i_need_contribute
|
Country, |
Total |
New |
Total |
|
World |
74,516,684 |
+716,605 |
1,654,507 |
|
17,394,314 |
+248,686 |
314,629 |
|
|
9,951,072 |
+18,164 |
144,487 |
|
|
7,042,695 |
+68,437 |
183,822 |
|
|
2,734,454 |
+26,509 |
48,564 |
|
|
2,409,062 |
+17,615 |
59,361 |
|
|
1,928,165 |
+29,718 |
17,121 |
|
|
1,913,277 |
+25,161 |
65,520 |
|
|
1,888,144 |
+17,572 |
66,537 |
|
|
1,782,566 |
+11,078 |
48,596 |
|
|
1,517,046 |
+6,843 |
41,365 |
|
|
1,456,599 |
+11,953 |
39,560 |
|
|
1,407,487 |
+28,969 |
24,441 |
|
|
1,267,202 |
+11,228 |
115,099 |
|
|
1,159,901 |
+12,454 |
23,914 |
|
|
1,131,077 |
+7,603 |
52,883 |
|
|
989,457 |
+1,782 |
36,858 |
|
|
919,704 |
+10,622 |
15,744 |
|
|
883,687 |
+10,008 |
23,827 |
|
|
639,746 |
+11,169 |
10,246 |
|
|
636,154 |
+6,725 |
19,248 |
|
|
611,422 |
+2,211 |
18,178 |
|
|
594,169 |
+7,907 |
9,988 |
|
|
578,916 |
+1,553 |
12,636 |
|
|
576,731 |
+1,402 |
15,959 |
|
|
571,749 |
+5,991 |
13,862 |
|
|
495,841 |
+1,632 |
7,156 |
|
|
481,630 |
+6,416 |
13,799 |
|
|
452,977 |
+1,145 |
8,833 |
|
|
445,977 |
+2,731 |
9,010 |
|
|
406,970 |
+3,351 |
6,749 |
|
|
365,042 |
+4,412 |
3,034 |
|
|
360,335 |
+180 |
6,080 |
|
|
358,296 |
+4,720 |
5,815 |
|
|
330,343 |
+2,664 |
4,764 |
|
|
288,567 |
+2,804 |
7,381 |
|
|
282,601 |
+5,353 |
2,482 |
|
|
267,585 |
+2,561 |
3,465 |
|
|
250,916 |
+736 |
1,743 |
|
|
203,461 |
+1,105 |
13,915 |
|
|
199,947 |
+2,960 |
3,439 |
|
|
198,387 |
+3,487 |
1,922 |
|
|
188,545 |
+1,278 |
626 |
|
|
187,336 |
+4,077 |
2,050 |
|
|
186,246 |
+1,959 |
6,196 |
|
|
184,042 |
+2,172 |
2,688 |
|
|
183,045 |
+3,327 |
2,870 |
|
|
165,897 |
+1,838 |
1,291 |
|
|
Dominican |
156,585 |
+788 |
2,372 |
|
155,263 |
+1,167 |
1,967 |
|
|
150,933 |
+2,056 |
1,234 |
|
|
150,218 |
+1,098 |
2,556 |
|
|
147,716 |
+371 |
9,026 |
|
|
146,971 |
+261 |
913 |
|
|
143,735 |
+749 |
2,147 |
|
|
141,417 |
+145 |
242 |
|
|
139,088 |
+3,565 |
1,309 |
|
|
130,828 |
+746 |
4,510 |
|
|
130,329 |
+1,673 |
2,650 |
|
|
127,557 |
+1,185 |
3,870 |
|
|
126,835 |
+116 |
1,480 |
|
|
123,153 |
+544 |
6,990 |
|
|
119,779 |
+3,692 |
975 |
|
|
118,006 |
+464 |
1,818 |
|
|
115,606 |
+2,197 |
1,048 |
|
|
114,943 |
+301 |
3,001 |
|
|
114,547 |
+1,306 |
3,997 |
|
|
111,900 |
+1,233 |
2,346 |
|
|
108,717 |
+237 |
970 |
|
|
100,401 |
+2,119 |
2,190 |
|
|
99,869 |
+3,418 |
907 |
|
|
96,209 |
+856 |
2,014 |
|
|
93,507 |
+442 |
2,631 |
|
|
92,853 |
+394 |
1,614 |
|
|
92,577 |
+560 |
1,324 |
|
|
89,600 |
+156 |
349 |
|
|
87,913 |
+1,295 |
429 |
|
|
86,770 |
+12 |
4,634 |
|
|
78,151 |
+241 |
1,317 |
|
|
77,197 |
+421 |
2,140 |
|
|
75,597 |
+865 |
2,194 |
|
|
75,396 |
+155 |
612 |
|
|
75,062 |
+930 |
1,200 |
|
|
58,353 |
+12 |
29 |
|
|
53,386 |
+116 |
327 |
|
|
50,637 |
+637 |
1,040 |
|
|
45,439 |
+1,075 |
612 |
|
|
42,845 |
+595 |
421 |
|
|
42,563 |
+415 |
610 |
|
|
42,397 |
+265 |
1,219 |
|
|
42,312 |
+460 |
402 |
|
|
5,401 |
+20 |
117 |
|
|
5,106 |
+27 |
47 |
|
|
4,261 |
+15 |
60 |
Retrieved from: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
From journalist Angus Watson in Sydney, Australia
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (right) and Minister for Covid-19 Response Chris Hipkins (center) speak to the media at Auckland University in New Zealand, on December 17. Phil Walter/Getty Images
New Zealand announced Thursday the signing of two new Covid-19 vaccine deals, this time with manufacturers AstraZeneca and Novavax, vowing "every New Zealander will be able to be vaccinated."
