Page 90 - Heca News Today

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday cautioned countries against hastily imposing travel restrictions linked to the new B.1.1.529 variant of COVID-19, saying they should take a "risk-based and scientific approach".

A handful of local COVID-19 cases in eastern parts of China have prompted Shanghai city to limit tourism activities and a nearby city to cut public transportation services, as China insists on zero tolerance against letting clusters spread.

New Zealand is well prepared for the discovery of new coronavirus variants that may be resistant to vaccines, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Friday, including the strain currently spreading in South Africa.

Hungary needs to increase the number of people taking booster shots against COVID-19 to curb infections, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio on Friday.

Novo Nordisk on Friday forecast its sales growth would slow by about 3% in 2022 because of lower prices and a drop in insulin sales volumes in China, denting the Danish diabetes drug maker's share price.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Monday in his annual state of the nation speech that there was a need to strike a balance between health and economic interests amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia's biggest country.

Thailand's state-owned oil firm PTT is set to expand further into pharmaceuticals as part of a consortium acquiring a unit of drugmaker Alvogen, the parent of Taiwan's Lotus Pharmaceutical , PTT said on Friday.

The coronavirus pandemic in Europe is once again reason for "considerable concern", and its consequences for economies are hard to predict, the governor of the Bank of Italy said on Friday.

Global authorities have reacted with alarm to a coronavirus variant detected in South Africa, with the EU, Britain and India among those announcing stricter border controls as scientists seek to determine if the mutation is vaccine-resistant.

India will lead demands for an intellectual property rights waiver for COVID-19 vaccines and supplies at a World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting next week, two government officials said.