MILAN (AP) — Italy’s data protection authority said Friday it was imposing an immediate block on TikTok’s access to data for any user whose age has not been verified. The authority said it was acting with “urgency” following the death of a 10-year-old girl in Sicily, who died while participating in a so-called “blackout” challenge […]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s crowded in the back of the ambulance. Two emergency medical technicians, the patient, the gurney — and an unseen and unwelcome passenger lurking in the air. For EMTs Thomas Hoang and Joshua Hammond, the coronavirus is constantly close. COVID-19 has become their biggest fear during 24-hour shifts in California’s Orange […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday will formally reinstate COVID-19 travel restrictions on non-U.S. travelers from Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom and 26 other European countries that allow travel across open borders, according to two White House officials. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the order, also confirmed […]

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Sunday he has tested positive for COVID-19 and that the symptoms are mild. Mexico’s president, who has been criticized for his handling of his country’s pandemic, said on his official Twitter account that he is under medical treatment. “I regret to inform you that […]

BNEI BRAK (VINnews) — In a worrying escalation of police actions against the Chareidi population over the implementation of coronavirus regulations, a policeman fired his gun during the course of a Bnei Brak demonstration over the closing of a Talmud Torah. The demonstration was organized by the Jerusalem Faction after the Grodna Talmud Torah in […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Israel’s coronavirus project manager Nachman Ash told Army Radio last week that the first dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine is less effective than the pharmaceutical giant had suggested. “Many people have been infected between the first and second injections of the vaccine,” Ash admitted. He told Army Radio that the first […]

JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said Israel will be closing its international airport to nearly flights as the government races to bring a raging coronavirus outbreak under control. The entry of highly contagious variants of the coronavirus, coupled with poor enforcement of safety rules in ultra-Orthodox communities, has contributed to one […]

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel continues to far outpace the entire world in its COVID-19 vaccine rollout. This weekend the country’s health ministry announced that teenagers between the ages of 16 and 18 are now eligible for the vaccine. In all, Israel has vaccinated about 2.5 million out of its approximately 9 million citizens since beginning […]

NEW YORK (VINnews) — Joe Biden insisted repeatedly during his campaign that he had a definitive plan on how to combat COVID-19 as opposed to President Trump’s policies on the pandemic. Prior to the election, Biden’s campaign revealed the ambitious  “Biden plan to combat coronavirus and prepare for future global health threats.” Biden outlined a […]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Imagine if you were walking down the Bat Yam promenade, enjoying a visit to the seaside. The promenade is filled with people and there is almost no social distancing, masks and other precautions. Many of the people there do not live within 1000 meters and are therefore not permitted to violate Israel’s […]