The deals secure access to 7.6 million doses from AstraZeneca -- enough for 3.8 million people, and 10.72 million doses from Novavax -- enough for 5.36 million people, according to a New Zealand government statement Thursday.
“We now have agreements in place with four providers, covering three different types of vaccine technology and we have secured more than enough doses to cover our entire population plus the Pacific,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in the statement.
“Our first priority will be to vaccinate border workers and essential staff who are at the greatest risk of getting Covid-19. We expect vaccines to be delivered to our front line workers in the second quarter of 2021.”
The vaccine news coincided with the Thursday announcement of a 14% rise in New Zealand's GDP over the September quarter.
From CNN's Pauline Lockwood and Angus Watson
Although promising, vaccines “will not stop the virus” and are not a “silver bullet” to ending the pandemic, a top World Health Organization official told a news conference hosted on Zoom Thursday.
Dr. Takeshi Kasai, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, made the comments as he was giving an update on the region’s progress in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.
When asked by CNN when the world could hope to go back to normal, Kasai said that “the answer to this question depends on all of us. And the individual actions that we take now and into the future."
He said the initial number of vaccines will be limited and that high-risk groups should be prioritized.
“For others beyond those high-risk groups: we may be looking for another 12 to 24 months before the majority of people have received the vaccine. And even then, there is some uncertainty and some unknowns,” he added.
“We must stick to the individual actions and behaviors, which protect not only ourselves, but also those around us. Hand washing, wearing a mask, physical distancing, avoiding a place with a higher risk.”
While the Americas and Europe were facing challenging Covid-19 situations, Kasai said the Western Pacific had fared “comparatively well” but should “keep preparing for the worst case scenario."
Younger people are getting infected: Dr. Babatunde Olowokure, WHO Western Pacific regional emergency director, added that the trend of infections had shifted from older generations to the 20-29 age group because of “increased mobility” following the relaxation of restrictions, and also because of a “low level of perceived threat in young people” leading to "complacency."
Olowokure added that the death toll remained highest for people aged over 80.
Although the Western Pacific was doing well in global terms, Olowokure also said that the “seven-day moving average is showing upward trends in our region” with the most notable increases of infections in South Korea, Japan and Malaysia.
From CNN's Frederik Pleitgen in Berlin
Members of aid organizations stand in the entrance area of the joint vaccination center of the city and district of Würzburg, Germany on December 16. Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/picture alliance/Getty Images
Germans could start receiving the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech by December 27, subject to the EU granting regulatory approval, according to state documents.
“Health Minister Jens Spahn informed the conference of health ministers about the expected approval and delivery of the vaccine from BioNTech,” a statement from the authorities in Berlin said.
“This means a start date on December 27 for vaccinations against the novel coronavirus Sars-COV-2."
Elderly people in retirement homes will be one of the first vulnerable groups at the front of the queue to receive the vaccine.
Germany has recently seen a surge in Covid-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. On Thursday, the country's center for disease control reported 26,923 new cases and 698 deaths.
