Almost&nbsp;all residents of&nbsp;Indonesia's&nbsp;most&nbsp;populous&nbsp;island&nbsp;of Java&nbsp;have&nbsp;antibodies&nbsp;against&nbsp;COVID-19, owing to a combination of prior infection and vaccination against the virus, a government-commissioned survey showed.

The March&nbsp;study&nbsp;of 2,100 people, conducted on Java, home to 150 million people, and Bali,&nbsp;Indonesia's&nbsp;top tourism destination, revealed 99.2 per cent&nbsp;of people had covid&nbsp;antibodies, a 6 per cent&nbsp;point increase from a December survey.

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Pandu Riono, an epidemiologist at the University of Indonesia, which conducted the survey with the health ministry, on Monday told Reuters the antibody levels in the latest survey were higher due to a wider booster shot rollout, as recipients had stronger protection.

Indonesia's&nbsp;daily case numbers&nbsp;have&nbsp;decreased significantly since a spike in February driven by the Omicron variant. About 60 per cent&nbsp;of its 270 million people&nbsp;have&nbsp;been vaccinated against covid.

Watch |&nbsp;Shanghai reports first covid deaths since start of covid-19 lockdown

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Pandu said the stronger&nbsp;antibodies&nbsp;may explain the faster rate at which Omicron variant infections declined in Indonesia.

The December&nbsp;study, of 22,000 people, was conducted nationwide and showed 86 per cent&nbsp;of Indonesians had&nbsp;antibodies.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/chinas-economic-data-hints-at-cost-of-zero-covid-strategy-471860">China's economic data hints at cost of zero Covid strategy</a>

The world's largest Muslim-majority nation has recently loosened many of its pandemic restrictions, including waiving quarantine for foreign tourists and lifting a two-year ban on the mass exodus tradition during the Muslim holiday season of Eid al-Fitr.

Health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin on Monday said the survey was a factor in the government's assessment that the holiday "can go smoothly without bringing negative impacts on our people".

The&nbsp;study&nbsp;closely tracks recent data in Britain, where the percentage of adults with&nbsp;COVID&nbsp;antibodies&nbsp;in the middle of March was nearly&nbsp;99 per cent, according to its Office for National Statistics.

Almost all residents of Indonesia's most populous island of Java have antibodies against COVID-19, owing to a combination of prior infection and vaccination against the virus, a government-commissioned survey showed.

Almost all residents of Indonesia's most populous island of Java have antibodies against COVID-19, owing to a combination of prior infection and vaccination against the virus, a government-commissioned survey showed. The March study of 2,100 people, conducted on Java, home to 150 million people, and Bali, Indonesia's top tourism destination, revealed 99.2 per cent of people had covid antibodies, a 6 per cent point increase from a December survey. Also read | Chinese vignettes | Covid cases are soaring in China, so is its inflation Pandu Riono, an epidemiologist at the University of Indonesia, which conducted the survey with the health ministry, on Monday told Reuters the antibody levels in the latest survey were higher due to a wider booster shot rollout, as recipients had stronger protection. Indonesia's daily case numbers have decreased significantly since a spike in February driven by the Omicron variant. About 60 per cent of its 270 million people have been vaccinated against covid. Watch | Shanghai reports first covid deaths since start of covid-19 lockdown Pandu said the stronger antibodies may explain the faster rate at which Omicron variant infections declined in Indonesia. The December study, of 22,000 people, was conducted nationwide and showed 86 per cent of Indonesians had antibodies. Also read | China's economic data hints at cost of zero Covid strategy The world's largest Muslim-majority nation has recently loosened many of its pandemic restrictions, including waiving quarantine for foreign tourists and lifting a two-year ban on the mass exodus tradition during the Muslim holiday season of Eid al-Fitr. Health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin on Monday said the survey was a factor in the government's assessment that the holiday "can go smoothly without bringing negative impacts on our people". The study closely tracks recent data in Britain, where the percentage of adults with COVID antibodies in the middle of March was nearly 99 per cent, according to its Office for National Statistics.

Study shows 99% on Indonesia's most populous island have COVID-19 antibodies

China's economic growth accelerated in the first quarter of the year to 4.8 per cent, official data showed Monday, but the government warned of "significant challenges" ahead while massive Covid-19 lockdowns started to bite.

The world's second-biggest&nbsp;economy&nbsp;had lost steam in the latter half of last year with a property slump and regulatory crackdowns, pulling down growth.

But it exceeded expectations in the first three months of 2022, growing 4.8 per cent on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, with Lunar New Year spending and factory production cajoling growth.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-first-covid-19-deaths-reported-in-shanghai-since-start-of-lockdown-471757">China: First COVID-19 deaths reported in Shanghai since start of lockdown</a>

The weeks ahead, however, appear treacherous for the&nbsp;economy&nbsp;with Beijing's unrelenting zero-Covid approach to outbreaks clogging supply chains and locking down tens of millions of people -- including in the economic dynamos of Shanghai and Shenzhen as well as the northeastern grain basket of Jilin.

Virus restrictions in March have already gouged at retail sales, as consumers shied away from shopping, and drove up unemployment.

"With the domestic and international environment becoming increasingly complicated and uncertain, economic development is facing significant difficulties and challenges," NBS spokesman Fu Linghui said on Monday.

The pandemic rebound -- as well as the sanctions binding Russia's&nbsp;economy&nbsp;-- ups the ante on officials to deliver Beijing's full-year growth target of around 5.5 per cent.

The target comes in a pivotal political year for President Xi Jinping who is eyeing another term in power at the Party Congress to be held this autumn.

Watch |&nbsp;China's zero-covid policy impacts economy, analysts predict lowest GDP in decades

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The current virus outbreak is the worst since the peak of the first wave which emerged in Wuhan in late 2019, and the&nbsp;economy&nbsp;is beginning to weaken.&nbsp;

Industrial production growth eased to 5.0 per cent in March, NBS data showed, down from the January-February period.

Meanwhile, retail sales sank 3.5 per cent and the urban unemployment rate ticked up to a 22-month high of 5.8 per cent last month.

"March activity data suggests that&nbsp;China's&nbsp;economy&nbsp;slowed, especially in household consumption," Tommy Wu, lead&nbsp;China&nbsp;economist at Oxford Economics, said in a note.

Worse to come

China's government is trying to balance "minimising disruption against controlling the latest wave of Covid infections", Wu said, but he warned of a drag on economic activity into May or beyond.

Last week, carmakers including XPeng and Volkswagen warned of severe disruptions to supply chains and possibly even a halt on production completely if the lockdown on Shanghai's 25 million inhabitants persisted.

Already, goods are piling up at the world's busiest container port in Shanghai, prompting shipping giant Maersk to say it will stop taking new bookings for refrigerated containers into the city.

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"Further impacts&nbsp;from lockdowns are imminent," said Iris Pang, chief economist for Greater&nbsp;China&nbsp;at ING.

As Shanghai struggles to rein in an outbreak that has seen tens of thousands of daily cases, Pang said other cities may attempt to replicate Shenzhen's success in reopening swiftly by resorting to strict measures with just a few Covid patients.

The southern tech powerhouse went into full lockdown for almost a week in March, but has since eased restrictions.

Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics cautioned that "the worst is still to come".

Fu of the NBS warned of high commodity prices on Monday with the Russia-Ukraine conflict leading to a decline in the availability of commodities such as corn and wheat.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-begins-sending-its-most-advanced-fighter-plane-to-patrol-disputed-seas-471337">China begins sending its most advanced fighter plane to patrol disputed seas</a>

Although&nbsp;China's central bank has announced a reserve ratio cut, lowering the amount of cash banks must hold in a push to support small businesses, experts say officials were taking a restrained approach to stimulus.

But economists expect officials will eventually publish a growth figure consistent with official targets, as part of doubts that the numbers may be massaged for political reasons.

China's economic growth accelerated in the first quarter of the year to 4.8 per cent, official data showed Monday, but the government warned of "significant challenges" ahead while massive Covid-19 lockdowns started to bite.

China's economic growth accelerated in the first quarter of the year to 4.8 per cent, official data showed Monday, but the government warned of "significant challenges" ahead while massive Covid-19 lockdowns started to bite. The world's second-biggest economy had lost steam in the latter half of last year with a property slump and regulatory crackdowns, pulling down growth. But it exceeded expectations in the first three months of 2022, growing 4.8 per cent on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, with Lunar New Year spending and factory production cajoling growth. Also read | China: First COVID-19 deaths reported in Shanghai since start of lockdown The weeks ahead, however, appear treacherous for the economy with Beijing's unrelenting zero-Covid approach to outbreaks clogging supply chains and locking down tens of millions of people -- including in the economic dynamos of Shanghai and Shenzhen as well as the northeastern grain basket of Jilin. Virus restrictions in March have already gouged at retail sales, as consumers shied away from shopping, and drove up unemployment. "With the domestic and international environment becoming increasingly complicated and uncertain, economic development is facing significant difficulties and challenges," NBS spokesman Fu Linghui said on Monday. The pandemic rebound -- as well as the sanctions binding Russia's economy -- ups the ante on officials to deliver Beijing's full-year growth target of around 5.5 per cent. The target comes in a pivotal political year for President Xi Jinping who is eyeing another term in power at the Party Congress to be held this autumn. Watch | China's zero-covid policy impacts economy, analysts predict lowest GDP in decades The current virus outbreak is the worst since the peak of the first wave which emerged in Wuhan in late 2019, and the economy is beginning to weaken. Industrial production growth eased to 5.0 per cent in March, NBS data showed, down from the January-February period. Meanwhile, retail sales sank 3.5 per cent and the urban unemployment rate ticked up to a 22-month high of 5.8 per cent last month. "March activity data suggests that China's economy slowed, especially in household consumption," Tommy Wu, lead China economist at Oxford Economics, said in a note. Worse to come China's government is trying to balance "minimising disruption against controlling the latest wave of Covid infections", Wu said, but he warned of a drag on economic activity into May or beyond. Last week, carmakers including XPeng and Volkswagen warned of severe disruptions to supply chains and possibly even a halt on production completely if the lockdown on Shanghai's 25 million inhabitants persisted. Already, goods are piling up at the world's busiest container port in Shanghai, prompting shipping giant Maersk to say it will stop taking new bookings for refrigerated containers into the city. Also read | Japan scrambled jets over 1,000 times amid Chinese, Russian air activity "Further impacts from lockdowns are imminent," said Iris Pang, chief economist for Greater China at ING. As Shanghai struggles to rein in an outbreak that has seen tens of thousands of daily cases, Pang said other cities may attempt to replicate Shenzhen's success in reopening swiftly by resorting to strict measures with just a few Covid patients. The southern tech powerhouse went into full lockdown for almost a week in March, but has since eased restrictions. Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics cautioned that "the worst is still to come". Fu of the NBS warned of high commodity prices on Monday with the Russia-Ukraine conflict leading to a decline in the availability of commodities such as corn and wheat. Also read | China begins sending its most advanced fighter plane to patrol disputed seas Although China's central bank has announced a reserve ratio cut, lowering the amount of cash banks must hold in a push to support small businesses, experts say officials were taking a restrained approach to stimulus. But economists expect officials will eventually publish a growth figure consistent with official targets, as part of doubts that the numbers may be massaged for political reasons.

China economy accelerates in Q1 but virus stalks outlook

Long lines of COVID-19 tests, empty streets and closed storefronts: a now familiar sight in&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;as the financial hub reported over 27,000 coronavirus cases on Thursday (April 14).

Shanghai&nbsp;is battling China's worst covid outbreak since the virus first emerged in Wuhan in late 2019, with the city's 25 million residents remaining largely under lockdown, though restrictions were partially eased in some areas this week. However, while some people were allowed out on Tuesday (April 12), there was still confusion about how freely they could move, with many awaiting permission from their residential committees.

Watch |&nbsp;Gravitas: Shanghai Covid Outbreak: Indian consulate "inaccessible"

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On Thursday,&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;reported a record 2,573 symptomatic cases for the previous day, up from 1,189 a day earlier, while asymptomatic cases reached 25,146, up from 25,141.

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A city official said that cases continued to rise despite the lockdown in part because of a backlog of test results and because of ongoing transmission among family members.

Long lines of COVID-19 tests, empty streets and closed storefronts: a now familiar sight in Shanghai as the financial hub reported over 27,000 coronavirus cases on Thursday (April 14).

Long lines of COVID-19 tests, empty streets and closed storefronts: a now familiar sight in Shanghai as the financial hub reported over 27,000 coronavirus cases on Thursday (April 14). Shanghai is battling China's worst covid outbreak since the virus first emerged in Wuhan in late 2019, with the city's 25 million residents remaining largely under lockdown, though restrictions were partially eased in some areas this week. However, while some people were allowed out on Tuesday (April 12), there was still confusion about how freely they could move, with many awaiting permission from their residential committees. Watch | Gravitas: Shanghai Covid Outbreak: Indian consulate "inaccessible" On Thursday, Shanghai reported a record 2,573 symptomatic cases for the previous day, up from 1,189 a day earlier, while asymptomatic cases reached 25,146, up from 25,141. Also read | Another iPhone supplier ceases operations as China’s Covid lockdown bites A city official said that cases continued to rise despite the lockdown in part because of a backlog of test results and because of ongoing transmission among family members.

Life in a city under lockdown as Shanghai's covid cases hit new peak

Global&nbsp;COVID-19&nbsp;cases&nbsp;surpassed&nbsp;500&nbsp;million&nbsp;on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, as the highly contagious&nbsp;BA.2&nbsp;sub-variant of&nbsp;Omicron&nbsp;surges&nbsp;in many countries in Europe and Asia.

