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Coronavirus pandemic - World News

France began a nationwide campaign to inoculate people over 75 on Monday as officials sought to ease concerns about deliveries of coronavirus vaccines.

France, which saw its death toll rise past 70,000 at the weekend, has so far given priority to healthcare workers and elderly people in their care.

The new phase in its vaccination drive, under fire for its slow start, comes as nations across the world are doubling down on restrictions to fight the rampaging pandemic.

The contagion is showing no signs of slowing down, with infections surging past 94 million and more than two million deaths, and Europe among the hardest-hit parts of the world.

Worries have grown that delays in the delivery of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine could hamper a European rollout that has already come under heavy fire for being too slow.

US drugmaker Pfizer, which developed the jab in collaboration with Germany's BioNTech, said it was working to "significantly" scale up production at its plant in Belgium in the second quarter.

After a short delay, deliveries should be back to the original schedule to the EU from January 25.


"There's a dip," said France's Europe minister Clement Beaune. "But it's better that it happens now when we have stockpiles than when the wider vaccination campaign starts."

He told France Info that a limited delay should not present a huge problem.

The long process of vaccine rollouts mean countries still have few options but to rely on lockdowns, curfews and social distancing to control the spread of the virus.

Switzerland and Italy are tightening their restrictions from Monday and Britain will require all arrivals to quarantine and show negative tests.

France's government chose last week not to declare a third nationwide lockdown, opting instead for an earlier evening curfew, starting at 6pm.
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Source: https://www.france24.com/en/france/...vid-19-vaccination-rollout-for-people-over-75.
 
BERLIN (Reuters) - Top German politicians on Monday called for new measures to slow the spread of new, more infectious variants of the coronavirus, including more health checks for cross-border commuters and intensified gene sequencing of virus samples.

In future, health labs will have to sequence 5% of the samples they collect when screening for the coronavirus to check if they match more virulent variants first identified in Britain and South Africa, or if new mutations were emerging in Germany.

National and regional leaders are due to meet on Tuesday to decide on new measures. “We still have a big risk ... that is the risk of mutation,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert told a news conference, calling for a joint European response.

An outbreak of a mutated variant of the coronavirus at a clinic in the southern German alpine town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which appeared not to be one of the known variants, fanned the concerns.

“We have to wait for the complete sequencing ... We cannot say at all at the moment whether this (mutation) has any clinical relevance,” Clemens Stockklausner, deputy medical director at the clinic, told journalists.

New coronavirus infections have been decreasing in recent days and the occupancy of intensive care beds by COVID-19 patients has declined by 10-15%, according to Health Minister Jens Spahn, who said intensified testing of cross-border commuters should be introduced to help prevent new variants entering Germany.

Vice-Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for an extension and tightening of lockdown measures that are due to expire on Jan. 31.

Stricter requirements for companies to allow staff to work from home, compulsory wearing of heavy duty FFP2 masks in certain areas, restrictions on public transport and the introduction of curfews are also being debated.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany rose by 7,141 to 2.04 million, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases. That was down by more than 5,000 from a week earlier, but daily numbers from Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate were incomplete, the RKI said.

The reported death toll rose by 214 to 46,633.
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Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...al-with-new-coronavirus-strains-idUSKBN29N0KN.
 
KATHMANDU: Nepal on Tuesday reported 348 new cases of coronavirus infection from across the country. With this, the nationwide infection count has advanced to 267,992.

Of the total cases, 129 are females while 219 are males.

In the last 24 hours, 218 cases surfaced in Kathmandu valley. The capital hosts the highest number of active cases.

Likewise, 441 people who were earlier infected with the virus are reported to have recovered in the past 24 hours as per the latest data provided by health ministry. As of today, 262,259 individuals have recovered from the novel coronavirus infection. The recovery rate, as such, is 97.9 per cent.

Nepal’s active Covid-19 case count currently stands at 3,764.

Meanwhile, four more fatalities from the disease have taken the total death-toll to 1,969.

According to the health ministry, 4,956 PCR tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. With this, a total of 2,021,714 PCR tests have been carried out in Nepal till date.

Currently, there are 190 individuals in various quarantine facilities across Nepal.

Globally, nearly 96 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus while 2.04 million people have lost their lives to Covid-19. Likewise, over 68 million people have recovered from the disease and over 25 million cases are still active.

On Monday, Nepal’s coronavirus case count reached 267,644 with 322 newly confirmed cases.
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Source: https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal...ered-on-tuesday-nationwide-tally-hits-267992/.
 
At the coronavirus summit on January 19, Germany’s federal and state governments agreed to once again extend the current lockdown, until at least February 14. A few new measures will also be introduced.

Coronavirus summit on January 19: What was announced?
After a tough seven and a half hours of negotiations, Angela Merkel and the federal states agreed that the current infection situation in Germany gave them no choice but to extend – and in some places tighten – lockdown measures.

Originally scheduled for January 25, this latest coronavirus summit was brought forward on account of the “critical” coronavirus situation in Germany. Although authorities are cautiously optimistic about the gradually reducing infection rates, the new, highly-contagious strains of COVID-19 are causing widespread concern.

"It's tough what we have to put people through again, but the precautionary principle is our priority, and we have to take it into account now," Merkel said at the press conference on Tuesday evening.

Here’s an overview of what was decided:

Current lockdown measures extended to February 14
As was widely expected, Merkel and the state premiers agreed to keep the current restrictions in place until at least mid-February. As a reminder, this means:

Nonessential shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, hairdressers, beauty salons and other cultural and leisure facilities remain closed.
Schools and childcare facilities remain closed (or compulsory attendance will be lifted), providing emergency care only. Distance learning to continue.
Members of one household only allowed to meet in private with one other person from a different household.
New measures as of January 19
In addition, a number of new measures were agreed upon:

Recommendation to limit social contacts
The current rules governing social contacts - that members of one household may only meet with one other person from a different household - will remain in place, but the state leaders have agreed to supplement this with a further recommendation: that each household meets as few "extra" people as possible. Instead, everyone should form a social bubble that is as "constant and small as possible."

Medical masks in shops and on public transport
"Medical masks" - a definition which includes surgical, FFP2 or KN95 masks – are to be made mandatory in shops and on public transport. This is justified on the basis that these kinds of medical masks provide better protection than “everyday” masks. Everyone is recommended to wear a medical mask in any situation where they have sustained or close contact with other people.

Social contacts reduced on public transport
Passenger occupancy on all forms of public transport is to be reduced - not via direct measures but through the "extensive use of home office options" and the "equalisation of the number of passengers" during rush hours.

Extra measures in old people's and care homes
Staff in old people's and care homes will be required to wear FFP2 masks in situations where they come into contact with residents. Regular testing of staff members is to continue.

Employees to work from home wherever possible
There has been some speculation recently that the federal government was going to push for a home office requirement. However, this is not the case. Instead, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs will issue an ordinance, which will apply until March 15, according to which employers must allow their employees to work from home wherever possible, provided their employment activities allow for it.

If working from home is not possible, companies are encouraged to provide their employees with medical masks and to enable flexible working hours to minimise social contacts.

Religious services
Services in churches, synagogues and mosques are to be permitted, so long as a minimum distance of 1,5 metres is maintained, the mask requirement is respected, and there is no singing.

"Comprehensive measures" in hotspots
In federal states with high seven-day incidence rate, it will be possible for "comprehensive measures" to be implemented. But curfews are not currently being considered - except in federal states like Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg where they are already in place.

Bridging aid to be improved
The federal government also wants to simplify and increase the financial support it is providing to companies impacted by the pandemic. The retail trade in particular should receive more aid. The plan is to also simplify the eligibility requirements overall and significantly increase the maximum funding for companies and self-employed workers.

Next coronavirus summit
The federal and state governments will meet again later in the month to discuss progress and decide what Germany’s next steps should be.
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Source: https://www.iamexpat.de/expat-info/...xtends-coronavirus-lockdown-until-february-14.
 
The daily death toll from the novel coronavirus in Japan topped 100 for the first time ever on Tuesday, as the country confirmed 104 new fatalities from the virus.

The number of coronavirus patients with severe symptoms across the nation as of midnight Monday grew by 28 from a day before to 1,001, topping 1,000 for the first time and hitting a record high for the 16th straight day, according to the health ministry.

The new deaths included 16 in Tokyo, 13 in Osaka Prefecture, and 10 in Saitama Prefecture. The country confirmed 5,321 new coronavirus cases.

Tokyo recorded 1,240 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday as the number of severely ill patients counted under Tokyo’s criteria surged by 12 to 155, the metropolitan government said, amid fears of hospitals being overwhelmed by the virus.

Tuesday’s total number of cases was just short of last week’s daily record for a Tuesday — 1,278 — and came as the capital continued its second weekend under the fresh coronavirus state of emergency.

Among the total number of new cases, people in their 20s made up the largest group at 282, followed by 211 for people in their 30s and 192 among people in their 40s. The number of cases among people 65 and older was 217. The cumulative total in the capital is now 87,914.

Tokyo’s daily figure comes after 6,994 tests were conducted Saturday. It usually takes around three days for tests to produce results.

The rising numbers of new coronavirus cases and those with unclear infection routes in Tokyo may be indicating a possible explosive spread of infections in the capital, experts have said. Japan is still in the throes of a third wave, with the daily number of new coronavirus cases hitting a record 7,883 on Jan. 8.

The health ministry said that 10 foreign crew members of a cargo ship that arrived at Kobe Port in western Japan on Monday tested positive for the virus. They are men in their 20s to 50s from China, Hong Kong and Thailand.

It is the first time a case has been detected at a maritime quarantine station in Japan since hundreds of cases were recorded aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship that arrived in Yokohama Port in February last year.

Two men in their 30s tested positive for the coronavirus variant spreading across Britain, bringing the domestic number of variant cases to 47, according to the ministry.

The two arrived at Narita International Airport in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, on Jan. 10. They had previously visited Ghana and Britain, respectively. Both show no symptoms.

On Monday, Japan reported 4,925 cases, while patients with severe symptoms nationwide grew by one from the previous day to a record high of 973. The cumulative death toll from the virus rose by 58 to 4,596. Yamaguchi Prefecture on Monday saw a daily record of 88 new cases. Of them, 68 involved a hospital in Ube, where two cases had been reported.
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Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/01/20/national/japan-coronavirus-jan19/.
 
LISBON, PORTUGAL -- Portugal's new daily COVID-19 cases jumped to more than 14,600 to set a new national record Wednesday, as the country weathers one of the worst pandemic surges in the world.

Health authorities officially reported 14,647 new infections -- about 3,600 more than the previous daily record set four days ago.

The surge shows no sign of easing, with the government and health experts predicting it will peak next week.
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Source: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coron...n-one-of-world-s-worst-virus-surges-1.5274718.
 
Germany’s coronavirus fatalities passed 50,000, underscoring the urgency facing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to check the spread of the disease and guard against new mutations.

In Europe’s largest economy, 1,013 people died from Covid-19 in the 24 hours through Thursday morning, taking the total number of deaths to 50,010, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Pandemic-related fatalities have doubled in the past month.

