Monday,December 14, 2020
Toughest coronavirus restrictions to be imposed in London
London and surrounding areas will be placed under the highest level of coronavirus restrictions from Wednesday as infections rise rapidly in the capital, Britain's health secretary has said.
Matt Hancock said the government must take swift action after seeing “very sharp, exponential rises” in Greater London and nearby Kent and Essex.
He said that in some areas, cases are doubling every seven days.
He told lawmakers that the surge of Covid-19 cases in southern England may be associated with a new variant of coronavirus.
He didn’t provide details about the virus variant, but stressed there was nothing to suggest it was more likely to cause serious disease, or that it wouldn’t respond to a vaccine.
Turkey to impose five-day lockdown
Turkey will impose a five-day full lockdown beginning on December 31 to maintain gains against the pandemic, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.
The announcement was made as official data showed new daily coronavirus deaths hit a record 229.
Erdogan, speaking after a cabinet meeting, said the stay-home order would begin at 9 PM on New Year's Eve and run through January 4.
Separately, government data showed new daily Covid-19 cases stood at 29,617 in the last 24 hours.
Italy reports 491deaths
Italy reported 491 coronavirus-related deaths against 484 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections declined to 12,030 from 17,938.
There were 103,584 swabs carried out in the past day, down sharply from a previous 152,697, the ministry said.
The first Western country hit by the virus, Italy has seen 65,011 Covid-19 fatalities since its outbreak emerged in February, the highest toll in Europe and the fifth-highest in the world.
It has also registered 1.856 million cases to date.
Patients in hospital with Covid-19 stood at 27,765 on Monday, up by 30 from the day before.
France sees another 371 fatalities
French health authorities reported 3,063 new Covid-19 infections over the past 24 hours, sharply down from Sunday's 11,533, but the number of people hospitalised for the disease went up for the third day running.
Case numbers have tended to dip on Mondays as there are fewer tests conducted on Sundays. The seven-day moving average of new infections averaging out weekly data reporting irregularities stood at 12,001, declining for the first time in 10 days.
The number of people in France who have died from Covid-19 infections rose by 371 to 58,282, up from 150 on Sunday. The cumulative number of cases in France now totals 2,379,915, the fifth-highest in the world.
New York nurse receiving first Covid-19 vaccine in US
A nurse in New York has become the first person in the United States to receive the coronavirus vaccine.
Sandra Lindsay, a critical care nurse at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, received the Pfizer-BioNTech shot live on TV shortly before 1430 GMT.
"First Vaccine Administered. Congratulations USA! Congratulations WORLD!" President Donald Trump tweeted.
Canada administers first doses of Covid-19 vaccine
Canada administered its first doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, becoming one of the first countries to do so in the effort to beat back the pandemic.
Five front-line workers in Ontario were among the first Canadians to receive the vaccine at one of Toronto’s hospitals. Two nurses and three other workers at the Rekai Centre nursing home received the vaccine.
“This is a victory day for science,” said Dr. Kevin Smith, president, and CEO of Toronto’s University Health Network. “Here we are today breaking the back of his horrible virus.”
Anita Quidangen, a worker at a long-term home, received the first shot in Ontario.
Singapore approves Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
Singapore has approved Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine for use and expects delivery of the first shots by the end of December, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.
The city-state of 5.7 million expects to have enough vaccines for everyone by the third quarter of 2021, Lee added, and will make it free for all Singaporeans and long-term residents.
Lee said he and other government officials would be among the early recipients, after healthcare workers, frontline workers, the elderly and the vulnerable
Ireland may need to reimpose curbs in January
Ireland’s PM Micheal Martin has said the country may need to reimpose some restrictions in January, after health chiefs warned that cases may be rising again following the reopening of most of the economy in the last two weeks.
Ireland currently has the lowest incidence rates in the European Union after it moved early to temporarily shut shops, bars and restaurants in October.
People will be allowed to travel throughout the country again from Friday with small levels of household mixing permitted until January 6.
"You could very well be looking at some further restrictions in January," Martin told national broadcaster RTE, noting that the curbs lifted this month were not as strict as the initial lockdown. He said the government would consult widely before making any decisions.
26 Nigerian army generals test positive
At least 26 Nigerian army generals have tested positive for the virus after they attended a conference in the nation's capital and one has died, the military said.
Testing was ordered following the death of major-general John Irefin during the 2020 Chief of Army staff Annual conference in Abuja last week.