The rise of&nbsp;BA.2&nbsp;has been blamed for recent&nbsp;surges&nbsp;in China as well as record infections in Europe. It has been called the "stealth variant" because it is slightly harder to track than others. &nbsp;

South Korea leads the world in the daily average number of new&nbsp;cases, reporting more than 182,000 new infections a day and accounting for one in every four infections globally, according to a Reuters analysis.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-medicines-regulator-approves-valneva-covid-19-vaccine-for-adult-use-470950">UK medicines regulator approves Valneva COVID-19 vaccine for adult use</a>

New&nbsp;cases&nbsp;are rising in 20 out of more than 240 countries and territories tracked, including Taiwan, Thailand and Bhutan.

Shanghai is fighting China's worst&nbsp;COVID-19 outbreak since the virus first emerged in Wuhan in late 2019, with almost 25,000 new local&nbsp;cases&nbsp;reported, although the city's quarantine policy is criticized for separating children from parents and putting asymptomatic cases&nbsp;among those with symptoms.&nbsp;

"Shanghai's epidemic prevention and control is at the most difficult and most critical stage," Wu Qianyu, an official with the municipal health commission, told a briefing.&nbsp;

Europe, US still affected

Some European countries are now seeing a slower uptick in new&nbsp;cases, or even a decline, but the region is still reporting over 1 million cases&nbsp;about every two days, according to the Reuters tally.&nbsp;

In Germany, the seven-day average of new infections has fallen and is now at 59 per cent&nbsp;&nbsp;of its previous peak in late March. New cases&nbsp;are also falling in the United Kingdom and Italy, while they are holding steady in France.

Overall,&nbsp;COVID-19&nbsp;cases&nbsp;in the United States have dropped sharply after hitting record levels in January, but the resurgence of&nbsp;cases&nbsp;in parts of Asia and Europe has raised concerns that another wave could follow in the United States.

Watch |&nbsp;Reports: UK PM Boris Johnson faces 3 more fines for breaking covid-19 lockdown norms

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The US&nbsp;national public health agency said on Monday the&nbsp;BA.2&nbsp;sub-variant&nbsp;of&nbsp;Omicron&nbsp;was estimated to account for nearly three of every four coronavirus&nbsp;variants in the country.&nbsp;

The&nbsp;BA.2&nbsp;variant&nbsp;now makes up about 86 per cent of all sequenced&nbsp;cases&nbsp;globally, according to the World Health Organization. It is known to be more transmissible than the BA.1 and BA.1.1&nbsp;Omicron&nbsp;sub-variants. Evidence so far, though, suggests&nbsp;BA.2&nbsp;is no more likely to cause severe disease.&nbsp;

Scientists continue to emphasize vaccines are critical for avoiding the devastation the virus can cause.

Roughly 64.8 per cent&nbsp;of the world population has received at least one dose of a&nbsp;COVID&nbsp;vaccine, although only 14.8 per cent&nbsp;of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose, according to figures from Our World in Data.&nbsp;

While&nbsp;cases&nbsp;have flared in Europe and Asia recently, the United States still has the highest total&nbsp;COVID&nbsp;infections since the start of the pandemic with 80.41&nbsp;million, followed by India with 43.04&nbsp;million&nbsp;and Brazil with 30.14&nbsp;million.&nbsp;

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Since 2020, about 37 per cent&nbsp;of the world’s covid&nbsp;cases&nbsp;have been in Europe, 21 per cent&nbsp;in Asia and 17 per cent&nbsp;in North America.

About 6.5&nbsp;million&nbsp;people have lost their lives to covid since the pandemic began. The United States has reported the highest number of deaths, followed by Russia, Brazil and India.

Russia overtook Brazil to have the world's second-highest death toll from&nbsp;COVID-19, data from Russia's state statistics service and Reuters calculations showed on Thursday.&nbsp;

Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 500 million on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, as the highly contagious BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron surges in many countries in Europe and Asia.

Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 500 million on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, as the highly contagious BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron surges in many countries in Europe and Asia. The rise of BA.2 has been blamed for recent surges in China as well as record infections in Europe. It has been called the "stealth variant" because it is slightly harder to track than others. South Korea leads the world in the daily average number of new cases, reporting more than 182,000 new infections a day and accounting for one in every four infections globally, according to a Reuters analysis. Also read | UK medicines regulator approves Valneva COVID-19 vaccine for adult use New cases are rising in 20 out of more than 240 countries and territories tracked, including Taiwan, Thailand and Bhutan. Shanghai is fighting China's worst COVID-19 outbreak since the virus first emerged in Wuhan in late 2019, with almost 25,000 new local cases reported, although the city's quarantine policy is criticized for separating children from parents and putting asymptomatic cases among those with symptoms. "Shanghai's epidemic prevention and control is at the most difficult and most critical stage," Wu Qianyu, an official with the municipal health commission, told a briefing. Europe, US still affected Some European countries are now seeing a slower uptick in new cases, or even a decline, but the region is still reporting over 1 million cases about every two days, according to the Reuters tally. In Germany, the seven-day average of new infections has fallen and is now at 59 per cent of its previous peak in late March. New cases are also falling in the United Kingdom and Italy, while they are holding steady in France. Overall, COVID-19 cases in the United States have dropped sharply after hitting record levels in January, but the resurgence of cases in parts of Asia and Europe has raised concerns that another wave could follow in the United States. Watch | Reports: UK PM Boris Johnson faces 3 more fines for breaking covid-19 lockdown norms The US national public health agency said on Monday the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron was estimated to account for nearly three of every four coronavirus variants in the country. The BA.2 variant now makes up about 86 per cent of all sequenced cases globally, according to the World Health Organization. It is known to be more transmissible than the BA.1 and BA.1.1 Omicron sub-variants. Evidence so far, though, suggests BA.2 is no more likely to cause severe disease. Scientists continue to emphasize vaccines are critical for avoiding the devastation the virus can cause. Roughly 64.8 per cent of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, although only 14.8 per cent of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose, according to figures from Our World in Data. While cases have flared in Europe and Asia recently, the United States still has the highest total COVID infections since the start of the pandemic with 80.41 million, followed by India with 43.04 million and Brazil with 30.14 million. Also read | Cases of syphilis, other STDs rose in US during Covid pandemic: CDC report Since 2020, about 37 per cent of the world’s covid cases have been in Europe, 21 per cent in Asia and 17 per cent in North America. About 6.5 million people have lost their lives to covid since the pandemic began. The United States has reported the highest number of deaths, followed by Russia, Brazil and India. Russia overtook Brazil to have the world's second-highest death toll from COVID-19, data from Russia's state statistics service and Reuters calculations showed on Thursday.

Worldwide covid cases surpass 500 million as Omicron variant BA.2 surges

The UK's medicines regulator on Thursday approved Valneva as a new vaccine to protect against COVID-19, the first whole-virus inactivated COVID vaccine to gain regulatory approval in the country.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it is the first in the world to approve the Valneva vaccine, which becomes the sixth COVID-19 vaccine to be granted an MHRA authorisation.

With this type of vaccine, the virus is grown in a lab and then made completely inactive so that it cannot infect cells or replicate in the body but can still trigger an immune response to the COVID-19 virus.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/std-cases-in-us-including-syphilis-rose-during-pandemic-cdc-report-470645">Cases of syphilis, other STDs rose in US during Covid pandemic: CDC report</a>

Our approval of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Valneva today follows a rigorous review of the safety, quality and effectiveness of this vaccine, and expert advice from the government's independent scientific advisory body, the Commission on Human Medicines, said Dr June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive.

As with the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines in use in the UK, Valneva is designed to be given as two doses. The vaccine is approved for use in people aged 18 to 50 years, with the first and second doses to be taken at least 28 days apart. The process used in the Valneva vaccine is widely used already in the production of flu and polio vaccines.

The independent Commission on Human Medicines and its COVID-19 Expert Working Group has carefully considered the available evidence are pleased to say that we have advised that the benefit risk balance is positive,&nbsp;said Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, Chair of the independent Commission on Human Medicines.

Watch |&nbsp;Gravitas Global Headlines: Covid-19 booster shots for adults, Peru protests &amp; more

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Each type of vaccine has a different pattern of antibody response over time. For the Valneva vaccine, two doses are required before a robust antibody response is raised. This means that people will need to be made aware that protection will only start after two doses,&nbsp;he said.

The storage temperature for the Valneva vaccine is between 2 degrees Celsius and 8 degrees Celsius, which is similar to that of a domestic fridge. The MHRA says this makes it appropriate for use in countries where storage at very low temperatures is not possible.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/health-and-wellness/what-is-myocarditis-a-rare-complication-of-covid-19-and-non-covid-vaccination-470438">What is myocarditis? A rare complication of COVID-19 and non-Covid vaccinations</a>

The vaccine has been produced at the Valneva factory in Livingston near Edinburgh in Scotland. In trials, blood results from volunteers who received the jab had high levels of neutralising antibodies against the pandemic virus.

Some experts hope that it is possible that by using the whole virus, rather than just the spike protein, the new vaccine may be more useful against future emerging variants of COVID-19.

The UK's medicines regulator on Thursday approved Valneva as a new vaccine to protect against COVID-19, the first whole-virus inactivated COVID vaccine to gain regulatory approval in the country.

The UK's medicines regulator on Thursday approved Valneva as a new vaccine to protect against COVID-19, the first whole-virus inactivated COVID vaccine to gain regulatory approval in the country. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it is the first in the world to approve the Valneva vaccine, which becomes the sixth COVID-19 vaccine to be granted an MHRA authorisation. With this type of vaccine, the virus is grown in a lab and then made completely inactive so that it cannot infect cells or replicate in the body but can still trigger an immune response to the COVID-19 virus. Also read | Cases of syphilis, other STDs rose in US during Covid pandemic: CDC report Our approval of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Valneva today follows a rigorous review of the safety, quality and effectiveness of this vaccine, and expert advice from the government's independent scientific advisory body, the Commission on Human Medicines, said Dr June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive. As with the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines in use in the UK, Valneva is designed to be given as two doses. The vaccine is approved for use in people aged 18 to 50 years, with the first and second doses to be taken at least 28 days apart. The process used in the Valneva vaccine is widely used already in the production of flu and polio vaccines. The independent Commission on Human Medicines and its COVID-19 Expert Working Group has carefully considered the available evidence are pleased to say that we have advised that the benefit risk balance is positive, said Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, Chair of the independent Commission on Human Medicines. Watch | Gravitas Global Headlines: Covid-19 booster shots for adults, Peru protests & more Each type of vaccine has a different pattern of antibody response over time. For the Valneva vaccine, two doses are required before a robust antibody response is raised. This means that people will need to be made aware that protection will only start after two doses, he said. The storage temperature for the Valneva vaccine is between 2 degrees Celsius and 8 degrees Celsius, which is similar to that of a domestic fridge. The MHRA says this makes it appropriate for use in countries where storage at very low temperatures is not possible. Also read | What is myocarditis? A rare complication of COVID-19 and non-Covid vaccinations The vaccine has been produced at the Valneva factory in Livingston near Edinburgh in Scotland. In trials, blood results from volunteers who received the jab had high levels of neutralising antibodies against the pandemic virus. Some experts hope that it is possible that by using the whole virus, rather than just the spike protein, the new vaccine may be more useful against future emerging variants of COVID-19.

UK medicines regulator approves Valneva COVID-19 vaccine for adult use

Shanghai, which is reeling under a massive outbreak of coronavirus cases, has released over 11,000 recovered COVID-19 patients from hospitals, but infection numbers continued to climb, raising questions about China's much-touted dynamic zero-case policy.

Wu Qianyu, a senior official with the east Chinese city's public health commission, told a media briefing on Sunday that the patients would be put under home quarantine and no further controls should be imposed on them.

"Relevant authorities in the areas they live in have to be alerted that they are allowed to go home. At the same time, the officials are required to monitor their health (during the quarantine period)," the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.

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Over 11,000 recovered patients have been released, it said.

But much to the disquiet of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) headed by President Xi Jinping, single-day new infections in Shanghai hit 24,944 on Sunday, setting a new record for the ninth consecutive day.

However, positive cases dropped slightly to 1,006 from 1,015 on Saturday.

Shanghai, China's commercial and financial capital, has seen more than 179,000 cases since the current outbreak, driven by the Omicron variant, began on March 1, the Post report said.

About 5,400 patients were reported to have mild symptoms, while others were asymptomatic.

As the cases continue to rise, Shanghai on Saturday inaugurated 50,000 bed makeshift hospital, its largest till date, amid heightened efforts in battling Omicron, as new daily infections continued to climb, the state-run Global Times reported.

In total, Shanghai has built more than 100 makeshift hospitals with over 160,000 beds, the report said.

Neighbouring cities are also on alert to stop the disease from spreading further in Yangtze Delta, one of the country's most important economic areas.

Watch |&nbsp;Lockdown in Shanghai to be lifted, strict measures irk residents

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/lockdown-in-shanghai-to-be-lifted-strict-measures-irk-residents-469842/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Nearby cities such as Hangzhou and Yangzhou have reserved thousands of quarantine sites for accommodating infected patients and their close contacts from Shanghai to support the city's antivirus measures, the Post report said.

Wu Fan, a leading expert with Shanghai's COVID-19 medical team, said China should stick to dynamic zero-covid&nbsp;policy rather than "lie flat", adding that antivirus measures should be properly followed to tame the virus with the lowest costs.

Wu, who is also the deputy dean of the Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, said during an interview that nobody knows how the virus will mutate in the future. She said it is possible that the virus may become less lethal yet more contagious and pathogenic, another daily The Paper reported.

The sudden rise of cases has led to the much-criticised lockdown of the city of 26 million people amid public criticism of the separation of children from parents in hospitals and testing centres as well distribution of food supplies to the people who were confined for days to the apartment blocks.

"The tidal wave has yet to peak, and worries are that the citywide lockdown will last for another few weeks, which may cripple the local economy," said Wang Feng, chairman of Shanghai-based financial service group Ye Lang Capital.

