News

Hong Kong, 2 Mar (ONA) --- People’s movements in Hong Kong may be restricted during mandatory testing this month of the entire population for the coronavirus, as local health officials reported a record 55,353 daily infections and over a hundred deaths. Hong Kong is planning to test its more than 7 million residents as it grapples with soaring numbers of COVID-19 cases in its worst outbreak of the pandemic, linked largely to the omicron variant. Local officials today reported 117 deaths, taking the total number above 1,000. About 80% of the deaths have ...

Washington, 28 Feb (ONA) --- A study released in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine by Providence, one of the largest health systems in the United States, confirms the overall effectiveness of vaccines in preventing severe infection resulting in hospitalization from Covid-19, but also shows a substantial decline in protection after six months.Completed by a team of clinicians and scientists in the Providence Research Network, the study examined data from nearly 50,000 hospital admissions between April and November 2021, finding that vaccines were 94% effective at preventing ...

Geneva, 27 Feb (ONA) —— The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned of a dangerous shortage in the supply of oxygen in Ukrainian hospitals."The oxygen supply situation is nearing a very dangerous point in Ukraine. Trucks are unable to transport oxygen supplies from plants to hospitals across the country, including the capital Kyiv," a WHO statement said today."The majority of hospitals could exhaust their oxygen reserves within the next 24 hours. Some have already run out. This puts thousands of lives at risk."The oxygen is needed to treat patients with a range of ailments, including ...

Amsterdam, 24 Feb (ONA) —— The European Union's medicines regulator today gave the green light to booster jabs for children aged 12 and above with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19.Experts at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) also agreed to allow children aged 6 to 11 to be given basic vaccination coverage with the Moderna drug.A final decision will be made by the European Commission, although this is considered a formality for the 27-country bloc.The EMA did however stress that it was up to individual member states whether they would offer booster vaccinations to ...

Tokyo, 24 Feb (ONA) --- Getting a good night's sleep can sometimes be a challenge, but inflammation may make it even more difficult. While the relationship between inflammation and sleep alteration has been previously shown, researchers in Japan have now identified a potential method to overcome sleep disturbance associated with systemic inflammation. In a new study published in the Journal of sleep research, researchers at the University of Tsukuba examined the effect of sevoflurane, an anesthetic agent used to maintain unconsciousness during surgery, on sleep recovery in a mouse ...

Sofia, 24 Feb (ONA) —— The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Bulgaria reached 1,080,571, after 21,984 tests identified 3,411 new infections on Wednesday, 74.2 percent of which were of unvaccinated persons, according to data posted on coronavirus.bg/. website.The test positivity rate now stands at 15.5 per cent. The active cases are 229,935. Currently, the hospitalized patients number 4,712, including 537 in intensive care. Of the 426 hospital admissions, 83.33 per cent were not vaccinated.Another 8,490 COVID-19 patients have recovered over the last 24 hours, bringing the total to ...

Rome, 23 Feb (ONA) —— Italy will end its current state of emergency on 31 March, around two years after it was first declared in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Mario Draghi announced today.From April onwards, the country plans to ease many of its measures put in place to curb infections. For example, entry restrictions banning the unvaccinated from many places are to be gradually lifted, starting with outdoor events.Mask-wearing rules are also to be dropped for outdoor areas.Schools are to stay completely open with no quarantine requirement for those who come into ...

Bangkok, 23 Feb (ONA) --- Thailand will ease some entry requirements for foreign visitors as it balances a rising number of coronavirus cases with the need to rebuild its pandemic-damaged economy, the government announced today. Beginning on 1 March 2022, fully vaccinated visitors must take a RT-PCR test on arrival and spend their first night at an approved hotel while awaiting the results, but will no longer need to take a second RT-PCR test and spend another night at a hotel on their fifth day, the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration said. Instead, visitors ...

Kabul, 23 Feb (ONA) ---- A new wave of Covid-19 is surging across Afghanistan, prompting humanitarian organizations to call for urgent global support to curb the virus there.The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) today called for worldwide support for health and testing services, as well as for vaccinations to slow the spread of Covid-19, saying it is stretching the country’s fragile health care system.“A new wave is hitting Afghanistan hard,” the IFRC said. “Testing is inadequate, and the World Health Organization reports that almost half ...

Berlin, 21 Feb (ONA) ---- The German government plans to ease its Covid-19 travel restrictions next month ahead of the Easter travel period, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told a German newspaper on Sunday. Soon, countries will only be deemed high-risk if a coronavirus variant more dangerous than Omicron - such as the Delta variant - is present there, the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung daily reported, citing draft legislation. "This should make travel easier for families," Lauterbach told the newspaper. "They should nonetheless be careful on holiday," he added. The changes are due to take ...

