Health

Global health officials tried to determine the facts of China’s raging Covid-19 outbreak and how to prevent a further spread as the government’s mouthpiece newspaper on Wednesday rallied citizens for a “final victory” over the virus. China’s axing of its stringent virus curbs last month has unleashed Covid on a 1.4 billion population that has little natural immunity having been …

The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) confirmed on Wednesday the detection of six coronavirus cases belonging to the highly-contagious Omicron subvariant category XBB in Karachi. “We have detected six cases, however, others have been found around the country,” AKUH Infectious Diseases Section Head Dr Faisal Mehmood told Dawn.com. “These have started since November.” According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the XBB is a …

China’s state media played down the severity on Tuesday of the Covid-19 wave surging over the country, with its scientists expected to give a briefing to the World Health Organisation on the evolution of the virus later in the day. China’s abrupt U-turn on Covid controls on Dec 7, as well as the accuracy of its case and mortality data, …

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that the Covid-19 situation in the country was “under control”, but instructed authorities to remain prepared to tackle any possible spread of the virus. The premier passed these remarks in a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Office to review the Covid spread in Pakistan. The participants were informed in detail about the …

ISLAMABAD: In the wake of threat posed by the new BF.7 Omicron variant of Covid-19, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Monday instructed National Institute of Health (NIH) to issue precautionary advisories for educational institutes, social gatherings and conduct weekly media briefings. In a related development, vaccination and screening test of pedestrians has been started at Torkham border on a …

BEIJING: Travellers from China now face restrictions when entering more than a dozen countries as concern grows over its surge in Covid-19 cases, with Australia the latest to demand a negative test before arrival. Last month, Beijing abruptly began dismantling its “zero-Covid” containment policy of lockdowns and mass testing, three years after the coronavirus first emerged in the city of …

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Saturday for more effort and unity as the country enters a “new phase” in its approach to combating the pandemic, in his first comments to the public on Covid-19 since his government changed course three weeks ago and relaxed its rigorous policy of lockdowns and mass testing. China’s abrupt switch earlier this month from …

PESHAWAR: Amid fears over the new Covid-19 variant, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has begun random screening at the Peshawar airport and on Afghan border crossings in the province. The development comes as the health department recorded six new coronavirus patients on Saturday. Provincial chief secretary Dr Shahzad Khan Bangash had directed the health department to stay alert in light …

France on Friday joined a growing list of nations imposing Covid tests on travellers from China, after Beijing dropped foreign travel curbs despite surging cases — and amid questions about its data reporting. Spain, South Korea and Israel also said they would require proof of a negative test for travelers leaving China, and UK media reported that Britain would soon …

ISLAMABAD: Amid the threat of Covid-19 spread, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has begun screening passengers at the Islamabad International airport. According to the airport manager, all the inbound passengers are being tested at the entry points for temperature, while Covid-19 tests are also being carried out on passengers with the symptoms of the virus. It may be noted that …