“Sustained” face-to-face contact is needed to spread the disease, Rochelle Walensky said The monkeypox virus can spread through the air, but only if “close, sustained face-to-face contact” is maintained, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told reporters on Friday. With the disease spreading predominantly among gay men, СDС Director Rochelle Walensky, cautioned doctors not to mistake …

Music superstar Justin Bieber announced Friday that he has been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a rare neurological disorder. “It is from this virus attacks the nerves in my ear, my facial nerves, and has caused my face to have paralysis,” Bieber said in a video posted to Instagram. The 28-year-old musician was forced to cancel three appearances this week on his Justice World …

China’s financial hub Shanghai has reported over 27,000 coronavirus cases, setting a new record. On Thursday, Shanghai reported a record 2,573 total symptomatic cases for the previous day, up from 1,189 a day earlier. Asymptomatic cases, meanwhile, reached 25,146, up from 25,141. The numbers came a day after President Xi Jinping said the country must continue with its strict “dynamic …

When Jen Martin tested positive for COVID-19 in early February, she was surprised by just how unwell she felt. “I didn’t have a fever but I had very serious aches and pains, crazy lethargy, and a hacking cough,” she says. “I certainly felt worse than I had expected to, having heard all of the stories about it being mild.” Six …

The New South Wales coroner has confirmed that COVID-19 was responsible for the death of a two-month-old baby at Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital in December. It is understood to be Australia’s youngest COVID-19 victim. The death was first reported publicly in January, at which time authorities said the cause of death was uncertain. The case was referred to the coroner who has determined the infant …

The nation’s top vaccine advisory group is set to recommend a “winter” COVID-19 jab for some of the most vulnerable Australians on Friday. Ahead of a feared surge in cases during the coming colder months, people over the age of 65 and those who are immunocompromised will be eligible for an extra dose. Indigenous Australians aged 50 and over, as well as …

This might be a familiar scene. You pop into your local pharmacy to fill a script and you’re told your regular medicine is out of stock. When will it be in? Sorry, we don’t have a date. But I’ll ring up your GP to see if she can authorise an alternative. This is a common conversation more than two years …

On the face of it, it seems confusing: data shows there are more vaccinated people than unvaccinated people in ICU in Victoria and New South Wales. Taken out of context, it can contribute to misinformation or even give an incorrect picture of how effective vaccines are. But experts say that given the vast majority of Australians are fully vaccinated, the data …

Aged-care residents are being forced to isolate in their rooms without visits from family members for “weeks on end” as COVID-19 rips through the sector. Government figures show more than 1100 aged-care homes are now battling active outbreaks, with 222 elderly residents dying of COVID-19 in the week to January 27. All the while homes are having to get by with …

A leading health expert has warned of the potential spread of the virulent Omicron COVID-19 strain during Australia Day events as large crowds gather for protest or celebration. Chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and former health department head Jane Halton says the closer people pack together, the more likely the virus will spread. “We know it’s highly infectious …