Merkel will address Germany’s fight against the disease at a news conference later on Thursday, just two days after struggling to reach common ground with state leaders. The chancellor pushed for tougher curbs, but some state leaders resisted, wary of voter dissatisfaction ahead of regional and national elections in the coming months.
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Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ths-surpass-50-000-since-the-pandemic-started.
 
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s coronavirus death-toll has advanced to 1,986 with seven more fatalities reported on Friday.

Globally, 2.1 million people have lost their lives to Covid-19 while more than 98 million people have been infected by the disease.

Today, 302 new coronavirus cases surfaced after which Nepal’s total cases of coronavirus infection have reached 268,948.

On Thursday, four fatalities were reported after which the country-wide death toll had reached 1,979.
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Source: https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal...-covid-19-death-toll-close-to-2000-on-friday/.
 
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s coronavirus death-toll has advanced to 1,994 with eight more fatalities reported on Saturday.

Globally, 2.1 million people have lost their lives to Covid-19 while more than 98 million people have been infected by the disease.

Today, 232 new coronavirus cases surfaced after which Nepal’s total cases of coronavirus infection have reached 269,180.

On Friday, seven fatalities were reported after which the country-wide death toll had reached 1,986.
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Source: https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal...ovid-19-death-toll-close-to-2000-on-saturday/.
 
TOKYO
The death toll from the novel coronavirus in Japan surpassed 5,000 on Saturday as the country struggles to curb a third wave of infections, according to a Kyodo News tally.

The pace of deaths linked to the virus has accelerated recently, forcing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to declare a state of emergency in 11 of the country's 47 prefectures, including Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, earlier in the month.

Of the total, more than 3,000 deaths were reported since the ongoing resurgence emerged in November.

The death toll topped 1,000 last July after the first COVID-19 case was confirmed on Jan 15, 2020, and exceeded 3,000 in late December.

The number of deaths stood mostly below 60 per day until December, but has been gradually increasing to above 70 per day from this month.

The daily death toll rose to 104 on Tuesday, the first time it has exceeded 100, and reached a record 108 Friday.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of prefectures where the volume of weekly infection cases has reached Stage 4, the worst level on the government's four-point scale, was at 10, including nine prefectures subject to the state of emergency and Okinawa.

With reports of patients suffering severe conditions renewing record figures almost on a daily basis, medical professionals warn of a medical system collapse where they will have to give up on otherwise treatable patients because of the lack of hospital beds.

"If infections continue to increase, there is a danger of not being able to save lives that could be saved," a medical expert said.

Data compiled by the ministry as of Wednesday showed that about 4,300 deaths confirmed until then accounted for 1.3 percent of the total number of those who had contracted the virus.

By age group, the death rate for COVID-19 patients in their 80s and above stood at 11.5 percent, and that for those in the 70s came to 4.3 percent.

Meanwhile, Tokyo confirmed 1,070 infections Saturday, raising the cumulative total to 92,904.

The latest figure, however, was less than half the record 2,447 daily cases logged on Jan 7.

Daily infections have gradually been decreasing since the second state of emergency was declared on Jan. 8, although the number remains high compared to the first emergency last year.

The number of those hospitalized in the capital as serious cases was at 156 on Saturday, down two from the previous day, according to the metropolitan government.

There were 4,717 new cases nationwide. The tally for severely ill patients across Japan fell by two to 1,009, continuing to remain above 1,000.
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Source: https://japantoday.com/category/national/Japan's-coronavirus-death-toll-tops-5-000.
 
(ATTN: UPDATES with details from 4th para; ADDS photo)

SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's daily new COVID-19 cases rose back to above 400 on Saturday, health authorities said.

The country added 431 more COVID-19 cases, including 403 locally transmitted infections, raising the total caseload to 74,692, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The number of new infections was tallied at 404 on Wednesday and 401 the following day. It then fell to 346 on Friday in the midst of weeks of toughened social distancing restrictions.

Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon had 119, 113 and 12 cases, respectively, with 33 reported in Busan, 32 in South Gyeongsang Province, 21 in Daegu and 18 in North Gyeongsang Province. The number of new patients in regions outside the greater Seoul area climbed back to the triple digits.

Among major cases, infections related to an evangelical church facility in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province, increased to 802 and 18 others were confirmed in connection with a call center in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, and a family gathering in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province.

Nine additional coronavirus deaths were reported to bring the death toll to 1,337. The fatality rate stood at 1.79 percent.

The authorities conducted a total of 47,484 coronavirus tests Friday, 2,866 more than the previous day, it added.

An accumulated total of 5.33 million COVID-19 tests have been done so far in South Korea, with 136,629 people awaiting results.

An additional 629 patients were released from coronavirus treatment, and 297 others still have serious symptoms, the agency said.

The so-called third wave of the pandemic, which started in November last year and peaked with daily cases of 1,240 on Dec. 25, is showing signs of a let-up.

But many say it's too early to lower the guard due to infections reported constantly in a number of areas nationwide. The proportion of patients whose infection sources have yet to be traced has been staying above 20 percent.

The government is closely monitoring the trend of infections to decide whether to adjust the social distancing rules now at Level 2.5, the second highest in a five-tier system, in the capital area. It prohibits private gatherings of five or more people, and puts curbs on business operations after 9 p.m.
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Source: https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210123001152315.
 
An additional four COVID-19 related deaths and 114 new cases were recorded across Jamaica on Friday, according to the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

The deceased are a 43-year-old male from St James; a 61-year-old male from St Ann; a 63-year-old female from St Elizabeth; and a 83-year-old female of a Kingston and St Andrew address.

The latest fatalities bring the death toll from the coronavirus in Jamaica to 336.

Of note, there was one coincidental death of a COVID-19 patient. The death was previously under investigation.

The 114 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases bring the total number of cases on record for the island to 14,772. Recoveries increased by 17, bringing total recoveries to 11,850.

Of the newly confirmed cases, 69 are females and 45 are males, with ages ranging from 10 months to 94 years. The cases were recorded in Kingston and St Andrew (20), St Catherine (18), St Elizabeth (15), St Thomas (13), Clarendon (10), Manchester (10), St Ann (10), St James (eight), St Mary (six), Hanover (two), and Trelawny (two).

There are 13 moderately ill patients and 13 critically ill patients among the 2,413 active cases now under observation in Jamaica.
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Source: http://www.loopjamaica.com/content/114-new-covid-19-cases-and-4-new-deaths-jamaica-friday.
 
Novel coronavirus-related deaths in Canada have now surpassed 19,000.

The grim milestone was reached after provincial health authorities reported an increase of 120 COVID-19 fatalities Sunday. Another 4,852 cases of COVID-19 were reported as well, bringing Canada’s total caseload to 747,383.

Over 663,700 patients have since recovered from the disease, however, while at least 21,279,000 tests and 816,500 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered.

Canada’s chief public health officer said Sunday that it was still too soon to know whether the recent downward trend in new COVID-19 cases will continue, as several provinces grappled with outbreaks that threatened to derail their fragile progress.
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Source: https://globalnews.ca/news/7596765/coronavirus-canada-update-jan-24/.
 
Tokyo reported 986 new COVID-19 cases Sunday, after 12 consecutive days above 1,000 amid the ongoing coronavirus state of emergency.

Nationwide, the country reported 3,991 new coronavirus cases — its first daily tally below 4,000 in 20 days — and 56 new deaths linked to the virus. The number of patients with severe symptoms stood at 1,007 across the country as of Sunday, rising above 1,000 for the seventh straight day.

In Tokyo, the number of severely ill patients remained static at 156, the metropolitan government said in a statement.

People in their 20s made up the largest group of new cases in the capital by age, at 191, followed by 148 in their 50s and 143 in their 30s. There were 260 new cases among people aged 65 or over. The cumulative total in the capital is now 93,890.

Tokyo’s daily figure comes after 10,796 tests were conducted on Thursday. It usually takes around three days for tests to produce results.

On Saturday, the country’s cumulative death toll linked to the virus topped 5,000 after jumping by 2,000 over the past month, with the death toll topping 3,000 on Dec. 22.

Health minister Norihisa Tamura told a news conference Friday that the virus situation appeared unchanged over the two weeks since a state of emergency was declared for Tokyo and three other prefectures, adding that the government would closely watch for any changes.

Asked whether the government could lift the emergency, which was extended to seven other prefectures on Jan. 14, in early February as planned, Tamura said a final decision will be made based on opinions from experts. The newly covered prefectures are Aichi, Fukuoka, Gifu, Hyogo, Kyoto, Osaka and Tochigi.

Although daily new cases have shown signs of peaking out in some prefectures, they are far more than those reported during the first state of emergency, issued in April last year.
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Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/01/24/national/japan-coronavirus-jan24/.
 
KATHMANDU: Nepal on Sunday reported 270 new cases of coronavirus infection from across the country. With this, the nationwide infection count has advanced to 269,450.

In the last 24 hours, 133 cases surfaced in Kathmandu valley. The capital hosts the highest number of active cases.

Likewise, 403 people who were earlier infected with the virus are reported to have recovered in the past 24 hours as per the latest data provided by health ministry. As of today, 264,137 individuals have recovered from the novel coronavirus infection. The recovery rate, as such, is 98 per cent.

Nepal’s active Covid-19 case count currently stands at 3,312.

Meanwhile, seven more fatalities from the disease have taken the total death-toll to 2,001.

According to the health ministry, 4,413 PCR tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. With this, a total of 2,043,255 PCR tests have been carried out in Nepal till date.

Currently, there are 145 individuals in various quarantine facilities across Nepal.

Globally, over 98.5 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus while 2.1 million people have lost their lives to Covid-19. Likewise, over 70.5 million people have recovered from the disease and over 25 million cases are still active.
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Source: https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/270-new-cases-take-nationwide-covid-19-tally-to-269450/.
 
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s coronavirus death-toll has advanced to 2,011 with ten more fatalities reported on Monday.

Globally, 2.13 million people have lost their lives to Covid-19 while more than 99.5 million people have been infected by the disease.

Today, 339 new Covid-19 cases surfaced after which Nepal’s total cases of coronavirus infection have reached 269,789.

On Sunday, seven fatalities were reported after which the country-wide death toll had reached 2,001.
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Source: https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/ten-more-fatalities-take-nepals-covid-19-death-toll-to-2011/.
 
The Tokyo metropolitan government on Monday reported 618 new cases of the coronavirus, down 368 from Sunday. It was the lowest number since the capital reported 481 cases on Dec 28.

The number (326 men and 292 women) is the result of 7,161 tests conducted on Jan 22.

By age group, the most number of cases were in their 20s (117), followed by 114 in their 30s, 93 in their 50s, 83 in their 40s, 49 in their 60s, 50 in their 70s and 30 in their 80s. Also, 59 cases were younger than 20 (23 of whom were younger than 10), health officials said.

The number of infected people hospitalized with severe symptoms in Tokyo is 148, down eight from Sunday, health officials said. The nationwide figure is 1,017.

Nationwide, the number of reported cases was 2,764. After Tokyo, the prefectures with the most cases were Kanagawa (351), Chiba (291), Osaka (273), Saitama (251), Fukuoka (154), Kyoto (91), Aichi (89), Hokkaido (88), Hyogo (80), Ibaraki (45), Okinawa (41), Gunma (32) and Shizuoka (32).

