Health & Science

• Friday, August 14th 2020 - 08:48 UTC

  Israeli scientists at medical center develop Covid-19 instant saliva test

  

  A newly developed saliva test aims to determine in less than a second whether or not you are infected with the novel coronavirus, Israel's largest medical centre said on Thursday.

• Friday, August 14th 2020 - 08:47 UTC

  Caracas district governor and close ally of Maduro died of Covid-19

  

  Dario Vivas, the governor of Venezuela's Caracas capital district and a strong ally of President Nicolas Maduro, died on Thursday of Covid-19 at 70 years old, officials said.

• Friday, August 14th 2020 - 08:38 UTC

  Aberdeen scientists to address Falklands' peat lands research project

  

  Scientists from Aberdeen University will travel to the Falkland Islands as part of a £230,000 research project to help prevent peatland fires. The project will use various techniques to study how the frequency, extent and intensity of burning affects the ability of peat land environments to store carbon. The news was announced by north Scotland daily The Press and Journal.

• Thursday, August 13th 2020 - 07:50 UTC

  Argentina and Mexico will produce and distribute the Covid-19 Oxford University vaccine in Latin America

  

  President Alberto Fernández, announced on Wednesday that Argentina together with Mexico, will produce for Latin America the coronavirus vaccine developed by the AstraZeneca laboratory in collaboration with the British University of Oxford.

• Thursday, August 13th 2020 - 07:30 UTC

  Goldman Sachs forecasts “record breaking contractions” in several of the region's economies

  

  As Latin America continues to battle the coronavirus outbreak, some economies in the region could see a “record-breaking contraction” not seen since World War II, according to investment bank Goldman Sachs.

• Thursday, August 13th 2020 - 06:52 UTC

  Ecuador expects shrimp exports to China to resume soon after Covid-19 dispute

  

  Ecuador expects a quick resolution to a trade dispute with China over traces of coronavirus in a container of exported shrimp that led Beijing to suspend imports from three companies, Ecuador’s production and trade minister said on Tuesday.

• Thursday, August 13th 2020 - 06:42 UTC

  Sao Paulo governor tested positive for the coronavirus

  

  The governor of Sao Paulo, the state with the highest COVID-19 death toll in hard-hit Brazil, said on Wednesday he had tested positive for the new coronavirus and would continue working from quarantine.

• Thursday, August 13th 2020 - 06:24 UTC

  Ambassador Kent praises UK/Argentine cooperation in combating Covid-19

  

  This is a clear example of the kind of cooperation needed to battle the Covid-19 pandemic globally, UK Ambassador Mark Kent said following the Wednesday announcement of the agreement for the production in Argentina of the vaccine currently being developed by the AstraZeneca lab and the University of Oxford.

• Thursday, August 13th 2020 - 06:24 UTC

  Britain lowers pandemic death toll with a new counting method

  

  Britain's official death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic was lowered by over 5,000 on Wednesday as the government adopted a new way of counting fatalities after concerns were raised that the old method overstated them.

• Wednesday, August 12th 2020 - 09:58 UTC

  Brazilian Parana state abattoirs facing repeated outbreaks of Covid-19

  

  A single BRF SA unit accounted for about 29% of COVID-19 cases at slaughterhouses in Brazil’s Parana state, according to the most recent data available, underscoring the challenges for stemming outbreaks at meat plants.