Healthcare

Hong Kong suspends transit flights from most of the world due to COVID-19

HONG KONG, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Hong Kong authorities said on Friday the city's airport will suspend for a month transit flights from around 150 countries and territories considered high…

Read More Here

Philippines bans unvaccinated from public transport as infections spike

MANILA, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The Philippines will push through with its plan next week to ban from public transportation people who are not vaccinated against COVID-19, officials said on…

Read More Here

Norway will start COVID vaccination for children aged 5-11, government says

OSLO, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Norway will offer COVID-19 vaccines to all children aged 5 years and above, the government said on Friday. It had previously only offered vaccines to…

Read More Here

Covid created 20 new ‘pandemic billionaires’ in Asia

Twenty new “pandemic billionaires” have been created in Asia thanks to the international response to Covid-19, while 140 million people across the continent were plunged into poverty as jobs were…

Read More Here

Shanghai cuts some tourism trips on COVID-19 cases; Chinese cities adding quarantine rooms

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Jan 14 (Reuters) - China's financial hub Shanghai cut some tourist trips on Friday as it rushed to head off local COVID-19 cases amid a rise in imported infections,…

Read More Here

J&J booster 85% effective against Omicron for 1-2 months -S.African study

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 14 (Reuters) - A Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine booster shot is 85% effective in protecting against being hospitalised by the Omicron variant for 1-2 months after it…

Read More Here

Over a million Indians to gather beside Ganges, defying COVID-19 surge

Prayagraj (UTTAR PRADSH), Jan 14 (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Hindu worshippers are expected to gather on the banks of the Ganges river on Friday for a holy bathe…

Read More Here

Norway eases COVID rules

The Norwegian government will partly reverse a ban on serving alcohol in bars and restaurants, one of several policy changes as it seeks to relax COVID-19 restrictions, the prime minister…

Read More Here

Netherlands to ease COVID-19 restrictions

Coronavirus restrictions in the Netherlands will be eased from Saturday despite a wave of new infections due to the Omicron variant, Dutch media reported. Non-essential stores, hairdressers and gyms will…

Read More Here

Polish scientists find gene that doubles risk of serious COVID

Polish scientists have found a gene that they say more than doubles the risk of becoming severely ill with COVID-19, a discovery they hope could help doctors identify people who…

Read More Here

WHO recommends Eli Lilly, GSK-Vir’s drugs, widening COVID-19 treatment pool

A World Health Organization (WHO) panel recommended use of two drugs by Eli Lilly, and GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology for COVID-19 patients, adding treatment options as the fast-spreading Omicron variant…

Read More Here

More than 100 million COVID-19 vaccines rejected by poorer nations in December – UNICEF

BRUSSELS, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Poorer nations last month rejected more than 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines distributed by the global programme COVAX, mainly due to their rapid expiry…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Unvaccinated truckers entering Canada must quarantine -government

Unvaccinated Canadian truckers re-entering Canada from the United States must get tested for COVID-19 and quarantine themselves starting Jan. 15, the Canadian government said on Thursday, a day after the…

Read More Here

More than 85% of people in Africa yet to receive vaccine

In Africa, more than 85% of people are yet to receive a single dose of vaccine, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference. “We cannot end the acute…

Read More Here

U.S. COVID deaths rising but likely due to Delta, not Omicron, says CDC chief

COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States have increased by about 33% and deaths are up by about 40% from a week earlier, the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease…

Read More Here

Covid-19 had disproportionate impact on young people – Eurofound

The coronavirus pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on young people with studies showing that one in three have had difficulty adapting to the changes it has brought, including social…

Read More Here

Finland cuts quarantine length to five days

HELSINKI, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Finland cut the length of its COVID quarantine from 10 days to five for most cases, its public health authority said on Thursday. It will…

Read More Here

Spain to cap antigen test prices, expand booster programme

MADRID, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Spain will cap prices for rapid coronavirus tests and open up its booster shot programme to everyone over the age of 18, the government said…

Read More Here

Hungary to offer fourth COVID shot as Omicron cases spike

BUDAPEST, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Hungary is to make a fourth COVID-19 shot available to people who ask for it, after a consultation with a doctor, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's…

Read More Here

Greece extends restrictions to curb Omicron variant

Greece will extend restrictions by a week at restaurants and bars to help curb the Omicron variant, which has dominated the country and was the main driver of a surge…

