The risks to an expected economy recovery in Brazil during 2021 are increasing as delays in rolling out a vaccine program against coronavirus continues to be delayed, according to Moody's rating agency.
The appearance of new variants of the COVID-19 virus in several countries of the Americas, combined with an acceleration in the virus’s spread in virtually every country in the Americas, makes it urgent to continue public health measures such as social distancing, wearing masks, and washing hands often, Pan American Health Organization Director Carisa F. Etienne said.
In 2020, the Earth broke the previous record for shortest astronomical day, set in 2005. In effect the Earth broke the record 28 times in 2020, and it's still spinning faster. While Earth is, on average, pretty reliable and takes 86,400 seconds to rotate around its axis, this is not perfect.
Falklands Conservation has illustrated that unlike all other birds, penguins go through what is called a “catastrophic” moult. For the penguin it is probably as bad as it sounds. Every penguin must moult once a year, normally between December to March, by drastically shedding all their feathers and re-growing new feathers in one go – hence the “catastrophic.”
The Falkland Islands Government will be extending the Tourism Recovery Incentive Program (TRIP) by two months. The scheme, which was due to end on March 31, will now remain in operation until May 31. Falklands residents will have until that date to redeem their vouchers.
The World Health Organization's emergency committee met on Thursday, two weeks ahead of schedule to discuss the new coronavirus variants from South Africa and Britain that have rapidly spread to at least 50 countries and sparked widespread alarm.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday the government was looking at ways to stop a variant of the novel coronavirus found in Brazil from entering Britain.
Britain on Wednesday altered its rules to allow coronavirus patients who have completed 14 days of isolation without showing symptoms of Covid-19 to move directly into care homes from hospitals without being re-tested for the disease.
Trials in Brazil show the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine Sinovac to be 50.38% effective, nearly 30 percentage points below the initial results released last week. The Instituto Butantan, the São Paulo-based research institute responsible for developing the vaccine and conducting trials in the country, announced last week the vaccine had a 78% overall efficacy, with total protection against severe cases.
All air travelers arriving in the United States will need to present a negative coronavirus test, according to the latest announcement. Under the rules taking effect Jan. 26, travelers including U.S. citizens must show a negative test within three days of departure or documentation of recovery from COVID-19, under an order signed by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield.