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BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — A coronavirus variant from Manaus in northern Brazil, first detected in Japan in January, is now the dominant form of the virus in the hard-hit city, a local researcher told AFP on Wednesday. The variant’s quick spread confirms fears that it is more contagious than the original form of the virus, said Felipe Naveca, who studies coronavirus mutations in northern Amazonas state. The variant which was first detected early this month […]
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — A wildfire raging in the south of Argentina has consumed a huge patch of forestland in two days, local authorities said Tuesday — the equivalent of almost 20 Central Parks. The blaze, its origins still unknown, is threatening a vast region around El Bolson, a town of some 18,000 inhabitants in the Rio Negro province in northern Patagonia. More than 100 firefighters have been deployed, working side by side with […]
A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Saturday off the coast of Antarctica, with authorities issuing a tsunami warning for Chile’s Eduardo Frei base on the frigid continent, emergency officials said. The quake struck at 8:36 pm (2336 GMT) Saturday or 7:36 a.m. PHL time Sunday about 210 kilometers (130 miles) east of the base at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles), Chile’s National Emergency Office (Onemi) said, urging evacuation from “the beach area of the […]
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — A 6.4-magnitude earthquake shook western and central Argentina Monday, the United States Geological Survey said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or significant damage. The quake struck at 11:45 pm local time (02:45 GMT Tuesday) at a depth of 20 kilometers, according to the USGS. The epicenter was near the town of Pocito, in San Juan province, about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Buenos Aires and near the […]
by Edgar Calderon with Henry Morales Arana in Guatemala City VADO HONDO, Guatemala (AFP) — Guatemalan security forces on Monday broke up a caravan of about 4,000 Honduran migrants trying to reach the United States on a journey of thousands of kilometers through Central America on foot, AFP reporters witnessed. Police advanced on the group in a coordinated move, striking batons against their shields to make an intimidating noise, prompting the migrants to scatter. The […]
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Chinese-developed Covid-19 vaccine CoronaVac showed at least 78-percent effectiveness in final-stage clinical trials in Brazil, officials announced Thursday, saying they would apply for emergency approval from the Brazilian regulatory agency to begin a vaccination campaign. “This is a historic day, a day of hope,” Sao Paulo state Governor Joao Doria told a news conference announcing the results. He said his state’s vaccination campaign would begin on January 25, though […]
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s Covid-19 death toll passed 200,000 Thursday amid a surging second wave, with a record number of new cases and the second-highest number of daily deaths since the pandemic began. Highlighting the long road still ahead to bring the pandemic under control, the South American country recorded 87,843 cases and 1,524 deaths in 24 hours, bringing its total death toll to 200,498 — the second-highest in the world, after […]
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Chinese-developed Covid-19 vaccine CoronaVac showed at least 78-percent effectiveness in final-stage clinical trials in Brazil, officials announced Thursday, saying they would apply for emergency approval from the Brazilian regulatory agency to begin a vaccination campaign. “This is a historic day, a day of hope,” Sao Paulo state Governor Joao Doria told a news conference announcing the results. He said his state’s vaccination campaign would begin on January 25, though that […]
SANTIAGO, Chile (AFP) — Chile’s health authorities said on Tuesday they had detected a case of the new coronavirus strain initially found in Britain, the first such confirmed infection in Latin America. Experts believe this Covid-19 variant to be considerably more contagious than the original strain first detected in China. The case was found in a Chilean woman who returned to the country on December 21 from Madrid, having also traveled to Britain and […]
by Barnaby CHESTERMAN with AFP bureaus Agence France Presse MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AFP) — Three Latin American countries launched mass immunization programs on Thursday as fears grew in Europe over a variant coronavirus strain that is believed to be far more contagious than the original version. Frontline medical staff in Mexico and Chile were among the first to receive their vaccines while Costa Rica began its own immunization program, with President Carlos Alvarado hailing what “may […]
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — Argentina’s health ministry said Wednesday it has given the controversial Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine “emergency” authorization, making the country the first in Latin America to do so. The first shipment of the 25 million doses of the vaccine bought by the Argentine government is due to arrive on Thursday. The authorization for the Gam-CovidVac vaccine, nicknamed Sputnik V after the Soviet-era satellite, was given “in conformity with the recommendations” […]
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Clinical trials of the CoronaVac coronavirus vaccine developed by Chinese laboratory Sinovac have “reached the efficacy threshold” demanded by the World Health Organization, the Brazilian institute charged with its production and distribution said on Wednesday. However, the Butantan Institute didn’t publish the results of those trials — the last before authorization. “We’re reached the efficacy threshold that allows us to seek an emergency use” authorization from Brazil’s Anvisa […]
