Latest News

CHIANG MAI: A jump in the number of Covid-19 cases has set alarm bells ringing ahead of a plan to reopen the northern province for fully vaccinated foreign tourists.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha says Thailand will open the country to visitors from 46 countries instead of only 10 Covid-19 low-risk countries announced earlier, starting from Nov 1.

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Moscow will reintroduce COVID-19 lockdown measures from Oct. 28, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Thursday, with supermarkets and pharmacies the only shops allowed to stay open in an effort to cut soaring infections and deaths. Read full story

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s federal government and the 10 provinces have agreed on a standard COVID-19 electronic vaccination passport allowing domestic and foreign travel, government officials told reporters on Thursday. Read full story

Hong Kong officials have added five hotels to the government’s approved list of coronavirus quarantine facilities, ramping up room supply by 15 per cent ahead of an expected rush of inbound travellers over the Christmas holiday season.The administration revealed on Tuesday that a total of 40 designated quarantine hotels would provide about 11,500 rooms between […]

Millions of children are set to be lifted out of poverty this year because the Democrats temporarily beefed up the child tax credit in the last coronavirus relief package.

If you’re planning to travel to Croatia, here’s what you’ll need to know and expect if you want to visit during the Covid-19 pandemic

If you’re planning a trip to the Netherlands, here’s what you’ll need to know and expect if you want to visit during the global coronavirus pandemic.

If you’re planning a trip to France, here’s what you’ll need to know and expect if you want to visit during the global coronavirus pandemic.

If you’re planning a trip to Portugal, here’s what you’ll need to know and expect if you want to visit during the global coronavirus pandemic.

CDC vaccine advisers will meet today to discuss booster doses of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, as well as mixing and matching of boosters. Follow here for the latest.

If you’re planning a trip to Spain, here’s what you’ll need to know and expect if you want to visit during the global coronavirus pandemic.

Hong Kong will donate 7.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to developing countries through a global distribution platform, the health minister has revealed, noting that the city’s supplies and epidemic situation are stable.The doses, which Hong Kong procured earlier but were not supplied this year to avoid wastage, will be given to the […]

A foreign domestic helper who tested positive for the coronavirus five days after completing quarantine in Hong Kong has been confirmed as infected, triggering compulsory screening orders on places she visited.The 30-year-old woman, who arrived in the city from Indonesia via Cathay Pacific flight 798 on September 17, tested negative for Covid-19 at the airport […]

A Russian diplomat who was exempted from hotel quarantine after flying into Hong Kong has tested positive for Covid-19, triggering a lockdown of his residential building and reigniting public concerns over the self-isolation privileges granted to certain groups of people.The diplomatic status of the 55-year-old man, identified by a source as Russia’s deputy consul-general, allowed […]

Hong Kong’s sole delegate to China’s top legislative body has been barred from attending a meeting in the capital next week by mainland Chinese health authorities citing the risk of infection posed by a single, untraceable case of Covid-19 found recently in the city.Unable to travel to Beijing, National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee member […]

Hong Kong’s sole delegate to China’s top legislative body has warned that mainland authorities are unlikely to accept any Covid-19 health code-sharing proposal from the city for residents to cross the border without having to undergo quarantine, unless they submit contact-tracing information as a mandatory requirement.National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee member Tam Yiu-chung disagreed […]

Indonesia is tightening air travel measures to ensure an anticipated jump in the number of passengers ahead of year-end holidays won’t lead to a resurgence in coronavirus infections.

BERLIN: Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE on Thursday said data from a Phase III trial demonstrated high efficacy of a booster dose of their Covid-19 vaccine against the virus, including the Delta variant.

PETALING JAYA: The number of new Covid-19 cases has gone up to 6,210, after staying below the 6,000 mark for three days, says Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. Read full story

Elderly Hong Kong residents seeking to get vaccinated for Covid-19 will soon only need to pick up the phone and a coach will drive them to an inoculation centre, a senior official has said.Mobile vaccination vehicles will also begin visiting local housing estates next month as the government continues its attempts to boost vaccination rates […]

Mainland Chinese authorities have neither insisted on Hong Kong adopting their exact protocol for mandatory Covid-19 contact tracing, nor spelled out specific preconditions for reopening the border, the Post has learned.They refrained out of respect for the constraints city officials might face, according to a Hong Kong source familiar with recent meetings of experts from […]

Hong Kong confirmed six imported Covid-19 cases on Thursday, while authorities launched a trial run for a dedicated transport service in Sham Shui Po to encourage more elderly residents to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.A 41-year-old domestic helper from Indonesia was among the six new infections. The remaining cases comprised a 60-year-old man arriving from […]

October 21, 2021 10:00 AM The logistical nightmare has been the result of manpower shortages and port closures elsewhere caused partly by Covid-19 restrictions.

