon, head of the Stockholm-
based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.After the latest harsh wave of a pandemic
that started in China more than a year ago, glimmers of hope flickered as a database showed the rate
of new Covid-19 infections has slowed by 44.5 per cent worldwide over the past month.

More than 107 million people have been infected worldwide and nearly 2.4m have died from Covid-19.

But disease experts warned that vaccines won`t end the pandemic unless all countries receive doses in a
fast and fair manner.
Fraudsters `offering` vaccines, warns EU agency
 2021-03-02

BRUSSELS: Dubious intermediaries have of fered governments across the European Union a total of
about one billion non-existent Covid vaccine doses worth about 14 billion euros, the bloc`s anti-fraud
agency said on Monday.

Such middleman are asking for advance payments and giving no delivery details, Ville Itala, the head
of the European anti-fraud office OLAF, said, stressing that pharmaceutical companies insist they sell
directly to governments. `It`s quite massive,` he added.

`They send an offer, which is not a real one. In fact, there is as such no vaccines attached to the offer
from what we have seen so far,` he said.The scams OLAF was investigating came from both
professional criminals and individual opportunists tied in a long chain of intermediaries often leading
outside the EU, Itala said.

The EU anti-fraud office was working with EU governments, law enforcement agencies and
pharmaceutical companies to bring criminals to justice, though it was not aware for now of an EU
government falling for such scams.

Increasing fraud adds to problems in the EU`s botched inoculation campaign, which has been marred
by cuts in promised deliveries, roll-out delays and some social resistance, especially to the
AstraZeneca shot.-Reuters

WHO insists AstraZeneca vaccine safe as jab faces setbacks

 2021-03-13

GENEVA: The World Health Organisation said on Friday there was no reason to stop using
AstraZeneca`s Covid-19 vaccine after several countries suspended the rollout over blood clot fears and
as the EU added severe allergies to the list of its possible side ef fects.

The WHO, which said its vaccines advisory committee was examining the safety data coming in,
stressed that no causal link had been established between the AstraZeneca vaccine and clotting.

`AstraZeneca is an excellent vaccine, as are the other vaccines that are being used,` WHO
spokeswoman Margaret Harris told reporters in Geneva.

`Yes, we should continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine,` she added, stressing that any concerns over
safety must be investigated.

UK-based AstraZeneca insisted its jab was safe, adding there was `no evidence` of higher blood clot risks
from it.
The UN health agency in Geneva also said that after the injection of millions of coronavirus doses from
all vaccines around the world, no deaths had yet been attributed to a Covid-19 jab.

Denmark, Norway and Iceland paused the use of the AstraZeneca jab as a precaution after isolated
reports of recipients developing blood clots.

Italy and Austria have banned the use of shots f rom separate batches of AstraZeneca, and Thailand
and Bulgaria said this week they would delay the rollout of the shot.

But several other countries,including Australia, said they would continue their rollouts as they had
found no reason to alter course. Canada also said there was no evidence the jab causes adverse
reactions.

And in a fresh hit, the EU`s drug regulator said severe allergies should be added to the possible side
effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine after likely links were found to a number of cases in Britain.

Despite hopes that vaccines will pave the way to a return to normality, hard-hit Italy was once again
eyeing heavy restrictions, with Prime Minister Mario Draghi warning the country was facing `a new
wave` of infections.

Schools, restaurants, shops and museums are expected to close from Monday in the majority of regions,
after Italy recorded almost 26,000 new Covid-19 cases and another 373 deaths on Thursday.

And Disneyland Paris, Europe`s biggest tourist attraction, said on Friday it would not be able to reopen
as planned on April 2 because of the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, with infections remaining stubbornly high
in France.

Despite the setbacks, USPresident Joe Biden offered hope to his country, the worst-af fected in the
world, as he vowed a return to some kind of normality by July 4, marking the national holiday as a day
for `independence` f rom the virus.

After a shaky start, the US has ramped up its vaccination programme, following the advice of scientists
who say jabs are the only way out of a pandemic that has killed 2.6 million people around the world.

`This fight is far from over,` Biden said in his first televised primetime address as president, delivering an
emotional tribute to the more than 530,000 Americans who have died from Covid-19.

He said Americans could overcome the virus if they worked together and followed health experts`
guidelines on wearing masks and getting vaccinated.

The United States is among the leading nations in terms of vaccines administered, but progress in other
countries has been patchy.

After f alling behind in its immunisation effort, the EU is now fighting hard to accelerate its vaccine push
and pressed AstraZeneca again to meet its production obligations.
The EU approved the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Thursday, which is stored at higher
temperatures than competitors and is easier to distribute.

And French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi on Friday announced the launch of human trials of its second
Covid-19vaccine,withitsfirststillin the testing phase after having trailed in development.-AFP

AstraZeneca US trials thrown into doubt after promising

data
 2021-03-24

WASHINGTON: A US health agency raised concerns on Tuesday that AstraZeneca may have
includedout-of-dateinformation during trials of its Covid19 vaccine, a day after the company said its
drug was highly effective in preventing the disease.

The Anglo-Swedish pharma giant stood by its assessment of the results of its US trials, saying it would
publish new data `within 48 hours` in response to concerns raised by the US National Institute for
Allergies and Infectious Diseases.

The fresh problems for the drugmaker, which had on Monday hailed its vaccine as 79 percent effective
at preventing Covid-19, come as Europe continues to wrangle over shortages of the jab and after
weeks of safety concerns.

With AstraZeneca delivering only 30 percent of the doses it promised the EU for the first quarter,
Germany threw its weight behind a ban on European exports of the jab, while also announcing strict
virus measures over Easter to contain spiralling infections.

Meanwhile, Britain marked the anniversary of its first coronavirus lockdown by holding a minute`s
silence for the more than 126,000 of its citizens who have died from Covid-19, the fifth-highest death
toll in the world. The global death toll now stands at more than 2.7 million.

AstraZeneca`s vaccine had been hailed as a potential game-changer in the fight against the pandemic as
it is cheaper and easier to store than many of its rivals, makingitmoreaccessiblefor poorer nations.

But public confidence in the drug has tumbled after more than a dozen countries temporarily suspended
itsrollout because of isolated cases of blood clots in people who had received a dose.

The EU`s medicines regulator and the World Health Organisation insist there is no evidence linking the
vaccine to blood clots, and none was found in the large-scale trials in the US.

Scant supplies of AstraZeneca doses in Europe have meanwhile hampered the continent`s vaccine
rollouts, which lag far behind countries like the UK and Israel in their pace.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that his country should be giving vaccines `morning, noon and
evening`, as his government announced that 35 new mass inoculation centres would open soon.

`We`re going to change pace from April,` he said, adding that there should be `no weekend and days off
when it comes to vaccinations`.Elsewhere, Ukraine said it too was battling a new wave of infections as it
reported the highest death toll since the beginning of the crisis, with 300 fatalities in the past 24 hours.

In tribute to its Covid dead, Britain held a `National Day of Reflection` on Tuesday, with parliament
holding a minute`s silence and bells ringing out across the country.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the anniversary of Britain`s first lockdown was `an opportunity to
reflect on the past year one of the most difficult in our country`s history.` The country`s state-run
National Health Service (NHS) has been under huge strain, and on Tuesday a painting by UK street artist
Banksy sold for a record 16.75 million ($23.1 million, 19.4 million euros) in an auction by Christie`s to
raise money for health workers.-AFP

Double mutant variant` of Covid detected in India

 2021-03-25

NEW DELHI: India has detected a new `double mutant variant` of the novel coronavirus, the health
ministry said on Wednesday, adding to concern as the government struggles with the highest single-
day tally of new infections and deaths this year.

Genome sequencing and analysis of samples from Maharashtra state found mutations in the virus
that did not match previously catalogued `variants of concern` (VOC), the ministry said in a statement.

Maharashtra is one of India`s worst-affected states but the ministry said it was not clear if the new
variant wascausing an upsurge there or in other states.

`Though VOCs and a new double mutant variant have been found in India, these have not been
detected in numbers sufficient to either establish a direct relationship or explain the rapid increase in
cases in some states,` the ministry said in a statement. It did not elaborate.

India has already reported several cases of a variant first detected in Britain, as well as ones first
found in South Africa and Brazil.

The number of deaths from Covid-19 in India in the previous 24 hours rose to 275, the most this year,
taking the total to 160,441, government data showed.

Several states announced a ban on large gatherings ahead of the Hindu festival of Holi this weekend.

The health ministry said states were `strongly advised` to restrict public observation of festivals.-Reuters
Vaccine deliveries for poor nations delayed
 2021-03-26

BRUSSELS: A co-founder of the global scheme to provide vaccines for poor people said on Thursday
that India was delaying exports of much-needed jabs, as EU leaders met for crisis talks in Brussels to
try to solve supply issues on the badly-hit continent.

Thefracas aroundvaccinesthreatens to slow a global immunisation drive that is seen as the way out of
the pandemic, as third waves sweep several countries and force governments to reimpose tough
antivirus restrictions.

At the centre of much of the vaccine controversy is AstraZeneca, which on Thursday said its jab was
three percent less effective than previously thought, after being called out for publishing outdated
data.

AstraZeneca is also one of the main vaccines used in the Covax project, which supplies poorer
countries with jabs, and is facing export delays in India where it is produced by the Serum Institute.

The Gavi alliance, a Covax co-founder, said deliveries of vaccines to lower-income economies will face
delays because of a `setback` in obtaining export licences from the Indian government.

A Gavi spokesman said the licence delays `are due to the increased demand of Covid-19 vaccines in
India`.

The vast country recorded more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday for the first time since
November and isstruggling to keep up with its own faltering vaccine drive at home.

`Covax is in talks with the government of India with a view to ensuring deliveries as quickly as possible,`
the Gavi spokesman said, without giving further details.

The AstraZeneca shot was hailed as a breakthrough because it is cheaper and easier to store and
transport than other Covid jabs.

It is at the centre of the EU`s vaccine woes, with an infuriated Brussels tightening export controls after
the BritishSwedish company failed to deliver the doses it had promised to the bloc.

EU leaders met via videoconference on Thursday to discuss AstraZeneca supplies, as well as new vaccine
export rules that will weigh how nee dy countries are in terms of infection rates, how many jabs they
have, and how readily they export doses to the bloc.

EU Commission head Ursula von der Leyen released updated figures on how many vaccines the bloc has
exported 77 million vaccine doses to 33 countries since December.

By contrast, 88 million doses will have been delivered in the 27-nation bloc by the end of this week, also
since December.

But estimates for the second quarter of this year showed that 360 million doses should be delivered
from BioNTech/ Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.`Together we will ensure that
Europeans get their fair share of vaccines,` von der Leyen tweeted.

The talks come as Germany, France, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands tighten restrictions to control
surges in cases.

Germany further bolstered rules on Thursday, saying travellers headed to the country by plane must
show a negative Covid testbefore boarding.

The pandemic has claimed more than 2.7 million lives worldwide, hammered the global economy and
left much of humanity under punishing restrictions.

But in some parts of the world, vaccinations have broughtjoy back after a tough year.

`We were just waiting to be all together again because we were really sad to be divided like that, floor
by floor,` said Lydie, a 91-year-old retirement home resident in France`s Val-de-Marne, where
vaccinations have allowed an easing of curbs.

`There was no joy. Now it`s very good.

We are happy.` Beyond supply and data issues, AstraZeneca has faced other challenges thathave dented
conndence.

The pharma giant was forced to review its US trials and then slightly revise down the jab`s efficacy at
preventing symptomatic Covid from 79 percent to 76 percent, af ter an American agency raised
concerns about outdated information. It remains100 percent effective against severe Covid, it added.

Several countries paused the jab this month after reports of blood clots in people who had received the
vaccine, but many resumed using it after the World Health Organization and the European Medical
Agency (EMA) said it was safe.

Despite the assurances, the EMA said Thursday it is convening a group of experts next week to look into
incidents of blood clotting and `provide additional input into the assessment`.

Denmark meanwhile said it would not resume the jab for at least three weeks as it had note ruled out a
link to clots.

In contrast to the EU`s woes, several countries have raced ahead with their vaccine drives including
Israel which said Thursday more than half of its 9.2 million people have received both doses of the
Pfizer/BioNTech shot.
But the pandemic threat is far from over, illustrated by the recent decision to bar overseas fans from the
already delayed Tokyo Olympics.

The torch relay for the Games got of f to a low-key start Thursday and organisers hope it will build
excitement.

But Tetsuya Ozawa, among a small group of fans, said it was not much fun without spectators. `There
would have been more excitement if there wasn`t coronavirus.`-AFP

China has produced 17 anti-Covid vaccines: diplomat

By Saleem Shahid  2021-04-01

QUET TA: Chinese Consul General for Sindh and Balochistan Li Bijian has said that his country has
prepared 17 Covid-19 vaccines.

Speaking during his visit to Quetta Press Club on Wednesday, he said four of the 17 vaccines had been
approved for the commercial purposes by the Chinese scientists and health officials.

Chairman of China Overseas Ports Holding Company Zhang Baozhong, Adviser to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-
Insaf on the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Bayzed Khan Kasi and other Chinese diplomats
were also present on the occasion.

One-third of vaccines made for poor nations stay in India

 2021-03-31

NEW DELHI: India itself has received more than a third of the nearly 28 million Indian-made
AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses delivered so far by the global programme for poor countries,
according to data from Umicef and a source.

The revelation that the largest allocation of doses India has supplied to the Covax programme never
actually left the country could add to criticism of India and Covax, after New Delhi decided to delay big
exports of vaccines that poor countries around the world had been counting on.

Data on Unicef`s website shows that India had received 10 million doses of vaccine f rom Covax, the
most of any country. Nigeria is second with about four million doses. Many poor nations entirely reliant
on the programme have so far received little or no vaccine.

Hundreds of millions of AstraZeneca doses made under licence by the Serum Institute of India form the
vast bulk of the initial order for Covax, the global system set up to vaccinate people mainly in poor
countries. Fifty million doses were meant to be delivered next monthl, but much of that order is likely to
be delayed by India`s new export restrictions.

Covax, led by the World Health Organisation and the Gavi alliance of countries, charities and companies,
aims to provide two billion vaccine doses this year. Unicef distributes the shots.
But the programme has so far gotten off to a slow start, with officials complaining that rich countries
have hoarded most early doses of vaccines.

The source said India had received its 10 million doses early, as Covax had to wait for the vaccine to be
approved for emergency use by the World Health Organisation before it could start to distribute doses
globally.-Reuters

World leaders push for pandemic preparedness treaty

 2021-03-31

GENEVA: World leaders pushed on Tuesday for a new international treaty to prepare for the next
global pandemic and avoid the unseemly scramble for vaccines hampering the Covid-19 response.

Leaders from 25 countries, the European Union and the World Health Organisation (WHO) sought to
get the ground rules down in writing to streamline and speed up the reaction to future global
outbreaks.

The treaty would aim to ensure that information, virus pathogens, technology to tackle the pandemic
and products such as vaccines are shared swiftly and equitably among nations.

`The time to act is now. The world cannot afford to wait until the pandemic is over to start planning for
the next one,` WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference.

Without an internationally-coordi-nated pandemic response plan, `we remain vulnerable`, he warned.

The call came in a joint article published in international newspapers on Tuesday, penned by leaders
from five continents.

The signatories included Germany`s Angela Merkel, Britain`s Boris Johnson, France`s Emmanuel Macron,
South Korea`s Moon Jae-in, South Africa`s CyrilRamaphosa,Indonesia`s Joko Widodo and Chile`s
Sebastian Pinera.

Vaccine commitment `Nations should work together towards a new international treaty for pandemic
preparedness and response,` the article said.

`We must be better prepared to predict,prevent, detect, assess and effectively respond to pandemics in
a highly coordinated f ashion.

`We are, therefore, committed to ensuring universal and equitable access to safe,efhcacious and
affordable vaccines, medicines and diagnostics for this and future pandemics.

Leaders from key world powers including the United States, China,Russia and Japan are not among the
signatories so f ar.
But Tedros said the mood music from Washington and Beijing was positive and insisted it was not a
problem that they had not yet signed up.