The business community is keeping a close eye on how the government will lift the lockdown, Wang told the Post.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/shanghai-vows-to-improve-food-deliveries-as-discontent-grows-over-covid-curbs-469021">Shanghai vows to improve food deliveries as discontent grows over Covid curbs</a>

Thousands of businesses in Shanghai, from small restaurants to big-name multinational firms, have been forced to halt production.

Shanghai set an economic growth target of 5.5 per cent for 2022, but analysts believe it will miss that goal because of the Covid controls, the Post report said.

At present, the Yangshan deep water port can use just more than half of its handling capacity while flights to and from the city's two airports are mostly grounded.

On Sunday, the National Health Commission (NHC) reported that 27,745 close contacts of people who tested positive in different cities have been released.

Altogether 137,166 patients have been discharged from hospitals across the mainland after recovery by the end of Saturday, the NHC said.

The recurring spikes of coronavirus cases in number of cities in the last few months including Xian, Shenzhen, Jilin province, Beijing, Hong Kong and now Shanghai leading to mass lockdowns raised question marks about the rigid dynamic zero-COVID policy, which China claims largely kept the country safe from the coronavirus pandemic which first emerged in Wuhan in December, 2019.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/shanghai-moves-a-number-of-covid-19-patients-to-neighbouring-province-of-zhejiang-469095">Shanghai moves a number of COVID-19 patients to neighbouring province of Zhejiang</a>

On Friday, President Xi defended China's stringently implemented zero- case policy notwithstanding the spiralling cases in Shanghai and previous outbreaks in different cities.

"Against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic that rages across the world, we have put first the health of all participants, adhered to the policy of preventing the coronavirus from re-entering the country to cause a new epidemic, and strictly implemented the prevention and control measures," Xi said, addressing a gathering to honour those who have made outstanding contributions to the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games.&nbsp;

Shanghai, which is reeling under a massive outbreak of coronavirus cases, has released over 11,000 recovered COVID-19 patients from hospitals, but infection numbers continued to climb, raising questions about China's much-touted dynamic zero-case policy.

Shanghai, which is reeling under a massive outbreak of coronavirus cases, has released over 11,000 recovered COVID-19 patients from hospitals, but infection numbers continued to climb, raising questions about China's much-touted dynamic zero-case policy. Wu Qianyu, a senior official with the east Chinese city's public health commission, told a media briefing on Sunday that the patients would be put under home quarantine and no further controls should be imposed on them. "Relevant authorities in the areas they live in have to be alerted that they are allowed to go home. At the same time, the officials are required to monitor their health (during the quarantine period)," the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported. Also read | China slams US virus 'accusations' as Shanghai lockdown drags on Over 11,000 recovered patients have been released, it said. But much to the disquiet of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) headed by President Xi Jinping, single-day new infections in Shanghai hit 24,944 on Sunday, setting a new record for the ninth consecutive day. However, positive cases dropped slightly to 1,006 from 1,015 on Saturday. Shanghai, China's commercial and financial capital, has seen more than 179,000 cases since the current outbreak, driven by the Omicron variant, began on March 1, the Post report said. About 5,400 patients were reported to have mild symptoms, while others were asymptomatic. As the cases continue to rise, Shanghai on Saturday inaugurated 50,000 bed makeshift hospital, its largest till date, amid heightened efforts in battling Omicron, as new daily infections continued to climb, the state-run Global Times reported. In total, Shanghai has built more than 100 makeshift hospitals with over 160,000 beds, the report said. Neighbouring cities are also on alert to stop the disease from spreading further in Yangtze Delta, one of the country's most important economic areas. Watch | Lockdown in Shanghai to be lifted, strict measures irk residents Nearby cities such as Hangzhou and Yangzhou have reserved thousands of quarantine sites for accommodating infected patients and their close contacts from Shanghai to support the city's antivirus measures, the Post report said. Wu Fan, a leading expert with Shanghai's COVID-19 medical team, said China should stick to dynamic zero-covid policy rather than "lie flat", adding that antivirus measures should be properly followed to tame the virus with the lowest costs. Wu, who is also the deputy dean of the Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, said during an interview that nobody knows how the virus will mutate in the future. She said it is possible that the virus may become less lethal yet more contagious and pathogenic, another daily The Paper reported. The sudden rise of cases has led to the much-criticised lockdown of the city of 26 million people amid public criticism of the separation of children from parents in hospitals and testing centres as well distribution of food supplies to the people who were confined for days to the apartment blocks. "The tidal wave has yet to peak, and worries are that the citywide lockdown will last for another few weeks, which may cripple the local economy," said Wang Feng, chairman of Shanghai-based financial service group Ye Lang Capital. The business community is keeping a close eye on how the government will lift the lockdown, Wang told the Post. Also read | Shanghai vows to improve food deliveries as discontent grows over Covid curbs Thousands of businesses in Shanghai, from small restaurants to big-name multinational firms, have been forced to halt production. Shanghai set an economic growth target of 5.5 per cent for 2022, but analysts believe it will miss that goal because of the Covid controls, the Post report said. At present, the Yangshan deep water port can use just more than half of its handling capacity while flights to and from the city's two airports are mostly grounded. On Sunday, the National Health Commission (NHC) reported that 27,745 close contacts of people who tested positive in different cities have been released. Altogether 137,166 patients have been discharged from hospitals across the mainland after recovery by the end of Saturday, the NHC said. The recurring spikes of coronavirus cases in number of cities in the last few months including Xian, Shenzhen, Jilin province, Beijing, Hong Kong and now Shanghai leading to mass lockdowns raised question marks about the rigid dynamic zero-COVID policy, which China claims largely kept the country safe from the coronavirus pandemic which first emerged in Wuhan in December, 2019. Also read | Shanghai moves a number of COVID-19 patients to neighbouring province of Zhejiang On Friday, President Xi defended China's stringently implemented zero- case policy notwithstanding the spiralling cases in Shanghai and previous outbreaks in different cities. "Against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic that rages across the world, we have put first the health of all participants, adhered to the policy of preventing the coronavirus from re-entering the country to cause a new epidemic, and strictly implemented the prevention and control measures," Xi said, addressing a gathering to honour those who have made outstanding contributions to the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games.

Shanghai releases thousands of recovered Covid patients, but new cases continue to rise

China's most populous and wealthiest city, Shanghai has started easing its lockdown&nbsp;on Monday after&nbsp;reporting more than 25,000 covid cases a day earlier.

The Communist Party is pressurising authorities to make the city work again after more than two weeks. Earlier as&nbsp;the lockdown stretched on, it was difficult for people to get adequate food and medicines, Reuters reported.

On Sunday, Shanghai reported 25,173 new asymptomatic infections, up from 23,973 the day before, though symptomatic cases fell from 1,006 to 914.<o:p></o:p>

The city official Gu Honghui, that the city is now categorising the residential units into three safety categories in order to allow the residents in neighbourhood with no positive cases for a two- week period to engage in “suitable activity.”

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/covid-19-china-closes-guangzhou-to-most-arrivals-as-outbreak-spreads-470136">COVID-19: China closes Guangzhou to most arrivals as outbreak spreads</a>

However, it’s still unclear that how many of the city’s 25 million residents will be released from lockdown right away, the moves offer some relief for those who have been cooped up for more than three weeks in fight against the coronavirus since its outbreak in late 2019 in central Wuhan.

Gu Honghui said, Shanghai was divided into 7,624 sealed regions, 2,460 being subjected to ‘control’ after a week of no new infections and 7,565 ‘prevention areas’ to be opened up after two weeks with any coronavirus cases. The ones in prevention areas who travel around their neighbourhood must maintain social distance and may by sealed again after new cases emerge.&nbsp;

Watch |&nbsp;China: Shanghai's covid-19 infections rise by 25,000, authorities shaping an exit plan from lockdown

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/china-shanghais-covid-19-infections-rise-by-25000-authorities-shaping-an-exit-plan-from-lockdown-470183/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The industrial neighbourhood of Jinshan, on the southwestern outskirts of Shanghai was the first one to publish its list, which included name of residentials locations classified into high and medium risks section.

Many social media users criticised the Shanghai government saying relaxing action as a major risk at a time when the city is dealing with a record number of cases every day, while some claimed that the city does not have any choice. While the complaints about controlling still continues as people in Xuhui district told Reuters, neighbouring committees had put locks in their bicycle to confine them to their homes.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/shanghai-releases-thousands-of-recovered-covid-patients-but-new-cases-continue-to-rise-470006">Shanghai releases thousands of recovered Covid patients, but new cases continue to rise</a>

The highly contagious but less lethal Omicron variant is straining China’s zero tolerance attitude towards COVID-19, which mandates one to be in quarantine even if they have no symptoms.&nbsp;

However, other countries are trying to live with the virus, China’s policy has halted all international travels and is taking a growing economic toll as towns apply limitations and eastern Ningbo and Guangzhou are the recent ones to do so.

(With inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

China's most populous and wealthiest city, Shanghai has started easing its lockdown on Monday after reporting more than 25,000 covid cases a day earlier. The Communist Party is pressurising authorities to make the city work again after more than two weeks.

China's most populous and wealthiest city, Shanghai has started easing its lockdown on Monday after reporting more than 25,000 covid cases a day earlier. The Communist Party is pressurising authorities to make the city work again after more than two weeks. Earlier as the lockdown stretched on, it was difficult for people to get adequate food and medicines, Reuters reported. On Sunday, Shanghai reported 25,173 new asymptomatic infections, up from 23,973 the day before, though symptomatic cases fell from 1,006 to 914. The city official Gu Honghui, that the city is now categorising the residential units into three safety categories in order to allow the residents in neighbourhood with no positive cases for a two- week period to engage in “suitable activity.” Also read | COVID-19: China closes Guangzhou to most arrivals as outbreak spreads However, it’s still unclear that how many of the city’s 25 million residents will be released from lockdown right away, the moves offer some relief for those who have been cooped up for more than three weeks in fight against the coronavirus since its outbreak in late 2019 in central Wuhan. Gu Honghui said, Shanghai was divided into 7,624 sealed regions, 2,460 being subjected to ‘control’ after a week of no new infections and 7,565 ‘prevention areas’ to be opened up after two weeks with any coronavirus cases. The ones in prevention areas who travel around their neighbourhood must maintain social distance and may by sealed again after new cases emerge. Watch | China: Shanghai's covid-19 infections rise by 25,000, authorities shaping an exit plan from lockdown The industrial neighbourhood of Jinshan, on the southwestern outskirts of Shanghai was the first one to publish its list, which included name of residentials locations classified into high and medium risks section. Many social media users criticised the Shanghai government saying relaxing action as a major risk at a time when the city is dealing with a record number of cases every day, while some claimed that the city does not have any choice. While the complaints about controlling still continues as people in Xuhui district told Reuters, neighbouring committees had put locks in their bicycle to confine them to their homes. Also read | Shanghai releases thousands of recovered Covid patients, but new cases continue to rise The highly contagious but less lethal Omicron variant is straining China’s zero tolerance attitude towards COVID-19, which mandates one to be in quarantine even if they have no symptoms. However, other countries are trying to live with the virus, China’s policy has halted all international travels and is taking a growing economic toll as towns apply limitations and eastern Ningbo and Guangzhou are the recent ones to do so. (With inputs from agencies)

COVID-19: Shanghai to ease lockdown in some areas despite rise in cases

The manufacturing hub of Guangzhou closed itself to most arrivals Monday as China battles a major COVID-19 surge in its big eastern cities.

Shanghai has taken the brunt of the surge, with another 26,087 cases announced on Monday, only 914 of which showed symptoms.

The city of 26 million is under a tight lockdown, with many residents confined to their homes for up to three weeks.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/shanghai-releases-thousands-of-recovered-covid-patients-but-new-cases-continue-to-rise-470006">Shanghai releases thousands of recovered Covid patients, but new cases continue to rise</a>

No such lockdown has yet been announced for Guangzhou, a metropolis of 18 million northwest of Hong Kong that is home to many top companies and China's busiest airport. Just 27 cases were reported in the city on Monday.

However, primary and middle schools have been switched to online after an initial 23 local infections were detected last week. An exhibition center was being converted into a makeshift hospital after authorities said earlier they would begin citywide mass testing.

Only citizens with a "definite need" to leave Guangzhou can do so, and only if they test negative for the virus within 48 hours of departure, city spokesperson Chen Bin said in a social media announcement.

China has stuck to its zero-covid strategy of handling outbreaks with strict isolation and mass testing, despite complaints in Shanghai over shortages of food and medical services.

China's government and the entirely state-controlled media are growing increasingly defensive about complaints over the COVID-19 prevention measures, censoring content online and rebuking foreign critics.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Sunday said China had lodged solemn representations with the US&nbsp;after the State Department advised Americans to reconsider travelling to China due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws and COVID-19 restrictions, particularly in Hong Kong, Jilin province and Shanghai. US&nbsp;Officials cited a risk of parents and children being separated.

Watch |&nbsp;Gravitas | Shanghai Covid Outbreak: China deploys drones to silence protesters

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-shanghai-covid-outbreak-china-deploys-drones-to-silence-protesters-469487/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

China was strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to the US&nbsp;Side's groundless accusation against China's epidemic response, Zhao said.

Despite that, and indications the hardline policy is being dictated by the head of the ruling Communist Party Xi Jinping, China has rejected any notion that its response is political in nature. Xi has demanded social stability above all else in the runup to a key party congress later this year at which he is expected to bestow on himself an unprecedented third term as party leader.

The English-language China Daily acknowledged that Shanghai's measures are far from perfect," and pointed to the firing last week of three local officials for failing in their duties. But it said that shouldn't become an excuse to politicise the event and blame China.