Seventy-four coronavirus-related deaths were reported.
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Source: https://japantoday.com/category/nat...s-in-Tokyo-fall-to-618-nationwide-tally-2-764.
 
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BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil had 61,963 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus reported in the past 24 hours, and 1,214 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

The South American country has now registered 8,933,356 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 218,878, according to ministry data, in the world’s third worst outbreak outside the United States and India.
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Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...d-19-cases-death-toll-at-218878-idUSKBN29V2IZ.
 
KATHMANDU: Nepal on Tuesday reported 303 new cases of coronavirus infection from across the country. With this, the nationwide infection count has advanced to 270,092.

Of the total cases, 130 are females while 173 are males.

In the last 24 hours, 172 cases surfaced in Kathmandu valley. The capital hosts the highest number of active cases.

Likewise, 285 people who were earlier infected with the virus are reported to have recovered in the past 24 hours as per the latest data provided by health ministry. As of today, 264,823 individuals have recovered from the novel coronavirus infection. The recovery rate, as such, is 98.1 per cent.

Nepal’s active Covid-19 case count currently stands at 3,252.

Meanwhile, six more fatalities from the disease have taken the total death-toll to 2,017.

According to the health ministry, 4,574 PCR tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. With this, a total of 2,052,687 PCR tests have been carried out in Nepal till date.

Currently, there are 122 individuals in various quarantine facilities across Nepal.

Globally, over 100 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus while 2.14 million people have lost their lives to Covid-19. Likewise, over 72 million people have recovered from the disease and over 25.8 million cases are still active.

On Monday, Nepal’s coronavirus case count reached 269,789 with 339 newly confirmed cases.
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Source: https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal...tionwide-covid-19-tally-to-270092-on-tuesday/.
 
The Ministry of Health and Wellness is reporting that a 61-year-old female from St Catherine is the latest COVID-19 victim to die of the respiratory illness.

The death of the woman was the lone COVID-19 related fatality on record for Monday, and brings the overall coronavirus death toll in Jamaica to 339. There were, however, two other deaths involving COVID-19 patients that are under investigation, and another classified as coincidental.

In the meantime, the country recorded 141 new COVID-19 cases and 22 recoveries on the day.

The 141 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases bring the total number of cases on record for the island to 15,153, while the 22 recoveries mean that 11,911 persons have now recovered from the virus in Jamaica.

Of the newly confirmed cases, 71 are males and 70 are females, with ages ranging from 36 days to 93 years. The cases were recorded in Kingston and St Andrew (37), Manchester (28), Clarendon (19), St Catherine (16), St James (15), St Elizabeth (11), St Ann (10), Trelawny (two), Westmoreland (one), Hanover (one) and St Mary (one).

There are 23 moderately ill patients and 11 critically ill patients among the 1,876 active cases now under observation in Jamaica.
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Source: https://www.loopjamaica.com/content/141-new-covid-cases-one-death.
 
PARIS (Reuters) - The daily number of new coronavirus infections in France stayed above 20,000 on average for the fourth straight day on Tuesday while hospitalisations reached an eight-week high of 27,041, increasing fears of a third national lockdown.

President Emmanuel Macron still hopes a 6 p.m. curfew put in place 11 days ago will be enough to rein in the surge in new cases caused by the emergence of more contagious variants of the virus.

Despite calls from some doctors and medics for a new lockdown, government minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said earlier there was no need to make a decision on such a measure at this stage.

Macron will head the weekly Cabinet meeting on Wednesday and a government press conference is scheduled for Thursday.

Health authorities reported 22,086 new coronavirus infections over the previous 24 hours on Tuesday, up sharply from Monday’s 4,240 for a seven-day moving average of 20,230.

The government needs that figure to go below 5,000 to regard the pandemic as being fully under control.

The number of people being treated in intensive-care units for COVID-19 was also up, at 3,081, staying above 3,000 for the second day running. A drop below 3,000 led the government to relax the second lockdown on Dec. 15.

France’s cumulative total of infections stands at 3,079,943, the sixth highest in the world.

Its COVID-19 death toll rose by 612 to 74,106, the world’s seventh highest, after an increase of 445 on Monday. The seven-day moving average of new fatalities stands at 395.

After France’s Pasteur Institute said on Monday it had decided to halt one potential COVID-19 vaccine project, French pharmaceutical company Sanofi said it would aim to supply more than 100 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine from July.

Some 91,522 people received their first vaccine shot in France on Tuesday, bringing the total since vaccinations began on Dec. 27 to 1,184,510 in a population of 67 million.
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Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-third-national-lockdown-feared-idUSKBN29V28A.
 
LIMA (Reuters) - President Francisco Sagasti of Peru on Tuesday night announced a total lockdown of the capital and nine other regions following a significant increase in COVID cases, which he said had pushed hospitals close to collapse.

Sagasti said the new measures covering central Peru would remain in effect until at least Feb. 14. They include instructions to work from home, the closure of all non-essential shops, the suspension of interregional land and air travel and the extension of a ban on flights coming from Europe to flights from Brazil in a bid to curb new, more contagious strains of the virus.

On Tuesday, Peru reported 4,444 new cases of the coronavirus, taking its total to 1,107,239, and 40,107 deaths. According to Reuters data here, Peru's cases are at 57% of an Aug. 22 peak, when more than 9,000 new cases were confirmed.

Sagasti said COVID vaccines were the way out of the crisis and pledged to be among the first to receive the shot.

He said the first one million of an order for 38 million doses of Sinopharm’s candidate vaccine would arrive “in the coming days”, ready for an inoculation campaign to begin in February.

Peru also has a deal to buy 14 million doses of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca Plc and its regulators are also weighing emergency use requests from Russia’s Gamaleya Institute and Pfizer.
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Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-peru-idUSKBN29W0B3.
 
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga apologised on Wednesday after lawmakers from his ruling coalition visited night clubs despite his government’s call for people to avoid unnecessary outings to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The news is another headache for Suga whose approval rating has tumbled because of dissatisfaction with his handling of the pandemic, which critics have called too slow and inconsistent.

“I’m terribly sorry that this happened when we are asking people not to eat out after 8 p.m. and to avoid non-essential, non-urgent outings,” Suga told parliament.

“Each lawmaker should behave to gain the public’s understanding.”

Japan this month issued a state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas to tame a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases. The measure includes a request for restaurants and bars to close by 8 p.m. although there are currently no penalties for non-compliance.

“My behaviour was careless at a time when we are asking people to be patient,” Jun Matsumoto, a senior lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, told reporters.

Matsumoto was speaking following a Daily Shincho magazine report that he had visited two night clubs in Tokyo’s posh Ginza district after dining at an Italian restaurant last Monday.

Kiyohiko Toyama, a lawmaker from the coalition’s junior partner Komeito, also apologised after tabloid Shukan Bunshun reported he had visited a high-end night club in Ginza until late last Friday.

Other incidents have stoked public anger.

LDP lawmaker Nobuteru Ishihara was swiftly admitted to hospital despite not showing symptoms after he tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Friday.

Yet Japan has more than 35,000 people recuperating at home as hospitals struggle to provide beds for COVID-19 patients and at least 25 people died while at home, according to a recent survey by broadcaster TBS.

“I can’t feel sorry enough for the people who died in agony in their own homes after not being able to find a hospital,” said one Twitter user.
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Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-japan-suga-idUSKBN29W0E0.
 
PARIS (Reuters) - France reported nearly 27,000 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the biggest one-day jump since mid-November when France was in its second lockdown and a further sign that a tighter curfew is not containing the virus.

The health ministry reported 26,916 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, up from 22,086 on Tuesday and 26,784 last Wednesday, pushing the cumulative total over 3.1 million.

It is the third time since the end of December that France has reported more than 26,000 cases in a day and the highest tally since the more than 28,000 reported on Nov. 18.

At the peak of the second coronavirus wave, France reported a record 86,852 new cases on Nov. 7.

A week after the second lockdown in November, the seven-day average of new cases had dropped to just over 10,000, with the government hoping that a nightly curfew introduced from early December would keep new infections at a low level.

But daily infections have risen steadily despite a tightening of the curfew to 1800 CET from mid-January, and the seven-day average has now been over 20,000 for five days.

A government spokesman said earlier on Wednesday that the nightly curfew is failing to slow the spread of infections and that tighter curbs are under consideration.

The health ministry said 27,169 people are currently hospitalised with coronavirus, a rise of 128 from Tuesday, with 26 more people in intensive care, taking the total to 3,107.

The number of people who have died from the virus rose by 350 to 74,456.
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Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ses-biggest-jump-since-november-idUSKBN29W2KV.
 
covid1.jpg

Hopefully, JNJ comes soon and we get vaccine widespread in more places.
 
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Researchers in southern Brazil said they have discovered patients infected with two different strains of the new coronavirus simultaneously, reflecting concerns about the growing number of variants in the country.

The researchers, who posted their findings Wednesday on medical website medRxiv, said their study would be the first in the world to confirm co-infection with two strains of the coronavirus. The study has yet to be published in a scientific journal and has not been peer reviewed.

The patients, both in their 30s, were infected in late November with the P.2 variant of coronavirus identified in Rio, also known as the B.1.1.28 lineage, and simultaneously tested positive for a second variant of the virus.

Their symptoms were reportedly mild, with a dry cough in one case, and coughing, sore throat and headache in the second. They did not require hospitalization.

The cases underscore how many variants could already be circulating in Brazil and raise concerns among scientists that the co-existence of two strains in the same body could speed up mutations of new variants of coronavirus.

“These co-infections can generate combinations and generate new variants even more quickly than has been happening,” said the study’s lead researcher Fernando Spilki, a virologist at Feevale University in Rio Grande do Sul state.

“It would be another evolutionary pathway for the virus,” Spilki added.

New variants bring the risk of greater transmissibility and possible resistance to vaccines currently being developed.

Mutations found in coronavirus variants in Britain and a more recent one in the Brazilian state of Amazonas appear to have made the virus more contagious.

The cases point to the significant viral load circulating in Brazil because co-infection can only occur when different viruses are being transmitted in high quantity, Spilki said.
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Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/hea...o-different-coronavirus-strains-idUSL1N2K32OO.
 
KATHMANDU: Nepal reported zero Covid-19 related deaths in the past 24 hours, giving the country hammered by the pandemic, a breather.

The nationwide coronavirus death-toll presently stands at 2,020 with three fatalities reported on Wednesday.

Globally, 2.18 million people have lost their lives to Covid-19 while over 101 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus.

Today, 213 new infections have surfaced after which Nepal's total cases of infection have reached 270,588.
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Source: https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/nepal-reports-zero-covid-19-deaths-in-past-24-hours.
 
As Japan prepares to extend its state of emergency beyond February 7, the country’s public is largely resigned to its fate. Most people say they are simply battening down the hatches to get through this latest phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, and looking forward to when they can return to restaurants and bars, shops and malls, or once more go on holiday.

“We have not been out to a restaurant since the pandemic started last year because we just do not want to get ill or spread the virus,” said Judit Kawaguchi, a freelance writer who lives in Tokyo.

“I think it is just best to follow the rules set by the government and stay at home as much as possible. But we have been using this time to make plans on what we are going to do as soon as the state of emergency is lifted. We want to go on a long road trip in Japan with our dogs. I just feel that I need to get out of the house and go somewhere.”