Retrieved from: https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-vaccine-updates-12-16-20/index.html
The World Health Organization will be dispatching a team of scientists to Wuhan, China, to investigate the origins of the pandemic. The city has not recorded any cases of Covid-19 transmission since May, and life there is gradually returning to normal.Credit...Getty Images
An international team of 10 scientists named by the World Health Organization is expected to travel to China early in the new year to begin a wide-ranging investigation of the origins of the coronavirus that has caused a pandemic.
The team includes experts in viruses, ecology and public health from countries around the world. They will be working with Chinese scientists and public health officials.
Their task, according to a November description by the W.H.O. of the planned inquiry, will be to study how the outbreak in Wuhan began. All possibilities will be investigated, according to the organization, although the November document makes no mention of unsubstantianted suspicions about laboratory leaks, which Chinese scientists and officials have vigorously denied.
Reuters first reported the timing of the impending trip; the W.H.O. confirmed that the team is now making travel arrangements to go to China as soon as possible, with January the goal. EcoHealth Alliance, whose president, Peter Daszak, is one of the team members, also confirmed that the team planned to travel in January. Dr. Daszak is also the chairman of a 12-member task force on the origins of the virus organized by The Lancet, a medical journal. The Lancet task force is not expected to travel to China.
Dr. Daszak has worked on surveillance of bat coronaviruses with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which has been the target of some speculation about laboratory leaks. An EcoHealth Alliance grant to continue that work was canceled by the National Institutes of Health, in what many scientists took to be an exertion of political influence by the Trump administration. The cancellation prompted protest letters, including one from a group of Nobel Laureates.
Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/12/16/world/covid-19-coronavirus/a-who-team-will-travel-to-china-to-hunt-the-source-of-the-coronavirus
Palestinian officers in Gaza City on Saturday. New lockdown measures are in place as the number of coronavirus cases increases.Credit...Mohammed Saber/EPA, via Shutterstock
JERUSALEM — The number of severe Covid-19 cases in the blockaded Gaza Strip sharply increased over the past several days, raising concerns that hospitals could face overwhelming circumstances in the coming weeks.
The 200 intensive care beds at the two hospitals that the Hamas-run Health Ministry has tasked with treating coronavirus patients filled up earlier this week, forcing the authorities to transform parts of other medical institutions into Covid-19 wards.
“We are in a very dangerous situation,” said Rami al-Abadla, the director of the ministry’s infection control department, expressing concerns that virus cases in Gaza would surge even higher as the territory enters the thick of the winter.
In the past week, severe cases, which are typically when a patient’s oxygen level reaches 94 percent or less, have jumped from 103 to 190, according to ministry data. And critical cases have climbed from 32 to 39. Those patients could have respiratory failure, septic shock and/or multiple organ dysfunction.
And on Wednesday, the ministry announced that about 45 percent of the 2,088 virus test results it had received over the preceding 24 hours had come back positive — a single day record.
The increase in severe and critical cases in Gaza, which has an overwhelmingly young population, comes even as the authorities have stepped up restrictions, like instituting nightly closures and weekend lockdowns.
The primary concern, Dr. al-Abadla said, was if the amount of severe and critical cases continue to grow, hospitals would not have enough oxygen supply for both Covid-19 patients and those facing other illnesses like heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
He said a Norwegian organization was sending more oxygen tanks to Gaza, which could help about 23 more virus patients breathe, but he said it would likely take another two weeks before they arrive.
Hospitals in Gaza, devastated by years of conflict and war, were already dealing with challenging circumstances before the virus arrived in the territory.
Palestinians wearing face masks sit next to their luggage as they wait to cross to the Rafah border with Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, 27 September, 2020. Photograph: Khalil Hamra/AP
Israel reached an agreement with the Pfizer pharmaceutical company to supply 8 million doses of its newly approved vaccine — enough to cover nearly half of Israel’s population of 9 million since each person requires two doses. That came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally reached out multiple times to Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla, boasting that at one point he was able to reach the CEO at 2am.
Israel has mobile vaccination units with refrigerators that can keep the Pfizer shots at the required minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 Fahrenheit). It plans to begin vaccinations as soon as next week, with a capacity of more than 60,000 shots a day. Israel reached a separate agreement with Moderna earlier this month to purchase 6 million doses of its vaccine — enough for another 3 million Israelis.
Israel’s vaccination campaign will include Jewish settlers living deep inside the West Bank, who are Israeli citizens, but not the territory’s 2.5 million Palestinians.
They will have to wait for the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank in accordance with interim peace agreements reached in the 1990s. Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, territories the Palestinian seek for their future state, in the 1967 Mideast war.