"The Chief of Army Staff directed the immediate suspension of the conference and all participants were directed to move into self-isolation," said an army statement late Sunday.
"Comprehensive testing of all participants commenced immediately," it added.
By Sunday, a total of 417 personnel had been tested with 26 confirmed positive cases.
Italy considers new restrictions for the holidays
Italian officials have said the country considering more stringent nationwide restrictions during the Christmas and New Year holidays as concerns rise over a possible spike in infections in January.
On Saturday, Italy surpassed Britain as the European country with the worst death toll.
The government could decide to put the country under so-called "red-zone" lockdown rules from December 24 to at least January 2, extending night curfews, banning non-essential movement and closing shops, bars and restaurants on weekends and holidays, with the exception for those selling essential goods, Italian media reported.
Germany calls on all to forgo Christmas shopping before lockdown
The German government have called on citizens to forgo Christmas shopping, two days before the country heads into a hard lockdown that will shut most stores, tighten social distancing rules and close schools across the country.
“I wish and I hope that people will only buy what they really need, like groceries,” Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said late Sunday. “The faster we get these infections under control, the better it is for everyone.”
Chancellor Angela Merkel and the governors of Germany’s 16 states agreed Sunday to step up the country’s lockdown measures beginning Wednesday and running to January 10 to stop the exponential rise of Covid-19 cases.
Trial fails of ruxolitinib in complications
Novartis has said a late-stage clinical trial of ruxolitinib on top of standard therapy showed no significant reduction in severe complications of the virus, including death, respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation or admission to the intensive care unit.
The RUXCOVID trial also did not show relevant benefit for other endpoints including mortality rate by day 29 and time to recovery, the Swiss drugmaker said.
It was another setback as Novartis tries to repurpose drugs to fight the pandemic.
Novartis licensed ruxolitinib – an oral inhibitor of the JAK 1 and JAK 2 tyrosine kinases – from Incyte Corp for development and commercialisation outside the United States.
Trump, Pence, other top officials to be offered vaccine
US has said President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other top officials will be offered the newly approved vaccine, according to a source familiar with the plans.
Essential personnel at the White House and certain officials in all three branches of government were to be vaccinated within the next 10 days, said the source.
Trump tweeted saying White House staff should receive vaccine "somewhat later in the program, unless specifically necessary."
Historic vaccine shipments begin in US
The first of many freezer-packed vaccine vials have made their way to distribution sites across the United States, as the nation's pandemic deaths approached the horrifying new milestone of 300,000.
The rollout of the Pfizer vaccine, the first to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, ushers in the biggest vaccination effort in US history – one that health officials hope the American public will embrace, even as some have voiced initial scepticism or worry.
Shots are expected to be given to health care workers and nursing home residents beginning Monday.
Early Sunday, workers at Pfizer – dressed in fluorescent yellow clothing, hard hats and gloves – wasted no time as they packed vials into boxes.
They scanned the packages and then placed them into freezer cases with dry ice.
President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other top officials will be offered the newly approved vaccine beginning Monday, according to a source familiar with the plans.
CureVac enrols first participant in pivotal study of vaccine
Germany's CureVac has announced that it has enrolled the first participant in the Phase 2b/3 study of its vaccine candidate.
The trial will assess the safety and efficacy in adults and is expected to include more than 35,000 participants in Europe and Latin America, it added in a statement
Number of cases in Ukraine exceeds 900,000
The total number of Covid-19 cases in Ukraine has exceeded 900,000, health minister Maksym Stepanov said.
He said 6,451 new cases were registered in the past 24 hours together with new 93 virus-related deaths.
The government last week said it would introduce tight lockdown restrictions in January, hoping to stop the rapid spread of the infections.
The measures, which include the closure of schools, cafes, restaurants, gyms and entertainment centres and a ban on mass gatherings, will be in force from January 8 to 24.
Malaysia's Top Glove reports first death since outbreak
Malaysia's Top Glove Corp has reported that a worker died due to the infection, the first death since the outbreak at its dormitories and factories in October.
The world's largest glovemaker told Reuters in an email that the 29-year-old worker from Nepal had worked at its manufacturing facility in Klang, 40 km west of the capital Kuala Lumpur, for more than two years.
Seoul schools go online
South Korea has ordered schools to close in the capital Seoul and surrounding areas as it battles its worst outbreak since the pandemic began, surpassing the previous peak in February.
The school closure is a step towards the imposition of Phase 3 social distancing rules, a move that would essentially lock down Asia's fourth-largest economy.
