 | | | | Palestinian authorities have ramped up COVID-19 testing and vaccinations in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip and warned that public indifference to their calls for masking and social distancing is hampering efforts to fight the pandemic. | | | | | | The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. | | | | | | Students and teachers should continue to wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in schools, even as states lift mask mandates, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said Wednesday. | | | | | | Truckers blocking U.S-Canada border crossings risk hurting the auto industry and agriculture, the White House said on Wednesday as Ottawa urged an end to the 13-day demonstration against coronavirus mandates. | | | | | | The U.S. government is planning to roll out COVID-19 shots for children under the age of 5 as soon as Feb. 21, according to a document from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. | | | | | | The governors of New York and Massachusetts announced on Wednesday that they would end certain mask mandates in their states, joining a growing list of U.S. state leaders planning to lift face-covering rules as the latest COVID-19 surge eases. | | | | | | Top European Union officials said on Wednesday low absorption of COVID-19 vaccines in African countries had become the main problem in the global vaccine rollout following a recent increase in supplies of jabs. | | | | | | New COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are beginning to go down in some countries in the Americas, but deaths continue to rise in parts of Central and South America, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday. | | | | | | The European Union is pushing for a global deal aimed at preventing new pandemics that could include a ban on wildlife markets and incentives for countries to report new viruses or variants, an EU official told Reuters. | | | | | | The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday said lower COVID cases and hospitalizations were encouraging as it weighs its current recommendations but that "we are not there yet", adding that localities should make any decisions regarding masks. | | | | | |
