Health News Roundup: Mask-free Monday comes to Japan as government eases COVID guidelines; Finding COVID-19's origins is a moral imperative - WHO's Tedros and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Mask-free Monday comes to Japan as government eases COVID guidelines The smiles and screams at Tokyo Disneyland may be more obvious on Monday as the amusement park and much of Japan relaxes face mask norms that have defined the three-year COVID-19 pandemic.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 13-03-2023 10:34 IST | Created: 13-03-2023 10:28 IST
Health News Roundup: Mask-free Monday comes to Japan as government eases COVID guidelines; Finding COVID-19's origins is a moral imperative - WHO's Tedros and more
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Image Credit: ANI

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Mask-free Monday comes to Japan as government eases COVID guidelines

The smiles and screams at Tokyo Disneyland may be more obvious on Monday as the amusement park and much of Japan relaxes face mask norms that have defined the three-year COVID-19 pandemic. Disney park operator Oriental Land Co, East Japan Railway Co and cinema operator Toho Co are among the major companies allowing patrons to go maskless starting Monday, based on revised government guidance announced last month.

Finding COVID-19's origins is a moral imperative - WHO's Tedros

Discovering the origins of COVID-19 is a moral imperative and all hypotheses must be explored, the head of the World Health Organization said, in the clearest indication yet that the U.N. body remains committed to finding how the virus arose. A U.S. agency was reported by the Wall Street Journal to have assessed the pandemic had likely been caused by an unintended Chinese laboratory leak, raising pressure on the WHO to come up with answers. Beijing denies the assessment which could soon become public after the U.S. House of Representatives voted this week to declassify it.

Economists warn of costs if US Medicare covers new obesity drugs

The cost of expanding U.S. Medicare prescription drug coverage to pay for expensive, new obesity medications could be catastrophic, health economists warned in a report published on Saturday. Big-selling diabetes drugs have been repurposed as obesity treatments after demonstrating weight loss of more than 20% in clinical trials. While they are far more effective than older drugs, lifetime use might be required to keep lost weight off.

Give Feedback