Read More Here

England to cut minimum COVID self-isolation to five days

LONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The minimum COVID-19 self-isolation period in England will be cut to five days from seven if someone tests negative twice, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said…

Read More Here

COVID-19 cases surged in Mideast in early Jan but deaths fell – WHO official

CAIRO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - A "shocking" surge in COVID-19 cases across the World Health Organization's Eastern Mediterranean region is probably due to the Omicron variant, a WHO official said,…

Read More Here

German panel recommends COVID-19 booster for all 12-17-year-olds

BERLIN, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Germany's STIKO vaccine committee recommended on Thursday that all children between the ages of 12 and 17 receive a COVID-19 booster shot. The committee said…

Read More Here

Australia COVID-19 infections hit record amid runaway Omicron outbreak

SYDNEY, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Australia on Thursday reported its biggest pandemic caseload with a runaway Omicron outbreak driving up hospitalisation rates as the surge put severe strain on supply…

Read More Here

Another Chinese city detects Omicron case as Tianjin outbreak expands

BEIJING, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The Chinese port city of Tianjin reported an increase in COVID-19 infections on Thursday as it stepped up efforts to rein in an outbreak that…

Read More Here

Sweden cuts recommended gap between second and third COVID shot

Sweden will cut the recommended time interval between the second and third COVID vaccine shot to five months from six, the health agency said. The decision will affect people between…

Read More Here

Italy reports 313 deaths because of coronavirus

Italy reported 196,224 COVID-19 related cases on Wednesday, against 220,532 the day before, the health ministry said, while the number of deaths rose to 313 from 294. Italy has registered…

Read More Here

UPDATED: AstraZeneca says higher antibody response against Omicron with booster dose

Jan 13 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca said on Thursday preliminary data from a trial it conducted on its COVID-19 shot, Vaxzevria, showed it generated a higher antibody response against the Omicron…

Read More Here

Denmark to offer fourth coronavirus jab while easing curbs

Denmark will offer a fourth coronavirus vaccination to the most vulnerable citizens as it faces record infections from the Omicron variant, the country's health minister said. The move comes as…

Read More Here

Anti-vaccine protesters try to storm Bulgaria’s parliament

Anti-vaccine protesters tried to storm the Bulgarian parliament on Wednesday and briefly scuffled with police officers during a massive rally against coronavirus restrictions in downtown Sofia. Tensions rose an hour…

Read More Here

Not enough Canadian children are getting COVID-19 jabs, health systems at risk – Trudeau

Not enough Canadian children are being vaccinated against COVID-19 at a time when the Omicron variant threatens to swamp healthcare systems, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. As of Jan. 1,…

Read More Here

French Senate approves latest COVID measures and vaccine pass

PARIS, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The French Senate approved on Thursday the government's latest measures to tackle the COVID-19 virus, including a vaccine pass, which has encountered some opposition among…

Read More Here

Omicron less severe than Delta but still poses danger for unvaccinated: WHO

The highly infectious Omicron coronavirus variant causes less severe disease than the Delta strain but it remains a "dangerous virus", particularly for those who are unvaccinated, the head of the…

Read More Here

COVID-19 cases jump in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan as Omicron spreads

BISHKEK, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Central Asian neighbours Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan reported jumps in new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday as both countries said the Omicron variant of the virus was…

Read More Here

BioNTech says developed method to detect high-risk variants

German COVID-19 vaccine maker BioNTech said it developed a method to quickly determine whether a new virus variant is a cause for concern, collaborating with British artificial intelligence startup InstaDeep…

Read More Here

Hungary’s daily tally of new COVID-19 cases jumps as Omicron spreads

BUDAPEST, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Hungary's daily tally of new COVID-19 cases jumped to 7,883 on Wednesday from 5,270 reported a week earlier, but the number of patients treated in…

Read More Here

Pfizer study shows COVID-19 booster can be given along with pneumonia shot

Jan 12 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc said on Wednesday booster doses of its COVID-19 vaccine can be administered along with its pneumonia vaccine and produced strong safety and immune responses…

Read More Here

Health experts debate a future ‘Deltacron’ possibility

Health experts have cast doubt on reports of a possible Covid-19 mutation combining elements of both the Delta and Omicron variants. While the evidence on “Deltacron” remains scarce, French virologists…