Tedros hoped to have a resolution squared up in time for the World Health Assembly in May. The
assembly is the WHO`s decision-making body, attended once a year by delegations from the UN health
agency`s 194 member states.

The push to bolster common efforts comes as the planet struggles to combine forces to overcome the
Covid-19 pandemic that has killed almost 2.8 million people worldwide and battered the global
economy.

The spread of the virus has seen blame traded between capitals and accusations that rich nations have
hoarded vaccines.

According to a count, some 53 per cent of the Covid-19 vaccine doses administered so f ar have been in
highincome countries accounting for 16pc of the global population. Just 0.1pc have been administered
in the 29 lowest-income countries, home to 9pc of the world`s population.-AFP

Seven deaths in UK among AstraZeneca jab recipients after

blood clots
 2021-04-04

LONDON: The UK medical regulator said on Saturday that out of 30 people who suffered rare blood
clots after receiving the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine, seven have died.

The British acknowledgement of deaths comes as several European countries have paused the use of
the AstraZeneca jab over a potential link to blood clots.

The UK`s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said in a statement that `Out of
the 30 reports up to and including 24 March, sadly 7 have died.` The reports of thrombosis, submitted
by medics or members of the public via a government website, came after 18.1 million doses of the
vaccine had been administered in the country.

Most of the cases (22) were a rare clotting condition called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.

Eight cases saw people suffer other types of thrombosis com-bined with low levels of blood platelets,
which help blood clot.

There were no reports of blood clots from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the UK regulator said, adding
that `our thorough review into these reports is ongoing`.

But MHRA chief executive Dr June Raine stressed that the benefits far outweighed any risks.
`The public should continue to get their vaccine when invited to do so,` she said.

Both the MHRA and European Medicines Agency (EMA) say no causal link has yet been established
between the blood clotting case and the AstraZeneca vaccine.

But growing concerns have prompted a number of countries to pause rollout of the vaccine or limit it
to older people due to the relatively young age of those who suf fered blood clots.

Netherlands on Friday halted vaccinationswiththeAstraZeneca jab for people under the age of 60after
five new cases among younger women, one of whom died.

Germany has suspended the use of the vaccine for those under 60 after 31 cases of blood clots, most
of them among younger and middle-aged women.

A number of other countries including France have imposed a similar age restrictions, while Denmark
and Norway have suspended all use of the vaccine.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA), which like the World Health Organisation previously declared
the AstraZeneca vaccine safe, is expected to announce updated advice on the issue on April 7.

It said Wednesday that there had been 62 cases worldwide of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, 44 of
them in the European Economic Area, which includes the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein and
Norway. Thisfigure did not include all Germany`s cases, however.

More than 9.2 million AstraZeneca jabs have been administered in the region.

The EMA said it believes the vaccine is safe and that experts have found no specific risk factors such as
age, gender or medical history.

Paul Hunter, a medical microbiologist at Britain`s University of East Anglia, said that he had initially
thought the link between vaccination and blood clots was likely to be a `random association`.

As evidence mounts of clusters in separate countries, `the weight of evidence is now looking towards
Oxford-AstraZeneca actually being the cause of these adverse events`, he said.

Nevertheless, the risk for the unvaccinated of dying from Covid is `substantially greater,` he said.-AFP

WHO warns pandemic at `critical point` as cases surge in

South Asia
 2021-04-13

LONDON: The Covid-19 pandemic has entere d a critical phase as infections exponentially increase
despite widespread measures aimed at stopping them, the WHO warned on Monday, with record
case numbers in South Asia triggering tough new restrictions.
However, Britons enjoyed the freedoms of a pint and a haircut for the first time in months as curbs
eased, illustrating how fast-vaccinating countries are leaving other mostly poorer nations behind. The
coronavirus has already killed more than 2.9 million people and infected nearly 136 million across the
world.

But the World Health Organisation`s technical lead on Covid-19 Maria Van Kerkhove said `the trajectory
of this pandemic is growing... exponentially.

`This is not the situation we want to be in 16 months into a pandemic, when we have proven control
measures,she told reporters, adding `we are in a critical point of the pandemic right now`.

India on Monday overtook Brazil as the country with the second-highest number of infections, after
logging more than 168,000 new cases in a single day.

Therecent,rapidincrease of infections has taken India`s total number of cases to 13.5 million, above
Brazil`s 13.48 million.

`The solution is for everyone to stay home for two months and end this (pandemic) once and for all. But
the public doesn`t listen, said Rohit, a 28-year-old waiter in Mumbai.

`Nobody follows the rules in the restaurant... If we tell customers to wear masks, they are rude and
disrespectful to us.` Experts have warned that huge, mostly maskless and tightly packed crowds at
political rallies, religious festivals and other public places have fuelled the new wave.-AFP

India, big vaccine exporter, now seeks imports as Covid

cases soar
 2021-04-14

NEW DELHI: India is to fast-track emergency approvals for Covid-19 vaccines that have been
authorised by Western countries and Japan, paving the way for possible imports of Pfizer, Johnson &
Johnson, and Moderna shots.

The move, which will drop the need for companies to do small, local safety trials for their vaccines
before seeking emergency approval, follows the world`s biggest surge in cases in the country this
month.

India has the biggest vaccine manufacturing capacity in the world and had exported tens of millions of
doses before its own demand skyrocketed and led to a shortage in some states.

Its need for imports would be a blow to dozens of poor countries that had relied on the country to run
their inoculation drives.

India`s health ministry said vaccines authorised by the World Health Organisation or authorities in the
United States, Europe, the United Kingdom and Japan `may be granted emergency use approval in India,
mandating the requirement of postapproval parallel bridging clinical trial`.`If any of these regulators
have approved a vaccine, the vaccine is now ready to be brought into the country for use, manuf acture
and filland-finish,` Vinod Kumar Paul, a senior government health official, told a news conference.

`We hope and we invite the vaccine makers such as Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and others ...
to be ready to come to India as early as possible.` Pfizer said it would work towards bringing its vaccine
to India after withdrawing its application in February.

India has administered more than 108 million doses, sold more than 54.6 million vaccine doses abroad
and gifted more than 10 million to partner countries. It is currently using the AstraZeneca shot and a
homegrown vaccine for its own immunisation drive, and this week approved Russia`s Sputnik V shot
for emergency use.

Since April 2, India has reported the world`s highest daily tallies of infections, exceeding 100,000 for
the first time last week. It reported 161,736 cases on Tuesday, taking the total to 13.7 million. Deaths
rose by879 to 171,058.

The jump in infections, for which Health Minister Harsh Vardhan acknowledged widespread failure to
heed curbs on movement and social interaction, has prompted calls for the government to cancel
huge public events.

But hundreds of thousands of devout Hindus are set to bathe in the Ganges river on Wednesday, the
third key day of the weeks-long Kumbh Mela or pitcher festival.

Nearly a million bathed in the Ganges on Monday in the belief that its waters would wash away their
sins.

More than 100 tested positive for Covid-19 in random testing of around 18,000 attendees, media said.

Similar concerns of a spike in cases were sparked by mass election rallies by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi`s party and opposition groups during polls in four states and one federally run region.

At one rally in the eastern state of West Bengal, a key political prize, Home Minister Amit Shah posted
Twitter pictures of meetings with crowds of supporters while unmasked.-Reuters

WHO, other agencies urge countries to suspend sale of live

wild mammals
 2021-04-14

GENEVA: International agencies including the World Health Organisation urged countries on Tuesday
to suspend the sale of live wild mammals in food markets, warning they may be the source of more
than 70pc of emerging infectious diseases inhumans.
The guidance, aimed at ensuring the global food system is safe and sustainable, follows a WHO-led
mission to Wuhan, China, to investigate the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. `This + other recommend
ations will contribute to the risk of emerging #zoonoses,` Peter Ben Embarek, the WHO of ficial who led
the January-February mission, said in a tweet.The WHO, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)
and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) urged national authorities to: `Suspend the trade in live caught
wild animals of mammalian species for food or breeding purposes and close sections of food markets
selling live caught wild animals of mammalian species as an emergency measure unless demonstrable
effective regulations and adequate risk assessment are in place.

They said animals, particularly wild animals, were reported to be the source of more than 70pc of all
emerging infectious diseases in humans.-Reuters

US recommends `pause` for J&J vaccine over clot reports

 2021-04-14

WASHINGTON: The US is recommending a pause in using the singledose Johnson & Johnson Covid-19
vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said on
Tuesday they were investigating unusual clots that occurred 6 to 13 days af ter vaccination.

The clots occurred in veins that drain blood from the brain and occurred together with low platelets.
All six cases were in women between the ages of 18 and 48;

there was one death and all remained under investigation.The reports appear similar to a rare,
unusual type of clotting disorder that European authorities say is possibly linked to another Covid-19
vaccine not yet cleared in the US, from AstraZeneca. More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine
have been given in the US, the vast majority with no or mild side effects.

Federally run mass vaccination sites will pause the use of the J&J shot, and states and other providers
are expected to follow. The other two authorised vaccines, from Moderna and Pfizer, make up the vast
share of Covid-19 shots administered in the USand are not affected by the pause.

I`d like to stress these events appear to be extremely rare. However Covid19 vaccine safety is a top
priority, FDA Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock said at a news conference. We expect it to be a
matter of days for this pause.

A CDC committee will meet Wednesday to discuss the cases and the FDA has also launched an
investigation into the cause of the clots and low platelet counts.

CDC`s Dr. Anne Schuchat said authorities have not seen similar clots af ter use of the Pfizer or Moderna
vaccines, and that people should continueto get vaccinated with those shots.

FDA officials emphasised that Tuesday`s action was not a mandate.

Doctors and patients could still use J&Js vaccine if they decide its benefits outweigh its risks for
individual cases, said Dr Peter Marks. The agencies are recommending that people who were given the
J&J vaccine who are experiencing severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath
within three weeks after receiving the shot contact their health care provider.

J&J said in a statement it was aware of the reports of blood clots, but that no link to its vaccine had
been established.The company also said it is delaying the rollout of its vaccine in Europe as a
precaution. US health authorities cautioned doctors against using a typical clot treatment, the blood-
thinner heparin. In this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous and alternative
treatments need to be given, the FDA and CDC said.

European authorities investigating the AstraZeneca cases have concluded clots appear to be similar to a
very rare abnormalimmune response that sometimes strikes people treated with heparin, leading to a
temporary clotting disorder.While it`s not clear yet if the reports among J&J recipients are related,
doctors would treat these kinds of unusual clots like they treat people who have the heparin reaction
with different kinds of blood thinners and sometimes an antibody infusion, said Dr Geoffrey Barnes, a
clot expert at the University of Michigan.

As authorities investigate whether the clots really are related to the J&J vaccine, Barnes stressed that it`s
important Americans get vaccinated as soon as possible using the other two available vaccines, from
Pfizer and Moderna.-AP

Denmark cuts AstraZeneca vaccine altogether

 2021-04-15

COPENHAGEN: Denmark on Wednesday announced it would stop using the AstraZeneca Covid-19
vaccine altogether, becoming the first European country to do so over suspected rare but serious side
effects.

`Denmark`s vaccination campaign will go ahead without the AstraZeneca vaccine,` Danish Health
Authority director Soren Brostrom told journalists, despite recommendations from the World Health
Organisation and Europe`s medicines watchdog to keep using it.

`There is a potential crossreaction between the vaccine and a low platelet count. We also know that
there is a temporal connecdon. It occurs one week to ten days af ter the vaccination with
AstraZeneca,` Brostrom said.
Sputnik V vaccine does not cause blood clots: Russia
 2021-04-15

MOSCOW: The developer of Russia`s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine said on Wednesday its jab did not
cause blood clots, a potential side ef fect that has disrupted rollouts in several Western countries.

The United States has recommended pausing its rollout of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after one
person out of nearly seven million Americans died from a rare type of clot in the brain following
inoculation.

Denmark on Wednesday became the first country in Europe to suspend use of the AstraZeneca jab
after reports of rare but serious cases of blood clots among those that had received the vaccine.

Like the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vac-cines, Russia`s Sputnik V jab uses adapted strains of
the adenovirus that causes the common cold. On Wednesday, the state-run Gamaleya research
institute, which developed Sputnik V vaccine, said there was no risk of blot clots from its jab. `A
comprehensive analysis of adverse events during clinical trials and over the course of mass vaccinations
with the Sputnik V vaccine showed that there were no cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis,` it said
in a statement.

Russia`s registration of Sputnik in August last year triggered criticism both at home and abroad over the
fast-track procedure, but a leading medical journal said this year it was safe and highly ef fective.-AFP

Pharma firms, G20 pledge 3.6bn doses for poor nations

 2021-05-22

ROME: Coronavirus vaccine producers promised billions of doses for poor countries at a G20 health
summit on Friday, where leaders vowed to expand access to jabs as the only way to end the
pandemic.

The bosses of Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson announced they would supply around 3.5
billion vaccine doses at cost or discount to lowand middleincome countries this year and next.

The European Union pledged to donate 100 million doses and invest in regional manufacturing hubs in
Africa to reduce the continent`s reliance on imports.

The summit was billed as an attempt to learn lessons from the pandemic, which has killed more than
3.4m people globally since in emerged in late 2019.

But while many rich countries are enjoying a slowdown in infections thanks to vaccination drives, many
others are still battling fresh surges.

`As we prepare for the next pandemic, our priority must be to ensure that we all overcome the current
one together,` Draghi told the summit.
`We must vaccinate the world and do it f ast.

In Washington, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) report emphasised the same message, with a
$50-billion plan to end the pandemic focused heavily on expanding vaccines.

`Vaccine technologies`

The summit will end with a `Rome declaration` on the guidelines to avoid another pandemic, from
investment in global healthcare systems, improved data sharing and surveillance of human and animal
diseases.

But it is not expected to endorse the contentious idea of a temporary global waiver on patent
protections for coronavirus vaccines.

Instead, the leaders will advocate the use of other tools such as voluntary licensing agreements and
technology transfers, EU of ficials said.

India and South Africa have for months led calls to temporarily remove the intellectual property
protections on vaccines to boost production, a position recently backed by Washington but which has
been met with scepticism in Brussels.

In a video message, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated Beijing`s support for a waiver and urged
the World Trade Organization and other international institutions to make an `early decision`.

`China supports its vaccine companies in transferring technologies to other developing countries and
carrying out joint production with them,` he added.

`Share dollars and doses`

In an announcement at the summit, Pfizer promised two billion vaccine doses and Moderna `up to`
995m by the end of next year at cost or discount to poorer nations.

Johnson & Johnson unveiled a deal with the Covax vaccine-sharing programme for 200m doses this
year, and said it was discussing the `potential supply` of an additional 300m for next year.

China promised $3bn in international aid over the next three years to support the fight against Covid-
19 as well as economic recovery.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said their countries would
each supply 30m doses of vaccines to poorer nations.-AFP
`Black fungus`: how dangerous is it?
 2021-05-22

NEW DELHI: Several thousand coronavirus patients in India have contracted a deadly and aggressive
fungal infection, compounding the country`s woes as it reels from the pandemic.

What is the fungus?

Mucormycosis, dubbed `black fungus`, is caused by a mould found in soil and in decaying organic
matter like rotting leaves, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

People get mucormycosis, of which there are several types, by breathing in the fungal spores. They can
be spread in hospitals and homes by air humidifiers or oxygen tanks containing dirty water.

High fatality rate

The infection needs to be caught early as it is aggressive and dead tissue has to be scraped away.
Surgeons sometimes have to remove patients` nose, eyes or even their jaw to stop it getting to the
brain.

The average fatality rate is 54 percent, according to the CDC.

Once infected, people can die within days. However, it is not contagious, according to the CDC. India
normallydeals with a few dozen cases a year.

Generally the body`s defences repel the fungus and only those with severely weakened immune systems
-for example organ transplant or cancer patients are affected.

Why are coronavirus patients at risk?

With coronavirus and other conditions, a dangerous phenomenon called a `cytokine storm` can occur
where the immune system goes into overdrive, damaging organs.

