HERE'S what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:
Contaminant in Moderna vaccines suspected to be metallic particles, NHK says
A contaminant found in a batch of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccines delivered to Japan is believed to be a metallic particle, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported, citing sources at the health ministry. The NHK, in a report published late on Thursday, cited ministry sources as saying the particle reacted to magnets and was therefore suspected to be a metal. Moderna has described it as "particulate matter" that did not pose a safety or efficacy issue.
Spanish pharma company Rovi, which bottles Moderna vaccines for markets other than the United States, said the contamination could be due to a manufacturing issue in a production line and that it was conducting an investigation. The ministry has said the suspension of the Moderna batches was a precaution, but it prompted several Japanese companies to cancel worker vaccinations and the European drugs regulator to launch an investigation.
Kerala's COVID-19 lessons for India and Modi's government
Vilified by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party for its high COVID-19 cases, Kerala state's apparent poor record may actually hold crucial lessons for containing the outbreak. Kerala's reliance on rapid antigen tests to detect and strictly isolate infected people at home is an approach the federal health ministry has sharply criticised but which state officials argue has helped them to better allocate hospital beds and oxygen supplies for those who really need them.
The efficient detection rate and its population density at more than twice the national average explain the high number of cases in Kerala. All the same, at 0.5%, Kerala has the lowest fatality rate among all but one thinly populated state.
New Zealand eases nationwide lockdown but Auckland shut off
New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern eased tough nationwide lockdown measures on Friday, although businesses and schools will still be closed and its biggest city, Auckland, will remain shut for longer.
Ardern said all of New Zealand, except Auckland and Northland, will move one step lower to alert level 3 from Tuesday. Under level 3, businesses can only operate for click and collect or contactless services. Bars and restaurants remain shut except for takeaways.
Mexican researchers say they have created a mask that neutralizes COVID-19
Researchers at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) have created a mask using silver and copper nanolayers that neutralizes SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, the university said in its official gazette on Thursday. UNAM said that if the viral concentration was high, the virus disappeared by more than 80% in about eight hours and if the viral load was low, in two hours none of the virus RNA was detected.
UNAM is calling the triple-layered antimicrobial mask SakCu; Sak means silver in Mayan and Cu is the chemical symbol for copper.
"Upon contact with the silver-copper nanolayer, the SARS-CoV-2 membrane breaks and its RNA is damaged," the university said. "Thus, even if SakCu is disposed of improperly, it will not be a problem as it does not remain contaminated, like many of the masks that are thrown away." The mask is reusable and can be washed up to 10 times without losing its biocide properties.
US coronavirus hospitalizations hit eight-month high
The number of coronavirus patients in U.S. hospitals breached 100,000 on Thursday, the highest level in eight months, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as a resurgence of COVID-19 driven by the highly contagious Delta variant strains the healthcare system.
U.S. COVID-19 hospitalizations have more than doubled in the past month. Over the past week, more than 500 people with COVID were admitted to hospitals every hour on average, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Florida has the highest number of COVID-19 patients in hospital, followed by Texas and California, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Reuters
Fri Aug 27 2021
Mexican researchers say they have created a mask that neutralises COVID-19. - REUTERS
Tiga maut dalam nahas jalan raya di Jerantut
Dua beranak antara tiga maut dalam kemalangan melibatkan dua kenderaan di KM18 Jalan Jerantut-Maran petang tadi.
Tumpuan Ahad – 09 Jun 2024
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan di Astro AWANI.
Monumen Christ pakai Hanbok
Untuk julung kalinya, monumen Christ the Redeemer memakai pakai tradisional negara Korea iaitu Hanbok.
Angkasawan Apollo 8, William Anders maut nahas pesawat
Bekas angkasawan Amerika Syarikat (AS) William Anders, yang merupakan sebahagian daripada misi Apollo 8 yang menyaksikan anak kapal pertama mengorbit bulan pada 1968, maut dalam nahas pesawat di barat laut Seattle.
Ujian penghantaran guna dron di Gunung Everest berjaya
Percubaan penerbangan dron bagi menyalurkan bantuan di Gunung Everest, yang menjadi percubaan pertama dan bersejarah di dunia, disahkan berjaya. Pencapaian penting itu dilakar menerusi dron ciptaan syarikat teknologi dari China, DJI dengan kerjasama syarikat perkhidmatan dron Nepal Airlift serta malim gunung bertauliah.
Banjir, tanah runtuh jejas beberapa wilayah China
Hujan lebat yang berterusan membawa kepada banjir sehingga berlaku beberapa siri kejadian tanah runtuh di wilayah autonomi Guangxi Zhuang di selatan China, termasuk beberapa kawasan lain dengan keadaan geografi yang mencabar. Kesannya? bencana yang berlaku dalam tempoh beberapa hari itu juga turut menyebabkan jalan perhubungan penduduk terpisah menyebabkan mereka terperangkap.