Despite the large number of cases, no new deaths have been reported in the Shanghai wave, possibly because the omicron variant is less deadly than older variants.

City authorities also say they have secured daily supplies for residents, following complaints about deliveries of food and other necessities.

Residents have resorted to group buying of groceries because they are not allowed to leave their buildings, with only partial success in obtaining needed items.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-slams-us-virus-accusations-as-shanghai-lockdown-drags-on-469971">China slams US virus 'accusations' as Shanghai lockdown drags on</a>

The capital Beijing has seen relatively few restrictions, although the Erjiefang neighborhood including the famed 798 art district has been cordoned off and classified as high risk after eight infections were reported there over the past two weeks.

China is facing one of its worst local outbreaks since the pandemic began. China is still mostly closed to international travel, even as most of the world has sought ways to live with the virus.

The manufacturing hub of Guangzhou closed itself to most arrivals Monday as China battles a major COVID-19 surge in its big eastern cities. Shanghai has taken the brunt of the surge, with another 26,087 cases announced on Monday, only 914 of which showed symptoms.

The manufacturing hub of Guangzhou closed itself to most arrivals Monday as China battles a major COVID-19 surge in its big eastern cities. Shanghai has taken the brunt of the surge, with another 26,087 cases announced on Monday, only 914 of which showed symptoms. The city of 26 million is under a tight lockdown, with many residents confined to their homes for up to three weeks. Also read | Shanghai releases thousands of recovered Covid patients, but new cases continue to rise No such lockdown has yet been announced for Guangzhou, a metropolis of 18 million northwest of Hong Kong that is home to many top companies and China's busiest airport. Just 27 cases were reported in the city on Monday. However, primary and middle schools have been switched to online after an initial 23 local infections were detected last week. An exhibition center was being converted into a makeshift hospital after authorities said earlier they would begin citywide mass testing. Only citizens with a "definite need" to leave Guangzhou can do so, and only if they test negative for the virus within 48 hours of departure, city spokesperson Chen Bin said in a social media announcement. China has stuck to its zero-covid strategy of handling outbreaks with strict isolation and mass testing, despite complaints in Shanghai over shortages of food and medical services. China's government and the entirely state-controlled media are growing increasingly defensive about complaints over the COVID-19 prevention measures, censoring content online and rebuking foreign critics. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Sunday said China had lodged solemn representations with the US after the State Department advised Americans to reconsider travelling to China due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws and COVID-19 restrictions, particularly in Hong Kong, Jilin province and Shanghai. US Officials cited a risk of parents and children being separated. Watch | Gravitas | Shanghai Covid Outbreak: China deploys drones to silence protesters China was strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to the US Side's groundless accusation against China's epidemic response, Zhao said. Despite that, and indications the hardline policy is being dictated by the head of the ruling Communist Party Xi Jinping, China has rejected any notion that its response is political in nature. Xi has demanded social stability above all else in the runup to a key party congress later this year at which he is expected to bestow on himself an unprecedented third term as party leader. The English-language China Daily acknowledged that Shanghai's measures are far from perfect," and pointed to the firing last week of three local officials for failing in their duties. But it said that shouldn't become an excuse to politicise the event and blame China. Despite the large number of cases, no new deaths have been reported in the Shanghai wave, possibly because the omicron variant is less deadly than older variants. City authorities also say they have secured daily supplies for residents, following complaints about deliveries of food and other necessities. Residents have resorted to group buying of groceries because they are not allowed to leave their buildings, with only partial success in obtaining needed items. Also read | China slams US virus 'accusations' as Shanghai lockdown drags on The capital Beijing has seen relatively few restrictions, although the Erjiefang neighborhood including the famed 798 art district has been cordoned off and classified as high risk after eight infections were reported there over the past two weeks. China is facing one of its worst local outbreaks since the pandemic began. China is still mostly closed to international travel, even as most of the world has sought ways to live with the virus.

COVID-19: China closes Guangzhou to most arrivals as outbreak spreads

Guinea's&nbsp;ousted&nbsp;ex-president&nbsp;Alpha Conde returned to the country Friday&nbsp;after&nbsp;a trip to the United Arab Emirates for medical&nbsp;treatment, the ruling junta said.

Conde "returned to Conakry this afternoon&nbsp;after&nbsp;medical&nbsp;treatment&nbsp;in the United Arab Emirates," according to a junta statement read on television.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-removes-mali-ethiopia-guinea-from-duty-free-trade-programme-over-violations-441704">US removes Mali, Ethiopia, Guinea from duty-free trade programme over violations</a>

Conde became&nbsp;Guinea's first democratically elected president in 2010.

But the 84-year-old was deposed by army officers last year and replaced by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya.

The coup followed fierce protests over Conde's successful bid for a third term in office -- a plan critics said breached the constitution.

He was then allowed to leave&nbsp;Guinea&nbsp;for the UAE in January. His release was one of the demands made by the West Africa bloc ECOWAS&nbsp;after&nbsp;the coup.

Watch |&nbsp;Guinea Bissau coup attempt: President Embalo survives coup bid; many injured, several killed

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/guinea-bissau-coup-attempt-president-embalo-survives-coup-bid-many-injured-several-killed-449743/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The junta was reportedly reluctant to let him go&nbsp;abroad&nbsp;for fear of potential plots against their newly established rule.

"The former president will remain in&nbsp;Guinea&nbsp;as long as his health permits. His integrity and dignity will always be respected in accordance with his rank and status," the National Rallying Committee for Development (CNRD), the junta's governing body, said in Friday's statement.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/guineas-new-junta-leaders-seek-to-tighten-their-grip-on-power-411237">Guinea's new junta leaders seek to tighten their grip on power</a>

But Conde's Rally of the People of&nbsp;Guinea&nbsp;(RPG) party condemned the junta for "arbitrary actions" against him and his former administration.

On Wednesday, former Guinean prime minister Kassory Fofana and three ex-ministers who served under Conde were detained on embezzlement charges, in the latest probe targeting prominent figures since last year's military coup.

&nbsp;

Guinea's ousted ex-president Alpha Conde returned to the country Friday after a trip to the United Arab Emirates for medical treatment, the ruling junta said. Conde "returned to Conakry this afternoon after medical treatment in the United Arab Emirates," according to a junta statement read on television.

Guinea's ousted ex-president Alpha Conde returned to the country Friday after a trip to the United Arab Emirates for medical treatment, the ruling junta said. Conde "returned to Conakry this afternoon after medical treatment in the United Arab Emirates," according to a junta statement read on television. Also read | US removes Mali, Ethiopia, Guinea from duty-free trade programme over violations Conde became Guinea's first democratically elected president in 2010. But the 84-year-old was deposed by army officers last year and replaced by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya. The coup followed fierce protests over Conde's successful bid for a third term in office -- a plan critics said breached the constitution. He was then allowed to leave Guinea for the UAE in January. His release was one of the demands made by the West Africa bloc ECOWAS after the coup. Watch | Guinea Bissau coup attempt: President Embalo survives coup bid; many injured, several killed The junta was reportedly reluctant to let him go abroad for fear of potential plots against their newly established rule. "The former president will remain in Guinea as long as his health permits. His integrity and dignity will always be respected in accordance with his rank and status," the National Rallying Committee for Development (CNRD), the junta's governing body, said in Friday's statement. Also read | Guinea's new junta leaders seek to tighten their grip on power But Conde's Rally of the People of Guinea (RPG) party condemned the junta for "arbitrary actions" against him and his former administration. On Wednesday, former Guinean prime minister Kassory Fofana and three ex-ministers who served under Conde were detained on embezzlement charges, in the latest probe targeting prominent figures since last year's military coup.

Guinea's ousted former President Alpha Conde returns after treatment abroad

A study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University has found a new artificial intelligence (AI) approach to predict whether or not a patient could die of cardiac arrest.

This system is based on image data of patients' diseased hearts and their histories and the potential to change the clinical decision-making and improve the survival from unexpected and lethal cardiac arrhythmias, which is considered to be the deadliest and most confusing illness in medicine.

This study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44161-022-00041-9">‘Nature Cardiovascular Research.’</a>

According to a senior author, Ms Natalia Trayanova, the Murray B.Sachs, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Medicine, arrhythmia-related sudden cardiac deaths worldwide&nbsp;accounts for up to 20 per cent death worldwide and people have little awareness about who’s at risk or what’s the prime reason for it to occur.

She said, "There are patients who may be at low risk of sudden cardiac death getting defibrillators that they might not need and then there are high-risk patients that aren't getting the treatment they need and could die in the prime of their life. What our algorithm can do is determine who is at risk for cardiac death and when it will occur, allowing doctors to decide exactly what needs to be done."&nbsp;

These algorithmic predictions rely on cardiac scarring induced by the heart disease which usually leads in deadly arrhythmia.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/reversal-of-time-scientists-de-age-human-skin-cells-by-30-years-in-trial-469278">Reversal of time? Scientists de-age human skin cells by 30 years in trial</a>

The deep learning technology is known as Survival Study of Cardiac Arrhythmias Risk (SSCAR) where they have trained the algorithm to identify the patterns and associations not evident to the human eye. For this they've&nbsp;used&nbsp;cardiac pictures that reveals about the scar distribution from hundreds of actual heart patients with scarring at the John Hopkins Hospital.

The algorithm can determine who is at risk of heart death and when it will happen, allowing doctors to decide exactly what should be done.

This team is the first one to give a personalised assessment to each heart patient and these factors have accurately predicted the chances of sudden cardiac arrest and even when it will occur in the next ten years. The current clinical image analysis only identifies&nbsp;basic features like volume and mass underutilizing what the new study shows is important information.

The research team has also trained a second neural network to learn from 10 years of clinical patients’ data inclusive of their personal details like their age, weight, race and the prescription drug use, and here the predictions were more&nbsp;accurate than the doctors were even validated properly suggesting that it can&nbsp;be adopted anywhere.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/covid-infection-raises-risk-of-developing-fatal-blood-clot-in-lung-by-33-fold-says-study-469136">Covid infection raises risk of developing fatal blood clot in lung by 33-fold, says study&nbsp;</a>

A former PhD student at John&nbsp;Hopkins Hospital, Dan Popescu said, “The images carry critical information that doctors haven’t been able to access. This scarring can be distributed in different ways and it says something about a patient's chance for survival. There is information hidden in it,” he further added.

(With inputs from agencies)

A study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University has found a new artificial intelligence (AI) approach to predict whether or not a patient could die of cardiac arrest.

A study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University has found a new artificial intelligence (AI) approach to predict whether or not a patient could die of cardiac arrest. This system is based on image data of patients' diseased hearts and their histories and the potential to change the clinical decision-making and improve the survival from unexpected and lethal cardiac arrhythmias, which is considered to be the deadliest and most confusing illness in medicine. This study was published in the journal ‘Nature Cardiovascular Research.’ According to a senior author, Ms Natalia Trayanova, the Murray B.Sachs, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Medicine, arrhythmia-related sudden cardiac deaths worldwide accounts for up to 20 per cent death worldwide and people have little awareness about who’s at risk or what’s the prime reason for it to occur. She said, "There are patients who may be at low risk of sudden cardiac death getting defibrillators that they might not need and then there are high-risk patients that aren't getting the treatment they need and could die in the prime of their life. What our algorithm can do is determine who is at risk for cardiac death and when it will occur, allowing doctors to decide exactly what needs to be done." These algorithmic predictions rely on cardiac scarring induced by the heart disease which usually leads in deadly arrhythmia. Also read | Reversal of time? Scientists de-age human skin cells by 30 years in trial The deep learning technology is known as Survival Study of Cardiac Arrhythmias Risk (SSCAR) where they have trained the algorithm to identify the patterns and associations not evident to the human eye. For this they've used cardiac pictures that reveals about the scar distribution from hundreds of actual heart patients with scarring at the John Hopkins Hospital. The algorithm can determine who is at risk of heart death and when it will happen, allowing doctors to decide exactly what should be done. This team is the first one to give a personalised assessment to each heart patient and these factors have accurately predicted the chances of sudden cardiac arrest and even when it will occur in the next ten years. The current clinical image analysis only identifies basic features like volume and mass underutilizing what the new study shows is important information. The research team has also trained a second neural network to learn from 10 years of clinical patients’ data inclusive of their personal details like their age, weight, race and the prescription drug use, and here the predictions were more accurate than the doctors were even validated properly suggesting that it can be adopted anywhere. Also read | Covid infection raises risk of developing fatal blood clot in lung by 33-fold, says study A former PhD student at John Hopkins Hospital, Dan Popescu said, “The images carry critical information that doctors haven’t been able to access. This scarring can be distributed in different ways and it says something about a patient's chance for survival. There is information hidden in it,” he further added. (With inputs from agencies)

An AI approach that can accurately predict when will one have a cardiac arrest. Find out more!

India logged 1,109 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,30,33,067, while the active cases dipped to 11,492, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

The death toll climbed to 5,21,573 with 43 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate remained at 98.76 per cent, the ministry said.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/no-covid-xe-variant-in-india-yet-government-clarifies-469066">No Covid XE variant in India yet, government clarifies</a>

A reduction of 147 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded as 0.24 per cent and the weekly positivity rate as 0.23 per cent, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,25,00,002, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.21 per cent.

The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 185.38 crore.

Watch |&nbsp;Gravitas: India abstains despite Russia's warning

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-india-abstains-despite-russias-warning-469230/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. The country crossed the grim milestone of two crores on May 4 and three crores on June 23 last year.

The 43 new fatalities include 36 from Kerala.