Doctors have been prescribing steroids to reduce the immune response.

But this weakens the body`s defences and increases sugar levels, which funguses thrive of f.

What other factors are there?

Diabetics who also have excessive sugar in their bloodstream -are also at higher risk. India has high
rates of diabetes.

Some hospitals and doctors have been over-prescribing steroids, and some people have been taking
them at home without medical advice.
`People have started using (steroids) liberally, excessively and inappropriately,` Professor K. Srinath
Reddy, from the Public HealthFoundation of India, said.

How many infections are there?

There are at least 7,250 cases in India, according to the Hindustan Times, which cited a government
court submission.

Maharashtra state has now reported more than 2,000 cases. Gujarat, home state of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, has about 1,200, of ficials said.

Nine Indian states have now declared the infection an epidemic.

Several cities have opened special hospital wards.

Authorities have not said how manypeople have died nationally f rom black fungus. According to the
Hindustan Times, 219 people likely an underestim ate have died.

There are severe shortages of the main anti-fungal drug to treat the infection, amphotericin B.

The government and drug companies in India, once dubbed the `pharmacy of the world`, are scrambling
to ramp up production.

Amulya Nidhi, a health activist, said the government had earlier failed to prepare an adequate supply of
coronavirus medicines such as remdesivir and plasma.-AFP

Countries urge broader patent waivers than just Covid

vaccines
 2021-05-23

GENEVA: Dozens of countries have revised a proposal at the WTO for patent waivers for medical tools
needed to combat Covid, insisting it must be broader than just vaccines, non-governmental
organisations said on Saturday.

More than 60 countries have presented a revision of their text before the World Trade Organisation
on ditching intellectual property protections for Covid-19 jabs and other medical tools while the
pandemic rages, according to the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity and NGO Knowledge Ecology
International (KEI).

KEI published what it said was the revised text, which pushed for the waiver to be broad and long-
lasting.

The WTO did not immediately verify the authenticity of the document, but a Western diplomat close to
the waiver discussions confirmed it was genuine and had been distributed to all WTO members.
That text said the waiver should cover all medical `prevention, treatment and containment` tools
needed to battle Covid.

In addition to vaccines, it should include treatments, diagnostics, vaccines, medical devices and
protective equipment, along with the material and components needed to produce them, it said.

It also said the waiver should last for`at least three years` from the date it takes effect, following
which, the WTO`s General Council should determine whether it could be lifted or should be
prolonged.

`We are pleased to see the governments sponsoring the Covid-19 intellectual property waiver
proposal reaffirm that the waiver aims to remove monopoly barriers for all medical tools ... needed to
tackle this pandemic,` MSF South Asia chief Leena Manghaney said in a statement.

`With a frightening increase in infections and deathsin developing countries, and with potentially
promising treatments in the pipeline, it is crucial that governments have every flexibility at their
disposal to beat back this pandemic,` she said.

The WTO has since October faced calls led by India and South Africa for the temporary removal of
such IP protections, in what proponents argue will boost production in developing countries and
address the dramatic inequity in access.

That notion has long met with fierce opposition from pharmaceutical giants and their host countries,
which insisted patents were not the main roadblocks to scaling up production and warned the move
could hamper innovation.

The positions appeared to shift earlier this month, when Washingtoncame out in support of a global
patent waiver for the jabs, with other long-time opponents voicing openness to discuss the matter.

The European Parliament voted narrowly this week to urge Brussels to get behind the proposal.

Observers have however said the ambitions for the waiver appear to differ significantly among the
longtime supporters and those now coming around to the idea, who have seemed to focus more
narrowly on vaccines.

It remains unclear if countries will be able to see eye to eye, but with the pandemic that has killed
over 3.4 million people still far from over, there is intense pressure on them to do so.

With the new revision on the table, MSF called for `governments to immediately move towards text-
based negotiations,` insisting there was no time to lose.

In light of the WTO`s usual glacial pace in decision-making with agreements requiring consensus
backing by all 164 member states a deal could meanwhile take time.
According to MSF, more than 100 countries overall now support the proposal, including China and
Russia.

A full 62 countries are now official cosponsors of the proposal, with Indonesia, Fiji, Vanuatu and Namibia
having joined in recent weeks.-AFP

Covid variants get new names

 2021-06-02

GENEVA: Coronavirus variants with clunky, alphanumeric names have now been assigned the letters
of the Greek alphabet to simplify discussion and pronunciation while avoiding stigma.

The World Health Organisation revealed the new names on Monday amid criticism that those given by
scientists to strains such as the South African variant which goes by multiple names including B.1.351,
501Y.V2 and 20H/501Y.V2 were too complicate d.

Since the pandemic began, the names people have used to describe the virus have provoked
controversy.

Former US President Donald Trump called the new coronavirus `the China virus` and other monikers,
raising concern he was using the names as a political weapon to shift blame to a rival nation.

The WHO, which has urged people not to use language to advance Covid-19 profiling of people or
nationalities, has also said people should avoid using country names in association with emerging
variants.

The four coronavirus variants considered of concern by the UN agency and known generally by the
public as the UK, South Africa, Brazil and India variants have now been assigned the Greek letters
Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta, respectively, according to the order of their detection.

Other variants of interest continue down the alphabet.`While they have their advantages, these
scientific names can be difficult to say and recall, and are prone to misreporting,` said the WHO,
explaining the decision.

The choice of the Greek alphabet came after months of deliberations in which other possibilities such as
Greek gods and invented, pseudoclassical names were considered, according to bacteriologist Mark
Pallen, who was involved in the talks.

Many, though, were already brands, companies or alien names.

Another idea, to refer to variants of concern as VOC1, VOC2 and so on, was scrapped after Pallen
pointed out pronunciation of the acronym could sound like an English swear word.
Lost religions and the names of plants and fruits were also considered, the WHO said.

Historically, viruses have often been associated with the locations from which they are thought to have
emerged, such as the Ebola virus, which is named after a Congolese river.

But this can be damaging and inaccurate such aswith the `Spanish flu` pandemic of 1918 whose origins
are unknown, although the earliest cases are now believed to have emerged in the US state of Kansas.

`No country should be stigmatized for detecting and reporting variants,` said WHO epidemiologist
Maria Van Kerkhove.-Reuters

Sweden makes COVID vaccines in powder form

13,704 views

•Jun 6, 2021

Swedish scientists are making COVID-19 vaccines in powder form in an effort to overcome
delivery and storage problems.

They have developed an air-drying process that is far cheaper and easier than freeze-
drying.

It is hoped the process will help developing countries to produce their own vaccine stocks. Al
Jazeera's Paul Rhys reports.

S. Arabia allows 60,000 residents, no foreigner, for Haj

 2021-06-13

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday it would allow 60,000 residents vaccinated against
Covid-19 to perform this year`s Haj, but Muslims from abroad would be barred for a second straight
year.

The Haj typically packs millions of pilgrims into congested religious sites and could be a major source of
contagion amid the coronavirus pandemic.

This year it would be `open for nationals and residents of the kingdom, limited to 60,000 pilgrims` the
Haj ministry said, quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency.The pilgrimage, scheduled to be held in July,
would be limited to those who have been vaccinated and are aged 18-65 with no chronicillnesses,itsaid.
2,500 injected with fake vaccine in India
 2021-06-26

MUMBAI: Indian police said on Friday that around 2,000 people were injected with fake Covid-19
vaccines in Mumbai, and another 500 some of them disabled may have suffered the same fate in
Kolkata.

Vaccination rates rose sharply this week after the Indian government made shots free following a
devastating pandemic surge in April and May.

Police in Mumbai said that around 2,000 people who thought they were being vaccinated were in fact
injected with a saline solution.

Ten people have been arrested, including two doctors at a private hospital in the financial hub, police
told a news conference, with the scammers targeting residents of an upscale housing complex in one
case.

`We (then) discovered that eight more camps were organised by this syndicate,` said Vishwas Patil,
joint commissioner for the law and order division.

Police have recovered 1.24 mil-lion rupees ($16,700)in cash which was `fraudulently obtained` by the
accused.

Meanwhile, police in Kolkata arrested a man posing as a civil servant with a master`s degree in
genetics who reportedly ran as many as eight spurious vaccination camps.

Police said about 250 disabled and transgender people were injected at one site, and that in total
nearly 500 people may have been given counterfeit jabs across the city.

Kolkata of ficial Atin Ghosh said the seized vials were falsely labelled as containing the AstraZeneca
coronavirus vaccine, branded in India as Covishield.

`It was found that the Covishield label was stuck over another label, that of Amikacin Sulphate 500 mg,
an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections of the urinary tract, bones, brain, lungs and blood among
others,` Ghosh said.

The scam came to light after an actress and politician, Mimi Chakraborty, who received a shotat one
of the camps to raise awareness, became suspicious and alerted police.

Police seized fake ID cards from the suspect, one of an information ministry official and another as a
municipal commissioner. His car sported Kolkata government stickers.

Debashis Barui, a Kolkata health official, said that many of those who had been injected were now
`panicking` about the possible side ef fects.
`If any emergency arises, civic authorities will organise medical camps in the area to take care of those
who have had fake shots, Barui said.

One of them, Ruma Sikdar, 35, said she had been feeling drowsy and had discomfort in her arm.

`What I am worried about is how togetthe realdose before the third wave hits,` the home-maker said.

`We didn`t think that this could happen when the world is battling the pandemic,` said student Debjit
Majumdar, who also received the f ake jab.-AFP

Delta plus` claims three lives in India

 2021-06-26

MUMBAl: Maharashtra, India`s richest state, tightened restrictions on Friday, citing fears of a `more
severe third wave` as the country recorded its third death caused by a new coronavirus variant.

The announcement came days after India`s health ministry called Delta Plus a `variant of concern`, citing
its increased transmissibility and ability to bind to lung cell receptors more easily.

India has recorded 48 cases of the variant so far, with Maharashtra reporting 21 infections higher than
any other state.

Three people have died after contracting Delta Plus, including one in Maharashtra, according to the
state`s health department.

Under the new guidelines, malls and theatres in Maharashtra will remain closed, while restaurants will
be permitted to operate on weekdays at 50 percent capacity until 4pm.-AFP

US regulator issues alert about Pfizer, Moderna jabs

 2021-06-27

WASHINGTON: The US drug regulator on Friday added a warning to the literature that accompanies
Pfizer Inc /BioNTech and Moderna Covid vaccine shots to indicate the rare risk of heart inflammation
after its use.

For each vaccine, the fact sheets for healthcare providershave been revised toinclude a warning that
reports of adverse events suggest increased risks of myocarditis and pericarditis, particularly after the
second dose and with onset of symptoms within a few days after vaccination, the FDA said.

As of June 11, more than 1,200 cases of myocarditis or pericarditis have been reported to the US
Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, out of about 300 million mRNA vaccine doses administered.

The cases appear to be notably higher in males and in the week af ter the second vaccine dose. The CDC
identified 309 hospitalisations from heart inflammation in persons under the age of 30, of which 295
have been discharged.

Health regulators in several countries have been investigating cases of myocarditis and pericarditis,
more frequently found in young men, after a shot of Pfizer or Moderna, vaccines that are based on the
mRNA technology.

The latest update from FDA follows an extensive review of information and the discussion by CDC`s
Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices meeting on Wednesday.

Pfizer and Moderna did not immediately respond to requests for comment after business hours.-Reuters

Biden hails `historic` rebound from Covid crisis

 2021-07-03

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden on Friday cheered the `historic` US rebound from the Covid-19
crisis as the economy gained 850,000 new jobs in June, cementing the evidence of a broad recovery.

The uptick was better than expected and came after two months of disappointing results, with big
increases in the hard-hit leisure and hospitality sector, the Labour Department said in its closely-
watched monthly report.

With the latest gains, the world`s largest economy has added 3.3 million jobs in the first six months of
the year.

`This is historic progress, pulling our economy out of the worst crisis in 100 years, Biden said at the
White House.

The Democratic president credited the massive American Rescue Plan approved in March and the rapid
acceleration of vaccinations as factors fueling the economic revival.

`Our economy is on the move and we have Covid-19 on the run,` Biden said, though he acknowledged
there is more work to do.

The unemployment rate last month ticked up to 5.9 per cent from 5.8pc in May, the data showed, and
the jobless rate for Black workers rose a tenth of a point to 9.2pc.

Economist Joseph Brusuelas of RSM US noted on Twitter: `We remain 6.8 million jobs short of where we
were in Feb 2020. Still 5 million short in services, so that is where the focus will be going forward.

As the United States has brought the pandemic under control, hotels and restaurants have reopened
andhired at a rapid pace, adding 343,000 positions last month, the report said. However, the sector is
still short 2.2 million jobs from February 2020.

Education gained 230,000 positions at the state and local government level, while manufacturing gained
15,000, but construction lost jobs.

`While today`s report was shy of the coveted 1-million mark, it paints a picture of a steadily recovering
jobs market,` said Lydia Boussour of Oxford Economics.

While she noted that many companies continue to report difficulties finding people to fill open
positions, she said the strong performance `is likely the start of a series of stellar reports that will
underpin the strongest US economic performance since 1951 this year`.

The labour shortage also is driving wages higher, with average hourly earnings rising by 10 cents to
$30.40 in June, following larger increases in May and April, the report said.

Biden said that dynamic tips the balance of power in favour of workers and `gives them the power to
demand to be treated with dignity and respect.

But the struggle to find workers as businesses reopen has become a political issue, with Republicans
blaming the generous federal jobless benefits as keeping potential hires on the sidelines. As a result, 22
state governments have terminated supplemental unemployment benefits early and another four states
have announced plans to follow suit, although some face legal challenges. The extra benefits expire in
September.-AFP

NCOC confirms presence of different variants

By Ikram Junaidi  2021-07-07

ISLAMABAD: As many as two million more doses of Sinovac vaccine reached Pakistan from China on
Tuesday.

On the other hand, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) confirmed presence of
different variants of coronavirus,including the delta (Indian), beta (South African) and alpha (UK)
variants, in Pakistan and detection of theircases in May and June.

According to a study conducted by World Health Organisation (WHO) in 28 countries, drugs that block
the effects of interleukin-6 reduce the risk of death by Covid-19 and the need for mechanical
ventilation.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a protein produced by various cells which helps regulate immune responses.

According to the NCOC, the National Institute of Health (NIH) has been monitoring the presence of
different variants of coronavirus in Pakistan. This is done via whole-genome sequencing of Covid-19
patients` samples.
`Samples collected in lateMay and the first half of June 2021 have shown the presence of different
variants of concern, including the delta, beta and alpha variants. Of note, the data has been shared with
the Field Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Division of NIH for response activities such as
quarantine and contact tracing, andwithother relevantnational stakeholders,` it said.

The NCOC data showed that 25 deaths and 830 new cases were reported in a single day.

The number of active cases was 33,390 and 2,223 patients were admitted to hospitals as of July 6.

The number of cases, which remained over 1,000 for five consecutive days, dropped to three digits i.e.
830. However, according to an of ficial of the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) sudden increase
or decrease in the number of cases can be reported in a single day and that is why weekly data is
considered credible.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Dr Faisal Sultan has warned that indications are showing that the
situation has started worsening.

`Covid data from last week show small but definitive uptick in cases, percentage positivity and other
parameters.

Masks, avoidance of large crowds and continued vaccination remain crucial tools in this work,` he
tweeted.

Interleukin-6 Interleukin-6 antagonists improve outcomes in hospitalised Covid-19 patients.

Findings from a study published on Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association have
prompted new WHO recommendations to use interleukin-6 antagonists in patients with severe or
critical Covid-19 along with corticosteroids.

According to a statement of the WHO, new analysis of 27 randomised trials involving about 11,000
patients found that treating hospitalised Covid-19 patients with drugs that block the ef fects of
interleukin-6 (the interleukin-6 antagonists tocilizumab and sarilumab) reduces the risk of death by
Covid-19 and the need for mechanical ventilation.

