Coronavirus

Roundup on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

May 13 (Reuters) - Streets in Beijing were quiet on Friday as residents heeded the advice of authorities to work from home to stop the spread of COVID-19, while officials in locked-down…

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Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

May 12 (Reuters) - North Korea confirmed its first COVID-19 outbreak on Thursday, calling it the "gravest national emergency" and ordering a national lockdown, with state media reporting an Omicron variant had…

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COVID claims 1 million U.S. lives

The United States has now recorded more than 1 million COVID-19 deaths, according to a Reuters tally, crossing a once-unthinkable milestone about two years after the first cases upended everyday…

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Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

May 11 (Reuters) - Shanghai officials said on Wednesday half the city had achieved "zero-COVID" status, but uncompromising restrictions had to remain in place under a national policy which the head of…

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Europe plans to drop mandatory mask requirements for air travel next week

LONDON, May 11 (Reuters) - Face masks are set to be no longer mandatory in airports and on flights in Europe, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and European Centre for…

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Test, test, test: Are all these Covid-19 checks really necessary, scientists ask?

For many people worldwide, having cotton swabs thrust up their nose or down their throat to test for COVID-19 has become a routine and familiar annoyance. But two years into the pandemic,…

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As Beijing COVID outbreak proves stubborn, mass tests becoming routine

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, May 8 (Reuters) - Millions of Beijing residents queued up for another round of COVID-19 tests on Sunday as China's capital seeks to trace and isolate every infection to contain a…

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Use of masks to remain at places of work in Italy

Facemasks are set to remain obligatory at places of work in Italy for the time being, the labour ministry said after a meeting with trade unions this week at which…

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Moderna says its vaccine for ages under 6 will be ready for U.S. review in June

Moderna Inc's chief medical officer said on Sunday the company's vaccine for children under 6 years old will be ready for review by a Food and Drug Administration panel when…

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Greece lifts COVID curbs for travellers ahead of key summer season

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece lifted COVID-19 restrictions on Sunday for foreign and domestic flights, its civil aviation authority said, ahead of the summer tourism season that officials hope will see…

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As Beijing’s COVID curbs tighten, hard-hit Shanghai sees signs of life

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, May 1 (Reuters) - China's capital Beijing tightened COVID restrictions on Sunday as it battled an outbreak, while Shanghai let some of its 25 million residents venture out for light and…

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Beijing residents hit the stores amid lockdown fears

A mass COVID-19 testing order in Beijing's biggest district prompted residents in the Chinese capital to stock up on groceries, fearing they could be destined for a lockdown similar to that of…

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FACTBOX-Where you still need to wear a mask in the United States

WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) - Airlines and airports, the ride-sharing company Uber and national train service Amtrak, are now lifting mask mandates that have been in place for more than a year.…

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UPDATED: UK PM Johnson apologises to parliament for COVID fine

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday apologised to parliament for breaking COVID rules with a gathering on his birthday after he was fined by the police last week. Johnson…

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The case for testing Pfizer’s Paxlovid for treating long COVID

Reports of two patients who found relief from long COVID after taking Pfizer Inc antiviral Paxlovid, including a researcher who tested it on herself, provide intriguing evidence for clinical trials to…

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U.S. CDC lifts COVID ‘Do Not Travel’ recommendations on about 90 countries

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday it had dropped its "Do Not Travel" COVID-19 recommendations for about 90 international destinations. Last week, the CDC…

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Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 502.2 million, death toll at 6,592,734

More than 502.2 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 6,592,734 have died, according to a Reuters tally. Infections have been reported in…

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UK’s Johnson shredded ministerial code with lockdown breaches, constitutional expert says

LONDON, April 17 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson has thrust Britain into a constitutional crisis by breaking the law he set for pandemic restrictions, effectively "shredding the ministerial code", the country's…

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Photo Story – Shangai Lockdown

Photo A girl takes a Covid-19 test in a residential community under lockdown in Shanghai, China, 16 April 2022. Shanghai reported on 16 April, 3,590 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases…

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Omicron-specific Sinopharm COVID vaccine candidates cleared for clinical trial

BEIJING, April 16 (Reuters) - Two COVID-19 vaccine candidates developed by units of China National Biotec Group (CNBG) to target the Omicron variant were approved for clinical trials as boosters in Hong…

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Worldwide COVID cases surpass 500 million as Omicron variant BA.2 surges

Reuters) - Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 500 million on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, as the highly contagious BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron surges in many countries in Europe and…

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Britain approves Valneva’s easy-to-store COVID shot

April 14 (Reuters) - Britain approved on Thursday Valneva's VLS.PA COVID-19 vaccine, making it the first country to give a nod to the French firm's coronavirus shot that is easier to store and involves…

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Britain widens access to Pfizer’s COVID antiviral drug through trial

