The Pigeon Express
A multi-million dollar Australian app used to track Covid-19 contacts has been decommissioned and branded “a failure” after identifying only two unique infections. Health Minister Mark Butler urged people to delete the app, calling it a “colossal waste” of taxpayer’s money. COVIDsafe was previously touted “as essential as putting on sunscreen” by former Prime Minister […]
Around 80,000 tourists are stranded in the popular resort city of Sanya on China’s tropical Hainan island after authorities announced lockdown measures to stem an outbreak of Covid-19. Public transportation was suspended and people’s movements inside the city were restricted from early Saturday morning, authorities said. Stranded tourists are required to stay for seven days […]
North Korea says everyone who fell sick since the country confirmed its first Covid-19 infections has recovered. On Friday state media reported zero fever cases for a seventh straight day. North Korea refers to “fever” rather than “Covid” patients due to a lack of testing equipment. The country announced its first Covid outbreak in May […]
Visitors to Hong Kong’s annual exhibition of global gourmet food will once again not be allowed to sample the delicacies due to coronavirus curbs, the organiser said Tuesday. Tens of thousands of visitors and hundreds of exhibitors are expected at the five-day Food Expo starting next Thursday in the city’s Convention and Exhibition Centre. But […]
New Zealand has fully reopened to international visitors, lifting the last remnants of one of the toughest border regimes introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The country began reopening its borders in February with the lifting of restrictions on New Zealand citizens, followed in May by the return of tourists from more than 50 countries including […]
US President Joe Biden has tested positive for Covid-19 again, in what has been described as a “rebound” infection by his doctor. The 79-year-old first contracted the virus on 21 July, when he was revealed to be experiencing mild symptoms. On Saturday Mr Biden said he was not experiencing symptoms but would isolate “for the […]
A health official is being investigated for vaccinating 30 students with a single syringe in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The incident took place in a school in Sagar district where children were being given Covid-19 vaccines. India’s health ministry mandates a “one needle, one syringe, only one time” protocol for Covid-19 vaccines. […]
Two newly published studies conclude that the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, was most likely the epicenter for the coronavirus. The studies were posted online as preprints in February but have now undergone peer review and were published Tuesday in the journal Science. In one, scientists from around the world used mapping tools and […]
The Chinese metropolis of Wuhan has shut down a district of almost a million people after detecting four asymptomatic Covid cases, as the original epicenter of the pandemic takes no chances in preventing another outbreak under China’s stringent zero-Covid policy. Authorities in Wuhan’s Jiangxia district, home to more than 970,000 people, announced Wednesday its main […]
President Joe Biden said Thursday that he’s tested positive for Covid-19 but will continue to work while in isolation at the White House despite his mild symptoms. In a video posted to Twitter, Biden told Americans that he is “doing well” and that his symptoms continue to be mild. “I guess you heard, this morning […]
Chinese officials have apologised to residents of a locked-down community in Guangzhou for removing the locks on the doors to their homes. A number of people at the apartment complex in the southern Chinese city had recently tested positive for Covid. Officials were searching for close contacts who may have been hiding in an attempt […]
More than 2,000 tourists have been stranded in a Chinese coastal city after a surge in coronavirus cases. Officials in clocked down urban areas and ordered the mass testing of its 1.9m residents over the weekend. It comes as concerns grow about the impact of China’s “zero-Covid” policy on the world’s second largest economy. Last […]