In 2020, the death rate in Britain will be the highest since World War II. The infected congressman in the United States associates his diagnosis with the storming of the Capitol, while authorities in Britain threaten quarantine violators with severe sanctions. Meanwhile, gorillas in an American zoo have fallen ill for the first time. This and other news about the development of the situation with the coronavirus pandemic in the world – in our daily overview.
According to Johns Hopkins University, nearly 91 million people worldwide have been infected during the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 1.9 million deaths. The top five countries with the highest number of cases are the United States, India, Brazil, Russia, and the United Kingdom. The top five countries with the highest mortality rates are the same, except that Mexico replaces Russia.
London Police Commissioner Cressida Dick warned in The Times that her officers will have to take extreme measures and systematically fine those who break the quarantine. According to her, illegal raves and house parties continue to take place in London, as well as people secretly gathering around gambling tables. Over the past day, more than 46,000 new cases of the disease have been detected in the UK, with an additional 529 deaths. There are currently 32.2 thousand patients diagnosed with coronavirus in hospitals across the country. The situation in London is among the worst. And even with such depressing statistics, as stated in Cressida Dick’s speech, people still regularly violate government orders.
The moment of the arrest of the lockdown violators in Edinburgh. Britain is among the top five countries with the highest rates of morbidity and mortality – 3.1 million and 82 thousand, respectively. Overall mortality in the country, which amounted to 697 thousand people in 2020, has become the highest since World War II. Authorities are urging residents to do everything in their power to make the current lockdown the last. “If we all adhere to the current measures in place, we will theoretically be able to slow the spread of the infection so that by mid-February we can move from a system of general restrictions to a multi-tiered system,” said Keith Maltheus, who is responsible for crime prevention and maintaining order in the state government.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned on Tuesday that pressure on the NHS was reaching breaking point and urged Britons not to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary. According to the German tabloid Bild, German Chancellor Angela Merkel intends to extend the strict lockdown in the country for another 8-10 weeks. According to the publication, during a meeting with cabinet ministers, Merkel said that if measures are not taken against the so-called “British virus” (a new variant of the coronavirus first detected in Britain), there will be a new wave of infections in Germany by Easter. In the past 24 hours, another 891 people have died in the country and 12.8 thousand cases have been detected. The 72-year-old President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has been diagnosed with a coronavirus. His term is coming to an end and he had to cancel his last meetings and events. Elections will be held in the country on January 24, and a pre-election campaign is currently underway for the candidates.
In some hospitals in Ireland, they say they are forced to examine patients directly in the ambulance because all the space inside is occupied, including the waiting rooms. We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what will happen next. Episodes End of story: Advertising Podcasts Intensive care units in Irish hospitals are running out of places. According to the latest statistics from Johns Hopkins University, Ireland has the highest number of new cases of the disease per million people. However, Irish scientists believe that the country is close to reaching its peak. According to Professor Philip Nolan, the daily number of new cases has dropped to 4929 people, which is encouraging.
EU regulators could approve use of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine as early as January 29. European governments acknowledge that the vaccination campaigns launched by many countries have not been as rapid and widespread as expected and that every effort must be made to speed up the process. Earlier, Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades said he had been forced to ask Israel for help with vaccine supplies because EU allies were unable to help at the moment. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has proposed that the European Union develop a uniform vaccination certificate to ensure the free movement of vaccinated citizens. He is reported to have sent a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
New Jersey Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman wrote on her Twitter page that her coronavirus test came back positive, and she attributed it to the chaos on Capitol Hill on January 6. The 75-year-old Coleman took the test on Monday, and according to her, she has no doubt that she was infected during the crowd invasion of the Capitol. In addition to the fact that the absolute majority of Donald Trump’s supporters were without masks, Coleman had to hide in remote rooms with colleagues, some of whom, as she writes, also refused to wear masks. Coleman, a Democrat, was among the first members of Congress to receive the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine when it was offered to U.S. lawmakers last December. In this case, the first shot did not protect her from infection. There is also information about another infected Congressman who may have been infected during the events of January 6th, but there is currently no official confirmation of this information. The United States leads the world in the number of people infected and the number of deaths – 22.6 million and 376.2 thousand, respectively.
Meanwhile, at least eight gorillas at the San Diego Safari Park have been infected with the coronavirus, the first confirmed case of Covid-19 in primates in zoos worldwide. Some of the gorillas are showing symptoms, including coughing, but none are seriously ill.
Only one monkey tested positive for coronavirus, but it is likely that all eight were infected. It is believed that they were infected by the person who cared for them. “They are coughing and have stuffy noses, but the gorillas are fine,” said Lisa Paterson, director of the safari park. “This group is in quarantine, they are still drinking and eating. So we are hoping for a full recovery.”
The King of Malaysia, Sultan Abdullah II, has declared a state of emergency in the country due to the worsening epidemiological situation. According to an official statement from the royal palace, the state of emergency will last until August 1, but may be lifted earlier if infection rates decrease significantly.
A state of emergency has been declared in the country for the first time in 50 years. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who took office less than a year ago, requested the measures. The restrictions allow him to dissolve the country’s parliament, and according to critics, the reason for appealing to the king was to strengthen his own position rather than to fight the epidemic. According to Johns Hopkins University, during the pandemic in Malaysia, 138.2 thousand people were infected and 555 people died.
On Tuesday, Chinese authorities imposed additional quarantine measures in areas near Beijing. In particular, 4.9 million residents of Hebei Province have been placed under quarantine. All will be required to undergo Covid-19 testing in the coming days. Officials said the country reported 55 new cases on Tuesday, 40 of them in Hebei. Earlier, two neighboring counties with a combined population of 11 million were placed under local lockdown.
China was the first country in the world to introduce the practice of comprehensive testing in contaminated areas. Chinese authorities say they have virtually eliminated the epidemic in the country and are now targeting outbreak regions. According to official data, since the beginning of the pandemic, 96.9 thousand people have been infected in the country, and 4793 people have died. However, many international organizations believe that the information provided by the Chinese authorities does not correspond to reality and that the actual figures are much higher.
Lebanon has imposed a 24-hour curfew for a period of 11 days. Beginning at 5 a.m. local time on Thursday, Lebanese will not be allowed to go outside, even to buy groceries. All purchases will be made through delivery services. Only emergency workers and drivers will continue to go to work. According to the authorities, such a radical measure is necessary to help the health sector, which is struggling to cope with the number of COVID-19 cases. The statistics spiked after the Christmas and New Year holidays. The government acknowledges that this is a result of the relaxation of regulations during the holiday period to help the country’s economy, as well as the fact that many Christians live in Lebanon.