ISLAMABAD: The government like the polio vaccination campaign, should launch door to door Covid vaccination drive to curtail the burgeoning cases of new variant Omicron, said health expert Dr Nasrullah Sabki. Talking to APP on Monday, he said vaccination was the only solution to the deadly virus, however, the door to door vaccination would help … Read more
SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) — South Korea reported 4,072 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Monday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 700,102. The daily caseload was up from 3,858 in the previous day amid the spread of the Omicron variant, which the health authorities expected to become … Read more
BEIJING, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) — Beijing reported another new locally-transmitted COVID-19 case on Monday after the first locally-transmitted Omicron case was reported Saturday, the municipal health commission said Tuesday. The new case is confirmed to be a close contact with the first Omicron case in Beijing, said the commission. Read more: Chinese mainland reports 163 … Read more
NEW DELHI, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) — India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 37,618,271 on Tuesday, as 238,018 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry’s latest data. This is the sixth consecutive day when more than 200,000 new cases were registered in a day in the country. … Read more
OTTAWA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) — Canada reported 23,586 new COVID-19 cases Monday evening, raising its national total to 2,801,446 with 30,946 deaths, CTV reported. Ontario, the most populous province in the country, reported 8,521 new cases and 22 deaths on Monday while Quebec, the second-most populous province, confirmed 5,400 new cases and 54 fatalities. Kids … Read more
BEIJING – China on Monday cancelled plans to sell tickets to the public for the Winter Olympics in Beijing, as the number of Covid-19 cases in the country reached its highest since March 2020. Organisers said last year there would be no international spectators at the Games partly due to China’s weeks-long quarantine requirements but … Read more
BANGKOK, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) — Thailand on Monday reported 6,929 new COVID-19 cases and 13 more fatalities, according to the country’s Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA). Most of the new infections were detected in regions including the capital Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Chon Buri, Phuket and Nonthaburi. The CCSA also reported that all the new … Read more
MANILA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) — The Philippines reported 37,070 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, raising the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,242,374. The Department of Health (DOH) said the number of active cases soared to an all-time high of 290,938 as the country’s positivity rate dipped to 46 percent from … Read more
BEIJING: The number of Covid-19 cases in China reached the highest since March 2020 on Monday, as Beijing races to stamp out the highly transmissible coronavirus variant just three weeks before hosting the Winter Olympics. China, where the virus first emerged in late 2019, has stuck to a strict policy of targeting zero Covid cases … Read more
ULAN BATOR, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) — Mongolia reported 1,673 new local COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 410,542, the country’s health ministry said Monday. More than half of the latest confirmed cases were detected in the national capital Ulan Bator, the hardest-hit area by COVID-19 and home to over … Read more
WASHINGTON: The US economy ended 2021 on a sour note with a worse-than-expected employment report Friday underscoring the challenges awaiting President Joe Biden in the New Year, as the Omicron variant runs rampant and his legislative agenda stalls. The world’s largest economy gained only 199,000 jobs in the final month of the year, the Labour … Read more
PARIS: After limping its way back from the Covid pandemic last year, the global economic recovery has been rattled by the Omicron variant’s rapid rise. The travel industry has been thrown into disarray again, workers have been forced to isolate at home and governments are facing a stark choice between imposing restrictions or letting the … Read more
Brussels – The World Health Organization has warned that more than half of the people in its European region will be infected with Covid-19 in the next two months as several countries report record numbers of new cases. The region, which covers 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia, reported more than 7 million new … Read more
NEW DELHI – New Delhi ordered the closure of non-essential offices and restaurants and bars but offered free online yoga classes to those in home isolation, as Covid cases soared in the Indian capital and nationwide. With case numbers rising six-fold over the past week, the Indian government is terrified of a repeat of last … Read more
LONDON – More than 150,000 people have died after catching coronavirus in the United Kingdom, the government said on January 8, in a tragic milestone for one of the worst affected countries in Europe. Prime Minister Boris Johnson posted a message on Twitter saying: “Coronavirus has taken a terrible toll on our country and today … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Chairman of Pakistan Science and Technology Task Force Prof Dr Ataur Rehman has warned that the Omicron variant could be lethal to those who have not been vaccinated. In an interview, he stated that the unvaccinated population should get vaccinated against the virus as soon as possible. He claimed that the Omicron variant is … Read more
WASHINGTON: High demand for groceries combined with soaring freight costs and Omicron-related labour shortages are creating a new round of backlogs at processed food and fresh produce companies, leading to empty supermarket shelves at major retailers across the United States, Reuters reported. Growers of perishable produce across the West Coast are paying nearly triple pre-pandemic trucking rates … Read more
WELLINGTON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) — New Zealand reported 29 new community cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, said the Ministry of Health in a statement. Among the new community infections, 11 were recorded in the largest city of Auckland, 14 in the Lakes region, two in Northland, one in Bay of Plenty and one in Wellington, … Read more
NEW DELHI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) — India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 36,850,962 on Saturday as 268,833 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, showed the federal health ministry’s latest data. This is the third consecutive day when more than 200,000 daily cases were registered. Besides, as many as 402 deaths due to the … Read more
BEIJING: The southern Chinese city of Zhuhai suspended public bus routes on Saturday after announcing it had detected at least seven cases of the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant there and warning residents not to leave the city. The coastal city of Zhuhai, which borders the gambling hub Macau, said late Friday Omicron had been … Read more
STOCKHOLM – Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has tested positive for COVID-19, her press secretary said on Friday. Andersson’s press secretary told local media that she is fine under the circumstances and will carry out her duties from home. Following a debate session in the parliament earlier this week which the prime minister also attended, … Read more
KATHMANDU – Kathmandu’s Bir Hospital, the largest in Nepal which was converted into a COVID-19 hospital, has witnessed growing hospitalizations in the past week. Meanwhile, major hospitals in the Kathmandu Valley all face rising hospitalizations along with surging daily infections since the start of the new year. HOSPITALIZATIONS, TESTS GROWING Bir Hospital had 41 COVID-19 … Read more
ULAN BATOR, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) — Mongolia recorded 2,279 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bring the national count to 401,761, the country’s health ministry said on Thursday. Meanwhile, the viral disease has so far claimed 2,006 lives after three new deaths were reported. The Asian country confirmed its first imported and local … Read more
SHANGHAI – The Omicron variant, which spreads faster than Delta, will result in a hospitalization surge and overload the healthcare system, said Zhang Wenhong, head of the Center for Infectious Diseases with the Shanghai-based Huashan Hospital of Fudan University. He added that the battle between humanity and the Omicron variant is at its “toughest moment.” … Read more
ARLINGTON: The used car market in the United States is seeing an unprecedented phenomenon: owners selling vehicles for as much or more than they paid for them. The strange twist comes as a global shortage of computer chips amid the Covid-19 pandemic has stalled auto manufacturing, fueling a price increase for used vehicles, which in turn … Read more
TOKYO, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) — The Tokyo metropolitan government on Thursday raised its COVID-19 alert level to the second highest on its four-tier scale owing to the rampant spread of the Omicron variant of the virus around the capital. The scale was lifted one notch by the Tokyo metropolitan government. The alert level hasn’t reached … Read more
NEW DELHI, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) — India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 36,317,927 on Thursday, as 247,417 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry’s latest data. This is the first day when more than 200,000 new cases were registered in a day in the country in … Read more
SYDNEY, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) — Following a government mandate to log positive Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs), the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) recorded a vast record of 92,264 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday. Of the new cases, 30,877 were done through traditional PCR testing and a further 61,387 were self-reported by citizens since … Read more
