Stories for December 2020

Thursday, December 24th 2020 - 08:46 UTC
Argentina lockdown until 8 January

Argentina established new requirements for entering and leaving the country, starting on Friday through January 8, the Interior Ministry said in a statement issued on Wednesday, in a bid to rein in the coronavirus.
Thursday, December 24th 2020 - 08:45 UTC
Chinese vaccine 50% effective, reports Sao Paulo lab, but half of Brazilians reject inoculation

Brazilian researchers said on Wednesday the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech is more than 50% effective based on trial data, but again withheld full results at the company's request, raising questions about transparency.
Thursday, December 24th 2020 - 08:33 UTC
Sao Paulo state doubles lockdown measures over Xmas and New Year

Brazil's southeast state of Sao Paulo, the epicenter of the country's COVID-19 outbreak, said this week it will double down on lockdown measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus over the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Thursday, December 24th 2020 - 08:31 UTC
China forecast to grow 2% this year and rebound 7,9% in 2021: exports' boom

Economic growth in China is expected to slow to 2% this year, before rebounding to 7.9% in 2021 as private investment and consumption heat up, a World Bank report released on Wednesday projected.
Thursday, December 24th 2020 - 08:30 UTC
Two weeks of industrial action in Argentina's soy crushers and export ports

Soymeal manufacturers in Argentina presented late on Tuesday a proposal aimed at ending a two-week strike by oil and port workers unions that has thrown a wrench in the flow of agricultural exports from one of the world’s main bread baskets.
Thursday, December 24th 2020 - 08:25 UTC
Coronavirus sniffer dogs at Santiago de Chile international airport

The task of sniffing out passengers infected with COVID-19 at Chile's Santiago international airport is going to the dogs. A team of Golden Retrievers and Labradors sit when they smell the virus and get a treat. The canines sport green “biodetector” jackets with a red cross.
Thursday, December 24th 2020 - 08:20 UTC
Canada approves Moderna coronavirus vaccine: first batch of doses expected before the end of the year

Canada approved Moderna Inc's coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday, the second country to do so, paving the way for health authorities to step up an inoculation campaign against a worsening second wave.
Wednesday, December 23rd 2020 - 09:55 UTC
Argentina extends emergency approval to the Pfizer anti Covid-19 vaccine

Argentina's medicine and food regulator extended on Tuesday an emergency use for the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine in the country. These vaccines are expected to arrive in Argentina sometime between January and March.
Wednesday, December 23rd 2020 - 09:44 UTC
Huge blackout affects Buenos Aires City for several hours

A huge power cut in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires caused a blackout to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses on Tuesday and brought metro lines to a standstill. The blackout also occurred when the country's medicine and pharmaceutical regulator extended an emergency authorization to the Pfizer BioTechN vaccine.
Wednesday, December 23rd 2020 - 09:41 UTC
Colombia to begin mass vaccination in February, announces president Duque

Colombia plans to launch a mass vaccination campaign against the novel coronavirus in February, President Ivan Duque announced. In an interview with a local radio station, Duque said a trial vaccination run could begin between this week and the first week of January.