Livestream
Special Interview
Video Streaming
nuke
July
Canada says fourth COVID-19 surge can be limited with vaccinations, slow reopening
Single mother Lizbeth Leon Adame, from Mexico, gets a COVID-19 vaccine as her daughter Lizbetha watches at a clinic planned for and organised by the Latino community, an ethno-racial group more at risk of hospitalisation from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) according to city of Toronto data, in Toronto, Canada, on May 15, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Osorio) -
Canada must vaccinate as many people as possible and cautiously relax public health measures as COVID-19 case numbers creep higher at the start of what could be a fourth wave, the country's top health official said on Friday.
Rising case counts suggest "we are at the start of the Delta-driven fourth wave, but that the trajectory will depend on an ongoing increase in fully vaccinated coverage and the timing, pace and extent of reopening," Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam told reporters. Of the variants detected in Canada, the Delta increased more than five-fold in June, Tam said. Nationally, the seven-day rolling average of cases is 93 per cent lower than it was at the peak of the third wave, but the average is climbing again, official data show.
Separately, Canada extended by about a month its main pandemic support measures, including subsidies for businesses to pay wages and rent, to Oct 23.
Businesses had been pushing for an extension just as the Liberal government appears poised to seek a September snap vote. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the measures were still needed because the economy was still in the process of reopening.
Earlier on Friday, Statistics Canada said economic growth jumped 0.7 per cent in June as businesses reopened following the third wave.
If health restrictions are relaxed too quickly before more of the population is fully vaccinated, "we could expect to see a sharp resurgence by the end of the summer", Tam said.
More than 81 per cent of Canadians eligible for vaccines have had one shot, and more than 66 per cent are fully inoculated. But some 6 million people still need to be vaccinated, she said.
She noted that Britain had seen a sharp rise in new cases, but now they are falling as more and more people get inoculated.
"International experience with Delta driven waves underscores the need for gradual and cautious lifting of restrictions until fully vaccinated coverage is high across the population," Tam said//CNA
July
Most COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts outbreak among vaccinated, says CDC
Syringes with the Pfizer vaccine are prepared for a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine clinic aimed at youths ages 12 or older at La Colaborativa in Chelsea, Massachusetts, on Jun 11, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder) -
Three quarters of people infected with COVID-19 at public events in a Massachusetts town were fully vaccinated, a study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed.
The study, published on Friday without naming the town, suggested the Delta variant of the virus was highly contagious.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said this was a "pivotal discovery" leading to CDC's recommendation this week that masks be worn in areas where cases were surging as a precaution against possible transmission by fully vaccinated people.
"The masking recommendation was updated to ensure the vaccinated public would not unknowingly transmit virus to others, including their unvaccinated or immunocompromised loved ones," Walensky said.
Overall, 79% of the vaccinated individuals who were infected with COVID-19 also reported symptoms such as cough, headache, sore throat and fever. Four had to be hospitalized.
Vaccinated individuals had received one of the three available shots made by Pfizer and BioNTech, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson, the data showed.
A separate CDC internal document, first reported by the Washington Post, described the Delta variant as being as transmissible as chickenpox and cautioned it could cause severe disease.
Multiple events in the town in Barnstable county, Massachusetts had attracted thousands of tourists from across the country.
The study identified 469 people with COVID-19, 74 per cent of whom were fully vaccinated, following the large gatherings. Testing identified the Delta variant in 90 per cent of virus specimens from 133 people//CNA
July
Illustration. ANTARA/HO -
The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, in cooperation with the Indonesian Game Association, will assist a number of selected gaming companies to join the 2021 Gamescom & Tokyo Game Show 2021, in a bid to support Indonesian game industry makers on the international stage.
"This is a diverse selection of chosen participants and they all are of excellent quality. They have the advantage of a valuation component and have a selling point. Next, we will equip them so that they can perform optimally at Gamescom and Tokyo Game Show 2021," said the Deputy for Marketing from the Ministry, Nia Niscaya, in a statement received here on Friday.
Gamescom is a world-renowned game trade and exhibition that will be held in August. The Tokyo Game Show is a video game exhibition that is recognized in the Asian region and will be held from September to October 2021.
