Coronavirus pandemic - World News

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Germany's Bavaria region to tighten coronavirus lockdown

MUNICH, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The southern German region of Bavaria, which has so far recorded the country’s highest coronavirus death toll, announced on Sunday that it will impose a tougher lockdown from Wednesday until Jan. 5.

People in Bavaria will only be able to leave their homes with good reason, state premier Markus Soeder told a news conference, adding that there would be some relaxation in the rules for Christmas but not for New Year celebrations.

While Germany brought the pandemic under control in March and April, it is now dealing with a more deadly second wave and imposed a “lockdown light” at the start of November, closing restaurants and bars and limiting public gatherings.

While daily infections are no longer rising as sharply as before, case numbers have stagnated at a high level, and Germany reported its highest single-day coronavirus death toll on Wednesday.

On Sunday, the number of confirmed cases rose by 17,767 to 1,171,323, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed, while the reported death toll rose by 255 to 18,772, including 4,289 deaths in Bavaria.

Chancellor Angel Merkel and state leaders agreed on Wednesday to extend national restrictive measures, which include limiting private gatherings to five people from two households, until Jan. 10. (Reporting by Ursula Knapp; Writing by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Gareth Jones, David Clarke and Giles Elgood)

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/hea...to-tighten-coronavirus-lockdown-idUSL1N2IM07N.

 

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Turkey's COVID-19 situation better than Europe, US: WHO

The COVID-19 situation in Turkey is not as bad as in other European countries or the U.S. due to measures concerning masks and social distancing, according to the World Health Organization’s Office in Turkey.

An interview conducted on Dec. 4 by German news outlet Deutsche Welle’s Turkish service with the WHO Office in Turkey about the latest COVID-19 situation in the country and the world was "unfortunately" misinterpreted by some media outlets, WHO Turkey said on Dec. 6 on Twitter.

Sharing the interview on social media, it said: "Situation globally is alarming as cases are increasing and with the winter as we go more indoors, cases are only likely to increase".

Speaking on Turkey's approach toward fighting COVID-19, WHO Turkey underlined that when it comes to the number of cases, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said nothing that is not shared with the Turkish people first is shared with anyone outside.

The WHO is asking all member states to report all positive cases, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic.

"In the case of Turkey, at least we are picking up ‘asymptomatic’ and assuring isolation and quarantine so we are picking a proportion of asymptomatic to curb this silent spread in Turkey," it added.

Speaking on the transparency of Turkey on the number of cases, it stressed: "Turkey managed well since start. We are not as bad as in other countries now too. But we all must remain committed to all mitigation measures."

Turkey, its Health Ministry and the WHO have a very strong relationship. The WHO’s regional director has visited Turkey twice in the last six months, which indicates very strong bilateral relations between the two entities, it said.

Commenting on the reliability of the Chinese vaccine that Turkey ordered, it said the "WHO does not validate or not any vaccine, diagnostic, or treatment per se. We share evidence and guidance."

Approval or non-approval of vaccines is at the discretion of organizations in the related countries, especially in emergencies.

It said vaccine manufacturers under WHO COVAX share data with the WHO and others, adding they have the second phase data for the Chinese vaccine but have not yet received the third phase data.

"However, the Chinese vaccine uses a long-established reliable PH technique of inactivated virus.

"Turkey has done its vaccine distribution and allocation plan and prioritized population sub-groups in line with WHO guidance. But still, it will be months before vaccine gets to everyone," it added.

Local vaccine studies moving to next phase

Studies for a Turkish-made coronavirus vaccine is slated to enter phase 2 after Dec. 15, a researcher has said.

As part of the phase-one studies of the ERUCOV-VAC vaccine, 44 volunteers were vaccinated with the first dose in early November and no side effects have been reported, according to Ahmet İnal, deputy head of a clinical practice and research center in central Kayseri province.

The lack of safety concerns in phase 1 allowed them to move on to test the second dose on the volunteers, which started on Nov. 26.

After phase one evaluations completed, the phase 2 studies are planned to start in two weeks, İnal said.

“We have checked all data of the vaccine, the local vaccine is pretty safe,” he said, adding that around 200-250 volunteers are planned to be vaccinated in phase 2.

The vaccine should be put in use as soon as possible to curb the spread of the virus, he noted.

“Because we have 82-million population. When we think of vaccinating two doses in a year, it makes 164 million [doses],” İnal said.

He said, for instance, China will produce 600 million doses of vaccine, but it cannot sell all of it as it has to think of its own people too.

“What Turkey will get is 50 million doses. Therefore, you should certainly complete your own vaccine,” he said, noting that under current circumstances, states cannot get the whole amount of vaccine they need from outside even though they pay for it.

“Because you cannot buy something that does not exist,” İnal said.

The ERUCOV-VAC is being developed at the Erciyes University with support from Turkey’s Institutes of Health Administration (TÜSEB).

Source: https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-covid-19-situation-better-than-europe-us-who-160644.

 

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South Korea, Japan to deploy military to combat COVID-19

S Korean soldiers and Japanese military nurses called in amid fears third COVID-19 wave overloading healthcare sector.

South Korea and Japan are deploying their militaries to assist healthcare workers in combatting COVID-19, with South Korean soldiers called in to expand coronavirus testing and tracing and Japanese military nurses tapped to fill a shortage of staff at hospitals in the hard-hit regions of Hokkaido and Osaka.

Moon Jae-in, the president of South Korea, on Monday ordered the government to mobilise “every available” resource to track infections and to expand testing by deploying the military and more people from the public service, presidential Blue House spokesman Chung Man-ho told a briefing.

The order came as the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 615 new coronavirus cases as of midnight on Sunday, capping a month of triple-digit daily increases that have led to 8,311 confirmed patients in quarantine, the most ever.

Moon said testing sites should operate longer hours to allow workers to get tested at their convenience and more drive-through testing facilities should be set up, Chung said.

The positive rate for the latest batch of tests was about 4.2 percent, compared with the year’s average of 1.2 percent, according to the KDCA.

Monday’s total was down slightly from Sunday, when the agency reported 631 new cases, the largest daily tally since a peak in February and early March. Health authorities have said that if the current trend of cases continues, the hospital system could become overloaded.

‘Pandemic fatigue’
Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride, reporting from Seoul, called the situation in the country “concerning”.

“South Korea has been a pioneer of testing and tracing. But it seems the system here may not be good enough to deal with this surge,” he said, noting there were worries that people were flouting coronavirus curbs.

“Instead of meeting in nightclubs, people are holding private parties in hotel rooms which are difficult to control. So there is a concern that here in South Korea, where until now there’s been very good social compliance, that pandemic fatigue may be setting in,” he said.


South Korea has avoided lockdowns but used an intensive system of tracing, testing and quarantining to tamp down two earlier waves of infection. With this third wave, however, the government has faced increasing criticism as cases continue to rise despite measures such as mask mandates, curfews for restaurants and other businesses and restricted public transportation.

South Korean authorities will impose heightened social-distancing rules for the capital Seoul and surrounding areas beginning on Sunday. The curbs are the strongest virus curbs for the area and will last until at least the end of the month.

“South Korea has a five-tier system in place and these latest restrictions will put it at 2.5. This means further restrictions on restaurants, on gatherings indoors, also on transport, such as intercity trains, buses, and there will be a 50 percent cap on the number of passengers,” said McBride.

“There will be no spectators in sports venues once more and private companies will again be urged to have around a third of their workers working remotely from home.”

Since the pandemic started, South Korea has reported a total of 38,161 cases, with 549 deaths.

Hospitals ‘near collapse’
In Japan, chief government spokesman Katsunobu Kato said on Monday that Self-Defense Forces nurses were preparing to be deployed to Hokkaido and Osaka to help treat a surge in coronavirus infections as soon as the two prefecture governments request it.

In northern Hokkaido, there has been infection clusters at two hospitals in the city of Asahikawa, according to the NHK broadcaster. The Asahikawa Kosei Hospital has a total of 217 confirmed cases and the privately-run Yoshida Hospital has 184.

The latter sent a request to Hokkaido’s governor asking for military assistance, saying the city’s medical association “is overburdened and there is no alternative”, NHK reported.

Dr Yasutaka Kakinoki at the Asahikawa Kosei Hospital told the Reuters news agency the situation in the city of 340,000 people was “serious” and that the burgeoning caseload has brought its health system to “near collapse”.
In Osaka, where a local state of emergency has been declared over COVID-19, Governor Yoshimura Hirofumi asked the defence minister on Monday to send military nurses to treat severely ill coronavirus patients at a newly established medical facility, according to NHK. The facility has secured only 80 of the 150 nursing staff required.

As of Saturday, Osaka had recorded more than 300 new coronavirus cases for five consecutive days, according to the Japan Times daily. The percentage of hospital beds occupied by seriously ill patients hit 66 percent late last week and was expected to reach 70 percent early this week, the newspaper said.

Japan has reported around 163,000 cases of the novel coronavirus and 2,300 deaths.

The Japanese government’s handling of the latest surge in infections has prompted a fall in support for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s cabinet, according to a weekend survey by the Kyodo News agency. Support for Suga’s cabinet dropped to 50.3 percent from 63.0 percent a month earlier, with the disapproval rating rising to 32.8 percent from 19.2 percent, the Kyodo survey showed.

The dissatisfaction was in part due to the government’s “Go To Travel” subsidy campaign, with some medical groups and experts saying tourism programme has fuelled the latest wave of coronavirus cases.

About 48 percent of respondents want the government to temporarily halt the programme, while a separate Yomiuri newspaper survey showed 57 percent want the campaign suspended.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/7/south-korea-japan-to-deploy-military-to-combat-covid-19.

 

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Coronavirus Italy: Man walks 450km after lockdown row with wife

An Italian man stepped outside to cool off after quarrelling with his wife - and ended up walking 450km (280 miles).

Italians have nicknamed him "Forrest Gump" on social media, after the slow-witted hero of a 1994 movie, played by Tom Hanks, who runs thousands of miles across the United States.

Police stopped the Italian's epic walk at 2am in Fano on the Adriatic coast, a week after he left Como in the north.

The man, 48, got a €400 (£362; $485) police fine for breaching the curfew.

The story was first reported by the Bologna-based newspaper Il Resto del Carlino but quickly went viral in Italian media.

Some comments on social media presented the man as heroic and criticised the fine. One said he should have been rewarded - not fined - and given a new pair of shoes. Another praised him for walking off to cool his anger, rather than resorting to violence.

The man told police "I came here on foot, I didn't use any transport". He said "along the way I met people who offered me food and drink". "I'm OK, just a bit tired," he said, having averaged 60km daily.

Police found him wandering aimlessly and cold at night on a coastal highway.

After checking his ID in their database they found that his wife had reported him missing, so they contacted her and she travelled to Fano to collect him.

The Italian reports did not say how she reacted upon learning that he had picked up a €400 fine.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55224031.

 

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Canada reports 6,261 new Covid-19 cases

(MENAFN - IANS) p>Ottawa, Dec 7 (IANS) Amid a continuing second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Canada reported 6,261 new confirmed cases in the last 24 hours, increasing the nationwide tally to 415,182.

Besides the new cases on Sunday, the country also registered 76 additional fatalities from the virus, due to which the death toll has reached 12,665, Xinhua news agency reported.

Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said that although Canada is making preparations for a Covid-19 vaccine rollout, the operation will face a range of logistical and operational challenges, and Canadians should continue to fight the coronavirus with established public health measures before and after.

"An initial supply of vaccines is expected to become available in early 2021, and although supply will be limited at the outset, Canada is well-positioned to provide access to safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines for all Canadians," she added.

Source: https://menafn.com/1101243806/Canada-reports-6261-new-Covid-19-cases.

 

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2021 edition of Paris Air Show cancelled due to Covid

MENAFN - AFP) Organisers of the Paris Air Show said on Monday that they have cancelled next year's edition of the event because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The biannual show, usually held in June, is the world's key event for the aerospace industry, showcasing civilian and military aircraft and equipment.

"In light of the uncertainty linked to the COVID-19 health crisis, the Paris Air Show must sadly announce the cancellation of its 2021 edition," organisers tweeted, calling the decision "inevitable".

The dates for the next scheduled Paris Air Show in 2023 would be announced shortly, they said.

Europe's other major air show, at Farnborough in the UK, was this year held online-only as Covid raged.

Organisers called the pandemic "the biggest challenge in history" for the aerospace industry.

Operations at the world's airlines have plunged as travel dried up because of restrictions on people's movements imposed by many governments.

Source: https://menafn.com/1101245188/2021-edition-of-Paris-Air-Show-cancelled-due-to-Covid.

 

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Russia Suggests Domestic Travel Ban to Slow Coronavirus

Update: Murashko's words on restricting travel between regions were taken out of context and he had only been discussing travel restrictions in a general sense, a Health Ministry official told the RBC news website.

"The Russian Health Ministry does not propose the introduction of any additional restrictions on the movement of citizens across the territory of Russia," assistant to the minister Alexei Kuznetsov said.

Russia’s health minister has proposed reinstating a ban on domestic travel to slow the record-breaking spread of the coronavirus, the state-run TASS news agency reported Monday.

Despite infection rates and daily deaths nearly tripling since the country's first wave, Russian authorities have so far eschewed a mass lockdown similar to the one imposed in spring.

“The second wave is showing us that the emerging hotbeds within the country probably require consideration of certain restrictions on the movement of individuals,” TASS quoted Health Minister Mikhail Murashko as saying.

According to TASS, Murashko said Russians should be banned from traveling between the country’s 85 federal subjects, as well as within their own regions, to limit the spread of the infection. The measure is needed, he said, until the epidemic is brought under control with medicine.

“We have an epidemic process today that’s not yet fully affected pharmaceutically, at least not as we would like,” Murashko said at a medical conference.

“Until we learn to actively manage it pharmaceutically, we’ll have to use measures such as anti-epidemic restrictions, lockdowns and others,” he was quoted as saying. “It’s a forced but permissible measure to preserve the life and health of the population.”

A Health Ministry official later told the RBC news website that Murashko's words were taken out of context and he had only been discussing travel restrictions in a general sense.

Russia has confirmed 2.46 million cases of coronavirus and more than 43,000 deaths after reporting a new record of over 29,000 infections and 457 deaths Sunday.

Murashko’s proposal comes after Moscow began mass vaccination against Covid-19 with a domestic vaccine over the weekend. President Vladimir Putin has ordered the nationwide vaccine drive to start later this week.

Source: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020...omestic-travel-ban-to-slow-coronavirus-a72253.

 

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Italy Obliges All Travellers From EU, Schengen & UK to Test for COVID-19 Upon Arrival

All travellers reaching Italy from the European Union Member States, the Schengen Area and the United Kingdom will now have to test upon arrival or present a medical document proving they have been tested in the last 48 hours before their arrival and resulted negative for COVID-19.

