Rising COVID-19 cases are driving up the use of therapeutics, with Pfizer Inc's oral antiviral treatment Paxlovid seeing a 315% jump over the past four weeks, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday. The increase in U.S. cases and hospitalizations is starting to affect recommendations on behavior, with New York City, the nation's most populous city, advising stricter mask usage but stopping short of new mandates. Apple has scrapped return to office plans. "Increasingly, we'll see this virus hit people who are substantially older, frail, have underlying illnesses, or are distinctly immunocompromised," said Dr. William Schaffner, infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. "But we now have better treatments and many of those people will leave the hospital vertically rather than horizontally." The United States is averaging nearly 97,000 new cases a day, up from about 73,000 a week ago, according to a Reuters tally. Cases have been gradually … [Read more...] about As U.S. COVID-19 cases rise, so does demand for antivirals
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1,895 new COVID-19 cases reported on Saturday
A child receives a COVID-19 vaccine dose in the northern province of Thái Bình. — VNA/VNS Photo Thế Duyệt HÀ NỘI — A total of 1,895 new COVID-19 infections were detected on Saturday, the first time Việt Nam has registered less than 2,000 cases in a single daily update since July 11 last year. The latest numbers bring the total national caseload to 10,695,036 so far. All the new infections were domestic. A total of 1,585 new transmissions were detected in the community. The capital city of Hà Nội continued to record the highest number of infections with 489, followed by Nghệ An with 115. The other cases were found in Quảng Ninh (95), Vĩnh Phúc (92), Phú Thọ (92), Yên Bái (86), Tuyên Quang (81), Thái Bình (66), Quảng Bình (54), Bắc Kạn (52), Lào Cai (51), Thái Nguyên (47), HCM City (45), Hà Nam (41), Lâm Đồng (38), Lai Châu (34), Nam Định (30), Đà Nẵng (27), Lạng Sơn (26), Ninh Bình (24), Hưng Yên (22), Hà Tĩnh (22), Đắk Nông (22), Hải Phòng (22), Bình Dương (22), Sơn La (21), … [Read more...] about 1,895 new COVID-19 cases reported on Saturday
Shanghai finds cases after five days of ‘zero COVID’ but end of lockdown on track
Shanghai announced its first new COVID-19 cases outside quarantined areas in five days on Friday, triggering stricter curbs and mass testing in one district but plans to end a prolonged city-wide lockdown on June 1 appeared on track. The commercial hub of 25 million found three new cases in the same family in Qingpu district. All had taken three doses of vaccine and their infections were discovered during regular testing, authorities said. The three had not left their district town over the past 14 days but had visited at least four places, including a supermarket, all of which were sealed off and were being disinfected, authorities said. The area's more than 200,000 people had been re-tested and all results were negative. "Our district will follow the precise prevention and control measures, do a good job in epidemic prevention and control and achieve dynamic clearing as soon as possible," Zhang Yan, deputy head of Qingpu district, told an online news conference. Other … [Read more...] about Shanghai finds cases after five days of ‘zero COVID’ but end of lockdown on track
Shanghai achieves ‘zero COVID’ status but normal life is weeks away
Shanghai achieved on Tuesday the long-awaited milestone of three consecutive days with no new COVID-19 cases outside quarantine zones but most residents will have put up with confinement for a while longer before a return to more normal life. For other cities in China that have been under lockdown, a third day with no new cases in the community usually means "zero COVID" status and the beginning of the lifting of restrictions. The commercial hub of 25 million set out on Monday its clearest timetable yet for exiting a lockdown now in its seventh week, but the plan was met with scepticism by many residents who have seen isolation extended time and again. Shanghai plans to resume outdoor activities in stages, with some convenience stores and pharmacies reopening this week, but with most restrictions on movement remaining in place until May 21, after which public transport and other services will resume gradually. By June, the lockdown should be lifted, but residents will still be … [Read more...] about Shanghai achieves ‘zero COVID’ status but normal life is weeks away
Measures put recovery on the front foot
Vietnam has risen in official pandemic recovery indices thanks to production continuity and vaccinations, Photo: Le Toan The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released in April its World Economic Outlook report, stating that global growth is projected to slow from an estimated 6.1 per cent in 2021 to 3.6 per cent in 2022 and 2023. This is 0.8 and 0.2 percentage points lower for 2022 and 2023 than projected in January. “Beyond 2023, global growth is forecast to decline to about 3.3 per cent over the medium term. War-induced commodity price increases and broadening price pressures have led to 2022 inflation projections of 5.7 per cent in advanced economies and 8.7 per cent in emerging market and developing economies - 1.8 and 2.8 percentage points higher than projected last January,” the report said. “Multilateral efforts to respond to the humanitarian crisis, prevent further economic fragmentation, maintain global liquidity, manage debt distress, tackle climate change, and end … [Read more...] about Measures put recovery on the front foot