Covid-19

Czechs, Slovaks target unvaccinated people, talk of full lockdown intensifies

The Czech Republic and Slovakia banned unvaccinated people from hotels, pubs, hairdressers and most public events from Monday after COVID-19 cases filled hospital intensive-care wards, and were mulling harsher steps…

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Pfizer to allow generic versions of its COVID-19 pill in 95 countries

Pfizer Inc said on Tuesday it will allow generic manufacturers to supply its experimental antiviral COVID-19 pill to 95 low- and middle-income countries through a licensing agreement with international public health group Medicines Patent…

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Employers concerned on proposed cannabis reform – Malta News Briefing – Saturday 13 November 2021

Evening Roundup Cannabis reform ‘fraught with hidden motives’ – MEA The Malta Employers Association has criticised the government's proposed cannabis reform, expressing concern over the lack of assurances over possible…

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Five Germany players isolating after positive COVID test

Five Germany players have been asked to quarantine after one of them tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of this week's World Cup qualifier against Liechtenstein, the German Football Association (DFB)…

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Would a longer school day help children catch up after the pandemic? Here’s what the evidence says

by Lisa KimLecturer in Psychology in Education, University of York Kathryn AsburyProfessor of Psychology in Education, University of York COVID-induced school closures in 2020 resulted in the majority of pupils…

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Two UK COVID test makers pull devices due to new review

Two producers of COVID-19 tests in Britain said on Tuesday they had pulled some of their tests from the market after a new review system came into force, which has…

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Britain to fund $3 bln worth of green investments in developing economies

Britain announced on Monday it will fund green investments of more than 3 billion pounds ($4.11 billion) over five years and new guarantees to support clean infrastructure projects in developing…

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UPDATE: Malta News Briefing – Sunday 31 October 2021

Midday Briefing PM changes plans for election - PN Leader The leader of the Opposition Bernard Grech insisted Prime Minister Robert Abela had decided on calling an early general election,…

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BioNTech eyes construction start for African mRNA vaccine factory in mid-2022

BioNTech on Tuesday signed an agreement with the Rwandan government and Institut Pasteur de Dakar in Senegal on the construction of a first mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility in Africa starting…

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Ukraine urges citizens to get vaccinated as COVID-19 toll hits new record

Ukraine's health minister urged more citizens to get vaccinated as coronavirus deaths hit a daily record of 734 on Tuesday, with hospitalisations up more than a fifth on the previous…

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WHO-led programme aims to buy antiviral COVID-19 pills for $10

A World Health Organization-led programme to ensure poorer countries get fair access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments aims to secure antiviral drugs for patients with mild symptoms for as little…

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Merck COVID-19 pill sparks calls for access for lower income countries

Oct 17 (Reuters) - The plan to roll out Merck & Co's promising antiviral pill to treat COVID-19 risks repeating the inequities of vaccine distribution, potentially leaving the nations with…

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Rabiot out of Nations League final

Adrien Rabiot has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss the Nations League final between France and Spain on Sunday as a result. The Juventus midfielder started as Les Bleus came…

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Global COVID-19 deaths hit 5 million as Delta variant sweeps the world

Oct 1 (Reuters) - Worldwide deaths related to COVID-19 surpassed 5 million on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, with unvaccinated people particularly exposed to the virulent Delta strain. The…

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Malta: President inaugurates memorial dedicated to health care professionals

The President of Malta George Vella has inaugurated a memorial dedicated to health care professionals at San Anton gardens. The memorial was restored since it had sustained a lot of…

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EC President von der Leyen pays tribute to Daphne Caruana Galizia / News Briefing – Thursday 16 September 2021

Eu Commission President Ursula von der Leyen paid her tribute to murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia when she pqid a visit to the site where she was assassinated. The EC…

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EU Commission President to visit Malta / News Briefing – Tuesday 14 September 2021

Updated 1740 - Newsportal Review The Times of Malta reports that Health Minister Chris Fearne has promised to modify Malta's strict travel restrictions following calls to allow residents arriving from…

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41-year-old man dies of Covid19 – Malta News Briefing – Sunday 5 September 2021

Midday Briefing A 41-year-old man and a 69-year-old woman died overnight while positive for COVID. The deaths were announced by the health authorities on Sunday, whose data on Facebook shows…

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Formula 1 considering easing Covid-19 protocols

Formula One is considering easing some of its strict COVID-19 'bubble' protocols, in force since last year, so teams can entertain sponsors and guests more freely at races. McLaren Racing…

