Health & Science

• Wednesday, December 9th 2020 - 08:38 UTC

  “Quantum of the Seas” returns to port due to suspected Covid-19 case

  

  Royal Caribbean cruise ship “Quantum of the Seas” has turned back on day three of a four-day cruise to nowhere due to a suspected Covid-19 case on board. The ship’s captain made an announcement over the public announcement system at about 2.45am on Wednesday, informing guests to remain in their rooms and adding that the ship would arrive in Singapore by about 8am.

• Wednesday, December 9th 2020 - 08:00 UTC

  India buys 1,6 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines, Novavax, Oxford and Sputnik

  

  India has bought 1.6 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines, which is more than any other country, according to a global analysis. Using its massive manufacturing clout, the country purchased 500 million doses of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine candidate, one billion from the American company Novavax and 100 million doses of the Sputnik V candidate from Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute, said the USA-based Duke University Global Health Innovation Centre.

• Tuesday, December 8th 2020 - 14:44 UTC

  British granny 90, first person to receive the Pfizer Covid 19 vaccine: “Go for it”

  

  Ms Margaret Keenan, the 90-year-old grandmother who became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine outside of a trial in Britain on Tuesday, has a message for others: “Go for it” to beat the devastating disease.

• Tuesday, December 8th 2020 - 07:10 UTC

  Unidentified infection spreads in the south of India: 400 hospitalized mostly children

  

  One person has died and more than 400 have been hospitalised in southern India due to an unidentified infection that caused many to fall unconscious following seizures and nausea, a senior health department official said on Monday.

• Monday, December 7th 2020 - 09:08 UTC

  Falklands Covid-19 immunization most probably with the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine

  

  Two more positive Covid-19 test results have been confirmed, it was announced at the Falkland Islands Government’s press conference, held last Wednesday afternoon. The total number of positive test results since April 3, 2020 is now 17.

• Monday, December 7th 2020 - 09:06 UTC

  Intermediate earthquake felt Sunday noon in northern Chile

  

  An intermediate magnitude 6.0 earthquake was reported around Sunday noon near Iquique, Provincia de Iquique, Tarapaca, Chile. According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), the quake hit on Sunday 6 December 2020 at 1.47 pm local time at an intermediate depth of 114 km.

• Monday, December 7th 2020 - 09:05 UTC

  Uruguay's twice president Tabare Vazquez dies: kilometers of vehicles followed the funeral procession

  

  Two times former Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez died early morning Sunday in Montevideo at the age of 80 after suffering from lung cancer and pancreatic metastasis. By early afternoon and following on the family's wishes Vazquez was buried in a private ceremony at the La Teja cemetery, the working neighborhood where he grew up.

• Monday, December 7th 2020 - 08:56 UTC

  UK begins massive inoculation on Tuesday; no preference for senior royals

  

  Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II will receive the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine within weeks, after UK regulators granted emergency approval and the world’s first roll-out begins next week, reports late Saturday said.

• Monday, December 7th 2020 - 08:54 UTC

  The Havana syndrome: US diplomatic staff in Cuba and China “bombarded” with microwaves radiation

  

  The most probable cause of a series of mysterious afflictions that have sickened American spies and diplomats abroad in the past several years was radio-frequency energy, a type of radiation that includes microwaves, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has concluded in a report.

• Sunday, December 6th 2020 - 09:25 UTC

  Brucellosis in China: poor sanitation helps bacteria escape from lab and infects more than 10,000 people

  

  More than 10,000 people in China are reportedly infected with a highly contagious disease that can lead to chronic health issues, after a vaccine factory used expired sanitizer, and bacteria spread through the plant.