A woman has just tested positive for Covid-19 despite flying back to New Zealand more than two weeks ago.The woman, in her 20s, is one of two new confirmed cases of the virus announced today.She travelled from the United States...

Almost 500 possible breaches of level-3 rules have been reported to police this weekend, as many Kiwis prepare for what they hope will be a move to level 2 this week.People flocked to beach suburbs and took waterfront walks in cities...

An Auckland hostel manager has revealed the impressive steps she has taken to ensure her 140 residents have been safe during the Covid-19 pandemic.The YWCA hostel in Auckland contains 173 bedrooms that house international students,...

After nearly two weeks at level 3, Cabinet is set to make its decision on when to move New Zealand down to level 2 - with the last release of public data before their big call continuing a promising streak of single-digit daily coronavirus...

Many parents say they will keep their children at home when schools reopen at alert level 2.The more than 900 parents who responded to a question on the New Zealand Herald's Facebook page over the weekend were evenly split on whether...

Book lovers can have their books delivered to their doorsteps, alongside their favourite takeaways. This development is as a result of the partnership between book-selling Exclusive Books and UberEats.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on Saturday descended on the Western Cape as pressure mounted on the national government to intervene in the coastal province.

More and more indicators are spelling out the scale of economic damage being wreaked by Covid-19 and the containment measures taken to tackle it, writes Robert Shortt.

[Premium Times] The first batch of Nigerians stranded in the United States due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic are on their way back home.

[Premium Times] The Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Ishaq Bello, has ordered all courts in the FCT to resume regular proceedings from Monday, May 11.

[Premium Times] The Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said on Saturday that the government may impose a total lockdown in the state if violations of health guidelines persist.

[Premium Times] Nigeria's tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 rose to 4,151 as 239 new infections were announced Saturday by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

BEIJING: The coronavirus outbreak exposed “shortcomings” in China’s public healthcare system, a top health official admitted Saturday, saying that reforms are underway to improve the country’s disease prevention and control mechanisms.China has faced criticism both at home...

NEW DELHI: An Indian pharmacist died and his boss was left hospitalised after the pair drank a chemical concoction they had developed in an effort to treat coronavirus, police said Saturday.The men worked for a herbal medicine company and were testing their treatment — a mix of nitric oxide...

LONDON: Boris Johnson will reveal on Sunday the Government’s “road map” on how it will lift restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic.While the Government has stressed it wants all parts of the UK to move together in easing the measures, decisions in Scotland, Wales and...

The strain was originally seen spreading in Europe, after which it spread to the rest of the world and is currently the most common strain.

The WHO noted that China confirmed human-to-human transmision on Janurary 20, a day before the purported conversation between Jingping and Ghebreyesus

In the midst of this coronavirus, Lebanon defaulted its $1.2 billion loan this past March, setting up the stage for Hezbollah to take over the government’s role in providing civil services.

However, relations between the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community and the rest of Israeli society appear to have been damaged.

“I did not feel any pain at all. I do not know how to explain it," said Kamel Abdel Rahman. "The rod just went through, one side to the other," recalled one of the Hadassah doctors.

Deputy Director-General of the Health Ministry Itamar Grotto insisted that despite improvements in coronavirus conditions around the country, we must be prepared for a second wave in summer.

China and its rivals in the West are using Africa’s debt problems, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, as a political football in their struggle for power on the continent, experts say.Seifudein Adem, a professor of global studies at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, said that ballooning national debt had been a major concern for many African countries even before Covid-19, but had now been brought front and centre.While it was encouraging that major creditors were seriously considering…

A Chinese social media group set up to provide personal protective equipment to hospitals in Wuhan has switched focus in line with the spread of the deadly coronavirus and is now reaching out to those in need around the world.FightforWuhan was the idea of 17-year-old high school student Yihe Chang and 19 other young people. It was launched on January 23, the same day the central China city at the epicentre of the health crisis was plunged into total lockdown.“That day was also my birthday and I…

Contrary to past emergency situations, the COVID-19 crisis seems to have helped improve the relationship between the Jewish and Arab communities.

Beijing says reforms are underway to improve disease prevention and control mechanisms.

Militarising the operations creates bad blood. People become resistant and restive.

A coalition government will further strengthen the Kenyatta and Raila axis, which is what it is all about.

Health authorities have warned of a further spike in infections.

People rarely observe basic anti-contagion protocols.

We all need some cheering up and need something to do with all the time we find ourselves with.

I well understand why so many murder stories are set on cruise ships.