A total of 5,21,573 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,47,806 from Maharashtra, 68,264 from Kerala, and 40,056 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,155 from Delhi, 23,498 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,200 from West Bengal.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/till-further-notice-tata-group-owned-air-india-suspends-non-stop-flights-to-russia-469222">Till further notice, Tata Group-owned Air India suspends non-stop flights to Russia &nbsp;</a>

The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that the state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

India logged 1,109 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,30,33,067, while the active cases dipped to 11,492, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

India logged 1,109 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,30,33,067, while the active cases dipped to 11,492, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday. The death toll climbed to 5,21,573 with 43 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate remained at 98.76 per cent, the ministry said. Also read | No Covid XE variant in India yet, government clarifies A reduction of 147 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded as 0.24 per cent and the weekly positivity rate as 0.23 per cent, according to the ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,25,00,002, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.21 per cent. The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 185.38 crore. Watch | Gravitas: India abstains despite Russia's warning India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. The country crossed the grim milestone of two crores on May 4 and three crores on June 23 last year. The 43 new fatalities include 36 from Kerala. A total of 5,21,573 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,47,806 from Maharashtra, 68,264 from Kerala, and 40,056 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,155 from Delhi, 23,498 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,200 from West Bengal. Also read | Till further notice, Tata Group-owned Air India suspends non-stop flights to Russia The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. "Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that the state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

COVID-19: India records 1,109 new cases

Videos of&nbsp;a pet dog killed in the name of Covid controls, expletive-strewn songs aimed at Communist authorities and scuffles with hazmat-suited officials –- seething, locked-down&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;residents are pouring scorn on China's hardline virus measures via social media.

The world's most populous country is glued to an aggressive "zero-Covid" strategy, with Beijing extracting political value from China's relatively low death rates since the pandemic began and gloating over its handling of the virus compared to Western rivals.

But well over two years since the virus first emerged,&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;now simmers under an Omicron-fulled outbreak that has 25 million city residents locked down.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/shanghai-moves-a-number-of-covid-19-patients-to-neighbouring-province-of-zhejiang-469095">Shanghai moves a number of COVID-19 patients to neighbouring province of Zhejiang</a>

Record caseloads have topped 20,000 a day and the lockdown -- initially billed as a phased, localised measure -- appears set to drag on, even as much of the world learns to live with Covid.

Many residents have tired of the government's grandstanding and social media has opened a window into their fury at food shortages, strict quarantines and overzealous officialdom.

In one particularly egregious video clip verified by AFP, a person in a hazmat suit is seen bludgeoning a corgi dog to death in the street.

A state-run&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;media outlet said Thursday the local neighbourhood committee had admitted culling the creature because they were "afraid of being infected", but conceded the act was "thoughtless".

The video has zipped across social media despite China's strict internet censorship.

Watch |&nbsp;China reports highest ever-daily cases, 'Shanghai insufficiently prepared,' says top official

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/china-reports-highest-ever-daily-cases-shanghai-insufficiently-prepared-says-top-official-468761/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"That post about the corgi just keeps getting reshared on my WeChat moments," a&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;resident told AFP, requesting anonymity.

"I think a lot of people are going to be trying to be taking action through petitions and talking to their community... so hopefully the anger and fear turns into something more positive."

Shortages

In another dystopia-tinged viral video, a drone whirrs through a housing compound at night broadcasting a message urging residents to "control your soul's desire for freedom".&nbsp;

The video is unverified, but was billed as a local government reaction to a&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;neighbourhood, which serenaded officials with swear-word laden chants in a widely-shared clip.

Other viral videos -- whose locations have been verified by AFP -- appear to show residents scuffling with hazmat-clad officials and bursting through a barricade onto a street, yelling "we want to eat cheap vegetables!"

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/watch-chinese-people-claim-quarantine-facilities-in-shanghai-have-insufficient-staff-shortage-of-food-468545">Watch | Shanghai residents claim quarantine facilities have insufficient staff, shortage of food</a>

Sudden stay-at-home orders have left residents short of fresh food, while delivery apps are overwhelmed each morning as demand surges and many drivers are reportedly off work fearing a positive Covid test could send them into state quarantine.

Taken together, the videos form a rare montage of public anger and a riposte to the government's narrative that it is in complete control of the pandemic.

Covid conundrum&nbsp;

China has refused to abandon its "dynamic zero" Covid strategy of border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns, even as new variants test the limits of the policy.

Any shift is unlikely while Beijing touts its pandemic controls as vindication of its right to rule, said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute in London.&nbsp;

"Zero-Covid is not just a Party policy, but ... a Xi policy", he said, referring to China's President Xi Jinping.

"As such it cannot be wrong and cannot be abandoned -- at least not until Xi sees its continuation will harm himself or his hold on power."

Official figures show the vast majority of the more than 100,000 cases in&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;in the past month show no symptoms of Covid-19.

Yet tens of thousands of beds have been set up in centres to quarantine the infected.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/covid-might-have-longer-impacts-on-your-brain-study-468522">Covid might have longer impacts on your brain: Study</a>

Officials only softened a policy of splitting Covid-positive children and babies from their virus-free parents after videos of wards full of young kids stoked public outrage.

For experts, what is happening in&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;-- and the social media backlash -- is exposing the conundrum at the heart of the central policy.

"In terms of ... balancing the need to protect health against the need to protect socioeconomic stability, I'm not sure that this is the right approach," said Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Videos of a pet dog killed in the name of Covid controls, expletive-strewn songs aimed at Communist authorities and scuffles with hazmat-suited officials –- seething, locked-down Shanghai residents are pouring scorn on China's hardline virus measures via social media.

Videos of a pet dog killed in the name of Covid controls, expletive-strewn songs aimed at Communist authorities and scuffles with hazmat-suited officials –- seething, locked-down Shanghai residents are pouring scorn on China's hardline virus measures via social media. The world's most populous country is glued to an aggressive "zero-Covid" strategy, with Beijing extracting political value from China's relatively low death rates since the pandemic began and gloating over its handling of the virus compared to Western rivals. But well over two years since the virus first emerged, Shanghai now simmers under an Omicron-fulled outbreak that has 25 million city residents locked down. Also read | Shanghai moves a number of COVID-19 patients to neighbouring province of Zhejiang Record caseloads have topped 20,000 a day and the lockdown -- initially billed as a phased, localised measure -- appears set to drag on, even as much of the world learns to live with Covid. Many residents have tired of the government's grandstanding and social media has opened a window into their fury at food shortages, strict quarantines and overzealous officialdom. In one particularly egregious video clip verified by AFP, a person in a hazmat suit is seen bludgeoning a corgi dog to death in the street. A state-run Shanghai media outlet said Thursday the local neighbourhood committee had admitted culling the creature because they were "afraid of being infected", but conceded the act was "thoughtless". The video has zipped across social media despite China's strict internet censorship. Watch | China reports highest ever-daily cases, 'Shanghai insufficiently prepared,' says top official "That post about the corgi just keeps getting reshared on my WeChat moments," a Shanghai resident told AFP, requesting anonymity. "I think a lot of people are going to be trying to be taking action through petitions and talking to their community... so hopefully the anger and fear turns into something more positive." Shortages In another dystopia-tinged viral video, a drone whirrs through a housing compound at night broadcasting a message urging residents to "control your soul's desire for freedom". The video is unverified, but was billed as a local government reaction to a Shanghai neighbourhood, which serenaded officials with swear-word laden chants in a widely-shared clip. Other viral videos -- whose locations have been verified by AFP -- appear to show residents scuffling with hazmat-clad officials and bursting through a barricade onto a street, yelling "we want to eat cheap vegetables!" Also read | Watch | Shanghai residents claim quarantine facilities have insufficient staff, shortage of food Sudden stay-at-home orders have left residents short of fresh food, while delivery apps are overwhelmed each morning as demand surges and many drivers are reportedly off work fearing a positive Covid test could send them into state quarantine. Taken together, the videos form a rare montage of public anger and a riposte to the government's narrative that it is in complete control of the pandemic. Covid conundrum China has refused to abandon its "dynamic zero" Covid strategy of border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns, even as new variants test the limits of the policy. Any shift is unlikely while Beijing touts its pandemic controls as vindication of its right to rule, said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute in London. "Zero-Covid is not just a Party policy, but ... a Xi policy", he said, referring to China's President Xi Jinping. "As such it cannot be wrong and cannot be abandoned -- at least not until Xi sees its continuation will harm himself or his hold on power." Official figures show the vast majority of the more than 100,000 cases in Shanghai in the past month show no symptoms of Covid-19. Yet tens of thousands of beds have been set up in centres to quarantine the infected. Also read | Covid might have longer impacts on your brain: Study Officials only softened a policy of splitting Covid-positive children and babies from their virus-free parents after videos of wards full of young kids stoked public outrage. For experts, what is happening in Shanghai -- and the social media backlash -- is exposing the conundrum at the heart of the central policy. "In terms of ... balancing the need to protect health against the need to protect socioeconomic stability, I'm not sure that this is the right approach," said Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations.

COVID-19: Shanghai social media unpicks China's Covid lockdown story

Reeling from the economic crisis, the healthcare sector of Sri Lanka is also under stress as it is witnessing a major downfall due to a sudden rise in the prices of essential medicines that have been hiked upto 29 per cent after being prescribed by the government.

The doctors and the healthcare staff from the country`s premier healthcare institute on Wednesday came out on the street to protect against the government`s policies.

Speaking to ANI, Dr Chamal Sanjeewa, President, Medical and Civil Rights professional Association of Doctors, said, "There is a shortage of drugs and essential drugs in the hospitals. There is no fuel for the doctors to travel to the workplace, they have to stand in long queues at fuel refilling stations."

Also read |<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/india-our-big-brother-grateful-to-pm-modi-sri-lankas-sanath-jayasuriya-amid-economic-crisis-469085">&nbsp;India our big brother, grateful to PM Modi: Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya amid economic crisis</a>

He added that there is a shortage of most of the anaesthetic drugs used in the surgery. "Hypertension and life-saving medicines are also short. The pharmacists don`t have drugs. And antibiotics drugs are missing. In the coming days, we will face a big problem, we are not protesting for salary, we are protesting for life," he said.

Another doctor Hiran Karasingha told ANI that unfortunately, the situation is getting worse in the country. "The poor people are coming to the government hospitals, however, no medical supplies are available," he said.

Supporting the claims of the doctors, Shalintha Rodrigoa, a pharmacist working in the biggest pharma store in Colombo known as "Union Pharmacy" told the ANI team that many of the drugs come from India, however, there is a shortage of these drugs imported from India as well.

He further said that they have increased the prices of the medicines by 29 per cent as said by the government, however, many life-saving drugs including cancer medicines are also missing from the stores.

Rodrigoa added that there is a dearth of even common drugs like paracetamol and panadol in the medical stores.

Watch |&nbsp;Sri Lankan Lawmaker issues grim warning says food, gas &amp; electricity shortages will get worse

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/sri-lankan-lawmaker-issues-grim-warning-says-food-gas-electricity-shortages-will-get-worse-469006/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Notably, Sri Lanka is facing an unprecedented medicines supply shortage while people have hit the street against the government to protest the ongoing economic crisis.

The island nation is presently facing a foreign exchange shortage which has led to a food, fuel, power and gas shortage and has sought the assistance of friendly countries for economic assistance. Sri Lanka`s currency has been also devalued by almost SLR 90 against the US dollar since March 8.

The economy of the island country that has been in a free-fall since the onset of the Covid pandemic is now in the throes of a spiralling crisis, with shortages of medicines and food and long power cuts.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/sri-lanka-appoints-advisory-committee-of-economic-and-fiscal-experts-to-tackle-debt-crisis-469042">Sri Lanka appoints advisory committee of economic and fiscal experts to tackle debt crisis</a>

Further, an emergency health situation has been declared in Sri Lanka from Tuesday because of the severe drug shortage in the country.

This decision was announced after an emergency general committee meeting of the country`s Government Medical Officers` Association (GMOA) to discuss the imposition of the emergency law and the severe drug shortage, the Daily Mirror reported.

Reeling from the economic crisis, the healthcare sector of Sri Lanka is also under stress as it is witnessing a major downfall due to a sudden rise in the prices of essential medicines that have been hiked upto 29 per cent after being prescribed by the government.

Reeling from the economic crisis, the healthcare sector of Sri Lanka is also under stress as it is witnessing a major downfall due to a sudden rise in the prices of essential medicines that have been hiked upto 29 per cent after being prescribed by the government. The doctors and the healthcare staff from the country`s premier healthcare institute on Wednesday came out on the street to protect against the government`s policies. Speaking to ANI, Dr Chamal Sanjeewa, President, Medical and Civil Rights professional Association of Doctors, said, "There is a shortage of drugs and essential drugs in the hospitals. There is no fuel for the doctors to travel to the workplace, they have to stand in long queues at fuel refilling stations." Also read | India our big brother, grateful to PM Modi: Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya amid economic crisis He added that there is a shortage of most of the anaesthetic drugs used in the surgery. "Hypertension and life-saving medicines are also short. The pharmacists don`t have drugs. And antibiotics drugs are missing. In the coming days, we will face a big problem, we are not protesting for salary, we are protesting for life," he said. Another doctor Hiran Karasingha told ANI that unfortunately, the situation is getting worse in the country. "The poor people are coming to the government hospitals, however, no medical supplies are available," he said. Supporting the claims of the doctors, Shalintha Rodrigoa, a pharmacist working in the biggest pharma store in Colombo known as "Union Pharmacy" told the ANI team that many of the drugs come from India, however, there is a shortage of these drugs imported from India as well. He further said that they have increased the prices of the medicines by 29 per cent as said by the government, however, many life-saving drugs including cancer medicines are also missing from the stores. Rodrigoa added that there is a dearth of even common drugs like paracetamol and panadol in the medical stores. Watch | Sri Lankan Lawmaker issues grim warning says food, gas & electricity shortages will get worse Notably, Sri Lanka is facing an unprecedented medicines supply shortage while people have hit the street against the government to protest the ongoing economic crisis. The island nation is presently facing a foreign exchange shortage which has led to a food, fuel, power and gas shortage and has sought the assistance of friendly countries for economic assistance. Sri Lanka`s currency has been also devalued by almost SLR 90 against the US dollar since March 8. The economy of the island country that has been in a free-fall since the onset of the Covid pandemic is now in the throes of a spiralling crisis, with shortages of medicines and food and long power cuts. Also read | Sri Lanka appoints advisory committee of economic and fiscal experts to tackle debt crisis Further, an emergency health situation has been declared in Sri Lanka from Tuesday because of the severe drug shortage in the country. This decision was announced after an emergency general committee meeting of the country`s Government Medical Officers` Association (GMOA) to discuss the imposition of the emergency law and the severe drug shortage, the Daily Mirror reported.

