# pandemic

Smoke rises from the Ruhleben incineration power plant behind the "Unite d'Habitation of Berlin" (Corbusierhaus), a building designed by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier (L), which is located next to the Olympic Stadium, in Berlin, on October 16, 2020. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)
Smoke rises from the Ruhleben incinerati […]
Climate change, coronavirus, Environmental pollution, Health, Infographic, Video 3D

Covid and pollution: intimately linked, compound threat

Lockdowns may have temporarily cleared up the skies above big cities but experts warn that air pollution remains a Covid-19 threat multiplier that will far outlast the pandemic
5 days ago
A health worker is monitoring a patient at intensive care unit for patients infected with Covid-19 at the hospital of La-Chaux-de-Fonds on November 5, 2020. - For several weeks now, Covid-19 has once again been hitting Switzerland and more particularly its western Cantons where hospital capacity is dangerously close to saturation. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
A health worker is monitoring a patient […]
coronavirus, Health, Infographic, Video 3D

Europe sees first dip in Covid-19 cases in months, but deaths up: WHO

The number of new Covid-19 cases across Europe declined last week for the first time in over three months, but deaths in the region continued to climb, the World Health Organisation says
1 week ago
A medical worker holds a swab as he performs a rapid "antigen" coronavirus test on a man at Villa Mafalfa clinic in Rome In this file photo taken on November 6, 2020. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli / AFP
A medical worker holds a swab as he perf […]
coronavirus, Health, Infographic, Video 3D

Italy’s trailblazing rapid tests fail to halt virus

Italy was the first European country to bet big on rapid "antigen" tests, which are around 80 to 90% accurate, but they have not stopped case numbers rocketing to more than 35,000 a day
2 weeks ago
A syringe is pictured on an illustration representation of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus in Paris on May 18, 2020. (Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP)
A syringe is pictured on an illustration […]
coronavirus, Health, Infographic, Video, Video 3D

Vaccine innovation sparks hope, questions

Pfizer and BioNTech say their vaccine is 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 infections, but experts say the announcement raises many questions such as who it will protect and for how long?
2 weeks ago
This handout illustration image obtained February 27, 2020 courtesy of the US Food and Drug Administration shows the coronavirus,COVID-19. - President Donald Trump has played down fears of a major coronavirus outbreak in the United States, even as infections ricochet around the world, prompting a ban on pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. China is no longer the only breeding ground for the deadly virus as countries fret over possible contagion coming from other hotbeds of infection, including Iran, South Korea and Italy. There are now more daily cases being recorded outside China than inside the country, where the virus first emerged in December, according to the World Health Organization. (Photo by Handout / US Food and Drug Administration / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO /US FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION/HANDOUT " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
This handout illustration image obtained […]
coronavirus, Health, Infographic, Video, Video 3D

BioNTech: plucky German upstart leads Covid-19 vaccine race

German biotech firm BioNTech has never brought a vaccine to market before but it is now in pole position in the race to develop a jab that will end the coronavirus crisis
3 weeks ago
Minks are pictured in their cages at a fur farm on May 1, 2019 in Brumunddal, Norway. - The Norwegian parliament will in June adopt new legislation immediately banning any new fur farms and requiring existing farms to be dismantled by February 1, 2025. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP)
Minks are pictured in their cages at a f […]
coronavirus, Health, Infographic, Video 3D

Scientists on guard over ‘mutant’ mink coronavirus

Coronavirus transmission from minks to humans does not necessarily mean the disease will become more dangerous, but scientists are closely monitoring the situation in Denmark
3 weeks ago
A couple, wearing face masks, walks in front of the Palazzo Chigi Government office in Rome, lit with the color of the Italian flag on November 1, 2020. - Italy reported 31,758 new cases of the virus on October 31, 2020, a new daily record. The government is eyeing a lockdown of the country's major cities, news media reported, to try to slow the alarming rise in infections. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)
A couple, wearing face masks, walks in f […]
coronavirus, Europe's Workforce, Health, Infographic, Video, Video 3D

Italian regions latest to enter lockdown as virus grips Europe

Swathes of Italy have returned to coronavirus lockdown as the resurgent pandemic continued its march through Europe and reached record levels in the United States
3 weeks ago
In a reception classroom, children sit apart from each other on a carpet where crosses have been marked out for them to sit on, in a teaching environment safe from Coronavirus for pupils and teachers at Brambles Primary Academy in Huddersfield, northern England on June 4, 2020, as the Government's recommencing of education for Reception and Years 1 and 6 classes gets underway. - Primary schools reopened the week commencing June 1, welcoming back children in Reception, year 1 and year 6 age groups, alongside priority groups. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)
In a reception classroom, children sit a […]
coronavirus, Europe's Youth, Health, Infographic, Video, Video 3D

How contagious are kids with Covid? Short answer: we don’t know

Are children a major source of contagion for Covid-19? Experts are still divided on the question, even as governments decide whether to keep classrooms open or shut
3 weeks ago
Medical workers in personal protective equipment (PPE) take care of a patient at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for the Covid-19 (the novel coromavirus) cases, in the San Filippo Neri hospital in Rome, on October 29, 2020. - Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tightened nationwide coronavirus restrictions after the country registered a record number of new cases, despite opposition from regional heads and street protests over curfews. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)
Medical workers in personal protective e […]
coronavirus, Health, Infographic, Video 3D

Coronavirus: Europe still virus epicentre this week

The number of people infected by the coronavirus continued to surge in Europe over the past week, keeping the continent at the epicentre of the pandemic.
4 weeks ago
A shopper wearing a protective mask buys fruits in a Paris' district market on May 12, 2020, after France eased lockdown measures taken to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
A shopper wearing a protective mask buys […]
Budget, coronavirus, Eurozone, Health, Infographic

Eurozone GDP up 12.7% in Q3, biggest quarterly rise

Eurozone output soared by 12.7 percent in the third quarter as the bloc bounced back from the depths of the coronavirus lockdown, according to the Eurostat statistics agency
4 weeks ago