JAKARTA – Indonesia’s economy returned to growth last year as surging commodity prices helped drive a recovery from a coronavirus-triggered recession, data showed Monday, though officials warned the outlook depended on how well the fast-spreading Omicron variant is managed. Southeast Asia’s biggest economy expanded 3.69 percent on-year, the country’s statistics agency said, having contracted in … Read more
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s health authorities on Friday said with a rise in the number of Omicron infected patients, the new variant was soon becoming dominant that would overtake the Delta variant in the country. To date, over 160 people have been infected with the Omicron variant, but the number was much higher than recorded, … 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
WELLINGTON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) — New Zealand reported 27 new cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19 in the community on Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country’s current community outbreak to 10,954. Among the new infections, 12 were recorded in the largest city of Auckland, seven in nearby Waikato, seven … Read more
WELLINGTON, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) — New Zealand reported 60 new Delta variant cases of COVID-19 in the community on Thursday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country’s current community outbreak to 10,776. Among the new infections, 20 were recorded in the largest city of Auckland, 28 in nearby Waikato, one in Northland, … Read more
CAIRO, Dec 18, 2021 (AFP) – Egypt on Saturday said it had detected its first three cases of the coronavirus Omicron variant, at the height of the economically vital tourist season. Three Egyptians tested positive on their return from overseas, the health ministry said without specifying where they had travelled from. One of them had mild symptoms and … Read more
BRUSSELS, Dec 16, 2021 (AFP) – The lightning spread of Omicron in Europe and elsewhere added a sense of urgency to an EU summit on Thursday, with leaders struggling to present a united, bloc-wide approach. Projections that the highly infectious Covid strain could be dominant in the EU as early as next month have pushed the … Read more
PARIS, Dec 16, 2021 (AFP) – France will ban non-essential travel to and from Britain from the weekend to slow the spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant that is causing record numbers of cases on the other side of the Channel, the government said Thursday. From midnight Saturday (2300 GMT Friday) there will be a “requirement … Read more
NAIROBI, Dec 15, 2021 (AFP) – Kenya has detected its first cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, the country’s health minister said on Wednesday. “We have detected the Omicron variant among passengers in airports,” said Mutahi Kagwe, without specifying when and where the variant was first identified. Kagwe said those hospitalised with Covid-19 in Kenya … Read more
ROME, Dec 15, 2021 (AFP) – Italy will tighten restrictions for arrivals from the rest of the EU from Thursday, requiring coronavirus tests of everyone and a five-day quarantine for those who are not vaccinated. Previously, EU arrivals had to show proof of vaccination, recent recovery or a negative test. The decree signed by Health Minister Roberto Speranza … Read more
JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) — Chairperson of the South African Medical Association (SAMA) said most patients infected with Omicron COVID-19 variant got mild symptoms, while the unvaccinated patients showed relatively severe symptoms. Angelique Cootze, who has treated 70 patients diagnosed with the new variant, said she has seen most patients with mild symptoms such as … Read more
WASHINGTON: The new Omicron variant of Covid-19 could slow the global economic recovery, just as the Delta strain did, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday. “A new variant that may spread very rapidly can dent confidence and in that sense, we are likely to see some downgrades of our October projections for global growth,” she … Read more
MADRID: The coronavirus pandemic will cost the global tourism sector $2 trillion in lost revenues in 2021, the UN’s tourism body said on Monday, calling the sector’s recovery ‘fragile’ and ‘slow’. The forecast from the Madrid-based World Tourism Organization comes as Europe is grappling with a surge in infections and as a new heavily mutated … Read more
Mumbai: Indian authorities are restricting major religious festivals that start this week and attract huge crowds, warning that a new Covid-19 wave had already begun in the financial capital Mumbai. State governments across the country of 1.3 billion people, which saw a devastating coronavirus surge in April-May, are clamping down on mass gatherings. “The third … Read more
PHNOM PENH: The total number of Delta variant cases in Cambodia has jumped to 3,323 after 669 new ones were reported, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said in a statement on Thursday. A total of 1,113 cases have been detected in the capital Phnom Penh, while the rest were found in 23 provinces, the statement … Read more
Saudi Arabia: lifts the ban on UAE travel imposed by the Covid-19 On Tuesday, it was lifting the ban on travel to the three countries involving the UAE earlier striking the limitation and stops the blowout of coronavirus, stated by Saudia Arabia. On Wednesday, the land, sea, and airports to the United Arab Emirates, South … Read more
Philippine on Saturday announced to lift its ban on flights from 10 countries including Pakistan. According to Khaleej Times, a spokesperson stated that President Rodrigo Duterte was lifting the coronavirus ban on travelers from 10 countries including Pakistan, India, and United Arab Emirates. The ban was introduced in April to curb the spread of deadly … Read more
Although paediatric COVID hospitalizations in the United States have increased since Delta became the most common variant, a recent study that looks at the data for the first time reveals fears the variant causes more severe disease are unfounded. Unvaccinated adolescents were more than 10 times more likely than vaccinated adolescents to be hospitalized between … Read more