Sri Lanka's healthcare sector witnesses downfall amid shortage of essential medicines

With 1,033 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,30,31,958, while the active cases dipped to 11,639, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

The death toll climbed to 5,21,530 with 43 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate remained at 98.76 per cent, the ministry said.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/covid-19-india-detects-first-case-of-omicron-xe-variant-in-mumbai-468855">COVID-19: India detects first case of Omicron XE variant in Mumbai</a>

A reduction of 232 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded as 0.21 per cent and the weekly positivity rate as 0.22 per cent, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,24,98,789 while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.21 per cent.

The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 185.20 crore.

Watch |&nbsp;Gravitas: Is it time to go mask-less?

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-is-it-time-to-go-mask-less-468728/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year.

The 43 new fatalities include 32 from Kerala.

A total of 5,21,530 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,47,800 from Maharashtra, 68,228 from Kerala, 40,056 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,155 from Delhi, 23,497 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,200 from West Bengal.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/second-booster-shot-protects-against-covid-19-but-effect-remains-short-lived-study-468788">Second booster shot protects against COVID-19 but effect remains short-lived: Study</a>

The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

With 1,033 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,30,31,958, while the active cases dipped to 11,639, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

With 1,033 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,30,31,958, while the active cases dipped to 11,639, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday. The death toll climbed to 5,21,530 with 43 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate remained at 98.76 per cent, the ministry said. Also read | COVID-19: India detects first case of Omicron XE variant in Mumbai A reduction of 232 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded as 0.21 per cent and the weekly positivity rate as 0.22 per cent, according to the ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,24,98,789 while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.21 per cent. The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 185.20 crore. Watch | Gravitas: Is it time to go mask-less? India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year. The 43 new fatalities include 32 from Kerala. A total of 5,21,530 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,47,800 from Maharashtra, 68,228 from Kerala, 40,056 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,155 from Delhi, 23,497 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,200 from West Bengal. Also read | Second booster shot protects against COVID-19 but effect remains short-lived: Study The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. "Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

COVID-19: India logs 1,033 new cases, active cases dipped to 11,639

Shanghai&nbsp;on Thursday said it was trying its best to&nbsp;improve&nbsp;the distribution of&nbsp;food&nbsp;and essential goods to locked-in residents, responding to growing&nbsp;discontent&nbsp;over&nbsp;such difficulties as covid&nbsp;curbs&nbsp;stretched into an 11th day.

China's financial hub has fallen largely silent after the city imposed harsh movement restrictions to stem the spread of&nbsp;Covid, with only healthcare workers, volunteers, delivery personnel or people with special permission allowed on the streets.

Authorities say that has whittled the number of couriers, who must keep the city's 26 million residents supplied, to just 11,000. Among still operating, but&nbsp;overloaded services, include Meituan as well as Alibaba's Freshippo online grocery platform and its Ele.me service.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/covid-might-have-longer-impacts-on-your-brain-study-468522">Covid might have longer impacts on your brain: Study</a>

Lockdowns for the city's residents eastern of the Huangpu river began on March 28, while lockdowns for the rest of the city started on April 1. The exercise originally was intended to last five days at most.

The&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;branch of China's Communist Party called on members to "dare show their swords and fight against all kind of behaviour that interferes with and destroys the&nbsp;overall efforts against the pandemic" in an open letter on Wednesday night.

Shanghai&nbsp;has sufficient reserves of staples such as rice and meat, but issues have cropped up in distribution and last-mile&nbsp;deliveries&nbsp;because of epidemic control measures,&nbsp;Shanghai's vice mayor Chen Tong said at a news conference on Thursday.

He said the city would try to reopen some wholesale markets and&nbsp;food&nbsp;stores and allow more delivery personnel out of locked-down areas. Officials will also crack down on price gouging, he added.

"In response to the various problems reported by the public, we have been holding meetings&nbsp;overnight to try and figure out solutions," he said.

Many residents are beginning to worry about&nbsp;food&nbsp;and drinking water, as well as obtaining products such as infant formula.

Watch |&nbsp;China reports highest ever-daily cases, 'Shanghai insufficiently prepared,' says top official

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/china-reports-highest-ever-daily-cases-shanghai-insufficiently-prepared-says-top-official-468761/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

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Some have complained on social media waking up at dawn for a chance at booking a grocery delivery, but finding them sold out within seconds. Others have turned to community WeChat groups to try to bulk-buy fruit and vegetables.

Social media users have also widely shared outrage&nbsp;over&nbsp;individual tragedies, including the alleged suicide of woman after being cyberbullied for paying too little to a delivery worker, and a healthcare worker beating to death a corgi after its owner allegedly was taken to quarantine.
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Reuters could not independently verify either story.

Shanghai, which has been conducting multiple rounds of testing, reported close to 20,000 new locally transmitted cases for Wednesday, 98% of which it said where asymptomatic.

However, there are signs that transmission is still happening in spite of the lockdowns. Of its 19,660 asymptomatic infections, 633 involved people who were not under quarantine or who faced control measures, the data showed.

Shanghai&nbsp;denied rumours on Wednesday that it planned to suspend all delivery services amid concerns that the virus was being spread through such workers. It requires them to take PCR and antigen tests every day, and they can only deliver goods if they test negative.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/shanghai-eases-child-separation-under-covid-policy-but-extends-lockdown-468926">Shanghai eases child separation under COVID policy but extends lockdown</a>

China's most-populous city has yet to give an indication of when lockdown measures will lift, fuelling uncertainty and prompting European businesses and economists to warn about the mounting toll they are having on its economy and attractiveness as an international financial hub.

Although&nbsp;Shanghai's case numbers remain small by global standards, the city has emerged as a test bed for China's "dynamic clearance" anti-Covid strategy, which seeks to test, trace and centrally quarantine all positive cases and their close contacts.

On Thursday,&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;city officials said they would continue to conduct more testing among its residents who will be asked to take PCR or self-administered antigen tests.

Shanghai&nbsp;has converted dozens of buildings into quarantine facilities that can house tens of thousands of positive cases.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/shanghais-covid-mission-impossible-38k-health-workers-deployed-sampling-of-25-million-residents-completed-468430">Shanghai's COVID 'mission impossible': 38k health workers deployed, sampling of 25 million residents completed</a>

On Tuesday construction began on a new facility that can house 40,000 beds will be finished by Friday, local media The Paper said on Thursday.

Late on Wednesday, the China News Service said the neighbouring provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang will also provide 60,000 more rooms which patients from&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;can quarantine.

Shanghai on Thursday said it was trying its best to improve the distribution of food and essential goods to locked-in residents, responding to growing discontent over such difficulties as covid curbs stretched into an 11th day.

Shanghai on Thursday said it was trying its best to improve the distribution of food and essential goods to locked-in residents, responding to growing discontent over such difficulties as covid curbs stretched into an 11th day. China's financial hub has fallen largely silent after the city imposed harsh movement restrictions to stem the spread of Covid, with only healthcare workers, volunteers, delivery personnel or people with special permission allowed on the streets. Authorities say that has whittled the number of couriers, who must keep the city's 26 million residents supplied, to just 11,000. Among still operating, but overloaded services, include Meituan as well as Alibaba's Freshippo online grocery platform and its Ele.me service. Also read | Covid might have longer impacts on your brain: Study Lockdowns for the city's residents eastern of the Huangpu river began on March 28, while lockdowns for the rest of the city started on April 1. The exercise originally was intended to last five days at most. The Shanghai branch of China's Communist Party called on members to "dare show their swords and fight against all kind of behaviour that interferes with and destroys the overall efforts against the pandemic" in an open letter on Wednesday night. Shanghai has sufficient reserves of staples such as rice and meat, but issues have cropped up in distribution and last-mile deliveries because of epidemic control measures, Shanghai's vice mayor Chen Tong said at a news conference on Thursday. He said the city would try to reopen some wholesale markets and food stores and allow more delivery personnel out of locked-down areas. Officials will also crack down on price gouging, he added. "In response to the various problems reported by the public, we have been holding meetings overnight to try and figure out solutions," he said. Many residents are beginning to worry about food and drinking water, as well as obtaining products such as infant formula. Watch | China reports highest ever-daily cases, 'Shanghai insufficiently prepared,' says top official Some have complained on social media waking up at dawn for a chance at booking a grocery delivery, but finding them sold out within seconds. Others have turned to community WeChat groups to try to bulk-buy fruit and vegetables. Social media users have also widely shared outrage over individual tragedies, including the alleged suicide of woman after being cyberbullied for paying too little to a delivery worker, and a healthcare worker beating to death a corgi after its owner allegedly was taken to quarantine. Reuters could not independently verify either story. Shanghai, which has been conducting multiple rounds of testing, reported close to 20,000 new locally transmitted cases for Wednesday, 98% of which it said where asymptomatic. However, there are signs that transmission is still happening in spite of the lockdowns. Of its 19,660 asymptomatic infections, 633 involved people who were not under quarantine or who faced control measures, the data showed. Shanghai denied rumours on Wednesday that it planned to suspend all delivery services amid concerns that the virus was being spread through such workers. It requires them to take PCR and antigen tests every day, and they can only deliver goods if they test negative. Also read | Shanghai eases child separation under COVID policy but extends lockdown China's most-populous city has yet to give an indication of when lockdown measures will lift, fuelling uncertainty and prompting European businesses and economists to warn about the mounting toll they are having on its economy and attractiveness as an international financial hub. Although Shanghai's case numbers remain small by global standards, the city has emerged as a test bed for China's "dynamic clearance" anti-Covid strategy, which seeks to test, trace and centrally quarantine all positive cases and their close contacts. On Thursday, Shanghai city officials said they would continue to conduct more testing among its residents who will be asked to take PCR or self-administered antigen tests. Shanghai has converted dozens of buildings into quarantine facilities that can house tens of thousands of positive cases. Also read | Shanghai's COVID 'mission impossible': 38k health workers deployed, sampling of 25 million residents completed On Tuesday construction began on a new facility that can house 40,000 beds will be finished by Friday, local media The Paper said on Thursday. Late on Wednesday, the China News Service said the neighbouring provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang will also provide 60,000 more rooms which patients from Shanghai can quarantine.

Shanghai vows to improve food deliveries as discontent grows over Covid curbs

China's latest Wuhan virus outbreak has led to chaos. In Shanghai, residents are being beaten up and forced into centralised quarantines. Palki Sharma Upadhyay brings you 5 videos that expose the truth about China's Zero Covid strategy.

Gravitas: Shanghai: Residents beaten up by healthcare workers

Avocado is often touted as a 'Superfood' for its miraculous properties and health benefits. A study suggests that eating more Avocados improves heart health.

Study: Eating more Avocados improves heart health

Scientists recently discovered that SARS-CoV-2 virus-infected people show&nbsp;signs of severe brain injury and inflammation, including a reduction in oxygen and blood flow into the brain, neuron damage and even small areas of haemorrhage.

Researchers at Tulane University&nbsp;explained how Covid affects the central nervous system of humans. The observation is the first comprehensive report of neuropathology in a nonhuman primate model linked with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

These findings by researchers were published in the journal ‘Nature Communications.’

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/viruses-that-could-save-millions-of-lives-468373">Viruses that could save millions of lives</a>

However,&nbsp;what’s interesting, is that similar findings were noticed in people who never had any serious respiratory infection from the virus.

Trachy Fischer, PhD, the lead investigator and associate professor in microbiology and immunology at Tulane National Primate Research Centre, has been studying the brain&nbsp;for decades now. Fischer began studying the brain tissues of many infected animals soon after the primate centre launched its COVID-19 pilot programme in mid-2020.

Fischer’s preliminary reports showed that the level of brain damage caused by SARS-Cov-2&nbsp;is severe. Over the next few&nbsp;years, she tried to&nbsp;ensure the results were traceable to the illness.&nbsp;

Watch |&nbsp;Shanghai lockdown extended: City records 13,086 asymptomatic cases

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Fischer said, “Because the subjects didn’t experience significant respiratory symptoms, no one expected them to have the severity of disease that we found in the brain. But the findings were distinct and profound, and undeniably a result of the infection.”&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/how-does-covid-19-actually-infect-humans-study-reveals-467325">How does COVID-19 actually infect humans? World's first human challenge study reveals &nbsp;</a>

The findings also aligned with COVID-19 related deaths, suggesting that non-human models or primates will be a good model to determine the human experience. &nbsp;Neurological infections are amongst the first symptoms of the infection that can be severe and even long-lasting.

As per Fischer, this study as well as the ones in future that focus on how SARS-CoV-2 impacts the human brain will help in better understanding and treatment of patients suffering from neurological effects of COVID-19 and long Covid.

(With inputs from agencies)

Scientists recently discovered that SARS-CoV-2 virus-infected people show signs of severe brain injury and inflammation, including a reduction in oxygen and blood flow into the brain, neuron damage and even small areas of haemorrhage.

