KAKAMMPI News

Agence France-Presse Posted at Dec 28 2021 04:59 PM Workers in protective suits stand at an entrance to a university's residential area under lockdown following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Xian, Shaanxi province, China December 20, 2021. China Daily via Reuters/File Photo Workers in protective suits stand at an entrance to a university's residential area under lockdown following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Xian, Shaanxi province, China December 20, 2021. China Daily via Reuters/File Photo Hundreds of thousands more people were ordered to stay home in northern China Tuesday, joining millions under strict lockdown as authorities raced to contain a surge in Covid cases that have reached a 21-month high. China -- where the virus emerged two years ago -- has followed a "zero-Covid" strategy of tight border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns as Beijing prepares to welcome thousands of overseas visitors to Febru...

Posted at Dec 28 2021 05:35 PM HONG KONG - Hong Kong health authorities said on Tuesday the city would tighten quarantine rules for air cargo crew to tackle the growing threat of the Omicron coronavirus variant. The global financial hub has identified several dozen Omicron infections via regular testing during quarantine but neither Omicron, nor other variants, have spread into the community in recent months. But some of the new infections with Omicron were detected among air crew, who had only been required to quarantine at home, unlike most other people returning to the city, who have to quarantine in hotels. The new measures require that returning air cargo crew spend three days in hotel quarantine before a period of home isolation. Most recent infections of air crew staff have been discovered in the first three days. "We expect most cases in the future to be of the new Omicron variant," said Edwin Tsui, controller of the Centre for Health Protection. "We have a...

Simone McCarthy, South China Morning Post Posted at Dec 29 2021 01:38 PM Infection with the Omicron coronavirus variant can also strengthen immunity against the earlier Delta strain, reducing the risk of severe disease, according to a paper released by South African scientists. While Omicron has been shown to be highly transmissible and can evade some antibodies, after two weeks of getting symptoms, immunity to subsequent infections from the strain rose 14-fold, according to the authors led by Alex Sigal and Khadija Khan of the Durban, South Africa-based Africa Health Research Institute. A smaller improvement was found against Delta, they said. "If we are lucky, Omicron is less pathogenic, and this immunity will help push Delta out," said Sigal, who has previously found a two-dose course of Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE's Covid-19 shot as well as a previous infection may give stronger protection against Omicron. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends ...

Reuters Posted at Dec 28 2021 05:52 PM SYDNEY - Australia recorded another record surge in COVID-19 infections on Tuesday as an outbreak of the highly infectious Omicron variant disrupted reopening of the economy, while state leaders argued over domestic border controls. The country reported 11,264 new cases of the coronavirus in the previous day, according to a Reuters calculation of state figures, once again surpassing its peak of a day earlier, as it grapples with a planned reopening while the new variant rages. There were five COVID-19 deaths reported, taking the total fatalities to just over 2,200 since the start of the pandemic. Authorities did not specify whether any of the new deaths were related to the Omicron variant. The Omicron variant, which medical experts say is more transmissible but less virulent than previous strains, began to spread in Australia just as the country got underway with plans to reopen for good after nearly two years of stop-start lockdowns. With t...

Reuters Posted at Dec 29 2021 02:07 AM | Updated as of Dec 29 2021 03:43 AM LONDON—Britain reported a record 129,471 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would not bring in new restrictions to limit the spread of the virus this year. The data did not include figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland due to differences in reporting practices over the Christmas holidays. The 12,378 cases reported for Wales included data that would normally have been reported in previous days. The previous record high of daily infections was 122,186 on December 24. Johnson said on Monday he would not introduce new restrictions in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have all tightening their rules, as have other European countries facing a surge in omicron cases. British ministers are waiting for more evidence on how the health service is able to cope with high infection rates after early data suggested last week that the omicron variant carrie...

By TED CORDERO, GMA News Published December 24, 2021 7:36pm Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)-backed mobile app Abizo OFW has assisted another distressed overseas Filipino worker (OFW) to reach out to relevant authorities to help in her working situation in Kuwait. In a statement, Abizo OFW said Rosalyn Sencil, suffered distress from her employer in Kuwait who committed several violations in their contract. It said that Sencil has been looking all over social media and asking several Facebook groups and pages for help, until she came across the Abizo OFW app in her social media newsfeed. The Abizo OFW app is a mobile application that forms part of the POEA’s Global Monitoring Pilot Project. The app said it can track OFWs in need of immediate help and assist them every step of the way in processing their complaints. The app aims to track the accurate number of OFWs at any given time, as well as monitor information on their deployment location, employers, and wo...

By GISELLE OMBAY, GMA News Published December 19, 2021 12:08pm Screencap image from OWWA video (Dec. 19, 2021) A total of 336 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) arrived in the Philippines from Kuwait on Sunday, the Department of Labor and Employment said. In a post on Facebook, the DOLE said the OFWs arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 at 10:30 a.m. “Ngayon po ang unang araw ng ating Pamasko at Bagong Taong salubong sa mga nanunumbalik na mga OFW. Kayo po ang kauna-unahan nating sasalubungin,” Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said. (Today is the first day of our Christmas and New Year program for returning OFWs. You are the first batch that we have welcomed.) Upon their arrival, the OFWs received pasalubong (souvenir items) and cash gifts from DOLE and OWWA.