Coronavirus: Latest News

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Community Covid testing centres to close nationwide

The HSE has announced that Covid-19 community testing centres will close nationwide from Thursday.

In a statement, the HSE said the online self-referral portal for ordering PCR tests will also be closed.

It said the decision was made following updated public health advice, which states that Covid-19 testing is "no longer recommended for the vast majority of people".

The HSE National Director for Public Health, Dr John Cuddihy, said that the changes are being made "on best available evidence in relation to managing Covid-19".

He said that if people have Covid-19 symptoms or other viral respiratory tract infections, they do not need a Covid-19 test and should instead stay at home and limit their contact with others until 48 hours after the symptoms have resolved.

The HSE said that from this Thursday, health care workers who are close contacts of people with Covid-19 will no longer have to do antigen tests, and therefore the antigen-ordering portal on the HSE's website will close. It said that specific guidance will be issued to health and care workers.

PCR and antigen testing will continue to be used by doctors in hospitals and GP settings, according to the HSE, "for the purpose of diagnosing and deciding on the provision of treatment for Covid-19 to a patient".

Eileen Whelan, HSE Lead for Covid-19 Test and Trace and Vaccination, said: "A reduced contact tracing service will remain and contact tracing will be limited to those who have had a positive test in settings and scenarios (such as hospitals and long term care facilities) where further transmission is likely, and could have serious impact based on Public Health Risk Assessment."

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www.rte.ie 27.03 - 17:09

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Community Covid testing centres to close nationwide

The HSE has announced that Covid-19 community testing centres will close nationwide from Thursday.

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Former CMO Dr Tony Holohan to publish memoir

The former chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan, is to publish his memoir 'We Need to Talk' later this year.

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India reports single-day rise of 3,016 covid cases

Scientists have said that the XBB.1.16 variant of coronavirus is responsible for the current surge in cases. But in a relief, the infection is supposed to be milder in nature and may not lead a rise in hospitalisation rate as Indians have likely developed hybrid immunity due to vaccination and natural exposure to the disease. New Delhi: India reported 3,016 fresh covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours, pushing up the daily positivity rate to 1.51%, the Union health ministry said in an update on Thursday.

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Biden won't veto Republican-led bill ending COVID emergency

Also Read: ‘I like ice cream’: Joe Biden's first statement on US school shooting | Watch Just weeks ago, Biden stunned many fellow Democrats when he declined to veto a Republican-led bill to upend a new criminal code for the District of Columbia he and others in the president's party opposed, allowing the GOP's tough-on-crime push into the local government to become law. Republicans celebrated the turn of events Wednesday as a sign of their newfound influence in divided Washington, while Democrats quietly complained that the Biden administration had shifted its views.

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Paul O'Grady's tearful words prior to his death as the comic addressed health struggles

Andre Portasio said he died "peacefully". The Brit personality made a name for himself in comedy, and television - and later became known for his love of dogs. Paul suffered heart attacks in 2002, 2006 and 2014, and his parents both died of heart issues.

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India reports 2,151 fresh Covid-19 cases, highest since October 2022

A total of 2,208 cases were recorded on October 28 last year India recorded a single-day rise of 2,151 new coronavirus cases, the highest in five months, according to the Union health ministry. As per the data updated, the active cases increased to 11,903 on Wednesday.

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MLB legend Ken Griffey Jr among highest-paid Reds players in 2023

FILE - Hitting Coach Ken Griffey Jr. #24 of Team USA looks on during batting practice prior to the 2023 World Baseball Classic Championship game between Team USA and Team Japan at loanDepot Park on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in Miami, Florida. (Mary DeCicco/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images)Ken Griffey Jr.

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Medium-risk adults don't need extra Covid vaccines, says WHO

The World Health Organization has said it is no longer recommending additional Covid-19 vaccine booster doses for regular, medium-risk adults, saying the benefit was marginal.

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Demand for Scottish Government to better support health board to tackle lengthy physiotherapy waits

A call has been issued to the Scottish Government to better support NHS Ayrshire & Arran to meet waiting time targets for physiotherapy appointments.

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Delhi hospitals conduct Covid-19 mock drill as city sees sharp rise in cases

450 beds for Covid. We have 5 PSA oxygen plants. We also have D-type oxygen cylinders.

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India records highest Covid cases in 5 months. Details here

Also Read: With COVID, H3N2, adenovirus surging, should we mask up again? The number of people who have recovered from the COVID-19 virus has increased to 4,41,62,832, with a case fatality rate of 1.19 percent. The ministry's website also reported that 220.65 crore doses of anti-Covid vaccines have been administered to beneficiaries across the country.

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Covid-19 jab offer to end as people under 50 urged to get vaccine

Under 50s across Ayrshire have until the end of the month to get vaccinated against Covid-19 as the rolling vaccine offer draws to a close.

