By Tuesday, streets that had swelled with protests were walled off and guarded by security personnel, some of whom searched pedestrians’ phones for images or messaging apps that could link them to the demonstrations, according to Reuters. In Beijing, police guarded the site of a protest on Sunday where people sang the Chinese national anthem, including the lyrics “Rise, people who do not wish to be slaves” and “Arise, arise, arise.” Many of the weekend protests took place on university campuses, which have historically been the birthplace of China’s political movements. Tsinghua University... Read More

BEIJING — Migrant workers in central China are fleeing one of the world’s largest iPhone factories amid a coronavirus outbreak in the surrounding city of Zhengzhou, leading local officials to hastily draw up plans to isolate them once they return to their hometowns. Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, reported 167 locally transmitted Covid-19 cases in the seven days to Oct. 29, up from 97 infections in the prior seven-day period. Apple supplier Foxconn, based in Taiwan, currently has about 200,000 workers at its Zhengzhou complex and has not disclosed the number of infected workers, but... Read More

When a feverish 24-year-old patient with convulsions, chest pain and bleeding eyes sought treatment at the Mubende Regional Referral Hospital in Central Uganda on Sept. 15, emergency staff swiftly isolated him, according to the country’s Health Ministry. The man, who was not named by officials, was later confirmed to be the first Ugandan case of the Ebola virus’ Sudan species in 10 years. His death four days later sent shivers throughout the world. The United States began screening travelers from Uganda on Oct. 6 at five of its airports and alerted health care workers to raise awareness... Read More

BEIJING — Residents of a city in China’s far west Xinjiang region say they are experiencing hunger, forced quarantines and dwindling supplies of medicine and daily necessities after more than 40 days in a coronavirus lockdown.Hundreds of posts from Ghulja riveted users of Chinese social media last week, with residents sharing videos of empty fridges, feverish children, and people screaming from their windows.The dire conditions and food shortages are reminiscent of a harsh lockdown in Shanghai this spring, when thousands of residents posted online, complaining they were delivered rotting vegetables... Read More

LONDON — British drug regulators have become the first in the world to authorize an updated version of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine that aims to protect against the original virus and the omicron variant.In a statement on Monday, the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency said it had given the green light to Moderna’s combination “bivalent” vaccine, which will be used as an adult booster shot.Each dose of the booster shot will target both the original Covid-19 virus and the omicron BA.1 variant that was first picked up in November. British regulators said the side effects were similar... Read More

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared victory in the battle against the novel coronavirus, ordering a lifting of maximum anti-epidemic measures imposed in May, state media said on Thursday.North Korea has not revealed how many confirmed infections of the virus it has found, but since July 29 it has reported no new suspected cases with what international aid organizations say are limited testing capabilities.While lifting the maximum anti-pandemic measures, Kim said that North Korea must maintain a “steel-strong anti-epidemic barrier” and intensify anti-epidemic work... Read More

The provincial capital city of Haikou, with about 2.9 million residents, and two smaller towns, Ledong and Chengmai, locked down its residents on Monday, according to state media reports.At least eight cities and towns, with a combined population of about 7 million, said their residents must not leave where they live except for necessary reasons such as Covid tests, grocery shopping or essential job roles. They also suspended public transport services.The measures will stay in place for varying periods, with the shortest scheduled for a few hours, state media reports show.About 25,000 tourists... Read More

Two new studies provide more evidence that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a Wuhan, China market where live animals were sold — further bolstering the theory that the virus emerged in the wild rather than escaping from a Chinese lab.The research, published online Tuesday by the journal Science, shows that the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market was likely the early epicenter of the scourge that has now killed nearly 6.4 million people around the world. Scientists conclude that the virus that causes Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, likely spilled from animals into people two separate times.“All this... Read More

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Micronesia has most likely become the final nation in the world with a population of more than 100,000 to experience an outbreak of the coronavirus.For more than two and a half years, the Pacific archipelago managed to avoid any outbreaks thanks to its geographic isolation and border controls. Those people who flew into the country with the disease didn’t spread it because all new arrivals were required to quarantine.But as has been the case in several other Pacific nations this year, those defenses couldn’t keep out the more transmissible omicron variant forever.On... Read More

The chair of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, Rep. Bennie Thompson, said Tuesday that has tested positive for the coronavirus and is experiencing “mild symptoms.””I am continuing to follow CDC guidelines and will be isolating for the next several days,” the 74-year-old Mississippi Democrat said in a statement he shared on Twitter. Thompson announced the positive result two days ahead of his panel’s final scheduled hearing, a prime-time event focusing on what former President Donald Trump was doing during the riot. The panel said... Read More