Health News at Your Fingertips

Canadian cities, including Toronto, are bracing for further disruptions this weekend as protests against vaccine mandates spread from the capital of Ottawa, Reuters reports.

The so-called “Freedom Convoy” began as a movement against a vaccine requirement for cross-border truckers, but has turned into a rallying point against public health measures.

Protestors have shut down downtown Ottawa for the past eight days, with some participants waving Confederate or Nazi flags and others saying they wanted to dissolve Canada’s government.

Toronto Police said they would have a ramped-up presence in the city over the weekend due to anticipated protests.

GoFundMe said it had cancelled the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser, citing police reports of violence.

In a statement, it said it will “automatically refund all contributions directly”.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said he discussed with the Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, the need for stronger collaboration to investigate the origins of Covid-19.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has previously pressed China to be more forthcoming with data and information related to the origin of the virus, reports Reuters.

“Pleased to meet with Premier Li Keqiang,” Tedros tweeted on Saturday. “We discussed Covid-19 and the need for an aggressive effort on vaccine equity this year to vaccinate 70% of all populations,” he said.

“We also discussed the need for stronger collaboration on Covid-19 virus origins, rooted in science and evidence,” he added.

Last year, the WHO established the Scientific Advisory Group on the Origins of Novel Pathogens and called on China to supply raw data to help any new investigation. But China declined, citing patient privacy rules.

China has consistently denied allegations the virus was leaked from a specialist laboratory in the city of Wuhan, where Covid-19 was first identified at the end of 2019.

A joint study by China and the WHO published last year concluded the most likely hypothesis was that the virus jumped from bats to humans via an intermediate animal.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has tested positive for Covid-19, he said on Saturday.

“Today my wife and I tested positive for Covid-19 with mild symptoms. Thankfully, we’re experiencing slight symptoms that we have learned is the omicron variant,” he tweeted.

“We are on duty. We will continue to work at home. We look forward to your prayers.”

Erdoğan, 67, made the announcement after appearing via videolink at a tunnel-opening ceremony from Istanbul, having cancelled his appearance in person, citing bad weather, AP reports.

The president showed no signs of illness in his televised appearance.

Turkey has seen record levels of Covid-19 cases in recent days, with 111,157 cases reported on Friday.

Deaths are also rising in the country, with 248 virus-related fatalities reported on Friday, a level not seen since October.

South Korea on Saturday reported more than 30,000 daily Covid-19 infections for the first time, as the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency logged a record 36,362 new Covid-19 infections.

The latest figure is a dramatic increase from the previous daily record of 27,443 reported on Friday.

The government extended social distancing rules on Friday for two weeks until 20 February, including a 9pm curfew for restaurants, bars and gyms, as infections with Omicron continue to soar.

The prime minister, Kim Boo-kyum, said extending the restrictions, which were due to end on Sunday, was necessary to slow the spread of the variant amid fears the lunar new year holiday may have fuelled infections.

Health authorities have warned that daily infections could possibly reach 100,000 in coming weeks, the Korea Herald reported.

About 50 of Iran’s 290 parliamentarians have contracted Covid-19, a senior MP has said.

Alireza Salimi, speaking to YJC, a news agency linked to Iran’s state TV, said this week’s parliamentary session would be held in accordance with health regulations.

Parliament was suspended for two weeks last April due to an outbreak among MPs, Reuters reports. In the early days of the pandemic, several lawmakers died from the virus.

Iran has experienced a sharp rise in cases and in recent days reported an average of more than 30,000 new infections daily. On Saturday however, the health ministry reported 23,130 fresh cases.

More than 50 million people of the country’s 85 million strong population have received two doses of the vaccine, and more than 19 million have received three doses.

Iran has logged more than 6.5 million infections and more than 132,500 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic began.

Tory MP for Wimbledon Stephen Hammond has said he is “considering very carefully this weekend” whether he still has confidence in the Prime Minister and it “certainly looks like” the beginning of the end, PA reports.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Week In Westminster he would be “reflecting on the events of the week, reflecting on the fact that my constituents and I and almost all of the country obeyed rules, and there seems to be a group of people who haven’t.”

He said he had not yet put a letter into Sir Graham Brady, but added:

I think I’m making it very clear to you that I am considering very carefully over the weekend, what are the next steps.

I think all Conservative colleagues, all of whom I know, are in it for trying to do the best for their constituents, and the country will be wrestling with their consciences this weekend.

Asked whether it was “the beginning of the end” for the PM, he said: “It certainly looks like that at the moment.

He added: “It looks very difficult for the Prime Minister from here.”

Hammond also disagreed with culture secretary Nadine Dorries’ characterisation that those who wanted the PM to go were Remainers or had always opposed Boris Johnson.

“This is predictable rubbish from a predictable source,” he said. “If you look at where the letters are coming from, I don’t understand how anyone could stand up that claim, and so I think probably the Secretary of State needs to think again.”

He said that the no-confidence letters declared so far were from “all wings of the party and none” and that the suggestion there was a Remainer plot was “complete nonsense”.

I know of no coordinated plot and if I were the whips’ office that would worry me even more because I think quite rightly individuals are wrestling with their conscience, deciding what to do, and the fact that it’s individuals doing it means it’s much less easy for the whips or Boris’s friends to put in a counter operation.

Japan’s daily Covid-19 cases have exceeded 100,000, marking a new high, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Most regions in Japan are now under infection control measures to try to slow the spread of the Omicron variant which has been driving the rise in cases.

Malaysia reported 9,117 new Covid-19 infections on Saturday, the highest daily figure in four months, reports Reuters.

The new cases bring the total number of infections since the start of the pandemic to 2,904,131. Malaysia has also reported over 32,000 deaths.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Noor Hisham Abdullah the director-general of health said:

Although the number of cases is expected to rise in the next couple of days and weeks, due to the high transmissibility of Omicron variant, it causes a less severe form of the disease in those who have had full vaccination and taken their booster shot.

About 97.9% of Malaysia’s adult population has received two doses of the vaccine, while 52.3% have also received the booster shot. About 88.7% of 12- to 17-year-olds have also received two doses.

This week Malaysia began vaccinations for 5- to 11-year-olds.

More from Nadine Dorries.

She has insisted the prime minister tells the truth “to the best of his knowledge” based on advice given to him by aides.

When asked about claims made by Boris Johnson about the number of people in work, she told the BBC: “He will have been given by advisers and researchers the fact that there were more people in work than there were at the beginning of the pandemic, not on the payroll.”

She said:

So did he tell the truth when he quoted that? Yes, he told the truth as it was given to him.”

Dorries added: “The prime minister does tell the truth.”

I can personally tell you that the prime minister, when he stands at the despatch box and makes quotes like the one you just quoted, is because the researchers and his advisers will have given him that quote, and that’s … and he was truthful, to the best of his knowledge, when he made that quote,” she said.

From today, Austrians over the age of 18 must be vaccinated against Covid-19, unless they are exempt, or face the possibility of a heavy fine, an unprecedented move in the European Union, reports Agence-France Presse.

The new measure, adopted on 20 January by Austria’s parliament, was signed into law by the president, Alexander Van der Bellen, on Friday.

The government’s tougher approach has been met with criticism within the country.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Germany, a similar law championed by the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, was debated last month in the Bundestag, but has not made progress because of divisions on the issue.