virus variant
World
HK bans flights from India, Pakistan, Philippines over mutant Covid-19 passengers
Hong Kong’s current entry requirements are already some of the strictest in the world.
World
English Covid variant not linked to more serious infections, study shows
AFP -
Two studies have found no evidence that people with B117 experience worse symptoms or a greater risk of developing long Covid than those infected with different variants, although the variant is associated with a higher viral load and reproduction rate than normal variants.
World
Brazil now has more young than old Covid patients in ICUs
AFP -
The number of people aged 39 or younger in ICUs with Covid-19 in March rose sharply to more than 11,000, or 52.2% of the total, up from 14.6% of total ICU patients early in the pandemic and around 45% from September through February.
World
South African variant better at bypassing Pfizer-BioNTech jab, Israeli study shows
AFP -
The South African variant is able, to some extent, to break through the vaccine's protection, they say.
News
9 cases of South African Covid variant found in Malaysia so far
Bernama -
The variant was first identified among four local cases in March.
World
UK variant 64% deadlier than previous strains, study shows
AFP -
Researchers compared data for nearly 55,000 pairs of participants who tested positive in the community – rather than in hospitals – between October and January and followed them for 28 days.
News
2 cases of Nigerian Covid variant found in Malaysia
Bernama -
Health DG Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah says the Nigerian variant may cause an increase in transmissibility and a possible reduction in immune response.
World
US investing US$200 million on virus variant detection
AFP -
The investment will increase sequencing carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention more than threefold from about 7,000 samples per week to approximately 25,000.
World
AstraZeneca jabs less effective against South African strain, study finds
AFP -
But the vaccine developers in Britain say informally the results offer some hope that the vaccine could prevent deaths from the variant.
World
New Covid-19 variants now in dozens of countries, says WHO
AFP -
The vast majority of mutations are of little importance, but WHO has urged countries to actively work to spot mutations that might significantly alter either the virus's virulence or transmissibility.
World
Why scientists think UK variant could be more deadly
AFP -
Initially British experts said evidence suggested the new strain was between 50% and 70% more transmissible, but the government later said it could also be 30-40% more deadly.
World
Philippine president tells kids to stay home and watch TV
AFP -
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has reimposed a ban on children aged 10 to 14 leaving home, a move which others say could hamper economic recovery.