The obvious downside is that few are spending money at the moment, so more businesses are struggling to survive and the national economy is almost certain to slip further into retail recession and deflation. Japan has reported more than 376,000 cases of Covid-19, with 5,388 related deaths.

Government statistics paint a rather bleak picture of the normally free-spending country, with consumption down 4 per cent in November from the same month in 2019. Consumption fell a further 11.5 per cent in December, with spending at restaurants shrinking 36 per cent and takings at izakaya bars down 47 per cent – a particularly bad blow given the higher earnings expected in the run-up to the holiday season.

A Bank of Japan study released in January shows that the situation is likely to worsen, with 70 per cent of households saying they intend to eat and drink at home and save money.

And while savings at Japanese banks rose more than 9 per cent in December to a record 803 trillion yen (US$7.73 trillion), according to HSBC, Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami predicted this month that 30 per cent of the nation’s bars and restaurants could go under in the coming months.

“On the first Friday of the latest state of emergency, we had one customer all night,” said John Watkins, the owner of Yokohama’s popular British pub The Tavern. “On a normal Friday, we would get close to 200 people in. It’s absolutely crippling us.”

He said the hospitality industry was feeling the pinch, with bars and restaurants in Tokyo, Osaka and surrounding prefectures under orders to close at 7pm.

“People are worried about catching the virus, of course, even though we are closely following the guidelines on taking customers’ temperature, providing hand sanitiser and so on,” Watkins said.

“A lot of people are also working from home as well now, so at the end of their day they choose to have a drink at home rather than making the effort to go to the pub. I think we can survive – I hope we can – but even with the government support, I’ve had to take out bank loans, so when this is all over I will have to pay back huge debts. And no one knows for sure how much longer this is going to go on for.”

While there are plenty staying at home during the state of emergency, others are taking a more relaxed approach. Mari Miyamoto, who twice a week commutes for 30 minutes each way to her office in central Tokyo, is among them.

“I take precautions, like wearing a mask, using hand sanitiser and not touching any of the handles on the train, but I would not say that I am particularly nervous about the virus,” she said. “And we went out to a restaurant for my husband’s birthday a few weeks ago.

“Compared with a lot of people, I would say that our behaviour has not changed so much, but this extension to the state of emergency is unfortunate. I do hope this situation is over soon and we can go back to normal again.”

Jun Shigeno is in his third year of a business degree, and is busy applying for jobs. After dozens of online interviews and remote work experience placements, he has an employment offer, but he is still nervous that it could be withdrawn. A friend who was due to start work in the travel sector after graduating last spring was subsequently told that the position no longer existed.

“It is a big worry,” Shigeno said. “The coronavirus has not affected me very much as my lectures were all moved online quite quickly and I have been able to study from home, but all the interviews for jobs and work placements can only be done online, and that makes things much more difficult. I am worried that companies that are struggling will decide that they have to stop hiring new graduates, which will obviously affect my career.”

He said he was still wary about contracting the virus, though he admits his defences might have slipped over time. “I do not go out very often and I always wear a mask when I do, but I know that I’m less careful than I was last year,” he said.
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Source: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/econ...ergency-curb-coronavirus-has-put-lid-spending.
 
Tokyo confirmed 868 new infections on Friday, with those who are 65 or older accounting for 225.

Of the newly infected people in Tokyo, 172 were in their 20s, 140 in their 30s and 119 in their 50s.

Under the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s standards, the number of severely ill patients in the capital fell three from the previous day to 147.

The cumulative total in the capital is now 98,439.

Tokyo’s daily figure comes after 10,606 tests were conducted on Tuesday. It usually takes around three days for tests to produce results.

The daily number of new deaths among coronavirus-infected people in Japan came to a record 113 on Thursday.

The total included 20 in Tokyo, the highest figure ever for the capital, as well as 15 and 10 in Osaka and Hyogo prefectures, respectively, and 11 in Kanagawa Prefecture.

One of the fatal cases involved a man in his 50s in Saitama Prefecture, whose infection was found through coronavirus testing at an airport, according to the health ministry.

On Thursday, a total of 4,129 people were newly confirmed to have the coronavirus across the country. The number of severely ill patients with the virus decreased by 11 from the previous day to 1,032.

The health ministry said the same day that three residents of Saitama Prefecture had tested positive for a novel coronavirus variant that is spreading in the United Kingdom.

This marked the first variant cases confirmed in Saitama Prefecture. The three, in their 20s or 30s, have never been overseas while sharing the workplace with a Tokyo man in his 40s whose infection with the British variant was announced on Monday. The man may have infected the three, according to the ministry.

The cumulative number of coronavirus variant infection cases in Japan rose to 56.
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Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/01/29/national/coronavirus-cases-jan-29/.
 
Nepal on Friday reported 157 new cases of coronavirus infection from across the country. With this, the nationwide infection count has advanced to 270,745.

Of the total cases, 59 are females while 98 are males.

In the last 24 hours, 82 cases surfaced in Kathmandu valley. The capital hosts the highest number of active cases.

Likewise, 333 people who were earlier infected with the virus are reported to have recovered in the past 24 hours as per the latest data provided by health ministry. As of today, 270,745 individuals have recovered from the novel coronavirus infection. The recovery rate, as such, is 98.1 per cent.

Nepal's active Covid-19 case count currently stands at 3,022.

Meanwhile, five more fatalities from the disease have taken the total death-toll to 2,025.

According to the health ministry, 3,221 PCR tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. With this, a total of 2,064,081 PCR tests have been carried out in Nepal till date.

Currently, there are 111 individuals in various quarantine facilities across Nepal.

On Thursday, Nepal's coronavirus case count reached 270,588 with 213 newly confirmed cases.

Globally, over 101 million people have contracted the virus till date while 2.18 million deaths have been reported. Likewise, over 73 million people have recovered from Covid-19 while over 25 million cases are still active.
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Source: https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal...stered-on-friday-nationwide-tally-hits-270745.
 
L’HOPITAL, France (Reuters) - Fabienne Garbo’s father suffers from an illness similar to Alzheimer’s and was eligible for a COVID-19 shot as soon as France started vaccinating care home residents. But she has not signed the consent form.

Claude Garbo, 86, frequently fails to recognise his daughter and struggles to converse, reacting at times to German words after a life mostly spent in France’s eastern Lorraine region.

He is unable to convey if he wishes to be inoculated against a disease that has killed more than 22,000 care home residents in France - nearly a third of all deaths. So his daughter Fabienne has decided for him.

She told Reuters the development of coronavirus vaccines had been rushed by big pharmaceutical firms and might do more harm than good, with too many unanswered questions about potential side-effects and their efficacy against new variants.

“I prefer to be cautious and protect my father rather than give him a vaccine about which we still know little,” Garbo said. “He risks catching the virus but it would be like any other disease.”

Although France wants shots delivered faster than manufacturers and the state can supply them, the vaccine’s early rollout has been bogged down in red tape and onerous processes meant to reassure a dubious public.

Refusal rates in nursing homes are at about 10%, according to the FEHAP care home federation. But the inability to inoculate all residents risks delaying the lifting of tight restrictions on outside visits and social interactions between residents.

Citizens have to give their consent to a doctor before they are inoculated against the coronavirus. A family member or legal custodian must do so for those who cannot.

Fabienne Garbo said she had scant faith in a mainstream medical establishment that scaremongered the public and was too close to pharmaceutical companies.

“Are we not entering into a deep paranoia over this virus?” she asked.

‘PROBLEM FOR THE CONSCIENCE’

The World Health Organization has stressed the importance of rigorous checks on the effectiveness and safety of vaccines.

Based on published vaccine trial data generated so far by Moderna, the BioNTech-Pfizer partnership and AstraZeneca, side effects have not been serious or long-lasting.

Supporters of the vaccine for nursing home residents say it not only shields some of the most vulnerable from becoming sickened by COVID-19, but will also allow them to be hugged by loved ones again and socially engage with others.

Families that refused COVID-19 shots for a relative with dementia typically did so because of their own prejudices, said Louis Matias, a representative of the FEHAP federation.

It raised questions about how those who were not vaccinated would be cared for in the months ahead, including whether they should be segregated and denied access to visitors when homes re-open, he said.

“That will be a problem. A problem of organisation, and a problem for the conscience,” he said.


Doctors say the separation from family and a lack of physical contact is taking a toll on the elderly.

Garbo said she and her mother had often differed over vaccine safety after her mother fell ill following a flu jab. But on this occasion she had persuaded her mother it was right to refuse the vaccine.

Asked what her father would have done, Garbo replied: “He would listen to his doctor. I’ve not had the opportunity to ask him.”
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Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...accine-for-her-sick-father-idUSKBN29Y1JC?il=0.
 
Nepal on Saturday reported 109 new cases of coronavirus infection from across the country. With this, the nationwide infection count has advanced to 270,854.

Of the total cases, 43 are females while 66 are males.

In the last 24 hours, 64 cases surfaced in Kathmandu Valley. The capital hosts the highest number of active cases.

Likewise, 350 people who were earlier infected with the virus are reported to have recovered in the past 24 hours as per the latest data provided by health ministry. As of today, 266,048 individuals have recovered from the novel coronavirus infection. The recovery rate, as such, is 98.2 per cent.

Nepal's active Covid-19 case count currently stands at 2,779.

Meanwhile, two more fatalities from the disease have taken the total death-toll to 2,027.

According to the health ministry, 3,618 PCR tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. With this, a total of 2,067,699 PCR tests have been carried out in Nepal till date.

Currently, there are 109 individuals in various quarantine facilities across Nepal.

On Friday, Nepal's coronavirus case count reached 270,745 with 157 newly confirmed cases.

Globally, over 102 million people have contracted the virus till date while 2.20 million deaths have been reported.
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Source: https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal...ered-on-saturday-nationwide-tally-hits-270854.
 
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As Taiwan confirmed its eighth death of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the country also confirmed six new imported cases hailing from Indonesia, Brazil and the Czech Republic Saturday (Jan. 30).

The combination of six imported cases and four new domestic transmissions, including one death, took the total number of coronavirus cases registered in Taiwan since the beginning of the pandemic to 909.

A Taiwanese family of four living in Brazil formed the largest group of new cases, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced. The father in his 40s, the mother in her 30s and two girls younger than 10 returned to Taiwan on Jan. 20.

During their home quarantine, one of them developed a fever and sore throat, with the three others following. The CECC listed the family as cases No. 903 through No. 906.

Case No. 901 is a Taiwanese man in his 40s who stayed in Indonesia from July until January. During his home isolation, he developed symptoms of a coronavirus infection and informed the health authorities. A total of 17 contacts were asked to isolate at home or to monitor their health, the CECC said.

Case No. 902 is a Taiwanese woman in her 20s who went to study in the Czech Republic last September. She tested positive in the European country on Jan. 4, but later showed two negative tests, allowing her to board a flight back to Taiwan on Jan. 25.

However, when she arrived in Taiwan on Jan. 27, she reported loss of smell. After a test at the airport turned out negative, she moved to an official quarantine center where she tested positive two days later.
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Source: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4115767.
 
