News On The Air

  Anxious parents received information about their children only after midnight China’s government officials locked down a primary school in Beijing with dozens of students inside, after a teacher tested positive for Covid-19. Anxious parents of the children, reportedly between the ages of seven and twelve, gathered outside late Monday, when the positive case was discovered and the school went into lockdown. The parents received information about their children only a little after midnight, when the principal emerged to inform them that some of the children would have to be quarantined, reported Bloomberg. It is unclear exactly how many students were subsequently quarantined. The BBC, quoting a report by the New Tang Dynasty Television outlet, said 35 children were quarantined. The principal also said the quarantine period for the children would be for two weeks, adding that only one parent could stay with each child for the quarantine period. Parents whose children were still awai...

Italy's latest health data showed that the trend of falling intensive care admissions had reversed in the past week, while the number of new infections continues to rise. The number of Covid-19 patients in Italian intensive care units increased by 12.9 percent in the period from October 27-November 2, the independent Gimbe foundation for evidence-based medicine said in its weekly report on Thursday. The number of patients in intensive care units had been steadily dropping since the end of August. Italy also recorded another rise in the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases (+16.6 percent) and an increase in the number of patients with coronavirus being admitted to hospital (+14.9 percent), data from the health ministry showed. The number of Covid-related deaths in the last week was relatively stable at 257, compared to 249 the previous week. The report stressed that pressure on health services remained relatively low, with the proportion of ordinary hospital wards and intensive care b...

  One big factor was the return of American tourists, who accounted for 10 percent of overall visits, as well as tourists from nearby European countries. The Eiffel Tower is clocking up visitor numbers not seen since Covid-19 kept most tourists away and ripped a deep hole in its finances, the attraction's operator said Thursday. A major paint job on the "Iron Lady" has resumed after an interruption during the pandemic due to high lead levels, it said, with the aim of having the landmark look its best in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Eiffel Tower had "a good month of October", operator Sete told AFP, thanks to tourists returning to Paris, a top  destination. It received an average of more than 20,000 visitors per day in October, up from 13,000 during the summer when curbs kept down numbers allowed into the tower's lifts. October weekend numbers were better than in 2019, Sete said. One big factor was the return of American tourists, who accounted for 1...