October 21, 2021 6:14 PM Many felt the F&B industry has been treated unfairly, and the logic behind the rules is not clear to them.

October 21, 2021 7:56 PM SINGAPORE – More than 5,000 beds have been set aside for foreign workers to recover from Covid-19 in centralised facilities that are typically located in larger dormitories, since the start of October.

Boris Johnson lifted almost all Covid-19 restrictions in July. Now, Britain’s caseload is soaring as experts warn the country could be in for a rough winter.

If you’re planning a trip to Japan, here’s what you’ll need to know and expect if you want to visit during the global coronavirus pandemic.

Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day.

Britain’s doctors’ union has accused Boris Johnson’s government of being “willfully negligent” in its handling of the latest wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, as ministers refuse to introduce mitigation measures despite soaring infection rates and increasing pressure on hospitals.

Most countries around the world fare badly in enforcement of law during the Covid-19 pandemic. The post Cambodia rejects poor ranking in ‘rule of law’ index appeared first on The Cambodia Daily.

Laos has recorded 392 new cases of Covid-19 across the country today, with two new deaths. The National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control reported that 6,579 tests were conducted across the country over the last 24 hours, with 392 new cases confirmed. There were 389 cases of community spread and three imported cases across […]

Intellasia East Asia News The latest report from technology company Cisco revealed that 57 percent SMBs in the Philippines suffered a cyber attack in the last 12 months and as a result of these incidents, 73 percent lost customer information to the hands of malicious actors. Attacks on small businesses increased during the COVID-19 pandemic […]

Intellasia East Asia News The Philippines has 633 new cases of the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19, the Department of Health said on Monday citing latest whole genome sequencing results. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire reported the additional Delta infections accounted for 84.63 percent of the 748 samples tested on October 16, which she […]

NEW DELHI: India administered its billionth Covid-19 vaccine dose on Thursday, according to the health ministry, half a year after a devastating surge in cases brought the health system close to collapse.

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): The number of visits to the Sebenarnya.my portal has increased drastically since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country in January last year with 198.31 million visits or an average of 9.4 million hits per month, compared to 63.7 million visits or an average of 2.65 million hits per month before the pandemic, […]

October 21, 2021 12:42 PM It is an indication of the virulent nature of the Delta strain and its impact on the unvaccinated here.

October 21, 2021 2:35 PM It is going to sound the death knell for many businesses, said the Singapore Retailers Association.

India has administered more than 1 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses, a remarkable feat just months after a second wave of infection killed thousands of people across the country.

People looking to boost their Covid-19 vaccinations have surpassed the number of people looking to begin them and the additional doses may soon be made available to a greater proportion of the US.

When her husband of 30 years died, Fran Bak set off on a spiritual journey that would take her though Bali, India, and eventually end with her being the only tourist given permission to enter the kingdom of Bhutan since the advent of the coronavirus pandemic.

  As the world comes together to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to ensure that essential health services and operations are continued to protect the lives of people with TB and other diseases or health conditions. Health services, including national programmes to combat TB, need to be actively engaged in ensuring an effective […]

Please join us by signing the Call for Action—a global movement to promote access to health information and to mitigate harm from health misinformation among online and offline communities. Sign the Call for Action Since the beginning of the outbreak over a year ago, the COVID-19 pandemic has gravely affected our societies and economies. Likewise, […]

Lack of water puts health care workers and patients at higher risk of COVID-19 infection Around 1.8 billion people are at heightened risk of COVID-19 and other diseases because they use or work in health care facilities without basic water services, warn WHO and UNICEF.  “Working in a health care facility without water, sanitation and […]