Nepal on Sunday reported 105 new cases of coronavirus infection from across the country. With this, the nationwide infection count has advanced to 270,959.

Of the total cases, 41 are females while 64 are males.

In the last 24 hours, 68 cases surfaced in Kathmandu Valley. The capital hosts the highest number of active cases.

Likewise, 288 people who were earlier infected with the virus are reported to have recovered in the past 24 hours as per the latest data provided by health ministry. As of today, 266,336 individuals have recovered from the novel coronavirus infection. The recovery rate, as such, is 98.3 per cent.

Nepal's active Covid-19 case count currently stands at 2,594.

Meanwhile, two more fatalities from the disease have taken the total death-toll to 2,029.

According to the health ministry, 3,308 PCR tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. With this, a total of 2,071,007 PCR tests have been carried out in Nepal till date.

Currently, there are 102 individuals in various quarantine facilities across Nepal.

On Saturday, Nepal's coronavirus case count reached 270,854 with 109 newly confirmed cases.

Globally, over 103 million people have contracted the virus till date while 2.20 million deaths have been reported.
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Source: https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal...stered-on-sunday-nationwide-tally-hits-270959.
 
SAO PAULO, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Brazil has registered 27,756 cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), for a total of 9,204,731, as well as another 559 deaths, bringing the death toll to 224,504, the Ministry of Health reported on Sunday.

Brazil is second in the world in number of deaths from the disease, following the United States.

The state of Sao Paulo has been the most affected by the virus and is on high alert, but this weekend, crowds of people gathered on the state's main beaches, despite an official order forbidding such activity.

This month, 310,727 cases have been registered in Sao Paulo, for a total of 1,777,368, as well as 6,237 deaths, for a total of 53,034.

Rio de Janeiro has also registered increased crowds, with more than 1,000 people recently gathering to watch the sunrise at the famous Ipanema beach.

Brazil confirmed this month a new variant of the coronavirus in the state of Amazonas, which has increased pressure on the state's health system, especially in the state capital of Manaus, which faced a lack of oxygen supplies to treat COVID-19 patients.

The state of Amazonas is currently under a curfew to prevent crowds and slow the spread of the virus.
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Source: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-02/01/c_139711888.htm.
 
Tokyo saw nearly 40,000 new coronavirus cases in January, more than double the previous monthly record for infections in December, according to figures released by the metropolitan government Sunday.

The figure reflected the sharp rise in cases before Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency in the capital and surrounding prefectures on Jan. 7, urging people to stay home and asking restaurants and bars to close early.

The metropolitan government on Sunday reported 633 new coronavirus cases in Tokyo — the lowest number on a Sunday since Dec. 20 — bringing the total for January to 39,664 and the cumulative tally to 99,841. The January figure compares with 19,245 for December.

Of the 633 new cases in Tokyo reported Sunday, 122 were in their 20s, 93 in their 40s and 89 in their 50s. Those 65 or older accounted for 185 cases. Under the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s standards, the number of severely ill patients in the capital fell by one from the previous day to 140.

While infections have gradually eased under the state of emergency, the capital's medical system remains overwhelmed and there have been cases of COVID-19 patients not being admitted to hospitals and later dying at home.

The government is scrambling to bring the pandemic under control ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, set to kick off in less than six months.

Sources say Suga is gearing up to extend the state of emergency, which currently covers 11 of Japan's 47 prefectures and is in place until Feb. 7, by as much as one month for some of the harder-hit areas.

A final decision is expected to be made this week, but a source close to Suga said an extension would be inevitable for eight of the 11 prefectures. The eight are Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka prefectures.
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Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/01/31/national/japan-coronavirus-jan31/.
 
Till date, 2,075,152 tests through Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method have been carried out wherein 4,145 tests were performed in the last 24 hours.

At present, there are 97 people under quarantine in various facilities across the country. The number of active cases in Nepal is 2,489.
159 new cases of the coronavirus infection were registered today taking the national tally to 271,118.


As many as 264 persons earlier diagnosed with the disease have tested negative in the last 24 hours. With the recent addition, the national COVID-19 recovery tally has now reached 266,600.

Meanwhile, no fatalities were reported by the Ministry today, with which the country's COVID-19 death tally remains at 2,029.

As of today, the country has witnessed 271,118 cases of the coronavirus infection while 266,600 people have recovered from the disease. Meanwhile, 2,029 COVID-19 fatalities have been confirmed.
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Source: https://thehimalayantimes.com/covid...coveries-and-no-fatalities-recorded-on-monday.
 
The central government plans to extend the state of emergency covering Tokyo and other regions struggling to contain coronavirus outbreaks by one month until March 7, an official with knowledge of the situation said Monday.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he will make a final decision on the extension after hearing from an expert panel on Tuesday.

"Coronavirus cases are declining, but we must remain vigilant for a while longer," he told reporters after meeting with members of his Cabinet, including Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister in charge of the nation's COVID-19 response, and health minister Norihisa Tamura.

According to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Tokyo and neighboring Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama prefectures will remain under the state of emergency, as will Aichi, Gifu, Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka.

Tochigi Prefecture, lying to the north of Tokyo, will be removed because its coronavirus situation has significantly improved. Okinawa Prefecture, which was under consideration to be added due to outbreaks on remote islands, will be left off the list, the official said.

The emergency has helped halt a rapid acceleration of virus cases, which hit records in early January and raised worries of ripping through the developed world’s oldest population. While infection numbers have dropped since then, the Suga government has said they are still worryingly high.

"Looking at the situation from region to region, the number of infections is still high and the medical system continues to be strained," said Shigeru Omi, the doctor chairing the government's coronavirus subcommittee.

Nishimura said if the decision is made to extend the state of emergency, prefectures that see their situation improve before the new end date could be taken off the list early.

"Considering the impact on the economy, on businesses, we are looking to keep the measures to a minimum," he said during a committee meeting in the House of Representatives.

Support for the Suga administration has weakened over unhappiness with its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which critics have called too slow and inconsistent.

A Nikkei newspaper poll showed 90% of respondents favored extending the emergency period in areas where it is implemented.

Japan has had a total of 390,687 coronavirus cases and 5,766 deaths as of Monday morning, public broadcaster NHK said.

Japan’s current measures, which include urging people to work from home, are far less stringent and enforceable than the lockdowns of some European nations. But they have already caused a sea change, in the view of economists. Instead of the year starting with a slowing recovery, some of them now see a double-digit contraction looming.

"The damage to businesses would be enormous,” said sushi restaurant owner Mamoru Sugiyama, referring to an extension. Bars and eateries are among the firms hardest hit by the guidelines. He has temporarily closed his restaurant, which boasts a history of 130 years in the swanky Tokyo shopping district of Ginza.

"Some businesses are about to use up their loans and I think if the emergency continues through February, firms may start going bust one after another, even in Ginza,” said Sugiyama, who also heads a coalition of about 370 local restaurants and bars.

The government has said the emergency can end when the virus crisis eases to Stage 3 on a four-stage scale that draws on six data points.

In Tokyo, that would mean daily infections falling below 500. Tokyo reported 393 new infections on Monday, well below the recent peak of 2,447 on Jan. 7. As of Wednesday, the capital’s hospital bed occupancy rate was 73% and critical care units were at 113% of capacity, according to the health ministry. Both numbers would have to come down below 50% to reach Stage 3.

"We can see that the state of emergency has had an impact, but it’s been too weak,” said Yoshihito Niki, a professor of clinical infectious diseases at Showa University’s School of Medicine in Tokyo, indicating a need to prolong the measures. "The government will need to exercise patience at least through February.”

Since the declaration of the emergency in early January, economists have warned that the less stringent advisories compared with the first emergency in April risked being insufficient and causing more damage over time. This time, schools remain open and streets continue to see foot traffic, albeit smaller than during normal times, despite repeated calls from officials to stay home.

Toshihiro Nagahama, economist at Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute, sees an emergency extended to two months shaving about ¥3 trillion from the economy.

While the consensus among analysts is for the economy to shrink an annualized 2.5% this quarter, economists Yoshimasa Maruyama and Koya Miyamae at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. now see a stronger finish to 2020 whiplashing into an 11.5% contraction in the three months through March.

Still, an unemployment rate of just 2.9% and year-on-year falls in the number of bankruptcies show that spending and loan support from the government and the Bank of Japan have helped cushion the economic blow of the pandemic so far. Suga’s administration got a third extra budget through the Diet last week offering another round of help for businesses, medical facilities and the economy.

The concern going ahead is how much longer companies can hang on if the emergency is extended and consumer spending remains subdued.

Yasuhide Yajima, chief economist at NLI Research Institute, warns there won’t be a dramatic revival of growth even when the emergency ends unless there’s more concrete reassurance for the public.

"Regardless of the state of emergency, consumption isn’t going to come back until we see the impact of vaccinations,” Yajima said.
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Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/01/national/japan-coronavirus-emergency-extend/.
 
Confirmed Caribbean coronavirus cases as of today, February 1:

Dominican Republic- 215,086 cases, 2688 deaths, 158,775 recoveries

Puerto Rico- 87,440 cases, 1836 deaths

Cuba- 27,592 cases, 216 deaths, 21,856 recovered

French Guiana- 16,083 cases, 76 deaths, 9995 recovered

Jamaica- 15,778 cases, 352 deaths, 12,068 recovered

Belize- 11,908 cases, 301 deaths, 11,309 recovered

Haiti- 11,590 cases, 245 deaths, 9098 recovered

Guadeloupe- 9097 cases, 154 deaths, 2242 recovered

Suriname- 8438 cases, 154 deaths, 7671 recovered

Bahamas- 8174 cases, 176 deaths, 6771 recovered

Guyana- 7641 cases, 176 deaths, 6591 recovered

Trinidad and Tobago- 7564 cases, 134 deaths, 7168 recovered

Aruba- 6966 cases, 59 deaths, 6566 recovered

Martinique- 6402 cases, 45 deaths, 98 recovered

Curacao- 4585 cases, 21 deaths, 4496 recovered

US Virgin Islands- 2421 cases, 24 deaths, 2306 recovered

Sint Maarten- 1862 cases, 27 deaths, 1668 recovered

Barbados- 1545 cases, 14 deaths, 1158 recovered

Turks and Caicos- 1504 cases, 9 deaths, 1140 recovered

Saint Lucia- 1411 cases, 15 deaths, 626 recovered

Saint Martin- 1234 cases, 12 deaths, 1050 recovered

St Vincent and the Grenadines- 901 cases, 2 deaths 251 recovered

Bermuda- 691 cases, 12 deaths, 653 recovered

Cayman Islands- 390 cases, 2 deaths, 357 recovered

Bonaire- 366 cases, 3 deaths, 351 recovered

Saint Barthelemy- 360 cases, 1 death, 247 recovered

Antigua and Barbuda- 234 cases, 7 deaths, 177 recovered

Grenada- 148 cases, 1 death, 142 recovered

Dominica- 117 cases, 106 recovered

British Virgin Islands- 114 cases, 1 death, 95 recovered

Saint Kitts and Nevis- 37 cases, 35 recovered

Sint Eustatius- 20 cases, 20 recovered

Anguilla-16 cases, 15 recovered

Montserrat- 13 cases, 1 death, 12 recovered

Saba- 6 cases, 6 recovered
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Source: https://www.loopjamaica.com/content/coronavirus-cases-caribbean-date-457734-1.
 
