The World Health Organization says a small outbreak of the Ebola virus has been contained in an eastern province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).According to Congo’s Ministry of Health, the outbreak inflected 12 people and killed six in North Kivu province.The WHO congratulated the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s health authorities and the heath workers “on the ground for their swift response which built on the country’s previous experience in tackling Ebola outbreaks,” said the U.N. agency in a statement Monday.According to its statement, the WHO had an estimated 60 experts on the ground to help local workers trace contacts, provide treatment, engage communities and vaccinate nearly 2,000 people at high risk, including more than 500 front-line workers.“Huge credit must be given to the local health workers and the national authorities for their prompt response, tenacity, experience and hard work that brought this outbreak under control,” said …

Amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in India and other parts of the world, the Biden administration remains noncommittal on a proposal to loosen patent restrictions so that countries can manufacture generic versions of the coronavirus vaccines. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report. …

Murder, rape and physical abuse are among the attacks that healthcare workers, the wounded and the sick have been subjected to in the five years since the United Nations Security Council adopted its first resolution on the protection of health care in conflict zones and demanded an end to impunity for such attacks.  The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement Monday that “health-care providers and patients have suffered through thousands of attacks on health care systems” since the resolution was adopted. Medical facilities and medical transport vehicles have been looted and destroyed and health care services, such as vaccine campaigns, have also come under attack, the ICRC added.  The ICRC counted 3,780 attacks per year in an average of 33 countries between 2016 and 2020, the aid organization said in a statement. Two-thirds of the attacks, ICRC said, occurred in Africa and the Middle East, including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Israel and the occupied territories, and Syria. The count is likely higher than the ICRC tabulations, the organization said, because of the challenges of accumulating data in conflict zones. The COVID pandemic has not …

Pakistan decided Sunday to temporarily suspend incoming pedestrian movement at overland border crossings with Afghanistan and Iran to “restrain import of any new mutation” of the coronavirus.    The restriction will take effect Tuesday night and remain in place until May 20, said the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), which oversees Pakistan’s response to the outbreak.    Pakistani nationals in Afghanistan and Iran, as well as Afghans seeking extreme emergency medical treatment in Pakistan will, however, be allowed to enter the country. All outbound pedestrian movement will be permissible, the statement said.     The tightened border controls come a day after officials in the southern Pakistani province of Sindh said they had detected the South African and Brazilian coronavirus variants in “some samples.” The highly contagious variants have raised fears of escalations in new infections.    A British variant, however, officially remains the primary source of the current …

India continues to be pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic, documenting a new national record Sunday of nearly 3,700 deaths in the last 24 hours and more than 390,000 new infections. Even so, India began counting votes for state elections, although the Madras High Court assailed the country’s Election Commission for not stopping political rallies that flouted COVID-19 restrictions. Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee called the commission “singularly responsible” for the surge in new cases. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus. While India is home to the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India, only 2% of the country’s 1.3 billion people have so far been vaccinated, according to reports.  The country expanded its vaccine eligibility Saturday to anyone 18 and older, but many locations reported that they did not have any vaccines. Many in India have blamed Adar Poonawalla, Serum Institute’s chief executive officer, for the gap. But he pushed …

Pakistan decided Sunday to temporarily suspend incoming pedestrian movement at overland border crossings with Afghanistan and Iran to “restrain import of any new mutation” of the coronavirus.    The restriction will take effect Tuesday night and remain in place until May 20, said the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), which oversees Pakistan’s response to the outbreak.    Pakistani nationals in Afghanistan and Iran, as well as Afghans seeking extreme emergency medical treatment in Pakistan will, however, be allowed to enter the country. All outbound pedestrian movement will be permissible, the statement said.     The tightened border controls come a day after officials in the southern Pakistani province of Sindh said they had detected the South African and Brazilian coronavirus variants in “some samples.” The highly contagious variants have raised fears of escalations in new infections.    A British variant, however, officially remains the primary source of the current …