Funding for community programmes, engaging youth in solutions to address COVID-19, and convening Global Youth Summit are key features of this new mobilization A new ground-breaking global youth mobilization was launched today to invest in and scale up youth-led solutions and engagements in response to COVID-19. The initiative was launched by an alliance of the […]

Despite the successful use of the JRA OT in country pilots, the COVID-19 pandemic has complicated the ability to provide facilitation support for in-country engagement. But ironically, the zoonotic nature of COVID-19 has made JRA OT more relevant and needed than ever. The JRA OT tripartite secretariat mobilized to identify opportunities for virtual facilitation and […]

The World Health Organization and YouTube have partnered on an inviting and humorous public service announcement (PSA) to help battle COVID-19 fatigue as we head into the holiday season. After nine months of physical distancing, lockdowns and other preventative measures, the video reminds viewers to stay vigilant and continue to take precautions to prevent the spread of the virus […]

COVAX now has agreements in place to access nearly two billion doses of several promising vaccine candidates, and laid the groundwork for further doses to be secured through contributions from donors These agreements mean that all COVAX’s 190 participating and eligible economies will be able to access doses to protect vulnerable groups in the first […]

The Behavioural Insights Unit of the WHO released a meeting report of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on the special session on acceptance and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, held on 15 October 2020. The meeting report outlines the factors that drive people’s behaviour in relation to vaccine acceptance and uptake: an enabling environment, social influences […]

In his end of year message for 2020, WHO Director-General says there is light at the end of the tunnel in the fight against COVID-19. But going into 2021, he urges countries and communities to work together, in solidarity, to overcome this and future health challenges.

The World Health Organization (WHO) today listed the Comirnaty, COVID-19 mRNA vaccine for emergency use, making the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine the first to receive emergency validation from WHO since the outbreak began a year ago.

Cambodia has administered at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccines to 13.57 million people, or 84.84 percent of its 16-million population, health ministry’s secretary of state and spokeswoman Or Vandine said on Saturday. The post Cambodia’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage reaches almost 85 pct of total population appeared first on The Cambodia Daily.

Three local Covid-19 infections involving construction workers have once again plunged Macau into citywide compulsory testing, with thousands of commuters also left stranded at its border with Zhuhai after a quarantine-free travel scheme was suspended hours before its planned resumption.Macau authorities first reported on Monday morning that a cross-border construction worker had tested positive, and […]

Vientiane Capital has recorded a large spike in Covid-19 cases today, reaching 439 cases after trending downward over the last few days. The country recorded 635 new cases of Covid-19 today, with the National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control reporting that 5,710 tests were conducted over the last 24 hours. There were 628 cases […]

The Cambodian government has decided to reduce the quarantine period for fully vaccinated inbound travelers after the majority of its population were vaccinated against the COVID-19, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said in a statement released on Saturday. The post Cambodia shortens quarantine time for fully vaccinated inbound travelers appeared first on The Cambodia Daily.

Cambodia has reduced its Covid-19 quarantine for fully vaccinated people entering the country from 14 days to between seven and just three days. The post Cambodia reduces quarantine period for fully vaccinated appeared first on The Cambodia Daily.

The Boat Racing Festival in Vientiane Capital has been canceled this year amid the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions. According to a notice issued by the Vientiane Capital Department of Education and Sports, authorities have prohibited any types of boat racing from taking place in the capital this year. At the same time, the Fire […]

Cambodia is among the few counties pushing for a 100 percent vaccination rate against the Covid-19 pandemic as Prime Minister Hun Sen declared his country is set to fully reopen ahead of a hectic round of diplomatic meetings. The post Cambodia pushes for 100 percent Covid vaccination rate appeared first on The Cambodia Daily.

Intellasia East Asia News Some 207,090 more procured doses of Pfiser’s COVID-19 vaccine arrived in the Philippines over the weekend with inoculation efforts for minors underway. An Air Hong Kong plane carrying the additional jabs landed at the NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay on the evening of October 16. The shipment brought the number of […]

Thailand logged 9,727 new Covid-19 cases and 73 new fatalities during the previous 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry announced on Thursday morning.

PARIS: Countries’ fossil-fuel powered Covid-19 recoveries will have long-lasting consequences on human health and risk worsening the food and water insecurity, heatwaves and infectious diseases already threatening billions globally, a major assessment warned Thursday.