Tour comes at a time when world leaders are holding virtual meetings

When Zima did her weekly grocery shopping in March, she was shocked by the prices.“A package of chicken that used to cost HK$39 (US$5) was HK$50,” she recalled. A litre of milk went up from HK$35 to HK$49, and the tomatoes she used to pay HK$8 for were now HK$12.She worried her family of three might not have enough to eat for the month, because they would run out of money.The 32-year-old fled Pakistan in 2015 together with her husband and son, claiming religious persecution as members of the…

Hong Kong recorded at least one new imported coronavirus case on Sunday, ending a string of three days with no reported infections. The tally of confirmed Covid-19 cases now moves to at least 1,045. The last time the city recorded new infections was on Thursday, when four imported cases were revealed. At least eight new infections have been recorded so far this month, all imported – cases involving people with recent travel history. Health authorities have previously said the deadly…

The US government began distributing remdesivir, an experimental drug recently approved for emergency use against Covid-19, to areas of the country struggling the most with the disease.The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) arranged for some 600,000 vials of Gilead Sciences’ antiviral medication, shown to reduce recovery times for some patients, to be shipped to health authorities in New Jersey, Illinois, Michigan and three other states, to treat an estimated 78,000 hospitalised…

France and Spain, two of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, were preparing on Sunday for an easing of lockdown rules as the global number of infections passed 4 million.In the US, the country with the world’s highest death toll, President Donald Trump faced sharp criticism from his predecessor Barack Obama who said on a leaked tape that Trump’s handling of the crisis was an “absolute chaotic disaster”.The virus has claimed more than 78,000 lives in the United States, which…

US regulators have approved a new type of coronavirus test that administration officials have promoted as a key to opening up the country.The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday announced emergency authorisation for antigen tests developed by Quidel Corporation of San Diego. The test can rapidly detect fragments of virus proteins in samples collected from swabs swiped inside the nasal cavity, the FDA said in a statement.The antigen test is the third type of test to be authorised by the FDA…

Former president Barack Obama has launched a scathing attack on Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, calling it an “absolute chaotic disaster”.In a leaked web call Friday night with former members of his administration, Obama also said the Justice Department’s decision to drop charges against Michael Flynn, the former Trump national security adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in the Russia probe, endangers the rule of law in the US.In the audio, first obtained by…

Tesla chief Elon Musk on Saturday threatened to pull his electric car headquarters and plant out of California after local authorities kept him from resuming production due to the coronavirus pandemic.“Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programmes to Texas/Nevada immediately,” Musk tweeted in a long diatribe, characteristic of past online rants which are not necessarily carried out.Referring to the California city where the cars are produced, Musk said that …

The cost of a university education in the United States has long been eye-watering, with a year costing tens of thousands of dollars.But as the coronavirus crisis settles in, students – many of whom take out huge loans to finance their degrees – are wondering how to justify spending US$70,000 a year on … Zoom classes.They feel like they’re getting the raw end of the deal, and are demanding that their colleges be held to account.“We’re paying for other services that the campus offers that aren’t…

Three members of the White House coronavirus task force, including Dr Anthony Fauci, placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19, another stark reminder that not even one of the nation’s most secure buildings is immune from the virus.Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a leading member of the task force, has become nationally known for his simple and direct explanations to the public about the…

All across Asia , and around the world, people have been urged to keep a safe distance and maintain good personal hygiene amid the coronavirus pandemic. But if your “home” is a prison dormitory that holds five times the 100 inmates it was designed to, doing either is almost impossible.Overcrowding is the norm in the prison systems of many developing nations, but the Philippines has long held the dubious distinction of having one of the most jam-packed in the world.In Manila City Jail, one of an…

With her neighbourhood south of Manila locked down due to the coronavirus, Dolly Pelle had been planning to close her sari-sari convenience store – until customers convinced her they couldn’t do without her. Pelle’s store is one of a handful of similar shops all on the same street, but her’s has a crucial difference: it is the only one able to process local remittances. Lock down, start up: the digital firms cashing in on coronavirus in the Philippines In the past four years in the…

The coronavirus in Japan has brought not just an epidemic of infections, but also an onslaught of bullying and discrimination against the sick, their families and health workers.A government campaign to raise awareness seems to be helping, at least for medical workers. But it’s made only limited headway in countering the harassment and shunning that may be discouraging people from seeking testing and care and hindering the battle against the pandemic.When Arisa Kadono tested positive and was…

Every morning, marketing professional Sagari starts her day at 9am by sweeping the floors of her two-bedroom flat in suburban Mumbai. The 35-year-old then makes breakfast for her husband, father and three-year-old son, before preparing lunch and parking herself in front of her laptop to work, in between responding to calls for tea from her husband and demands from her toddler. At 9pm, she cooks dinner then washes up and listens in on international client calls that can last until 2am. How…

The B.C. Centre of Disease Control says the Calgary to Kelowna flight happened on May 5.

"As I mention in my song, I am wearing a mask and shield and I'm trying to smile with my eyes so they know everything will be OK."