The decision has been announced through the latest emergency decree approved by the Italian government, which will come into force on Thursday, December 10.

According to the new decree, approved on December 3, travellers from the EU will need to show their airline/travel provider a negative test result from within the past 48 hours they reach Italy. Those that fail to meet this requirement will have to self-isolate for a period of two weeks.

“In the case of stay or transit in the fourteen days prior to entry into Italy in one or more countries and territories [considered as highly risky] referred to in List C of Annex 20, the following preventive measures apply: obligation to present to the carrier upon boarding and to anyone appointed to carry out checks on the attestation of having undergone, in the 48 hours prior to entry into the national territory, a molecular or antigen test, carried out by means of swab and negative result,” the decree reads.


However, this rule will last only for ten days, as from December 21, 2020, to January 6, 2021, all arrivals to Italy will still have to quarantine for two weeks under the what is called “blanket quarantine requirement.” Even Italian citizens will be subject to this period.

After the “blanket quarantine requirement” ends on January 7, all travellers from the EU, Schengen Area and the UK will again have the possibility of escaping quarantine through testing, at least until January 15, when the new decree expires.

At the same time, the testing rule that will be effective from December 10 to December 21, and after January 6, 2021, will not apply to arrivals outside the EU.

Currently, until December 9, only travellers from Belgium, France, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Romania, Spain and the UK have to get tested, or self-isolate upon arrival in Italy.

Exempt from the requirement of testing and quarantine are several categories, as follows:

• flight crew
• cross-border workers
• healthcare staff
• people transiting through Italy for 36 hours or less and others travelling for urgent reasons
• people travelling from the United States on special ‘COVID-tested flights’ beginning December 8

The government has also decided to close all facilities for amateur skiers in Italy, from December 4 to January 6.

At the same time, from December 21 to January 6, all cruises departing, stopping over or arriving in Italian ports are suspended, too.

Source: https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/ne...chengen-uk-to-test-for-covid-19-upon-arrival/.

 

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Tokyo reports 352 new coronavirus cases; nationwide tally 2,174

TOKYO
The Tokyo metropolitan government on Tuesday reported 352 new cases of the coronavirus, up 53 from Monday. The number is the result of 4,067 tests conducted on Dec 5.

The tally brought Tokyo's cumulative total to 44,355.

By age group, the highest number of cases were people in their 20s (78), followed by 71 in their 30s and 59 in their 40s.

The number of infected people hospitalized with severe symptoms in Tokyo is 60, up six from Monday, health officials said.

Nationwide, the number of infected cases was 2,174. After Tokyo, the prefectures with the most cases were Osaka (258), Hokkaido (204), Aichi (199), Saitama (172), Kanagawa (152), Hyogo (145), Fukuoka (85), Chiba (80), Hiroshima (50), Gifu (40), Ibaraki (34) and Gunma (32).

Forty-seven deaths were reported.

Source: https://japantoday.com/category/national/tokyo-reports-352-new-coronavirus-cases-1.

 

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Dutch coronavirus cases rise for first week since October -offical data

AMSTERDAM, Dec 8 (Reuters) - The number of new coronavirus cases in the Netherlands has resumed rising after weeks of declines, the country’s health authorities said on Tuesday.

There were 43,103 new cases registered in the week ended Dec. 8, the National Institute for Health said in its weekly update, up from 33,949 in the week ended Dec. 1. (Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Catherine Evans)

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/hea...week-since-october-offical-data-idUSA5N2F801A.

 

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Merkel says Germany 'won't get through winter' with current Covid-19 measures

Will Germany opt for tougher measures to control the coronavirus spread?
Due to the high numbers of coronavirus infections in Germany, there are increasing demands to opt for a tougher lockdown. Among the measures being discussed are shop closures after Christmas.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Christian Democrats (CDU) reportedly told party members on Monday that the country needed to take action quickly.

She said Germany was in a "very difficult situation" and that it would not be able to "get through the winter" with current measures, referring to the partial lockdown in place since November 2nd.

"We will not get anywhere on the principle of hope," Merkel reportedly said.

Merkel is also said to have complained that there is "too much talk about Glühwein stands... and too little talk about nurses and carers", according to participants in the video discussion among the CDU/CSU parliamentary group.

It's unclear if Merkel and the state premiers will meet again before Christmas, although it seems likely. At the moment, the next conference is scheduled for January 4th.

Health Minister Jens Spahn backed Merkel's comments. He believes stronger restrictions are necessary if the high infection rates do not go down.

He said a "short and comprehensive" lockdown would likely be most successful. "If we can't get there with the development (of coronavirus figures) in the next week or two until Christmas, we will have to discuss it," Spahn told the Phoenix TV station.

The Minister did not rule out the possibility that there could also be another shutdown in the retail sector. "We have to make this (decision) dependent on the next few days, whether we succeed in bringing the figures down."

What could tougher restrictions look like in Germany?

Apart from closing shops, Germany could call for a stricter lockdown where people can only leave their homes for essential reasons. This is currently only in place in hotspots.

Bild newspaper reported that tough measures could be taken after the holidays until the beginning of the year. It is being discussed if supermarkets could be the only shops open between December 27th and January 3rd or 10th. According to DPA information, there are no concrete measures on this point, though.

The government and states have already agreed to relax contact rules from December 23rd to January 1st. During that time 10 people can meet, not including children. Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg have already limited the relaxation to December 26th and 27th, respectively. In Berlin, a maximum of five people (not 10) are allowed to meet.

The current rules mean a maximum of five people from two households can meet.

Why are German leaders concerned?

Last week, the Germany-wide partial lockdown, which has seen hotels, restaurants, leisure and cultural facilities closed, was extended until January 10th.

But politicians are worried because after more than five weeks of the shutdown there is no sign of a drop in the number of new infections.

ANALYSIS: Just how effective has Germany's partial lockdown been?

Germany is far from its goal of bringing the number of new Covid-19 infections down to under 50 per 100,000 inhabitants over seven days. At present, no federal state has reached this mark.

On Tuesday 14,054 new coronavirus infections were reported within 24 hours. A week ago there were 13,604 new infections registered, showing the plateau.

A total of 423 new deaths were reported within a day to the Robert Koch Institute. The total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic stands at 19,342.

Meanwhile, the state of Bavaria is moving into a tougher lockdown before Christmas.

From Wednesday, Bavarians will be ordered to stay at home unless they have a valid reason such as grocery shopping or visiting a doctor, state premier Markus Söder told a press conference.

Schools will be asked to switch some lessons online for older age groups, while those in hotspots will need to move all teaching online for older students.

In the Lower Bavarian district of Regen, which on Monday had an incidence rate of almost 570 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants over seven days, pupils of all age groups are to be given distance learning lessons from Wednesday onwards.

Tougher measures are also being considered in Saxony, as well as some other states.

READ ALSO: Will coronavirus hotspots in Germany face stricter measures at Christmas?

Social Democrat health expert Karl Lauterbach warned that the federal and state governments needed to consult each other quickly.

"The sooner the Chancellor makes decisions with the state premiers in order to seriously regain control of the situation, the better," Lauterbach told the Passauer Neue Presse. "We must impose a harsher shutdown for the period after Christmas," he added.

Source: https://www.thelocal.de/20201208/me...rough-the-winter-with-these-covid-19-measures.

 

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Argentina reports 3,119 new COVID-19 cases

BUENOS AIRES, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Argentina reported 3,119 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 1,466,309, the country's health ministry said on Monday.

It also reported 118 new fatalities, taking the country's total death toll from the disease to 39,888, according to the ministry's daily report. Meanwhile, 1,300,696 patients have recovered from COVID-19 so far.

Argentina has the ninth highest number of novel coronavirus infections and 11th highest death toll worldwide, according to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Source: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-12/08/c_139572045.htm.

 

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South Korea orders COVID-19 vaccines for 88 percent of population

First doses to arrive in March, but officials will wait and see how vaccines work in other countries to ensure safety.

South Korea has ordered COVID-19 vaccines for 88 percent of its population, or 44 million people, the government said, announcing deals with four pharmaceutical companies as well as the World Health Organization’s global vaccine project, known as COVAX.

Tuesday’s announcement came as South Korea struggles to contain its third and largest wave of coronavirus infections – a resurgence that authorities have described as a “dire crisis” that threatens to overwhelm the country’s healthcare system.

Park Neung-hoo, South Korea’s minister of health, said the government has arranged to buy 20 million doses each from AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna, and a further four million doses from Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen, which will be enough to cover as many as 34 million people.

Additional doses for 10 million people would be procured through COVAX, he added.

“We had initially planned to secure vaccines for 30 million people but decided to purchase more, as there is uncertainty over the success of the vaccine candidates and the competition is intense among countries for early purchases,” he said.

Seoul was not currently in talks to buy vaccines from either Russia or China, Park said.

Shipments of the vaccine would begin no later than March, but authorities would observe how the vaccines worked in other countries for several months to ensure safety.

Widespread vaccination was likely to begin in the second half of next year, with medical workers, the elderly and medically vulnerable people, as well as social workers first in line.

The Yonhap news agency said the South Korean government has already signed a deal with AstraZeneca and plans to finalise contracts with the other companies later this month.

Park said the government did not need to rush a vaccine through despite the current surge in cases due to South Korea’s relative success in controlling previous waves.

“We don’t see the need to hurriedly begin vaccination without ensuring that the vaccines’ risks have been verified,” he said.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 594 new coronavirus cases as of midnight on Monday, bringing the country’s total to 38,755, with 552 deaths.

Unlike South Korea’s previous two waves of infections, which were largely focused around a handful of facilities or events, the new wave is being driven by smaller, harder-to-trace clusters in and around the densely populated capital city of Seoul.

Vice Health Minister Kang Do-tae said the government had been unable to trace the origin of 26 percent of all cases, and the rate of people who tested positive spiked nearly fourfold within a month to about 4 percent.
“If social distancing is not implemented properly, outbreaks in the greater Seoul area would lead to greater transmissions nationwide,” Kang told a meeting of health officials according to a transcript from the health ministry.

Health authorities predicted daily cases would hover between 550 and 750 this week and possibly spike to as much as 900 next week.

If such predictions are accurate, Kang said the country’s health system may collapse.

“There could be a dangerous situation where it becomes difficult not only to treat COVID-19 patients but also to provide essential medical services,” he said.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in called on Monday for expanded coronavirus testing and more thorough tracing as infections continued to rise despite the imposition of increasingly restrictive social-distancing measures.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...ns-astrazeneca-deal-secures-covid-19-vaccines.

 

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Japan confirmed 2,810 daily coronavirus cases Wednesday as well as 555 people with severe symptoms, both record highs, as the country continued to grapple with a spike in infections.

Japan confirmed 2,810 daily coronavirus cases Wednesday as well as 555 people with severe symptoms, both record highs, as the country continued to grapple with a spike in infections.

Record daily highs were also confirmed in six prefectures, including Aichi, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Kagoshima.

Tokyo, the hardest-hit of the country's 47 prefectures, reported 572 new infections, its second-highest daily figure since the start of the pandemic. The capital logged a record 584 cases on Saturday.

The capital and other urban areas like Osaka and the country's northernmost main island of Hokkaido have seen rising novel coronavirus infections since November.

In order to contain the recent resurgence of infections, medical experts reiterated that the Japanese public should reconsider traveling, with the year-end and New Year period approaching when people usually take trips to spend time with their families.

"When it comes to countermeasures against infection, it is important not to spread the virus to others. I would like people planning to travel to think once again whether they need to take trips now," said Toshio Nakagawa, the head of the Japan Medical Association.

Shigeru Omi, who heads the government's panel on virus countermeasures, also called for the suspension of Japan's "Go To Travel" subsidy program in areas of the country that have seen a rapid spread of infections.

"It is better to suspend it now considering the current situation regarding the virus. (The government should) restart it after the number of infections drops to gain public understanding and help the economy," Omi told a subcommittee of the House of Representatives.

The domestic travel campaign began in July to support the tourism industry battered by the pandemic. However, trips to Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, and Osaka were excluded from the program last month due to rising infections, and some medical experts have said the campaign has possibly contributed to the recent spike in cases.

Hospital beds and lodging facilities provided for COVID-19 patients have been increasingly occupied due to the recent increase in cases, raising concern about a possible collapse of the health care system.

Ground Self-Defense Force nurses started working the same day at facilities in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, after being dispatched to the northern Japan city to help it cope with a shortage of health care staff.

The nurses, who will stay for up to two weeks, started assisting medical staff at a hospital and a facility for people with disabilities, both of which have recently seen cluster infections.

Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said Tuesday that about 10 GSDF nurses would be sent to Asahikawa following a request from Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki.

"Members of the SDF have been sent here as a last resort. We want their support in containing cluster infections," said Go Asari, who is in charge of anti-virus measures at the city's health center.

Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura has also requested the Defense Ministry to dispatch SDF nurses to the western Japan prefecture. The prefecture logged 427 coronavirus cases on Wednesday.

Source: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/...rt-in-hokkaido-city-battling-coronavirus.html.

 

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Covid-19 Was in Italy in Late November 2019, New Report Shows

The coronavirus was circulating in Italy as soon as the end of November 2019, according to a new report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, lending weight to other studies that have suggested an earlier appearance of the disease in Europe.

Tests showed that a child from the Milan area contracted a severe acute coronavirus respiratory syndrome in early December 2019, about three months before the first Covid-19 cases were identified in the country, the report said. The symptoms were mistaken for a case of measles.

Analysis was carried out retroactively on samples from patients who subsequently tested negative for measles, including one for a 4-year-old boy, which showed a positive result for Covid, according to the report by researchers at Milan’s Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health.

The new findings, which confirm other studies, shift the timeline for the beginning of the outbreak to late autumn 2019 from late February, when the first cases on the continent were identified in the northern Italian town of Codogno.

A separate study published in June indicated that the virus was present in sewage systems in Milan and Turin as early as December.

Italy is among the countries to be hit hardest by the pandemic, with more than 60,000 deaths and 1.7 million cases since the initial outbreak.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-italy-in-late-november-2019-new-report-shows.

 

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German Covid-19 Deaths Rise the Most Since Start of Pandemic

Germany’s daily coronavirus-related deaths rose the most since the outbreak began, highlighting the government’s struggles to contain the spread of the disease.

There were 568 fatalities in the 24 hours through Wednesday morning, taking the total to 20,002, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That exceeded the previous high of 510 in mid-April.

Infections have also jumped, despite a partial shutdown that closed bars, gyms and cinemas but allowed schools and other business to continue operating. New coronavirus cases rose by 29,263, the second highest level since the pandemic began. The latest incidence rate stands at 149 infections per 100,000 people over the past seven days, nearly three times the level that the Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has determined to be manageable.

