EPIDEMICS - INTERN DAILY

As virus cases surge, can China's zero-Covid strategy hold?

Mar 14, 2022 (AFP)

But after two years of virtually closed borders, mass testing, targeted lockdowns and quarantines, the strategy is being stress-tested like never before as case...

Tongan prime minister tests positive for Covid-19

Mar 14, 2022 (AFP)

While Tonga was able to remain Covid-free for much of the pandemic, cases began to rise soon after international aid ships from Australia and New Zealand arrive...

Millions locked down as China wrestles worst virus outbreak in two years

Mar 13, 2022 (AFP)

The southern tech hub of Shenzhen told all residents to stay at home as the city struggles to eradicate an Omicron flare-up linked to neighbouring virus-ravaged...

Chinese city locks down, Shanghai shuts schools as Covid spikes

Mar 11, 2022 (AFP)

Changchun, the capital of northeastern Jilin province and an important industrial base, ordered residents to stay at home, allowing one person out every two day...

Elderly care homes in eye of Hong Kong's deadly Covid storm

Mar 11, 2022 (AFP)

Care homes have become the epicentre of the city's worst-ever outbreak, accounting for nearly 60 percent of all deaths since January when an Omicron-fuelled res...

Mandatory Hong Kong Covid testing 'not a priority': city leader

Mar 09, 2022 (AFP)

Wednesday's announcement by Carrie Lam comes after weeks of uncertainty and mixed messages from the government, fuelling panic-buying sprees by residents snappi...

China's zero-Covid policy under pressure as cases rise

Mar 07, 2022 (AFP)

The country's borders remain mostly closed as policymakers continue to pursue the zero-tolerance approach even as many parts of the world turn to living with th...

Twitter to welcome workers back in the office

Mar 04, 2022 (AFP)

Google is also preparing for employees to return to its Silicon Valley offices in early April, with the expectation they will work from home only a couple of da...

Hong Kong suspends court system as virus crisis deepens

Mar 04, 2022 (AFP)

The finance hub is in the throes of its worst outbreak to date, overwhelming hospitals and shattering the city's zero-Covid strategy. The judiciary said it woul...

Top Hong Kong Covid expert says mass-testing plan 'unhelpful'

Mar 03, 2022 (AFP)

The Asian financial hub is registering tens of thousands of new cases each day, overwhelming hospitals and shattering the city's zero-Covid strategy. China has ...

US warns against Hong Kong travel over Covid rules, child separations

Mar 02, 2022 (AFP)

The State Department upgraded Hong Kong to its highest "Do Not Travel" warning "due to COVID-19 related restrictions, including the risk of parents and children...

Disarray grips Hong Kong ahead of mass Covid testing, isolation

Mar 02, 2022 (AFP)

Many locals are fuming at the government's failure to prepare after winning rare breathing room with two years of an economically painful but largely successful...

China could eventually 'co-exist' with Covid: top scientist

Mar 01, 2022 (AFP)

The country where the coronavirus was first detected in 2019 is now one of the last places still hewing to a zero-tolerance approach, responding to small outbre...

China should eventually 'co-exist' with Covid: top scientist

Mar 01, 2022 (AFP)

The country where the coronavirus was first detected in 2019 is now one of the last places still clinging to a zero-tolerance approach, responding to small outb...

Lockdown fears spark panic buying in Hong Kong

Mar 01, 2022 (AFP)

Uncertainty over Covid rules has sent the city's residents flocking to supermarkets, chemists and vegetable stores to stock up, leaving shelves empty across the...

Virus-hit Hong Kong considers lockdown as bodies pile up

Feb 28, 2022 (AFP)

Two years of strict zero-Covid policies kept the coronavirus largely bay but a breakthrough of the highly transmissible Omicron variant exposed how little autho...

Virus-hit Hong Kong considering lockdown: health chief

Feb 28, 2022 (AFP)

Two years of strict zero-Covid policies kept the coronavirus largely bay but a breakthrough of the highly transmissible Omicron variant exposed how little autho...

Hong Kong and Singapore virus response a tale of two very different cities

Feb 25, 2022 (AFP)

For decades the two cities have jostled to be Asia's premier international business hub, offering low taxes, dependable legal systems and seamless global connec...

Covid rages in Iraq as vaccinations lag

Feb 25, 2022 (AFP)

At Al-Shifaa Hospital in the capital Baghdad, the ramifications are clear. "More than 95 percent of those sick with Covid-19 in intensive care are unvaccinated,...

Hong Kong's Omicron-fuelled outbreak spreads within prisons

Feb 25, 2022 (AFP)

The city is in the throes of its worst-ever Covid-19 wave, registering thousands of cases every day that are overwhelming hospitals and government efforts to is...