The study, which was coordinated in 28 countries by the WHOinpartnershipwithKing`s

CollegeLondon,University of Bristol, University College London and Guy`s and St Thomas` NHS
Foundation Trust, found that interleukin-6antagonists were most effective when administered with
corticosteroids. In hospitalised patients, administering one of these drugs in addition to
corticosteroids reduces the risk of death by 17 per cent, compared to the use of corticosteroids alone.
In patients not on mechanical ventilation, the need for mechanical ventilation and risk of death is
reduced by 21pc, compared to the use of corticosteroids alone.

This analysis included information on 10,930 patients, of whom 6,449 were randomly assigned to
receive interleukin-6 antagonists and 4,481 to receive usual care or placebo.
Results showed that the risk of dying within 28 days is lower in patients receiving interleukin-6
antagonists. In this group, the risk of death is 22pc compared with an assumed risk of 25pc in those
receiving only usual care.

Commenting on the results of the analysis Dr Janet Diaz, Lead for Clinical Management, WHO Health
Emergencies, said: `Bringing together the results of trials conducted around the world is one of the best
ways to find treatmentsthat will help more people survive Covid-19. We have updated our clinical care
treatment guidance to reflect this latest development. While science has delivered, we must now turn
our attention to access. Given the extent of global vaccine inequity, people in the lowest income
countries will be the ones most at risk of severe and critical Covid-19. Those are the people these drugs
need to reach.

4m victims and counting

 2021-07-09

A NEW grim milestone was marked in the pandemic this week, when the total number of global
Covid-19 deaths reached 4m.

The figure represents the thousands of deaths that may have been preventable had world leaders been
scientific and transparent in their respective approaches.

The US, India, Brazil, Mexico and Peru are the countries with the world`s highest coronavirus-related
death tolls in the last year.

The common thread among them is that their leaders gave advice that reeked of Covid denial.

For instance, US president Donald Trump dismissed the serious health risks of the virus and gave
mixed signals about public health guidance.

In India, the government allowed mass gatherings of millions at both religious and political events.

In Brazil, President Bolsonaro rejected lockdowns when infections were peaking, criticised states that
followed scientific advice and dangerously joked about how the Pfizer jab would `turn people into
crocodiles`.

Citizens and healthcare workers in these countries and elsewhere, such as the United Kingdom, have
paid a heavy price for poor leadership.

Though many countries are now opening up after having successfully vaccinated large swathes of their
population, there are many that are still in a crisis. In Indonesia, a surge in Covid-19 deaths has pushed
the country`s hospital systems to its limit. On Wednesday this week, single-day fatalities crossed
1,000 a harrowing reality that played out at hospitals where emergency wards were overwhelmed. In
Russia, too, a surge of cases has driven demand for the vaccine, and forced the government to shut
down vaccination centres where supply dries up.

The coming days and possibly virus mutations will show the extent to which the existing vaccines protect
citizens. But even as countries reopen after mass vaccinations, the decision to lift all restrictions,
including mandatory mask-wearing, may lead to another surge.

The WHO has warned countries of the `epidemiological stupidity` of early Covid reopening. There are
lessons in this warning for everyone, including Pakistan, where low vaccination rates mean that the
threat of a bad outbreak is always looming.

Pfizer pushes for third shot as Delta variant drives

outbreaks
 2021-07-10

WASHINGTON: Pfizer and BioNTech said they would seek authorisation for a third dose of their Covid-
19 vaccine to boost its efficacy as the Delta variant drove devastating outbreaks in Asia, including in
Thailand where fresh curbs were announced on Friday.

With the pandemic once again wreaking havoc, Japan banned fans from most Olympic events and
placed Tokyo under a virus state of emergency throughout the games just two weeks before the
opening ceremony.

The highly-transmissible Delta variant, first detected in India, is sweeping across the globe as countries
race to vaccinate their populations to ward off fresh outbreaks.

Pfizer and BioNTech said on Thursday they expected that a third dose would perform well against the
strain, and that they would be seeking authorisation in the United States, Europe and other regions in
coming weeks.

Initial data from an ongoing trial showed a third shot pushed antibody levels five to 10 times higher
against the originalcoronavirusstrain andtheBetavariant,Hrst detected in South Africa, compared with
the first two doses alone, according to a statement.

The companies said they expected similar results for Delta but added they were also developing a
vaccine specifically tailored to fight the deadly strain.The news came as Thailand battled a fresh
outbreak on its shores, forcing authorities to roll out fresh restrictions, including a 9pm to 4am curfew in
Bangkok and banning non-essential travel across the country, normally overrun by tourists at this time
of year.

`This will support disease control efficiently.

Thailand will be victorious,` said Apisamai Srirangson, assistant spokeswoman for the government`s
coronavirus taskforce.

Japan meanwhile grappled with planning for the upcoming Olympic Games, which would be held later
this month with no spectators.

Delta currently accounts for around 30 per cent of cases, and officials imposed a new state of
emergency on the capital to fight off rising infections.

The Olympic flame arrived in the Japanese capital on Friday, in a muted finish to a nationwide torch
relay that was supposed to stoke excitement about the games but which has been taken off public roads
or otherwise altered because ofvirus concerns.

Elsewhere in Asia, Vietnam`s Ho Chi Minh City went into a two-week lockdown, with residents now
barred from gathering in groups larger than pairs in public, and people are only allowed to leave home
to buy food, medicine and in case of emergencies. -AFP

Pilgrims reaching Makkah for second Haj during pandemic

 2021-07-18

MAKKAH: Pilgrims began arriving in the holy city of Makkah on Saturday for the second Haj during the
coronavirus pandemic, circling Islam`s holiest site in masks and on distanced paths.

The kingdom is allowing only 60,000 fully vaccinated residents to take part, seeking to repeat last
year`s success that saw no virus outbreak duringthe ritual.

This year`s Haj, with participants chosen through a lottery, is larger than the pared-down version
organised in 2020 but drastically smaller than in normal times, giving rise to sadness among Muslims
abroad who have been barred once again.

After being loaded on buses and brought to the Grand Mosque, pilgrims began performing the tawaf.

Many carried umbrellas to protect themselves from the scorching summer heat.

`Every three hours, 6,000 people enter to perform the tawaf of arrival,` Haj Ministry spokesman
Hisham al-Saeed said. `After each group leaves, a sterilisation process is carried out at the sanctuary.

Among the lucky individuals chosen for Haj this year is Ameen, a 58-year-old Indian oil contractorbased
in the eastern city of Dammam, who was picked for the ritual along with his wife and three adult
children.

`We are overjoyed,` said Ameen.

`So many of our friends and relatives were rejected.

Like the other countries of the Gulf, Saudi Arabia is home to significant expatriate populations from
South Asia, the Far East, Africa as well as the Middle East.
`I feel like I won a lottery, Egyptian pharmacist Mohammed El Eter said after being selected. `This is a
special, unforgettable moment in one`s life. I thank God for granting me this chance, to be accepted
among a lot of people who applied, the 31-year-old said.

Chosen from more than 558,000 applicants throughanonline vetting system, the event is confined to
those who have been fully vaccinated and are aged 18-65 with no chronic illnesses, according to the Haj
Ministry.

The ministry has said it is working on the `highest levels of health precautions` in light of the pandemic
and the emergence of new variants.

Pilgrims will be divided into groups of just 20 `to restrict anyexposure to only those 20, limiting the
spread of infection`, ministry undersecretary Mohammad alBijawi told official media.

Saudi Arabia has so far recorded more than 507,000 coronavirus infections, including over 8,000
deaths. Some 20 million vaccine doses have been administered in the country of over 34m people.

The Haj went ahead last year on the smallest scale in modern history.

Authorities initially said only 1,000 pilgrims would be allowed, although local media said up to 10,000
eventually took part.

No infections were reported as authorities set up multiple health facilities, mobile clinics and
ambulances to cater for the pilgrims, who were taken to the religious sites in small batches.

In normal years, the pilgrimage packs large crowds into congested religious sites, but even this year`s
downscaled events are seen as a potential mechanism for contagion.

Worshippers were last year given amenity kits including sterilised pebbles for stoning, disinfectants,
masks, a prayer rug and the ihram, which was made from a bacteriaresistant material.-AFP

England hails `freedom day`, but virus ramps up in Asia

 2021-07-20

LONDON: England lifted most pandemic restrictions on Monday despite surging infections and dire
warnings from experts, as the Delta variant sweeps parts of Europe and Asia, where new cases are
threatening to scupper the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

As England celebrated socalled `freedom day` Vietnam locked down much of its population, while
Indonesia clocked daily record deaths and in France lawmakers were set to toughen vaccine to battle
rising cases.

The highly transmissible Delta variant, first detected in India, is driving new outbreaks along with a
relaxation of measures as countries seek to kickstart virus-battered economies.
In Britain, daily infections have climbed, averaging more than 50,000 since last week, with Delta taking
hold in many areas.

But despite accusations against the UK government of recklessness, it lifted legal mandates on social
distancing, wearing masks and working from home, urging personal responsibility instead.

Nightclubs in England reopened their floors to dancing at the stroke of midnight for the first time since
March 2020, while sports stadium, cinemas and theatres can now run at full capacity.

`I thought, well, we missed New Year`s, so why not come out and celebrate?` said Nicola Webster
Calliste, 29, outside a club in Leeds, northern England.

`It`s like a new chapter.

Alex Clarke, 40, was at the front of the queue outside a club in north London.

`There`s a bit of apprehension and uncertainty about the protocols,` Clarke said.

`But as long as everyone is sensible, then it`ll be alright.

Covid-19 travel rules and selfisolation for close contactsremain in place.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson who is self-isolating after his health minister was infected has defende d
the move, dubbed `freedom day` by some media, but urged people to remain prudent.

The government says thanks to a rapid vaccination programme, the risks to the healthcare system are
manageable.

But the approach is marked by `moral emptiness and epidemiological stupidity`, said
University of Bristol public health expert Gabriel Scally.

Elsewhere in Europe, countries including Greece, the Netherlands and Spain, have been forced to
reimpose restrictions to battle new outbreaks recently.

And in France, cabinet members were expected on Monday to approve stricter vaccination rules
requiring people to show either proof of full vaccination or a recent test to enter public venues such as
restaurants, bars, shopping centres, long-distance trains and cinemas.

The coronavirus is 1(nown to have claimed more than four million lives since it emerged in late 2019
but, for some nations in the AsiaPacific, the worst is still ahead. Indonesia has in recent days overtaken
India and Brazil as the global Covid-19 hotspot, its daily death toll hitting a record 1,338 on Monday.

There are fears people travelling for the Eidul Azha festivities could spread the virus further, and
authorities in the vast Muslim-majority country strengthened roadblocks on Monday for the start of the
holidays.

Vietnam ordered about a third of its 100 million people to stay at home in several provinces as it battles
new outbreaks with a record 6,000 new daily infections reported.-AFP

India`s Covid death toll up to 10 times higher than thought:

study
 2021-07-21

NEW DELHI: India`s coronavirus death toll is up to 10 times higher than the nearly 415,000
fatalities reported by authorities, likely making it the country`s worst humanitarian disaster
since independence, a US research group said on Tuesday.

The estimate by the Centre for Global Development is the highest yet for the carnage in the South
Asian nation of 1.3 billion people, which is emerging from a devastating surge partly fuelled by the
Delta variant in April and May.

The study -which analysed data from the start of the pandemic to June this year
suggested thatbetween 3.4 million and 4.7m people died from the virus.

`True deaths are likely to be in the several millions, not hundreds of thousands, making this arguably
India`s worst human tragedy since partition and independence,` the researchers said.

After the subcontinent`s partition in 1947 bloodshed reportedly killed hundreds of thousands of
people. Some estimates say up to two million died.

India`s official death toll of just over 414,000 is the world`s thirdhighest after the United States`
609,000 fatalities and Brazil`s 542,000.

Experts have been casting doubt on India`s toll for months, blaming the already overstretched health
service.

Several Indian states have revised their virus tolls in recent weeks, adding thousands of `backlog`
deaths.The Centre for Global Development`s report was based on estimating `excess mortality`, the
number of extra people who died compared with pre-crisis figures.

The authors who included Arvind Subramanian, a former chief government economic adviser did this
partly by analysing death registrations in some states as well as a recurring national economic study.

They also compared surveys of the spread of Covid-19 in India with international death rates.

The researchers, which also included a Harvard University expert, acknowledged that estimating
mortality with statistical confidence was difficult. `(But) all estimates suggest that the death toll from the
pandemic is likely to be an order of magnitude greater than the of ficial count,` they said.

Christophe Guilmoto, a specialist in Indian demography at France`sResearch Institute for Development,

this month estimated that the death toll was nearer 2.2m by late May.

India`s death rate per million was nearly half the world average and Guilmoto said `such a low figure
contradicts the apparent severity of a crisis that has struck most Indian f amilies across the country`.

Guilmoto`s team concluded that only one coronavirus death in seven was recorded.

A model by the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimated that the Covid toll could
be more than 1.25m.

India`s health ministry last month slammed The Economist magazine for publishing a story that said
excess deaths were between five and seven times higher than the of ficial toll, calling it `speculative`
and `misinformed`.-AFP

World Bank to finance extra Covid jabs for poor nations

 2021-07-27

GENEVA: A new World Bank financing mechanism will allow developing countries to purchase Covid-
19 vaccines collectively through the Covax facility, the scheme announced on Monday.

Covax was set up to ensure 92 developing territories could access coronavirus vaccines to fight the
pandemic, with the cost covered by donors.

The new mechanism will allow those countries to buy additional doses on top of the subsidised ones
they will already receive via Covax.

Using money from the World Bank and other development banks, the facility says it will make advanced
purchases from vaccine manufacturers based on aggregated demand across countries.

Under the World Bank financing arrangement, up to 430 million additional doses, or enough doses to
fully vaccinate 250 million people, would be available for delivery between late 2021 and mid-2022
for the 92 countries that currently get their vaccine doses covered by donors.

Countries should also have some flexibility in selecting to buy particular vaccines that align with their
preferences.

Covax is co-led by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Gavi vaccine alliance and the Coalition for
Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

The financing mechanism `will allow Covax to unlock additional doses for lowand middleincome
countries` Gavi chief executive Seth Berkley said in a statement.

`As we move beyond initial targets and work to support countries` efforts to protect increasingly large
portions of their populations, World Bank financing will help us advance further towards our goal of
bringing Covid-19 under control.

The WHO has raged against the staggering imbalance in global distribution of Covid-19 vaccine doses.

Nearly 3.9 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been injected around the world in at least 216
territories, according to a count.

In high-income countries, as defined by the World Bank, 95.4 doses have been administered per 100
inhabitants.

That figure stands at just 1.5 doses per 100 people in the 29 lowest-income countries.

Covax has so far delivered more than 138 million vaccine doses to 136 participating territories far short
of the numbers it hoped to have delivered by this point.

`Accessing vaccines remains the single greatest challenge that developing countries face in protecting
their people from the health, social, and economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic,` said World Bank
president David Malpass.

`This mechanism will enable new supplies and allow countries to speed up the purchase of vaccines. It
will also provide transparency about vaccine availability, prices, and delivery schedules.`-AFP

Delta variant driving virus surge in ME, says WHO

 2021-07-30

CAIRO/PARIS: The World Health Organisation said on Thursday the Delta variant has led to a `surge` in
coronavirus outbreaks triggering a `fourth wave` in the Middle East, where vaccination rates remain
low.

The global health body said the highly transmissible strain, first detected in India, has been recorded in
15 out of the 22 countries and territories of the region under its purview, stretching from Morocco to
Pakistan.

`The circulation of the Delta variant is fuelling the surge in Covid-19 cases and deaths in an increasing
number of countries in WHO`s Eastern Mediterranean Region,` it said in a statement.

`Most of the new cases and hospitalised patients are unvaccinated people.

We are now in the fourth wave of Covid-19 across the region,` said Ahmed al-Mandhari, director of
WHO`s Eastern Mediterranean region.
As of the last week of July, `only 41 million people, or 5.5 percent, of the region`s population, had been
fully vaccinated,` the WHO said.

Infections have increased by 55 percent, and deaths by 15 percent, in the last

month compared to the month before. More than 310,000 case and 3,500
deaths have been recordedweekly.

