Tag Archives: COVID-19

Renewed interest in coronavirus origin hypothesis after criticism over WHO inquiry and arrival of new US administration. There is growing public support among the world’s scientific community for fully exploring the possibility the coronavirus may have emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, leading to the global outbreak that has …

Australia’s second-most populous state Victoria on Sunday reported two new locally acquired COVID-19 cases, with the low number raising hopes that a hard lockdown in the state’s capital Melbourne will be eased on June 10. Two other new cases were reported on Sunday by an aged care home, but the …

The Iraqi Commission for Human Rights in Iraq announced today that it had documented 87 suicides and attempted suicides in the country during the first half of the current year. Commission member Fadel Al-Gharawi said in a statement that the outbreak of COVID-19, the deterioration of the economic situation, unemployment, …

Filming in Britain on the latest installment of the Tom Cruise franchise is halted for two weeks after people working on the movie tested positive for coronavirus. Filming in Britain on the latest “Mission: Impossible” movie has been shut down for two weeks after some people working on the movie …

Diversity in flu virus strains and lineages has declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, with some experts speculating the potential extinction of certain virulent strains, news reports revealed. Over the years, flu continuously evolves to weaken and evade immune defenses developed by humans to fend them off and in the years …

US donation comes after Taiwan accused China of trying to block the island from accessing vaccines internationally. The United States will give Taiwan 750,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, as part of the country’s plan to share millions of jabs globally, a delegation of US senators have announced after Taipei complained …

The first cruise ship to leave Venice since coronavirus restrictions were eased set sail on Saturday, but some local residents protested over the return to normal, unhappy about the passage of giant liners through the historic lagoon city. Hundreds of people rallied on land and small boats fluttering flags saying …

With COVID-19 infections coming down to the lowest level country-wide in nearly two months to 120,529 new cases in the last 24 hours, India’s major cities today announced significant relaxations in lockdowns in New Delhi and Mumbai. Government and private offices will be allowed to reopen with 50 percent attendance …

Group of Seven rich nations will seek to overcome long-standing differences on Saturday and strike a landmark deal to close the net on large companies that they say do not pay enough tax. The proposed accord, which could form the basis of a global pact next month, is aimed at …

Questions surround controversial decision to award football tournament to Brazil, country with second-highest COVID death toll in the world. It is fitting that the underused Estadio Mane Garrincha football stadium in Brasilia sits almost within sight of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s office. In a little more than a week, the …

People traveling to France from countries where the COVID-19 risk is rated “orange”, such as Britain and the United States, will have to be vaccinated and show a recent negative test result, European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune said on Friday. Under new rules set to take effect from June 9, …

Iraq recorded 4157 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health said today, Friday. The daily epidemiological report on the COVID-19 situation stated that 26 COVID-19 deaths were registered today. On the other hand, 4126 patients have achieved full recovery. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Iraq, …

Indonesia has canceled the haj pilgrimage for people in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation for the second year in a row due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, the religious affairs minister said on Thursday. For many Indonesians, a religious pilgrimage is a once-in-a-lifetime event, with an average wait time …

A study indicates that antibodies are still present up to a year after infection with the coronavirus, according to the Associated Press. Immunologist Ali Ellebedy at Washington University in St. Louis discovered that nearly a year after people recovered from COVID-19 they had plasma cells, one of the body’s immune …

The Covid-19 pandemic has plunged more than 100 million workers into poverty, the UN has said, warning that employment won’t reach pre-pandemic levels again until 2023 at the earliest. “In 2020, an estimated 8.8% of total working hours were lost – the equivalent of the hours worked in one year …

Much of Africa may have been spared the death toll that COVID-19 brought to other regions, but it now faces recession, growing violence, and higher unemployment because of the pandemic, a report said on Wednesday. “The global economic shutdown has driven Africa into recession for the first time in 30 …

Australia’s Victoria state on Wednesday extended a snap COVID-19 lockdown for a second week in Melbourne in a bid to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious virus strain first detected in India but will ease some restrictions in other regions. Victoria, Australia’s second-most populous state, was plunged into lockdown …

The UK on Monday recorded no new Covid-19 deaths for the first time since March 7, 2020, adding strength to calls for all restrictions to end as planned on June 21. UK Prime Minister Johnson has said he will wait for more data on the increasing spread of the newly …

The World Health Organization has issued an emergence use listing for the COVID-19 vaccine made by Sinovac in adults aged 18 and over, the second such authorization it has granted to a Chinese company. In a statement Tuesday, the UN health agency said data submitted to its experts showed that …

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, with Brent topping $70 and trading at its highest since March, as optimism grew over the fuel demand outlook during the summer driving season of the United States, the world’s top oil consumer. Prices were also boosted after data from China showed that factory activity …