Tag: coronavirus

Scotland to Move to Lowest Level of COVID Restrictions on Monday

Coronavirus restrictions are to ease in Scotland on Monday as Nicola Sturgeon confirmed the country will move to Level 0 of lockdown measures, with some changes to original plans. The First Minister briefed MSPs in a virtual setting of the Scottish Parliament, which was recalled from its summer recess for the update. She said the…


Australia Still Has a ‘Long Journey’ Before Reaching Herd Immunity: Expert

One of Australia’s leading medical research institutes specialising in COVID-19 has said the country still has a long way to go before achieving herd immunity. Modelling (pdf) from the Burnet Institute on the Victorian second wave suggested the vaccination threshold should be around 60-80 percent of the population, assuming the vaccines have 50 percent efficacy…


Belgian Woman Contracted 2 COVID Variants Simultaneously

A 90-year-old Belgian woman who died from COVID-19 in March had contracted two variants of coronavirus at the same time, which is believed to be the first documented case of its kind, a scientific congress and Belgian media said on Sunday. The case, discussed at this year’s European Congress on Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases…


US Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Rise, Overall Trend Points Lower

WASHINGTON—The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week but continuing claims dropped, another indication that the labor market recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be choppy. Businesses have reopened at a rapid clip, boosted by a rollback in restrictions. Still, the job market rebound has been anything but…


Luxembourg PM in ‘Serious,’ Stable Condition With COVID-19

BRUSSELS—Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel is in a “serious, but stable” condition and will remain in the hospital for up to four more days after he was unable to shake a bout of COVID-19 that developed over a week ago, the government said. In a statement, it added that the running of state affairs will…


Western Australia Exits Lockdown Amid Warning They’ll Happen Again Until Vaccinations Increase

Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan has warned that until more of his state’s residents are vaccinated against coronavirus, lockdowns will remain a “necessary tool” to curb outbreaks. His warning comes despite Prime Minister Scott Morrison saying on Friday that all state territory leaders had agreed to only use lockdowns as a last resort. More than…


US to Ship 2.5 Million Doses of J&J Vaccine to Colombia

The United States plans to ship 2.5 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine to Colombia, the White House said Wednesday. The Colombian president’s office said Monday that U.S. President Joe Biden told President Ivan Duque of the donation in a call during which they also discussed reactivating the economy, jobs, climate change and…


Hong Kong’s UK Flight Ban Leaves Students Stranded, Parents in Despair

HONG KONG—For 22-year old Timmin Lam, who is studying in Manchester, the ban on flights from the United Kingdom to Hong Kong this week is the latest in a series of unrelenting measures that have prevented him from traveling home for almost two years. “I feel trapped in the UK. I really wish the pandemic…


Kim Berates North Korean Officials for ‘Crucial’ Virus Lapse

SEOUL, South Korea—North Korean leader Kim Jong Un berated top officials for failures in coronavirus prevention that caused a “great crisis,” using strong language that raised the specter of a mass outbreak in a country that would be scarcely able to handle it. The state media report Wednesday did not specify what “crucial” lapse had…


Czechs Ban Travel to Russia, Tunisia Due to Coronavirus Variants

PRAGUE—The Czech Health Ministry has banned Czechs from travelling to Russia, Tunisia and other countries due to the spread of COVID-19 variants there, the ministry said on Tuesday. The Czech Republic on Monday recorded a week-on-week rise in new cases to 157 from 118 a week ago, a sign of a potential turn in the…