Countries such as Tunisia, which has suffered the biggest number of Covid-19 deaths in North Africa,
have been struggling to contain the outbreak.

Critical shortages of oxygen tanks and intensive care beds have stretched the capacities of healthcare
systems regionally.

WHO noted the rapid spread of the Delta variant was quickly making it `the dominant strain` in the
region.

According to a recent paper in the journal Virological, the amount of virus found in the first tests of
patients with the Delta variant was 1,000 times higher than patients in the first wave of the virus in
2020, greatlyincreasingitscontagiousness.

4bn anti-Covid shots injected worldwide

Although more than four billion doses of anti-Covid vaccines have been administered around the
world, poorer countries are still struggling to secure precious shots despite recent donations.

At least 4,014,302,550 doses had been injected into people`s arms by 1100 GMT on Thursday, according
to a tally based on official sources.

Global injections have slowed slightly: the fourth billion dose was reached in 30 days, while it took 26
days to reach the previous one. Thefirst and second billion were reached after about 140 and 40 days
respectively.

Forty percent (1.6 billion) of the four billion shots have been administered in China. India (451 million)
and the United States (343 million) make up the trio of countries that have administered the most jabs.

Emirates lead the race In terms of population among countries with more than one million people, the
United Arab Emirates is theleader:168ñrstand second doses administered per 100 inhabitants.

Uruguay follows (137), then Bahrain (134).

The UAE is close to having 70 percent of its population fully vaccinated while Uruguay and Bahrain have
both reached more than 60 percent.
After this the leading countries are Qatar, Chile and Canada (129 shots per 100 inhabitants), Israel (128),
Singapore (125), the United Kingdom, Mongolia and Denmark (124) and Belgium (122).

These countries have fully vaccinated more than half their populations.

Not far off are China (111), the United States (104) and the European Union (103). The US and EU have
fully vaccinated nearly half their population. China does not communicate this information.-AFP

Hard-won gains at risk as Delta variant spreads: WHO

 2021-07-31

GENEVA: The world is at risk of losing hard-won gains in fighting Covid-19 as the highly transmissible
Delta variant spreads, but WHO-approved vaccines remain effective, the World Health Organisation
said on Friday.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has described the Delta variant of the
coronavirus as being as transmissible as chickenpox and cautioned it could cause severe disease, the
Washington Post said, citing an internal CDC document.

Covid-19 infections have increased by 80 per cent over the past four weeks in most regions of the
world, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Deaths in Africa where only 1.5pc of the population is vaccinated rose by 80pc over the same period.

`Hard-won gains are in jeopardy or being lost, and health systems in many countries are being
overwhelmed,` Tedros told a news conference.

The Delta variant has been detected in 132 countries, becoming the dominant global strain, according
to the WHO.

`The vaccines that are currently approved by the WHO all provide significant protection against severe
disease and hospitalisation from all the variants, including the Delta variant,` said WHO`s top
emergency expert, Mike Ryan.

`We are fighting the same virus but a virus that has become faster and better adapted to transmitting
amongst us humans, that`s the change,` he said.

Maria van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead on Covid-19, said the Delta variant was the most easily spread
so far, about 50pc more transmissible than ancestral strains of SARSCoV-2 that first emerged in China in
late 2019.

A few countries had reported increased hospitalisation rates, but higher rates of mortality had not been
recorded from the Delta variant, she said.
Japan said on Friday it would expand states of emergency to three prefectures near Olympic host city
Tokyo and the western prefecture of Osaka, as Covid-19 cases spike in the capital and around the
country, overshadowing the Summer Games.

Ryan noted that Tol(yo had recorded more than 3,000 cases in the past 24 hours, among some 10,000
new infections in Japan.

In China, a cluster of infections in Nanjing city had reached the capital Beijing and five provinces by
Friday.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been locked down in Jiangsu province, of which Nanjing is the
capital, while 41,000 came under stay-at-home orders in Beijing`s Changping district.

Meanwhile, the United States ramped up efforts to get people vaccinated in the face of a Delta
variantfuelled surge. With infections and hospitalisations rising, President Joe Biden asked every US
federal worker to either declare they are fully vaccinated or wear masks and be tested.

Covid cases spread in China as WHO sounds alarm on Delta

 2021-08-01

BEIJING: Mushrooming outbreaks of the Delta variant prompted China and Australia to impose stricter
Covid-19 curbs on Saturday, as the WHO urged the world to contain the mutation before it turns into
something deadlier.

China`s most serious surge of coronavirus infections in months spread to two more areas on Saturday
Fujian province and the megacity of Chongqing in an outbreak that now spans 14 provinces.

More than 200 cases have been linked to an original Delta cluster in Nanjing city where nine cleaners
at an international airport tested positive.

`The main strain circulating at present is the Delta variant... which poses an even greater challenge to
virus prevention and control work,` said Mi Feng, spokesman for China`s National Health Commission.

The nation where the disease first emerged has rushed to prevent the highly transmissible strain from
taking root by putting more than one million people under lockdown and reinstituting mass testing
campaigns.

Worldwide, coronavirus infections are once again on the upswing, with the World Health Organisation
announcing an 80 per cent average increase over the past f our weeks in five of the health agency`s six
regions, a jump largely fuelled by the Delta variant.

First detectedinIndia, the strain has now reached 132 countries and territories.
`Delta is a warning: it`s a warning that the virus is evolving but it is also a call to action that we need
to move now before more dangerous variants emerge, the WHO`s emergencies director Michael Ryan
told a press conference.

Both highand lowincome countries are struggling to gain the upper hand against Delta, with the vastly
unequal sprint for vaccines leaving room for variants to wreak havoc and further evolve.

In Australia, where only about14percentofthepopulation is jabbed, the thirdlargest city of Brisbane and
other parts of Queensland state entered a snap lockdown on Saturday as a cluster of the Delta variant
produced six new cases.

`The only way to beat the Delta strain is to move quickly, to be fast and to be strong,` Queensland`s
Deputy Premier Steven Miles said while informing millions that they would be under three days of strict
stay-at-home orders.

Restrictions are also in place in many other parts of the Asia-Pacific region to combat Delta.-AFP

Millions under lockdown as China battles Delta outbreak

 2021-08-03

BEIJING: Millions of people were confined to their homes in China on Monday as the country tried to
contain its largest coronavirus outbreak in months including seven positive tests found in Wuhan,
where the virus first emerged in late 2019.

China reported 55 new locally transmitted cases on Monday as an outbreak of the fast-spreading
Delta variant reached over 20 cities in more than a dozen provinces.

The Wuhan cluster came after the official daily tally was released, but it was confirmed by state media
which said the infections had been traced to a train station.

`The seven were identified as migrant workers, Xinhua reported, citing Covid-19 prevention and control
of ficials.

Major cities including Beijing have now tested millions of residents while cordoning off residential
compounds and placing close contacts under quarantine.

Authorities in the capital met and agreed on the need to `raise vigilance, take strict precautions and
defend (the city) to the death, sparing no expense, in comments put out by the Beijing government.

Elsewhere, over 1.2 million residents were placed under strict lockdown for the next three days in the
central city of Zhuzhou in Hunan province on Monday, as authorities roll out a citywide testing and
vaccination campaign, according to an of ficial statement.

`The situation is still grim and complicated,` the Zhuzhou government said.
China had previously boasted of its success in bringing domestic cases down to virtually zero after the
coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan, allowing the economy to rebound.

But the latest outbreak, linked to a cluster in the city of Nanjing where nine cleaners at an international
airport tested positive on July 20, is threatening that success with more than 360 domestic cases
reported in the past two weeks.

In the tourist destination of Zhangjiajie,famedforits national forest park, an outbreak spread last month
among theatre patrons who then brought the virus back to their homes around the country.

Zhangjiajie locked down all 1.5 million residents on Friday.

Officials are urgently seeking people who have recently travelled from Nanjing or Zhangjiajie, and have
urged tourists not to travel to areas where cases have been found.

Meanwhile, Beijing has blocked tourists from entering the capital during the peak summer holiday travel
season. Only `essential travellers` with negative nucleic acid tests will be allowed to enter after the
discovery of a handful of cases among residents who had returned from Zhangjiajie.

Top city officials on Sunday called for residents `not to leave Beijing unless necessary`.

The capital`s Changping district locked down 41,000 people in nine housing communities last week.

Fresh cases were also reported on Monday in the popular tourist destination of Hainan as well as in
floodravaged Henan province, national health authorities said.-AFP

Covid-19 cases top 200m worldwide

 2021-08-06

PARIS: The number of Covid-19 infections recorded worldwide passed 200 million on Thursday, a
count showed as the pandemic surged around the world, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region where
the Australian city of Melbourne locked down again.

The highly contagious Delta variant has driven the virus to return with a vengeance, the
number of daily cases recorded worldwide rising by 68 per cent since mid-June.

But as more of the world gets vaccinated against the coronavirus particularly in wealthy countries the
number of deaths has increased at a slower rate, up 20pc since the start of July.

In Australia, which had initially fended off the virus by slamming shut its borders, almost two-thirds of
the 25m population were in lockdown on Thursday as the country struggled to quash a Delta outbreak.

The country`s two largest cities received a double blow in their ef forts to retain `Covid Zero` status, with
a record number of new cases in Sydney and Melbourne imposing its sixth locl(down.

Little more than a week after Melbourne`s last lockdown ended, Victoria premier Daniel Andrews said
he had `no choice` but to lock down the city and the rest of the state.

`None of us are happy to be here, none of us,` he said, citing the danger posed by eight new `mystery`
cases thathadyettobe traced.Around 2,000 protesters took to the streets chanting `no more lockdown`,
and the police responded in huge numbers, making arrests and using pepper spray to disperse the
crowd.

The Delta variant has been running rampant in Southeast Asia, with Thailand recording 20,000 new
daily cases for the first time on Wednesday and again on Thursday.

The country also announced 160 deaths in 24 hours, as exhausted morgue workers struggled to cope
with the mounting bodies.

`I`ve seen our personnel faint quite a few times lately, so fatigue is definitely starting to set in and we`re
almost at our limits,` forensic scientist Thanitchet Khetkham said.

Indonesia`s total Covid death toll passed 100,000 on Wednesday after it recorded 1,739 of the 10,245
fatalities registered worldwide, the global toll rising past 4.25m.

Japan`s capital Tokyo had a new record number of daily cases with 5,042, just three days before the end
of the Olympics.

Africa also posted a new record with 6,400 deaths in the week, the World Health Organisation said.

Habib Sagna, a cemetery manager in Senegal`s Dakar region, said that in a normal week, they would
hold six or seven funerals. `But now, we can do six or seven in a single day,` he said.

The United States remains the country with the highest number of deaths and infections; however, it
said that itplans eventually to begin allowing fully vaccinated foreigners back in.

A White House official said that the US administration wanted to reopen to visitors from abroad in a
`safe and sustainable manner`, though without specifying a timeframe.

On the other end of the spectrum, China, where the virus first emerged in December 2019, was
tightening its borders after recording its latest cases in six months.

China`s immigration authority announced it would stop issuing ordinary passports and other documents
needed for exiting the country in `non-essential and non-emergency` cases but stopped short of issuing
a blanket ban on overseas travel.

Greek authorities meanwhile announced on Thursday new restrictions including a curfew on the island
of Zante and the Crete city of Chania to fight surging infections.

In Spain, a curfew in Barcelona and most of Catalonia was extended for two weeks as hospitals came
under increasing pressure.

Also on Thursday, France became the latest country to announce it would roll out a third booster shot of
a Covid vaccine from September, joining Israel and Germany. President Emmanuel Macron`s statement
came just a day after the World Health Organisation called on all nations to haltboostershots
untilatleastthe end of September to help ease the drastic inequity in dose distribution between rich and
poor nations.-AFP

Saudi Arabia to reopen borders for vaccinated Umrah

pilgrims
 2021-08-09

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will begin accepting vaccinated foreigners wanting to make the Umrah
pilgrimage, authorities said on Sunday, a move that will boost an economy hit by the Covid pandemic.

Nearly 18 months after it closed its borders to battle coronavirus, Saudi Arabia would from Monday
begin `gradually receiving Umrah requests from various countries`, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA)
reported.

The Umrah can be undertaken at any time, unlike the annual Haj. The Covid-19 pandemic hugely
disrupted both the pilgrimages, which are usually 1(ey revenue earners for the kingdom that rake in a
combined $12 billion annually.

Before Sunday`s announcement, only immunised pilgrims residing in Saudi Arabia were eligible for
Umrah permits.

And last month only around 60,000 inoculated residents were allowed to take part in a scaled down
form of Haj.

But the kingdom is slowly opening up, and has started welcoming vaccinated foreign tourists since
August 1.

Foreign pilgrims must be immunised with a Saudirecognised vaccine Pfizer-

BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson and agree to undergo
quarantine if necessary, the SPA said quoting Deputy Haj Minister Abdulfattah
bin Sulaiman Mashat.

He added that the kingdom was working on determining the destinations from which pilgrims could
come and their numbers on a `periodic basis according to the classification of preventive measures` in
those countries.
Barring overseas pilgrims has caused deep disappointment among Muslims worldwide, who typically
save for years to take part.

`I feel relieved about the resumption of the Umrah pilgrimage,` Ahmed Hamadna, 33, a sales manager in
Egypt, said.

But he added that he was `concerned about the complex procedures and measures during the
pandemic` Engineer Mohamad Ragab, an Australian resident, said he too was still `hesitant` to perform
the Umrah pilgrimage. `There will likely be crowds in Makkah and the chances of infection are high,` he
said.

According to the SPA report, Saudi Arabia will allow 60,000 pilgrims to perform Umrah each month, and
gradually increase that to reach two million worshippers per month.

Hosting the pilgrimages is a matter of prestige for Saudi rulers, for whom the custodianship of Islam`s
holiest sites is their most powerful source of political legitimacy.

Riyadh has spent billions trying to build a tourism industry from scratch, as part of efforts to diversify its
oil-reliant economy.

The once-reclusive kingdom began issuing tourist visas for the first time in 2019 as part of an ambitious
push to revamp its global image and draw visitors.

Between September 2019 and March 2020, it issued 400,000 of them only for the pandemic to crush
that momentum as borders were closed.

The government has accelerated a nationwide vaccination drive as it moves to revive tourism and other
pandemichit sectors, such as sport competitions and entertainment extravaganzas.-AFP

Iran records over 500 Covid deaths as infections soar

 2021-08-09

TEHRAN: Iran reported over 500 daily Covid deaths for the first time on Sunday, its health ministry
announced, as new infections also hit a record high.

Iran registered 39,619 new infections in 24 hours to Sunday, taking the total since the pandemic
started to 4,158,729, the ministry said.

During that same period it re corde d 542 deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 94,015, it
added.

Iranian health officials have acknowledged that the Islamic republic`s Covid figures underestimate the
real toll.
But Iran remains the Middle East country worst hit by the pandemic.

Covid infections have been surging since late June, in what officials have warned is a `fifth wave` caused
by the highly infectious Delta variant.

Daily infections have hit several records over the past few weeks.

The previous recorded high for fatalities was 496, registered on April 26, at the height of the Islamic
republic`s previous wave.

Iran`s state television said hospitals across the country were facing a `crisis` and described the health
situation as bleak.

`Although the vaccination pace has been accelerating, the observation of health protocols has dropped
significantly,` it said.Iran has pinned its hopes on vaccinations to help with the health crisis.

But the innoculation campaign launchedin Februaryhas progressed more slowly than authorities had
planned.

Choked by US sanctions that have made it difficult to transfer money abroad, Iran says it is struggling
to import vaccines for its population of 83 million.

More than 12.5 million people have been given a hrst vaccine does, but only 3.7 million have received
the necessary two jabs, the health ministry said on Sunday.

Raisi said Saturday that a `plan to transform the way to confront the coronavirus` was to be reviewed
next week.He did not give any details, but said on Sunday that acceleratingthe pace of vaccinations is
one of his government`s priorities, according to the president`s official website.

Chairing a Covid taskforce meeting, he also vowed on Saturday to `support domestic vaccine
production` while `not hesitating` to import jabs from abroad.

