Coronavirus

Ukraine to impose mandatory COVID-19 shots for doctors, municipal workers

Ukraine's health ministry has proposed expanding the list of occupations for which COVID-19 vaccinations will be compulsory to cover medical personnel and municipal employees, it said. The government already obliges…

Read More Here

Norway plans third vaccine dose for all adults, “corona passes”

OSLO, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Norway will offer a third COVID-19 vaccine dose to everyone aged 18 and older and will give municipalities the option of using digital "corona passes"…

Read More Here

Denmark proposes corona pass mandate for workers

COPENHAGEN, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Denmark on Friday proposed to fast-track legislation allowing workplaces to mandate a digital "corona pass" for employees in its latest measure to curb a third…

Read More Here

Germany brings back free COVID-19 tests as leaders warn of bleak situation

BERLIN, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Germany will reintroduce free COVID-19 tests from Saturday, the country's acting health minister Jens Spahn said on Friday, as part of measures to hit the…

Read More Here

England’s COVID prevalence falls back from highest level of the year, ONS says

LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - The prevalence of COVID-19 infections in England fell back to about 1 in 60 people in the week ending Nov. 6, Britain's Office for National…

Read More Here

COVID-19’s epicentre again: Europe faces fresh reckoning

LONDON/MILAN, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Europe has become the epicentre of the pandemic again, prompting some governments to consider re-imposing unpopular lockdowns in the run-up to Christmas and stirring debate…

Read More Here

Morgues fill up in Romania and Bulgaria amid low Covid vaccine uptake

Romania and Bulgaria are recording the EU’s highest daily death rates from Covid-19, after superstition, misinformation and entrenched mistrust in governments and institutions combined to leave them the least vaccinated…

Read More Here

Northeastern Chinese port city battles growing COVID-19 cluster

BEIJING, Nov 12 (Reuters) - A growing COVID-19 cluster in China's Dalian has spurred the northeastern port city to limit outbound travel, cut offline school classes and close a few…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Austrian leader expects agreement on lockdown for those not vaccinated against COVID-19

Austria's government is likely to decide on Sunday to impose a lockdown on people not vaccinated against the coronavirus, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said on Friday. The government will hold a…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Dutch face three-week, partial lockdown as COVID-19 cases soar

AMSTERDAM, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Bars and restaurants will close early and sporting events will be held without audiences under a three-week, partial lockdown that is expected to be announced…

Read More Here

Fewer than 1 million U.S. kids get COVID-19 shot in first eligible week, White House projects

More than 900,000 U.S. children aged 5 to 11 are expected to have received their first COVID-19 shot by the end of Wednesday, the White House said, as the government…

Read More Here

Denmark to impose COVID-19 isolation for travellers from Singapore

SINGAPORE, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Denmark will impose self-isolation requirements on travellers from Singapore, its embassy in the city-state said on Thursday, following a surge in COVID-19 infections. Singapore was…

Read More Here

Israel pandemic advisory panel backs COVID vaccine for young children

Israel's pandemic advisory board backed administering Pfizer's and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine to children age 5-11, health officials said, as a fourth wave of infections subsides nationwide. The Health Ministry is…

Read More Here

WHO and CDC warn world at risk of measles outbreaks as COVID-19 disrupts infant shots

The risk of measles outbreaks is high after more than 22 million infants missed their first vaccine doses during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) and…

Read More Here

EU regulator lists new side-effect of J&J COVID-19 shot

Europe's drug regulator on Thursday recommended adding a rare type of spinal inflammation called transverse myelitis as a side-effect of Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine. Reports of this serious…

Read More Here

Slovakia considers new COVID-19 steps as hospital admissions rise

PRAGUE, Nov 11 (Reuters) - A rise in the number of COVID-19 patients increased strains on hospitals in Slovakia on Thursday, as parliament debated a law that would allow stricter…

Read More Here

Beijing city imposes COVID restrictions on conferences, events

BEIJING, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Authorities in Beijing city imposed new curbs on conferences and events after confirming on Thursday six locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, including individuals who had attended…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Dutch experts recommend Western Europe’s first lockdown since summer

A pandemic advisory panel in the Netherlands on Thursday recommended imposing western Europe's first partial lockdown since the summer, putting pressure on the government to take unpopular action to fight…