The number of people dying from the virus has increased dramatically in recent weeks, with the daily toll regularly exceeding 200 since Nov. 11. Around 82% of all intensive care beds are occupied, and the number of severe Covid-19 patients has been at record levels for weeks.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-deaths-rise-the-most-since-start-of-pandemic.

 

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Covid-19: Portugal Update, 9 December

Portugal now accounts for another 70 deaths related to Covid-19 and 4,097 new cases of infection with the new coronavirus, according to the daily bulletin of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Portugal has registered 5,192 deaths and 332,073 cases of infection with the new coronavirus, and today 72,181 cases are active, 1,755 more than on Tuesday.

Regarding hospital admissions, the DGS epidemiological bulletin reveals that 3,332 people are hospitalised, 69 more than the previous day, of which 504 in intensive care, five more.

Health authorities have 76,405 contacts under surveillance, 1,360 fewer than on Tuesday, the figures show, with 2,272 more patients recovered.

Since the beginning of the epidemic in Portugal in March, 254,700 people have recovered.

Of the 70 deaths registered in the last 24 hours, 30 occurred in the North region, 21 in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region, 13 in the Centre region and six in Alentejo.

According to the DGS bulletin, the North region has the highest number of new SARS-CoV-2 infections in the last 24 hours (2,076), totalling 174,612 cases and 2,505 deaths since March.

In the region of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo 1,157 new cases have been reported, with 108,053 cases of infection and 1,794 deaths so far.

In the Centro region there have been another 555 cases of Covid-19, a total of 34,127, and 683 deaths since March.

In Alentejo, 163 more cases have been reported, totalling 7,153 cases and 134 deaths since the epidemic began in Portugal.

The Algarve region has today reported 97 new cases, totalling 5,886 cases and 55 deaths.

In the Autonomous Region of the Azores 28 new cases have been registered in the last 24 hours, totalling 1,235 detected infections and 19 dead since the beginning of the pandemic.

Madeira has registered 21 new cases. Since March, the autonomous region accounts for 1,007 infections and two deaths.

The confirmed cases are spread over all age groups, with the highest number of infections being registered between 20 and 59 years old.

The new coronavirus has already infected at least 146,088 men and 179,781 women in Portugal, according to DGS data, 6,204 cases of unknown sex are under investigation as these data are provided automatically.

Of the total number of fatalities, 2,731 were men and 2,461 women.

The highest number of deaths continues to be concentrated in people over 80 years of age.

The country is in a state of emergency from 9 November to 23 December, during which time there is a curfew in the municipalities with the highest risk of contagion.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused at least 1,557,814 deaths as a result of more than 68.2 million cases of infection worldwide, according to the latest assessment by the French agency AFP.

Source: https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/2020-12-09/covid-19-portugal-update-9-december/57109.

 

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Spain's coronavirus rate drops to lowest level since August

MADRID, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Spain’s rate of confirmed coronavirus cases fell to 193 cases per 100,000 people on Wednesday to reach the lowest level recorded since August, Health Ministry data showed.

The ministry reported 9,773 infections since Monday, bringing the total up to just over 1.7 million, while the number of deaths increased by 373 to 47,019.

No data was released on Tuesday as it was a national holiday in Spain.

While Spain’s infection rate has slowed in recent weeks, Health Minister Salvador Illa urged Spaniards to stay at home over Christmas to avoid a fresh resurgence. (Reporting by Nathan Allen, editing by Belén Carreño)

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/hea...ps-to-lowest-level-since-august-idUSL8N2IP5Q5.

 

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Coronavirus: Brazil plans to vaccinate entire population against Covid-19 in 2021

Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello’s statement comes amid criticism that the federal government is unprepared for a mass immunisation campaign

Brazil has the world’s second-deadliest outbreak after the US, with more than 178,000 deaths

Amid a worsening second wave of coronavirus infections and mounting domestic pressure, Brazil’s Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello pledged on Thursday to vaccinate the country’s entire population against Covid-19 in 2021.
The bold statement comes amid criticism from state governors that Brazil’s federal government is unprepared for a mass immunisation campaign and had failed to secure a diverse enough supply of vaccines.
In a radio interview, Pazuello repeated the ministry would buy any effective vaccines that are approved by health regulator Anvisa and reasonably priced.
Brazil has the world’s second-deadliest outbreak of the novel coronavirus after the US, with more than 178,000 deaths.
The continent-sized country, with a population of 212 million, has registered 6.7 million confirmed cases.

Although Brazil has an enviable record for national vaccination campaigns and a public health system well set up for the challenge, President Jair Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied the gravity of the virus and is a vaccine sceptic. He has said he will not take a Covid-19 shot.
In the last few days, the government has given multiple different time frames for when vaccinations could begin. Originally slated for March, Pazuello then said the campaign could begin in January or February. Later, he said some vaccinations could even be administered later this month.

The federal government is under pressure from the governor of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s most populous and wealthiest state. Governor Joao Doria has secured his state’s own access to the vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac and has vowed to begin inoculations by January 25, with or without federal government help.
Meanwhile, the federal government has signed a letter of intent to buy 70 million doses from Pfizer as well as around 100 million doses from AstraZeneca. All still require approval by Brazil’s regulator.
In total, the government said it has lined up 300 million doses via agreements with several manufacturers.

Source: https://www.scmp.com/news/world/ame...zil-plans-vaccinate-entire-population-against.

 

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Covid-19 in Bulgaria: 127 more deaths, active cases rise to 94 132

A total of 127 people in Bulgaria who had tested positive for Covid-19 died in the past 24 hours, bringing the country’s death toll linked to the disease to 5283, the national information system’s daily report on December 10 said.

Of 8578 PCR tests done in the past 24 hours, 3328 proved positive – about 38.7 per cent.

The number of active cases has risen by 151 to a total of 94 132. To date, 171 493 cases of new coronavirus have been confirmed in Bulgaria.

There are 6998 patients in hospital, an increase of 159 compared with the figure in the December 9 report. A total of 544 are in intensive care, 30 more than the day before.

A total of 191 medical personnel tested positive in the past day, bringing the total to date to 7445.

The national information system said that 3050 people had recovered from the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 72 078.

Of the newly-confirmed cases, 614 are in the city of Sofia, 325 in the district of Plovdiv and 321 in the district of Varna.

By district, the other newly-confirmed cases are Blagoevgrad 125, Bourgas 164, Veliko Turnovo 198, Vidin 22, Vratsa 94, Gabrovo 79, Dobrich 76, Kurdzhali 23, Kyustendil 47, Lovech 46, Montana 57, Pazardzhik 86, Pernik 52, Pleven 141, Razgrad 25, Rousse 124, Silistra 35, Sliven 136, Smolyan 41, Sofia district 103, Stara Zagora 162, Turgovishte 23, Haskovo 61, Shoumen 58 and Yambol 90.

Source: https://sofiaglobe.com/2020/12/10/covid-19-in-bulgaria-127-more-deaths-active-cases-rise-to-94-132/.

 

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Coronavirus: Don't travel for Christmas, reduce contact by 60%, German health authority says

A jump in coronavirus infections in Germany is "worrying," the head of the country's disease control agency said. The Robert Koch Institute chief said people in Germany may face tighter lockdown restrictions.

Coronavirus infections and related deaths in Germany could rise further in the coming weeks, the head of the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases (RKI) warned on Thursday.

Interpersonal contact will need to be cut by at least 60%, in order to bring infections down, RKI chief Lothar Wieler said as he urged people not to travel over the Christmas holiday period.

"If people cannot achieve this 60% reduction on their own, then other measures will have to be considered," he said. "If they do not succeed, I see no other option."

The country's top disease control center said the current rise in COVID-19 infections is worrying, singling out the states of Thuringia, Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt as being the worst hit.

"The situation is still very serious and has deteriorated over the past week. Currently, we are seeing a rise in infections," RKI chief Lothar Wieler said.

Germany's reported COVID-19 death toll is still rising sharply, increasing by 440 to 20,372 over the past 24 hours, RKI data showed on Thursday. Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Germany increased by 23,679 to 1,242,203, setting a record daily rise, according to the RKI data.

The previous record was an increase of 23,648 reported on November 20.

Europe's largest economy has been in partial lockdown for six weeks, with bars and restaurants closed but shops and schools open.

On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged the public to cut down on socializing and backed tougher lockdown measures.

“We would do well to really take seriously what scientists tell us," Merkel said.

But the country's highly decentralized federal system grants most of those powers to its 16 state governments, meaning toughening or loosening of such restrictions is done at a much slower pace than some of Germany's neighbors.

Surveys show that most Germans support the measures and mask-wearing requirements, although a small but vocal group, known as Querdenken, has organized protests against them.

On Wednesday, domestic intelligence officials in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg said they are putting the group under formal observation.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-d...by-60-german-health-authority-says/a-55891771.

 

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Norway to Introduce New Digital Travel Registration System

All persons wishing to enter Norway from January will be required to provide detailed information when crossing the country’s border, as Norway will introduce a new system for travel registration, the country’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security has announced.

Persons wishing to cross the Norwegian border must first register by providing information such as their name, quarantine location, contact information and any employer, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

In this regard, the Minister of Justice and Emergency Management Monica Mæland stressed that the new system will be a useful tool for many sectors in order to halt the further spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.

“The system will be useful for the health sector in infection control and infection tracing work, but also for the police and the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority in their role in following up on breaches of quarantine regulations,” Mæland pointed out.


The Minister of Fisheries and Seafood, Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen, said that the seafood industry foresees a large influx of international labour for next year’s winter fishing.

“This will help to ensure that it can be carried out in an orderly and good manner, where we take care of both infection control and facilitators for the business actors who are dependent on seasonal workers from abroad”, he said.

Authorities in Norway announced that the decision would take effect from January 2021, while the information no longer needed will be deleted.

Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also urged its citizens to avoid travelling to the district of Lapland, Finland, unless it’s necessary, as the community will go from yellow to red on the COVID-19 infection map for Europe.

This means that all citizens of this district will be required to follow ten days mandatory quarantine, upon their arrival in Norway, from December 12.

At the same time, Norway continues to advise its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to the following countries, in a bid to stop the spread of the Coronavirus; Belgium, Andorra, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, France, Ireland, Italy, Iceland, Croatia, Latvia, Cyprus, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Malta and Monaco.

Under the current pandemic situation, Norway’s government also urged its citizens not to travel to Poland, the Netherlands, Romania, Portugal, Slovakia, San Marino, Slovenia, United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Austria, Vatican City State as well as some regions in Finland and Denmark.

Earlier this month, the government of Norway decided to exempt from the entry ban to researchers of third-countries, if they could be able to self-finance. Whereas in November, Norway’s Ministry of Health and Care Services announced that commuters from Finland and Sweden, who enter the country more than once during 15 consecutive days would not be subject to quarantine rules.

Over 39,520 persons have tested positive for the Coronavirus pandemic in Norway, as yet, and 361 persons have died.

Source: https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/norway-to-introduce-new-digital-travel-registration-system/.

 

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Nepal''s coronavirus cases increase to 245,650
By Shirish B Pradhan
Kathmandu, Dec 10 (PTI) Nepal''s coronavirus tally rose to 245,650 as 1,217 new cases were reported on Thursday.

As many as 774 men and 443 women tested positive while conducting 7,232 real time PCR tests in the past 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health and Population.

As of Thursday, 231,601 COVID-19 patients have recovered from the infection which accounts for 94.2 per cent of the total confirmed cases.

There are currently 12,386 patients undergoing treatment at different health isolation centres.

Nepal’s COVID-19 mortality tally reached 1,663 with 12 more deaths due to COVID-19 reported in the past 24 hours. PTI SBP PMS PMS

Source: https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/nepals-coronavirus-cases-increase-to-245650/1990868.

 

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Japan’s daily COVID-19 tally hits new record as Tokyo tops 600

Japan confirmed a record 2,973 daily coronavirus infections on Thursday, further raising concern over the strain on the medical system as the country continues to grapple with a spike in infections.

As the nationwide tally hit a record for the second day in a row, a panel of medical experts advising the health ministry on its coronavirus response said cases have started to increase in areas that had been free of clusters, including Hiroshima, Kochi and Fukuoka prefectures.

In a statement, the experts called on the public to “cooperate in having a quiet holiday, without causing infections to expand through year-end and New Year parties and visits to hometowns.”

On Wednesday, the daily count came to 2,812. Twelve new COVID-19 fatalities were confirmed on Thursday, including five in Hokkaido. The number of seriously ill patients fell by 12 from the previous day to 543 as of Thursday, the health ministry said.

Tokyo confirmed a record 602 new infection cases. The previous record for the capital was 584, marked on Saturday. People in their 30s made up the largest group of the cases confirmed Thursday, at 137, followed by 135 in their 20s and 111 in their 40s, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. People aged 65 or over accounted for 77 cases.

Chiba Prefecture logged a record 151 new infection cases. At a high school in the city of Funabashi, 46 students and teachers have tested positive for the virus, including 36 members of its boys basketball club.

New cases also hit a record high in Saitama Prefecture, at 188, Gifu Prefecture, at 45, Kochi Prefecture, at 20, and Oita Prefecture, at 25.

A panel of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government monitoring the pandemic assessed that it has become “difficult” for hospitals to provide usual health care services and treatment for COVID-19 patients at the same time.

“The medical system has started to become strained, and preventing an increase of new patients and those with severe symptoms is the top priority,” the panel said.

Last month, the metropolitan government raised its virus alert to the highest of four levels, and requested that restaurants and other establishments serving alcohol close at 10 p.m. until Dec. 17. Tokyo is the hardest-hit of Japan’s 47 prefectures.

However, Masataka Inokuchi, a vice head of the Tokyo Medical Association, told reporters that it is unclear whether calls for shorter business hours at such establishments had been effective.

Large cities in Hokkaido as well as urban areas like Tokyo and Osaka have been seeing rising coronavirus cases since November, which has been described by medical experts as a third wave of infections in Japan.

Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of Japan’s virus response, said on Nov. 25 that “the next three weeks will be critical” to prevent the spread of the virus and to protect the country’s medical system.

The government of Hokkaido decided Thursday to request residents to refrain from making unnecessary outings until Dec. 25 in the cities of Sapporo and Asahikawa, which have seen a strain on their health care systems.

Gov. Naomichi Suzuki said while it is “painful” to make such a request, the measure taken is meant “to protect the lives and health of the Hokkaido people.”

The decision was made a day after nurses from the country’s Ground Self-Defense Force started working at facilities in Asahikawa, after being dispatched to the city to help it cope with a shortage of health care staff.

Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/12/10/national/tokyo-602-coronavirus-cases/.

