The WHO warns that the British strain is spreading rapidly around the world. The World Health Organization announced that the British strain of the coronavirus has been detected in 60 countries worldwide. The South African strain, which is also considered highly virulent, continues to spread. The U.S. and the European Union are stepping up the pace of vaccination, but experts warn that the program is not working efficiently everywhere. In particular, the mayor of London says residents of the capital have been deprived of the vaccine.
In Beijing, a new, albeit small, outbreak has prompted officials to track all foreign arrivals. And in Australia, organizers of the annual Open tennis tournament are being criticized after several athletes and members of their teams were quarantined with COVID-19. Get the latest news on the global coronavirus pandemic in our daily roundup.
The World Health Organization announced that the British strain of the coronavirus, which was reported in 50 countries 10 days ago, has now spread to 60 countries worldwide. The South African strain, which like the British strain is considered more virulent, continues to spread worldwide and has been registered in 23 countries. With more than 2 million deaths worldwide due to coronavirus, this is a major concern in countries where the vaccination program is just beginning or progressing too slowly. The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that over the past 7 days, the number of new deaths has reached a sad record of more than 93,000, and 4.7 million new cases of infection have been detected during the same period.
In India, the immunization program is just getting started, but the country is already exporting vaccines to its neighbors. Mass vaccination programs underway in the U.S. and Europe offer hope that the end of the pandemic is near. The European Union plans to vaccinate 70% of its adult population by the end of August. However, not all EU countries have the same successful vaccination rates. The same is true for India and Russia. At the same time, India, one of the world’s largest producers of coronavirus vaccine, began exporting the vaccine to other countries on Wednesday. The first batch has already been sent to the neighboring kingdom of Bhutan. Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles are expected to receive the Indian vaccine in the near future.
Home Secretary Priti Patel accompanied by police officers. We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what’s next. The number of offers should remain: episodes. The end of the story: Promotional Podcasts. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has strongly criticized the simplified formula for distributing coronavirus vaccine in England, which he says does not take into account the number of people registered with local doctors. As a result, the mayor believes that Londoners have received fewer vaccinations than those living in less densely populated parts of the country. Sadic Khan points out that in some areas it has been possible to vaccinate up to 100% of nursing home residents and move on to vaccinate less vulnerable categories, while in London, which has one of the most severe epidemiological situations in the country, not all prioritized individuals have been vaccinated. Meanwhile, Home Secretary Priti Patel says she is doing all she can to ensure that those on the front line of the pandemic are given priority for vaccination. The Special Committee, which makes recommendations to the government on vaccination, has also confirmed that it will consider factors such as occupation and level of risk in contact with patients when it comes to the second phase of vaccination. Currently, the vaccine is only available to those in the four priority risk groups, and the authorities aim to ensure that everyone in these groups receives the first dose of the vaccine by mid-February.
French students plan to protest the lockdown. French students are planning a series of protests to draw attention to the psychological problems of young people forced to study at a distance and deprived of direct communication. As psychologists confirm, living in isolation, general inactivity, and loss of meaning in existence in the broadest sense have pushed many students to the brink of mental breakdown. Recently, French counseling psychologists have been unable to keep up with the flow of people seeking help. As in many countries, students in France have been unable to attend lectures and seminars for several months, while many are living in tiny dormitories. The closure of cafes, bars, restaurants and sports halls means that they have virtually no place to meet with friends. In addition, a nationwide curfew has been in effect since last Saturday at 6:00 p.m., further complicating the situation for young people.
Australian authorities have confirmed that two people attending the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne have tested positive for the coronavirus. According to Victoria State Chief Medical Officer Brett Sutton, tests on two players and a young woman who is not playing in the tournament have come back positive and they are all in quarantine at the hotel. This brings the total number of people connected to the championship and infected with Covid to seven. According to official estimates, around 1200 people have arrived in Australia for the championship, which begins on February 8, and there is growing criticism of the organizers. At the same time, Craig Tiley, the head of the Australian Tennis Association, claims that none of the tennis players are sick with COVID and that only a few accompanying people are infected. Tiley is referring to the fact that there is no one in the hotel where infected players would be quarantined. Some residents of Melbourne, which experienced one of the world’s longest lockdowns last year, say the tournament is too risky.
Some tournament participants are forced to train directly in hotel rooms due to quarantine. The identification of infected passengers on three flights arriving in the city forced 72 tournament participants into a full 14-day quarantine. They are confined to their hotel rooms and many complain that they are unable to train properly. Tili acknowledged that not all tournament participants are on an equal footing, as some have the opportunity to train on the courts for 5 hours a day, while others are forced to train in their hotel rooms. However, organizers insist that the majority of the 500 tournament participants have agreed to such terms.
Joe Biden honored the memory of the 400,000 Americans who died from the coronavirus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that as of the end of Tuesday, more than 15.7 million vaccinations against the coronavirus had been administered in the country, with more than 31 million vaccine doses delivered to immunization sites. The United States continues to lead in absolute numbers, and President-elect Joe Biden has already indicated that he will not allow the situation to spiral out of control or worsen once he takes office. According to the new head of the White House administration, in the early days of Biden’s presidency he plans to announce new rules to combat the pandemic. In particular, he will launch the so-called “100-Day Masking Challenge,” which will require the wearing of masks on the premises of all federal facilities and when crossing state borders. Earlier in the day, Biden paid tribute to the more than 400,000 Americans who died from the coronavirus during the pandemic at a special ceremony in Washington.
Authorities in Beijing said they would screen all people arriving in the Chinese capital from abroad from December 10 and restrict subway operations after the city saw the sharpest rise in infections in more than three weeks. However, these are only 7 cases. China’s National Health Commission has confirmed that a total of 103 new cases of infection have been recorded in the country as of January 19, 15 fewer than the previous day. Meanwhile, the northeastern province of Jilin set a new daily record with 46 new cases. According to Seoul’s Ministry of Unification, the number of refugees from North Korea dropped significantly last year after Pyongyang closed all borders in an attempt to stop the pandemic. Recently, the flow of refugees has dried up, but if the number of defectors in 2019 was 1047, only 229 people were able to leave North Korea last year.
Myo played a major role in the removal of Robert Mugabe from power. In Zimbabwe, Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo has died of a coronavirus. The former general played a key role in the removal of President Robert Mugabe from power in 2017, which led to a complete economic collapse in the country. The number of new cases of coronavirus infection in Zimbabwe has spiked after the Christmas holidays. The first cases were reported in the country in March last year, and since then, 825 people have died and more than 28,000 have been infected with the coronavirus.