Health & Science

• Friday, August 14th 2020 - 09:34 UTC

  WHO and USDA downplay risks of contracting coronavirus from food and food packaging

  

  Two cities in China have found traces of the new coronavirus in cargoes of imported frozen food, local authorities said on Thursday, although the World Health Organization downplayed the risk of the virus entering the food chain.

• Friday, August 14th 2020 - 09:16 UTC

  Virus resurfaces in NZ: Auckland lockdown extended for at least 12 days

  

  New Zealand on Friday extended a lockdown of its largest city Auckland by at least 12 days, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced, as authorities struggled with a growing new COVID-19 outbreak.

• Friday, August 14th 2020 - 08:56 UTC

  UK imposes 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from France, Netherlands, Spain, Malta and Belgium

  

  The United Kingdom will impose a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from France on Saturday because COVID-19 infection rates there are too high, transport minister Grant Shapps said on Thursday.

• Friday, August 14th 2020 - 08:50 UTC

  China suspends poultry imports from a plant in Brazil following chickens' wings test positive for Covid-19

  

  A sample of frozen chicken wings imported into the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen from Brazil has tested positive for coronavirus, the city government said on Thursday, raising fears that contaminated food shipments could cause new outbreaks.

• 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.