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazil registered 1,210 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday and 54,096 additional infections from the coronavirus, according to data released by the Health Ministry.

In total, the country has recorded 226,309 COVID-19 deaths and 9,283,418 confirmed cases, according to ministry data. Since November, Brazil has been fighting a steep second wave of infections, routinely recording over 1,000 deaths per day this year.
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Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...sters-over-1200-covid-19-deaths-idUSKBN2A22ZQ.
 
ROME — Italy reported 499 coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday against 329 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 9,660 from 7,925.

Some 244,429 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, against a previous 142,419, the health ministry said.

Italy has registered 89,344 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged last February, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the sixth-highest in the world. The country has reported 2.57 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 – not including those in intensive care – stood at 20,317 on Tuesday, up marginally from 20,260 a day earlier.

There were 158 new admissions to intensive care units, up from 145 the day before. The total number of intensive care patients declined to 2,214 from 2,252 on Monday.

When Italy’s second wave of the epidemic was accelerating quickly in the first half of November, hospital admissions were rising by about 1,000 per day, while intensive care occupancy was increasing by about 100 per day. (Reporting by Angelo Amante, editing by Gavin Jones)
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Source: https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-p...-coronavirus-deaths-on-tuesday-9660-new-cases.
 
KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 02

Nepal on Tuesday reported 171 new cases of coronavirus infection from across the country. With this, the nationwide infection count has advanced to 271,289.

Of the total cases, 71 are females while 100 are males.

In the last 24 hours, 65 cases surfaced in Kathmandu Valley. The capital hosts the highest number of active cases.

Likewise, 259 people who were earlier infected with the virus are reported to have recovered in the past 24 hours as per the latest data provided by health ministry. As of today, 266,859 individuals have recovered from the novel coronavirus infection. The recovery rate, as such, is 98.4 per cent.

Nepal's active Covid-19 case count currently stands at 2,400.

Meanwhile, one more fatality from the disease has taken the total death-toll to 2,030.

According to the health ministry, 2,946 PCR tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. With this, a total of 2,078,098 PCR tests have been carried out in Nepal till date.

Currently, there are 95 individuals in various quarantine facilities across Nepal.

On Monday, Nepal's coronavirus case count reached 271,118 with 159 newly confirmed cases.

Globally, over 103 million people have contracted the virus till date while 2.24 million deaths have been reported.
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Source: https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal...tered-on-tuesday-nationwide-tally-hits-271289.
 
A 75-year-old male from St Ann is the latest COVID-19 victim to die of the respiratory illness in Jamaica.

The death of the man was the lone COVID-19 related fatality on record for Monday, and brings the overall coronavirus death toll in Jamaica to 353.

In the meantime, the country recorded 195 new COVID-19 cases and 40 recoveries on the day.

The 195 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases bring the total number of cases on record for the island to 15,973, while the 40 recoveries mean that 12,108 persons have now recovered from the virus in Jamaica.

Of the newly confirmed cases, 112 are females and 81 are males, while the gender classification in two cases are awaiting confirmation. Ages range from for months to 96 years. The cases were recorded in Kingston and St Andrew (47), Manchester (37), St Catherine (32), Clarendon (18), St James (14), St Elizabeth (nine), Trelawny (eight), St Mary (seven), St Thomas (seven), Hanover (seven), St Ann (five) and Westmoreland (four).

There are seven moderately ill patients and 11 critically ill patients among the 3,331 active cases now under observation in Jamaica.
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Source: https://www.loopjamaica.com/content/195-new-covid-cases-one-death.
 
KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 03

Nepal on Wednesday reported 142 new cases of coronavirus infection from across the country. With this, the nationwide infection count has advanced to 271,431.

Of the total cases, 52 are females while 90 are males.

In the last 24 hours, 55 cases surfaced in Kathmandu Valley. The capital hosts the highest number of active cases.

Likewise, 206 people who were earlier infected with the virus are reported to have recovered in the past 24 hours as per the latest data provided by health ministry. As of today, 267,065 individuals have recovered from the novel coronavirus infection. The recovery rate, as such, is 98.4 per cent.

Nepal's active Covid-19 case count currently stands at 2,335.

Meanwhile, one more fatality from the disease has taken the total death-toll to 2,031.

According to the health ministry, 3,597 PCR tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. With this, a total of 2,081,695 PCR tests have been carried out in Nepal till date.

Currently, there are 95 individuals in various quarantine facilities across Nepal.

On Tuesday, Nepal's coronavirus case count reached 271,289 with 171 newly confirmed cases.

Globally, over 104 million people have contracted the virus till date while 2.2 million deaths have been reported.
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Source: https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal...red-on-wednesday-nationwide-tally-hits-271431.
 
'We've lost so many': Brazil starts vaccinating Amazon river dwellers

MANACAPURU — Health workers sped along the Amazon river this week to start vaccinating riverside communities, bringing hope to a region hard hit by COVID-19 and now facing a lethal surge driven by a new Brazilian variant of coronavirus.

Wearing protective masks and gowns, they traveled by open motorboat from Manacapuru, a town two hours from the jungle city of Manaus, where hospitals ran out of beds and oxygen last month and cemeteries could not dig graves fast enough to deal with Brazil’s highest death rate.

“I am happy you’ve come. We have lost so many old people and young ones too,” said 83-year-old Maria Araujo after receiving a dose of a British vaccine made by India’s Serum Institute.

“This has given us hope that things will change, they will improve,” she said.

Brazil is scrambling to get access to more vaccines to fight the world’s most deadly coronavirus outbreak outside the United States. So far, it has vaccinated 2 million people, mostly health workers and elderly Brazilians, with vaccines made by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd and AstraZeneca Plc.

More than 9.2 million Brazilians have been infected by the virus and 225,000 have died. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi)


Researchers say the aggressive surge in Manaus is largely due to a new variant of the virus discovered there, called P1, which has quickly become the dominant variant, leading scientists to believe it is more contagious.

Genome sequencing indicates that 91% of new COVID-19 cases in January in Amazonas state involved the new variant, said Felipe Naveca, a virologist at the ILMD/Fiocruz Amazônia biomedical research center. That is up from 51% of cases sequenced in December and none in November.

The variant was first detected early last month on four travelers who arrived in Japan coming from the Amazon.

Scientists have not yet determined whether P1, derived from the B.1.1.28 lineage of SARS-CoV-2, is more lethal than earlier variants. Naveca said it clearly spreads faster, although cases also increased due to less social distancing over the holiday season.

(Reporting by Bruno Kelly Writing by Anthony Boadle Editing by Brad Haynes and Lisa Shumaker)
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Source: https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health...azil-starts-vaccinating-amazon-river-dwellers.
 
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Jamaica recorded an additional two COVID-19-related deaths and 100 new cases on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

The deceased are a 41-year-old male from St Elizabeth and a 49-year-old female from Hanover. Another death involving a COVID-19 patient on the day has been classified as coincidental.

The latest fatalities bring the death toll from the coronavirus in Jamaica to 355.

The 100 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases bring the total number of cases on record for the island to 16,073. Recoveries increased by 29, bringing total recoveries to 12,137.

Of the newly confirmed cases, 63 are females and 37 are males, with ages ranging from five months to 94 years.

The cases were recorded in Kingston and St Andrew (34), Manchester (28), St Catherine (18), Clarendon (10), St Mary (two), St Thomas (two), Trelawny (two), Portland (two), St Elizabeth (one) and St James (one).

There are 15 moderately ill patients and 14 critically ill patients among the 3,399 active cases now under observation in Jamaica.
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Source: http://www.loopjamaica.com/content/100-new-covid-cases-two-deaths.
 
KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 04

Nepal on Thursday reported 171 new cases of coronavirus infection from across the country. With this, the nationwide infection count has advanced to 271,602.

Of the total cases, 59 are females while 112 are males.

In the last 24 hours, 78 cases surfaced in Kathmandu Valley. The capital hosts the highest number of active cases. Of the newly infected persons in the valley, 27 are females while 51 are males. There are 1,358 active coronavirus cases in Kathmandu while number of the same in Lalitpur is 51 and that in Bhaktapur is 16.

Likewise, 227 people who were earlier infected with the virus are reported to have recovered in the past 24 hours as per the latest data provided by health ministry. As of today, 267,292 individuals have recovered from the novel coronavirus infection. The recovery rate, as such, is 98.4 per cent.

Nepal's active Covid-19 case count currently stands at 2,277.

Meanwhile, two fatalities from the disease have taken the total death-toll to 2,033.

According to the health ministry, 3,878 PCR tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. With this, a total of 2,085,573 PCR tests have been carried out in Nepal till date.

Currently, there are 92 individuals in various quarantine facilities across Nepal.

On Wednesday, Nepal's coronavirus case count reached 271,431 with 142 newly confirmed cases.

Globally, over 104 million people have contracted the virus till date while 2.2 million deaths have been reported.
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Source: https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal...ered-on-thursday-nationwide-tally-hits-271602.
 
Brazil registers over 1,200 COVID-19 deaths for third straight day

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazil registered 56,873 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and 1,232 deaths, according to data released by the nation’s Health Ministry.

The South American country has now registered 9,396,293 total confirmed cases and 228,795 deaths from the virus. It was the third day in a row Brazil reported over 1,200 coronavirus deaths.
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Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-brazil-tally-idUSKBN2A42WJ.
 
Tokyo confirmed 577 new COVID-19 cases Friday, with the daily count in the capital standing below 1,000 for the eighth straight day.

Under the metropolitan government’s standards, the number of severely ill patients with the coronavirus rose by two from the previous day to 117.

Of the new cases, 107 were in their 20s, and there were 83 each among those in their 30s and 40s. People age 65 or older accounted for 145 cases.

The cumulative number of cases in the capital is now 102,777. Tokyo’s daily figure comes after 10,208 tests were conducted Tuesday. It usually takes around three days for tests to produce results.

The cumulative number of novel coronavirus infection cases in Japan, including among cruise ship passengers and crew members, topped 400,000 on Thursday. The cumulative figure exceeded the threshold about three weeks after exceeding the 300,000 mark on Jan. 13.

On Thursday, Japan confirmed 2,576 new infection cases, with the daily count slipping below 3,000 for the fifth successive day. The country’s new COVID-19 fatalities totaled 104, including 25 in Tokyo. The number of severely ill COVID-19 patients fell by five from Wednesday to 892, according to the health ministry.

The cumulative infection number in Japan reached 100,000 on Oct. 29 last year, about nine months after the country’s first case of the virus was confirmed on Jan. 16 that year. The number rose above 200,000 about two months later, on Dec. 21, and topped 300,000 only 23 days later.

According to the health ministry, a novel coronavirus variant spreading in South Africa was detected from a woman in her 50s and a man in the age group of 10 to 19 in Kanagawa Prefecture. The woman has visited Africa and the man had close contact with her.

Neither of them has developed severe symptoms. It was the first time that a variant infection case had been confirmed in Kanagawa.

The cumulative number of variant cases in Japan rose to 70.
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Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/05/national/tokyo-virus-cases-577/.
 