Scientists recently discovered that SARS-CoV-2 virus-infected people show signs of severe brain injury and inflammation, including a reduction in oxygen and blood flow into the brain, neuron damage and even small areas of haemorrhage. Researchers at Tulane University explained how Covid affects the central nervous system of humans. The observation is the first comprehensive report of neuropathology in a nonhuman primate model linked with SARS-CoV-2 infection. These findings by researchers were published in the journal ‘Nature Communications.’ Also read | Viruses that could save millions of lives However, what’s interesting, is that similar findings were noticed in people who never had any serious respiratory infection from the virus. Trachy Fischer, PhD, the lead investigator and associate professor in microbiology and immunology at Tulane National Primate Research Centre, has been studying the brain for decades now. Fischer began studying the brain tissues of many infected animals soon after the primate centre launched its COVID-19 pilot programme in mid-2020. Fischer’s preliminary reports showed that the level of brain damage caused by SARS-Cov-2 is severe. Over the next few years, she tried to ensure the results were traceable to the illness. Watch | Shanghai lockdown extended: City records 13,086 asymptomatic cases Fischer said, “Because the subjects didn’t experience significant respiratory symptoms, no one expected them to have the severity of disease that we found in the brain. But the findings were distinct and profound, and undeniably a result of the infection.” Also read | How does COVID-19 actually infect humans? World's first human challenge study reveals The findings also aligned with COVID-19 related deaths, suggesting that non-human models or primates will be a good model to determine the human experience. Neurological infections are amongst the first symptoms of the infection that can be severe and even long-lasting. As per Fischer, this study as well as the ones in future that focus on how SARS-CoV-2 impacts the human brain will help in better understanding and treatment of patients suffering from neurological effects of COVID-19 and long Covid. (With inputs from agencies)

Covid might have longer impacts on your brain: Study

The ongoing economic crisis in the island nation of Sri Lanka has turned into a health crisis as well. WION speaks to the Indian envoy to Sri Lanka on more on this.

Sri Lanka declares emergency health crisis: WION speaks to Indian envoy to Sri Lanka

China&nbsp;has sent the&nbsp;military&nbsp;and thousands of healthcare workers into&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;to help carry out&nbsp;COVID-19&nbsp;tests for all of its&nbsp;26&nbsp;million&nbsp;residents&nbsp;as cases continued to rise on Monday, in one of the country's biggest-ever public health responses.

Some&nbsp;residents&nbsp;woke up before dawn for white-suited healthcare workers to swab their throats as part of nucleic acid&nbsp;testing at their housing compounds, many queuing up in their pyjamas and standing the required two metres apart.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday dispatched more than 2,000 medical personnel from across the army, navy and joint logistics support forces to&nbsp;Shanghai, an armed forces newspaper reported.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/covid-19-china-reports-highest-number-of-cases-since-february-2020-467851">COVID-19: China reports highest number of cases since February 2020</a>

So far 38,000 healthcare workers from provinces such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and the capital Beijing have been dispatched to&nbsp;Shanghai, according to state media, which showed them arriving, suitcase-laden and masked up, by high-speed rail and aircraft.

It is&nbsp;China's largest public health response since it tackled the initial&nbsp;COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus was first discovered in late 2019. The State Council said the PLA dispatched more than 4,000 medical personnel to the province of Hubei, where Wuhan is, at that time.

Shanghai, which began a two-stage lockdown on March 28 that has been expanded to confine practically all&nbsp;residents&nbsp;to their homes, reported 8,581 asymptomatic&nbsp;COVID-19 cases and 425 symptomatic&nbsp;Covid&nbsp;cases for April 3. It also asked&nbsp;residents&nbsp;to self-test&nbsp;on Sunday.

The city has emerged as a&nbsp;test&nbsp;of&nbsp;China's&nbsp;Covid&nbsp;elimination strategy based on&nbsp;testing, tracing and quarantining all positive cases and their close contacts.

The exercise in&nbsp;China's most populous city takes place on the eve of when&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;initially said it planned to lift the city's lockdown.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-official-signals-commitment-to-zero-covid-as-shanghai-battles-outbreak-468066">China official signals commitment to ‘zero Covid’ as Shanghai battles outbreak</a>

The country has 12,400 institutions capable of processing&nbsp;tests from as many as 900&nbsp;million&nbsp;people a day, a senior Chinese health official was reported as saying last month.

China's primarily uses pool&nbsp;testing, a process in which up to 20 swab samples are mixed together for more rapid processing.

The city has also converted multiple hospitals, gymnasiums, apartment blocks and other venues into central quarantine sites, including the&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;New International Expo Center which can hold 15,000 patients at full capacity.

On Monday,&nbsp;residents&nbsp;said they received the results on their personal health app about four hours after they were swabbed. But in other parts of the city some said they had yet to receive any notification on when their&nbsp;tests would be.

Individuals who refuse to be&nbsp;tested for&nbsp;Covid&nbsp;for no justifiable reason will face administrative or criminal punishment,&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;police said on Saturday.

Watch |&nbsp;Amid COVID-19 battle, China discovers new Omicron subtype

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Public Frustration

The surge in state support for&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;comes as the city is straining under the demands of the country's "dynamic clearance" strategy, with some&nbsp;residents&nbsp;complaining of crowded and unsanitary central quarantine centres, as well as difficulties in securing food and essential medical help.

Some have begun to question the policies, asking why&nbsp;Covid-positive children are separated from their parents and why mild or asymptomatic infections - the majority of&nbsp;Shanghai's cases - cannot isolate at home.

On Monday&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;official Wu Qianyu told a news conference that children could be accompanied by their parents if the parents were also infected, but separated if they were not, adding that policies were still being refined.

A&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;resident, who declined to be named for privacy reasons, told Reuters he had been transported to a central quarantine facility on Sunday night after reporting a positive result on a self&nbsp;test&nbsp;more than a week ago.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/chinese-vignettes-china-is-steadily-making-gains-overseas-at-home-it-struggles-to-fight-covid-468057">Chinese vignettes | China is steadily making gains overseas. At home, it struggles to fight Covid</a>

Another antigen&nbsp;test&nbsp;on Saturday showed he was no longer infected, but authorities insisted on sending him to quarantine, where he has been put in a flat where he has to share a toilet with two other patients, both of whom are still&nbsp;testing positive.

"How is this isolation?," he said, adding that he was now afraid of being re-infected. "I'm not in any mood to do anything right now, I can't sleep."

On Monday, videos circulating on the WeChat messaging app showed scores of people rushing to grab bedding and supplies from the dirty floor of what the poster said was a quarantine centre whose premises were still littered with construction materials.

Reuters could not independently verify the footage.

Workers under strain

The pressure on the city's healthcare workers and Communist Party members has also been great, as they work around the clock to manage the city's lockdown and deal with&nbsp;residents' frustrations.

Photos and videos have gone viral on Chinese social media of exhausted workers and volunteers sleeping in plastic chairs or on the grass outside housing compounds, or being berated by&nbsp;residents.

On Saturday, the city's Pudong Chinese Center for Disease Control said it was investigating a leaked recording of a call between a staff member and the relative of a patient, who was perplexed by his father's&nbsp;Covid&nbsp;test&nbsp;results.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/shanghai-parents-fear-separation-from-kids-after-positive-covid-test-467727">Shanghai parents fear separation from kids after positive Covid test</a>

The CDC staff member, who local media identified as infectious disease expert Zhu Weiping, could be heard saying exasperatedly that she herself had raised concerns over the current quarantine and&nbsp;testing rules and that the virus had become a "political" one.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the recording which went viral on Chinese social media.

Users of the Weibo social media platform started a hashtag "protect Zhu Weiping," which by Monday had 2.9&nbsp;million&nbsp;views, amid concerns that she could face punishment for speaking out against the official line.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged the country to curb the momentum of the outbreak as soon as possible while sticking to the "dynamic-clearance" policy.

On Saturday, Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan, who was sent to&nbsp;Shanghai&nbsp;by the central government, urged the city to "make resolute and swift moves" to curb the pandemic.

&nbsp;

The eastern city of Suzhou said it had detected a version of the Omicron BA.1.1 subvariant that doesn't match any others in the domestic database or the international variant tracking database GISAID, state television reported.

The state-backed Science and Technology Daily said it remains unclear whether the virus is a new sub-branch of Omicron and that the emergence of one or two new versions is normal given the spread of Omicron in&nbsp;China, citing an unidentified expert with a national database.

China has sent the military and thousands of healthcare workers into Shanghai to help carry out COVID-19 tests for all of its 26 million residents as cases continued to rise on Monday, in one of the country's biggest-ever public health responses.

China has sent the military and thousands of healthcare workers into Shanghai to help carry out COVID-19 tests for all of its 26 million residents as cases continued to rise on Monday, in one of the country's biggest-ever public health responses. Some residents woke up before dawn for white-suited healthcare workers to swab their throats as part of nucleic acid testing at their housing compounds, many queuing up in their pyjamas and standing the required two metres apart. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday dispatched more than 2,000 medical personnel from across the army, navy and joint logistics support forces to Shanghai, an armed forces newspaper reported. Also read | COVID-19: China reports highest number of cases since February 2020 So far 38,000 healthcare workers from provinces such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and the capital Beijing have been dispatched to Shanghai, according to state media, which showed them arriving, suitcase-laden and masked up, by high-speed rail and aircraft. It is China's largest public health response since it tackled the initial COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus was first discovered in late 2019. The State Council said the PLA dispatched more than 4,000 medical personnel to the province of Hubei, where Wuhan is, at that time. Shanghai, which began a two-stage lockdown on March 28 that has been expanded to confine practically all residents to their homes, reported 8,581 asymptomatic COVID-19 cases and 425 symptomatic Covid cases for April 3. It also asked residents to self-test on Sunday. The city has emerged as a test of China's Covid elimination strategy based on testing, tracing and quarantining all positive cases and their close contacts. The exercise in China's most populous city takes place on the eve of when Shanghai initially said it planned to lift the city's lockdown. Also read | China official signals commitment to ‘zero Covid’ as Shanghai battles outbreak The country has 12,400 institutions capable of processing tests from as many as 900 million people a day, a senior Chinese health official was reported as saying last month. China's primarily uses pool testing, a process in which up to 20 swab samples are mixed together for more rapid processing. The city has also converted multiple hospitals, gymnasiums, apartment blocks and other venues into central quarantine sites, including the Shanghai New International Expo Center which can hold 15,000 patients at full capacity. On Monday, residents said they received the results on their personal health app about four hours after they were swabbed. But in other parts of the city some said they had yet to receive any notification on when their tests would be. Individuals who refuse to be tested for Covid for no justifiable reason will face administrative or criminal punishment, Shanghai police said on Saturday. Watch | Amid COVID-19 battle, China discovers new Omicron subtype Public Frustration The surge in state support for Shanghai comes as the city is straining under the demands of the country's "dynamic clearance" strategy, with some residents complaining of crowded and unsanitary central quarantine centres, as well as difficulties in securing food and essential medical help. Some have begun to question the policies, asking why Covid-positive children are separated from their parents and why mild or asymptomatic infections - the majority of Shanghai's cases - cannot isolate at home. On Monday Shanghai official Wu Qianyu told a news conference that children could be accompanied by their parents if the parents were also infected, but separated if they were not, adding that policies were still being refined. A Shanghai resident, who declined to be named for privacy reasons, told Reuters he had been transported to a central quarantine facility on Sunday night after reporting a positive result on a self test more than a week ago. Also read | Chinese vignettes | China is steadily making gains overseas. At home, it struggles to fight Covid Another antigen test on Saturday showed he was no longer infected, but authorities insisted on sending him to quarantine, where he has been put in a flat where he has to share a toilet with two other patients, both of whom are still testing positive. "How is this isolation?," he said, adding that he was now afraid of being re-infected. "I'm not in any mood to do anything right now, I can't sleep." On Monday, videos circulating on the WeChat messaging app showed scores of people rushing to grab bedding and supplies from the dirty floor of what the poster said was a quarantine centre whose premises were still littered with construction materials. Reuters could not independently verify the footage. Workers under strain The pressure on the city's healthcare workers and Communist Party members has also been great, as they work around the clock to manage the city's lockdown and deal with residents' frustrations. Photos and videos have gone viral on Chinese social media of exhausted workers and volunteers sleeping in plastic chairs or on the grass outside housing compounds, or being berated by residents. On Saturday, the city's Pudong Chinese Center for Disease Control said it was investigating a leaked recording of a call between a staff member and the relative of a patient, who was perplexed by his father's Covid test results. Also read | Shanghai parents fear separation from kids after positive Covid test The CDC staff member, who local media identified as infectious disease expert Zhu Weiping, could be heard saying exasperatedly that she herself had raised concerns over the current quarantine and testing rules and that the virus had become a "political" one. Reuters was not able to independently verify the recording which went viral on Chinese social media. Users of the Weibo social media platform started a hashtag "protect Zhu Weiping," which by Monday had 2.9 million views, amid concerns that she could face punishment for speaking out against the official line. Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged the country to curb the momentum of the outbreak as soon as possible while sticking to the "dynamic-clearance" policy. On Saturday, Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan, who was sent to Shanghai by the central government, urged the city to "make resolute and swift moves" to curb the pandemic. The eastern city of Suzhou said it had detected a version of the Omicron BA.1.1 subvariant that doesn't match any others in the domestic database or the international variant tracking database GISAID, state television reported. The state-backed Science and Technology Daily said it remains unclear whether the virus is a new sub-branch of Omicron and that the emergence of one or two new versions is normal given the spread of Omicron in China, citing an unidentified expert with a national database.

China sends military, doctors to Shanghai to test 26 million residents for Covid

China on Sunday reported 13,287 new Covid cases for April 2, the highest since February 2020, with the majority in Shanghai and northeastern Jilin province.&nbsp;

The national health authority on Sunday said the country reported 1,506 confirmed Covid cases for the previous day, which is less than the day earlier with 2,129 cases.

