Australia Twitter: Covid-19 testing

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Thursday, March 4, 2021

Germany starts COVID testing drive in bid to end lockdown

The days of shelling out €25 or even €50 ($30-60) for a rapid test may be numbered. The latest pandemic plan agreed to late Wednesday between Chancellor Angela Merkel and 16 state leaders, puts forward a complex, step-by-step guide to moving Germany out of lockdown. But little can happen without sufficient testing.

The federal government is expected to start picking up the tab for rapid tests starting next week.

Every person in Germany will be entitled to a weekly test, either from a test center, medical practice, or place of work, administered by trained personnel.

Opinion: No new dawn in Germany's coronavirus measures

They seemed very tired after yet another meeting to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. Once again, they addressed the cameras and thanked the citizens of Germany, cited numbers and pronounced many "if and whens" — it's becoming almost routine. And once again, there was no genuine passionate appeal.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and her co-chairs, Bavarian state minister Markus Söder of the Christian Social Union (CSU) party and Berlin mayor Michael Müller of the Social Democrats (SPD), were exhausted after nine hours, and well over 20 crisis meetings over the past 12 months.

How a coronavirus variant is overrunning Brazil

The numbers are alarming. On Tuesday, a new daily record was broken when 1,726 people died of COVID-19 in Brazil. The average death rate over the past week was 1,274. That's almost 25% higher than two weeks ago.

"We are currently experiencing the worst moment of the pandemic, with daily death tolls breaking new records and overburdened intensive care units all over the country," microbiologist Natalia Pasternak told DW.

Over 257,000 Brazilians have died of COVID-19 already. But the spread of the virus has picked up dramatically. On Tuesday, almost 60,000 new cases were registered.

New Russian variant of COVID-19 detected in Queensland hotel quarantine

Passengers aboard a Qatar Airways flight that landed in Brisbane last month will have their quarantine period extended after it was revealed several people on board tested positive for the Russian strain of coronavirus.

Due to be released from isolation today, all 74 passengers will have their quarantine period extended for a further five days as authorities investigate and organise additional testing.

Returned travellers have Brisbane hotel quarantine stay extended after Russian COVID-19 variant scare

Passengers and crew on an international flight that arrived in Brisbane last month have been forced to extend their hotel quarantine stay after several cases of the Russian COVID-19 variant were detected.

Queensland Health confirmed to 7NEWS.com.au that two cases of the B1.1.317 variant were recorded among passengers on Qatar Airways flight QR898, which arrived from Doha on February 17.

New Russian COVID variant on the loose in Queensland

New variant of COVID-19 is on the loose in Queensland, forcing dozens of travellers to extend their stay in hotel quarantine.

At least 74 passengers and crew who arrived in Brisbane on a Qatar Airways flight QR898 from Doha on February 17 will now remain in quarantine until Monday, March 8, after two cases of the B1.1.317 variant — or Russian strain — were recorded.

They’ll also undergo additional testing, with a letter from Metro North Hospital and Health Service to the passengers confirming the coronavirus infections “occurred later in the 14-day quarantine period”.

US variant cases surpass 2,500, up from 546 a month ago; CDC reports distribution of 100M vaccine doses. Latest COVID-19 updates

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday that the country has more than 2,500 cases of coronavirus variants that can spread more easily and dodge some treatments and immunities.

USA TODAY: US variant cases have increased fivefold in a month, CDC says: Latest COVID-19 updates https://t.co/E5sUwcay14
— Mix World Tw!tter (@Mix_World_Blog) March 3, 2021

More than 100 new cases of the B.1.1.7 variant first seen in the United Kingdom were reported just since Sunday, bringing the nation's total to 2,506. Illinois reported 27 new cases to reach 69; Maryland reported 21 more to reach 89; and Georgia reported 18 more to reach 137.

Your guide to coronavirus and COVID-19

What you need to know about coronavirus and COVID-19, including what to do if you think you might be sick, how to keep you and your family safe and tips on what to do while staying home.

What vaccines are there?

The FDA has authorized a third COVID-19 vaccine for public use. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine joins two others: one from Pfizer-BioNTech and the other from Moderna, which have been given to nearly 50 million Americans since they were authorized in December.

Vaccinating by age groups is unfair, particularly to minorities, advisory panel tells CDC

Many states prioritized COVID-19 vaccines for people over 75, then moved to those over 65, but they shouldn't keep stepping down by age, an advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday.

The approach is inherently unfair to minorities, committee members said, because they have a lower life-expectancy and because people of color are dying of COVID-19 at younger ages than white Americans – even in their 30s, 40s and 50s.

My students need support, not standardized tests. Biden, keep your promise to end testing.

When Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump for the presidency in 2020, many of our nation’s pandemic-weary educators had reason for optimism. The change in leadership meant an exit for the spectacularly unpopular Betsy DeVos, a secretary of Education whose lack of ed credentials and support for privatization had galled public school teachers for four years. It meant we’d have a real teacher as first lady in Dr. Jill Biden, someone with first-hand knowledge of the plight of educators who could hopefully encourage President Biden to live up to his lofty campaign promises about education.

World’s first AI-powered rapid COVID-19 antigen test launched in the UAE

Two UAE-based health companies have partnered with Canada’s Laipac Technology to launch the “world’s first” artificial intelligence (AI)-powered rapid COVID-19 antigen test.

YAS Pharmaceuticals and Pure Health will be working with the Ontario-based Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) specialist to provide an “intelligent and innovative way to deploy technologies to better protect the health of people across the region,” Laipac announced in a statement.

Marissa DuBois in Slow Motion Full Fashion Week 2023, Fashion Channel Vlog,