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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, March 31st 2025 - 07:32 UTC

Tag: COVID-19

  • Tuesday, September 3rd 2024 - 10:55 UTC

    Former Argentine president sued for extending Covid-19 lockdowns beyond sanitary needs

    Martín Guzmán said he believed the pandemic gave Alberto Fernández additional political strength

    Federal Prosecutor Guillermo Marijuan and Buenos Aires City Congressman Yamil Santoro filed separate criminal complaints Monday against former President Alberto Fernández after Martín Guzmán, who served as Economy Minister under him, said in an interview that the Covid-19 quarantines were extended for political gain rather than out of a sanitary concern.

  • Wednesday, August 21st 2024 - 08:46 UTC

    Mpox not the new Covid-19, WHO official explains

    “Two years ago, we controlled mpox in Europe thanks to direct engagement with the most affected communities of men who have sex with men,” Kluge pointed out

    Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) regional director for Europe, admitted Tuesday that mpox would not lead to a “cycle of panic” and lockdowns like Covid-19 did, despite the public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) declaration.

  • Thursday, July 18th 2024 - 09:13 UTC

    Biden tests positive for Covid-19 as concerns over his health mount

    “I feel good,” said an unmasked Biden as he walked to Air Force One at Harry Reid International Airport

    US President Joseph Biden tested positive for Covid-19 in Las Vegas Wednesday just one day after admitting that he would be stepping out of his reelection campaign only if a medical condition so advised. Following his diagnosis, the 81-year-old leader, who lost his debate with former President Donald Trump and is visibly battling his physical condition to remain active, flew to his Delaware vacation home to recover. He was said to have mild respiratory symptoms and “general malaise.”

  • Monday, July 8th 2024 - 07:15 UTC

    New variants of Covid-19 spreading rapidly worldwide

    Experts fear an increase in contagions during the Paris Olympic Games later this month

    Ecuadorean health authorities have reported that the new FLiRT (KP.2) variant of Covid-19 had reached the country after two individuals -a 24-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman- tested positive in the Cotopaxi province. Both patients were vaccinated, the Health Ministry also noted. Local experts recalled that although not lethal, FLiRT was highly contagious, and therefore insisted on the importance of personal hygiene.

  • Monday, May 27th 2024 - 22:25 UTC

    Nothing wrong with flu and Covid-19 vax campaign in Chile, minister says

    Albagli said more vaccines than ever have been administered so far this year

    Chile's Acting Health Minister Andrea Albagli insisted Monday that there was no lagging in the government's flu vaccination campaign. She made those remarks after politicians from the Unión Demócrata Independiente (UDI) tried to link an alleged shortcoming in this regard to five deaths due to that malady in the Ñuble region in the past few days and even hinted she should resign. “I don't know what failure they are talking about,” Albagli stressed.

  • Monday, April 1st 2024 - 19:54 UTC

    Brazilian VP down with Covid-19

    Alckmin was said to be doing well after showing mild symptoms of the malady

    Brazil's Vice President Geraldo Alckmin stayed at home Monday after being diagnosed with Covid-19, Agencia Brasil reported. Alckin is also Minister of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services.

  • Tuesday, March 19th 2024 - 18:35 UTC

    Police indict Bolsonaro in vaccine certification fraud probe

    The Public Prosecutor's Office must now decide whether to press charges against Bolsonaro

    Brazil's Federal Police (PF) Tuesday indicted former President Jair Bolsonaro for allegedly forging his Covid-19 vaccination records. The case now goes to the Public Prosecutor's Office for a final decision on whether or not to press formal charges against the former head of state, his then aide-de-camps Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, and Congressman Gutemberg Reis as well as 14 other people listed in the investigation.

  • Tuesday, March 12th 2024 - 10:38 UTC

    Brazil to build memorial site for Covid-19 victims

    The pandemic is over but Covid-19 is still around, Trindade warned

    Brazilian authorities will build a memorial in Rio de Janeiro to honor the some 710,000 people who died of COVID-19 during the international crisis, Agencia Brasil reported.

  • Wednesday, February 21st 2024 - 10:23 UTC

    Uruguay: River travel surcharge to trigger legal challenges

    It's like charging only thieves for keeping the police operational, Colonia Express' lawyer argued

    Buquebús and Colonia Express, the two shipping companies providing regular passenger services between Argentina and Uruguay, announced this week that they planned to challenge President Luis Lacalle Pou's decree creating a US$ 2.56 surcharge for passengers arriving or leaving at the ports of Colonia and Montevideo.

  • Thursday, February 15th 2024 - 10:33 UTC

    Covid-19 cases on the rise in Sao Paulo and in the region

    It is possible to have both viruses at the same time: Covid-19 and dengue

    Authorities in the city of São Paulo have reported that the number of Covid-19 cases more than tripled between the first epidemiological week of 2024 (Dec. 31, 2023, to Jan. 6, 2024) and the sixth (Feb. 4 to 10) after growing from 881 detections to 3,443, according to the interactive panel of the Municipal Health Department (SMS).