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Violent clashes at anti-lockdown protest in Dublin
Hundreds of people took to the streets of Dublin on Saturday to demonstrate against lockdown regulations in Ireland, with some violent incidents at the march. Police clashed with protesters as they tried to reach a central park, Saint Stephen's Green, according to broadcaster RTE. Several people were reportedly arrested. A video circulating on the internet showed a man throwing fire crackers at police officers, after which the situation seemed to escalate. Ireland's Tanaiste, or deputy premier, Leo Varadkar condemned the violence. "There is no excuse for violence to Gardaí [police] or anyone,"...
DPA
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Britain's 100-year-old Captain Tom given final farewell at funeral
The 100-year-old British fundraiser and World War II veteran Sir Tom Moore, popularly known as Captain Tom, was honoured at a funeral service on Saturday in the English town of Bedford. The black hearse carrying his coffin, covered by a Union flag, was escorted by police from Moore's home in Marston Moretaine to a crematorium in Bedford. He received military honours at the funeral, including a gun salute and flyover by World War II military aircraft. A bugler also played the "Last Post." Moore, who died in early February after becoming seriously ill with Covid-19, had raised nearly 32.8 millio...
DPA
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Steve Vines: Does Hong Kong’s quarantine centre need to be quite so hellish?
Cell, or rather Room, 173-02, has no bars on the windows and in theory – but only in theory – you can open the door and exit, except that the option of exit is strictly forbidden without permission. To enforce compliance an all-seeing CCTV surveillance camera keeps a careful eye on the doors. Next to it are loudspeakers poised to bark orders at inmates making an unauthorised exit or even timorously stepping outside the door. Hazmat-suited operatives emerge at remarkable speed to chastise offenders who peek out. Welcome to the Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre built at breakneck speed to accommodat...
Hong Kong Free Press
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Canada approves AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, the country's third
Canada's health regulator on Friday approved the Covid-19 vaccine developed by British-Swedish company AstraZeneca and Oxford University, making it the third jab to be authorized in the country. "Vaccines will keep arriving faster and faster as we head into the spring - and not just because shipments of Moderna and Pfizer are ramping up, which they are - but because Canada has now approved yet another vaccine option," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a press conference. "This morning, Health Canada authorized the AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine," he continued, calling it "very encoura...
DPA
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Could Trinidad & Tobago's COVID-19 travel exemption process be compromising citizens’ rights?
Invalid Trinidad and Tobago passport. Photo by Janine Mendes-Franco, used with permission. This is the second instalment of a two-part post. The first can be found here. Ever since Trinidad and Tobago closed its borders to everyone but its nationals at midnight on March 17, 2020, and then to its own citizens by March 23, nationals have been waiting to be granted permission to come home. However, the travel exemption process by which applications are granted is coming under fire for being inefficient, especially since those who applied under the initial process are now being asked to reapply un...
Global Voices
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Trinidad & Tobago’s COVID-19 travel exemption process is demoralising its citizens abroad
Invalid Trinidad and Tobago passport. Photo by Janine Mendes-Franco, used with permission. This is the first instalment of a two-part post. The second can be found here. In an effort to deal with the COVID-19 epidemic, Trinidad and Tobago closed its borders to everyone but its nationals at midnight on March 17, 2020. By March 23, citizens abroad were also being barred from re-entering the country. An exemption application system, which now pertains to both arrivals and departures, was subsequently put in place but it is a process deemed a failure by many nationals stuck abroad, many of whom ha...
Global Voices
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Portugal prepared to send 5 per cent of its vaccine doses to Africa
Portugal is set to allocate 5 per cent of its share of coronavirus vaccine doses with African nations, said Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa at the end of an EU session on Friday. His country's donation would focus on countries where Portuguese is the main language. The proposal follows a suggestion from French President Emmanuel Macron, who has urged rich nations to share 4 or 5 per cent of their vaccine doses with needier countries. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has also shown interest in the idea. Costa's statement builds on promises made by all 27 EU national leaders on T...
DPA
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German health minister urges caution as vaccine drive advances
German Health Minister Jens Spahn on Friday warned against a premature easing of lockdown measures despite some advances in the vaccination campaign, while business representatives upped their pressure on the government to return to normal. Nearly two-thirds of care home residents in Germany have received both doses of the coronavirus vaccine, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control. Of the 900,000 care home residents, more than 550,000 have received two doses, while more than 795,000 a first dose. The vast majority of nursing home residents accepted the vacc...
DPA
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‘Life will not be back to normal’
Malaysia has begun COVID vaccinations while remaining, controversially, in a state of emergency. The country’s battle against the infection has been one of clusters and movement control orders. Tariq Hashmat of Health Analytics Asia speaks to Dr. Ahmad Firdaus By Tariq Hashmat As of February 23, the Southeast Asian economic powerhouse had recorded over 288,000 cases of COVID-19 and over 1,000 deaths. While cases have begun to decline from what seemed like a second wave, the active caseload remains over 30,000. Hundreds of people have been arrested for violations of the Movement Control Order –...
Health Analytics
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COVID-19: Is India heading towards a second wave?
Speculations that India has been spared from the wrath of COVID-19 have been around since mid-September. However, the country reported 16,886 new cases on February 24, up by a massive 97 percent as compared to the beginning of the month. By Pankhuri Agarwal India’s active caseload as of February 26 has risen to 1,52,895, after dropping to a low of 1,33,079 on February 11. The COVID-19 tally has seen an upward trend since February 19. Among the worst-hit states, Maharashtra topped the list with 8,807 confirmed cases on February 24. Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, and Punjab followed closely, marking th...
Health Analytics
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