Health & Science

• Tuesday, October 20th 2020 - 09:50 UTC

  Argentina has over a million virus cases despite a record quarantine

  

  At the extreme end of Argentina in a city known as “The End of the World,” many thought they might be spared from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. Sitting far from Buenos Aires, health workers in Ushuaia were initially able to contain a small outbreak among foreigners hoping to catch boats to the Antarctic at the start of the crisis.

• Tuesday, October 20th 2020 - 09:09 UTC

  One hour-virus test for passengers flying out of UK, reports The Times

  

  Passengers will undergo a one-hour coronavirus test before flying out of the United Kingdom under plans to open up international travel, The Times reported on Tuesday. Rapid tests will be introduced from Tuesday at Heathrow Airport to allow travelers to enter countries where a negative COVID-19 test result is needed to skip quarantine, the newspaper said.

• Tuesday, October 20th 2020 - 08:30 UTC

  Peruvian archeologists uncover a 37 meter long cat in the Nazca Lines

  

  Peruvian archaeologists have uncovered a 37-metre-long cat etching in a little-explored area of the country's celebrated Nazca Lines UNESCO heritage site which is home to hundreds of gigantic geoglyphs dating back more than 2,000 years.

• Monday, October 19th 2020 - 09:29 UTC

  Panama offers arriving travelers Covid-19 tests in an effort to resume economic activity

  

  Panama is the latest country to offer travelers a COVID-19 test when they arrive at its main airport, a little less than a week after resuming international flights following a seven-month suspension due to the pandemic.

• Saturday, October 17th 2020 - 09:42 UTC

  Dexamethasone, only therapeutic effective against Covid-19, WHO chief states

  

  Currently, the drug dexamethasone is still the only therapeutic shown to be effective against the novel coronavirus for severe patients, the chief of the World Health Organization said Friday.

• Friday, October 16th 2020 - 09:36 UTC

  Falklands examining quarantine regulations making them more rigorous

  

  The Falkland Islands quarantine regulations are being examined by Members of Legislative Assembly with a view to tightening up rules and interpretation of rules, according to an interview with this week's Penguin News.

• Friday, October 16th 2020 - 09:20 UTC

  Switzerland bans the export of five toxic chemicals, including paraquat

  

  Starting from next year, Switzerland will not allow the export of five hazardous plant protection products already banned in the European country. The Swiss government approved the amendment to the law on chemical substances this week as part of measures to reduce risks associated with toxic chemicals. It added that the move is intended to help protect health and the environment in importing countries, particularly in the developing world.

• Friday, October 16th 2020 - 09:18 UTC

  Holland reports first infection with West Nile virus originated in the Netherlands

  

  Dutch health authorities said on Thursday they had found the first infection with the West Nile virus to have originated from the Netherlands last week. The patient is a man who had not been abroad recently, the National Institute for Public Health said.

• Friday, October 16th 2020 - 09:10 UTC

  Covid-19: Overloaded hospitals in Netherlands to transfer patients to Germany

  

  Hospitals in the Netherlands on Thursday said they would ask their German counterparts to take patients after the number of those hospitalized with the coronavirus doubled in the past week, to 1,526.

• Friday, October 16th 2020 - 09:04 UTC

  Exposure of coronavirus on flights is very low, US Defense Department report

  

  The risk of exposure to the coronavirus on flights is very low, a US Department of Defense study released on Thursday found, a positive sign for the airline industry as it tries to rebound from the pandemic's crushing effect on travel.