Canada approves Pfizer vaccine for ages 12 and older India’s virus surge damaging PM Narendra Modi’s tailored image of competence Professor helps students craft online multilingual coronavirus brochures Follow more of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
WOONSOCKET, Rhode Island CVS Health is now accepting walk-in customers for COVID-19 vaccinations at all 8,300 of its stores that are doling out shots.
The drugstore chain started accepting customers with no appointments this week. It also is offering same-day day appointments, which Walgreens started on Wednesday. Walgreens is also accepting walk-ins and expects to offer vaccines at all 9,200 of its U.S. stores by this weekend.
Saudi Arabia reports fatal MERS case
Saudi Arabia s Ministry of Health (MOH) today reported a new MERS-CoV case, which involves a 36-year-old man who died from his infection.
The man was from Hafr Al-Batin in the country s northeast. An investigation found that the man had been exposed to camels. He wasn t a healthcare worker and isn t thought to have contracted MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) from another person.
The case marks Saudi Arabia s eighth of the year. The World Health Organization (WHO) said in an April update that, since 2012 when virus was first detected in humans, it has received reports of 2,574 confirmed cases, at least 886 of them fatal.
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Lockdown rules could soon be relaxed after the Covid-19 incidence rate fell below the crucial 100 case threshold. Photo: IMAGO / A. Friedrichs
Friday, May 7
On Friday there were 596 new Covid-19 infections reported in Berlin. The seven-day incidence currently stands at 98.6 cases per 100,000 people
Covid-19 incidence rate falls below 100
On Thursday Berlinâs Covid-19 incidence dropped below the crucial threshold of 100 cases per 100,000 people, paving the way for a less stringent lockdown. The seven-day average incidence rate currently stands at 98.6, while the R-value has fallen to 0.7. If the seven-day incidence remains below 100 for five consecutive days, current âemergency brakeâ rules â including the 10pm curfew and strict limits on gatherings â will fall away. Additionally, the Senat signalled this week that restaurants could reopen to outdoor diners if the decrease in the case rate continues.
GENEVA: The World Health Organisation announced on Wednesday it would set up a global data hub in Berlin to analyse information on emerging pandemic threats, filling the gaps exposed by Covid-19.
The WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, which will start operating later this year, is set to analyse data quickly and in detail, in order to predict, prevent, detect, prepare for and respond to risks worldwide.
The hub will try to get ahead of the game, looking for pre-signals that go far beyond current systems that monitor publicly available information for signs of emerging outbreaks.
Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2021