 

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Canada forecasts show fast coronavirus spread; officials urge new restrictions

OTTAWA
Longer-range forecasts project the second wave of the coronavirus spreading rapidly through Canada, and all the major provinces need to impose more restrictions, federal health authorities said on Friday.

Although many of the 10 provinces have already reimposed some limitations on businesses and limited gatherings as numbers continue to spike, chief public health officer Theresa Tam said more action was needed to reduce pressure on the healthcare system as hospitalizations soar.

"The current daily case count far exceeds the peak of the first wave... There is little indication that this upward trajectory will change without further intensifying public health measures," she said in a news conference.

Local authorities should implement "restrictions, closures and control measures" while urging people to cut their interaction with others, she added, saying that without this action, there could be 12,000 new cases per day by January.

Tam said that by Dec. 25 the domestic cumulative death toll could be between 14,410 and 14,920, with the total number of cases ranging from 531,300 to 577,000. Canada has so far reported 13,109 deaths and 442,069 cases.

Howard Njoo, Tam's deputy, said the second wave was exerting enormous pressure on the healthcare system.

In some parts of the country, "we're on the point of being completely overloaded," he told the briefing.

Next week, Canada is set to become only the second Western nation after Britain to start vaccinating against the coronavirus. The first 30,000 doses of Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine are set to arrive in the next few days and could be administered on Monday.

Regulators have received rolling applications for three other experimental vaccines, from Moderna Inc, AstraZeneca Plc and Johnson & Johnson.

The Moderna vaccine is farthest along the regulatory path, and Tam said she expects a decision "soon."

Officials have said they expect to receive 6 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines before the end of March. Each vaccine requires two doses, given about three weeks apart.

The United States could also begin a massive vaccination program next week, with U.S. regulators expected to soon authorize emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine.

"These holidays are going to be very difficult," Health Minister Patty Hajdu said at the same news conference, after urging people not to travel and gather during the Christmas holidays.

"We're going to have to be very, very cautious in the next several weeks ... I'm counting on Canadians this Christmas to take care of each other and protect each other. We can do it for a little longer."

Source: https://japantoday.com/category/wor...avirus-spread-officials-urge-new-restrictions.

 

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Brazil COVID-19 death toll tops 180,000

BRASILIA — Brazil reported 53,030 additional confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours and 646 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Friday.

The South American country has now registered 6,834,829 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 180,411, according to ministry data. Brazil has the world’s second highest death toll behind the United States and the third highest case count behind the United States and India. (Reporting by Pedro Fonseca and Jamie McGeever; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health-pmn/brazil-covid-19-death-toll-tops-180000.

 

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Russia’s Coronavirus Deaths Surpass 600 in One-Day Record

Russia reported a record 613 coronavirus deaths Friday as the country prepares to launch a mass vaccination drive by the end of the week.

The previous one-day record stood at 589 fatalities on Dec. 2.

The country’s total number of Covid-19 fatalities now stands at 45,893, according to the national pandemic response task force that bases its data on daily tallies.

Official statistics published Thursday, which are based on autopsy reports, showed that Russia recorded more than double the number of fatalities that were originally claimed in the daily updates. Russia recorded more than 47,000 excess deaths in October alone.

Authorities maintain that both sets of data are accurate and continue to place Russia’s coronavirus death rate at 1.7% against the global average of 2.3%.

On Friday, Russia’s task force recorded 28,585 new coronavirus infections in all but one federal subject. The overall caseload now stands at 2,597,711, highest in all but three countries in the world.

Moscow remains the epicenter of Russia’s outbreak with around 7,000 new infections per day. Russia's second-largest city St. Petersburg, which continues to see new daily records of over 3,700 cases and is on the brink of a total lockdown, is the second most-affected region.

Russia’s far-flung regions account for 70% of active Covid-19 cases as the second wave of the outbreak batters their poorly funded healthcare systems.

President Vladimir Putin has ordered a free and voluntary immunization drive with the domestic Sputnik V vaccine. Authorities expect to manufacture 2 million doses by the end of 2020.

Source: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020...s-deaths-surpass-600-in-one-day-record-a72327.

 

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Coronavirus 7-day average jumps near 7,300 after 8,900 more test positive
The number of new coronavirus infections reported by public health agency RIVM equaled 8,894 on Friday, a shocking 50 percent higher than a week ago. It pushed the seven-day rolling average up to 7,284, a number which has risen every day since December 2 when it stood at 4,861.

Amsterdam alone was responsible for 479 of the infections, and Rotterdam residents accounted for 293 new positive cases. Both cities' figures more than doubled their totals a week ago. The Hague also represented 206 more infections, up 76 percent from last Friday.

Hospital admissions also remained high, with 199 more people with Covid-19 admitted over the past 24 hours, and 30 more patients moved into intensive care units. The rolling averages for both stood at 185 and 27, respectively, well above the safe thresholds set by the Cabinet of 40 regular care patients and 10 ICU patients.

There were 1,681 patients with the disease in hospital care on Friday afternoon, patient coordination office LCPS said. That was a net increase of 33. It put the Netherlands on pace to have about 1,750 coronavirus patients by next week.

The patients in Friday's total included 1,209 in regular care, an increase of 30, and 472 in intensive care, an increase of three. The ICU level was relatively flat compared to a week ago, while the regular care total rose by about five percent this week.

The RIVM also announced that 59 more people died from Covid-19, raising the Dutch total up to 9,966. With a seven-day average of 49, it was highly likely that the country would learn this weekend about the ten-thousandth death resulting from the coronavirus disease.

To date, 594,523 people have tested positive for coronavirus, including 26,680 people who were treated in regular care departments at hospitals. Intensive care units have treated 5,833 patients with Covid-19.

Source: https://nltimes.nl/2020/12/11/coronavirus-7-day-average-jumps-near-7300-8900-test-positive.

 

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More than 2 weeks after Bulgaria introduced stricter measures against Covid-19, death toll reaches 5562

Bulgaria’s government put in place stricter measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 as of November 27, with an expiry date of December 21. With nine days to the expiry date to go, those measures hardly seem to have made a dent in the grim statistics, however much the government has insisted recently on pointing to “recoveries”.

Of the 8587 PCR tests done in the past 24 hours, 3097 proved positive, according to Bulgaria’s national information system – about 36.1 per cent, hardly significantly lower than the incidence recorded daily since November 27.

The death toll in Bulgaria among those who had tested positive for Covid-19 was, in the past 24 hours, as it has been for weeks in Bulgaria, in three figures. In the case of the December 12 report, 125 more deaths, bringing Bulgaria’s death toll linked to Covid-19 to a total of 5562.

Active cases dropped by 1350, according to the national information system, to 92 581. Those who have recovered, in the national information system’s method of counting, rose by 4290 to a total of 79 522. That method of counting includes “recoveries” as including those who have tested positive but whose mandatory 14-day quarantine has expired.

The number of Covid-19 patients in hospital in Bulgaria rose by 67 in the past 24 hours, to 7151. A total of 588 are in intensive care, a increase of 46.

A hundred and twenty-five medical personnel in Bulgaria tested positive for new coronavirus in the past day, bringing the total to date to 7744.

Of the newly-confirmed cases, the largest numbers were in the city of Sofia, 476, and the districts of Plovdiv, 336, Bourgas, 300, and Varna, 267, according to Bulgaria’s national information system.

Comparing the figures in the November 28 report by the national information system, the day after the heightened measures went into effect, the number of active cases has risen by 3046.

In that period, the death toll has risen by 1882.

The number of patients in hospital has risen by 504 and the number in intensive care by 152.

Compared with the figure in the November 28 report, the number of medical personnel who have tested positive for new coronavirus in Bulgaria has risen by 133.

Source: https://sofiaglobe.com/2020/12/12/m...s-against-covid-19-death-toll-reaches-5562-x/.

 

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Spain sees unsettling spike in daily coronavirus cases

Country reports 10,519 new cases on Friday – highest surge in 2 weeks

OVIEDO, Spain

After weeks of a steady downward trend in new coronavirus infections, Spain saw a strong uptick in new cases on Friday.

The Health Ministry reported 10,519 new infections – the highest daily surge since Nov. 27. The figure is up around 2,500 from Thursday and 1,800 from the previous Friday.

Spain’s chief epidemiologist warned that although Spain has cut its coronavirus infection rate in half since early November, the country remains in “a high-risk situation.”

“We are not in a position to feel relaxed, despite improvements. Next week we’ll begin to see the effects of the recent long weekend, and from there we’ll be able to evaluate the risk that the Christmas holidays may bring,” Fernando Simon told a press conference on Thursday.

In much of Spain, both Monday and Tuesday were public holidays.

Yet with Christmas just two weeks away, the country is gearing up to relax restrictions around curfews, gatherings, and travel for the holiday season.

Next week, ski resorts across the country are set to begin operating. The region of Asturias will also become the last region to roll back hospitality sector closures, opening bars and restaurants on Monday.

The recent drop in infections has helped ease pressure on Spanish hospitals. Nearly 11,700 active COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized, down from above 21,000 in mid-November.

Intensive care unit occupation remains high, however, with 22% of all available units currently being used to treat seriously ill COVID-19 patients.

Spain’s Health Ministry reported another 280 COVID-19 deaths on Friday, bringing the total death toll to 47,624.

Source: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/spain-sees-unsettling-spike-in-daily-coronavirus-cases/2074226.

 

[Firebat]

South Korea reports record 950 cases in COVID-19 'emergency'

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea reported a record 950 daily coronavirus cases on Saturday, exceeding the late February peak of 909, with the president calling the country’s third wave of COVID-19 an “emergency”.

The South Korean authorities warned they may tighten social-distancing restrictions to their strictest level but held off for now.

Of the Friday cases reported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), 928 were locally transmitted and 22 were imported, bringing the total to 41,736 infections with 578 deaths.

More than 70% the domestically transmitted cases were from Seoul and its neighbouring areas, where about half of the nation’s 52 million people live.

“This is indeed an emergency situation,” said President Moon Jae-in, ordering the mobilisation of police, military personnel and public medical doctors in an effort to curb the further spread of the coronavirus, chiefly driven by small, widespread clusters..

“We plan to extensively expand drive-through and walk-through coronavirus testing methods ... as preemptive measures to track down infected people and block the spread,” Moon said in a Facebook post.

South Korea is likely to see a further rise in the caseload with significant increases in testing, he added.

The surge has been a blow to South Korea’s vaunted pandemic-fighting system, which used invasive tracing, testing and quarantine to blunt previous waves without lockdowns, keeping daily infections below 50 for much of the summer.

“I was worried when I heard the daily coronavirus count was beyond 900 infections,” Chae Hyeong-chan, 29, told Reuters on a visit to Seoul for a doctor’s appointment from the port city Incheon.##“I had to take the subway today, which made me worried, because I’m afraid I might be exposed to the risk of infection. I will try to return home as soon as possible.”

The third wave comes despite tougher social-distancing rules that took effect on Tuesday, including unprecedented curfews on restaurants and most other businesses. The country has reported about 600 cases a day this week.

Greater Seoul is under level 2.5 restrictions. Raising that to 3, the highest of the five levels, would require schools to switch to remote learning, allow only essential workers in offices and ban gatherings of more than 10 people.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said the government will make all-out efforts to halt the third wave.

“If we don’t curb the spread now, escalating social distancing restriction to Level 3 would be inevitable,” Chung told an emergency meeting.

Authorities urged people to stay home and cancel all face-to-face meeting as new infections have been spotted from personal meetings.

“While we cannot avoid contact with our family at home, meetings with your friends and colleagues at work are not safe. Please cancel them,” senior KDCA official Lim Sook-young told a briefing.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...950-cases-in-covid-19-emergency-idUSKBN28M010

 

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Coronavirus digest: Germany ICU capacity at 'critical' level

An intensive care doctor has warned that only five to 10% of intensive care beds are still available in parts of Germany. Meanwhile, 28,438 new cases have been reported over the past 24 hours. Follow DW for the latest.

Germany is at risk of a shortage of intensive care unit (ICU) beds if the coronavirus caseload continues to rise, according to Uwe Janssens, an intensive care doctor and a member of the German Association of Critical Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI).

In terms of ICU capacity, Janssens told DW that the situation was "quite critical" in some hospitals across the country.

"We have areas where the ICU capacity just has left 5 to 10% open beds. That's not enough to cover the broad range of severely ill patients," he said.

Currently, hospitals were still able to help people, Jansens said. But if infections continued to rise, "it won't work anymore." He also raised concerns about Germany's elderly who have particularly high infection and mortality rates: "Even when they come on the intensive care units over the age of 70 or 80, the mortality in intensive care units is above 80%."

Janssens said medical professionals in ICUs across Germany were under intense pressure.

"The burden is very high, the pressure is very high. The psychological and physical stress for the health care workers is immense."

Germany has added 28,438 new coronavirus infections, along with 496 deaths, over the past 24 hours, according to the latest figures released by the Robert Koch Institute Saturday. The number is down slightly from Friday's record measure of 29,875 cases in 24 hours.

The seven-day index in Germany is currently at 163 cases per 100,000 people. Health authorities are aiming for 50 cases per 100,000 before restrictions on public life can be relaxed.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-digest-germany-icu-capacity-at-critical-level/a-55912261.

 

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Brazil registers 43,900 new confirmed cases of coronavirus; 686 deaths - Health Ministry

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil reported 43,900 additional confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours and 686 fatalities from COVID-19, its Health Ministry said on Saturday.

The South American country has now registered 6,781,799 cases since the pandemic began, while its official death toll has risen to 179,765, according to ministry data. (Reporting by Sabrina Valle; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Source: https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health...ses-of-coronavirus-686-deaths-health-ministry.

 

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Coronavirus: North Korea accused of using COVID to crack down on human rights

A group of seven countries on the UN Security Council, plus Japan, have said Pyongyang is increasing its human rights abuses under the cloak of coronavirus.

Eight countries, including Germany and the United States, accused North Korea of using the coronavirus pandemic to "crack down further on human rights," according to a UN Security Council (UNSC) statement released following a closed-door video-conference on Friday.

The virtual UNSC meeting, which was organized by Germany, comes amid reports of increased executions in North Korea related to the pandemic and strict controls on movement in and around Pyongyang.

Seven UNSC members — Germany, Belgium, Dominican Republic, Estonia, France, the UK and the US, along with Japan — said in a joint statement following the meeting that people in North Korea are "stripped of nearly all their human rights," including the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, association, movement, and religion or belief.

"The situation of human rights in the DPRK is appalling and gets worse by the day," said the statement, which was read by Germany's UN ambassador, Christoph Heusgen, accompanied by UN envoys from the seven council members plus Japan.

The eight countries also condemned Pyongyang for prioritizing its nuclear weapons program "over the needs of its people," adding that "longstanding, systematic, widespread and gross violations of human rights" is a "serious threat" to international security.

