In the past 24 hours, the U.S. has seen the highest number of patient deaths of the entire pandemic. The U.S. and U.K. have seen the highest mortality rates throughout the pandemic. The Ukrainian government is buying the Chinese vaccine and asking the EU for help in supplying the drugs, but vaccination in Europe itself is currently proceeding rather slowly. Meanwhile, American actor Bruce Willis was kicked out of a pharmacy for entering without a mask. Get the latest news on the global coronavirus pandemic in our daily roundup.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the total number of people infected with coronaviruses worldwide since the beginning of the pandemic has exceeded 91 million, with nearly 2 million deaths. On Tuesday, 4,470 people in the United States died from Covid-19, the highest number of deaths in the entire pandemic. Many hospitals are overcrowded, with people lying in the hallways and children’s wards. Doctors are working without weekends. According to many doctors, this is the darkest moment in their medical careers.
Many hospitals around the world are running out of beds, and ventilators and regular oxygen masks are in short supply. Mass vaccination began in the United States in December, but scientists say significant results are not expected until spring. In the meantime, healthcare professionals are preparing for a peak in infection rates, not only for Covid-19, but for all seasonal viruses. On the eve, the authorities announced that from now on all arrivals to the United States must provide a negative result of a coronavirus test. The United States ranks first in the world in terms of the number of cases and deaths – 22.8 million and 380.7 thousand people, respectively. Neighboring Canada is also experiencing a second wave of the epidemic. The government of Ontario, the most populous and economically important province, has banned residents from leaving their homes without a valid reason. The regional governor has declared that the health care system is operating at maximum capacity.
We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what will happen next. The number of offers should remain the same: episodes. End of story Podcast advertising Another sad mortality record has been broken in Great Britain. In the past day, 1564 people have died in the UK after being infected with the coronavirus. These figures include those who died within 28 days of being diagnosed with COVID-19. This is the highest daily figure for the entire pandemic. The deceased ranged in age from 39 to 102 years. All but 46 had pre-existing health problems. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced at a briefing on Wednesday that the government is ready to impose new restrictions. Meanwhile, the Scottish government, which is generally stricter than the English government, has already implemented additional measures regarding lockdown regulations. The new Scottish restrictions mainly concern trading rules. Currently, in both Scotland and England, it is possible to purchase non-essential goods by ordering them online and then picking them up in a store. This will be banned. Cafes will also be banned from allowing customers in if they sell food to go. It is likely that similar measures will soon be introduced in England. According to Johnson, the government is particularly concerned about the spread of the “Brazilian” variant of the coronavirus throughout the UK, which was detected shortly after the new “British” mutation. “We are concerned about the new Brazilian variant […] We are taking steps to protect the country from it,” Reuters quoted Johnson as saying. Meanwhile, Japanese scientists from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases have found evidence of a new strain of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in the analysis of four tourists from Brazil. According to experts, the virus has mutated again – and several changes have occurred in the part of the genome responsible for the spike protein that the virus particles use to enter our cells. Preliminary genetic analysis revealed the presence of a dozen mutations in the RNA of the virus brought from the state of Amazonas. At least three of them have been previously observed by scientists, including the infamous one codenamed N501Y (substitution of the amino acid asparagine for tyrosine at position 501 of the spike protein).
The same mutation has previously been found in patients in the United Kingdom and South Africa. Apparently, the altered form of the protein makes it easier for the virus to enter cells, which leads to a much faster spread of the infection – although scientists have no evidence that the mutated virus causes a more severe course of the disease. Maria Van Kerkhove, responsible for the WHO’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, urged authorities in all countries to be vigilant, as the new mutation, already dubbed the “Brazilian strain” by scientists, is likely to be just as difficult to contain. Experts are particularly concerned that the changes in this section of the genome appear to be unrelated – in other words, the same mutation occurred independently in all three cases (in the UK, Brazil and South Africa). There is a dangerous mutation called E484K in the “Brazilian” variant of the virus. According to the Washington University research team, it can significantly reduce the effectiveness of the immune response, since the antibodies of recovered patients have a harder time dealing with this version of the virus. However, the experiments conducted by American scientists were carried out in a laboratory, and the article written by them has not yet undergone expert evaluation. Scientists also emphasize that there is very little information about the new virus at this time and that intensive research is underway. The “Brazilian strain” was discovered during routine analysis of all arrivals in Japan. On Wednesday, a vaccination campaign began in one of the most densely populated countries in the world – Indonesia. The local regulatory authority approved the use of the Chinese vaccine CoronaVac (produced by Sinovac), despite the fact that the latest clinical trials conducted in Brazil showed only 50% efficacy (this percentage was sufficient for official approval by the Brazilian authorities). Indonesian President Joko Widodo became the first person in the country to receive the vaccine. The moment was broadcast live on local television.