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Polish students to return back to schools normally, no masks in class

The Polish Government has announced that the new scholastic year will begin "normally" with regular class attendance, with President Andrzej Duda saying that there are no plans to introduce lockdowns.…

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Sicily, Sardinia register spike of Covid-19 patients in intensive care

The two Italian islands of Sicily and Sardegna have registered an increase of Covid-19 patients requiring intensive therapy, hitting 13% on Tuesday. The Italian Government considers 10% as the level…

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EU says it has reached goal of vaccinating 70% of adults

The European Commission said on Tuesday that 70% of the European Union's adult population had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, hitting a target it set at the beginning of the…

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South Africa detects new coronavirus variant, still studying its mutations

South African scientists have detected a new coronavirus variant with multiple mutations but are yet to establish whether it is more contagious or able to overcome the immunity provided by vaccines…

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65-year-old man dies while positive to COVID-19 / Malta News Briefing – Tuesday 24 August 2021

Mid-Day Briefing Covid-19 Update: There were 35 new cases registered in the past 24 hours. Malta registered 40 recoveries as active cases stood at 681. 3,440 swab tests were taken.…

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23 charged over Covid-19 business email compromise fraud

A sophisticated fraud scheme using compromised emails and advance-payment fraud has been uncovered by authorities in Romania, the Netherlands and Ireland as part of an action coordinated by Europol. On…

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Ireland’s Catholic church, government clash over COVID-19 restrictions

Five Roman Catholic bishops from Ireland's 22 dioceses are set to defy COVID-19 restrictions after instructing local parishes to hold communion and confirmation services this month, drawing a sharp rebuke from the government,…

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European Travel Information and Authorisation System on track for entry into operation by end 2022

The rules making the future European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) interoperable with other EU information systems enter into force on Tuesday. This is an important step towards the…

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Germany to offer booster against COVID-19, vaccines for children

Germany will in September start to offer a booster shot against COVID-19 to vulnerable individuals such as pensioners and people with weak immune systems, the health ministers of the country's 16…

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Delta spreads ‘like wildfire’ as doctors study whether it makes patients sicker

With a new wave of COVID-19 infections fueled by the Delta variant striking countries worldwide, disease experts are scrambling to learn whether the latest version of coronavirus is making people - mainly…

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Maltese Editors’ Perspectives

Times of Malta says that anti-vaxxers' arguments about their individual rights are flawed MaltaToday says that if we all want an exit from the present Covid-19 crisis we must learn…

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Australia’s Victoria to ease COVID-19 curbs, Sydney cases rise

Australia's Victoria state said on Tuesday it will lift a strict lockdown after curtailing the spread of COVID-19, while neighbouring New South Wales faces an extension of restrictions after daily new cases…

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New York City, California mandate COVID-19 vaccines for government workers

California and New York City will require government workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or be regularly tested for the virus, officials said on Monday, signaling a new level of…

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Totally unreasonable to put fully vaccinated secondary contacts in quarantine – Malta Chamber

The Malta Chamber has urged the health authorities to rethink the existing quarantine measures which should be focused on a risk-based approach for fully vaccinated people. In a statement on…

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Malta: Bartolo defends tourism restart plan amid COVID-19 surge: ‘We will adjust if necessary’

Clayton Bartolo says the most recent measure to impose quarantine on unvaccinated incoming travellers could not have been introduced earlier because of EU commitments. He defended government’s tourism reopening strategy…

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Malta: Rate of transmission lower among the vaccinated, Charmaine Gauci confirms

The rate of transmission of COVID-19 is "lower" among those who are vaccinated, public health Chief Charmaine Gauci said on Wednesday. "There are studies that show the virus's viral load…

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Oil prices rise but rising Covid-19 cases weaken outlook

Oil rose above $69 a barrel on Tuesday, recouping some of the previous session's 7% slide, as a tight physical market pushed aside concerns about rising COVID-19 infections weakening the demand…

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Mallorca and Ibiza re-introduce closure measures amid surge in Covid cases

Mallorca and Ibiza are reintroducing a range of public health measures amid a surge in new Covid-19 cases. In fact, according to The Independent, Spain’s Balearic Islands are banning all events which involve people…

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Malta: Hundreds queue for vaccine as walk-in clinics open

Hundreds queued up to get vaccinated against COVID-19 on Monday as the first mobile clinic in Malta opened its doors. The appointment-free pop-up at Mosta Technopark opened at 9.30am and was only…