The government launched a massive tracing effort involving hundreds of troops, police and officials to help track down virus carriers. Most of the new cases were in Seoul, the neighbouring port city of Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province, home to over 25 million people.
South Korea also said it will open dozens of free testing sites in the greater Seoul area, as the country registered additional 718 new cases amid a surge in infections.
Germany's confirmed cases rise by 16,362
The number of confirmed cases in Germany has increased by 16,362 to 1,337,078, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.
The reported death toll rose by 188 to 21,975, the tally showed.
The numbers are usually lower on Mondays because there is less testing and data transmitted to the RKI on weekends.
First vaccine shipments arrive in Canada
The first of many freezer-packed vaccine vials have arrived in Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau late Sunday tweeted a picture of them being taken off a plane. Canada’s health regulator approved the vaccine made by US drug maker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech last Wednesday.
The vaccines are bound for 14 distribution sites across the country.
Quebec is expected to be the first province to administer the vaccine, saying it’s prepared to start inoculating residents of two long-term care homes as early as Monday.
Australian state says work from home is over, but employees still shun office
A work from home order to combat the virus in Australia's most populous state has ended, a milestone for a country with very low case numbers, but many companies plan to keep flexible work arrangements into 2021.
New South Wales (NSW) state, home to the country's biggest city Sydney, said it was going ahead with a plan to lift the public health order that has been in place most of the year as it reported no new local infections for a 10th straight day.
But the move appeared to be symbolic since the state's employers, which include many of the country's biggest companies, and workers had no plans for an immediate change from work from home arrangements, 10 days from the start of the Christmas holiday period.
Eswatini PM dies in hospital after contracting virus
The prime minister of Eswatini, Africa's last absolute monarchy, has died in a South African hospital on Sunday after contracting the virus, the government said in a statement.
Ambrose Dlamini, 52, had been hospitalised in neighbouring South Africa in early December, two weeks after testing positive.
"Their Majesties have commanded that I inform the nation of the sad and untimely passing away of His Excellency the Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini," Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku said.
The prime minister "passed on this afternoon while under medical care in a hospital in South Africa," he added, without detailing the cause of Dlamini's death.
WHO: Health centre water crisis increasing virus risk
The World Health Organization has said that one in four health centres worldwide lacks access to water, putting around 1.8 billion people at increased risk of contracting the coronavirus.
The lack of this basic amenity endangers patients and staff alike at such centres, the WHO said in a joint report with the UN children's agency UNICEF. The study was based on data from 165 countries.
"Working in a healthcare facility without water, sanitation and hygiene is akin to sending nurses and doctors to work without personal protective equipment," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
According to WHO figures, while health professionals make up less than three percent of the population, they account for 14 percent of Covid-19 cases recorded around the world.
"Sending healthcare workers and people in need of treatment to facilities without clean water, safe toilets or even soap puts their lives at risk," said UNICEF chief Henrietta Fore.
The report also found that one in three health facilities around the world could not guarantee hand hygiene, while one in 10 did not have access to sanitation services.
The figures are even worse for the world's 47 least-developed countries (LDCs), where half of healthcare centres have no access to drinking water, a quarter have no access to water for hygiene purposes, and three in five lack basic sanitation services.
The WHO and UNICEF calculated that it would cost around $1 per inhabitant to provide basic water services in these countries' health centres – and 20 cents each to maintain such facilities each year.
South Korea reports 718 new cases
South Korea has reported 718 new coronavirus cases, a drop from the record daily increase of the day earlier, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
Of the new cases, 682 were locally transmitted. The total tally is now 43,484 infections, with 587 deaths.
New Zealand agrees on 'travel bubble' with Australia early next year
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said that the country's cabinet has agreed in principle to allow travel with Australia without quarantine in the first quarter of 2021.
Ardern said this was subject to decisions by Australian governments, and more preparations were still needed to finalise the "travel bubble", adding that intends to name a date in the New Year once remaining details are determined.
China reports 16 new cases
Mainland China has reported 16 new cases of Covid-19, down from 24 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said.
The National Health Commission said in a statement that 14 of the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas. Two new locally transmitted cases were reported in Heilongjiang province, the commission said.
The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, fell to nine from 14 a day earlier.
The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the mainland now stands at 86,741, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.
Mexico registers 8,608 new cases, 249 more deaths
Mexico's health ministry has reported 8,608 new cases of coronavirus infection and 249 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 1,250,044 cases and 113,953 deaths.
The government says the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.
