Authorities in the southwestern China province of Chengdu have maintained a strict Covid lockdown, after an earthquake that has killed at least 65 people in surrounding areas. Footage circulating online showed workers wearing protective gear preventing some of the city’s 21 million residents from exiting their apartments. Buildings in Chengdu …
Read More »Dutch police detain dozens in a second night of COVID-19 rioting
Five police officers were injured in the Netherlands and at least 40 people detained across three provinces as violent protests against COVID-19 restrictions continued for a second night into Sunday. Dutch authorities used water cannon, dogs, and mounted police to stop rioting youths who set fires and threw fireworks in …
Read More »Austria imposes full lockdown, Germany may follow, as COVID grips Europe
Austria will become the first country in western Europe to reimpose a full COVID-19 lockdown, it said on Friday as neighbouring Germany warned it may follow suit, sending shivers through financial markets worried about the economic fallout. The fourth wave of infections has plunged Germany, Europe’s largest economy, into a …
Read More »Austria plans to approve lockdown for the unvaccinated on Sunday
Austria’s government is likely to decide on Sunday to impose a lockdown on people who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus as daily infections have surged to record levels, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said on Friday. Schallenberg did not say when the lockdown would take effect, but the two provinces …
Read More »New Zealand PM Ardern extends COVID-19 lockdown in Auckland
New Zealand’s largest city Auckland will remain in lockdown to beat the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday. Auckland will remain in the strict Alert level 4 lockdown until midnight on September 21, after which it will move to alert level …
Read More »New Zealand lifts COVID-19 lockdown this week, barring Auckland
New Zealand will mostly lift its Covid-19 lockdown this week, with only the country’s infection epicenter Auckland to remain under strict stay-at-home orders, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday About three million New Zealanders will no longer be under stay-at-home orders as of Tuesday overnight, and schools will reopen …
Read More »New Zealand’s Ardern locks down nation over single COVID-19 case
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern put the nation under strict lockdown on Tuesday after one new case of the coronavirus was reported in its largest city of Auckland, the country’s first in six months. All of New Zealand will be in lockdown for three days from Wednesday while Auckland …
Read More »Sydney records deadliest day of COVID-19 pandemic, Melbourne lockdown extended
Australia’s biggest city of Sydney recorded its deadliest day of the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday as troops and police set up roadblocks to limit the movement of people, while Melbourne faced a nightly curfew and a further two weeks of lockdown. Sydney, which is in its eighth week of lockdown, …
Read More »Iran orders travel ban and shutdown amid COVID surge
Iran is to impose a one-week lockdown and a ban on road travel amid a fifth COVID-19 surge in the worst-hit country in the Middle East, state television reported on Saturday. All non-essential businesses and offices will have to close under the nationwide lockdown from Monday to Aug. 21, in …
Read More »Philippines imposes stringent lockdown on 24 million people as delta runs riot
The latest lockdown on the capital and its satellite cities is the third round of harsh restrictions since the pandemic began More than 24 million people in the Philippines have been plunged into a new, harsh lockdown as Covid-19’s aggressive delta variant runs rampant across the Southeast Asian nation. The …
Read More »England’s ‘freedom day’ marred by soaring cases and isolation chaos
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ‘freedom day’ ending over a year of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in England was marred on Monday by surging infections, warnings of supermarket shortages, and his own forced self-isolation. Summary England lifts most COVID restrictions Johnson was forced to isolate after trying to skip it PM …
Read More »Thousands protest against forced COVID-19 vaccinations in France
Thousands marched across France on Saturday to protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to force vaccination of health workers and require a COVID-19 free certificate to enter places such as bars, restaurants, and cinemas. Macron this week announced sweeping measures to fight a rapid surge in coronavirus infections, which protesters …
Read More »Mexico City shuts down classes again, enters higher COVID-19 risk tier
Mexico City schools that had just gone back to in-person classes will be closed again starting Monday as the sprawling capital climbs into a higher tier of coronavirus risk, education authorities said on Saturday. Mexico City officials had loosened restrictions on gatherings in schools, hotels, stores, and restaurants just two …
Read More »Paris celebrates, cautiously, as France ditches face masks outdoors
Some people in the French capital joyfully ditched their masks on Thursday after the government announced the precaution against the coronavirus pandemic would no longer be mandatory outdoors. But the jubilation was tempered by the knowledge that the virus was still circulating, and some safety measures would still be in …
Read More »Indian cities unlocking after declining COVID-19 infections
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 …
Read More »UK readies for major reopening but new variant sparks worry
Travelers in England were packing their bags, bartenders were polishing their glasses and performers were warming up as Britain prepared Sunday for a major step out of lockdown — but with clouds of worry on the horizon. Excitement at the reopening of travel and hospitality vied with anxiety that a …
Read More »Cyprus lifts 3rd lockdown, introduces Covid ‘safety pass’ for citizens to return to some form of normality
As the country emerges from its third partial lockdown, authorities in Cyprus have introduced a coronavirus “safety pass” system to afford at least some semblance of freedom of movement to its (vaccinated) citizens. Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou described the initiative as “a step towards returning to a more normal pace …
Read More »Iraq to cancel the lock-down soon
The Higher Committee for Health and National Safety, announced, on Thursday, new measures to ease the restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a statement by the committee received by AlghdeerTv, the curfew hours are from 9:30 P.M to 6:00 A.M, and malls are allowed to reopen with …
Read More »South Africa mulls return to restrictions as COVID-19 surges
Confronted by surging hospitalizations due to COVID-19, South Africa is considering a return to tighter restrictions to combat the disease, which officials say may soon overwhelm the country’s health system. President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced he will speak to the nation about the crisis on Sunday evening after top health …
Read More »Spain to extend state of emergency to April 26 as rise in infections slows
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday he would ask parliament to extend lockdown measures by 15 days until April 26, as the rate of new coronavirus infections and deaths slowed again in one of the world’s worst-hit countries. in a televised address to the nation, Sanchez said the …
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