Health News Roundup: Britain reports 62,399 COVID cases, 85 deaths; Thai pig farmers angered by havoc from suspected African swine fever

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Britain reports 62,399 COVID cases, 85 deaths Britain reported a further 62,399 cases of COVID-19 on Sunday and 85 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test, government statistics showed.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Britain reports 62,399 COVID cases, 85 deaths

Britain reported a further 62,399 cases of COVID-19 on Sunday and 85 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test, government statistics showed. Those figures do not include cases and deaths from Northern Ireland, which did not provide its numbers in time for inclusion in the daily update, the government said.

Thai pig farmers angered by havoc from suspected African swine fever

Business began unravelling for Thai pig farmer Jintana Jamjumrus two years ago, after dozens of her animals got feverish and died within days of a mysterious illness she suspected of being a viral disease with no known vaccine, African swine fever (ASF). This month, officials identified the first case of ASF in Jintana's province of Nakhon Pathom, after years of saying it was not in Thailand, unleashing a political firestorm as pork prices hit an all-time high near which they may stay for months.

Italy reports 104,065 coronavirus cases on Sunday, 235 deaths

Italy reported 104,065 COVID-19 related cases on Sunday, against 137,147 the day before, the health ministry said, while the number of deaths fell to 235 from 377. Italy has registered 146,149 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth highest in the world. The country has reported 10.9 million cases to date.

Olympics-China reports 34 new COVID-19 cases among Games-related personnel

Thirty-four new COVID-19 infections were detected among Olympics-related personnel, the Beijing 2022 Winter Games organising committee said on Sunday, including Poland's short track medal hopeful Natalia Maliszewska. Of those, 13 were athletes or team officials who tested positive after arriving at the airport on Saturday.

Britain reports 72,727 new COVID cases, 296 deaths

Britain reported a further 72,727 cases of COVID-19 on Saturday and 296 more deaths, government statistics showed. Cases are down 3.6% over the last seven days compared with the week before, while deaths are down 3.2% over the same seven-day period.

Britain to offer COVID vaccinations to vulnerable children aged 5-11

Britain will this week begin offering vaccinations to children aged between five and 11 who are most at risk from coronavirus, the state-run National Health Service said on Sunday. Britain has been slower than some other countries in offering the shots to 5-11 year olds, and is not planning to vaccinate the age group more broadly unlike countries such as the United States and Israel.

Qatar approves Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for children aged 5-11 years

Qatari Ministry of Health approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years, it said on Sunday. In November, Gulf states Bahrain and Saudi Arabia approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use for children in the same age category.

Hong Kong allows hamster pet stores to resume business after COVID cull

Dozens of pet stores that sold hamsters in Hong Kong may resume business from Sunday, Hong Kong's government said, after being shuttered last week and thousands culled over coronavirus fears. Authorities enraged pet lovers with an order to cull more than 2,200 hamsters after tracing an outbreak to a worker in a shop where 11 hamsters tested positive. Imported hamsters from Holland into the Chinese territory had been cited as the source. All hamster imports remain banned.

Explainer-Scientists on alert over rising cases caused by Omicron cousin BA.2

The highly transmissible Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus - the most common form of which is known as BA.1 - now accounts for nearly all of the coronavirus infections globally, although dramatic surges in COVID cases have already peaked in some countries. Scientists are now tracking a rise in cases caused by a close cousin known as BA.2, which is starting to outcompete BA.1 in parts of Europe and Asia. The following is what we know so far about the new subvariant:

China to strengthen anti-monopoly efforts in pharma industry

China will toughen law enforcement to curb monopoly practices and unfair competition in the pharmaceutical industry as the government seeks to foster a good business environment, the industry ministry said on Sunday. The action follows November's regulatory guidelines to stamp out monopolies in active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). China leads the world in making and exporting these products.