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Creetown man calls for better support for people suffering from long Covid

A Creetown man is calling for better support for people suffering from long Covid.

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Raccoon dog data sparks new debate about Covid origins

New evidence that raccoon dogs were at the Chinese market where Covid is suspected to have first infected humans has reignited debate over the origin of the pandemic.

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Ajay Banga, US nominee for World Bank President, scheduled to meet PM Modi, FM Sitharaman tests positive for Covid

Ajay Banga's New Delhi visit on 23-24 March is the final stop on his three-week global tour that began in Africa before progressing to Europe, Latin America and Asia. World Bank presidential nominee Ajay Banga has tested positive for COVID-19 during a routine testing in New Delhi. Banga was travelling on the last leg of his world tour, and is currently quarantining in isolation, the Department of Treasury said on Thursday.

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Bellshill singer Rianne Downey to play Hard Rock Café and promote women's mental health

A Lanarkshire local is set to play the Hard Rock Cafe in Glasgow this weekend to wrap up a month of promoting women’s mental health.

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COVID-19 care clinic in Kitchener to close permanently

COVID-19 care clinic in Kitchener will be closing its doors on Friday.“Care for community members with COVID-19, cold and influenza-like symptoms will transition to family physicians, urgent care clinics, and community pharmacies,” a release from the hospital read. Read more: Waterloo Region expands COVID-19 care clinic, moves it to Kitchener The clinic, which is located on Sportsworld Drive, first opened up last November and was intended to serve patients of all ages for assessment of COVID-19, cold- and influenza-like symptoms.It was also meant to provide some of the services which were being run through area hospitals that had provided 250,000 visits to residents since 2020.

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Biden signs law declassifying US intel on Covid origin

US President Joe Biden has signed into law a bill requiring the release of intelligence materials on potential links between the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

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Tom Hanks to speak at Harvard's 2023 commencement

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 03: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Tom Hanks attends MusiCares Persons of the Year Honoring Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson at Los Angeles Convention Center on February 03, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Fraze CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - Two-time Academy Award winning actor Tom Hanks was named the principal speaker at Harvard's commencement on May 25, the Ivy League university announced Tuesday.Hanks, 66, has appeared in almost 100 films.

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Johnson accepts he misled MPs over Covid gatherings, but says he spoke in 'good faith'

Former British prime minister Boris Johnson has accepted that he misled MPs but insisted his 'partygate' denials were made "in good faith" based on what he "honestly" knew at the time.

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Saskatchewan health minister insists ‘we acted’ on COVID-19 advice

Paul Merriman is insisting he followed the advice of the province’s top doctor during COVID-19’s fourth wave, during which the government’s own notes showed Saskatchewan had, at times, the highest rates of new COVID-19 cases and deaths in the country.A Global News investigation showed the province’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, warned the health minister, more than a month before the province began transferring COVID-19 ICU patients to Ontario, that Saskatchewan’s acute care system would collapse unless the provincial government implemented more restrictions.That investigation also showed the government’s internal documents stated Saskatchewan’s new case rate was higher than the United States’ rate for weeks and that, at one point, Saskatchewan’s death rate was 33 per cent higher than the province with the next-highest rate.

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Single-day rise of 918 fresh COVID-19 cases in India, daily positivity at 2.08%

COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.8 per cent. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,59,182, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent, the data said.

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The 'Great Unretirement': Older people return to work

As fears of Covid-19 subside and worries around the rising cost-of-living take over, many older people are returning to the workforce, a movement known as the 'Great Unretirement'.

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Johnson to submit defence dossier to MPs investigating 'partygate'

Boris Johnson will submit a written dossier of evidence to MPs as he attempts to clear his name over allegations he misled the British parliament over the 'partygate' scandal.

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Over 800 new Covid-19 cases recorded in India after 126 days

Also Read: Getting less than 6 hours of sleep? How Covid-19 negatively impacted our sleep pattern With India reporting an uptick in covid cases over the last few weeks, the government has directed six states to examine the situation at micro level and maintain compliance like surveillance, testing and monitoring new and emerging covid clusters. Meanwhile, as per news reports, the new variant XBB 1.16 is likely to cause the next coronavirus wave.

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New COVID origins data point to raccoon dogs in China market

COVID-19 pandemic have been complicated by factors including the massive surge of human infections in the pandemic's first two years and an increasingly bitter political dispute. It took virus experts more than a dozen years to pinpoint the animal origin of SARS, a related virus. Goldstein and his colleagues say their analysis is the first solid indication that there may have been wildlife infected with the coronavirus at the market.