Read More Here

Czechs, Slovaks report surge in COVID-19 cases, hospitals stretched

The Czech Republic and Slovakia reported fresh surges in coronavirus infections on Wednesday and again had to start limiting non-urgent hospital care to cater for admissions of COVID-19 patients. Slovakia,…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Germany reports another COVID-19 record: 50,196 new cases

BERLIN, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Germany reported a record 50,196 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday, the fourth day in a row it has posted a fresh daily high, as…

Read More Here

France experiencing start of fifth wave of COVID epidemic -minister

France is at the beginning of a fifth wave of the coronavirus epidemic, Health Minister Olivier Veran said. "Several neighbouring countries are already in a fifth wave of the COVID…

Read More Here

Thailand offers COVID-19 vaccines to migrant workers

BANGKOK, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Thailand will set aside up to 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines for foreign workers as it prepares to welcome them back to the country to…

Read More Here

Russian COVID-19 deaths hit new record, some hospitals low on oxygen

MOSCOW, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Russia on Wednesday reported a record 1,239 deaths from COVID-19 in the previous 24 hours, just days after most of its regions emerged from a…

Read More Here

EU to decide on Moderna’s COVID-19 shot for younger kids in two months

Nov 10 (Reuters) - The European Union's drug regulator expects to decide in about two months on whether to allow the use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine in children aged six…

Read More Here

Germany recommends only Biontech/Pfizer vaccine for people under 30

Germany's vaccine advisory committee recommends people under 30 be vaccinated only with the Biontech/Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine as it showed a lower number of heart inflammations in younger people than the…

Read More Here

Czechs record highest daily tally of COVID-19 cases since March

PRAGUE, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Czech authorities recorded 14,539 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, the highest daily tally since mid-March and close to all-time highs seen in January, health ministry…

Read More Here

France extends COVID-19 booster shots, requires them for health pass

French President Emmanuel Macron said that those aged 65 and older will need to present proof of a COVID-19 booster shot from mid-December for health passes that give access to…

Read More Here

Bulgaria’s daily COVID-19 deaths rise to record high

Bulgaria reported a record number of daily coronavirus deaths on Tuesday as the European Union's least vaccinated country grapples with a fourth wave of the pandemic, official data showed. New…

Read More Here

French health authority advises against Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for under 30s

France's public health authority has recommended people under 30 be given Pfizer's Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine when available instead of Moderna Inc's Spikevax jab, which carried comparatively higher risks of heart-related problems. The…

Read More Here

Covid-19: Belgium asks people to work from home

Belgium has call on its population to start working from home again due to surging Covid infections, with Europe once again at the centre of pandemic's fourth wave. "We have…

Read More Here

‘Open for business:’ U.S. welcomes first travellers as COVID travel curbs are lifted

Packed intercontinental flights touched down and people embraced relatives at land borders on Monday after the United States lifted restrictions imposed on travellers from much of the world when the…

Read More Here

Nigeria unlikely to reach ‘impossible’ 40% Covid vaccine target

It will be “impossible” for Nigeria to meet its target of vaccinating 40% of its population by the end of the year because Covid is not being taken seriously, health…

Read More Here

Russia reports 39,400 new COVID-19 cases as workplace shutdown ends

Most Russians went back to work on Monday for the first time in more than a week as a nationwide workplace shutdown was lifted across most regions, even though the…

Read More Here

Fourth wave of coronavirus in Italy has started

Walter Ricciardi, a top Italian doctor who is an advisor to Health Minister Roberto Speranza, said Monday that the fourth wave of COVID-19 contagion has started while adding that it…

Read More Here

German coronavirus infection rate hits highest since pandemic began

FRANKFURT, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Germany's coronavirus infection rate has risen to its highest level since the start of the pandemic, public health figures showed on Monday, and doctors warned…

Read More Here

Australia begins vaccine booster rollout as more curbs ease in Sydney

SYDNEY, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Australia will begin administering booster shots of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine from Monday as millions in its largest city, Sydney, woke up to more freedom amid…

Read More Here

Japan has zero daily COVID-19 deaths for first time in 15 months

TOKYO, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Japan recorded no daily deaths from COVID-19 for the first time in more than a year on Sunday, according to local media. Prior to Sunday,…

