COVID | DD News

September 19, 2024 5:28 PM

Global health fund says health, climate, conflict ‘triple whammy’ hits world’s poorest

Climate change and conflict risk overshadowing efforts to improve people's health, when in reality the issues overlap, Peter Sands, head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said. He was speaking in London ahead of Thursday's release of the Global Fund’s 2024 report covering its work last year, which showed improvement in tackling the three diseases after COVID-19 knocked efforts off course. Despite the progress, Sands said another pandemic legacy is that donor governm...

September 17, 2024 2:22 PM

Work-life balance: Four-day week is catching on

Are you anxious that your boss is always tracking the number of hours you work? Do you sometimes feel like you are married to your job? Are you one of those who feels the need to work long hours just to prove your worth? Are 40 to 50 hours per week one too many? If your answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’, then stick with me. I have news for you. A four-day work week is becoming popular around the world, including the Global South. The U.A.E. has done it. And so have some other countries. ...

July 30, 2024 5:33 PM

COVID-19 looms over Olympics with several athletes testing positive

Three years after the Tokyo Olympics were held amid strict precautions and with no fans because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the virus has forced athletes to withdraw from events and has others donning masks once again at the Paris Games. Several athletes have tested positive, including Australian swimmer Lani Pallister who was a medal hope in the women's 1,500 metres freestyle but had to withdraw from the event. Pallister has been instructed to isolate in her room. British swimmer Adam Pe...

September 16, 2024 4:52 PM

Delhi High Court orders Baba Ramdev, others to remove their posts against allopathy during COVID-19

The Delhi High Court issued an interim order on Monday directing Baba Ramdev, Acharya Bal Krishan, and others to remove statements and posts that accuse allopathic medicine and doctors of causing deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani, who passed the order, expressed concern that allowing the defendants to continue promoting their product, Coronil, could put public health at risk and potentially damage the reputation of the ancient Ayurvedic system of medicine. The ...

September 16, 2024 5:54 PM

US President Joe Biden tests positive for COVID-19, says White House

US President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 and is showing mild symptoms, the White House said. "He (Biden) will be returning to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time," the White House said in its official release on Wednesday (local time). Biden, 81, tested Covid positive on Wednesday, a day after he attended the NAACP National Convention in Las Vegas, where he strongly criticised Donald Trump's policies and also...

July 10, 2024 10:53 AM

FLiRT COVID variants: What are they and are they more contagious?

The so-called FLiRT variants of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that cause COVID-19 have been the dominant forms of the virus circulating this year globally, according to the World Health Organization FLiRT is an acronym for the locations of the mutations the variants share on the virus' spike protein. One of them, called KP.3, has become the most commonly circulating variant in the United States over the past month, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Here is what you nee...

June 18, 2024 3:28 PM

China accuses U.S. of “malign intention” to discredit its COVID vaccines

China's embassy in the Philippines accused the U.S. military of "hypocrisy, malign intention and double standards" in response to a report of secret U.S. campaign to undermine confidence in a Chinese vaccines and other aid during the COVID-19 pandemic. The remarks made by the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Manila on Tuesday were in response to a investigative report that said the U.S. military launched a clandestine programme during the COVID pandemic to discredit China's Sinovac inocul...

April 15, 2024 4:23 PM

India sees marginal rise in wholesale inflation in March

Wholesale inflation in India, measured by the Wholesale Price Index, ticked upward in March, marking its fifth consecutive month in positive territory. This comes after seven months of residing in the negative zone until October. Official data released on Monday revealed that the annual rate of inflation based on all India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) numbers rose to 0.53% (Provisional) for March 2024 (over March 2023). The uptick in inflation for March 2024 is mainly attributed to the rise in ...

April 4, 2024 2:30 PM

Global life expectancy rises despite setbacks from COVID-19

Global life expectancy surged by 6.2 years between 1990 and 2021, as revealed by a recent study published in The Lancet. The rise has been attributed to significant decline in mortality rates linked to diseases such as diarrhea, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and ischemic heart disease. However, the COVID-19 pandemic posed major challenges, leading to a net reduction in global life expectancy by 1.6 years between 2019 and 2021. From 1990 to 2019, incremental improvements in life expect...