Health & Science

• Friday, December 18th 2020 - 08:20 UTC

  Amnesty International presents 250,000 signatures in support of legalizing abortion in Argentina

  

  Amnesty International on Thursday presented 250,000 signatures it has collected from around the world in support of legalizing abortion in Argentina ahead of a crucial Senate vote. Argentina's lower house of Congress voted last week to legalize abortion, sparking jubilant scenes amongst activists.

• Friday, December 18th 2020 - 08:20 UTC

  Cemetery in Germany temporarily stores the bodies of Covid-19 victims in metal containers

  

  A cemetery in the German city of Hanau has started to temporarily store the bodies of people who have died from COVID-19 in a metal shipping container because hospital mortuaries are already full.

• Friday, December 18th 2020 - 08:05 UTC

  Ireland expects a “serious increase” in Covid-19 cases following relaxation of restrictions

  

  Ireland, which has the second-lowest COVID-19 infection rate in Western Europe, is set for a “serious increase” in cases following the relaxation of restrictions, its health minister said on Thursday, as officials called for new curbs.

• Friday, December 18th 2020 - 06:33 UTC

  UNICEF support to feed UK children, first time since end of WW2

  

  UNICEF has launched a domestic emergency response in the UK for the first time in its more than 70-year history to help feed children amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Thursday, December 17th 2020 - 23:26 UTC

  UK government coordinating plans to deploy Covid-19 vaccines to Overseas Territories

  

  The UK Government will supply the Overseas Territories with a proportionate share of the vaccines that the UK procures, and together with the UK Vaccine Taskforce are coordinating plans to deploy vaccines to the BOTs.

• Thursday, December 17th 2020 - 10:55 UTC

  Uruguay closes borders from 21 December to 10 January to help contain its Covid-19 first wave

  

  Uruguay announced it will regulate the constitutional right to assembly when a sanitary emergency, lockdown access to the country from 21 December to 10 January, limit the number of passengers in long range transport, and have government staff take their annual vacation and those remaining, unless essential personnel, will work from their homes.

• Thursday, December 17th 2020 - 10:32 UTC

  Chile approved the use of Pfizer vaccines; first batch expected this month

  

  The Chilean health regulator has approved for emergency use the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE, paving the way for the first doses to be administered as early as Christmas to citizens over the age of 16.

• Thursday, December 17th 2020 - 10:18 UTC

  Argentina and UK hosted seminar on access to Covid-19 vaccines in Latin America and the Caribbean

  

  Argentina and the UK hosted a virtual seminar on access to vaccines in Latin America and the Caribbean addressing the portfolio of emerging vaccines against COVID-19, the challenge of equitable distribution and how best to tackle vaccine disinformation.

• Thursday, December 17th 2020 - 09:16 UTC

  Fears a fifth of world's population may not have access to Covid 19 vaccine until 2022, John Hopkins University

  

  At least a fifth of the world's population may not have access to a COVID-19 vaccine until 2022, according to a study published on Wednesday, with wealthier nations reserving more than half of 2021's potential doses.

• Thursday, December 17th 2020 - 09:09 UTC

  A quarter of Mexicans, 31 million, have been exposed to Covid-19

  

  A quarter of Mexico's population, or 31 million people, has been exposed to COVID-19, according to preliminary results of an official survey, with 70% never showing symptoms.