D8 sokong Palestin, gesa solidariti
Mesyuarat Menteri-menteri kumpulan lapan negara membangun (D8) sebulat suara menyokong Palestin dengan menyifatkan bahawa perang di Gaza itu telah menjadi sebuah 'cabaran kepada demokrasi global.'
Israel dakwa selamat empat tebusan di dua lokasi
Sekurang-kurangnya tiga buah helikopter dapat dilihat berlegar di ruang udara Gaza pada Sabtu, yang dipercayai dari Israel susulan operasi rejim zionis itu untuk membawa pulang tebusan warganya yang ditahan Hamas.Reuters melaporkan, tentera Israel mendakwa bahawa mereka telah menyelamatkan empat tebusan dari dua lokasi di tengah Gaza serta kawasan yang menempatkan kem perlindungan al-Nuseirat yang baharu sahaja diserang baru-baru ini.
Penggunaan teknologi AI, biometrik untuk urus 3.5 juta jemaah haji
Para pengamal media yang membuat liputan ibadah Haji di Arab Saudi kali ini bakal dihidangkan dengan penggunaan aplikasi teknologi maju, termasuk biometrik dan kecerdasan buatan yang digunakan Kerajaan, untuk menguruskan lebih 3.5 juta Jemaah Haji.
Fasilitator Kementerian Media Arab Saudi, Datuk Izelan Bashar berkata, dalam lawatan khas selama dua minggu itu, pengamal media termasuk dari Malaysia akan diberi taklimat tentang pengurusan dan teknologi di belakang tabir, bagi memastikan ia lebih lancar.
Fasilitator Kementerian Media Arab Saudi, Datuk Izelan Bashar berkata, dalam lawatan khas selama dua minggu itu, pengamal media termasuk dari Malaysia akan diberi taklimat tentang pengurusan dan teknologi di belakang tabir, bagi memastikan ia lebih lancar.
Jenazah wartawan hiburan popular Huzz selamat dikebumikan
Jenazah wartawan hiburan popular era 80-an hingga 90-an, Huzz atau nama sebenarnya Kamal Huzaini Kamaludin selamat dikebumikan malam ini.
Malaysia masuk fasa hidup bersama virus COVID-19 - Dr Dzulkefly
Rakyat kini berada di fasa hidup bersama virus COVID-19 dan dalam peralihan ke arah meneruskan kehidupan seperti biasa, kata Menteri Kesihatan Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
Labuan terima RM162 juta untuk infrastruktur pendidikan
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (KPM) meluluskan peruntukan keseluruhan RM162 juta untuk tujuh projek pembangunan infrastruktur di pulau bebas cukai ini bagi tahun 2024.
WMO berjaya kurangkan kes denggi antara 45 dan 100 peratus - Lukanisman
Operasi Nyamuk Wolbachia (WMO), berjaya mengurangkan jumlah kes denggi antara 45 hingga 100 peratus di 19 lokaliti.
Selangor yakin capai negeri sifar miskin tegar Julai ini - Amirudin
Kerajaan Selangor yakin sasaran menoktahkan kemiskinan tegar di negeri itu pada Julai ini boleh dicapai, kata Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
Misteri lonjakan kes batuk kokol di Eropah
Lonjakan kes itu juga dikaitkan dengan penurunan imuniti dalam kalangan penduduk sejak pandemik COVID-19 melanda dunia pada awal 2020.
GPW14 instrumen penting bentuk masa depan ekosistem kesihatan sejagat
Malaysia optimis kerjasama dengan WHO melalui GPW14 akan membentuk masa depan kesihatan global.
‘Kes darah beku, serangan jantung tiada kaitan dengan vaksin AstraZeneca’
Golongan berisiko tinggi adalah individu yang mempunyai sejarah pembekuan darah dan mereka tidak dibenarkan menerima vaksin jenis AZ.
Sumbangan industri pelancongan kepada KDNK global akan lepasi paras prapandemik tahun ini - WEF
Ketibaan pelancong asing dan sumbangan sektor pelancongan kepada Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) global dijangka akan kembali ke paras pra-pandemik tahun ini.
KKM pantau lonjakan kes COVID-19 di Singapura
KKM akan terus memantau keadaan tersebut dan sistem kesihatan ketika ini bersedia untuk menghadapi sebarang lonjakan kes.
Istiadat Pertukaran Pengawal Istana Negara kembali diadakan
Istiadat Pertukaran Pengawal Istana Negara kembali diadakan semula di Istana Negara, di sini hari ini selepas terhenti seketika susulan penularan pandemik COVID-19 sejak 2019.