Highlights:
- The NT government urges eligible residents to get the measles vaccine before the Easter holidays
- US President Joe Biden signs a Bill declassifying US intel on COVID origin
Researchers at Dartmouth College in the US have linked prosopagnosia (inability to recognise faces) with COVID-19.
"Self-report survey data from 54 respondents with long COVID showed that a majority reported reductions in visual recognition and navigation abilities," they noted in their .
"It appears high-level visual impairments are not uncommon in people with long COVID."
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines long COVID as "the continuation or development of new symptoms three months after the initial infection, with these symptoms lasting for at least two months with no other explanation."
The most common symptoms of long COVID include fatigue (tiredness) shortness of breath and problems with memory and concentration ('brain fog').
Griffith University researchers have found similar brain structure changes in people with long COVID and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Lead researcher Dr Kiran Thapaliya said brainstem dysfunction in people with chronic fatigue syndrome and Long COVID could contribute to their neurological, cardio respiratory symptoms and movement disorder.
On Friday, New South Wales reported 8,563 new weekly COVID cases compared to 8,905 last week.
However, the number of hospitalisations has been growing since 3 March in the state. It reported 873 people with COVID-19 in hospitals compared to 834 last week.
In Victoria the cases grew from 3,960 to 4,467 and the number for hospitalisations increased from 114 to 152.
The Northern Territory government has urged eligible residents to get the measles vaccine before the Easter Holidays following a rise in cases amongst returned travellers in the country.
It said measles outbreaks are occurring in the USA and Europe, and the virus remains common in countries across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Researchers at the University of Queensland have started human trials for the second-generation COVID vaccine. Researchers are looking for 70 healthy volunteers to test the vaccine.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said Australia's population grew by 1.6 per cent (or 418,500) in the 12 months to 30 September 2022, somewhat similar to growth recorded in years before the COVID-19 pandemic.
US President Joe Biden has signed a Republican-led Bill into law declassifying US intel on COVID origin.
"We need to get to the bottom of COVID-19's origins ... including potential links to the Wuhan Institute of Virology," Mr Biden said.
There was a 31 per cent decline in global COVID cases (3.7 million) and a 46 per cent decrease in deaths (26,000) in the past 28 days compared to the previous 28 days, the WHO said in its latest report on 23 March.
The US, Russia, China, Japan and Germany reported the highest COVID cases at the country level.
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