Health

• Study reveals over 41pc Covid-19 medical staff faced violence • Pims staff may close coronavirus ward next week ISLAMABAD: With casualties from Covid-19 continuing to mount across the country, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has issued guidelines for the upcoming Christmas events to prevent the spread of the virus. On the other hand, a study has revealed that …

GENEVA: The World Health Organisation and partners said on Friday that the Covax facility, created to ensure equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines worldwide, expected to begin delivering jabs early next year. The UN health agency, the Gavi vaccine alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced they had now secured nearly two billion doses of various vaccine candidates still …

Moderna Inc’s coronavirus vaccine on Friday became the second to receive emergency use authorisation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), welcome news to a nation with a staggering Covid-19 death toll of over 307,000 lives lost. Millions of doses of the Moderna vaccine are expected to be added to the US rollout, which began this week with healthcare …

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has tested positive for the coronavirus, he said on Friday night. “Just got my covid test result and it is positive. Will be isolating at home,” Umar tweeted. Umar is also heading the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) – a national body that includes civil, military and health experts and …

RAWALPINDI: Nine localities in the district were placed under smart lockdown on Friday after the number of patients in these areas increased in the last two weeks. Besides, eight people lost their battle against Covid-19 in the twin cities. According to the district administration spokesperson, six areas fall in Rawalpindi, two in Taxila and one in Kallar Syedan. The areas …

PARIS: Europe became the first region in the world on Thursday to pass the milestone of 500,000 coronavirus deaths. The 52 countries and territories of the European region have recorded 500,069 deaths — ahead of Latin America and the Caribbean on 477,404, the United States and Canada (321,287), Asia (208,149), the Middle East (85,895) and Africa (57,423). Europe has once …

PARIS: President Emmanuel Macron tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday, prompting a track-and-trace effort across Europe following numerous meetings between the French leader and EU heads of government in recent days. Macron, 42, was running the country remotely after going into quarantine in the Elysee Palace, the presidency said. In the early evening, he spoke to a conference on …

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided on Thursday night to approve Moderna Inc’s coronavirus vaccine on an emergency basis, the Financial Times reported, citing people close to the process. The report comes after the FDA said it informed Moderna that it would rapidly work towards the finalisation and issuance of emergency use authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, according to …

ISLAMABAD: In response to a statement of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the employees of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Thursday alleged that the medical teaching institution (MTI) ordinance was a conspiracy to lease out belongings of the hospital. The prime minister had said he wanted to bring a system of reward and punishment in Pims to run it …

KARACHI: The Sindh government on Thursday decided to close all madressahs across the province which continued their educational activities despite closure of other educational institutions, including schools, colleges, universities and coaching and training centres, in a move to contain spread of the coronavirus pandemic. A notification issued by the Sindh home department said that the orders were put in place …