A local antigen rapid test for both professional use and self-testing has been developed and approved for the detection of Covid-19.

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia recorded 76 new Covid-19 deaths on Wednesday (Oct 20), bringing the death toll to 28,138. Read full story

PETALING JAYA: Covid-19 hospital admission rates in the Klang Valley and Sarawak have been increasing in the last seven days, says Khairy Jamaluddin. Read full story

Decoding the demands of mainland Chinese authorities before the border with Hong Kong can reopen appears to have become a big guessing game for ordinary residents and bureaucrats alike.One key stumbling block has been the issue of the adoption of health codes that could aid detection and prevention of the spread of the coronavirus.Hong Kong […]

October 21, 2021 10:00 AM The test kits will be mailed via SingPost.

Singapore will extend its Covid-19 restrictions for another month after the city-state reported 18 new deaths from the disease on Wednesday, its highest number of the pandemic.

Hong Kong aims to use technology to enhance its Covid-19 contact tracing ability by the end of the year in order to speed up the full reopening of the border with mainland China, but the city’s leader did not say when that might happen in her policy address on Wednesday.Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor […]

Some business travellers and certain professional experts wishing to visit Cambodia, will now have to complete only a three-day quarantine on arrival, instead of 14 days, provided they are fully-vaccinated against Covid-19. The post Cambodia cuts quarantine to 3 days for select jabbed visitors appeared first on The Cambodia Daily.

Intellasia East Asia News Health authorities on Monday logged 6,943 new coronavirus infections, bringing the Philippines’ overall tally to 2,727,286. Today’s numbers saw active cases significantly down by 12,809 from the 81,641 on October 17. DOH said two laboratories did not submit screening results. Active cases: 68,832 or 2.5 percent of the total Recoveries: 19,687 […]

Intellasia East Asia News A health official said on Monday the country is now seeing a decrease in coronavirus-related deaths per day since August. The Philippines has so far reported 40,468 fatalities from the pandemic, with more than 2.72 million infections. “Deaths peaked in mid-August and had been on a decline since,” Health Undersecretary Maria […]

Intellasia East Asia News The European Union is allocating P47 million ( euro 800,000) in humanitarian aid funding for the Philippines to respond to the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in recent months. The assistance will benefit 70,000 people in far-flung areas in Mindanao, it said. “The unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases threatens the lives […]

Intellasia East Asia News Philippines is easing its COVID-19 restrictions in the country. Fully vaccinated foreign travellers coming to the country will not be required to undergo facility based quarantine anymore. International travellers coming to the country from places which are classified as green or low risk will just require a negative Covid-19 test report […]

Intellasia East Asia News The Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) reported 6,943 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, pushing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 2,727,286. The DOH also reported that 86 more people died from COVID-19 complications, bringing the country’s death toll related to the virus to 40,761. Health Undersecretary […]

Intellasia East Asia News The country’s new COVID-19 cases remained relatively low on Monday at 6,943, the Department of Health reported. This marked the eighth straight day new infections stayed below 10,000, and it brought the cumulative count to 2,727,286. Active cases also fell to 68,832, from Sunday’s over 81,000. This means that of the […]

Intellasia East Asia News To date, 4.73 million doses of vaccines out of 13 million doses procured by the country under the Philippines $500 million COVID-19 Emergency Response Project Additional Financing have arrived in the country. The remaining doses are expected to arrive in the country by December 2021. “The World Bank is pleased to […]

Intellasia East Asia News Official figures show that 24.31 million people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 since the government launched its inoculation campaign over seven months ago. This is equivalent to 22.29 percent of the population, far from the 90 percent coverage that health authorities say is needed to reach herd immunity. It is […]

Intellasia East Asia News The Department of Health on Tuesday reported 4,496 new coronavirus cases to bring the Philippines’ total caseload to 2,731,735. Today’s numbers active cases down by 5,195 from the 68,832 on October 18. While cases were down below 5,000 for the first time today, DOH said seven laboratories did not submit testing […]

Intellasia East Asia News COMPANIES in the Philippines are expected to raise the salary of employees by an average of 5.6 percent next year, as the economy is seen to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Willis Towers Watson report. In its latest Salary Budget Planning Report, Willis Towers Watson said companies in […]