Read More Here

Eastern Europe infections at record levels

Nov 8 (Reuters) - Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 250 million on Monday as some countries in eastern Europe experience record outbreaks, even as the Delta variant surge eases and many…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Travellers head to the United States as flights reopen

PARIS/LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Travellers started heading to the United States on Monday to see family and friends for the first time in nearly two years following the lifting…

Read More Here

German coalition parties to table coronavirus draft law on Monday

FRANKFURT, Nov 8 (Reuters) - The three German parties working to agree on a coalition government by early December will present proposals to combat a raging fourth wave of the…

Read More Here

COVID-19 cases near 250 million as Delta surge eases

Nov 7 (Reuters) - Worldwide cases due to COVID-19 were approaching 250 million on Sunday as the surge from the Delta variant eases and more normal trade and tourism resume,…

Read More Here

Vaccine protection varies among immunocompromised patients

Among people with impaired immune systems, some get less benefit than others from the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, and new data help clarify the differences and supports the need for extra…

Read More Here

Unvaccinated in Greece face new restrictions as COVID cases soar

ATHENS, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Queues formed outside shops in Athens on Saturday on the first day of new restrictions to curb soaring coronavirus infections which require the unvaccinated to…

Read More Here

French ski stations will require masks in ski lift lines – media

PARIS (Reuters) - Skiers waiting in line to get on a ski lift in French winter resorts this season will have to wear a mask, but a health pass will…

Read More Here

Italy reports 31 coronavirus deaths on Saturday, 6,764 new cases

MILAN, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Italy reported 31 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday compared with 51 the day before, the health ministry said. It reported 6,764 new infections, the exact same…

Read More Here

COVID-19 pandemic could lead to HIV surge in West & Central Africa, says UNAIDS chief

West and Central Africa could see a rise in HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths in a few years due to disruptions in health services because of the coronavirus pandemic, the…

Read More Here

Britain allows early booking of booster shots to speed up rollout

LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Britain's health ministry on Saturday said it would open up bookings for booster shots a month before people were eligible to receive the shots to…

Read More Here

Canada says rate of decline in COVID-19 cases has slowed, precautions must remain

OTTAWA, Nov 5 (Reuters) - The rate of decline in Canadian COVID-19 cases has slowed somewhat, but it is too soon to fully lift precautions put in place to fight…

Read More Here

England’s COVID prevalence steadies at highest level of the year, ONS says

LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - The prevalence of COVID-19 infections in England remained at around 1 in 50 people in the week ending Oct 30, a school half-term break, Britain's…

Read More Here

White House says it is still committed to finding COVID’s origin

The White House said that understanding the origins of COVID-19 remains a key focus of Biden administration and that they will continue pushing for answers. "It's incredibly important for us…

Read More Here

Russia says pandemic worsening in some regions as workplace shutdown nears end

MOSCOW, Nov 5 (Reuters) - The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened in 10 Russian regions despite a week-long nationwide workplace shutdown designed to curb a surge in infections, a senior Russian…

Read More Here

Croatia tightens measures to fight spreading of COVID-19

ZAGREB, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Amid new record-high COVID-19 daily infections Croatia decided on Friday to tighten measures against the spreading of the disease, including introducing obligatory digital certificates for…

Read More Here

Gene linked to doubling risk of COVID-19 death found by UK scientists

British scientists have identified a gene that doubles the risk of dying from COVID-19, providing new insights into why some people are more susceptible to the disease than others, while…

Read More Here

Vienna bans the unvaccinated from restaurants as national cases surge

The City of Vienna said it is banning people not vaccinated against COVID-19 from cafes, restaurants and events with more than 25 people, pre-empting measures that are likely to be…

Read More Here

Australia’s biggest states open borders in time for Christmas season

Australia's Victoria state removed entry restrictions to citizens of neighbouring New South Wales on Friday, allowing almost blanket reciprocal travel between the country's two biggest states ahead of the busy…

Read More Here

Belgium sees increase in COVID-19 hospitalisations

Belgium reported a jump in COVID-19 infections and hospitalisations rose back to levels that had forced a lockdown in October 2020, as the United States advised against travelling to the…

Read More Here

UPDATED: With fourth wave raging, Germany agrees booster shots for all

BERLIN, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Germany's COVID-19 situation is entering a very difficult period with rising numbers of intensive care patients, health minister Jens Spahn said, as German state leaders…

Read More Here