India has been pummeled by the coronavirus outbreak, with staggering numbers of daily infections. While India is home to the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India, only 2% of the country’s 1.3 billion people have so far been vaccinated.  The country expanded its vaccine eligibility Saturday to anyone 18 and older, but many locations reported that they did not have any vaccines.  Adar Poonawalla, Serum Institute’s chief executive officer has become a target because of the vaccination gap, and many blamed the India’s situation on Poonawalla. FILE – Adar Poonawalla, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Serum Institute of India poses for a picture at the Serum Institute of India, Pune, India, Nov. 30, 2020.“The level of expectation and aggression is really unprecedented,” he told Britain’s The Times in an interview Sunday. “I’m staying here an extended time because I don’t want to go back to that situation,” …

SpaceX returned four astronauts from the International Space Station on Sunday, making the first U.S. crew splashdown in darkness since the Apollo 8 moonshot.The Dragon capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida, just before 3 a.m., ending the second astronaut flight for Elon Musk’s company.It was an express trip home, lasting just 6 1/2 hours.The astronauts, three American and one Japanese, flew back in the same capsule — named Resilience — in which they launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in November.Their 167-day mission is the longest for astronauts launching from the U.S. The previous record of 84 days, about 3 months, was set by NASA’s final Skylab station crew in 1974.Saturday night’s undocking left seven people at the space station, four of whom arrived a week ago via SpaceX.“Earthbound!” NASA astronaut Victor Glover tweeted after departing the station. “One step closer to …

India set a record Saturday, for the first time surpassing 400,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.The new infections count for the previous 24-hour period was a record 401,993 cases, according to India’s health ministry. Public health officials believe the actual count may be at least five times higher.“This virus has shown us that if left to its own devices, it will explode in society,” top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said in an interview with Indian Express newspaper. “If you don’t respect its ability to cause serious damage, you are going to get into trouble.”Fauci recommended a lockdown for India.“Literally, lock down so that you wind up having less spread. No one likes to lock down the country. … But if you do it just for a few weeks, you could have a significant impact on the dynamics of the outbreak.”Overall, India has 19,164,969 …

Uganda has suspended all flights coming into the country from India after recording new variants of the coronavirus, including the COVID-19 variant from India.The ban began Saturday at midnight.The new directive follows the Ministry of Health researchers detecting one case of the coronavirus disease, an Indian variant, in the East African country.India has so far recorded more than 18.8 million COVID-19 cases, with deaths topping 200,000 in the past week — with new infection cases surpassing 400,000.Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, Uganda’s minister for health, outlined the travel restrictions.“All passenger flights between Uganda and India are suspended until further notice,” she said. “No travelers from India shall be allowed into Uganda, regardless of the route of travel.”Aceng stressed that all travelers who may have been in India or traveled through India in the last 14 days, regardless of route taken, will not be allowed into Uganda.She said Uganda has so far …

India’s daily COVID count of new cases has, for the first time, surpassed the 400,000 mark. The new infections count for the previous 24-hour period was a record 401,993 cases, India’s health ministry said Saturday. Public health officials believe the actual count may be at least five times higher.   “This virus has shown us that if left to its own devices, it will explode in society,” top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said in an interview with Indian Express newspaper. “If you don’t respect its ability to cause serious damage, you are going to get into trouble.”   Fauci recommended a lockdown for India. “Literally, lock down so that you wind up having less spread. No one likes to lock down the country … But if you do it just for a few weeks, you could have a significant impact on the dynamics of the outbreak.”   Eighteen …

At least 12 patients were killed early Saturday when a fire erupted in a COVID-19 ward at a hospital in western India.Authorities say 50 patients were rescued from the ground floor fire at the Welfare Hospital in Bharuch, in Gujarat state.It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, according to officials.Meanwhile the White House says 100 million Americans are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, nearly double the 55 million vaccinated a month ago.White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients proclaimed the number a “major milestone” at a briefing Friday.”That’s a hundred million Americans with a sense of relief and peace of mind, knowing that after a long and hard year, they’re protected from the virus,” Zients said.Every American older than 16 is now eligible for the vaccine, and President Joe Biden has promised there will be enough vaccine for every U.S. adult by the end of May.The situation in …