Both events will be held via online and offline means, with Indonesia participating virtually. For the Gamescom event, Indonesia will also be working alongside the Trade Attache in the Indonesian Embassy in Berlin and the Indonesian Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) in Hamburg.
Following a two-phase curation process, the Ministry and the Game Association have selected a number of game developers who will be representing Indonesia in the events, including 30 delegates for the 2021 Gamescom and 19 for the Tokyo Game Show.
All delegates will be participating in the Archipelageek Goes to Gamescom & Tokyo Game Show 2021 program. Not only will they represent Indonesia in the events, but participants also have the opportunity to exhibit their products in the Indonesian pavilion virtual booth and carry out business transactions with international buyers.
"We hope that by joining these events, participants can exhibit the quality of Indonesian games on the international stage," she said.
Indonesia's participation in the events is also decided based on the positive contribution made by the games sub-sector towards the country's GDP in 2020.
According to data from the Tourism and Creative Economy Outlook of 2020-2021, the application and game developer sub-sectors had contributed 24.88 trillion rupiahs to the country's GDP. This indicates how the Indonesian gaming sub-sector has great potential in the global market.
Indonesia has participated in previous Gamescom & Tokyo Game Show events, including in 2020 and 2018.
The following is a list of participants who have been selected to represent Indonesia in the Gamescom and Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2021 events: Indonesian delegates for the 2021 Gamescom: 1. 4happy Studio 2. Agate 3. Algorocks 4. Arsanesia 5. Ayoo Kreasi 6. Big Fire Studio 7. Engram Interactive 8. Extra Life Entertainment 9. Gambir Studio 10. GameChanger Studio 11. GOCpay 12. JEVO Games 13. Joyseed Gametribe 14. Kawarna Studio 15. Lyto 16. MelonCat 17. Miracle Gates Entertainment 18. Niji Games 19. Pendopo Studio 20. PT Megaxus Infotech 21. PT Melon Indonesia 22. Rainman Studios 23. Rolling Glory Jam 24. Satriver Studio 25.
Seraph Games 26. SLAB 27. UNIQX Studio 28. Vertwo 29. Wisageni Studio 30. Xelo Games Indonesian delegates for the 2021 Tokyo Game Show: 1. 4happy Studio 2. Agate 3. Algorocks 4. Ayoo Kreasi 5. Big Fire Studio 6. Engram Interactive 7. Extra Life Entertainment 8. Gambir Studio 9. GameChanger Studio 10. Joyseed Gametribe 11. Lyto 12. PT Megaxus Infotech 13. PT Melon Indonesia 14. Rainman Studios 15. Satriver Studio 16. Seraph Games 17. Vertwo 18. Wisageni Studio 19. Xelo Games//ANT
July
Vaccination in Tangerang City. (ANTARA/Ho-Humas Pemkot Tangerang/RA) -
The Tangerang City Health Office in Banten Province had administered 133,186 doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the past week, as 73,086 people received their first dose while 60,100 others had been inoculated for the second time.
The Tangerang City Health Office head, Dr. Liza Puspadewi, said that the acceleration of vaccinations carried out by the Tangerang City Government is currently targeting 15,000 to 20,000 people per day.
"In fact, some time ago, we could reach 23,883 vaccines given in a day," she said in a statement that ANTARA quoted here Friday.
She noted that the number of people in Tangerang city who have received at least the first vaccine dose has reached 592,240 people, while 272,554 people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Puspadewi ensured that her side will continue to ramp up the administering of vaccinations to support the national target of achieving herd immunity by vaccinating 70 percent of Indonesian citizens.
However, she admitted that the number of people being vaccinated on weekends is lower compared to weekdays.
To achieve the target, she stressed, the Tangerang City Government has made great progress by providing online vaccination registrations.
Not only that, but the Health Office has also started promoting vaccinations for students, she added.
"Vaccination programs have been made easier, and residents no longer need to queue. This is an effort to provide them the best service and also to speed up the process," she said.
Puspadewi hoped that Tangerang City residents could make the most out of this opportunity in order to support the government in handling the COVID-19 outbreak.
"Only by vaccinating and implementing the health protocols, can we end this pandemic together," she said//ANT