Brazil reports 50,630 new cases, 978 deaths

Brazil has had 50,630 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus reported in the past 24 hours, and 978 deaths from Covid-19, the health ministry said.

The South American country has now registered 9,497,795 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 231,012, according to ministry data, in the world's third worst outbreak outside the United States and India and its second-deadliest.
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Source: https://www.trtworld.com/life/brazil-reports-over-50-000-new-coronavirus-cases-latest-updates-43956.
 
TORONTO -- Ontario health officials are recording nearly 1,400 new cases of COVID-19 as well as 45 more deaths.

The 1,388 new infections represent a decrease from the 1,670 cases reported a day earlier, although government officials said that Friday’s count was an overestimation due to a data migration in Toronto.

Toronto Public Health (TPH) migrated all of its data to the provincial data system this week. While officials say the process is now complete, it has resulted in fluctuations in case numbers over the last few days.

There were 1,563 cases of the novel coronavirus reported on Thursday, 1,172 on Wednesday and 745 on Tuesday.

The new cases reported Saturday bring the province’s seven-day average to 1,479.

According to Saturday’s epidemiology report, there are now 164 confirmed cases of the U.K. B.1.1.7. COVID-19 variant in the province, up from the 155 infections reported on Friday.

There continues to be only one case of the South African B.1.351 variant, according to the province.

The total number of lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario now stand at 276,718, including deaths and recoveries.

Of the 6,483 deaths recorded in Ontario since the beginning of the pandemic, 4,454 were people over the age of 80. A little more than 3,700 were residents in long-term care homes, including 22 deaths logged in the last 24 hours.

There are at least 1,021 people being treated for the disease in Ontario hospitals, the Ministry of Health said. Of those patients, at least 325 are in the intensive care unit (ICU) while 228 of those in the ICU are breathing with the assistance of a ventilator.

Officials processed more than 62,300 COVID-19 tests in the last 24 hours, which the Ministry of Health says brings the positivity rate in Ontario to about 2.6 per cent.

As of Friday night, 96,573 people in the province have been fully vaccinated against the disease. Full immunization requires two doses of either the approved Pfizer-BioNtech or Moderna vaccines.

Where are the new COVID-19 cases?

The majority of new infections were found in three of Ontario’s COVID-19 hot spots. According to provincial data, there were 455 cases in Toronto, 288 in Peel Region and 131 in York Region.

Public Health Units reporting more than 50 new COVID-19 cases include Ottawa (60), Hamilton (57), Niagara (56) and Waterloo (54).

On Friday, sources told both CTV News Toronto and the Canadian Press that the Ontario government is considering extending the stay-at-home order across most of province but could begin to gradually reopen the economy in some areas next week.

Sources told CTV News Toronto that Ford's cabinet was urged by public health officials to extend the stay-at-home order for at least one more week – until Feb. 16 – across most of the province, while pushing it an additional two weeks – until Feb. 22 – in Toronto, Peel Region and York Region.

It is unclear if any formal decision has been made.
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Source: https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-...ases-of-covid-19-and-45-more-deaths-1.5298515.
 
BRASILIA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Brazil has had 26,845 new cases of the novel coronavirus reported in the past 24 hours, and 522 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Sunday.

The South American country has now registered 9,524,640 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 231,534, according to ministry data, in the world’s third-worst outbreak outside the United States and India and the second-deadliest. (Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/hea...95-million-death-toll-at-231534-idUSS0N2II04Z.
 
PARIS (Reuters) - France reported a fall in new COVID-19 infections on Sunday for the fourth successive day.

Health ministry data showed there had been 19,175 new confirmed COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours compared with 20,586 the previous day.

But the data also showed the number of patients being treated in hospital for the disease had risen to 27,694 from 27,369 the previous day, following a four-day decline. The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care also rose, increasing to 3,272 from 3,225 the day before.

The government has resisted calls for a third nationwide lockdown from health experts who fear that more contagious coronavirus variants could soon overwhelm hospitals.

The government is aiming to rein in high contamination rates through an evening curfew and tougher rules on foreign travel. Its junior transport minister said on Sunday that a ban on non-essential travel to and from destinations outside the European Union had halved air passenger numbers in a week.

But doctors are particularly concerned about rising cases of a coronavirus variant first detected in Britain.

The variant could represent a majority of new cases from the beginning of March, Arnaud Fontanet, an epidemiologist and member of the government’s advisory body on COVID-19, told newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

France’s cumulative death toll in hospitals and nursing homes has reached 78,965, compared with 78,794 a day earlier, the health ministry data showed.
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Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/hea...75-daily-coronavirus-infections-idUSL1N2KD0FF.
 
BRASILIA — Brazil recorded 23,439 additional confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, along with 636 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Monday.

Brazil has registered more than 9.5 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 232,170, according to ministry data. (Reporting by Jake Spring Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
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Source: https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health-pmn/brazil-reports-23439-new-coronavirus-cases-636-more-deaths.
 
Japan confirmed 1,570 new coronavirus cases across the country on Tuesday, the third straight day below 2,000.

The number of severely ill coronavirus patients fell by 14 from the previous day to 759, while 94 new deaths were reported.

The health ministry said it has detected the coronavirus variant raging in Britain in 11 men in their 20s to 50s in an apparent cluster of infections involving a single facility. The men have no recent overseas travel history.

Six of the men live in Tochigi, Ibaraki, Fukushima, Nagano, Niigata and Gunma prefectures. It is the first time the variant has been found in residents of the six prefectures, excluding cases detected through airport testing.

Tokyo confirmed 412 new COVID-19 cases, a day after reporting 276 infections — the lowest figure since Nov. 24.
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Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/10/national/tokyo-reports-412-new-covid-19-cases-tuesday/.
 
BRASILIA — Brazil recorded 59,602 additional confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, along with 1,330 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

Brazil has registered nearly 9.7 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 234,850, according to ministry data. (Reporting by Jake Spring Editing by Chris Reese)
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Source: https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health-pmn/brazil-reports-59602-new-coronavirus-cases-1330-more-deaths.
 
BRASILIA — Brazil recorded 54,742 additional confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, along with 1,351 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

Brazil has registered more than 9.7 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to over 236,000, according to ministry data. (Reporting by Jake Spring; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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Source: https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health-pmn/brazil-reports-54742-new-coronavirus-cases-1351-deaths.
 
BRASILIA — Brazil recorded 51,546 additional confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, along with 1,288 more deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Friday.

Brazil has registered more than 9.7 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 237,489, according to ministry data. (Reporting by Jake Spring Editing by Brad Haynes)
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Source: https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health-pmn/brazil-reports-51546-new-coronavirus-cases-1288-deaths.
 
Tokyo confirmed 307 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, with daily figures holding below 500 for a sixth straight day.

Friday’s figure also means that the capital has gone 15 straight days with fewer than 1,000 daily COVID-19 cases amid an extended coronavirus state of emergency.

Severe cases based on the metropolitan government’s standards dropped one from the previous day to 102.

Of the new cases in Tokyo, 49 were from people in their 40s, 48 in their 30s and 44 in their 20s. People age 65 or older accounted for 80 cases. The cumulative number of cases in the capital is now 105,765.

Tokyo’s daily figure comes after 8,115 tests were conducted Tuesday. It usually takes around three days for tests to produce results.

A total of 1,693 new cases of novel coronavirus infection were confirmed in Japan on Thursday, with the daily total standing below 2,000 for the fifth consecutive day.

Seventy-eight deaths linked to the coronavirus were reported across the country, including 21 in Tokyo.

According to the health ministry, the number of patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms fell 23 from the previous day to 713.
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Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/12/national/feb-12-virus-numbers/.
 
AI used to 'predict the next coronavirus'

A team of scientists has used artificial intelligence (AI) to work out where the next novel coronavirus could emerge.

The researchers used a combination of fundamental biology and machine learning.

Their computer algorithm predicted many more potential hosts of new virus strains than have previously been detected.

The findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Dr Marcus Blagrove, a virologist from the University of Liverpool, UK, who was involved in the study, explained: "We want to know where the next coronavirus might come from.

"One way they're generated is through recombination between two existing coronaviruses - so two viruses infect the same cell and they recombine into a 'daughter' virus that would be an entirely new strain."

The researchers were able to plug existing biological evidence into an algorithm - teaching a computer how to spot viruses and host species that were most likely to be a source of this recombination.

How does the algorithm work?

First, the team "asked" their algorithm to find use biological patterns to predict which mammals might be susceptible to known coronaviruses, which revealed links between 411 strains of coronavirus and 876 potential mammal species.

The crucial, predictive step was in looking for species that were able to harbour several viruses at once. Lead researcher Dr Maya Wardeh, who is also from the University of Liverpool, was able to use existing biological knowledge to teach the algorithm to search for patterns that made this more likely to happen.

"We were able to predict which species had the chance for many coronaviruses to infect them," she explained. "Either because they are very closely related [to a species known to carry a coronavirus] or because they share the same geographical space," she said.

This step concluded that many more mammals were potential hosts for new coronaviruses than previous surveillance work - screening animals for viruses - had shown.

The Asian palm civet and greater horseshoe bat, for example, were predicted to be host to 32 and 68 different coronaviruses, respectively. And in species including the common hedgehog, the European rabbit and the dromedary camel, the algorithm predicted that Sars-CoV-2 might recombine with other, existing coronaviruses.

How could the findings be useful?

The scientists say their findings could help to target the surveillance for new diseases - possibly helping prevent the next pandemic before its starts.

"This is not a reason to demonise these species," Dr Wardeh stressed, pointing out that "spill-over" of viruses into human populations tends to be linked to human activities like wildlife trade and farming.

"But it's virtually impossible to survey all animals all the time, so our approach enables prioritisation. It says these are the species to watch," the University of Liverpool researcher added.

The scientists say the "ideal" use of this technique would be to help find viruses as they're recombining.

"If we can find them before they get into humans," said Dr Blagrove. "Then we could work on developing drugs and vaccines and on stopping them getting into humans in the first place."
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Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56076716.
 
Brazil surpassed 10 million confirmed coronavirus cases Thursday, according to a running tally by US-based Johns Hopkins University.

With 10,030,626 confirmed cases to date, the country has the third highest number of infections after the US and India.

Brazil recorded more than 49,000 new cases Thursday.

Since Jan. 8, the country has registered a moving average of cases above 40,000, reaching more than 56,000 on Jan. 14.

On Thursday, the country recorded its fifth highest number of deaths in 24 hours at 1,432, taking the country’s total to 243,610.

Brazil is second only to the US in terms of the number of COVID-19 fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins data.

Although Brazil has about 2.7% of the world’s population, or around 213 million inhabitants, the country’s coronavirus cases account for more than 9% of global confirmed cases.

The US, with roughly 4.3% of the world’s population, accounts for more than a quarter of global cases.

The South American nation also accounts for roughly 10% of the world COVID-19 deaths.

In the Americas, the US and Brazil are by far the nations with the highest number of cases.

Vaccination against COVID-19 in Brazil kicked off slowly, with problems over the acquisition of doses and later in the distribution of vaccines.

Even so, Brazil had vaccinated 3 million people with the first dose as of Feb. 4, some 18 days after the official start of the campaign, representing around 14 vaccines applied per one thousand inhabitants.

