COVID-19 Coronavirus - Updates

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South Korea's Omicron surge has likely peaked, officials say.....​

South Korea's daily average of new Covid-19 cases declined last week for the first time in more than two months, but the number of critically ill patients and deaths will likely continue to rise amid the Omicron-driven outbreak, officials have said.


South Korea reported an average of about 350,000 new cases last week, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. It was the first drop in the weekly average in 11 weeks, KDCA Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong said, according to AP.


The current outbreak has likely peaked and is expected to trend downward, Jeong said citing expert studies. But new cases in South Korea will likely drop slowly because of relaxed social distancing rules, an expansion of in-person school classes and rising infections due to the coronavirus mutant widely known as stealth Omicron, she said.

Health workers wearing protective gear prepare for visitors at a temporary screening clinic for the coronavirus in Seoul, South Korea on Monday. — AP
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Covid deaths jump by 40pc in a week, but cases falling globally: WHO​

The number of people killed by the coronavirus surged by more than 40 per cent last week, likely due to changes in how Covid-19 deaths were reported across the Americas and by newly adjusted figures from India, according to a World Health Organisation report.

In its latest weekly report on the pandemic, the UN health agency said the number of new coronavirus cases fell everywhere, including in WHO's Western Pacific region, where they had been rising since December, reports AP.

About 10 million new Covid-19 infections and more than 45,000 deaths were reported worldwide over the past week, following a 23pc drop in fatalities the week before...
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Covid cases in Asia surpass 100 million​

Coronavirus infections in Asia have passed 100 million, according to a Reuters tally, as the region records a resurgence in cases, dominated by the BA.2 Omicron sub-variant.

The region is reporting over one million new Covid-19 cases about every two days, according to a Reuters analysis. With more than half of the world's population, Asia contributes 21 per cent of all reported Covid-19 cases.

The highly contagious but less deadly BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron has pushed the figures to greater highs in recent weeks in countries such as South Korea, China and Vietnam. BA.2 now represents nearly 86pc of all sequenced cases, according to the World Health Organisation.

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Taiwan says new Covid cases won't affect re-opening plans​

A recent rise in Taiwan's domestic Covid-19 cases will not affect plans to gradually re-open as hardly any of the new infections have caused serious illness, Premier Su Tseng-chang said.
Unlike large parts of the rest of the world, Taiwan has kept the pandemic well under control due to strict and early control measures, including an efficient contact and tracing system and largely closing its borders, Reuters reports.

Speaking to reporters in the southern city of Kaohsiung, Su said the “new Taiwan model” in combating Covid-19 was a “normal life, active epidemic prevention and steady opening”.

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If India is being hit then sooner or later Pakistan will be hit too.

India's Covid-19 infections hit month-high, one state reports spike in deaths

Hospitalisations remained low though those numbers have also been inching up. . Read more at straitstimes.com.

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India's Covid-19 infections hit month-high, one state reports spike in deaths​

India reported 2,183 new Covid-19 infections on April 18, taking the running total to more than 43 million. PHOTO: REUTERS

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NEW DELHI (REUTERS) - India's tally of daily Covid-19 cases nearly doubled on Monday (April 18) from the previous day to more than 2,000 for the first time in a month, government data showed, and the southern state of Kerala reported a big jump in deaths.
India was at the centre of the global Covid-19 crisis this time last year but the situation has improved since then and most precautions, including the wearing of masks, have recently been dropped.
But cases have been creeping up in the country of 1.35 billion people, with 2,183 new infections reported on Monday, taking the running total to more than 43 million, according to Health Ministry data.

The ministry reported 214 more deaths, including 151 since April 13 in the southern state of Kerala, which is widely considered to issue more accurate data than many other states.
India has reported a total of about 522,000 deaths from the coronavirus though many global experts have said its real death toll could be up to four million, from several hundred million cases.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has repeatedly rejected those higher estimates saying the mathematical models used to estimate deaths in smaller countries cannot be relied on for India.

 

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Covid-19 infections have seen a large drop across most of the UK, the latest weekly Office for National Statistics figures suggest.

Estimated infections have returned to levels last seen before the highly-transmissible sub-variant of Omicron, called BA.2, became more widespread.

It comes alongside a fall in the number of hospital patients with coronavirus, with recent levels below those seen in previous waves of the pandemic.

But in total more than 175,000 people have died in the UK since the outbreak of the virus.
A Covid vaccination programme has so far reached nine in 10 people aged 12 and over with a first dose.

 

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U.S. limits use of J&J’s COVID vaccine on blood clot risks

Reuters
06 May, 2022

The U.S. health regulator said on Thursday it was limiting the use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for adults due to the risk of a rare blood clotting syndrome, the latest setback to the shot that has been eclipsed by rivals.

The J&J shot, which received U.S. clearance in February 2021 for adults, can be administered in cases where authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccines are not accessible or if an individual is less keen on using the other two shots, the Food and Drug Administration said.

J&J is one of the three vaccines in use in the United States. The other two are from Moderna and Pfizer.

The vaccine maker said it has updated the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine fact sheet to warn about the risk of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition.

Use of the J&J shot has been weak in high-income countries, hurt by reports of rare, potentially deadly blood clots, production issues, including an accidental mix-up of ingredients by a contract manufacturer, and concerns about efficacy.

The drugmaker last month rescinded its forecast for COVID-19 vaccine sales, citing a glut of supply.

Cases of TTS, which involves blood clots accompanied by a low level of platelets, have previously been reported in recipients of the J&J vaccine.

The FDA in January amended the fact sheet for the J&J vaccine to include the risk of immune thrombocytopenia, months after the European Union’s drugs regulator took similar action.

The FDA on Thursday said the risk of TTS warranted limiting the use of the single-dose shot after it conducted investigation of reported cases.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in December had recommended that Americans choose to receive mRNA shots from Pfizer and Moderna over J&J’s vaccine due to the rare cases of blood clotting. read more
Around 18.7 million Americans have received a J&J COVID-19 shot compared with 217.5 million people who received the Moderna vaccine and 340.6 million people who received Pfizer’s shot, according to CDC.