Intellasia East Asia News Philippines health officials reported an additional 633 cases of the COVID-19 Delta variant across the country today. A total of 748 samples were collected, of which more than 84 percent were the Delta variant. Three or 0.40 percent were Alpha variant cases, and six or 0.80 percent were Beta variant cases. […]

Intellasia East Asia News The chief of the Philippine National Police ordered all unit commanders in Metro Manila to send more police officers to areas where the public will be as Metro Manila shifts to Alert Level 3, a looser form of quarantine against COVID-19. In a statement, Police Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said he issued […]

Intellasia East Asia News State-run Land Bank of the Philippines has issued $205.27 million (around P10.42 billion) in Retail Dollar Bonds (RDBs) to bolster the government’s resources in managing the pandemic. Landbank yesterday reported that it contributed nearly 13 percent of the $1.593 billion in RDBs raised by the government from September 15 to October […]

In India, Covid has widowed thousands of women, who are now struggling to adjust to a new life.

Hong Kong’s leader on Tuesday vowed to do everything possible to convince mainland China that the city’s Covid-19 control measures would not create a gap in the community’s defences, as pandemic role model Macau ramped up its fight against a growing coronavirus cluster.Authorities in Macau, touted just last month by mainland officials as a model […]

Intellasia East Asia News Waning consumption support from remittances, deep pandemic scarring, and still high COVID-19 infections pose risks to the economic recovery of the Philippines, think tanks said on Tuesday. In a report, Pantheon Macroeconomics senior Asia economist Miguel Chanco said the “bump” in cash remittances sent back home by Filipinos working and living […]

Intellasia East Asia News During the COVID-19 lockdown in the Philippines, Lito wonders which is the bigger threat the virus or hunger? In March 2020, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte imposed a strict lockdown in the capital, Manila, and surrounding areas. For Lito, his family, and millions of other urban slum dwellers across the city, a […]

Intellasia East Asia News The Philippines on Wednesday posted 3,656 new coronavirus cases to bring its overall count of infections to 2,735,369. Today’s numbers active cases up by 3,424 from the 63,637 on October 19. DOH said two laboratories did not submit screening results. “The low number of reported recoveries and deaths today are due […]

Intellasia East Asia News The government has increased its target number of COVID-19 vaccinations to 1.5 million per day, the official leading the inoculation efforts said. In the taped meeting of the pandemic task force aired late Tuesday night, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the move is “in order to achieve a happy Christmas […]

The Public Health Ministry is expanding the health insurance ceiling, covering Covid-19 treatment, to at least US$100,000 (3 million baht) for non-immigrant visa O-A applicants, to bolster their confidence to stay in the kingdom.

October 21, 2021 5:00 AM The number to worry about is not how many people are getting infected every day. The more important number is that of the unvaccinated people who are getting infected daily, says senior health correspondent Salma Khalik.

The territory of St Helena, which has remained coronavirus-free, wants a big rise in tourists.

A group of unvaccinated Maine health care workers asked the Supreme Court Wednesday to step in and block enforcement of the state’s coronavirus vaccine mandate.

The FDA authorized booster doses of both Covid-19 vaccines made by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson Wednesday and also said any of the three authorized vaccines could be used as a booster in a “mix and match” approach.

Access to controlled medicines in humanitarian emergencies remains constrained Recognizing World Humanitarian Day 2021, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) once again call on governments to facilitate access to medicines containing controlled substances in emergency settings, including during pandemics and […]

Twelve months ago, the world came together to support COVAX, a multilateral initiative aimed at guaranteeing global access to life-saving COVID-19 vaccines. With the support of the international community, COVAX immediately began securing financing, entering into negotiations with vaccine developers and manufacturers and addressing the host of technical and operational challenges associated with rolling out […]

The heads of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, World Health Organization and World Trade Organization met with the CEOs of leading vaccine manufacturing companies to discuss strategies to improve the access to COVID-19 vaccines, especially in low- and lower middle-income countries and in Africa. The Task Force expressed concerns that without urgent steps […]

WHO is urging leaders attending the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to guarantee equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and other life-saving tools; ensure the world is better prepared to respond to future pandemics; and renew efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The COVID-19 pandemic has already claimed the lives […]

We recently completed a high level mission to Kabul, Afghanistan, where we met with senior members of the Taliban leadership, UN partners, health care workers and patients, and WHO staff. Afghanistan’s health system is on the brink of collapse. Unless urgent action is taken, the country faces an imminent humanitarian catastrophe. Our visit allowed us […]

WHO welcomes the addition of another therapeutic to the world’s arsenal against COVID-19, but urges the producing company and governments to address the high price and limited production.