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Malta: Country goes red on COVID map released by European agency as cases continue to surge

Rising COVID-19 cases in Malta see the country join the red list in the weekly map released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Malta joined the red…

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After vaccination burnout, Delta variant spurs countries to speed up shots

The daily pace of COVID vaccinations has increased in about a dozen countries due to the arrival of the more contagious Delta variant and governments expanding their vaccination drives, a data analysis by…

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Tax probe into Rosianne Cutajar’s alleged property deal / Malta News Briefing – Tuesday 6 July 2021

Updated 0835- Newspaper Review The Times reveals that the Inland Revenue Department launched a tax evasion investigation into MP Rosianne Cutajar in the wake of reports that she helped broker…

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Maltese Editors’ Perspectives

Times of Malta suggests appointing a top official to oversee public cleanliness or giving additional powers to the commissioner for the environment and planning at the office of the Ombudsman.…

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Juventus plans 400 mln euro cash call to weather COVID-19 hit

June 30 (Reuters) - Italian soccer club Juventus plans to raise up to 400 million euros ($474 million) in a new share issue to offset the hit to its finances…

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Covid-19 active case tally up to 45 / Malta News Briefing – Wednesday 30 June 2021

Updated 1235 Covid-19 Update: Five new cases were reported on Wednesday. With no persons recovering for the third consecutive day, active cases now stand at 45. More than 320,000 persons…

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Bali reopening to foreign tourists delayed as COVID surges

ndonesia's government will wait until COVID-19 cases fall significantly before opening Bali to foreign tourists, the country's tourism minister said in an interview. The coronavirus pandemic has devastated the economy of Bali, for…

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No new Covid cases / Malta News Briefing – Tuesday 15 June 2021

Updated 1255 - No new Covid cases For the third time in the past ten days, no new Covid cases were reported. Health authorities said 1,526 swab tests were conducted…

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WHO official says can’t force China to give more information on COVID-19 origins

A top World Health Organization official said on Monday that the WHO cannot compel China to divulge more data on COVID-19's origins, while adding it will propose studies needed to take understanding of where the virus emerged to the "next…

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Vaccine disinformation: platforms monitoring program extended until the end of the year

Věra Jourová, Vice-President for Values and Transparency, said: “The report on vaccine disinformation show how important it is to be able to effectively monitor the measures put in place by the…

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Malta: Recovery programme for children who fell behind in school because of the pandemic

Students ranging from the first-year primary until last-year secondary and who missed out on several lessons because of the pandemic will have an opportunity to recover and continue from where…

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Malta formally launches vaccine certificate

Malta has formally launched its vaccine certificate, which will allow persons who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 to tavel and attend certain activities. The certificates will be available on certifikatvaccin.gov.mt…

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Malta records four new covid-19 cases, 3 recoveries / Malta News Briefing – Sunday 30 May 2021

Update 1230 - Malta reported four new cases and three recoveries. The latest numbers related to the vaccination process in Malta show that 512,214 were given the vaccine, of which…

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Malta: Pandemic pushed weekly working hours to well below 40

Workers clocked just 33.8 hours a week on average in 2020, the lowest in recent years mainly because employers tried to cut costs. In a report detailing the socio-economic impact…

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Malta: Herd immunity ‘is not the end’

Herd immunity, achieved by Malta earlier this week, was a big milestone in the fight against COVID-19 but it was not the end, the Superintendent of Public Health, Charmaine Gauci,…

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Malta: Curia issues directives on this summer’s feasts

The Church in Malta has issued directives on this year’s celebration of feasts. The Curia said that parish feasts and other religious feasts, celebrated inside the church building, will be…

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77-year-old becomes 418th Covid victim in Malta / Malta News Briefing – Tuesday 25 May 2021

Updated 1250 - Covid-19 Update Three new cases of coronavirus were reported on Tuesday, while five recovered, taking the active case tally to 69.After almost two weeks with no new…

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70% of population vaccinated by next week: Malta News Briefing – Saturday 22 May 2021

Updated 1235 COVID update New cases remained low with just two reported on Saturday. 14 persons recovered taking the active case tally down to 84. No deaths were reported. The…

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London office market undergoes makeover to woo post-pandemic workforce

Developers in London are revamping office spaces to suit the post-pandemic workforce, a survey showed on Monday, as weakening demand for workspaces poses a major concern in one of the…

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