Asia Pacific countries, including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia, have resolved to turn schools, now reopening after COVID-19 restrictions, into “health-promoting schools.” Concerned that closure of schools owing to COVID-19 negatively impacted children and adolescents’ health, education,…
Read More
Japan warns of unprecedented COVID spread as cases hit record in Olympic host city
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan warned on Wednesday that coronavirus infections were surging at an unprecedented pace as new cases hit a record high in Tokyo, overshadowing the Olympics and adding to doubts over the government’s handling of the pandemic. The…
Read More
Philippine hospitals struggle to cope as more severe COVID-19 wave hits
MANILA (Reuters) – Nick Yañez, a 28-year-old ambulance nurse in a satellite city of Manila, says she sometimes spends six to seven hours in her emergency vehicle caring for a COVID-19 patient before a bed can be found in a…
Read More
Japan vaccine chief confirms PM Suga call with Pfizer CEO
FILE PHOTO: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announces that Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa will have pre-emergency status under a new prevention law during a government task force meeting at the prime minister’s office, Tokyo, Japan, April 9, 2021. Eugene Hoshiko/Pool…
Read More
China repeats call to resist 'vaccine nationalism', pledges to keep monetary support
TOKYO (Reuters) – China urged the international community to resist “vaccine nationalism” and to coordinate policy to make vaccines accessible for developing countries in order to contain the pandemic and for the sake of the global economy.FILE PHOTO: A woman…
Read More
Tokyo's Koike says will ask govt for emergency measures to stem COVID-19 rise
FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians wearing protective face masks amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, are seen behind cherry blossoms in Tokyo, Japan, March 18, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonTOKYO (Reuters) -Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said on Thursday she would request the central government…
Read More
Kazakhstan asks Russia for additional Sputnik V supplies
FILE PHOTO: A dose of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine is prepared at a sport centre, as the country starts mass inoculation campaign with the Russian vaccine donated by Serbia, in Skopje, North Macedonia April 5, 2021. REUTERS/Ognen…
Read More
Australia says EU asked it to withdraw vaccine export permit applications
CANBERRA (Reuters) – Australia said on Wednesday the European Union asked it to withdraw export permit applications for AstraZeneca PLC’s COVID-19 vaccine, ratcheting up its dispute with Europe over access to pre-purchased inoculations.FILE PHOTO: Vial labelled “AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19)…
Read More
Bangkok to close 196 nightlife venues amid new coronavirus cluster
FILE PHOTO: Night clubs and go-go bars street Soi Cowboy is seen empty after Thai government ordered the closure of cinemas, bars and other entertainment facilities as part of a raft of measures intended to control the spread of the…
Read More
China's TopRidge Pharma to produce Sputnik V vaccine, Russia's RDIF says
FILE PHOTO: Bottles of Russia’s “Sputnik-V” COVID-19 vaccine are seen before inoculation at a clinic in Tver, Russia, October 12, 2020. REUTERS/Tatyana MakeyevaMOSCOW (Reuters) – China’s TopRidge Pharma has agreed to produce more than 100 million doses of Russia’s two-shot…
Read More