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New study cites Wuhan raccoon dogs as possible origin of COVID-19

FILE-A health worker takes a swab sample from a woman to be tested for COVID-19 at a testing site in Beijing on March 23, 2022. (JADE GAO/AFP via Getty Images) BEIJING - Genetic material collected at a Chinese market near where the first human cases of COVID-19 were identified show raccoon dog DNA comingled with the virus, suggesting the pandemic may have originated from animals, not a lab, international experts say.Other experts have not yet verified their analysis, which has yet to appear in a peer-reviewed journal.

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Covid could become threat similar to flu 'this year': WHO

The Covid-19 pandemic could settle down this year to a point where it poses a threat similar to flu, the World Health Organization has said.

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Health Ministry writes to THESE states as India's COVID-19 caseload rises

Also read: Suffering from fever and cough? How do you know its H3N2 or new COVID variant “In the past few weeks a rise in cases has been noted specifically in certain parts of the country with a total of 2,082 cases reported in the week ending March 8, 2023, which rose to 3,264 cases in the week ending March 15," the letter said. With this, the active caseload has now risen to 4,623.

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Kate Garraway's family update after sharing emotional reason for filming husband Derek's Covid battle

Kate Garraway has given an update on her family life as well as her husband Derek Draper's progress as he continues to battle the devastating effects contracting coronavirus had on his body. Many fans are aware that Derek Draper suffered severe complications after contracting coronavirus in March 2020.

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Johnson to appear before committee over 'partygate' next week

Former British prime minister Boris Johnson will appear before a parliamentary committee next week that is investigating whether he misled lawmakers over Covid-19 lockdown-breaking events in Downing Street.

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China to fully reopen borders to foreigners

China will reopen its borders to foreign tourists for the first time in the three years since the Covid-19 pandemic erupted by allowing all categories of visas to be issued from tomorrow.

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Leaders stump for funding to address ongoing asbestos problem in Philadelphia public schools

PHILADELPHIA - State and local leaders gathered Monday to address a growing asbestos problem that's caused Philadelphia public schools to abruptly close and forced students to learn remotely. Simon Gratz middle school reopened Monday after the discovery of asbestos, a cancer-causing material, caused the campus that also houses Simon Gratz High School to close last week. Simon Gratz High School, meanwhile - where the asbestos was found during a district inspection - remained close, but officials say it could reopen on Tuesday.Earlier this month, students at Building 21 in the city's West Oak Lane section were displaced when asbestos was discovered in the stairwells and auditorium. MORE LOCAL HEADLINESThe remediation work forced students to briefly learn virtually and the School District of Philadelphia's plan to relocate students to Strawberry Mansion High School was met with backlash. The asbestos problem in Philadelphia public schools made headlines before the coronavirus pandemic; many of the school buildings are decades old and in dire need of structural upgrades. Philadelphia Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, chairperson of the education committee, called asbestos in schools "one of the most pressing issues we face as a municipality right now." Leaders lauded newly-elected Gov.

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Morgan Wallen charts first No. 1 song after n-word, COVID controversies

Morgan Wallen’s hit single “Last Night” has landed at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.The 29-year-old’s song topped the charts despite his recent controversies surrounding COVID and his use of the n-word.“Last Night” was previously at No.

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Saskatchewan researchers get $20M to help study and combat long COVID effects

University of Saskatchewan along with other researchers across Canada have received $20 million of federal money from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to help study and combat long COVID effects. Read more: After 3 years of COVID-19, here’s how Canada’s ‘endemic’ future may look The Canada-wide consortium of researchers will study the aftereffects of COVID-19 infections for the next five years.

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13.03.2023 / 22:05

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Sectioned psychiatric patient told husband she feared she would die on mental health ward hours before heart attack

A patient with severe physical and mental health problems died in hospital two months after she had been sectioned under the mental health act, an inquest has heard.

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Johns Hopkins shuts down COVID-19 data tracking hub after 3 years

The outbreak map dashboard created by Dr. Lauren Gardner, Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering, which is used to track the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, during a briefing from Johns Hopkins Universi Johns Hopkins University has ended its Coronavirus Resource Center (CRC), a hub full of real-time data that became a global go-to for monitoring the public health catastrophe. The center officially shut down on Friday, March 10 – almost three years to the day after the World Health Organization first called COVID-19 a pandemic. The CRC first displayed case numbers by country, a factor used by many when weighing travel advisories.

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HSE to begin study of Long Covid in Ireland

People in seven areas of the country who tested positive for Covid-19 may receive a text from the Health Service Executive from tomorrow as part of a study to measure their recovery from the disease and provide data on those with Long Covid.

