Olympics 2024: "The bad result was a mystery so we did a test"
🇫🇮 Finnish swimming star, Matti Mattsson, has tested positive for Covid after a disappointing performance in the 200m breaststroke. He failed to reach the semifinal in a race where he won bronze at Tokyo.
"Doctor Valtonen says that the Finnish team in Paris has now taken measures. There is also another corona case in the Finnish camp, but it is not about an athlete."
🇯🇵"Japan is grappling with a new and highly contagious coronavirus variant that is fuelling the country’s 11th wave of COVID-19 infections, health experts warn."
🔹The country reported a 39% week-on-week surge in infections from 1 July to 7 July, with Okinawa the hardest hit.
Covid restrictions brought back at Tour de France.
"Masks must now be worn by EVERYONE, including organisers, guests and journalists, who may be in contact with the riders and members of the cycling teams before and after the stages."
At-home tests are the future of diagnosing disease. Reporting your result — whether negative or positive — helps your nation learn how to use those test results effectively.
🇺🇸 US: Kamala Harris' Husband Tests Positive For Covid. She Is Negative.
"He is fully vaccinated and three times boosted," she said, adding that the Second Gentleman is "currently asymptomatic, continuing to work remotely, and remaining away from others at home"
Dr. Andrew Miller criticises the WA government's vaccination campaigns for ignoring the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. He highlights the high number of hospitalisations and the low booster vaccination rates in aged care facilities. Dr. Miller calls for better public health messaging about COVID-19's airborne nature and the need for masking during outbreaks. He also stresses the importance of vaccinating children, as other countries do. He urges the government to address the long-term disabling effects of COVID-19 and take more effective action.
Poor Covid vax rates: Every Australian aged care home’s Covid vaccination booster rate revealed. By Julie Cross
“People in aged care were dying prematurely from Covid, when it is preventable. In Australia we usually pride ourselves on vaccinating people. We are great at it, but we have not done it this year.”
🔹High numbers of presentations to emergency departments (ED) in NSW for children and young adults with pneumonia, particularly in those aged 5 – 16 years (Figure 19)
🇳🇿 New Zealand: Wellington Hospital opens first Covid-19 ward in 3 years, warns of spike in respiratory bugs.
"This is the first time the hospital has had a dedicated Covid-19 clinical area since 2021, Hospital and specialist services group director operations Jamie Duncan said."
🇪🇸Spain: Thousands of Taylor Swift concertgoers in Madrid have come down with COVID-19 after Eras Tour.
"One specific X account, known for being a hub for Spanish Swifties, took a poll of their followers, asking if they had become sick with COVID-19 after one of Swift's concerts in Madrid. Of the 10,796 people who answered the poll online, 35%, or 3,780 of the concertgoers said they had."
WHO confirms first-ever fatal human case of bird flu strain H5N2.
A resident of Mexico has become the first person globally to die from the A(H5N2) subtype of bird flu.
The 59-year-old died on 24 April after developing a fever, shortness of breath, diarrhoea, nausea and general discomfort, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
🇨🇦 Canada: Ontario pulls plug on COVID-19 wastewater surveillance.
Province says move will 'avoid duplication' as Ottawa expands its monitoring program.
Premier Doug Ford's government is scrapping Ontario's program for sampling wastewater to monitor the level of COVID-19 in the population.
The program measures how much of the virus that causes COVID-19 is circulating around the province and is run by a dozen universities and research sites, through funding from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
In a statement, a provincial official said the move will "avoid duplication" with a federal program.
Sharing info on COVID since the start of the pandemic#PandemicIsNotOver💻 IT Systems Administrator 💪 GYMaHOLIC (COVID forced me to invest in a home gym)