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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, August 1st 2025 - 13:06 UTC

Tag: COVID-19

  • Monday, July 28th 2025 - 19:28 UTC

    Honduras: Teleworking and mask mandates extended

    The measures came into effect last Thursday on a temporary basis

    Honduras has extended teleworking for public institutions and virtual classes until Aug. due to a surge in respiratory illnesses, including the detection of highly contagious Omicron XFG Covid-19 variants. The government has also made mask-wearing mandatory in various enclosed public spaces such as hospitals, airports, shopping centers, and public transport.

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  • Friday, July 25th 2025 - 19:52 UTC

    Honduras decrees contingency measures as Covid-19 cases soar

    The Stratus (or Frankenstein) variant is believed to account for 36% of recent infections

    Honduras is re-implementing several public health measures as cases of Covid-19 have been reported to be on the surge. The Omicron subvariant XFG - also known as Stratus or Frankenstein - is believed to account for 36% of recent infections.

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  • Saturday, July 19th 2025 - 10:51 UTC

    New Covid-19 variant detected in Brazil

    Frankenstein has been classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a “variant under monitoring”

    A new Covid-19 variant, Stratus (XFG or XFG.3), also known as “Frankenstein” due to its recombinant nature, has been identified in Brazil and is under international surveillance by the World Health Organization (WHO).

  • Tuesday, July 1st 2025 - 10:32 UTC

    Brazilian State of Goiás declares SARS emergency

    Flu vaccination coverage in Goiás is currently 38.96%

    The Brazilian State of Goiás declared Monday a state of emergency due to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) after the incidence rate pierced the expected cap for seven weeks in a row, with 6,743 cases of SARS, including 1,117 cases of influenza, 306 of Covid-19, 1,486 of respiratory syncytial virus, and 680 of rhinovirus.

  • Thursday, June 26th 2025 - 10:27 UTC

    Measles is “more terrible” than Covid-19, says Bolivian president

    Arce meant that measles spreads faster and wider than Covid-19

    Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora insisted Wednesday that measles was a more severe threat than Covid-19, urging parents to vaccinate children under 5 against the highly contagious viral disease, of which 60 cases have been confirmed nationwide, prompting an emergency declaration.

  • Monday, June 2nd 2025 - 09:18 UTC

    New SARS-CoV-2 variant under WHO close monitoring for its rapid spread

    The subtype poses no additional threat, but the WHO urged governments to remain vigilant

    The World Health Organization has launched a warning about the rapid spread of the NB.1.8.1 variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has been detected so far in at least 22 countries, including Egypt, Thailand, the Maldives, and the United States (New York, California, Arizona, Ohio, Washington, and Rhode Island).

  • Wednesday, May 21st 2025 - 07:59 UTC

    WHO overwhelmingly formally adopted the world’s first Pandemic Agreement

    Governments adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement in a plenary session of the World Health Assembly, WHO’s peak decision-making body.

    Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday formally adopted by consensus the world's first Pandemic Agreement. The landmark decision by the 78th World Health Assembly culminates more than three years of intensive negotiations launched by governments in response to the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and driven by the goal of making the world safer from – and more equitable in response to – future pandemics.

  • Saturday, May 10th 2025 - 10:28 UTC

    Irregularities found regarding Covid-19 vaccination in Chile

    A new vaccination strategy is needed, admitted Health Ministry official Elizabeth López

    Chile's Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) spotted significant irregularities in the Health Ministry's Covid-19 vaccination registry for 2022-2023, such as using expired doses, inoculating deceased recipients, and inventory discrepancies.

  • Saturday, April 19th 2025 - 10:21 UTC

    Petro urges all Colombians to be vaccinated against yellow fever in two months

    “Unlike Covid-19, this virus is only transmitted by mosquito, but it is 50% fatal,” Petro warned

    Colombian President Gustavo Petro urged his country's entire population to be vaccinated against yellow fever within two months. He made those remarks after declaring a nationwide emergency given the outbreak of this lethal malady. “We must do it and our health system must guarantee it,” Petro underlined.

  • Saturday, March 29th 2025 - 09:05 UTC

    Covid-19 cases on the rise in Chile

    “A very strong risk communication campaign is needed to get vaccinated,” Paris underlined

    Chilean health authorities recorded 98 casualties attributable to Covid-19 between Jan. 1 and March 22, 2025, with a total of 5,191 confirmed cases. The fatalities were 76.5 years old on average with an almost equal distribution between genders, while patients with chronic conditions like hypertension or diabetes were affected the most.

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