In comparison, among the countries that vaccinated the most against COVID-19, Israel had applied 601.4 doses per 1,000 inhabitants, the United Arab Emirates 360.4, and the UK 155.1.

To date, around 5.5 million people have been given at least the first dose of the vaccine in 26 Brazilian states and the Federal District. This represents roughly 2.6% of the country’s population.

Only around 309,000 people have been administered the second dose so far, or 0.15% of Brazilians. Vaccination in many Brazilian cities, including state capitals, had to be stopped this week in the wake of a shortage in doses.
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Source: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/brazil-passes-10m-confirmed-covid-cases-johns-hopkins/2150004.
 
JAPAN ON FRIDAY confirmed a new coronavirus variant that has infected nearly 100 people.

Reuters reported that Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters that 91 infections were documented in the Kanto area of eastern Japan and two other cases were discovered at airports.

"It may be more contagious than conventional strains, and if it continues to spread domestically, it could lead to a rapid rise in cases," Kato said.
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Source: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-02-19/japan-discovers-new-coronavirus-variant.
 
South Korea coronavirus: PM aims for 'herd immunity by autumn'

South Korea will achieve herd immunity from Covid-19 by the autumn, its prime minister has told the BBC, despite a later start to its vaccination programme.

The country was one of the first hit by the pandemic last year and became a role model for its mass testing and aggressive contact tracing measures.

But vaccinations have been much slower.

Health officials will start inoculating medical staff in hospitals and care homes later this week.

The aim is to give some 800,000 people the jab over the next month using vaccines produced by AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech.

In an interview one year since he became the country's coronavirus figurehead, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun defended the later rollout and said it allowed South Korean officials to see how the vaccine had fared elsewhere.

"You know that Koreans are the master of speed," said Mr Chung.

"It's not an easy goal to achieve but we aim to complete the first set of vaccinations on 70% of our population by the end of the third quarter in September. I believe it's possible."

The government has procured more than enough vaccine for the country's 55 million people, but most of these supplies are not expected to arrive until around July. That gives health workers just a few months to meet the government's deadline.

Seoul had hoped to have its own vaccine ready by the end of this year - but that is now looking unlikely. The hope of a "home-grown" jab is thought to be part of the reason the government took its time to negotiate with vaccine companies for supplies.

It eventually secured contracts with Pfizer and Moderna at the end of January but not before domestic media had lambasted its approach as too relaxed.

President Moon Jae-in told me at his New Year press conference that he did not regret taking the time to get this right.

But the past few months has allowed time for fear to set in.

South Korea is not traditionally a country that shuns mass vaccinations. Its inoculation rate for major diseases such as hepatitis B are usually higher than those of the United States, the UK and Australia.

But a recent poll by the Korea Society Opinion Institute found that only around 45% of those asked were willing to get the Covid-19 vaccination when their turn comes in the next few months. Another 45% said they wanted to delay getting their shots to "watch the situation". Five per cent said they would refuse to be vaccinated.

Prime Minister Chung believes people will be persuaded.

"Sure, some may resist getting vaccinated but this government will encourage more people to get the jab... If the vaccine proves to be as effective as promised and if indeed herd immunity is achieved when 70% are inoculated - then by this fall Koreans may have their normal life back."

The lure of a more normal life may prove a compelling argument. South Korea has so far managed to control the virus and live with Covid-19 without a major nationwide lockdown.

But there are restrictions in place.

Restaurants and small businesses in and around the capital Seoul have had a curfew of 21:00 since December. That has now been extended by an extra hour, and as winter gives way to spring, Seoul's streets are busy.

Coffee shops and bars are bustling and even nightclubs have reopened for the young - and old. Health officials announced on Monday that there had been a cluster of infections at a seniors' disco.

Over-confidence in its own measures and a touch of complacency have led to three waves of the virus. In December, daily case numbers rose to more than 1,000. Still low by international standards, but it was a wake-up call in South Korea.

Prime Minister Chung said he was keen to strike a balance between the economy and preventing infection.

"I believe it is better to minimise restrictions. But we have to keep in mind that if we fail to contain Covid-19 we will fail to grow our economy as well. Yes, at the moment the fight against the coronavirus is a priority but it is not the only fight.

"We are preparing to amend our social distancing measures in March. The focus will be to reduce the burden on those self-employed or small businesses that have been badly hit by the restrictions while asking each individual to be more responsible and carry out some restraint."

It's not clear what that will mean in practice, but currently there is a ban on more than four people gathering together.

South Korea's fight against the coronavirus has not been perfect, but it has saved lives. Just over 1,500 people have died from Covid-19 and there have been a total of around 87,000 infections in the past year.

So was Mr Chung surprised when those in the West failed to follow this country's lead?

"South Korea has learned about democracy and gained technology from advanced countries like Europe and the UK.

"I would never have thought they would have suffered so much from Covid-19. South Korea was focused on the three principles of testing, tracking and tracing the virus and the three values of democracy, transparency and openness - we didn't realise how well we were doing.

"It was only later that we learned we were managing better than others around the world."
Click to expand...

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56156234.
 
Brazil has passed two grim landmarks, as deaths from Covid-19 passed 251,000 and the country saw its highest daily toll since the coronavirus was first detected there one year ago.

A total of 1,582 Brazilians died from Covid-19 on Thursday as the country struggles with a slow vaccination rollout, new variants of the disease and an uncoordinated government response.

As the country confronts the second-highest number of Covid fatalities in the world, after the US, Brazil’s health system is feeling the strain. Hospitals in 17 state capitals are overwhelmed with cases, according to the government research institute Fiocruz. More than 90% of intensive care beds are full in the Amazon cities of Manaus and Porto Velho.

“This scenario in the state capitals is certainly due, in part, to the increased circulation of the new variant in these locations,” said Julio Croda, an epidemiologist and researcher at Fiocruz.

Partial data showed that the new strain found in the Amazonas state (P1) has a mutation in the amino acid 501, the same as in the United Kingdom and South Africa strains. The change allows P1 to be more contagious and dangerous, Croda said.

“We observed a very rapid growth in the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Manaus. In a matter of two weeks, the health system collapsed.” the epidemiologist said.

But even as experts warned of a looming Covid avalanche in the weeks ahead, Brazil’s president again discouraged the use of masks, a method which has been proved effective against Covid-19.

During his weekly live stream on Thursday, Jair Bolsonaro mentioned an unspecified study to argue that masks caused side-effects, including skin reactions and headaches, in children.

“There is an extremely populist policy in the country, based on anti-scientific discourse, that is contrary to the use of masks and in favour of opening up trade,” Dr Alexandre Naime Barbosa said.

He also said that the bad example of the federal government led people in Brazil to disregard protective measures as social distancing.

“My team is exhausted, everyone is burned out. Our families can’t take it any more. The paradox is that inside the hospital there is a waiting line and outside is full of people, no one wearing masks,” Barbosa, a professor who is the head of the infectious disease department at São Paulo State University, said.

The country began vaccinating health workers and older people in January but the campaign is lagging amid lack of doses and logistical problems. A load of 78,000 doses that the ministry of health should have sent to the state of Amazonas arrived in Amapá.

While the health minister, Eduardo Pazuello, pledged the government would vaccinate all Brazilians this year, only 3% have so far received the injections.
Click to expand...

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/26/brazil-coronavirus-deaths-record.
 
Covid: Hospitals in Brazilian cities 'close to collapse'

Health systems in most of Brazil's largest cities are close to collapse due to Covid-19 cases, a report by the country's Fiocruz institute warns.

The Rio de Janeiro-based institute said more than 80% of intensive care unit (ICU) beds are occupied in the capitals of 25 of Brazil's 27 states.

On Tuesday the country recorded 1,972 Covid deaths, a new daily record.

Brazil has recorded more than 266,000 deaths and 11 million cases since the pandemic began.

It has the second highest number of deaths in the world after the US and the third highest number of confirmed cases.

According to Fiocruz, 15 state capitals have ICUs that are at more than 90% capacity including Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and São Paulo.

Two cities - Porto Alegre and Campo Grande - have exceeded ICU capacity.

In its report it warned that figures pointed to the "overload and even collapse of health systems".

"Researchers reinforce the need to expand and strengthen measures involving physical and social distance, wearing masks and cleaning hands," it added.

Last week experts told Valor Economic newspaper that deaths would soon surpass 2,000 a day. They warned that the only way to avoid this was if the federal government took over national coordination of the fight against the virus, recommending lockdowns, the use of masks and a mass vaccination drive.

More than eight million people have had their first vaccination dose so far, representing just over 4% of the population.

On Tuesday, the country also recorded more than 70,000 cases, a 38% increase on last week, according to local media. The recent rise has been attributed to the spread of a highly contagious variant of the virus thought to have originated in the Amazon city of Manaus.

Despite this, President Jair Bolsonaro has continued to downplay the threat posed by the virus.

Earlier this week he told people to "stop whining". Speaking at an event, he said: "How long are you going to keep crying about it? How much longer will you stay at home and close everything? No-one can stand it anymore. We regret the deaths, again, but we need a solution."

A number of quarantine measures have been taken by regional governors, which Mr Bolsonaro has opposed, arguing that the collateral damage to the economy will be worse than the effects of the virus itself.
Click to expand...

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56342303.
 
Eli Lilly's combo therapy for COVID-19 cuts serious illness and death in large study

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-lilly/eli-lillys-combo-therapy-for-covid-19-cuts-serious-illness-and-death-in-large-study-idUSKBN2B21C0

Eli Lilly and Co said on Wednesday that its combination antibody therapy to fight COVID-19 reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by 87% in a study of more than 750 high-risk COVID-19 patients.

It is the second large, late-stage study to show that combination therapy of two antibodies, bamlanivimab and etesevimab, is effective at treating mild to moderate cases of COVID-19.

The previous study, which published data in January, used a higher dose of the drugs and reduced risk of hospitalization by 70%.

“I expect this data to continue to drive more utilization” of the antibodies,” said Daniel Skovronsky, chief scientific officer at Eli Lilly.

“We have few other diseases where we have drugs that can offer this magnitude of benefit.”

U.S. regulators authorized the combination therapy in February for use in COVID-19 patients 12 and over with a high risk of developing serious complications. European regulators greenlighted its use in March.

The United States agreed in February to purchase a minimum of 100,000 doses of the combination treatment.

Regulators authorized bamlanivimab alone for use against COVID-19 last year and the U.S. government agreed to purchase nearly 1.5 million doses.

Skovronsky said the combination therapy has the benefit of offering greater protection against new strains of COVID-19.

A variant of COVID-19 originally discovered in Britain has infected patients in most U.S. states and is expected to become the country's dominant strain. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi)

“We are quite confident this combo covers all of the variants in the U.S.,” Skovronsky said, adding Lilly is studying an additional treatment for new COVID strains first identified in South Africa and Brazil, which have not become widespread in the United States.

Skovronsky said that Lilly is prepared to manufacture 1 million doses of the combination therapy in the coming months and is in active talks to supply governments around the world with the treatment.
Click to expand...
 
Total Covid vaccines doses administered so far

India 24 million
Bangladesh 4 million
Sri Lanka 0.7 million
Maldives. 0.14 million
Pakistan 0.12 million
 
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