Leaders pledge financing, dose donations, support for country readiness and delivery and scale up of global manufacturing, to enable equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines To improve access for lower-income economies, the United States will contribute an additional 500 million doses of Pfizer vaccine to be delivered through COVAX, beginning in 2022, and Sweden will provide […]

News release of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings  A new book published today aims to help children stay hopeful and positive during the COVID-19 pandemic. The story is a sequel to ‘My Hero is You: how kids can fight COVID-19!’, published in April 2020.  Both […]

The Independent Allocation Vaccine Group (IAVG) was established by the WHO in January 2021 and is composed of 12 members who serve in their personal, independent capacities to review and assess Vaccine Allocation Decision (VAD) proposals generated by the COVAX Facility Joint Allocation Taskforce (JAT) on the volumes of vaccines that should be allocated to […]

President Biden and global leaders agreed ambitious targets, aligned with the ACT-Accelerator, to end the COVID-19 pandemic Collective accountability for world leaders, industry and partners emphasized, as global response now turns to implementation of these targets Concrete action must now follow this summit to deliver and deploy tests, treatments, and vaccines immediately, to prevent further […]

An effective response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic requires the understanding and use of social and behavioural data alongside biomedical data. Recognizing this need, the Behavioural Insights and Sciences Unit of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) designed a survey tool tailored to Africa, to make it easier […]

Working with COVAX, African Vaccine Acquisition Trust and other partners – world can and must meet WHO targets to vaccinate 40% of the population of all countries by the end-2021 and 70% by mid-2022 Vaccine supply gaps to COVAX must be closed immediately for countries to reach the 40% year end target United Nations Secretary-General […]

The World Health Organization’s new Mental Health Atlas paints a disappointing picture of a worldwide failure to provide people with the mental health services they need, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is highlighting a growing need for mental health support. The latest edition of the Atlas, which includes data from 171 countries, provides […]

Countries must set ambitious national climate commitments if they are to sustain a healthy and green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO COP26 Special Report on Climate Change and Health, launched today, in the lead-up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, spells out the global health community’s prescription for […]

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus honoured the late Henrietta Lacks with a WHO Director-General’s award, recognizing the world-changing legacy of this Black American woman who died of cervical cancer, 70 years ago, on 4 October, 1951.  While she sought treatment, researchers took biopsies from Mrs Lacks’ body without her knowledge or consent.  Her cells became the […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has reversed years of global progress in tackling tuberculosis and for the first time in over a decade, TB deaths have increased, according to the World Health Organization’s 2021 Global TB report. In 2020, more people died from TB, with far fewer people being diagnosed and treated or provided with TB preventive […]

The origin of Hong Kong’s first locally detected Covid-19 infection in more than 50 days continues to baffle officials, although researchers have found similarities with other Delta variant cases found recently in Britain.Genome-sequencing testing on the 48-year-old airport worker confirmed as infected on Friday revealed a close resemblance to infections detected last month in the […]

All 200 extra quarantine rooms made available for Hong Kong’s inbound domestic helpers were snapped up within minutes of bookings reopening on Monday, leaving many employers disappointed once again amid citywide shortages of the workers.Employer agencies said the new slots at the official Penny’s Bay quarantine centre on Lantau Island were far from sufficient to […]

A Hong Kong airport worker has tested preliminary-positive for Covid-19, potentially ending the city’s 50-day streak of zero local infections.The development emerged as an industry insider on Thursday said the government’s new pilot scheme to ramp up vaccination rates among residents of care homes for the elderly was receiving a positive response.Local health authorities also […]

Hong Kong’s men rugby sevens team was granted a rare exemption from compulsory Covid-19 quarantine upon arrival from their World Rugby Sevens Series campaign in Canada last month, the government confirmed on Sunday.The squad of 17 plus coaching and backroom staff returned to their Hong Kong home after impressive seventh-place finishes at the Vancouver and […]