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However, the country has not yet classified asymptomatic cases as confirmed cases which increased from 7,869 cases to 11,781 cases on Saturday. Amongst the confirmed cases, 1,455 cases were locally transmitted with 956 cases from Jilin and 438 from Shanghai which has virtually locked the entire city.

During a press conference on Sunday, a senior official of the Shanghai health authority said that Shanghai will be carrying out a city-wide antigen testing on Sunday and mass nucleic acid testing on Monday.

Watch |&nbsp;Gravitas: Shanghai's healthcare system has collapsed

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Shanghai has been striving to stop the spread of cases by imposing a two-stage lockdown, pressuring the manufacturers to halt the operations and causing serious congestion at the Shanghai port.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/popular-chinese-messaging-app-wechat-suspends-several-accounts-linked-to-non-fungible-tokens-467529">Popular Chinese messaging app WeChat suspends several accounts linked to non-fungible tokens</a>

The data showed that the congestion off Shanghai has been easing for oil tankers since March 31, but the number of bulkers queuing in outer Yangtze has increased to nearly 90, the highest level since October 2021. Many ports near Shanghai such as Ningbo are now busy as firms have diverted cargos to avoid prolonged logistic turnarounds.

(With inputs from agencies)

China on Sunday reported 13,287 new Covid cases for April 2, the highest since February 2020, with the majority in Shanghai and northeastern Jilin province. The national health authority on Sunday said the country reported 1,506 confirmed Covid cases for the previous day, which is less than the day earlier with 2,129 cases.

China on Sunday reported 13,287 new Covid cases for April 2, the highest since February 2020, with the majority in Shanghai and northeastern Jilin province. The national health authority on Sunday said the country reported 1,506 confirmed Covid cases for the previous day, which is less than the day earlier with 2,129 cases. Also read | China launched cyberattack against Ukraine before Russian invasion: Report However, the country has not yet classified asymptomatic cases as confirmed cases which increased from 7,869 cases to 11,781 cases on Saturday. Amongst the confirmed cases, 1,455 cases were locally transmitted with 956 cases from Jilin and 438 from Shanghai which has virtually locked the entire city. During a press conference on Sunday, a senior official of the Shanghai health authority said that Shanghai will be carrying out a city-wide antigen testing on Sunday and mass nucleic acid testing on Monday. Watch | Gravitas: Shanghai's healthcare system has collapsed Shanghai has been striving to stop the spread of cases by imposing a two-stage lockdown, pressuring the manufacturers to halt the operations and causing serious congestion at the Shanghai port. Also read | Popular Chinese messaging app WeChat suspends several accounts linked to non-fungible tokens The data showed that the congestion off Shanghai has been easing for oil tankers since March 31, but the number of bulkers queuing in outer Yangtze has increased to nearly 90, the highest level since October 2021. Many ports near Shanghai such as Ningbo are now busy as firms have diverted cargos to avoid prolonged logistic turnarounds. (With inputs from agencies)

COVID-19: China reports highest number of cases since February 2020

Eating two servings of avocados a week was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a recent study.

The study was published in 'Journal of the American Heart Association'.

Avocados contain dietary fibre, unsaturated fats especially monounsaturated fat (healthy fats) and other favourable components that have been associated with good cardiovascular health. Clinical trials have previously found avocados have a positive impact on cardiovascular risk factors including high cholesterol.

Researchers have believed this is the first, large, prospective study to support the positive association between higher avocado consumption and lower cardiovascular events, such as coronary heart disease and stroke.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/lifestyle/news-staying-active-travelling-can-help-people-cope-with-anxiety-depression-says-study-465151">Staying active, travelling can help people cope with anxiety, depression, says study</a>

"Our study provides further evidence that the intake of plant-sourced unsaturated fats can improve diet quality and is an important component in cardiovascular disease prevention," said Lorena S. Pacheco, PhD, M.P.H., R.D.N., lead author of the study and a postdoctoral research fellow in the nutrition department at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

"These are particularly notable findings since the consumption of avocados has risen steeply in the U.S. in the last 20 years, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture," she added.

For 30 years, researchers followed more than 68,780 women (ages 30 to 55 years) from the Nurses 'Health Study and more than 41,700 men (ages 40 to 75 years) from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. All study participants were free of cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke at the start of the study and living in the United States.

Watch |&nbsp;Hidden immunity: Study gives clues on how some escape Covid-19 infection

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Researchers documented 9,185 coronary heart disease events and 5,290 strokes during more than 30 years of follow-up. Researchers assessed participants'&nbsp;diet using food frequency questionnaires given at the beginning of the study and then every four years. They calculated avocado intake from a questionnaire item that asked about the amount consumed and frequency. One serving equalled half of an avocado or a half cup of avocado.

The analysis found:

1. After considering a wide range of cardiovascular risk factors and overall diet, study participants who ate at least two servings of avocado each week had a 16 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 21 per cent lower risk of coronary heart disease, compared to those who never or rarely ate avocados.

2. Based on statistical modelling, replacing half a serving daily of margarine, butter, egg, yoghurt, cheese or processed meats such as bacon with the same amount of avocado was associated with a 16 per cent to 22 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease events.

3. Substituting half a serving a day of avocado for the equivalent amount of olive oil, nuts and other plant oils showed no additional benefit.

4. No significant associations were noted in relation to stroke risk and how much avocado was eaten.

"The study's results have provided additional guidance for health care professionals to share. Offering the suggestion to replace certain spreads and saturated fat-containing foods, such as cheese and processed meats, with avocado is something physicians and other health care practitioners such as registered dietitians can do when they meet with patients, especially since avocado is a well-accepted food," Pacheco said.

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"These findings are significant because a healthy dietary pattern is a cornerstone for cardiovascular health, however, it can be difficult for many Americans to achieve and adhere to healthy eating patterns," said Cheryl Anderson, PhD, M.P.H., FAHA, chair of the American Heart Association's Council on Epidemiology and Prevention.

"We desperately need strategies to improve intake of AHA-recommended healthy diets -- such as the Mediterranean diet -- that is rich in vegetables and fruits," said Anderson, who is a professor and dean of the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at University of California San Diego.

"Although no one food is the solution to routinely eating a healthy diet, this study is evidence that avocados have possible health benefits. This is promising because it is a food item that is popular, accessible, desirable and easy to include in meals eaten by many Americans at home and in restaurants," Cheryl concluded.

Eating two servings of avocados a week was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a recent study. The study was published in 'Journal of the American Heart Association'.

Eating two servings of avocados a week was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a recent study. The study was published in 'Journal of the American Heart Association'. Avocados contain dietary fibre, unsaturated fats especially monounsaturated fat (healthy fats) and other favourable components that have been associated with good cardiovascular health. Clinical trials have previously found avocados have a positive impact on cardiovascular risk factors including high cholesterol. Researchers have believed this is the first, large, prospective study to support the positive association between higher avocado consumption and lower cardiovascular events, such as coronary heart disease and stroke. Also read | Staying active, travelling can help people cope with anxiety, depression, says study "Our study provides further evidence that the intake of plant-sourced unsaturated fats can improve diet quality and is an important component in cardiovascular disease prevention," said Lorena S. Pacheco, PhD, M.P.H., R.D.N., lead author of the study and a postdoctoral research fellow in the nutrition department at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. "These are particularly notable findings since the consumption of avocados has risen steeply in the U.S. in the last 20 years, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture," she added. For 30 years, researchers followed more than 68,780 women (ages 30 to 55 years) from the Nurses 'Health Study and more than 41,700 men (ages 40 to 75 years) from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. All study participants were free of cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke at the start of the study and living in the United States. Watch | Hidden immunity: Study gives clues on how some escape Covid-19 infection Researchers documented 9,185 coronary heart disease events and 5,290 strokes during more than 30 years of follow-up. Researchers assessed participants' diet using food frequency questionnaires given at the beginning of the study and then every four years. They calculated avocado intake from a questionnaire item that asked about the amount consumed and frequency. One serving equalled half of an avocado or a half cup of avocado. The analysis found: 1. After considering a wide range of cardiovascular risk factors and overall diet, study participants who ate at least two servings of avocado each week had a 16 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 21 per cent lower risk of coronary heart disease, compared to those who never or rarely ate avocados. 2. Based on statistical modelling, replacing half a serving daily of margarine, butter, egg, yoghurt, cheese or processed meats such as bacon with the same amount of avocado was associated with a 16 per cent to 22 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease events. 3. Substituting half a serving a day of avocado for the equivalent amount of olive oil, nuts and other plant oils showed no additional benefit. 4. No significant associations were noted in relation to stroke risk and how much avocado was eaten. "The study's results have provided additional guidance for health care professionals to share. Offering the suggestion to replace certain spreads and saturated fat-containing foods, such as cheese and processed meats, with avocado is something physicians and other health care practitioners such as registered dietitians can do when they meet with patients, especially since avocado is a well-accepted food," Pacheco said. Also read | 'Probably just hormones': Women's illnesses going undiagnosed "These findings are significant because a healthy dietary pattern is a cornerstone for cardiovascular health, however, it can be difficult for many Americans to achieve and adhere to healthy eating patterns," said Cheryl Anderson, PhD, M.P.H., FAHA, chair of the American Heart Association's Council on Epidemiology and Prevention. "We desperately need strategies to improve intake of AHA-recommended healthy diets -- such as the Mediterranean diet -- that is rich in vegetables and fruits," said Anderson, who is a professor and dean of the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at University of California San Diego. "Although no one food is the solution to routinely eating a healthy diet, this study is evidence that avocados have possible health benefits. This is promising because it is a food item that is popular, accessible, desirable and easy to include in meals eaten by many Americans at home and in restaurants," Cheryl concluded.

Avocados may lower risk of cardiovascular disease, study finds

The world's largest Muslim-majority nation of&nbsp;Indonesia&nbsp;welcomed the start of the holy fasting month of&nbsp;Ramadan&nbsp;with a&nbsp;mass&nbsp;prayer&nbsp;at Jakarta's grand mosque on Saturday, with plateauing coronavirus cases allowing for&nbsp;eased restrictions this year.

Thousands gathered after dusk at Istiqlal mosque in the&nbsp;Indonesian capital to join the Tarawih&nbsp;prayer, special&nbsp;prayers performed only during the month of&nbsp;Ramadan, donning masks and using check-in apps to take part in the event.

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For the past two years&nbsp;Indonesia&nbsp;has grappled with one of the highest rates of&nbsp;COVID-19 in Asia, but this&nbsp;Ramadan, traditionally a time of community, reflection and&nbsp;prayer, cases have&nbsp;eased enough to allow for&nbsp;mass&nbsp;gatherings.

"I feel grateful that we are finally able to gather for the Tarawih&nbsp;prayer, and there are no strict restrictions this time like before," said Tri Haryono, 28.

"I'm very grateful that we can finally pray here together."

Watch |&nbsp;A story of hope: Rare Sumatran rhino born in Indonesia

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Amid the worst spikes in the coronavirus pandemic,&nbsp;Indonesian Muslims have been prohibited from praying at the mosque, and joining the annual mudik or exodus tradition, when millions travel to visit their families across the sprawling archipelago.

President Joko Widodo announced last week that mudik would be permitted this year after pandemic-related travel bans have prevented the practise for the past two years.

"The improving covid&nbsp;situation has brought optimism as the&nbsp;Ramadan&nbsp;holy month is upon us," he told a news conference.

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The start of&nbsp;Ramadan, during which observers abstain from food and drink from dawn until sunset, can fall on different dates due to differences in sightings of the new moon.

This year fasting month began earlier in much of the Middle East and South Asia than in Southeast Asia, which started fasting on Sunday.

The world's largest Muslim-majority nation of Indonesia welcomed the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan with a mass prayer at Jakarta's grand mosque on Saturday, with plateauing coronavirus cases allowing for eased restrictions this year.

The world's largest Muslim-majority nation of Indonesia welcomed the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan with a mass prayer at Jakarta's grand mosque on Saturday, with plateauing coronavirus cases allowing for eased restrictions this year. Thousands gathered after dusk at Istiqlal mosque in the Indonesian capital to join the Tarawih prayer, special prayers performed only during the month of Ramadan, donning masks and using check-in apps to take part in the event. Also read | Ukraine conflict creates 'noodle crisis' in Indonesia For the past two years Indonesia has grappled with one of the highest rates of COVID-19 in Asia, but this Ramadan, traditionally a time of community, reflection and prayer, cases have eased enough to allow for mass gatherings. "I feel grateful that we are finally able to gather for the Tarawih prayer, and there are no strict restrictions this time like before," said Tri Haryono, 28. "I'm very grateful that we can finally pray here together." Watch | A story of hope: Rare Sumatran rhino born in Indonesia Amid the worst spikes in the coronavirus pandemic, Indonesian Muslims have been prohibited from praying at the mosque, and joining the annual mudik or exodus tradition, when millions travel to visit their families across the sprawling archipelago. President Joko Widodo announced last week that mudik would be permitted this year after pandemic-related travel bans have prevented the practise for the past two years. "The improving covid situation has brought optimism as the Ramadan holy month is upon us," he told a news conference. Also read | Indonesia’s cooking oil shortage turns deadly, two killed after queuing for liquid gold The start of Ramadan, during which observers abstain from food and drink from dawn until sunset, can fall on different dates due to differences in sightings of the new moon. This year fasting month began earlier in much of the Middle East and South Asia than in Southeast Asia, which started fasting on Sunday.

Indonesia greets Ramadan with mass prayer as Covid curbs ease

Do you know someone who has never been infected with coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic? How did some health professionals avoid falling ill despite daily contact with Covid-19 patients? A study by Sweden's University of Gothenburg may provide some clues.

Hidden immunity: Study gives clues on how some escape Covid-19 infection

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