London, 21 Feb (ONA) --- Vegetables may be good for you, but eating a lot of them is unlikely to reduce your risk of a heart attack or stroke, a large British study suggests. What else we eat, how much exercise we do and where and how we live may have more of an impact, the researchers say. But they emphasise that a balanced diet helps reduce the risk of many diseases, including some cancers. Eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day is recommended by health advisers. The study, from the universities of Oxford and Bristol and ...

Canberra, Australia, 21 Feb (ONA) --- International tourists and business travelers today began arriving in Australia with few restrictions, bringing together families in tearful reunions after separations of two years or longer forced by some of the most draconian pandemic measures of any democracy in the world. Australia closed its borders to tourists in March 2020 in a bid to reduce the local spread of COVID-19, but today removed its final travel restrictions for fully vaccinated passengers. Australia today reported 17,736 new COVID-19 infections in the latest ...

London, 20 Feb (ONA) --- Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Head of the Commonwealth has contracted Covid-19, Buckingham Palace has announced. The monarch, 95, has tested positive for the virus and is experiencing "mild cold-like symptoms" but expects to carry out "light duties" this week. --- ...

Berlin, 20 Feb (ONA) ---- German Family Minister Anne Spiegel has called for a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for people aged 18 and above, in order to reach those who have so far resisted inoculation."We have made extensive efforts to reach people through vaccination campaigns and other outreach offers, but now we've reached the end of the line," she told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.A vaccine mandate is now needed in order to raise the proportion of people who are vaccinated in Germany, she said.Germany's infection figures are currently falling, but Spiegel said a vaccine mandate was still ...

London, 20 Feb (ONA) --- People with COVID-19 won’t be legally required to self-isolate in England starting in the coming week, the U.K. government has announced, as part of a plan for “living with COVID” that is also likely to see testing for the coronavirus scaled back. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said ending all of the legal restrictions brought in to curb the spread of the virus will let people in the U.K. “protect ourselves without restricting our freedoms.” He is expected to lay out details of the plan in Parliament tomorrow (Monday). --- ...

Tokyo, 17 Feb (ONA) --- Japan is to ease its border control regulations from next month, media reports said today. The restrictions, which have been ongoing for up to two years, limit arrivals to the country for Japanese citizens and returning foreign residents. Japan briefly relaxed the rules last year, but that changed in November in an attempt to prevent the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus (Covid-19). The easing up will be incremental and will not apply to tourists. An increase in daily arrivals is expected to be ...

Berlin, 16 Feb (ONA) --- German vaccine maker BioNTech, which developed the first widely approved shot against COVID-19 together with Pfizer, unveiled plans today to establish manufacturing facilities in Africa that would boost the availability of much-needed medicines on the continent. The modular design presented at a ceremony in Marburg, Germany, consists of shipping containers fitted with the equipment necessary to make the company’s mRNA-based vaccine, save for the final step of putting doses into bottles, a process known as fill and finish. “Our goal is to ...

Seoul, 16 Feb (ONA) --- South Korea will distribute free coronavirus rapid test kits at schools and senior care facilities starting next week as it weathers an unprecedented wave of infections driven by the fast-moving omicron variant. Local health officials today reported its highest daily jump in coronavirus infections with 90,443 new cases, shattering the previous one-day record set on Tuesday by more than 33,000 cases. Some experts say the country could see daily cases of around 200,000 in March. While omicron has so far seemed less likely to cause serious ...

Berlin, 16 Feb (ONA) ---- With plans to gradually relax the anti-coronavirus measures imposed in Germany, the 16 state premiers are again due to consult with Chancellor Olaf Scholz today afternoon. In a submission for the videoconference, it is said that by 20 March the current coronavirus restrictions should be largely and gradually abolished. The proposal, which is considered the basis for today's discussions, has been agreed upon between the chancellor's office and the chair and co-chair of the group of state premiers (MPK), of which the most populous state, North Rhine Westphalia, ...

Berlin, 15 Feb (ONA)--- The brain has neurons that fire specifically during certain mathematical operations. This is shown by a recent study conducted by the Universities of Tübingen and Bonn. The findings indicate that some of the neurons detected are active exclusively during additions, while others are active during subtractions. They do not care whether the calculation instruction is written down as a word or a symbol. The results have now been published in the journal Current Biology.Most elementary school children probably already know that three apples plus two apples add up to five ...