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Taco Bell pulling beloved item from menu, bringing back two fan favorites

Fast food chain Taco Bell is set to remove a popular item from its menu to free up space to bring back two other items beloved by customers.Starting on April 19, Taco Bell customers will no longer be able to purchase the Quesarito, which has been a menu staple since it debuted in 2014, The Takeout reported.The Quesarito, which has only been available through the Taco Bell app or online over the last few months, features a burrito wrapped in a cheese quesadilla and was surrounded by a considerable amount of buzz when it was introduced.The Takeout reported that the item is being removed from menus in order to bring back two popular menu items, the Bacon Club Chalupa and the Double Steak Grilled Cheese Burrito.Sign for the fast food brand Taco Bell on 18th May 2022 in London, United Kingdom. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images) The Bacon Club Chalupa contains ingredients similar to a club sandwich and has been on and off the menu since 1999.The Double Steak Grilled Cheese Burrito was offered during the holiday season last year and contains a double serving of steak, rice, cheese, nacho cheese sauce, sour cream, tortilla strips, and is grilled with a layer of cheese on the exterior.TACO BELL OPENS FIRST RESTAURANT WITH HIGH-TECH DRIVE-THRU EXPERIENCETaco Bell is continuing to innovate with tastes and flavors less familiar to other regions, while infusing familiarity and authenticity in every item.

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Simon Gratz High School set to reopen Tuesday pending asbestos inspection outcome

NICETOWN - School District of Philadelphia officials state Simon Gratz High School is set, tentatively, to open Tuesday, March 14, provided a final asbestos inspection of the facility is completed.CEO of Mastery Charter School, Scott Gordon, sent a notice to families Sunday night stating inspections of the building for asbestos was ongoing and they expected to be finished Monday evening. In the letter, Gordon noted minor findings were seen and resolved on the spot.He went on to say should no larger issues be found and they can get the inspection completed, school will resume Tuesday morning.

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After 3 years of COVID-19, here’s how Canada’s ‘endemic’ future may look

World Health Organization declared the COVID–19 outbreak a global pandemic.Schools across the world shut down, workplaces turned remote and the fast-spreading virus revealed the fragility of many countries’ health-care systems. Since then, the virus has claimed close to seven million lives, of which more than 51,000 were Canadians.

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Leaders say 'never again' to vaccine inequity

Three years since the Covid pandemic began, nearly 200 prominent world figures have called for the vaccine inequity seen during the crisis to be relegated to history.

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10.03.2023 / 19:47

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New study finds symptoms that join list of Long Covid complaints

People with Long Covid could suffer from a wider range of symptoms than previously thought, scientists studying the condition have found.

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COVID-19 now appears to be in a ‘steady state’ in Canada

Omicron variant in Canada, COVID-19 is not expected to surge in the coming months as hospitalizations and deaths remain stable, federal health officials said.Speaking at a media conference Tuesday, Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr.

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Over 11,000 health workers yet to receive Covid bonus

More than 11,000 health workers are still waiting to receive the €1,000 pandemic bonus which the Government promised to give to those who worked on the frontline during the Covid-19 crisis.

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At Year Three, Americans Split on Whether Pandemic Is Over

The 29% who thought it was over at that time gave way to a less optimistic 18% by the fall, as a spike in infections from the delta variant heightened public worry. Since then, optimism has mostly only inched higher, rising to 34% last spring and to 44% in October before reaching 49% today.Yet, a quarter of Americans still report they are very (3%) or somewhat (22%) worried they could catch the virus.

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'This needs to end': Asbestos forces another Philadelphia school to abruptly close

PHILADELPHIA - A Philadelphia public school was forced to abruptly close due to asbestos for the second time in as many weeks, worsening concerns from parents and faculty about the safety and upkeep of city schools.In a letter to families, Mastery Schools CEO Scott Gordon said inspectors from the School District of Philadelphia found damaged asbestos on the campus of Simon Gratz High School, which also houses Simon Gratz Preparatory Middle School. Officials say the three-year reinspection of the district-owned building was in accordance with the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act. The district recommended the school be closed for the duration of the inspection, according to school officials. "We were unaware of the existence of these conditions prior to the inspections, the safety of ouse students and staff is our primary concern," Gordon said.

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Some Covid variants are more contagious than others. 3 reasons why

Here's a deeper look into it. Size and structure of the virus: It is the structure of the virus that causes all the difference. “All coronaviruses are just about the same size. It is certainly the structure, but a virus has several adaptations that make it more likely to be passed from one person to another," said Dr Keith Roach, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, Weill-Cornell; syndicated columnist To Your Good Health, as quoted by Sun Journal. Viruses that can reproduce faster and produce a high number of viral particles are more likely to be transmitted from one person to another.

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United States	Cases: 46 252 513 Deaths: 750 423 Recovered: 0
India	Cases: 34 321 025 Deaths: 459 652 Recovered: 0
Brazil	Cases: 21 835 785 Deaths: 608 235 Recovered: 0
United Kingdom	Cases: 9 215 683 Deaths: 141 607 Recovered: 0
Russia	Cases: 8 494 589 Deaths: 237 619 Recovered: 0