The Pigeon Express
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 […]
As the highly transmissible variant of the coronavirus continues its frenetic spread around the world, a new subvariant has been detected in dozens of countries. Omicron was first reported by South Africa in November and has since replaced the Delta variant in most countries as the most prevalent strain. The dominant form of Omicron, known […]
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has cancelled her wedding after announcing new Covid restrictions. The entire country is set to be placed under the highest level of Covid restrictions after an outbreak of the Omicron variant. The restrictions include a cap of 100 vaccinated people at events and mask wearing in shops and on […]
Chinese social media users have supported Beijing’s narrative that Canada sent a package of “poison” into China’s capital, explaining how the Omicron variant of Covid-19 entered the city. One viral post on Weibo suggested that someone “deliberately” sent the alleged contaminated letter to Beijing, further warning other users to “be alert toward international mail,” according […]
The head of the World Health Organisation warned world leaders that the coronavirus pandemic “is nowhere near over”. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cautioned against the assumption that the newly dominant Omicron variant is significantly milder and has eliminated the threat posed by the virus. The intervention comes as some European nations saw record new case […]
Indian cities such as capital New Delhi and Mumbai could peak next week after rising rapidly, experts say, as the country reports the highest number of daily cases since late May. The 247,417 new infections on Thursday were more than 30 times higher daily cases from a month ago, rising as the more transmissible Omicron […]
The residents of a village in India organised a grand funeral ceremony and an elaborate feast after pained by the demise of a monkey. A crowd of over 1,500 people gathered at Dalupura village in Rajgarh district, Madhya Pradesh. Viral mobile footage shows funeral procession with hymns being chanted as people carry the bier to […]
A third Chinese city has locked down its residents because of a COVID-19 outbreak, raising the number confined to their homes in China to about 20 million people. The lockdown of Anyang, home to 5.5 million people, was announced late Monday after two cases of the omicron variant were reported. Residents are not allowed to […]
A new coronavirus variant nicknamed “Deltacron” has been discovered in Cyprus, local media reported on Saturday. The variant has a similar genetic background to the Delta variant, as well as some of the mutations from Omicron, explained Dr. Leondios Kostrikis, the head of the laboratory of biotechnology and molecular virology at the University of Cyprus. […]
At least 10 passengers have escaped from an airport in the northern Indian city of Amritsar after testing positive for Covid-19, according to Ruhee Dugg, a senior district official. The passengers arrived aboard an international chartered flight from Italy to India on Thursday, and 125 people tested positive on arrival. After arriving from Rome on […]
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against describing the Omicron variant as mild, saying it is killing people across the world. Recent studies suggest that Omicron is less likely to make people seriously ill than previous Covid variants. But the record number of people catching it has left health systems under severe pressure, said […]
A 74-year-old man who died in the western state of Rajasthan was India’s first death with the Omicron variant, the health ministry said on Wednesday. Officials said the man had been suffering from diabetes and other comorbid conditions. India has reported 2,630 Omicron cases so far. It reported more than 90,000 cases on Thursday – […]