Health

KARACHI: Although no case of UK Covid-19 variant has been reported so far this year in Sindh, which is conducting highest number of tests, the World Health Organisation has recommended the provincial health system to increase its testing capacity and also develop the capacity to test Variants of Concern (VoC) including the B.1.1.7, which are being reported in other parts …

LONDON: The UK medical regulator said on Saturday that out of 30 people who suffered rare blood clots after receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, seven have died. The British acknowledgement of deaths comes as several European countries have paused the use of the AstraZeneca jab over a potential link to blood clots. The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) …

A team of scientists is calling for further research into how sunlight inactivates SARS-CoV-2 after noticing a glaring inconsistency between the most recent theoretical and experimental results. UC Santa Barbara mechanical engineer Paolo Luzzatto-Fegiz and colleagues noticed the virus was inactivated as much as eight times faster in experiments than the most recent theoretical model predicted “The theory assumes that …

ISLAMABAD: The novel coronavirus has claimed 81 more lives in Pakistan during the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 14,778. The latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed the COVID-19 has claimed 81 more lives and 5,020 fresh infections were reported during the period. During the period of a day, the total count …

TOKYO: Around 70% of coronavirus patients tested at a Tokyo hospital last month carried a mutation known for reducing vaccine protection, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said on Sunday. The E484K mutation, nicknamed “Eek” by some scientists, was found in 10 of 14 people who tested positive for the virus at Tokyo Medical and Dental University Medical Hospital in March, the …

PESHAWAR: The Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, has stopped attending to the people with general medical conditions to handle the growing number of coronavirus patients. The development came after the health department formally asked the hospital, the largest government one in the provincial capital, to immediately halt elective services and refer non-Covid patients to Khyber Teaching Hospital for management. The LRH …

• Guidelines issued to stay safe from Covid during Ramazan • 594 more oxygen beds provided to healthcare facilities ISLAMABAD: As over 4,700 more people have been infected with coronavirus, the National Co­mmand and Operation Centre (NCOC) has issued guidelines for Ramazan, banning entry of people older than 50 years and ado­lescents in mosques/imambargahs for Namaz and Tara­weeh and advising …

MOSCOW: A team of doctors successfully completed open heart surgery inside a Russian hospital that caught fire on Friday as firefighters battled the flames from the outside. The wooden roofed building in the far eastern city of Blagoveshchensk caught fire and 60 patients were evacuated as it filled with smoke. But a team of eight doctors performing the operation on …

WASHINGTON: The United States has started reaping the fruits of its vaccination campaign against Covid-19 as it became the first nation on Friday to reach 100 million people, but Europe’s rollout faced fresh impediments and South America tightened restrictions in the face of Brazil’s soaring infections. The United States reported surging job growth and loosened travel curbs as it reached …

ISLAMABAD: Seven more areas in the capital were on Friday sealed due to a sharp increase in the Covid-19 cases. These areas are Bahria Town Phase II and III, Sooan Garden Block B, PWD Blolck C, Korang Town, Pakistan Town Phase I, National Police Foundation Block A and DHA Phase II sector A, B, D and E. Deputy Commissioner Islamabad …