Coronavirus adds to international isolation

North Korea's "isolation from the international community is inevitably worsening the impacts of the pandemic on the North Korean population,'' the statement continued.

When the coronavirus began to spread in January, North Korea sealed off its border with China, its largest trade partner and aid benefactor.

Dictator Kim Jong Un's government claims there hasn't been a single coronavirus case on North Korean soil, something which is disputed by outside experts considering the country's social and economic ties with China.

A doctor who defected from North Korea in 2012 told a DW investigative team: "of course people in North Korea have died of coronavirus."

"The health care system is very weak. They don't want to show that to the world. North Korea is a museum of viruses," said Dr. Choi Jung Hun.

Lockdown and economic crisis

A combination of North Korea's closure due to the pandemic, several natural disasters over the summer, and ongoing international sanctions, have crippled the country's economy.

In November, South Korean intelligence reported that Kim had ordered lockdowns in Pyongyang and ordered at least two people executed.

According to a South Korea lawmaker, citing intelligence agencies, a money changer in Pyongyang was executed in October after being held responsible for falling exchange rates, and another official was executed in August for violating import restrictions.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-n...ovid-to-crack-down-on-human-rights/a-55914019.

 

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Italy reports 649 new deaths linked to coronavirus on Saturday

MILAN (Reuters) -Italy reported 649 new coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday compared with 761 the day before, the health ministry said. The daily tally of new infections was 19,903, up from 18,727.

There were 196,439 swab tests carried out in the past day, up from a previous 190,416, the ministry said.

The first Western country hit by the virus, Italy has recorded 64,036 fatalities since its outbreak emerged in February, the second highest toll in Europe after Britain.

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 stood at 28,066 on Saturday, down 496 on the day before.

There were 195 new admissions to intensive care units, compared with 208 on Friday.

The number of intensive care patients decreased by 66 to 3,199, reflecting those who died or were discharged after recovery.

At the height of Italy’s second wave of the epidemic in the first half of November, hospital admissions were rising by around 1,000 per day, while intensive care occupancy rose by about 100 per day.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/hea...to-coronavirus-on-saturday-idUSKBN28M0P9?il=0.

 

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Japan confirms record daily coronavirus infections of over 3,000

Japan confirmed record daily coronavirus cases of 3,041 on Saturday as the country struggles to cope with a resurgence of infections, with Tokyo and several other prefectures reporting single-day records.

Tokyo reported 621 cases of new infections on Saturday, surpassing the previous record of 602 marked on Thursday, while Saitama bordering Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagano, Gifu and Iwate were among other prefectures seeing an all-time high in daily cases.

In most areas of Tokyo, restaurants, bars and karaoke establishments that serve alcohol have been asked to shorten their business hours and close at 10 p.m., though it is not among the cities excluded from the central government's travel promotion program to support the pandemic-hit tourism industry.

The recent surge in coronavirus cases, in what medical experts call a third wave for Japan, has raised the alarm about increasingly stretched health care systems in some areas hit hard by the pandemic. The Self-Defense Forces has dispatched nurses to a city in Hokkaido that is facing a shortage of medical staff to treat COVID-19 patients.

The number of patients showing severe COVID-19 symptoms rose to an all-time high of 578, increasing by 24 from the previous day.

Iwate, which had no confirmed coronavirus cases among its residents until late July, reported 43 cases on Saturday as 38 people contracted the virus in cluster infections at a hospital, according to the prefectural government.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said all citizens should raise their guard against the virus but his government is not considering suspending the travel program or issuing another state of emergency.

The Japanese capital started to see the number of cases rise sharply in mid-November and is the hardest-hit among the country's 47 prefectures with over 46,000 cases confirmed to date.

A panel of medical experts on Friday urged the central government to halt the subsidy program aimed at spurring domestic travel in areas where medical systems are under strain. But Suga has been reluctant to roll back the program as he seeks to balance supporting the economy and fighting the virus.

Mobile communication carrier NTT Docomo Inc. said its subscriber data showed that the number of people moving through Japan's major train stations and entertainment districts on Saturday increased from a week earlier at 70 percent of the locations observed.

A 23-year-old woman from Chiba Prefecture who visited central Tokyo to have drinks with her friends said, "I'm not so worried about the increase in infections. All we can do is to take precautions like washing our hands."

Yukio Edano, head of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, told reporters in Tokyo the "Go To Travel" subsidy program "needs to be suspended as soon as possible" to help arrest the spread of the virus.

Source: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/...reports-record-621-new-coronavirus-cases.html.

 

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Grim milestone: Number of Covid deaths surpasses 10,000 in The Netherlands
The Netherlands reached another grim milestone. On Saturday, the number of people who have died as a result of Covid-19 has surpassed 10,000. This was reported by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM)

On Saturday, another 53 deaths were reported bringing the total number of fatalities to 10,019 since counting began. On March 6, 2020, the first coronavirus related death was confirmed in the Netherlands. He was an 86-year-old patient who died in the Ikazia Hospital in Rotterdam.

The viral infection remains most lethal to older people. According to RIVM data, about 90 percent of the known deaths were people aged 70 or above. Furthermore, the statistics shows that the coronavirus infection is more fatal for men. Though 54 percent of known infections occurred in women, men accounted for 55 percent of the fatal outcomes.

The first coronavirus wave in the Netherlands saw a significant surge in deaths that likely indicate many thousands more people died from the coronavirus disease than were formally diagnosed. Testing for the SARS-CoV-2 infection was highly limited during the first six weeks of the crisis, and testing was still not performed at a wide scale until June 1.

At the beginning of April, during the likely peak of the first wave, the RIVM reported around 170 coronavirus deaths per day while the excess mortality in the Netherlands recorded by statistics bureau CBS suggested the true numbers were far higher. Ernst Kuipers, the chair of the Dutch acute care providers network, called it a “tidal wave.” Comparing it to the current wave, he explained that the first wave “had a very high wave crest, but then it subsided. This [second wave] is more a tsunami, the wave height is not that high, but the water pressure that comes after it continues on and on.”

Since April, the mortality rate has dropped. However, in the past week, the RIVM still reported around 50 daily covid-related deaths on average. The average amount of new daily cases surpassed 7,600. On Saturday, the number peaked at 9,182, the highest since October 31.

These bleak numbers indicate that the Dutch people are nowhere near being in the clear, as the presumed break in the second wave was rising back towards another new peak. During his press conference on Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that “we are now at a crossroads. Either we together ensure that the figures go in the right direction, or the figures continue to rise.”

He also announced that he “will not rule out that we have to enforce even stricter measures before Christmas.” A meeting at the Catshuis, the Prime Minister’s official residence, has been announced for Sunday, where cabinet members will discuss further measures to tackle the coronavirus.

Source: https://nltimes.nl/2020/12/12/grim-milestone-number-covid-deaths-surpasses-10000-netherlands.

 

[KoyoAli]

COVID-19: Germany to go back into lockdown over Christmas

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says existing measures have failed to get the coronavirus outbreak under control, and new restrictions will now come into force from 16 December to 10 January.

 

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Turkey implements nationwide curfew amid COVID-19 crisis

DUBAI: Turkey has started a nationwide curfew last Friday in continued efforts to curb a new wave of COVID-19 infections, national daily Hurriyet has reported.

The curfew, which ends on Monday, was the second of its kind ever since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced new restrictions over rising cases of the disease.

Turkey has recorded over 1.8 million cases of the virus since the outbreak began.

Sectors including health, agriculture and production were exempted from the curfew, while other establishments were only able to operate from 10 a.m to 5 p.m.

Source: https://www.arabnews.com/node/1776581/middle-east.

 

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Tokyo registers 480 new coronavirus cases Sunday

Tokyo confirmed 480 new COVID-19 infections Sunday, after marking a record high daily figure of 621 the previous day.

The capital’s tally of serious cases increased by two from the previous day to 70. The figure was based on 8,014 tests, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said in a statement.

The seven-day rolling average of new coronavirus cases in Tokyo stood at 503 on Sunday, topping 500 for the first time since the start of the pandemic, according to a tally based on official data.

Among the new cases, people in their 20s made up the highest number at 121, followed by those in their 30s at 88 and those in their 40s at 73. Infections among those 65 or older amounted to 67 cases.

Sunday’s figure brought the capital’s cumulative total of coronavirus infections to 47,225.

On Saturday, Japan logged 3,041 cases, topping 3,000 for the first time, while the country’s death toll from the virus rose by 28 to 2,595.

The daily count also hit records in Saitama Prefecture, at 199, Gifu Prefecture, at 55, Iwate Prefecture, at 43, Nagano Prefecture, at 32, Yamagata Prefecture, at 22, and Kochi Prefecture, at 27.

Kyoto Prefecture had 75 new cases and Fukushima Prefecture 17, matching their respective record highs.

At a hospital in the city of Saitama, north of Tokyo, eight new cases were reported in addition to the three cases confirmed Friday.

In Iwate Prefecture, 41 of the new cases happened at a hospital in Shizukuishi, bringing total cases linked to the hospital to 63. The prefectural government has asked the health ministry to send a team to deal with the infection cluster.

And in the city of Nagasaki, Deputy Mayor Toshiaki Takeda tested positive for the coronavirus. Mayor Tomihisa Taue and six others who had close contact with Takeda tested negative.

In a time of both misinformation and too much informati

Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/12/13/national/tokyo-registers-480-coronavirus-cases-sunday/.

 

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Brazil registers 21,825 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, 279 deaths -Health Ministry

Dec 13 (Reuters) - Brazil reported 21,825 additional confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours and 279 deaths from COVID-19, its Health Ministry said on Sunday.

The South American country has now registered 6,901,952 cases since the pandemic began, while its official death toll has risen to 181,402, according to ministry data. (Reporting by Sabrina Valle; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/hea...irus-279-deaths-health-ministry-idUSE5N2GC00J.

 

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Spain could develop coronavirus herd immunity by end of summer 2021, minister says

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain should achieve herd immunity from COVID-19 by the end of summer 2021 if enough people are vaccinated by then, the health minister said in an interview published on Sunday.

Salvador Illa said a vaccination programme will start in January and by the end of the summer more than two thirds of the population of 47 million should be vaccinated.

“In Europe, even if it is not the final end, we will be in a very different stage. That is why I think we are at the beginning of the end with this time horizon that I say, from five to six months,” he told Publico newspaper.

Asked if this meant that Spain would achieve herd immunity, Illa replied: “Yes. It is what the technicians call that, that people have immunity either because they are vaccinated or because they have had the disease.”

However, Illa cautioned Spaniards against dropping their guard during the Christmas period. Spain has been one of the worst hit countries in Europe by coronavirus.

New cases rose by 10,519 to 1,730,575 on Friday, according to health ministry data, while the number of deaths increased by 280, bringing the total to 47,624.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-spain-idUSKBN28N0FV.

 

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French COVID infections, hospital deaths edge lower

PARIS, Dec 13 (Reuters) - France reported 11,533 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, compared with 13,947 a day earlier, and said 150 people had died in hospital over the past 24 hours as a result of COVID-19. (Reporting by Richard Lough; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/hea...ions-hospital-deaths-edge-lower-idUSL1N2IT0HY.

 

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Russia’s COVID-19 ‘patient zero’ emerged in early March, chief sanitary doctor says

By March 17 the country already had 100 cases

MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/. Russia’s coronavirus patient zero, who started spreading the disease in the country, was identified on March 1, chief sanitary doctor Anna Popova said in an interview for Nailya Asker-zade film "Dangerous virus. The first year" on Rossiya-1 TV channel.

"Yes, of course, we know [the patient zero], he emerged here literarily on March 1 and by March 17 we already had 100 cases. We are speaking now about who was spreading the infection," said Popova, who heads the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing.

Source: https://tass.com/society/1234491.

 

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Japan, South Korea fret as surging coronavirus undermines leaders' support

TOKYO/SEOUL (Reuters) - Japan and South Korea grappled with surging coronavirus cases and growing public frustration on Monday, with Japan suspending a contentious travel subsidy programme and South Korea closing some schools and considering its toughest curbs yet.

Japan reported more than 3,000 new cases on Saturday, yet another record as winter set in, with infections worsening in Tokyo, the northern island of Hokkaido and the city of Osaka.

But Japan, with a focus on the economic costs, has steered clear of tough lockdowns. It tackled its first wave of infections in the spring by asking people to refrain from going out and for businesses to close or curtail operating hours.

The government also launched a subidy programme called “Go To Travel” to encourage domestic tourism and support businesses but critics said encouraging people to travel had helped spread infections.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had ruled out halting the programme, citing economic considerations, but that changed after weekend polls showed his support being eroded over his handling of the pandemic.

The programme would be suspended nationwide for two weeks from Dec. 28, media reported.

Across the sea in South Korea, President Moon Jae-in also faces sliding ratings as clusters of new infections fuel criticism over what many see as slack containment.

Moon has warned of the possibility more stringent curbs.

“Our back is against the wall,” he said. “This is a crucial moment to devote all our virus control capabilities and administrative power to stopping the coronavirus.”

South Korea reported a new daily record of 1,030 infections on Sunday, a big worry for a country for months held up as a mitigation success story but still a fraction of the tallies being seen in some European countries and the United States, where vaccines are being rolled out.

Few Asian countries expect to get significant amounts of coronavirus vaccines in coming weeks as they manage distribution schedules, allow time to check for any inoculation side effects elsewhere or run their own late-stage trials.


Instead, they are counting on the methods that have largely kept infections in check for months - ahead of the curve testing, stringent travel curbs, strict social distancing and masks.

SOME GOOD NEWS
China, for instance, where the virus emerged almost a year ago, has managed to limit new cases with tough, sweeping action.

It locked down an area of more than 250,000 people after half a dozen cases were confirmed near the Russian border in the province of Heilongjiang, the Associated Press reported on Monday.

Singapore, which has reported only a handful of local cases over the past two months, said it was easing restrictions and would soon allow up to eight people to gather. It also approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine and said it expected its first shots by the end of the month.

New Zealand, which has been particularly successful in tackling the pandemic, said it had agreed to open a “travel bubble” with Australia in the first quarter of 2021.

South Korea ordered schools to close in its capital, Seoul, and surrounding areas and warned that restrictions may be raised to the highest Phase 3 level, which would essentially mean a lockdown for the first time in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

Last month, the government banned year-end parties and it has ramped up testing to more than 22,000 people a day, compared with about 16,000 a day in September.

In Japan, which is hoping to stage the postponed summer Olympics next year, testing has remained relatively low, peaking at about 50,000 in one day recently. Testing in Tokyo, which has the capacity for more than 60,000, is now about 9,000 a day.