European Union regulators have begun the process of approving the vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca. EU countries are eagerly awaiting the moment when it can be used, as the vaccination process, which began in most of them last December, is not progressing as quickly and effectively as expected. The AstraZeneca vaccine has already been licensed by the UK authorities. According to the Politico website, in large EU countries, about 1% of the population has been vaccinated, although in some of them the rates are even lower, for example in France, an average of 0.29 people per 100 inhabitants have been vaccinated. Among others, vaccination has begun in the Vatican. According to journalists, the vaccine has already been administered to Pope Francis, although this has not yet been officially confirmed. Last week, the Vatican authorities purchased a special refrigerator capable of storing the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which requires a temperature of minus 70 degrees Celsius. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appealed to the European Union for help in acquiring vaccines. He made this statement during his visit to Kyiv with the recently elected Moldovan President Maia Sandu. “I believe that the countries of the Eastern Partnership [EU project for cooperation with six former Soviet countries, including Moldova and Ukraine] should receive more attention from the countries of the European Union in terms of joint procurement procedures and speeding up the delivery of vaccines,” Zelensky was quoted as saying by the publication “European Truth”. Ukraine has already decided to buy the vaccine, which is produced by the Chinese company Sinovac. The country is expected to receive 700,000 doses of the drug in February. Earlier, Kyiv stated that it would not use the Russian vaccine “Sputnik V”. According to Johns Hopkins University, a total of more than 1.1 million people in Ukraine have been infected with the coronavirus and approximately 21,000 have died. The Albanian government is refusing to name the country that sent 1,000 doses of Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines to Tirana. The country’s prime minister, Edi Rama, was the first to receive the vaccine on Monday, but he did not explain where the drugs came from. He said only that it was donated by a European country that asked not to be identified.
Hollywood actor Bruce Willis made headlines in the Los Angeles press after he was photographed without a mask in one of the city’s pharmacies. Some eyewitnesses claim that he refused to wear the mask and that the employees asked him to leave. The actor himself says that he decided to leave the pharmacy on his own when he saw that the visitors were clearly unhappy about the lack of a mask. In an interview with People magazine, Willis admitted he made a mistake and said he understands the importance of masks and urges everyone to be concerned about public safety. In the state of California, one of the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, wearing masks indoors is required by law. In October, the actor’s wife, Emma Heming Willis, shared a photo on Instagram of the spouses, accompanied by their two daughters, wearing masks outdoors. Government scientific advisers in France on Wednesday called for the introduction of further restrictive measures they say are needed to contain the so-called “British variant” – a new, much more contagious strain of the coronavirus that first appeared in Britain at the end of last year. According to scientists, the British variant is currently responsible for 1% of new cases of Covid-19 in France. There is currently no talk of closing schools. During the day, French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with members of the government and the scientific council to discuss further measures to contain the pandemic. In particular, the start of the curfew is expected to be moved from 20:00 to 18:00. Germany cannot afford to lift or relax the restrictive measures in early February, as authorities had previously hoped, the country’s Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Wednesday.
In Germany, military engineers were involved in the maintenance of hospital equipment, especially ventilators. According to his words, the virus is still difficult to contain and it is necessary to wait for the first tangible results of the vaccination, which will happen only in two to three months. Germany’s largest tabloid Bild reported yesterday that, according to information available to its editors, Chancellor Angela Merkel held a closed-door meeting with members of her cabinet to discuss extending the national lockdown until April. According to the Robert Koch Institute, 19.6 thousand new cases of the disease were registered in Germany on Wednesday. Over the past 24 hours, 1060 people have died, bringing the total number of deaths during the pandemic to 42.6 thousand people. The northeastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang, with a population of 37.5 million, declared a state of emergency on Wednesday after 28 new cases of infection were detected in its territory. The province’s borders are closed, and people can only leave its territory with special permission. Since late last week, four cities have been placed under strict quarantine and more than 28 million people have been told not to leave their homes.
Testing in Heilongjiang Province. On Wednesday, China reported the largest increase in new Covid-19 cases in five months: 115 new diagnoses were reported, up from 55 cases the previous day. Chinese authorities have adopted a strategy of targeted local quarantines when even a single case of infection is detected. The country is currently in the midst of a vaccination campaign. Beijing has called for as many people as possible to be vaccinated before the Chinese New Year, when people traditionally travel extensively around the country. After the holidays, health officials expect the number of cases to rise sharply. Japan extends the state of emergency in Tokyo and its suburbs to seven other major regions. Mortality statistics in Japan are among the best, with about 4,100 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic – fewer than in the United States in a single day. But Japan’s healthcare system is stretched to the limit, and the government’s measures are aimed primarily at relieving pressure on hospitals.