Health News Roundup: Shanghai to reopen all schools Sept. 1 as lockdown fears persist; Zimbabwe blames measles surge on sect gatherings after 80 children die and more

Citizens without a record of a nucleic acid test from within seven days will be assigned a yellow code on Shanghai's health code system, the official notice said.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 15-08-2022 10:35 IST | Created: 15-08-2022 10:27 IST
Health News Roundup: Shanghai to reopen all schools Sept. 1 as lockdown fears persist; Zimbabwe blames measles surge on sect gatherings after 80 children die and more
Representative Image. (Photo Credit - Reuters) Image Credit: ANI

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Shanghai to reopen all schools Sept. 1 as lockdown fears persist

China's financial hub Shanghai said on Sunday it would reopen all schools including kindergartens, primary and middle schools on Sept. 1 after months of COVID-19 closures. The city will require all teachers and students to take nucleic acid tests for the coronavirus every day before leaving campus, the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission said.

Zimbabwe blames measles surge on sect gatherings after 80 children die

A measles outbreak has killed 80 children in Zimbabwe since April, the ministry of health has said, blaming church sect gatherings for the surge. In a statement seen by Reuters on Sunday, the ministry said the outbreak had now spread nationwide, with a case fatality rate of 6.9%.

U.S. and Switzerland working on facilitating pharma trade - U.S. ambassador

The United States and Switzerland can move towards free trade between their countries with sectoral deals and they are working on facilitating business in the pharmaceutical sector, the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland told the Tages Anzeiger newspaper. Scott Miller said that in the last round of trade negotiations between the two countries, Switzerland was not prepared to open its agricultural market for U.S. products.

Idaho top court allows near-total abortion ban to take effect

Idaho's top court on Friday refused to stop a Republican-backed state law criminalizing nearly all abortions from taking effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 decision Roe v. Wade that had recognized a constitutional right to the procedure. In a 3-2 ruling, the Idaho Supreme Court rejected a bid by a Planned Parenthood affiliate to prevent a ban from taking effect on Aug. 25 that the abortion provider argued would violate Idahoans' privacy and equal protection rights under the state's constitution. The measure allows for abortions only in cases of rape, incest or to prevent a pregnant woman's death.

Shanghai extends the weekly COVID-19 testing requirement until end of September

China's most populous city Shanghai has extended its weekly COVID-19 test requirement and extended free testing until the end of September in a bid to keep the virus in check, authorities announced on Saturday. Citizens without a record of a nucleic acid test from within seven days will be assigned a yellow code on Shanghai's health code system, the official notice said. A yellow code restricts access to some public venues.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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