“Whether a country or region is doing enough testing should be assessed based on the positivity rate and not on the number of tests,” said Fumie Sakamoto, infection control manager at the St Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo.

“The positivity rate for Tokyo is now over 6%, so we should be doing a bit more testing to bring the number down.”

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/hea...irus-undermines-leaders-support-idUSKBN28O0HO.

 

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Brazil reports 433 new coronavirus deaths in 24 hours

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil has registered 433 additional COVID-19 deaths and 25,193 new confirmed cases over the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Monday.

The South American country has now registered a total of 181,835 COVID-19 deaths and 6,927,145 total confirmed cases of the new coronavirus. (Reporting by Gram Slattery Editing by Chris Reese)

Source: https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health-pmn/brazil-reports-433-new-coronavirus-deaths-in-24-hours.

 

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Coronavirus pandemic: France launches mass testing campaign

France is launching a massive coronavirus testing campaign to identify new clusters and get ready for a potential resurgence of the epidemic after the holidays, as the country reported 11,533 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, compared with 13,947 a day earlier.

Source: https://www.france24.com/en/video/2...andemic-france-launches-mass-testing-campaign.

 

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Visit from Santa may have infected 75 with coronavirus at Belgian care home

A visit to a Belgian care home by a man playing Santa Claus may have resulted in 75 coronavirus infections and one death.

The care home committed an "error in judgment" in allowing the visit, the municipality of Mol in the Flanders region said in a statement Saturday.

"In-depth scientific research" would be needed to definitively say whether the visit was the cause of an outbreak at the Hemelrijck care home, the municipality said, adding that 61 residents and 14 staff members have tested positive so far.

One resident who was already receiving palliative care has died, and another resident with severe symptoms is being given oxygen therapy inside the care home, the municipality said. The "vast majority" of those infected are doing well and not showing symptoms, it added.

On December 6 each year, Belgians wake up and rush to see if St. Nicholas, or Sinterklaas, as he is known in Flemish-speaking parts of the country, has left presents for them.

The man who played Sinterklaas, who is the son of a resident, tested positive for coronavirus after his visit.

He "was not feeling sick at the time of the visit" and "the activity was not cleared beforehand with the crisis center, otherwise negative advice would have been given," the municipality said.

CNN has reached out to the care home's operator, Armonea, for comment.

"Contrary to reports in the media, St. Nicholas did not visit every room. The management reassures us that the saint only visited common areas, including the seating areas," the municipality said.

"The saint maintained distance at all times from the residents, and didn't remain in any area longer than a few minutes. The saint did not hand out presents."

Belgium has been hit hard by the pandemic. The nation of 11.5 million has recorded 608,137 coronavirus cases and 17.951 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

At the end of October, pressure on the health service was so great that health workers in some hospitals in Liège, Belgium's third largest city, were asked to continue working even if they tested positive for COVID-19 -- as long as they were not showing any symptoms of the disease.

Source: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coron...th-coronavirus-at-belgian-care-home-1.5230358.

 

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Argentina exceeds 1.5 million coronavirus cases - Health Ministry

By Jorge Otaola and Juan Bustamente

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina said on Monday that it had now recorded 1.5 million cases of coronavirus, making it the ninth country in the world to reach the milestone.

The Latin American nation has managed to tame an explosion of cases, which reached a peak of 18,326 daily cases confirmed in October. It saw a steady decline in case numbers over recent weeks to 5,062 confirmed on Monday.

The Ministry of Health said there had been 1,503,222 people infected so far with COVID-19, 41,041 dead and 1,340,120 patients recovered from the disease.

The Argentine government, which is also struggling to manage the blow dealt by COVID-19 to an economy heading for its third year in recession, has struck a number of deals to obtain vaccines with Britain's AstraZeneca and with Russia, which is developing Sputnik V vaccine.

However, medics insist that precautionary isolation measures and robust virus tracking will be needed for the near future.

"We should not relax nor think, talk about or pin hopes on a vaccine," said Carlos Kambourian, a pediatrician and former hospital director. "We must drill down on testing, on selective isolation, on dynamic quarantines. We have to focus on that because we still have a year ahead where the case numbers will go up and down."

(Reporting by Jorge Otaola and Juan Bustamente, writing by Aislinn Laing, editing by Eliana Raszewski and Aurora Ellis)

Source: https://www.theguardian.pe.ca/news/...ion-coronavirus-cases-health-ministry-531089/.

 

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Turkey to impose coronavirus curfew on new year's eve

"There will be a four-day curfew from Dec. 31, 9 p.m., to Jan. 4, 5 a.m., during the new year break as part of measures against the coronavirus," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said during a press conference at the Presidential Complex in Ankara following a cabinet meeting.

"Thanks to our measures so far, we can observe a serious decline in the number of COVID-19 patients and deaths, compared to other countries," he added, underlining Turkey's efforts in the face of the pandemic.

Turkey has imposed full weekend lockdowns over the past two weekends, though people are permitted to go to nearby supermarkets and bakeries during the day. Those violating the curfew are subject to fines.

Erdoğan touched upon the coronavirus' negative effects on the economy and emphasized the precautions Turkish government is taking to battle them.

"Our first and foremost focus is to be among the top countries in the post-pandemic era," he said.

"We are taking steps to ensure economic growth, investment and employment opportunities."

As of Monday, Turkey registered a total of 16,646 deaths due to the coronavirus, while over 1.63 million people have recovered from the disease. Currently, there are over 1.86 million confirmed cases in the country.

The virus has claimed more than 1.61 million lives in 191 countries and regions since first being detected in Wuhan, China last December, according to the US' Johns Hopkins University.

Over 72.44 million people have been infected with the virus and more than 47.4 million have recovered from the disease.

The President also underlined the stability of Turkish banking sector.

"Turkish banking sector has operated normally even during the #COVID19 pandemic so far," he said.

"Our banks have a foreign currency surplus," Erdoğan added.

Erdoğan further made a surprise announcement, saying that the country is preparing its own space program.

"We will unveil our National Space Program in the upcoming weeks," he said.

Source: https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/turkey-to-impose-coronavirus-curfew-on-new-years-eve/news.

 

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Russia reports 26,689 new coronavirus cases, 577 deaths

MOSCOW, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Russia on Tuesday reported 26,689 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, including 5,418 in Moscow, pushing the national tally to 2,707,945.

Authorities said 577 people had died overnight, taking the official death toll to 47,968. (Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/hea...ew-coronavirus-cases-577-deaths-idUSR4N2IO00F.

 

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Tokyo confirms 460 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday

Tokyo confirmed 460 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, with the number of serious cases jumping by five from the previous day to 78.

The total number of serious cases in the capital is the highest level since early May and came three days after Tokyo marked a record high daily figure of 621 cases.

Tuesday’s figures were based on 4,482 tests, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said in a statement.

Among the new cases, people in their 20s made up the highest number at 125, followed by those in their 30s at 91 and those in their 40s at 71. Infections among those 65 or older amounted to 72 cases.

Tuesday’s figure brought the capital’s cumulative total of coronavirus infections to 47,990.

On Monday, Japan reported 1,678 new infections, falling below 2,000 for the first time in seven days. Meanwhile, the number of severely ill COVID-19 patients stood at a record 588, according to the health ministry.

The nationwide death toll linked to the virus stood at 2,662, up by 47, as of Monday, with Hokkaido and Osaka prefectures reporting 15 and 14 deaths, respectively.

Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/12/15/national/tokyo-confirms-460-new-covid-19-cases/.

 

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South Korea warns of tougher coronavirus restrictions if rules ignored

By Hyonhee Shin and Josh Smith

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's prime minister pleaded with residents on Tuesday to abide by social distancing rules to avoid even greater restrictions in the face of the country's largest wave of coronavirus infections.

Daily infection rates are hovering at record levels with another 880 new cases reported as of midnight Monday, up from 718 a day earlier, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.

Schools in the Seoul metropolitan area closed for a month from Tuesday as the government moves closer to imposing the toughest Level 3 restrictions, which would essentially mean a lockdown of Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

Companies could allow only essential workers in offices and gatherings of more than 10 people would be banned under such a lockdown.

"While most citizens bear the inconvenience to comply with the rules, some are adding fuel to the ferocious spread of the virus with their carelessness and irresponsibility," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in televised remarks at a government meeting.

"Considering the weight and impact of Level 3 distancing, we first need to level-headedly look back at whether all of us are properly implementing the current level."

The government is reluctant to impose Level 3 restrictions because of the "irrevocable pain" it would cause, Chung added.

Health authorities have blamed persistent violations of distancing rules for worsening some of the recent outbreaks, including churches breaching a ban on in-person services and businesses continuing nightly operations, despite rules banning in-person service after 9 p.m.

(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Josh Smith; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Stephen Coates)

Source: https://www.capebretonpost.com/news/world/south-korea-reports-880-new-coronavirus-cases-531092/.

 

[sweep_shot]

Shopping malls in Peru's Lima focus of rise in COVID-19 infections

LIMA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection are on the rise around shopping centers in Peru's capital Lima, the president of the public health insurance system EsSalud, Fiorella Molinelli, said Tuesday.

"Cases of COVID-19 are beginning to increase, especially throughout a 1.5-kilometer perimeter around shopping centers," Molinelli said at a press conference.

In downtown Lima, in a shopping district known as "Mesa Redonda" ("Round Table"), health authorities detected 300 cases in a 10-block area, Molinelli said.

During a COVID-19 detection campaign at the city's main shopping centers, authorities detected an average of 250 to 300 new cases among the people there, she added.

The Ministry of Health reported an accumulated 986,130 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 36,754 deaths from the disease as of Monday.

EsSalud also warned that due to the increase in cases being treated at Social Security hospitals, 75 percent of intensive care unit (ICU) beds are currently occupied.

Source: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-12/16/c_139592429.htm.

 

[sweep_shot]

France's new coronavirus cases up, hospitalisations resume downward trend

PARIS — The number of people admitted to hospital for COVID-19 in France resumed its decline on Tuesday, ending three straight days of increases as the country replaced a second national lockdown with a nightly curfew.

Patients in intensive care – the most important measure of a health system’s ability to deal with the pandemic – also went down by 25 to 2,881, resuming a continuous decline since Nov. 17.

That figure is still within the target level of 2,500 to 3,000 the government had set to decide the end of the lockdown that was put in place on Oct. 30 and was lifted on Tuesday.

But because the number of daily new infections has failed to fall below the 5,000 threshold – another official target – the government has opted for a less extensive loosening of restrictive measures than initially planned.

Health authorities reported 11,532 new COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours, up from Monday’s 3,063 but largely stable from Sunday’s 11,533.

Case numbers generally dip on Mondays as there are fewer tests conducted on Sundays.

The number of people in France who have died from COVID-19 infections rose by 790 to 59,072, up from 371 on Monday. The cumulative number of cases in France now totals 2,391,447, the fifth highest in the world.

Source: https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health...ses-up-hospitalisations-resume-downward-trend.

 

[sweep_shot]

Merkel tells German lawmakers she is worried by coronavirus trend - sources

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel told conservative lawmakers on Tuesday “I am worried” about the coronavirus trend in Germany, sources at the meeting said.

Merkel warned the lawmakers that January and February will be very tough months in Germany, with the number of patients in intensive care rising further.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/hea...ed-by-coronavirus-trend-sources-idUSKBN28P26B.

 

[sweep_shot]

Coronavirus: France replaces lockdown with evening curfew

France has replaced its second national lockdown with a night curfew.

People will not be allowed out the house between 20:00 and 06:00 without an authorisation form.

Christmas Eve will be exempt, but the rule will stay in place for New Year's Eve. Bars and restaurants are to remain closed until at least 20 January.

The number of people in France who have died from coronavirus infections rose by 790 on Tuesday to a total of 59,072.

People in France are no longer required to print or download an official justification for leaving their homes during the day.

But with daily infection rates more than double the 5,000-a-day target, a night curfew is being imposed and spot checks will be implemented.

Neighbouring Germany is introducing a hard Christmas lockdown on Wednesday after the number of infections there hit record levels.

Non-essential shops will close across the country, as will schools, with children to be cared for at home wherever possible.

Restaurants, bars and leisure centres have already been shut in Germany since November.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has blamed Christmas shopping for a "considerable" rise in social contacts.

The new lockdown will run from 16 December to 10 January, but this will be relaxed from 24 to 26 December when one household will be able to invite a maximum of four close family members from other households.

Elsewhere, a five-week lockdown in the Netherlands is the strictest set of measures announced in the country since the pandemic began.

Non-essential shops, cinemas, hairdressers and gyms have all closed and schools will follow suit on Wednesday. People have also been told to refrain from booking non-essential travel abroad until mid-March.

But restrictions will be eased slightly for three days over Christmas, when Dutch households are allowed three instead of two guests.

In the UK, London enters England's highest tier of lockdown rules on Wednesday. Pubs and restaurants must close, except for takeaway and delivery, and indoor entertainment venues such as theatres, bowling alleys and cinemas must remain shut.

Meanwhile, Italy's daily death toll is still close to 500 and the government is considering a further tightening of measures over Christmas.

The exact details are unclear, but a new lockdown could come into place between Christmas night and New Year. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte described the potential lockdown as a "new squeeze".

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55324422.

 

[sweep_shot]

Japan PM under fire over year-end dinners as coronavirus cases mount

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has drawn criticism for joining year-end get-togethers after begging the public to avoid parties as the country grapples with record numbers of coronavirus cases.

Suga became prime minister in September but he has not enjoyed much of a honeymoon as public frustration grows with rising coronavirus infections and several wrangles that have begun to raise questions about how long he might keep the job.

Despite warning the public to shun big gatherings, Suga has attended several over the past week, stirring criticism on social media and from politicians, including from allies in his coalition.

“While asking people for self-restraint, they’re eating high-end steaks and living it up,” opposition member of parliament Jun Azumi told reporters, referring to a Monday dinner at a top Tokyo steak house that Suga attended.

“Public support can collapse,” Azumi said.

One of those who attended the dinner, 76-year-old actor Ryotaro Sugi, told reporters outside the restaurant it was a “year-end party” and they had discussed baseball.

Suga said on Wednesday he regretted attending the dinner.

“I’m regretting that because it caused misunderstanding among the public,” Suga told reporters when asked about the issue.

Earlier, government spokesman Katsunobu Kato said the government took seriously criticism that Suga’s activities had “caused misunderstanding” among the public.

“It is important to make individual decisions based on a balance between the purposes of group meals and infection control measures,” Kato said.

More worrying for the prime minister might be veiled criticism from the ruling party’s junior partner, Komeito, with their relations already under pressure over a dispute about medical bills for the elderly.

“The prime minister’s schedule sends a message to the people, so I’d like to see due consideration,” Komeito party leader Natsuo Yamaguchi said earlier.