Here are the key developments from the last few hours:
· The US Food and Drug administration has announced that extra doses of coronavirus vaccine contained in Pfizer’s vials can be used, potentially expanding the US supply of the drug by 40%, according to reports. The news, reported initially by Politico, comes after pharmacists discovered that some of the vaccine bottles contained enough liquid for up to two extra doses.
· Biden, Pence to take vaccine publicly in coming days. President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President Mike Pence are set to receive the Covid-19 vaccine soon.
According to two transition officials familiar with the matter, Biden will receive the vaccine publicly as early as next week. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorised to discuss it publicly. The White House says Pence and his wife, Karen, will receive the vaccine publicly on Friday.
· Biden’s swearing in to have reduced capacity. A day after Biden’s own organising committee announced that his swearing-in would take place on 20 January outside the Capitol Building, the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies announced that permitted attendance at the event will be drastically reduced due to Covid-19 precautions. Instead of the usual 200,000 tickets distributed to members of Congress and passed out to their constituents, organizers will allow just over 1,000 tickets — one for each of the 535 members of Congress and one guest each.
· 11,000 positive tests missing from Welsh figures. Public Health Wales has announced that due to the “planned maintenance” of some of its IT systems, positive tests in the country were significantly underreported.The BBC reports that 11,000 positive tests will be included on Thursday, doubling the country’s recent figures:
· Tokyo raises alert level to highest amid record case increase. In Japan, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has raised its medical system alert level to “Under strain” the highest of four levels. It is the first time since the alert system was established in July that the level has been reached. The warning comes as the city is set to confirm 800 cases, a one-day record, according to NHK. The previous record was set a day earlier, at 678 cases.
· India reports fewer than 30,000 cases for fourth straight day/ India reported 24,037 new coronavirus infections, taking its tally to 9.96 million, data from the health ministry showed on Thursday. This is the fourth straight day that daily cases have stayed below 30,000, keeping with the country’s trend of declining daily cases since hitting a peak of 97,000 single-day infections in September.
· Ardern unveils New Zealand Covid vaccine deals as economy rebounds. New Zealand has ordered 15m courses of Covid-19 vaccine from four providers as the country approaches the end of 2020 on a promising note, with a recovering economy and plans to open numerous travel corridors in the new year. New Zealand’s economy rebounded in the September quarter, growing 14%. Stats NZ said on Thursday the growth was the strongest quarter in New Zealand’s modern history, coming off the back of an 11% drop in the June quarter.
· In Australia, a Covid-19 cluster developing on Sydney’s northern beaches has grown to five. Twelve consecutive days without local Covid-19 cases in NSW ended on Wednesday after a Sydney airport driver was confirmed to have the virus and two mystery cases popped up on the northern beaches.
· Australian state violated human rights in Covid lockdown - report. An Australian state’s decision to lockdown more than 3,000 people in public housing towers to contain a second Covid-19 outbreak was not based on direct health advice and violated human rights, Victoria’s state Ombudsman said in a report.
· South Korea reported a record number of coronavirus deaths on Thursday as the country’s largest wave of infections strains hospitals and contact tracers. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported that there had been 22 additional deaths as of midnight on Wednesday, sharply up from a previous high of 13 earlier in the week. Overall the country reported 1,014 new cases of the novel coronavirus, including a daily record of 423 in the densely populated capital city of Seoul.
· WHO: Vaccination in Asia-Pacific expected mid or late 2021. The World Health Organization said Thursday that countries in the Asia-Pacific region are not guaranteed to have early access to Covid-19 shots and urged them to adopt a long-term approach to the pandemic.
· Germany suffered a record number of Covid-19 deaths on Wednesday, its first day of partial lockdown, with a total of 952 people dying in the previous 24 hours, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) disease control centre, a figure that could rise as the hard-hit Saxony region was not included in Tuesday’s numbers.
· Germany aims to roll out BioNTech/Pfizer Covid vaccine on 27 December. Germany will begin coronavirus vaccinations on 27 December with elderly care home residents, health minister Jens Spahn announced, with the EU aiming for all 27 member states to begin on the same day.
· Brazil sees record daily Covid-19 infections as cases top 7 million. Brazil registered over 70,000 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, a daily record, as a second wave of infections spreads across the country.
· Twitter bans harmful false claims about Covid-19 vaccinations. Twitter has said users will be required to remove new tweets that advance harmful false or misleading claims about Covid-19 vaccinations, in an expansion of its rules on coronavirus misinformation.
Medicine