Jakarta, 15 Feb (ONA) ---- Indonesia may lift a Covid-19 quarantine requirement for foreign arrivals starting April, an official said today. In the meantime, the government will cut the quarantine period for foreign arrivals to three days from five, starting next week, for Indonesians and visitors who have received a third vaccine dose, said Luhut Pandjaitan, the official in charge of the pandemic response. "If the situation improves and the vaccination rate increases, it is possible that the centralized quarantine will no longer be imposed on 1 April or earlier," Pandjaitan said. ...

Bratislava, 15 Feb (ONA) ---- Slovakia has eased its Covid-19 rules to allow unvaccinated people to enter non-essential shops from today, even though the infection rate remains high in the country. Previously, they were only allowed in shops that sell food or other goods considered vitally important. Many restrictions remain in place, however, including a 10 pm curfew for nightclubs and restaurants.--- Ends/Ahmed ...

Stockholm, 14 Feb (ONA) --- Sweden is recommending a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose to people over age 80 and those living in nursing homes or getting home care, authorities said today, adding it must be administered no earlier than four months after the previous shot. The Scandinavian country’s chief epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, said in a statement from the Swedish Public Health Agency that a fourth dose ”strengthens the protection” against severe disease. For most of the pandemic, Sweden has stood out among European nations for its comparatively hands-off ...

Hanoi, 13 Feb (ONA) --- Vietnam will remove its COVID-19 restrictions on international passenger flights with all markets starting 14 February 2022, with no limitation on the number of flights, the state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper reported today. The Southeast Asian country imposed tight border controls at the start of the pandemic to keep out COVID-19, with some initial success, but that dealt a blow to its burgeoning tourism sector which accounted for about 10% of gross domestic product. Vietnam had already begun gradually resuming international flights with 15 markets ...

Los Angeles, 10 Feb (ONA) --- A new study by UCLA researchers and colleagues demonstrates that the Ebola vaccine results in a robust and enduring antibody response among vaccinated individuals in areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that are experiencing outbreaks of the disease. Among the more than 600 study participants, 95.6% demonstrated antibody persistence six months after they received the vaccine. The study is the first published research examining post–Ebola-vaccination antibody response in the DRC, a nation of nearly 90 million. While long-term ...

Beijing, 10 Feb (ONA) -- Chinese researchers have proposed a new approach to regulate human hormone release to prevent anxiety and bone loss. The parathyroid hormone (PTH), secreted by human's parathyroid cells, plays an important role in bone metabolism and an excess of it could lead to excessive calcium in the blood, emotional abnormalities and bone loss. A study published today in the Nature Communications journal showed that research team, led by Yang Fan from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, used a biological technique to ...

Geneva, 9 Feb (ONA) --- The World Health Organization (WHO) said coronavirus case counts fell 17% worldwide over the last week compared to the previous week, including a 50% drop in the United States (US), while deaths globally declined 7%, the WHO said. The weekly epidemiological report from the U.N. health agency, showed that the omicron variant is increasingly dominant, making up nearly 97% of all cases tallied by the international virus-tracking platform known as GISAID. Just over 3% were of the delta variant. “The prevalence of the omicron variant has increased ...

Stockholm, 9 Feb (ONA) --- Sweden today lifted almost all of the restrictions introduced to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.The decision lifts restrictions on opening hours for restaurants and other establishments, where social distancing rules no longer apply. Moreover, the step also removes caps on the number of people allowed to attend events and gatherings.People in Sweden no longer have to wear protective face masks in crowds or on public transport.The rules have also been eased for some people travelling to Sweden. European citizens will no longer have to show proof that they have ...

Madrid, 8 Feb (ONA) --- People in Spain will no longer have to wear face masks outdoors with effect from 10 February 2022 as in Spain the infection rates went down, according to a government spokesperson. The seven-day cases rate for new infections - which counts the number of infected per 100,000 people - has been falling for weeks and is now at 715. Halfway through January, the number was above 1,600. The number of patients requiring hospital beds has also sunk. Both trends are attributable to high vaccination rates. So far, about 80% of Spain's population is fully ...

Vienna, 8 Feb (ONA) ---- The Austrian government announced today that from Saturday onwards, there will no longer be a cap on the number of people that can attend events, provided that the visitors are recovered or vaccinated, It was already clear that from 12 February, the so-called 2G rule would be phased out in the retail sector and in museums, so access will no longer be limited to vaccinated and recovered people. In addition, entry to hairdressing salons will now be allowed for the unvaccinated, although only with a negative test, it said. "Omicron, unlike previous coronavirus ...