A source close to Komeito was more blunt: “There’s a growing chasm,” between the parties, the source, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.

The prime minister this week was forced to make a U-turn over a government travel subsidy programme aimed at supporting domestic tourism and helping small businesses that he had long defended.

Critics have blamed the programme for encouraging travel that has helped spread the coronavirus around Japan. Suga suspended it over the year-end holidays.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/jap...ners-as-coronavirus-cases-mount-idUSKBN28Q0EJ.

 

[sweep_shot]

South Korea warns of first potential lockdown as coronavirus numbers continue to rise

South Korean health officials have warned residents to take current restrictions seriously, as the country faces the possibility of entering into its first potential lockdown since the beginning of the pandemic amid an alarming rise in new infections.

South Korea has long been considered a model country for its effective response to multiple waves of coronavirus, earning praise from the World Health Organization earlier this year after authorities successfully halted the spread of the initial outbreak.

Despite being among the first countries to be hit by the virus, South Korea has managed to avoid the type of stringent lockdown measures seen elsewhere in the world, thanks largely to a combination of aggressive testing and sophisticated track and trace techniques.

But as the pandemic drags on into winter, the emergence of a so-called "third wave" has resulted in an apparently untraceable rise in new infections.

Speaking Wednesday, senior Health Ministry official Yoon Tae-ho urged people to participate fully with social distancing measures in the Seoul Metropolitan area, which accounts for around half of the country's 51 million-strong population. Those restrictions are currently at level 2.5 on the country's scale, with level 3 being a de facto lockdown.

Yoon said officials are currently consulting with experts, local governments, and the anti-virus work committee about whether to raise restrictions to level 3.

Such a move would likely constitute "a big social change," warned Yoon and could result in harm to small businesses and the self-employed.

On Tuesday, South Korea reported 1,078 new cases, the highest daily count since the start of the pandemic, bringing the national total to 45,442. Some 226 patients are in critical condition, while there were an additional 12 deaths Tuesday, increasing total fatalities to 612.

On Wednesday, the acting Mayor of Seoul, Seo Jung-hyup, warned the capital was facing a critical shortage of hospital space, with 77 of the city's 78 ICU beds now occupied by coronavirus patients.

While these numbers pale in comparison to those seen in much of Europe or the United States, the latest spike is demonstrative of the additional difficulties caused by freezing winter temperatures -- which drive people indoors, where infection is easier -- and growing fatigue over restrictions and precautions.

According to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, cases in South Korea have been steadily increasing since mid-November, and the country has been slowly enacting more restrictions and social distancing rules in response.

Last week, military and police were called in to help with contact tracing efforts, while testing centers extended their hours into the night and on weekends to encourage testing in the greater Seoul area. At a briefing announcing new efforts, a top South Korean health official warned the country was facing its "biggest crisis" so far.

Level 3 restrictions could see schools and churches forced to move operations online. Earlier this year, multiple outbreaks in South Korea were linked to religious groups, and some led protests against the government when authorities attempted to enforce social distancing measures.

According to public broadcaster KBS, at least one cluster in Seoul has been linked to a church.

"The church held gatherings four times a week for seven weeks in a confined space for a prolonged period of time, meaning the possibility of droplets spreading among participants was very high," Park Yoo-mi, a local health official, told KBS. "We are further investigating the matter."

Winter has long been expected to bring a spike in cases through much of the northern hemisphere, but particularly in countries where temperatures are lowest: greater ventilation, which can aid in preventing infections, is far more difficult when average daytime temperatures are below -5C (23F) as in Seoul this week.

Speaking Tuesday, Jung Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said "the third wave is different from the previous two. It's the most critical point since the COVID-19 pandemic began."

In neighbouring -- and equally cold -- Japan, restrictions have also been ramped up in response to a new wave of cases.

On Tuesday, an additional 2,410 new cases and 45 deaths were recorded across Japan, bringing the respective totals to 184,754 cases and 2,701 deaths. The number of patients in intensive care is at its highest level all year, health officials warned.

Japan has also largely avoided the type of strict lockdowns seen elsewhere, opting instead for intensive border controls, contact tracing and social distancing, an experiment that has been broadly successful. But the sheer amount of time citizens have been living under even minor restrictions -- East Asia was the first region in the world to deal with the coronavirus, with precautions being enacted as early as January this year -- runs the risk of fatigue.

"Please do not get used to the coronavirus," Japan Medical Association President Toshio Nakagawa said at a briefing last month, as cases started to rise. "Please do not underestimate the coronavirus."

Source: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coron...oronavirus-numbers-continue-to-rise-1.5233422.

 

[sweep_shot]

The Netherlands imposes sweeping five-week lockdown

The Dutch government has imposed sweeping new Coronavirus restrictions that will be in place until mid-January, the country’s Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced in a televised address on Monday.

“The Netherlands for five weeks is going into lockdown,” Rutte said, with his announcement coming amid an alarming spike in COVID-19 cases across the country, as only on Sunday, health authorities reported a record of almost 10,000 new Coronavirus cases.

Under the new restrictions, all but non-essential shops closed as of Wednesday, along with schools, museums, gyms and hairdressers, while bars and restaurants were already shut down since October. Day care centers will also close, except for children whose parents work in the so-called “crucial sectors”, such as health care, media and public transport.

New rules also apply to private homes, as people can receive a maximum of two guests per day, except for Christmas, when three adult guests are allowed.

During the first outbreak, the country imposed an “intelligent lockdown” that was followed by a “partial lockdown” in fall, hoping that the second wave of the virus would not hit the country hard.

However, Germany’s move to impose a tough lockdown starting from Wednesday until at least January 10, sparked fears that tourists from the neighbouring country would travel to Dutch cities close to the borders to buy their Christmas presents.

Netherlands’ new restrictions will be in place until January 19 and Rutte is expected to give a press conference a week prior to that date to announce whether the evaluation of their effectiveness allows for their lifting or not.

Source: https://www.neweurope.eu/article/the-netherlands-imposes-sweeping-five-week-lockdown/.

 

[sweep_shot]

Brazil posts record COVID-19 infections as virus comes roaring back

RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO — Brazil registered over 70,000 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, a daily record, bringing the country’s total caseload above 7 million as a second wave of infections slams the South American country.

Brazil has the second-deadliest COVID-19 outbreak in the world, behind only the United States, with over 180,000 deaths from the highly contagious respiratory virus. Wednesday’s record came without even the daily numbers from Sao Paulo state, the nation’s most populous, which has been the epicenter of the outbreak.

In a statement, the Sao Paulo state government said it had been unable to upload the data because of technical issues.

After reaching a peak in late July, daily coronavirus cases and deaths in Brazil fell steadily until early November.

But in the last month, cases and deaths have spiked.

Epidemiologists consulted by Reuters blamed the second wave on the relaxation of social distancing measures and decreased mask usage among Brazilians.

They also noted that while the first wave was driven by infections among poor Brazilians who lack the means to quarantine for long periods, the second wave has hit wealthier Brazilians, who have caught the virus while working, dining at restaurants and going to the office, among other activities that had been restricted.

Google mobility data indicates that in some locations in Brazil, public transport and workplaces are being more frequented than before the pandemic.

The nation registered 70,574 new infections on Wednesday, bringing the number of total confirmed coronavirus cases to 7,040,608. The previous record for new cases occurred on July 29, when the health ministry recorded 69,074 cases.

The country also recorded 936 new deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths in Brazil to 183,735. It was the first time in three months that daily COVID-19 deaths exceeded 900 for two consecutive days.

(Reporting by Pedro Fonseca and Gabriel Araujo; Writing by Gram Slattery and Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Peter Cooney and Richard Pullin)

Source: https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health...vid-19-infections-as-virus-comes-roaring-back.

 

[sweep_shot]

COVID-19 in Turkey: Daily recoveries outnumber daily cases

Total number of recoveries nears 1.7 million, according to Health Ministry data

ANKARA/ISTANBUL

Turkey on Wednesday reported more daily recoveries from COVID-19 than the infections.

At least 29,922 patients recuperated from the disease over the past day, while the new cases came at 29,718, including 4,893 symptomatic patients, according to Health Ministry data.

The total count of the cases rose to over 1.92 million while the tally of recoveries hit 1,69 million.

The nationwide death toll rose to 17,121 with 240 additions.

A total of 205,397 coronavirus tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours, pushing the total to almost 21.7 million.

The number of seriously ill patients now stands at 5,960.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that Turkey’s daily number of patients has been on the fall for a while.

“Today, for the first time after a long period, the number of daily recoveries has exceeded the number of daily cases,” Koca added.

He highlighted that the number of active patients has dropped after a long time.

Since it emerged last December, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed over 1.63 million lives in 191 countries and regions.

More than 73.61 million cases have been reported worldwide, with over 41 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

While the US, India, and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries in terms of the number of cases, Europe is in the grip of a devastating second wave of infections.

Source: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/health/covid-19-in-turkey-daily-recoveries-outnumber-daily-cases/2079325.

 

[sweep_shot]

Russia reports 28,214 new coronavirus infections, 587 deaths

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Thursday reported 28,214 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, including 6,711 in Moscow, pushing the national tally to 2,762,668.

Authorities said 587 people had died overnight, taking the official death toll to 49,151.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ronavirus-infections-587-deaths-idUSKBN28R0UO.

 

[sweep_shot]

South Korea reports 1,062 new coronavirus cases: KDCA

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea reported 1,062 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the second highest since it confirmed its first infection in January, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

The daily numbers were above 1,000 for the third straight day for the first time since the start of the pandemic, the KDCA data showed.

(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Tom Hogue)

Source: https://www.theguardian.pe.ca/news/world/south-korea-reports-1062-new-coronavirus-cases-kdca-532486/.

 

[sweep_shot]

Belgium’s new daily coronavirus infections continue their rise

The average number of new infections has risen for the fifth day in a row in Belgium, according to the latest figures published by the Sciensano public health institute on Tuesday.

Between 7 and 13 December, an average of 2,368.7 new people tested positive per day over the past week, which is a 9% increase compared to the week before.

The total number of confirmed cases in Belgium since the beginning of the pandemic is 615,058. The total reflects all people in Belgium who have been infected, and includes confirmed active cases as well as patients who have since recovered, or died as a result of the virus.

Over the past two weeks, 276.4 infections were confirmed per 100,000 inhabitants, which is an 18% drop compared to the two weeks before.

Source: https://www.brusselstimes.com/news/...cases-hospital-intensive-care-deaths-testing/.

 

[sweep_shot]

French President Emmanuel Macron tests positive for coronavirus

French President Emmanuel Macron tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday, following a week when he has met with numerous European leaders. The French and Spanish prime ministers are among those self-isolating because they had recent contact with him.

Macron took a test “as soon as the first symptoms appeared” and will self-isolate for seven days, the presidency said in a brief statement. It did not detail what symptoms Macron experienced or any treatment he might be receiving.

The 42-year-old president “will continue to work and take care of his activities at a distance,” the statement added. His wife, Brigitte, 67, will also self-isolate but has no symptoms and tested negative on Tuesday ahead of a visit to a Paris hospital, her office said.

Macron attended a European Union summit at the end of last week, where he notably had a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. It was not immediately clear what contact tracing efforts were in progress.

EU leaders met in person on Dec 10-11, for the first time since October. The media has been kept away from the summit venue in Brussels, but television images showed the leaders wearing masks, generally keeping good distancing _ preferring elbow bumps to the usual handshakes, kisses and hugs _ and occasionally using hand gel dispensers in the room.

“During the European Council of Thursday 10 and Friday 11 December all sanitary measures were observed and we have not been informed of any other participant or staff present during the summit who tested positive,” said an EU official, who was not allowed to be identified publicly.

Macron had lunch on Wednesday with the prime minister of Portugal. There was no immediate comment from Portuguese officials.

The Spanish government, however, announced that Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who met Macron in Paris on Monday, will place himself in quarantine until Dec. 24. Sanchez informed Spain?s King Felipe VI of the decision and cancelled a Thursday appearance at Spain?s National Library.

Macron also held the government’s weekly Cabinet meeting Wednesday. French Prime Minister Jean Castex’s office said that he will also self-isolate for seven days. A day earlier, Macron had lunch with the heads of political groups at the National Assembly, France’s lower house of parliament.

The French presidency confirmed that Macron’s trip to Lebanon scheduled for next week is being cancelled.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who attended last week’s EU summit, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson both wished Macron a speedy recovery on Twitter.

Macron and other government officials repeatedly say that they are sticking to strict sanitary protocols during the pandemic, including not shaking hands, wearing a mask and keeping distance from other people.

For several months, masks have been required in all indoor public places in France and everywhere outdoors in big cities. Macron wears one at all public events though usually removes it to give speeches or at press conferences where he is a safe distance from others.

Macron has always been an active president who travels frequently. He has scaled down his activities somewhat this year but continued holding in-person meetings in Paris, other cities in France and in Brussels during France’s second virus lockdown that started in October.

The lockdown, which was lifted partially Tuesday, allowed people to go to school and work but limited travel for most French people and required all restaurants, tourist sites and most other public places to close.

The French president is following national health authorities’ recommendations that since September have reduced the self-isolation time from 14 days to seven. Authorities said at the time that this is the period when there is the greatest risk of contagion and that reducing it allows better enforcement of the measure.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends to isolate for at least 10 days after symptoms first appear.

Since the pandemic first surfaced in Europe in February, EU leaders have held several summits via videoconference. Many, though, have complained about the lack of privacy attached to video calls and the impossibility of thoroughly resolving thorny issues, like the stalemate over the EU’s massive long-term budget and recovery fund, which was resolved in person last week.

In October, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin both had to leave the summit after separately being in contact with people who later tested positive for the coronavirus.

A summit planned for September was postponed for a week after EU Council President Charles Michel, who chairs the meetings, went into coronavirus quarantine after one of his security officers tested positive for COVID-19.

Source: https://globalnews.ca/news/7527831/french-president-emmanuel-macron-coronavirus/.

 

[sweep_shot]

Brazil daily COVID-19 deaths rise above 1,000 again

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil recorded 1,092 new COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, the highest number in over three months, according to data released by the nation’s health ministry.

Brazil, which has the second deadliest outbreak behind the United States, also reported 69,826 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus as daily infections rocket up once more after a brief lull.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...19-deaths-rise-above-1000-again-idUSKBN28R38R.

 

[sweep_shot]

Three more COVID deaths, 61 new cases in Jamaica

An additional three COVID-19 related deaths and 61 new cases were recorded across Jamaica on Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

The deceased are a 48-year-old female from Westmoreland; a 77-year-old male from St Ann; and a 73-year-old male from St Mary.

The latest fatalities bring the death toll from the coronavirus in Jamaica to 279.