The authorities have approved the emergency use of two locally produced vaccines, with the only
massproduced one, COVIran Barekat, still in short supply.

The other vaccines used in Iran include Russia`s Sputnik V, China`s Sinopharm, India`s Bharat and
AstraZeneca/Oxford, according to the health ministry.

Raisi and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf received their Erst Barekat jab on
Sunday, state TV said.

Last week, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the government to take `necessary
measures` to contain the spread of the pandemic.
Iran has avoided imposing a full lockdown on the population, and instead resorted to piecemeal
measures such as temporary travel bans and business closures.

Outgoing health minister Saeed Namaki has recently suggested a twoweek shutdown to help contain the
spread of the virus.-AFP

WHO calls for two-month vaccine booster moratorium

 2021-08-24

BUDAPEST: The head of the World Health Organisation on Monday called for a two-month
moratorium on administering booster shots of Covid19 vaccines as a means of reducing global vaccine
inequality and preventing the emergence of new coronavirus variants.

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Hungary`s capital, Budapest,
that he was really disappointed with the scope of vaccine donations worldwide as many countries
struggle to provide first and second doses to more than small fractions of their populations while
wealthier nations maintain growing vaccine stockpiles.

Tedros called on countries offering third vaccine doses `to share what can be used for boosters with
other coun-tries so (they) can increase their first and second vaccination coverage` Several countries
including the United States, Israel, and Hungary, as well as others in Europe, the Middle East and Asia,
are already offering or planning to offer their populations Covid-19 booster shots.

In early August, Hungary became the first country in the 27-member European Union to allow residents
to sign up for a third dose, and more than 187,000 people have received a booster so far, according to
government statistics.

Last week, US health officials announced plans to dispense Covid-19 booster shots to all Americans in an
effort to shore up protection against a surge in cases attributed to the delta variant and signs that the
vaccines effectiveness is slipping.

Yet the UN health agency has repeatedly called for rich nations to do more to help improve access to
vaccines in the developing world. OnMonday, Tedros said that of the 4.8 billion vaccine doses
delivered to date globally, 75 per cent have gone to only 10 countries while vaccine coverage in Africa
is at less than 2%.

Vaccine injustice and vaccine nationalism increase the risk of more contagious variants emerging, Tedros
said.

The virus will get the chance to circulate in countries with low vaccination coverage, and the delta
variant could evolve to become more virulent, and at the same time more potent variants could also
emerge, he said.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told the news conference that Hungary has 8 million doses of
Covid-19 vaccine in storage, and that the Central European country has donated more than 1.5 million
doses to other countries.

Tedrosthanked Hungaryformaking those donations, adding that we hope that you will do more, because
no one is safe until everyone is safe.`-AP

PNG accuses India of deception, bans flights

 2021-08-25

PORT MORESBY: Papua New Guinea banned flights from India indefinitely on Tuesday and accused the
country`s diplomats of `deception` over apparent breaches to Covid-19 travel rules.

The Melanesian nation`s top Covid-19 of ficial said that in an act of `deliberate deception` India`s High
Commission helped dozens ofunauthorisedtravellers-some Covid-positive to arrive inPapua New
Guinea (PNG).

A repatriation charter flight from India arrived in PNG via Indonesia on Tuesday with 111 people on
board, 30 more than the original number approved.

The flight had been the subject of intense negodadons between officials in the two countries and was
rejected four times by PNG over virus fears before an agreement was reached to allow 81
passengersto enter.

A PNG official said `India`s High Commission in Port Moresby deliberately participated in the deception`
to bring more than that number in.

`As a consequence of this deliberate show of disrespect against the people and government of Papua
New Guinea, there is now an indefinite ban on any further repatriation flights from India,` he
said.Indian government of ficials in Port Moresby and New Delhi did not immediately comment on the
allegations.

Airline operators CapaJet and Garuda Indonesia were also banned from entering Papua New Guinea`s
airspace `until further notice`, he added.

The travellers were nationals of PNG, India, and Indonesia, with four testing positive for Covid-19.-AFP

Japan stops using 1.63m Moderna doses over fears of

contamination
 2021-08-27

TOKYO: Japan has decided to halt the use of 1.63 million doses of Moderna`s Covid vaccine after
reports of contamination in several vials, drugmaker Takeda and the health ministry said on Thursday.
Takeda, which is in charge of sales and distribution of the Moderna shot in Japan, said it had `received
reports from several vaccination centres that foreign substances have been found inside unopened
vials`.

`Upon consultation with the health ministry, we have decided to suspend the use of the vaccine` from
three batches from Thursday, it added.

The firm said it had informed Moderna and `requested an urgent investigation`.

In a statement, Moderna said the reported contaminations involved `one product lot distributed in
Japan`.

`Moderna believes the manufacturing issue was generated in one of the lines used at its contract
manufacturing site in Spain,` it added, saying so far `no safety or efficacy issues have been identified`.

`Out of an abundance of caution, Moderna has put this lot and two adjacent lots on hold,`it said,
without specif ying the nature of the contamination.

`We have not received reports of health problems stemming from the foreign object,` top government
spokesman Katsunobu Kato told reporters.

`But we are asking people to consult their physicians if they experience any abnormality.

Contaminants were seen in 39 unopened vials at eight vaccination locations in central Japan, including
Tokyo, according to national broadcaster NHK.

The defence ministry said doses from a suspended batch had been administered between August 6 and
20 at its mass vaccination centre in the western city of Osaka.

However, staff visually check vials for contaminants before injecting the formula, the ministry said,
adding that its Tokyo vaccination centre was not affected.

Kato said there had been no `concrete reports` that doses confirmed to contain contaminants had been
administered.

ThereportedcontaminationsinvolvedbatchesofModerna doses prepared by Spanish pharma company

Rovi, Moderna`s vaccine manufacturing partners outside the United States.

The Spanish health ministry said Rovi was `investigating the causes of these quality problems` under the
supervision of Spain`s medicines agency AEMPS.

`All available information indicates that there are no other af fected batches,` it added in a statement.

Japan`s health ministry said it would work with Takeda to secure alternative doses to avoid disruption to
the country`s vaccine programme, which has ramped up af ter a slow start.

Takeda declined to provide further details, citing Moderna`s investigation. But a company spokesman
said the firm encouraged the public to seek vaccine shots.

Around 43 per cent of Japan`s population has been fully vaccinated, as the country battles a record
surge of virus cases driven by the more contagious Delta variant.-AFP

Japanese regions suspend use of Moderna vaccine

 2021-08-30

TOKYO: Two Japanese regions suspended use of some Moderna Covid-19 shots on Sunday af ter more
cases of contamination were spotted, the local governments said.

The move came a day after the Japanese health ministry said it was investigating the death of two men
who received doses from other tainted Moderna batches though the cause of death is unknown.

Okinawa prefecture, in southern Japan, said it had suspended use of Moderna shots at a major
vaccination centre in the city of Naha, while Gunma prefecture,northofTokyo,also said it had paused use
of contaminated lots.

`We are suspending the use of Moderna Covid-19 vaccines as foreign substances were spotted` in
some of them, authorities in Okinawa said in a statement.

In Gunma an official said: `We continue use of Modernalots that are not affected by the incident.` The
contamination in Okinawa and Gunma follows the suspension of 1.63 million doses across
JapanonThursday after the deaths of two men aged 30 and 38 in August following their second
Moderna doses.

Those doses were drawn from one of the three batches suspended by the government on Thursday.

Japan`s health ministry said however that it was investigating the cause of death and it is unknown if
there is a causal link with the vaccine.

`At this time, we do not have any evidence that these deaths are caused by the Moderna Covid-19
vaccine, and it is important to conduct a formal investigation to determine whether there is any
connection,` Moderna and its Japanese distributor Takeda said in a joint statement on Saturday.

The nature of the particlesfound in the vials, which were manufactured by a Moderna contractor in
Europe, is also not known yet.

`The vials have been sent to a qualified lab for analysis and initial findings will be available early next
week,` Moderna and Takeda said.
The contractor, Spanish pharmaceutical firm ROVI, said in a statement on Thursday that it was
investigating the cause of contamination and the doses were only distributed in Japan.

It added that the issue may have originated on one of its manuf acturing lines.

Around 44 percent of Japan`s population has been fully vaccinated, as the country battles a record surge
of coronavirus cases driven by the more contagious Delta variant.

More than 15,800 people have died from Covid-19 in Japan, and large parts of the country are under
strict virus restrictions.-AFP

World passes threshold of 4.5m Covid deaths

 2021-08-31

PARIS: The world passed the grim threshold of 4.5 million Covid-19 deaths on Monday as the virulent
Delta variant wreaked havoc globally.

Since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, the virus has killed a total of 4,500,620
people, the tally of official sources revealed.

Some 10,000 deaths are reported every day in the world, a much lower figure than the highs of January
when an average of 14,800 people were being killed daily.

But the figure is much higher than at the start of July when some 7,800 daily deaths were registered.

With an average of 1,290 deaths per day over the past week, the United States has once again become
the country with the most new f atalities in the world.

Back in January, it had registered as many as 3,380 deaths per day, a figure that had dropped to just 200
by early summer.

But it is now facing a wave of the virulent Delta variant, which has spread to the vast majority of
countries around the world since it was identified in India in April.

The pandemic has already claimed more deaths in 2021 than in 2020, with more than 2.6 million
fatalities officially reported since January against just under 1.9 million over the whole of last year.

Countries around the world are hoping the vaccines will ease the spread of the virus, but there are huge
disparities between rich and poor nations.

Just seven doses were administered per 100 people in Africa, against 99 in Europe and 111 in the United
States.

The vaccines are also thought to be less effective against the Delta variant.
According to a study published last week by US health authorities, the efficacyof the Pfizer/BioNTech
and Moderna jabs against infection has dropped from 91 to 66 percent since the strain became
dominant in the United States.

The vaccines remain very ef fective in preventing severe forms of illness, however.-AFP

Coronavirus cuts life expectancy in Italy by 1.2 years

 2021-09-07

ROME: Coronavirus cut average life expectancy in Italy by 1.2 years in 2020, and by more than four
years in parts of the country hit hard by the pandemic, of ficial statistics showed on Monday.

Life expectancy at birth last year stood at 82 years, compared to 83.2 years in 2019, the Istat national
statistics of fice said in a new release.

`In 2020, the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting sharp increase in mortality abruptly
interrupted the growth in life expectancy at birth that had characterised the trend until 2019,` it said
in a statement.

The drop was even steeper in some regions such as the northern provinces of Bergamo and Cremona,
the epicentre of the Covid-19 outbreak in early 2020.

Men lost on average 4.3 and 4.5 years while women lost 3.2 years and 2.9 years in these areas.

More than 129,500 people with coronavirus have died in Italy, the majority in the northern regions
where 36 percent of Italians live.

Italy was the first European country to face a major outbreak of Covid-19 and for a time the region of
Lombardy, the nation`s economic heart, became the epicentre of the global pandemic.

The government has since rolled out a vaccination programme that, as of Monday evening, had seen
almost 72 percent of the population over 12 fully jabbed.-AFP

New scientific centre in UK aims to contain future pandemics

A new research institute has just been launched in Liverpool in the UK to prevent future
outbreaks of viruses. Called the Pandemic Institute, its scientists say it will work with other
similar centres around the world to come up with vaccines to possible threats months earlier. The
US maker of a rapid antigen test Innova Medical Group donated $14m towards the facility.
Al Jazeera's Neave Barker reports from Liverpool, the UK.

Violence erupts in Melbourne during protest against vaccine

 2021-09-22
MELBOURNE: Melbourne riot police used pepper spray, foam baton rounds and rubber ball grenades to
disperse a violent protest against mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for construction workers on
Tuesday.

More than 1,000 demonstrators wearing work boots and hi-vis jackets rampaged through the centre of
Australia`s second-largest city, lighting flares, throwing bottles, attacking police cars and chanting their
opposition to vaccines and lockdown restrictions.

Melbourne has been in strict lockdown for seven weeks, as the city struggles to curb an outbreak of the
fast-spreading Delta variant.

Several clusters have been linked to construction sites, where Covid containment measures are said to
belax.

In response, authorities haveintroducedever-tougher restrictions, closing work site tea rooms,

announcing mandatory vaccination for labourers and, most recently, closing almost all construction sites
for two weeks.

For hours protesters opposing the measures confronted police, ignoring loudspeaker calls to leave and a
final caution that `no further warnings will be given`.

Victoria state chief police commissioner Shane Patton said about 500 officers were responding to the
`challenging` situation and had deployed pepper spray, foam baton rounds and rubber ball grenades.

`These crowd control equipment munitions were necessary, and they are necessary, because we can`t
allow this type of conduct to go on,` he said.

`We will stop this protest.

And we will then step back and investigate and hold those to account who need to be held to account.`
At least three police officershad sustained injuries while more than 40 people had been arrested, Patton
added.

Brandishing `Trump` banners and chanting `you serve us`, protesters briefly occupied a bridge on one of
the city`s main thoroughfares and sang a popular 1990s power rock ballad.

A number of journalists were assaulted, including one television reporter who was hit on the head with
a can live on air, shortly after another incident in which he was doused with urine.

Union leaders denounced the protests, saying the issue had been hijacked by anti-vaccine activists and
what former Labor party leader Bill Shorten called `man-baby Nazis`.

On social media forums that regularly feature antivaccine conspiracies, followers were urged to attend,
`bring friends` and `wear work gear`. This was the second such protest in as many days.
On Monday, more than 100 construction workers in high-visibility vests brawled and smashed union
office windows in the centre of Melbourne.

That prompted the authorities to announce the temporary closure of construction sites, leaving tens of
thousands of people out of work.

`We`ve been clear: if you don`t follow the rules, we won`t hesitate to take action,` said state minister for
industrial relations Tim Pallas, announcing the shutdown.

`We put the industry on notice just a week ago, we have seen appalling behaviour on site and on our
streets, and now we`re acting decisively and without hesitation,` he said.

Local construction union boss John Setka denounced the protesters, whom he said were hurting the
entire workforce.-AFP

‘Go big’: US doubles COVID vaccine purchases for global

sharing
7,285 views

Sep 23, 2021

The United States says it will donate another half a billion doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
to countries struggling with the pandemic. President Joe Biden made the promise during a virtual
coronavirus summit, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. In total, the US is
promising to donate 1.1 billion doses. But South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa said Africa
has not received its fair share of shots, calling the wealthy nations’ actions “immoral”. Al
Jazeera's Mike Hanna reports from the United Nations, New York, the US.

Global Covid-19 deaths hit 5m as Delta variant sweeps the

world
 2021-10-03

LONDON: Worldwide deaths related to Covid-19 surpassed 5 million, according to a tally, with
unvaccinated people particularly exposed to the virulent Delta strain.

The variant has exposed the wide disparities in vaccination rates between rich and poor nations, and the
upshot of vaccine hesitancy in some western nations.

More than half of all global deaths reported on a seven-day average were in the United States, Russia,
Brazil, Mexico and India.
While it took just over a year for the Covid-19 death toll to hit 2.5 million, the next 2.5 million deaths
were recorded in just under eight months, according to an analysis.

An average of 8,000 deaths were reported daily across the world over the last weel(, or around five
deaths every minute. However, the global death rate has been slowing in recent weeks.

There has been increasing focus in recent days on getting vaccines to poorer nations, where many
people are yet to receive a first dose,even as theirrichercounterpartshave begun giving booster shots.

More than half of the world has yet toreceive at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to Our
World in Data.

The World Health Organisation this week said its COVAX distribution programme would, for the first
time, distribute shots only to countries with the lowest levels of coverage.

Co-led by the WHO, COVAX has since January largely allocated doses proportionally among its 140-plus
beneficiary states according to population size.

`For the October supply we designed a different methodology, only covering participants with low
sources of supply, Mariangela Simao, WHO Assistant Director General for Access to Vaccines, said in a
recording of a conference presentation last weel( posted on the WHO`s website.

US surpasses 700,000 deaths The United States, which has been battling vaccine misinformation that
has caused about one-third of the population to avoid inoculations, surpassed 700,000 deaths on Friday,
the highest toll of any country.

