Tag: South Africa

The World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a pandemic in March 2020. But it’s only in recent days, in May 2022, that secretive North Korea has reported its first confirmed cases of the virus. While it may seem somewhat astounding that a country has managed to get so far into the pandemic without an outbreak, North… Continue reading COVID has reached North Korea, threatening a humanitarian emergency

Beijing, April 30 (Reuters): China’s Suzhou Abogen Biosciences Co said its COVID-19 vaccine candidate using the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology and targeting the Omicron variant has obtained clinical trial approval in the United Arab Emirates. With Friday’s announcement, Abogen joins Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna in trialing candidates modified specifically against Omicron, a highly transmissible variant with… Continue reading Chinese Omicron-specific mRNA COVID vaccine candidate to be trialed in UAE

Shanghai/Beijing, April 30 (Reuters): Shanghai said it detected no new COVID-19 cases outside quarantine areas for Friday, hitting a key milestone in its battle to contain the virus, which has paralysed the city of 25 million and seen Beijing scramble to avert a similar crisis. Scenes of homes and buildings in China’s most populous city… Continue reading Shanghai hits key milestone in COVID battle as China cases fall

Johannesburg, April 29 (PTI): South Africa has likely entered a new wave of COVID-19 earlier than expected as new infections and hospitalisations have risen rapidly over the past two weeks, the country’s health minister said on Friday. The increase in new cases has been dominated by the BA.4 and BA.5 lineages of the omicron variant… Continue reading South Africa likely in new COVID wave, says health minister

Beijing, April 29 (PTI): China is facing a”tsunami” of Omicron, a senior official said on Friday, as the country reported over 20,000 COVID-19 cases with its largest city Shanghai continuing to reel under lockdown for over three weeks while over 21 million people in capital Beijing underwent third nucleic acid test amid the growing list… Continue reading China facing ‘tsunami’ of Omicron, says top official as Shanghai, Beijing battle to curb Covid spread

Shanghai, April 28 (Reuters): China’s biggest COVID-19 outbreak, in Shanghai, has again raised questions about the country’s official data – especially a death rate that despite a recent jump, remains far lower than elsewhere. Shanghai had reported no COVID-19 deaths for more than a month after the current outbreak began in early March. But deaths… Continue reading Shanghai death numbers raise questions over its COVID accounting

New Delhi, Apr 21 (PTI): Vaccine inequity remains an issue both within India, where less than 2 per cent of the population has received a Covid booster, and the globe with 56 countries unable to inoculate even 10 percent of their people, says Johns Hopkins scientist Amita Gupta. Tracking hospitalisation rates which provide an indicator… Continue reading No one safe until all vaccinated for Covid, track hospitalisations: Johns Hopkins scientist

New Delhi, Apr 21 (PTI): Omicron sublineage BA.2.12 has been detected in a majority of the samples sequenced from Delhi in the first fortnight of April and it could be behind the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the city, sources said Thursday. However, an Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) source has claimed that Omicron… Continue reading Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12 found in majority of Delhi samples, could be behind surge: Sources

Taipei, Taiwan (AP): Lu Muying died on April 1 in a government quarantine facility in Shanghai, with her family on the phone as doctors tried to resuscitate her. She had tested positive for COVID-19 in late March and was moved there in line with government policy that all coronavirus cases be centrally isolated. But the… Continue reading Surprisingly low Shanghai COVID death count spurs questions