Health

Hong Kong, Dec 2 (AP-PTI) Hong Kong is limiting most gatherings to just two people and ordering compulsory testing of workers at retirement homes and facilities for people with disabilities, among tightening measures to contain a new wave of the coronavirus.

The semi-autonomous southern Chinese city reported 82 news cases on Wednesday, all but 10 of them listed as having been transmitted among residents.

Since Nov 17, it has reported more than 1,000 confirmed cases, only a few of which were brought from outside the city.

30 Nov 2020; Turkey will impose a weekday curfew and a full lockdown at weekends to combat the spread of the coronavirus, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday, after new cases and deaths hit record highs.

Citizens will not be allowed to leave home between 9 pm and 5 am on weekdays or at all at weekends, Erdogan said.

Some sectors, including supply chains and production, will be exempt from the measures which will begin on Tuesday, he said.

Hanoi, Dec 1 (AP-PTI) Vietnamese authorities are conducting intensive contact tracing after discovering the country's first confirmed local transmission of the coronavirus in 89 days.

State media said Tuesday that a 32-year-old man in Ho Chi Minh City tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday after visiting a flight attendant who was undergoing self-quarantine at his home following his return from Japan two weeks ago.

New Delhi, Nov 30 (PTI) The government has called an all-party meeting to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic situation on December 4 that will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources said on Monday.

Floor leaders of all parties from both houses of parliament have been called for the meeting, which will be held virtually on Friday at 10.30 am, sources told PTI.

The Parliamentary Affairs Ministry is coordinating the meeting and has reached out to floor leaders of all parties, they said.

London, Nov 29 (PTI) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged his Conservative Party lawmakers to back the government's tier-based COVID-19 lockdown in a Parliament vote in a letter stressing that there "a sunset" clause or expiry date of February 3 on the latest restrictions.

In an attempt to curb a growing rebellion within his own ranks against the new measures which face a House of Commons vote next Tuesday, Johnson wrote on Saturday evening that the tiers will be reviewed every two weeks, and areas can move down the tiers from mid-December.

(AP) --- The nation’s top infectious disease expert said Sunday that the U.S. may see “surge upon a surge” of the coronavirus in the weeks after Thanksgiving, and he does not expect current recommendations around social distancing to be relaxed before Christmas.

Meanwhile, in a major reversal, New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio said the nation’s largest school system will reopen to in-person learning and increase the number of days a week many children attend class.

28 Nov 2020; MEMO: The Israeli Defence Forces' Manpower Directorate has announced that 11.9 per cent of draft-age Israeli men who were subject to conscription have received mental health exemptions, Israeli newspaper Haaretz has revealed.

Kanpur: Those who were not wearing a face mask are being challaned for their irresponsible attitude. A large number of people were caught without a mask and a fine was also taken from them.

They are penalised for not wearing a face mask, said Rajkumar Agarwal, SP (East).

Even a drone is being used to catch people moving without a mask either in crowded space or other places.

Bada Chauraha, Meston Road, Mall Road, Shivala Bazaar and other roads in city areas were are covered to search people moving without a mask.

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he won’t take any working COVID-19 vaccine himself and calls the use of masks to limit the spread of the disease “the last taboo to fall.”

Bolsonaro’s comments, broadcast on his social media channels Thursday night, alarmed health experts who said they could undermine efforts to achieve vaccination levels essential to halting the pandemic and might scare off vaccine makers negotiating with local authorities.

ATLANTA (AP) — A panel of U.S. advisers will meet Tuesday to vote on how scarce, initial supplies of a COVID-19 vaccine will be given out once one has been approved.

Experts have proposed giving the vaccine to health workers first. High priority also may be given to workers in essential industries, people with certain medical conditions and people age 65 and older.