Britain will expand access to Pfizer's oral antiviral COVID-19 treatment to thousands more people by adding it to a trial to assess how best to use the drug in its…

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Shanghai COVID cases keep rising, food supply problems persist

SHANGHAI, April 10 (Reuters) - Shanghai reported nearly 25,000 locally transmitted COVID-19 infections on Sunday, as residents of China's most populous city voiced complaints over food and basic supplies and concern spread…

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India to widen COVID booster effort to all adults from Sunday

BENGALURU (Reuters) - India will offer booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine to all adults from Sunday, although free third doses will be limited to frontline workers and those older than 60 who…

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COVID-19: Omicron symptoms less severe than Delta variant

People who contract the Omicron variant of COVID-19 are likely to experience less severe symptoms than those with Delta, a new study has found. The research concluded that those with…

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Whole of Shanghai enters COVID lockdown despite lower symptomatic cases

Chinese authorities on Tuesday extended a lockdown in Shanghai to cover all of the financial centre's 26 million people, despite growing anger over quarantine rules in the city, where latest…

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US health authority to consider need for additional vaccine boosters to counter new variants

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's expert advisers will discuss the timing of additional COVID-19 vaccine boosters and the people eligible for the extra shots in a meeting later this…

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Surging COVID cases force easyJet to cancel UK flights over staff shortages

LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) - A renewed surge of COVID-19 in Britain has forced airlines including easyJet < EZJ.L> to cancel hundreds of flights in recent days as staff sickness levels soar. England…

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China sends military, doctors to Shanghai to test 26 million residents for COVID

SHANGHAI, April 4 (Reuters) - China has sent the military and thousands of healthcare workers into Shanghai to help carry out COVID-19 tests for all of its 26 million residents as cases continued to rise on Monday,…

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U.S. CDC scraps COVID warning for cruise travel after 2 years

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) removed its COVID-19 notice against cruise travel, around two years after introducing a warning scale showing the level of coronavirus transmission risk on cruise ships. The…

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EU health ministers call for common approach to 2nd boosters for elderly

European health ministers urged the bloc's executive on Tuesday to back a fourth COVID-19 shot for people over the age of 60 to boost immunity in the absence of vaccines…

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Experimental COVID drug may be preventive and therapeutic

An experimental drug designed to be sprayed into the nose has shown the potential to both prevent infection and treat COVID-19, at least for some variants of the coronavirus, according…

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COVID-19 and flu make for a dangerous combo, study finds

Having COVID-19 and influenza at the same time puts hospitalized adults at much greater risk of critical illness and death compared to having COVID-19 without the flu, researchers reported on…

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UK study to test Pfizer’s COVID pill in hospitalised patients

Pfizer's oral COVID-19 therapy will be evaluated as a potential treatment for patients hospitalised with the illness in a major British trial, scientists said on Monday, as cases rise in…

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China’s Shanghai launches two-phase lockdown as COVID surges

SHANGHAI (Reuters) -China's financial hub of Shanghai launched a two-stage lockdown of its 26 million people on Monday, closing bridges and tunnels, and restricting highway traffic in a scramble to…

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Italian study shows ventilation can cut school COVID cases by 82%

An Italian study published on Tuesday suggests that efficient ventilation systems can reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in schools by more than 80%. An experiment overseen by the Hume foundation…

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China COVID cases fall, govt inspecting Shanghai, other outbreaks

BEIJING, March 25 (Reuters) - China reported 1,366 confirmed coronavirus cases for March 24, the country's national health authority said on Friday, down from 2,054 a day earlier, though the number of…

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German health minister urges people at risk to get second COVID booster

BERLIN, March 25 (Reuters) - Germany's health minister on Friday urged people over age 60 with risk factors such as high blood pressure or a weak heart to get a second booster…

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European drugs regulator recommends AstraZeneca’s COVID drug

March 24 (Reuters) - The European Medicines Agency on Thursday authorised the use of AstraZeneca Plc's antibody drug for preventing COVID-19 infections in adults and adolescents over 12 years of age. The treatment…

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South Korea’s total COVID cases top 10 million as crematoria, funeral homes overwhelmed

SEOUL, March 23 (Reuters) - South Korea's total coronavirus infections topped 10 million, or nearly 20% of its population, authorities said on Wednesday, as surging severe cases and deaths increasingly put a…

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China’s Shanghai denies lockdown rumours as daily COVID infections near 1,000

SHANGHAI, March 23 (Reuters) - Authorities in the Chinese city of Shanghai have denied rumours of a city-wide lockdown after a sixth straight increase in daily asymptomatic coronavirus cases pushed its count…

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Research dispels myth that COVID-19 vaccines cause infertility, but misinformation persists

by Julian Daniel Sunday Willett PhD Candidate, Quantitative Life Sciences, McGill University Misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and fertility has propagated online despite the vaccines’ clear safety profile. Fortunately, those considering having kids…

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