US cases and hospitalisations have been trending lower, but health officials are brac-ing for a possible
resurgence as cooler weather forces more activities indoors.

Russia reported 887 coronavirus-related deaths, the largest single-day death toll it has recorded since
the pandemic began and the fourth day in a row it has set that record.

Only 33pc of Russia`s eligible population has received a first vaccine dose.

As a region, South America has the highest death toll in the world accounting for 21pc of all reported
deaths, followed by North America and Eastern Europe contributing more than 14pc of all fatalities
each, according to an analysis.

However, India, one of the first countries ravaged by the Delta variant, has gone from an average of
4,000 deaths a day to less than 300 as its vaccination campaign is rolled out.

About 47pc of India`s eligible population has received a first shot, with officials administering around
7,896,950 doses per day over the past week, an analysis of Our World in Data showed.
The Delta variant is now the dominant strain around the globe and has been reported in 187 out of 194
World Health Organisationmember countries.-Reuters

US COVID vaccine: Thousands to lose jobs as more

employers made jabs mandatory
5,274 views

Oct 4, 2021

California became the first state on Monday to require shots against the virus to attend
school. And more US businesses are asking for their workers to get inoculated against COVID-
19 before attending work in person - but some employees are saying these mandates are a
violation of their constitutional rights. This may result in job losses for the thousands in education
or healthcare who continue to hold out.

Pfizer seeks US COVID vaccine approval for children aged 5

to 11
3,308 views

Oct 8, 2021

Parents across the United States are debating whether to get their children vaccinated. It comes
after Pfizer requested permission from US drug regulators to offer its COVID-19 jab to children as
young as five years old.

‘Horrific milestone’: Brazil surpasses 600,000 COVID deaths

6,474 views

Oct 9, 2021

The official number of lives lost to COVID-19 in Brazil has passed 600,000. Its death toll is
second only to the United States. A parliamentary inquiry is concluding its six-month investigation
into the Brazilian government’s handling of the pandemic. It has lifted the lid on alleged corruption
linked to vaccines.

COVID response one of UK’s worst ever ‘public health

failures’
3,518 views

Oct 13, 2021

The UK government's delay in imposing a lockdown at the start of the pandemic is one of
the country's worst-ever public health failures. That is the conclusion of a newly released
Parliamentary report. The inquiry by members of Parliament also found releasing people from
hospital into care homes cost thousands of lives.
Daily death toll from Covid tops 1,000 in Russia for first
time
 2021-10-17

MOSCOW: Russia on Saturday recorded 1,000 deaths over 24 hours for the first time since the start of
the coronavirus pandemic, with the country`s jab drive at a standstill and few restrictions in place.

An official government tally showed 1,002 deaths and 33,208 new infections, setting a high for both
fatalities and cases for the third day in a row.

The surge comes with just 32 per cent of Russians fully inoculated, according to of ficial statistics
published for the first time on Saturday.

A lack of tough restrictions has allowed the virus to spread unchecked, though a number of regions have
reintroduced QR codes for access to public places.

The Kremlin has avoided re-introducing major measures despite calling the vaccination rate
`unacceptably` low, and saying authorities have to ensure `the economy continues working`.

It also said Russia`s medical system was not `overwhelmed` and prepared to take in the rising number of
patients.

Authorities have blamed Russians for the growing outbreak.

Health Minister Mikhail Murashkothisweekpointed to their `behaviour`, while Kremlin spokesman

Dmitry Peskov said everything had been done to give the public the chance to `save their lives by getting
vaccinated`.

While several Russian-developed jabs have been available for months, many people remain vaccine-
sceptic. Independent polls show more than half of Russians do not plan to get a shot.

`The main preventive measure that helps protect a person and helps to avoid a fataloutcomeis
vaccination, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on national television on Saturday.

In Moscow, residents questioned the efficacy of getting vaccinated.

`How many people die per day from the flu or heart attacks or strokes?` said Alexei Kuznetsov, a 48-
yearold entrepreneur, who added thathe had notbeen vaccinated. `I do not really understand why this
particular figure is causing such a serious stir.

Anna Nazarova, a 25-year-old anaesthesiologist, said most people who have not come into contact with
the virus `do not understand the possible complications`.

`There has to be a better campaign to get more people vaccinated,` she said.
Russia`s fatalities from Covid now stand at 222,315 the highest toll in Europe even as authorities are
accused of downplaying the severity of Russia`s outbreak.

Under a broader definition of deaths linked to the virus, the Rosstat statistics agency has said that by the
end of August more than 400,000 people in Russia had died with the coronavirus.-AFP

Covid-19 pandemic far from over, says WHO

 2021-10-27

GENEVA: The Covid-19 crisis is far from over, the World Health Organisation`s emergency committee
said on Tuesday as it called for research into next-generation vaccines for long-term control of the
pandemic.

The 19-member committee meets every three months to discuss the pandemic and make
recommendations.

`While progress has been made through increased uptake of Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics,
analysis of the present situation and forecasting models indicate that the pandemic is far from
finished,` the WHO said in a statement on Friday`s fourhour virtual meeting.

The committee called for further research into reusable masks and respirators, and next-generation
vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics `for long-term control of the pandemic`.

`The use of masks, physical distancing, hand hygiene, and improving ventilation of indoor spaces
remain key to reducing transmission of SARS CoV-2,` the statement stressed.

The committee said the protracted pandemic was making humanitarian emergencies, mass migration
and other crises more complex. States should therefore revise their preparedness and response plans.

It raised concerns about Africa`s challenges in tackling the pandemic, including access to vaccines,
tests and treatments, as well as collecting and analysing data to monitor the pandemic`s evolution.

Just 14 vaccine doses have been administered per 100 people in Africa, according to a calculation.

That hgure stands at 128 doses in the United States and Canada; 113 in Europe; 106 in Latin America
and the Caribbean; 103 in Oceania; 102 in Asia; and 78 in the Middle East.

The committee first declared on January 30 last year that the virus was a public health emergency of
international concern (PHEIC)the highest alarm the WHO can sound.

The committee maintained its insistence that proof of vaccination should not be required for
international travel or be the only condition for it `given limited global access and inequitable
distribution of Covid19 vaccines`.
Countries instead should consider a `riskbased approach to the facilitation of international travel by lif
ting or modifying measures, such as testing and/or quarantine requirements, when appropriate`.

The committee also called on countries to recognise allvaccines that have been given emergency use
approval by the WHO.-AFP

Flights, weddings cancelled as China tackles Covid cases

 2021-10-30

BEIJING: Beijing officials on Friday told residents to postpone weddings and 1(eep funeral ceremonies
short, as disease controls across China were tightened just months before the Winter Olympics kicks
off in the capital.

The world`s most populous nation has reduced infection numbers to a trickle since its initial epidemic
last spring thanks to a zero-tolerance approach of border closures, targeted lockdowns and long
quarantine peri-ods.

But China is now grappling with flare-ups in a dozen regions linked to tourists, spurring officials to order
millions to stay home, restrict inter-provincial travel and ramp up testing.

Case numbers remain far lower than in most countries, with 48 new domestic infections on Friday
bringing the tally to fewer than 250 in the past week.

But authorities are not taking any chances, with tens of thousands of people in Beijing which will host
the Winter Olympics in February under lockdown after a handful of cases were detected.

Residents should `postpone weddings, keep funerals brief,don`t organise banquets, and reduce
unnecessary gatherings`, deputy chief of the city`s disease control centre Pang Xinghuo said at a Friday
press conference.

Tourist spots will further limit capacity, while the newly opened Universal Studios resort will enter a
`state of emergency epidemic prevention`, said Beijing`s deputy publicity chief Xu Hejian, without giving
further details.

Queues stretched down the roads outside Beijing`s medical centres as people sought to comply with
newly enhanced Covid controls.

Sof tware developer Tu Anling, 24, said she needed a test beforebeing allowed to board a train to
Nanjing, a city 1,000 kilometres to the south.

`I initially arranged to meet friends here (in Beijing), but the recent outbreak made many suddenly say
they`re not coming, she said.

Many regions are demanding passengers show a negative test before entering, especially those from
cities that have recently reported cases. Others said they needed tests to take academic or professional
exams.

About 6m people are under lockdown across China including around 4m in the northwestern city of
Lanzhou and the Inner Mongolian county of Ejin, where around 35,000 people live.-AFP

Austria orders nationwide lockdown for unvaccinated

 2021-11-15

BERLIN: The Austrian government ordered a nationwide lockdown for unvaccinated people starting
midnight on Sunday to slow the fast spread of the coronavirus in the country.

The move prohibits unvaccinated individuals older than age 12 from leaving their homes except for
basic activities such as working, grocery shopping, going for a walk orgettingvaccinated.

Authorities are concerned about rising deaths and that hospital staff will no longer be able to handle
the growing influx of Covid-19 patient s.

It`s our job as the government of Austria to protect the people,Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg told
reporters in Vienna on Sunday. Therefore we decided that starting Monday ... there will be a lockdown
for the unvaccinated.

The lockdown affects about two million people in the Alpine country of 8.9 million people, news agency
APA reported. It doesn`t apply to children under the age of 12 because they cannot yet ofhcially get
vaccinated.

The lockdown will initially last for 10 days and police have been asked to check people outside to make
sure they are vaccinated, Schallenberg said adding that additional officers would go on patrol tocontrol
the lockdown.

Unvaccinated people can be fined up to 1,450 euros ($1,660) if they do not adhere to the restrictions.

Austria has one of the lowest vaccination rates in western Europe: only around 65% of the total
population is fully vaccinated. In recent weeks, the country has faced a worrying trend in infections. The
country reported 11,552 new cases on Sunday; a week ago there were 8,554 new infections.

The seven-day infection rate stands at 775.5 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants. In comparison, the rate
is at 289 in neighbor-ing Germany, which has already also sounded the alarm over the rising numbers.

Schallenberg pointed out that while the seven-day infection rate for vaccinated people has been falling
in recent days, the same rate is rising quickly for the unvaccinated.
The rate for the unvaccinated is at over 1,700, while for the vaccinated it is at 383, the chancellor said.

Schallenberg also called on people who have been vaccinated to get their booster shot, saying that
otherwise we will never get out of this vicious circle.-AP

US to buy 10m courses of Pfizer`s pill for $5.3bn

 2021-11-19

WASHINGTON: Pfizer Inc said on Thursday the US government would pay $5.29 billion for 10 million
courses of its experimental Covid anti-viral drug.

The deal is for around twice as many treatment courses as Merck & Co Inc has agreed to supply the
United States under its contract. The price for the Pfizer pill is nearly 25 percent lower at roughly $530
per course, compared with about $700 for Merck`s.

Pfizer applied for emergency authorisation of the drug, branded as Paxlovid, this week after reporting
data showing that it was 89 percent effective at preventing hospitalisation or death in at-risk people.

`While this pill still requires a full review by the Food and Drug Administration, I have taken
immediate steps to secure enough supply for the American people,` President Joe Biden said in a
statement. He added that his administration was making preparations to ensure the treatment is easily
accessible and free. Getting vaccinated should still be the priority for Americans but having pills that can
keep people out of the hospital `could be a lifesaver`, said US Secretary of Health and Human Services
Xavier Becerra.

Pfizer has said it expects to manufacture 180,000 treatment courses by the end of next month and at
least 50 million courses by the end of next year.-Reuters

Austria to impose partial lockdown, mandatory jabs

 2021-11-20

VIENNA: Austria on Friday became the first EU country to announce it would make coronavirus
vaccinations mandatory and will next week impose a partial lockdown in the face of spiralling
infections.

The lockdown, which comes into effect on Monday, constitutes the toughest restrictions introduced in
Europe in recent weeks as Covid-19 cases surge continent-wide, fuelled by vaccine resistance.

Austrians will not be allowed to leave home except to go to work, shop for essentials and exercise.
The restrictions will initially last 20 days with an evaluation after 10 days, Chancellor Alexander
Schallenberg said.

Schools will remain open, although parents have been asked to keep their children at home if possible.
Working from home is also recommended.

Vaccination against Covid-19 in the Alpine nation will be mandatory from February 1 next year,
Schallenberg said. So far, the Vatican alone in Europe has imposed a vaccination mandate.

`Despite months of persuasion, we have not succeeded in convincingenough people to get vaccinated,
Schallenberg told a press conference, calling vaccinations the only `exit ticket` out of the pandemic.

Austria has already imposed movement restrictions on those not vaccinated or recently recovered from
the virus, ordering them to stay at home since Monday, becoming the first EU country to do so.

But infections have continued to rise.

On Friday, a new record of more than 15,800 new cases was recorded in the EU member of nearly nine
million people.

`I was hoping that there wouldn`t be a general lockdown,` said Markus Horvath as he prepared to shut
from Monday his stall selling wooden jewel1ery at a Christmas market in Vienna.

Christian Edlmayr, selling glass ornaments at another Vienna Christmas marl(et, said he would lose half
his yearly revenue. `This will be very, very bad for me,` he said.

Under the partial lockdown, only outlets deemed essential will remain open such as supermarkets,
banks, pharmacies and post offices.-AFP

Thousands rally against Covid curbs in Austria, Australia

 2021-11-21

VIENNA: Thousands took to the streets in Austria and Australia on Saturday as anger mounted over new
Covid restrictions imposed to tackle a resurgent pandemic, sparking overnight riots in a Dutch city and a
French island.

Europe is battling a fresh wave of infections and several countries have tightened curbs, with Austria on
Friday announcing a national partial lockdown the most dramatic restrictions in Western Europe for
months.

Other nations on the continent have resorted to less severe restrictions, often choosing to ban
unvaccinated people from venues like restaurants and bars.

Some 10,000 people marched in Sydney and there were protests in other major Australian cities against
vaccine mandates, which are not universal and have only been applied to certain occupations by state
authorities.

`In Australia where a fanatical cult runs our health bureaucracies, they say it`s ok (to vaccinate
children),` right-wing politician Craig Kelly told the Sydney crowd to large cheers.

Violence marred protests on Friday in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam where police fired warning shots
as protesters set fires. Two people were hospitalised with bullet wounds.

There was also arson and looting overnight in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe where a night
curfew has been imposed.

Thousands gathered on Saturday in central Vienna near the Chancellery, responding to a call by the far
right FPO party, to denounce the new measures.

They held up banners decrying `Corona dictatorship` and slamming the `division of society`.

`It`s not normal that the government deprives us of our rights,` said 42-year-old Katarina Gierscher, who
travelled for six hours to get to the rally.

`The government wants to divide us. We must remain united.

From Monday, 8.9 million Austrians will not be allowed to leave home except to go to work, shop for
essentials and exercise.

The restrictions will initially last 20 days with an evaluation after 10 days.

Vaccination against Covid-19 in the Alpine nation will be mandatory from February 1 next year.

Organisers cancelled a Dutch protest on Saturday but a few hundred people still gathered in Amsterdam
and a similar number marched through the southern city of Breda.-AFP

US public health workers quitting after harassment over

COVID measures
8,362 views

Nov 22, 2021

Public health workers in the US are quitting their jobs after facing harassment for their role in
coronavirus restrictions.

At the same time, more than half of all states are creating laws that will curb public health powers to
force people to do things to stop the spread of COVID-19, such as wearing masks. Al Jazeera’s
Heidi Zhou-Castro reports.

Austria re-enters COVID-19 lockdown as cases soar again in

Europe
7,916 views
Nov 23, 2021

Austria has become the first European Union country to re-enter a full nationwide lockdown -
as coronavirus infections surge. The average daily number of deaths there has trebled in recent
weeks. Under the restrictions, people can only leave their homes to buy groceries, for doctor’s visits
or to exercise.

France says 5th Covid wave hitting at `lightning` speed

 2021-11-22

PARIS: Fifth-wave coronavirus infections in France are rising at an alarming rate, the government
reported on Sunday, with new daily Covid cases close to doubling over the past week.

The seven-day average of new cases reached 17,153 on Saturday, up from 9,458 a week earlier,
according to the health authorities, an increase of81percent.

`The fifth wave is starting at lightning speed,` government spokesman Gabrial Attal told media.

