Health

In 2022, the resident total fertility rate in Singapore reached a record low of 1.05, falling below the previous high of 1.1 in 2020 and 1.12 in 2021. Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), told Parliament on Friday, “This was partially due to the Tiger year in the Lunar calendar, which is typically associated with fewer births …

When Ignasi Biosca-Reig learned that amoxicillin was in limited supply in Spain, he immediately expanded shifts at his company’s plants to increase output of the popular antibiotic. However, he could only accept a few extra shifts. Biosca-Reig stated that he could not justify investing millions of euros in new production lines unless he was compensated much more for the generic …

Monday, February 6th, was the first time in three years that all border gates were fully reopened without COVID-19 limitations. Tens of thousands of travelers traveled between mainland China and its special administrative territory of Hong Kong. China stated last week that cross-border travel between the mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao will resume in full on February 6, removing current …

The building of a P6-billion ($112 million) cancer center has been approved by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., marking the beginning of his infrastructure project, which would rely more on private funding than his predecessor’s. Marcos presided over the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, which authorized the Public-Private Partnership funding for the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) …

NK News, citing a government notification, said on Wednesday that authorities in the North Korean capital Pyongyang have ordered a five-day lockdown in response to an increase in instances of an unidentified respiratory infection. According to NK News, which monitors North Korea, the warning did not mention COVID-19 but stated that inhabitants of the city were ordered to remain in …

China stated that the worst was over in its fight against COVID-19 prior to what is set to be the biggest travel day in years on Friday, January 20, a huge movement of people that has stoked worries of a new outbreak. State media reported late on Thursday, January 18 that Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, who oversees China’s virus response, …

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on January 20 that Japan may explore lowering COVID-19 to a less severe infectious illness and reducing its suggestion that people wear masks in public indoor locations as early as this spring. After meeting with relevant ministers, Kishida told the media that he had asked them to study the particular parameters for reclassifying COVID-19 into …

Chinese drugmakers scrambled to produce anti-fever medications and other COVID-19 therapies on Thursday, January 19, after President Xi Jinping expressed concern over the flow of holiday tourists to rural regions unable to deal with surprise outbreaks. Xi’s remarks came little over a month after his administration unexpectedly scrapped his “zero-COVID” rules, which had mainly protected China’s 1.4 billion people from …

Several children were reportedly injured after swallowing a snack containing liquid nitrogen, prompting the Indonesian government to encourage local health officials to monitor food facilities and to advise parents to be more attentive. The snack, sometimes known as “dragon’s breath” and known locally as chiki ngebul, is a form of colorful candy covered with liquid nitrogen mist. Recently, youngsters have …

China’s abrupt shift away from a zero-COVID plan in December 2022 makes its reopening one of the year’s most significant economic developments. In the context of escalating economic and social costs involved with maintaining rigorous containment measures, it has occurred quicker and earlier than analysts predicted. On the expectation that Chinese consumers will unleash their pent-up demand, reopening has fuelled …