THE HAGUE: The Netherlands will lift almost all anti-Covid restrictions by February 25 and return to normal life as cases and hospitalisations fall, the health minister said on Tuesday. Bars, restaurants and nightclubs will go back to pre-pandemic opening hours while social distancing and face masks will no longer be obligatory in most places. The … Read more
HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s health facilities have been overloaded by an “onslaught” of Covid-19 infections, its leader said, as a rise in Omicron cases threatens to bring down the city’s “zero-Covid” policy. Authorities have adhered to mainland China’s policy of stamping out the smallest outbreak with mass quarantine, widespread tracking, and prolonged social distancing measures since the … Read more
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday declined the petition of the Punjab Marriage Halls Association (PMHA) challenging the new restrictions on indoor functions after the sharp surge in the cases of Omicron variant of Covid-19. The high court observed that the issue raised in the petition is related to the policy of the … Read more
WELLINGTON – New Zealand reported 24 new cases of COVID-19 in the community on Wednesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country’s current community outbreak to 11,360. Among the new infections, 14 were recorded in the largest city of Auckland, one in Northland, one in nearby Waikato, five in the Lakes region, … 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
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
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
ULAN BATOR, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) — Mongolia has recorded 2,347 new COVID-19 infections, including 22 imported ones over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 406,118, the country’s health ministry said Saturday. More than half of the latest confirmed cases were detected in the national capital Ulan Bator, the hardest-hit area by COVID-19 … Read more
WELLINGTON, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) — New Zealand reported 28 new cases of COVID-19 in the community on Thursday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country’s current community outbreak to 11,236. Among the new infections, nine were recorded in the largest city of Auckland, three in nearby Waikato, five in Bay of Plenty, … Read more
NEW DELHI, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) — India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 35,875,790 on Tuesday, as 168,063 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, showed the federal health ministry’s latest data. It is the third consecutive day when more than 150,000 new cases were registered over 24 hours in the country, which is also … Read more
MANILA, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) — The highly infectious Omicron coronavirus variant has raced ahead of Delta and is now the dominant variant in the Philippines, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said late Monday night. In a pre-recorded meeting with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte aired late Monday night, Duque said that the newest genome sequencing showed over … Read more
KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Monday said that 39 more cases of Omicron variant of Covid-19 emerged when 53 samples were tested during the last two days, taking the tally of the new variant in the province to 367. Apart from this, he said that 940 new cases of Covid-19 were … Read more
BEIJING: China reported more cases of the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant on Monday, with authorities on high alert over flare-ups in major cities just weeks ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The emergence of the fast-spreading variant is yet another test of China’s zero Covid strategy, with authorities already battling several outbreaks — including … Read more
KARACHI: The Pakistan rupee’s stability is linked with the international oil prices and the demand for the dollars for export payments next week, as the foreign exchange reserves of the country is on the decline, analysts said. The international oil prices are on the rise for the last couple of days, while the external payments … Read more
HONG KONG: A Hong Kong cruise ship carrying 3,700 people was ordered back to port on Wednesday for virus testing after nine people were found to be close contacts in an Omicron variant outbreak. Like mainland China, Hong Kong pursues a zero-Covid policy and maintains some of the world’s strictest measures — including virtually closed borders, weeks-long … Read more
BANGKOK, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) — Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health said on Tuesday that a total of 2,062 Omicron cases of COVID-19 have been detected in the country. Supakit Sirilak, medical sciences director-general from the Ministry of Public Health, noted that omicron cases in the country had spiked up quickly from around 700 before the … Read more
ISLAMABAD, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) — Pakistan has so far registered 352 infections of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, an official from the country’s health ministry said on Tuesday. Rana Muhammad Safdar, director general of health at the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, told Xinhua that a total of 352 Omicron cases have … Read more
Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab on Monday urged the Karachittes to follow the coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs) as the government does not want to be strict due to rapidly rising Covid-19 cases. He was addressing the media in Karachi on Monday after attending the meeting of the coronavirus task force chaired by Sindh Chief Minister … Read more
National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Chief and Federal Planning Minister, Asad Umar, warns that clear evidence of the beginning of another Covid-19 wave is evident in the country. Taking to his Twitter account on Sunday, NCOC chief wrote, “Clear evidence now of a beginning of another covid wave which has been expected for last … Read more
WELLINGTON, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) — New Zealand reported 49 new Delta variant cases of COVID-19 in the community on Friday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country’s current community outbreak to 10,825. Among the new infections, 22 were recorded in the largest city of Auckland, three in nearby Waikato, 19 in Bay … Read more
The National Institute of Health (NIH) has confirmed a total of 79 cases of Omicron across the country, claiming that it has also isolated the patients and initiated contact tracing to control the spread of the variant. Read more: NIH confirms Pakistan’s first Omicron case after analysing samples An NIH statement issued by the institute … Read more
NEW DELHI, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) — Cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 have been gradually rising in India though the daily number of coronavirus infections has been on the decline in the country over the past few days. On Tuesday, 5,784 new cases were registered across India, the lowest daily tally in 571 days. … Read more
NEW DELHI, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) — India Tuesday reported eight more cases of the Omicron variant, taking the country’s case tally of the new variant to 49, officials said. Of the eight new cases, four have been reported from the national capital region and the remaining four from the western state of Rajasthan. “Four new … Read more
LONDON: Unemployment in Britain has fallen again, despite the end of a government scheme to keep millions of private-sector workers in their roles during the coronavirus pandemic, official data showed on Tuesday. The jobless rate, which measures the number of people out of work as a proportion of the working population as a whole, slipped to … Read more
BEIJING, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) — The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. – – – – CANBERRA — South Australian authorities have warned the state’s border could still be slammed shut to interstate travelers in response to the Omicron variant. South Australia (SA) Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said on … Read more
OSLO, Dec 3, 2021 (AFP) – At least 17 people who came down with Covid-19 after a Christmas party gathering over 100 guests in Oslo last week are suspected of having the Omicron variant, city officials said on Friday. “So far 60 people have tested positive (for Covid) with PCR tests, and four with antigen tests. … Read more