Read More Here

Swiss halve quarantine period to five days to tackle Omicron wave

ZURICH, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Switzerland will halve its quarantine time to five days to help tackle a wave of coronavirus infections that threatens to hamstring the economy, the government…

Read More Here

Irish minister confident of easing COVID curbs from February

DUBLIN, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Ireland should be in a position to start easing restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 from next month once the number of people requiring…

Read More Here

Saudi Arabia confirms over 5,000 daily Covid cases for first time in new record

Saudi Arabia has registered its highest daily number of new COVID-19 infections so far, health ministry data showed, breaking through 5,000 cases on Wednesday. Cases in the kingdom, which has…

Read More Here

Italy’s doctors warn cancer treatment at risk due to COVID surge

The latest wave of COVID-19 cases in Italy is increasing pressure on hospitals and jeopardizing the treatment of some 11 million cancer patients, a medical association warned. "The postponement of…

Read More Here

Finland hit by surging coronavirus infections

Surging coronavirus infections are forcing local authorities in Finland to stray from the government's COVID-19 strategy based on mass testing, tracking and isolation. Helsinki and neighbouring cities recommend that people…

Read More Here

Austria’s daily COVID-19 infections reported to have hit record

VIENNA, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Austria's daily new coronavirus infections have risen to a new record of 18,427, newspaper Kronen Zeitung reported on Wednesday as cases have been surging because…

Read More Here

Turkey logs record level of more than 74,000 COVID-19 cases in a day

Turkey has recorded 74,266 new COVID-19 cases in the space of 24 hours, its highest daily figure of the pandemic, health ministry data showed, prompting the health minister to warn…

Read More Here

Bulgaria’s daily coronavirus infections at record high

SOFIA, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Daily coronavirus infections in Bulgaria reached a record high of 7,062 on Wednesday, largely fuelled by the highly contagious Omicron variant, official data showed. New…

Read More Here

One in seven could still be infectious after five-day Covid isolation

One in seven people who have tested positive for Covid could still be infectious if released from isolation upon receiving a negative lateral flow result after five days, new data…

Read More Here

Too soon to treat COVID-19 like flu as Omicron spreads – WHO

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 is on track to infect more than half of Europeans, but it should not yet be seen as a flu-like endemic illness, the World Health…

Read More Here

No vax, pay tax, says Canada’s Quebec as health system struggles

Quebec, Canada's second most populous province, is planning to force adults refusing to get COVID-19 vaccinated pay a "health contribution" in a move likely to spur a debate about individual…

Read More Here

Chinese cities tighten COVID-19 curbs as Tianjin battles Omicron outbreak

Cities across China are imposing tougher restrictions to try to control new outbreaks of COVID-19, with Tianjin battling the highly contagious Omicron variant which has been detected to have been transmitted locally in two…

Read More Here

More than half of European population will get Omicron within two months – WHO

More than half of the European population are expected to be infected with the Omicron coronavirus variant within the next six to eight weeks, the World Health Organization's top Europe official said on Tuesday (January…

Read More Here

South African studies suggest Omicron has higher ‘asymptomatic carriage’

South African studies suggest Omicron has higher 'asymptomatic carriage' Preliminary findings from two South African clinical trials suggest the Omicron coronavirus variant has a much higher rate of "asymptomatic carriage"…

Read More Here

Poland’s total COVID-19 death toll passes 100,000

Poland's total number of coronavirus-related deaths surpassed 100,000 on Tuesday, the health minister said, as the country grapples with a fourth wave of the pandemic. The number of deaths per…

Read More Here

US authorities likely to require upgraded masks against Omicron

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is considering updating its mask guidance because of an increase in the number of Omicron-related coronavirus cases, the Washington Post reported…

Read More Here

Europe loosens COVID policies as Omicron takes out key workers

Britain, France, Switzerland, Spain and Belgium have all cut quarantine periods in the last three weeks and eased some of the conditions for infected staff to return to work. The…

Read More Here

U.S. reports at least 1.1 million COVID cases in a day, shattering global record

The United States reported at least 1.13 million new coronavirus infections on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, the highest daily total of any country in the world as the…

Read More Here

COVID-19 hospitalisations in France see biggest jump since April 2021

The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 in France rose by 767 to 22,749 on Monday, the biggest increase since April 2021 as a runaway Omicron infection rate boosted hospitalisations. Net…

Read More Here