Hong Kong and mainland Chinese authorities need to agree on the specific circumstances that will trigger the suspension of quarantine-free travel in the negotiations for reopening the border, the city’s leader has said.Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor also insisted on Sunday that a health code app being designed for quarantine-free travel to the mainland […]

Hong Kong may need to follow in Macau’s footsteps and set up a suspension mechanism for quarantine-free travel with mainland China when the border fully reopens, a government pandemic adviser has said, meaning just one local Covid-19 case could trigger the measure.But some other health experts said Hong Kong could adopt a more relaxed rule […]

Hong Kong should start administering Covid-19 booster shots to high-risk groups without waiting for local data on side effects and efficacy, a top government adviser has said as he suggested pushing ahead with preparations to meet a target on border reopening.Professor Lau Yu-lung, who chairs the Centre for Health Protection’s (CHP) scientific committee on vaccine […]

Intellasia East Asia News The Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) reported 7,772 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, pushing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 2,713,509. The DOH also reported that 156 more people died from COVID-19 complications, bringing the country’s death toll to 40,580. The Philippines has been reporting less […]

ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s upper house Senate on Wednesday asked the government to dissolve the Forza Nuova neofascist party, which this month took part in violent protests against the introduction of mandatory COVID-19 health passes for workers. Read full story

Hong Kong’s 51-day streak without a local Covid-19 case has ended, with health officials confirming on Friday that an airport worker was infected with a coronavirus variant from an unknown source.Whether the case would affect discussions on reopening the border with mainland China was unclear, but earlier in the day Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng […]

Hong Kong has been unable to make progress on its attempt to reopen its border with mainland China despite not having recorded a local Covid-19 case for more than 40 days.In a high-level meeting between officials and experts from both sides of the border late last month, the city was asked to look into how […]

Personal health care chain Watsons said it will close its shop in one of Hong Kong’s major tourist locations on Thursday after leasing it for two decades, a sign of the retail industry’s struggle to survive a near-total absence of visitors during the pandemic.Watsons, owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings, said the closure […]

More than 110 gym-goers were ordered into quarantine in Hong Kong nearly two weeks after a customer of the same fitness studio tested positive for Covid-19 in Britain shortly after arriving earlier this month, sparking complaints about conflicting and delayed official information.The customers of the F45 Training group fitness studio in Tsim Sha Tsui were […]

A Hong Kong man who suffered facial paralysis after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine has complained that his application for compensation from a government indemnity fund was rejected after hospital staff failed to report his case to health authorities.The 42-year-old, who declined to be named, sought the Democratic Party’s help after he received his second BioNTech […]

Intellasia East Asia News A total of 1,151 adolescents were inoculated against COVID-19 last Friday, prompting authorities to declare the first day of the pilot run of the government’s pediatric vaccination programme a “success.” As planned, the initial rollout of vaccines for minors aged 12 to 17 was administered on those in the 15 to […]

As the novel coronavirus pandemic spreads and impacts the entire planet, many countries have issued entry and travel restrictions, including Việt Nam.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc sent a video message to a teleconference of health ministers from the Western Pacific region hosted by World Health Organisation on Wednesday, with a focus on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eighty-four community cases of COVID-19 were reported in the northern provinces of Quảng Ninh and Hải Dương on Thursday. Additionally, seven imported cases have been confirmed by the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Director of Đà Nẵng General Hospital, Dr Lê Đức Nhân, said it was the first severe shock after the second COVID-19 vaccination programme for medical workers between May 5-10 in the city.

BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazilian senators investigating the handling of the country’s COVID-19 outbreak have dropped a recommendation from their draft report that President Jair Bolsonaro be charged with genocide and homicide, instead accusing him of “crimes against humanity.” Read full story

SOFIA (Reuters) – Hundreds of anti-vaccine protesters joined some political leaders in Sofia on Wednesday to demonstrate against Bulgaria’s decision to make a COVID-19 “Green Certificate” mandatory for access to restaurants, theatres and shopping malls. Read full story

Zac Brown’s new album is aptly called, “The Comeback.”

Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto has tested positive for Covid-19.