LONDON: The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is spreading among over-50s, but data do not suggest further restrictions are needed because of the high uptake of booster jabs by older people, British Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said today. “We’re seeing leakage into the over-50s in terms of infection,” he told BBC […]
Healthcare
WASHINGTON: US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday with mild symptoms and would attend meetings virtually as he quarantined at home for the next five days. News of Austin’s positive test comes after the Pentagon last week tightened restrictions at its headquarters over concern about […]
BEIJING: New Covid-19 cases in the locked-down Chinese city of Xi’an fell to their lowest in a week, health officials said today, as residents face their eleventh day under strict home confinement. China has followed a “zero Covid” approach involving tight border restrictions and swift, targeted lockdowns since the virus […]
JERUSALEM: A surge of Omicron infections could see Israel reaching herd immunity, the country’s top health official said today as daily cases continued to climb. The highly transmissible Omicron variant has brought a surge in coronavirus cases across the globe. Worldwide infections have hit a record high, with an […]
BEIJING: The Chinese city of Xian entered its 10th day of lockdown on Saturday as the Covid-19 outbreak has yet to show any solid sign of easing in the country’s epicentre of the latest flare-up. The city of 13 million people reported 174 new local cases with confirmed clinical symptoms […]
HONG KONG: Cathay Pacific Airways on Thursday said the latest tightening of quarantine restrictions on aircrew had led it to make significant changes to its flight schedule, including cancellations of passenger and cargo flights to and from Hong Kong. Hong Kong health authorities said on Tuesday the city would tighten […]
SYDNEY: Australia sought to relieve pressure on overrun Covid-19 testing facilities today by narrowing its definition of close contacts of infected people and relaxing requirements for tests, as daily cases topped 20,000 for the first time in the pandemic. Australia is grappling with the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus […]
SEOUL: South Korea said on Friday it will extend stricter social distancing rules for two weeks amid a persistent surge in serious coronavirus infections and concerns over the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant. The government reinstated the curbs on Dec. 18, six weeks after easing them under a […]
MEXICO CITY: Devastated by the loss of his daughter to COVID-19, Jaime Michaus joined hundreds of Mexicans seeking compensation from China and the World Health Organization, despite reservations and uncertain prospects of success. “I’m still not sure if I did the right thing,” Michaus said. “I have mixed feelings because […]
CHICAGO: New government rules that halve the isolation period for asymptomatic coronavirus infections lack safeguards that could result in even more infections as the United States faces a record surge driven by the Omicron variant, disease experts said. This week the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reduced the […]