The 61 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases bring the total number of cases on record for the island to 11,968. Recoveries increased by 154 on Wednesday, bringing total recoveries to 8,525.

Of the newly confirmed cases, 36 are females and 25 are males, with ages ranging from four to 90 years. The cases were recorded in Westmoreland (18), Kingston and St Andrew (16), St Ann (six), Manchester (four), Clarendon (three), St Catherine (three), Trelawny (three), St James (two), St Mary (two), Hanover (one), St Elizabeth (one), Portland (one) and St Thomas (one).

There are 15 moderately ill patients and 11 critically ill patients among the 3,010 active cases now under observation in Jamaica.

Source: https://www.loopjamaica.com/content/three-more-covid-deaths-61-new-cases-jamaica.

 

[sweep_shot]

Brazil's Bolsonaro warns virus vaccine can turn people into 'crocodiles'

BRASÍLIA, BRAZIL -- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has launched an attack on coronavirus vaccines, even suggesting that the one developed by Pfizer-BioNTech could turn people into crocodiles or bearded ladies.

The far-right leader has been sceptical of the coronavirus since it first emerged late last year, branding it "a little flu." This week he insisted he would not be vaccinated, even while launching the country's mass innoculation program.

"In the Pfizer contract it's very clear: 'we're not responsible for any side effects.' If you turn into a crocodile, it's your problem," Bolsonaro said on Thursday.

That vaccine has been undergoing tests in Brazil for weeks and is already being used in the United States and Britain.

"If you become superhuman, if a woman starts to grow a beard or if a man starts to speak with an effeminate voice, they will not have anything to do with it," he said, referring to the drug manufacturers.

When launching the immunization campaign on Wednesday, Bolsonaro also said it would be free but not compulsory.

But the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the vaccine was obligatory, although could not be "forced" on people.

That means authorities can fine people for not being vaccinated and ban them from certain public spaces, but not force them to take it.

Brazil has recorded more than 7.1 million cases and almost 185,000 deaths from COVID-19 amongst its 212 million population.

Bolsonaro said that once a vaccine has been certified by Brazil's regulatory agency Anvisa, "it will be available for everyone that wants it. But me, I won't get vaccinated."

"Some people say I'm giving a bad example. But to the imbeciles, to the idiots that say this, I tell them I've already caught the virus, I have the antibodies, so why get vaccinated?"

There have been a small number of cases of apparent reinfection although there is no certainty over whether a person can be reinfected or how long immunity lasts.

Bolsonaro caught the virus in July but recovered within three weeks.

Brazil is in the middle of a second wave of coronavirus infections.

After peaking in June to August cases had been dropping but that changed in November.

On Thursday, Brazil surpassed 1,000 daily deaths from covid-19 for the first time since September.

The country's immunization program has been widely criticized for being late and chaotic, not least given Bolsonaro's opposition.

Source: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coron...ine-can-turn-people-into-crocodiles-1.5237678.

 

[sweep_shot]

Italy reports 674 COVID-19 deaths on Friday, 17,992 new cases

ROME — Italy reported 674 coronavirus-related deaths on Friday against 683 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections decreased to 17,992 from 18,236.

There were 179,800 swabs carried out in the past day, down from a previous 185,320 the ministry said.

The first Western country hit by the virus, Italy has seen 67,894 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 1.92 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 stood at 25,769 on Friday, down by 658 from the day before.

There were 189 new admissions to intensive care units, compared with 183 on Thursday.

The number of intensive care patients decreased by 36 to 2,819, reflecting those who died or were discharged after recovery.

When Italy’s second wave of the epidemic was accelerating fast in the first half of November, hospital admissions were rising by around 1,000 per day, while intensive care occupancy was increasing by about 100 per day. (Reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by Crispian Balmer)

Source: https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-p...674-covid-19-deaths-on-friday-17992-new-cases.

 

[sweep_shot]

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 33,777 - RKI

BERLIN (Reuters) - The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 33,777 to 1,439,938, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Friday. The reported death toll rose by 813 to 24,938, the tally showed.

(Reporting by Berlin Newsroom; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

Source: https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/n...d-coronavirus-cases-rise-by-33777-rki-532526/.

 

[sweep_shot]

Six South Koreans die of COVID awaiting hospital beds: report

SEOUL — Six people suffering from COVID-19 have died in South Korea this month while waiting for hospital beds and hundreds can not get admitted as surging coronavirus infections overload the health system, officials and media said on Friday.

South Korea reported 1,062 new coronavirus cases on Friday, its second-highest ever daily tally, as the government agonized over tighter restrictions and warned businesses it was unacceptable to try to dodge shut-down orders.

The daily number was above 1,000 for the third straight day for the first time, data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) showed.

The rash of new cases has shaken a country that has for months been held up as a mitigation success story. But despite its total tally rising to 47,515 infections, South Korea has only suffered about 650 deaths.

One of those who died waiting for a hospital bed was at home in the capital, Seoul, after testing positive on Saturday, while three others were in a nursing home in Gyeonggi province.

The Yonhap news agency reported two other such deaths in December but provided no immediate details.

“We express our deepest condolences and feel keenly responsible,” Park Yoo-mi, a quarantine officer for the Seoul government told a briefing.

“The on-site response team in the Seoul metropolitan area has been experiencing difficulty in allocating beds due to sharp increase in confirmed cases and overload in administration and medical systems since the beginning of December.”

Park vowed to strengthen the public health system and said 580 patients were waiting for beds in Seoul on Friday, 227 of whom have been waiting for at least two days.

The unprecedented surge in serious cases had strained the health system, with only a limited number of critical care beds available, health officials have been warning.

Meanwhile, the government is agonizing over whether to tighten up social distancing, which would mean ordering 1.2 million business to suspend operations.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said that given the burden on businesses, “social consensus” was necessary for a decision.

He also said everyone had to play by the virus restriction rules.

“There have been increasing attempts to continue operation in an irregular way by changing their stated type of business in order to slip through the government’s anti-virus efforts,” Chung told a government meeting.

“That can never be acceptable.”

Chung did not give any details but media has reported some bars trying to beat the bans by passing themselves off as restaurants.

Source: https://torontosun.com/news/world/six-south-koreans-die-of-covid-awaiting-hospital-beds-report.

 

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COVID-19 recognized as occupational disease for health care staff in Turkey

In a landmark regulation issued Friday, health care workers at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic will receive 'occupational disease' benefits if they are infected with the virus

The Health Ministry has issued a new set of regulations to honor health care workers who have died or have been infected with the coronavirus during their fight against COVID-19. The guidelines, long demanded by doctors, nurses and other health care personnel, provide new benefits for those who have suffered from the disease and for the next of kin of the staff who have died while working at hospitals.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently announced that the families of health care workers that were infected or died of the virus would be entitled to salaries, interest-free loans, educational benefits for their children, employment opportunities and reductions in bills. The benefits are similar to what is given to people suffering from other occupational diseases.

Health care workers are at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic. They toil in long shifts and often cannot see their families for fear of infection. The Health Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) recently approved a proposal by unions of health care workers to classify COVID-19 as an occupational disease.

Turkey is battling a surge in its number of coronavirus cases, which has reached 1.9 million, while more than 17,000 people have died of the disease. The nation's recoveries now exceed 1.7 million.

Health care workers are in the primary risk group in the coronavirus pandemic. More than 40,000 health care workers have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and 100 of these health care workers, half of them doctors, have died since March. Experts say about one in every 10 people diagnosed with the disease is a health care worker. Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated 2021 as the International Year of Health and Care Workers, as a result of international efforts led by Turkey.

Doctors recount ordeal

Ali Osman Çağlayan, the chief physician at a public hospital in the Soma district of western Manisa province, is among health care staff who contracted COVID-19. “I don’t remember anything that I suffered from more in my life. It was like I was crushed by a truck,” he told Anadolu Agency (AA). "It was one of the worst weeks of my life."

As the chief physician, Çağlayan was everywhere in the hospital, in contact with many patients and other staff. He managed to protect himself until November, but when the number of cases increased and the hospital’s workload rose, he found himself infected as well. He tested positive for the virus after the onset of coughing and extreme sweating. “It really kicked in on the third day. Back and muscle pains started, then along came the headache. I was feeling dizzy and tired. I've had bad cases of the flu in the past and had Familial Mediterranean Fever, but they were nothing compared to what I suffered at the hands of coronavirus,” he recalled.

Isolated while he recovered at home, Çağlayan said: “You can’t do anything while lying in bed. You can’t sleep either, more than five hours ... I feel lucky because I was home, but even then, it was a very difficult process of recovery, though I did not have any additional impact on my lungs or suffer from pneumonia.” Çağlayan still feels tired from time to time, as a fallout from the disease.

Hüseyin Şaşkın, the chief physician at the Derince Training and Research Hospital in the northwestern province of Kocaeli, is another doctor who was infected and recovered after several days of treatment. He learned he was infected about one month ago. After headaches and back pain started, he decided to have a test that eventually showed he was positive. Like Çağlayan, he was isolated at home and counted on medication for his recovery.

“Words cannot describe how severe my pains were. I was taking painkillers but it would not go away. For three days, I couldn’t lie down or sleep because of back pain,” he recalled. "The back pains were like being beaten by a stick on your back and the headache was like someone drilling a hole in your head. I never experienced such pain in my life. It has been almost a month since I recovered but the pain kicks in at times."

The virus also took a mental toll on the doctor. “You don’t know what will happen next, whether it will affect your lungs and you will need oxygen," he said. Şaşkın called on the public to take the virus seriously and adhere to rules like wearing masks and keeping a distance from others.

Source: https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/c...-disease-for-health-care-staff-in-turkey/news.

 

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Russia reports 28,552 new coronavirus cases, 611 deaths

MOSCOW: Russia reported 28,552 new coronavirus cases on Friday, including 6,937 in Moscow, taking the national case tally to 2,791,220 since the pandemic began.
Authorities also reported 611 deaths in the last 24 hours, pushing the official death toll to 49,762.

Source: https://www.arabnews.com/node/1779221/world.

 

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2,996 New Coronavirus Cases Confirmed in Japan

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)--A total of 2,996 new cases of novel coronavirus infection were confirmed across Japan on Saturday, with the daily count exceeding 2,000 for the fifth consecutive day.

Thirty-nine deaths linked to the virus, including 10 in Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, and nine in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, were reported, bringing the cumulative death toll in the nation to 2,893.

The number of severely ill patients of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, stood at 598, down 11 from the previous day.

In Tokyo, 736 people tested positive for the virus on Saturday, the second-highest daily total after the 822 marked on Thursday. The figure for the Japanese capital topped 600 for the fourth straight day.

According to the metropolitan government, people in their 20s made up the largest group of new infection cases, at 207, followed by 136 in their 30s, 111 in their 40s and 97 in their 50s. Patients aged 65 or older totaled 95.

Source: https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2020121900365/.

 

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Brazil registers 37,730 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday

SAO PAULO — Brazil on Saturday registered

37,730 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 7,200,708 cases. Deaths rose by 555 to 186,205.

Source: https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health-pmn/brazil-registers-37730-new-cases-of-coronavirus-on-saturday.

 

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France’s Macron in stable condition after positive COVID test

Condition of the French leader, who is working in self-isolation, is ‘stable’, the Elysee Palace said in a statement.

French President Emmanuel Macron is in stable condition after testing positive for the coronavirus, the Elysee Palace said on Saturday.

Macron, who is working in self-isolation from an official residence outside Paris, “is still presenting the same symptoms of the COVID-19 illness [fatigue, coughing, stiffness]”, said the brief statement, signed by his doctor.

These, however, were not preventing him from carrying out his duties, it said.

The 42-year-old leader had on Friday announced that he would provide daily updates on his condition via messages filmed on his phone.

Speaking of the general situation in France, where the number of deaths passed 60,000 on Friday, he warned: “We have to be vigilant as the virus is gaining in strength again.”

The French authorities are concerned that the holiday period could see a new spike in infections.

On Friday, 15,674 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours in France, down from 18,254 the previous day.

And the so-called positivity rate – which measures the number of confirmed contaminations as a proportion of the number of tests carried out – slipped slightly to 5.9 percent from 6.1 percent on Thursday.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...in-stable-condition-after-positive-covid-test.

 

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Covid-19 in Bulgaria: 157 more deaths, while active cases and patients in hospital decrease

A hundred and fifty-seven people in Bulgaria who had tested positive for Covid-19 died in the past 24 hours, bringing the country’s death toll linked to the disease to 6496, the national information system said on December 19.

Of 6190 PCR tests done in the past day, 1739 proved positive – about 28.09 per cent.

The number of active cases decreased by 2631 in the past day, to 86 909.

There are 499 fewer patients in hospital, with a current total of 6535. The number of patients in intensive care has decreased by 34, to 536.

A hundred and one medical personnel tested positive in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to date to 8374.

According to the national information system, 2894 people recovered from the virus in the past day, bringing the total to 96 622.

To date, 190 027 people in Bulgaria have tested positive for new coronavirus, counting in those who have died, the active cases and those who have recovered.

Of the newly-confirmed cases, 281 are in the city of Sofia, 149 in the district of Varna and 122 in the district of Plovdiv.

By district, the other newly-confirmed cases are Blagoevgrad 68, Bourgas 97, Veliko Turnovo 48, Vidin 20, Vratsa 93, Gabrovo 22, Dobrich 35, Kurdzhali 19, Kyustendil 28, Lovech 33, Montana 14, Pazardzhik 63, Pernik 39, Pleven 50, Razgrad 25, Rousse 106, Silistra 28, Sliven 57, Smolyan 10, Sofia district 55, Stara Zagora 97, Turgovishte 17, Haskovo 79, Shoumen 53 and Yambol 31.

Source: https://sofiaglobe.com/2020/12/19/c...tive-cases-and-patients-in-hospital-decrease/.

 

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France reports 12,799 new confirmed COVID-19 cases overnight

PARIS — France reported 12,799 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours on Sunday, pushing the total of infections resulting from the new coronavirus to 2,473,354.

There were 131 deaths, bringing the total to 60,549. (Reporting by Matthias Blamont; Editing by Jane Merriman)

Source: https://financialpost.com/pmn/busin...-12799-new-confirmed-covid-19-cases-overnight.

 

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Austria to give municipalities extra coronavirus aid

ZURICH, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Austria is adding 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) to an aid package for municipalities hit by the coronavirus pandemic, bringing the total to 2.5 billion, the APA news agency said on Sunday, citing a government statement.

“We are providing municipalities with the necessary resources to master the current tasks and to be able to emerge from the crisis in good health,” it cited Finance Minister Gernot Bluemel as saying.

The government said on Saturday it is readying extra 1 billion in aid for business as well. ($1 = 0.8160 euros) (Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/hea...ipalities-extra-coronavirus-aid-idUSL1N2J0095.