The latest seven-day increase is three times the average rise of cases recorded over the previous three
weeks, indicating an exponential acceleration ofinfections.

For now the spike in infections has not led to a massive influx of Covid patients into hospitals, with the
authorities attributing the limited number of intensive care patients to France`s high rate of vaccinations
which appear highly effective against the most dangerous forms of Covid. On Saturday, hospitals
reported a total of 7,974 Covidpatients in their care, with 1,333 of them in intensive treatment. This
compares to 6,500 and 1,000, respectively, a month earlier.

`There is a very strong increase in infections, but we also know that in France we have a very large
vaccination cover,` he said. `We seem to be ahead of our neighbours concerning booster shots.` France`s
introduction of a health pass ahead of other countries in the summer was also helping to keep Covid in
check, he said.

The health pass, required in French restaurants, cafes and many cultural venues, certifies that a person
is fully vaccinated, has recently recovered from Covid, or has tested negative for the virus.

The government continues to stand by its choice to `bring the weight of restrictions to bear on non-
vaccinated people rather than vaccinated people`, Attal said.

Dutch police said Sunday they have arrested 19 people over riots in The Hague after the country was
rocked by a second night of violence over the government`s coronavirus measures.Officers in riot gear
charged hundreds of demonstrators who set fire to bicycles and an electric moped piled in the middle of
a busy intersection on Saturday night. A water cannon put out the blaze.
`The police were also pelted with heavy fireworks and stones thrown from roofs,` the Hague police said
in a statement.

`Officers made a total of 19 arrests for, among other things, insult.` Riot police in one incident dragged a
woman from a passing car after the occupants shouted at police, and put her into a police van,
correspondents witnessed.

Five police officers were injured during the unrest while a rock thrown by rioters smashed the window
of a passing ambulance carrying a patient, police said.

Riots also erupted in the central `Bible Belt` town of Urk and cities in southern Limburg province, while
angry fans disrupted two football matches being played behind closed doors because of coronavirus
rules, Dutch media said.-AFP

All Germans will either be `jabbed, cured or dead` this

winter, warns minister
 2021-11-23

BERLIN: Germans faced the stark warning on Monday that they would be either `vaccinated, cured or
dead` from Covid by the end of winter, while Austria returned to a partial lockdown as Europe battles a
fourth wave of the pandemic.

Belgium and the Netherlands meanwhile condemned clashes that rocked weekend protests against new
anti-Covid measures, aimed at containing a surge in infections sweeping parts of the continent.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte slammed three nights of unrest as `pure violence` by `idiots`, while his
Belgian counterpart Alexander de Croo called the violence at a 35,000-strong protest in Brussels
`absolutely unacceptable`.

The anger comes amid growing alarm over Europe`s return as the pandemic`s epicentre, blamed on a
sluggish vaccine uptake in some nations, the highly contagious Delta variant and colder weather moving
people indoors again.

`Probably by the end of this winter, as is sometimes cynically said, pretty much everyone in Germany will
be vaccinated, cured or dead,` German Health Minister Jens Spahn said, as he urged more citizens to get
the jab.

Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Germany`s current Covid curbs including barring the
unvaccinated from certain public spaces `arenot enough`.

`We have a highly dramatic situation` as newinfections `double every12 days` Merkel told a meeting of
leaders of her conservative CDU party, according to participants.

With intensive care beds swiftly filling up, Germany`s worst-hit regions have ordered new shutdowns,
including the closure of Christmas markets.

The restrictions mirror those in neighbouring Austria, which re-entered a partial lockdown shuttering
shops, restaurants and festive markets from Monday, the most drastic restrictions seen in Western
Europe for months.

Its 8.9 million people are not allowed to leave home with few exceptions, such as going to work,
shopping for essentials and exercising, as virus cases surge.

The Alpine nation also plans a vaccine mandate from Feb 1, one of few places in the world to so far to
announce such a move. Austria`s schools and kindergartens remain open.

`Look around you, nobody is here, said Anelia Lyotin, manning a stall in Vienna selling nuts and dried
fruit.

`This situation now is bad for everyone and the only solution is that everyone gets vaccinated,` said the
36-year-old.

Across the border in Slovakia, unvaccinated people were also facing curbs blocking them from entering
non-essen-tial stores.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in European cities at the weekend to protest the
stricter Covid rules, with anger boiling over in some places.

At least 145 people were arrested in the Netherlands over protests that began in Rotterdam on Friday,
sparked by a Covid curfew, and spread to cities across the country. Several police ofhcers were injured.

In Brussels on Sunday, officers fired water cannon and tear gas at a protest police said was attended by
35,000, demonstrating against a ban on the unvaccinated from venues such as restaurants and bars.

In Denmark this weekend, around 1,000 demonstrators protested government plans to reinstate a Covid
pass for civil servants.

A crowd of 40,000 marched through Vienna on Saturday decrying `dictatorship`, while some 6,000
people protested in the city of Linz on Sunday.

French elite police and counter-terrorism officers arrived in Guadeloupe after a week of unrest over
Covid measures, including looting, with President Emmanuel Macron pleading for calm on the French
Caribbean island. The Red Cross said in a report Monday that the pandemic had damaged the `fabric of
society`.-AFP
Protests in Guadeloupe against COVID-19 restrictions |
Inside Story
9,647 views

Nov 23, 2021

Protests against Covid-19 measures have descended into violence on the streets of the French
island of Guadeloupe.

President Emmanuel Macron is calling the situation explosive. People have been angered by the
government of France declaring all healthcare workers must be vaccinated against the virus.
Everyone also has to carry proof they have had the injections.

But people in Guadeloupe are resisting. They say they do not trust the vaccines, the authorities on
the island or the French government.

As COVID cases rise, Europe eyes boosters and compulsory

vaccination
6,465 views

Nov 24, 2021

Europe is now the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic - with countries seeing record-high case
counts and shortages of intensive care beds.

Following Austria's announcement of a new full national lockdown and compulsory vaccinations,
other Western European countries are also considering additional measures to combat rising
infections.

The French health minister is pushing booster vaccinations for all adults and Germany is considering
compulsory vaccinations for at least some professions.

The World Health Organization has warned that there will be "high or extreme" stress on intensive
care units in almost all European countries by March.

COVID cases rising in the Americas, following Europe, PAHO

warns
7,597 views

Nov 25, 2021

The Americas marked a 23 percent jump in new cases of COVID-19 last week, though most
cases were recorded in the United States and Canada. Health officials in the US are particularly
concerned about another potential surge of infections as millions of Americans travel for the
Thanksgiving holiday this week.

Greece to impose fines on elderly who refuse coronavirus

jab (FROM JAN 2022, $120 PER MONTH)
9,798 views
Dec 4, 2021

Coronavirus infections are surging in Greece, and the government is encouraging people to get
vaccinated. In a European first, those over the age of 60 who refuse to get vaccinated will face
monthly fines from January.

EU ramps up Covid vaccine drive for children

2021-12-16
MADRID: Europe stepped up vaccinations of children aged five to 11
against Covid-19 on Wednesday, as the EU`s health agency warned
that immunisation alone would not stop the rapid rise of the
Omicron variant of the virus.

Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary and Spain were among those opening up
their inoculation drives to younger kids, with other nations still weighing their
approach.

At Hospital Principe de Asturias in Alcala de Henares near Madrid, nurses

wearing Christmas antler headbands welcomed children and gave them
stickers aftertheir shots.

`It only hurt a little,` said 11-year-old Magdalena Lazo Vitoria as she left the
vaccination centre, a plaster on her left shoulder.

`I wasn`t nervous be cause I wanted to get vaccinated for a long time now, so I
am really happy.

The push was lent fresh urgency by the rapid spread of the heavily mutated
Omicron variant, which EU chief Ursula von der Leyen warned could be
dominant in Europe by mid-January.

Even as children lined up to get jabs, the EU health agency ECDC said
measures like mask-wearing, distance working and the prevention of crowds
were essential to reduce the burden on healthcare systems in the time
available, with vaccines alone taking too long.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he hoped his country, which
already has one of Europe`s highest Covid-19 vaccination rates, would become
an `example for the world` with its immunisation campaign for fiveto 11-year-
olds.

The country has around 3.3 million children in that age group. Doctors across
Europe reported strong initial demand from parents.

`As soon as we of fered the vaccine appointments, they were pretty much all
snapped up,` said Jakob Maske, a Berlin-based doctor and spokesman for
Germany`s association of paediatricians.

Germany`s STIKO vaccine commission has officially only recommended the

jab for children with pre-existing conditions, but even healthy children will be
inoculated if the parents request it.

Some German cities plan to administer kids` jabs in museums and zoos, while
others are considering mobile vaccination teams outside schools.

While serious illness and death from Covid among children are rare, those
infected can pass the virus to other people at higher risk of serious illness,
such as the elderly.

The EU`s medicines watchdog last month approved the Pfizer-BioNTech shot
for fiveto 11-year-olds, an age group experiencing high coronavirus infection
rates.-AFP

Europeans reimpose restrictions as omicron

sweeps continent
2021-12-19
LONDON: Nations across Europe are moving to reimpose tougher measures
to stem a new wave of Covid-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible
omicron variant, triggering calls for protests from Paris to Barcelona.

As case numbers escalated, alarmed ministers in France, Cyprus and Austria

tightened travel restrictions. Paris canceled its New Year`s Eve fireworks.

Denmark closed theaters, concert halls, amusement parks and museums.

Ireland imposed an 8pm curfew on pubs and bars and limited attendance at
indoor and outdoor events.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan underscored the official concern about the
climbing cases and their potential to overwhelm the health care system by
declaring a major incident on Saturday, a move that allows local councils in
Britain`s capital to coordinate work more closely with emergency services.

Irish Prime Minister Michel Martin captured the sense of the continent in an
address to the nation, saying the new restrictions were needed to protect lives
and livelihoods from the resurgent virus.

None of this is easy, Martin said on Friday night.

We are all exhausted with Covid and the restrictions it requires. The twists and
turns, the disappointments and the frustrations take a heavy toll on everyone.
But it is the reality that we are dealing with.

The World Health Organisation reported on Saturday that the omicron variant
of the coronavirus has been detected in 89 countries, and Covid-19 cases
involving the variantare doubling every 1.5 to 3 days in places with community
transmission and not just infections acquired abroad.

Major questions about omicron remain unanswered, including how effective

existing Covid-19 vaccines are against it and whether the variant produces
severe illness in many infected individuals, WHO noted.

Yet omicrons substantial growth advantage over the delta variant means it is
likely to soon overtake delta as the dominant form of the virus in countries
where the new variant is spreading locally, the UN health agency said.

Dutch government ministers were meeting on Saturday to discuss advice from

a panel of experts who are recommending a toughening of the partial
lockdown that is already in place and has led to a recent decline in infections.

Dutch Health Minister Hugo de Jonge didn`t say what measures the
government might impose as he headed into the meeting.

There are very serious concerns, he told reporters in The Hague. That`s why
were meeting on Saturday to see what we need to do.

Some stores opened earlier than usual Saturday and shoppers flocked into city
center shopping areas, fearing it could be their last chance to shop before
Christmas.

Rotterdam municipality tweeted that it was too busy in the center of the port
city and told people: Dont come to the city.

Amsterdam also warned that the city`s main shopping street was busy and
urged people to stick to coronavirus rules.-AP

Coronavirus pandemic: Latin America becomes the most

vaccinated continent
7,782 views

Dec 30, 2021

The Omicron variant has now been identified in almost a dozen countries in Latin America. But
health experts say South America is in good shape to tackle the mutation as it is currently the world's
most vaccinated region. Last year, Brazil was considered the key COVID-19 locus for a time but
rapid vaccination drives in many countries have brought cases right down. According to Our World
in Data, which collates numbers from governments worldwide, 63.3 percent of Latin
America’s population is now fully inoculated,

World heads into New Year facing Covid

`tsunami`
2021-12-31
PARIS: Millions around the world braced on Thursday for drastically curtailed
New Year celebrations as record coronavirus cases fuelled by the Omicron
variant saw the WHO warn a Covid `tsunami` threatens to overwhelm
healthcare systems.

Coronavirus, first detected two years ago and declared a global

pandemic in March 2020, has killed more than 5.4 million people,
triggered economic crises and seen societies ricochet in and out of
lockdowns.

The latest variant, Omicron, while tentatively considered to cause

milder illness, has pushed infection levels to record levels in recent
days in the United States, Britain, France and other European
countries, forcing governments to reimpose restrictions.

The number of daily new Covid cases worldwide crossed one million for the
first time, according to a tally, with more than 7.3 million in the last seven
days.

From Greece to Mexico, f rom Barcelona to Bali and across swathes of Europe,
authorities have cancelled or curtailed public gatherings, either closing or
imposed curfews on nightclubs. In France, wearing masks outdoors will be
compulsory while walking the streets of Paris from Friday for everyone over
the age of 11. Nightclubs have been closed until well into January.

In Spain, public festivities have been cancelled across most regions and in the
biggest cities except Madrid, where a stripped-down gathering is scheduled
with the crowd limited to 7,000 people compared to 18,000 in 2019 before the
pandemic swept Europe.

On Thursday, Britain`s National Health Service announced that it would start

opening temporary field hospitals to contain a possible overspill of inpatients
in England, where the government stopped short of mandating curbs on New
Year festivities.

`Given the high level of Covid-19 infections and increasing hospital

admissions, the NHS is now on a war footing, National Medical Director
Stephen Powis said.

Indonesia, which has reported more than 4.2 million confirmed cases, warned
that foreign travellers may be deported from the resort island of Bali if they
are caught violating Covid health rules during New Year.

`Get ready to be kicked out,` Bali immigration office head Jamaruli

Manihuruk said. Bali has barred carnivals, fireworks and gatherings of more
than 50 people over the Christmas and New Year period.

Mexico City has also cancelled its massive New Year`s Eve celebrations as a
preventative measure after a rise in Covid cases.
`I feel that this casts doubt on a lot of what we thought was already secure,
because it is scary, it is worrying,` said Aaron Rosas, an engineering student.

`By doing that cancellation they are sending a message in a way: `You know
what? This is serious`,` said teacher Victor Arturo Madrid Contreras.

In Saudi Arabia, authorities reimposed social distancing measures at the

Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, after recording the highest
number of infections in months.

`I am highly concerned that Omicron, being more transmissible, circulating at

the same time as Delta, is leading to a tsunami of cases,` said WHO chief
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.-AFP

Saudi Arabia boosts pandemic measures at Grand

Mosque
2021-12-31
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Thursday reimposed social distancing measures at
the Grand Mosque in Makkah, after recording the highest number of
infections in months.

Workers have returned floor markings removed on October 17 to guide people

to social distance in and around the Grand Mosque.

Saudi authorities said they will reimpose `social distancing requirements

between worshippers and pilgrims` at the Grand Mosque, without specifying
whether a capacity has been set.

Earlier, the government had said social distancing and masks were again
required in both indoor and outdoor venues.

The country of approximately 34 million people has so far recorded more than
554,000 coronavirus cases, including 8,874 deaths, the highest number of
fatalities among the Gulf Arab countries.
On Wednesday, Saudi recorded 744 cases, the highest number since
midAugust.

The Covid-19 pandemic hugely disrupted Muslim pilgrimages, which are

usually key revenue earners for the kingdom, bringing in some $12 billion
annually.The six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states Bahrain, Kuwait,
Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have been recording
their highest numbers of new cases in months.

Despite having the world`s highest vaccination rate, the UAE has recorded the
largest number of infections among Gulf countries at more than 757,000.

On Wednesday, it recorded 2,234 infections, the highest number since June.

The Emirates` Abu Dhabi crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, sought
to reassure the people that `the UAE health sector is fully geared and prepared
to address any challenges`, according to the official WAM news agency.

The UAE is gearing up to host New Year`s Eve celebrations, including at Burj
Khalifa, the world`s tallest tower, in the emirate of Dubai.

Dubai, which is heavily dependent on tourism, was one of the world`s first
destinations to welcome back visitors in July 2020.

It is also counting on the six-month Expo 2020 trade fair to boost its
economy.-AFP