i_need_contribute
|
Country, |
Total |
New |
Total |
|
World |
77,158,936 |
+546,765 |
1,699,192 |
|
18,267,579 |
+183,223 |
324,869 |
|
|
10,056,248 |
+24,589 |
145,843 |
|
|
7,238,600 |
+25,445 |
186,773 |
|
|
2,848,377 |
+28,948 |
50,858 |
|
|
2,473,354 |
+12,799 |
60,549 |
|
|
2,040,147 |
+35,928 |
67,401 |
|
|
2,024,601 |
+20,316 |
18,097 |
|
|
1,953,185 |
+15,104 |
68,799 |
|
|
1,817,448 |
+11815 |
48,926 |
|
|
1,541,285 |
+4,116 |
41,813 |
|
|
1,514,783 |
+20,822 |
26,764 |
|
|
1,507,222 |
+11,160 |
40,475 |
|
|
1,313,675 |
+12,129 |
117,876 |
|
|
1,202,700 |
+8,594 |
25,397 |
|
|
1,158,384 |
+6,312 |
53,625 |
|
|
997,517 |
+1,618 |
37,103 |
|
|
964,448 |
+8,325 |
16,585 |
|
|
921,922 |
+9,445 |
24,691 |
|
|
689,705 |
+13,032 |
10,491 |
|
|
664,930 |
+6,982 |
19,880 |
|
|
624,159 |
+5,297 |
10,376 |
|
|
623,760 |
+2,721 |
18,545 |
|
|
591,294 |
+3,350 |
14,394 |
|
|
585,545 |
+2,191 |
16,154 |
|
|
584,145 |
+1,027 |
12,697 |
|
|
507,795 |
+6,201 |
14,228 |
|
|
500,713 |
+1,153 |
7,280 |
|
|
459,784 |
+1,749 |
8,947 |
|
|
457,288 |
+2,615 |
9,330 |
|
|
417,125 |
+1,899 |
6,957 |
|
|
374,760 |
+1,874 |
3,099 |
|
|
374,121 |
+3,334 |
6,134 |
|
|
361,010 |
+162 |
6,122 |
|
|
338,854 |
+1,645 |
5,351 |
|
|
302,989 |
+2,967 |
8,099 |
|
|
300,062 |
+3,534 |
2,686 |
|
|
274,949 |
+2,152 |
3,568 |
|
|
253,772 |
+588 |
1,788 |
|
|
212,339 |
+2,755 |
3,566 |
|
|
208,638 |
+1,731 |
2,094 |
|
|
206,257 |
+337 |
13,948 |
|
|
202,088 |
+2,961 |
2,210 |
|
|
195,880 |
+2,849 |
2,873 |
|
|
194,962 |
+1,975 |
3,177 |
|
|
193,575 |
+1,171 |
637 |
|
|
191,195 |
+166 |
6,609 |
|
|
173,523 |
+1,944 |
1,324 |
|
|
Dominican |
160,386 |
+1,322 |
2,384 |
|
158,104 |
+1,534 |
1,281 |
|
|
153,825 |
+652 |
2,630 |
|
|
151,336 |
+2,061 |
1,555 |
|
|
149,770 |
+621 |
9,035 |
|
|
147,979 |
+204 |
921 |
|
|
146,584 |
+652 |
2,147 |
|
|
142,001 |
+143 |
243 |
|
|
135,207 |
+629 |
2,752 |
|
|
134,434 |
+2,828 |
1,035 |
|
|
132,765 |
+170 |
4,656 |
|
|
131,072 |
+587 |
4,172 |
|
|
127,667 |
+648 |
1,488 |
|
|
125,555 |
+664 |
7,098 |
|
|
122,643 |
+1,427 |
1,141 |
|
|
120,687 |
+1,536 |
4,158 |
|
|
119,951 |
+457 |
1,853 |
|
|
116,860 |
+648 |
3,025 |
|
|
116,134 |
+947 |
2,443 |
|
|
112,357 |
+2,925 |
1,019 |
|
|
110,075 |
+294 |
988 |
|
|
105,899 |
+884 |
2,353 |
|
|
99,789 |
+632 |
2,088 |
|
|
95,203 |
+422 |
2,666 |
|
|
94,560 |
+788 |
1,353 |
|
|
94,500 |
+349 |
1,639 |
|
|
93,309 |
+1,340 |
437 |
|
|
90,282 |
+220 |
349 |
|
|
86,829 |
+23 |
4,634 |
|
|
79,542 |
+766 |
2,158 |
|
|
79,122 |
+211 |
1,330 |
|
|
78,434 |
+501 |
1,221 |
|
|
78,305 |
+356 |
2,292 |
|
|
75,933 |
+127 |
612 |
|
|
58,422 |
+19 |
29 |
|
|
53,003 |
+461 |
1,088 |
|
|
49,665 |
+1,095 |
674 |
|
|
44,491 |
+424 |
444 |
|
|
43,955 |
+246 |
626 |
|
|
43,905 |
+323 |
404 |
|
|
43,477 |
+282 |
1,250 |
|
|
5,552 |
+41 |
118 |
|
|
5,163 |
+8 |
47 |
|
|
4,907 |
+576 |
60 |
|
|
1,413 |
+2 |
35 |
Retrieved from: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
From CNN’s Hamdi Alkhshali and Hira Humayun in Atlanta
Saudi Arabia is suspending all international flights following news of the new coronavirus variant, according the Ministry of Interior, state news reported Sunday.
The Saudi government has decided to suspend all international flights for travelers for a week -- and that could be extended, according to Saudi Press Agency (SPA). Exceptions to this include foreign flights currently in the Kingdom’s territory which will be allowed to leave.
Entry into Saudi Arabia through land and sea ports is also suspended for a week, with the possibility of being extended for another week.
Those who entered Saudi Arabia from one of the European countries or any country where the epidemic appeared since December 8 have to adhere to measures including quarantining at home for two weeks, starting from the date of entry into Saudi Arabia.
They also need to get tested for the virus during this period, with repeated tests every five days.
“Anyone who returned from or passed through a European country or any country where the epidemic appeared -- during the past three months -- must conduct an examination for the emerging corona virus (Covid 19)," SPA added.
The above-mentioned excludes movement of goods, commodities and supply chains from countries where the mutated virus has not appeared, as determined by the Ministry of Health in coordination with the Ministry of Transport.”
From CNN’s Beijing Bureau
A worker checks syringes of Sinovac Biotech's potential Covid-19 vaccine, CoronaVac, on the production line during a media tour on September 24 in Beijing, China. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
China aims to inoculate 50 million people with homegrown Covid-19 vaccines ahead of February’s Lunar New Year celebrations.
Tao Lina, a vaccination expert formerly with the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, confirmed the target to CNN on Monday after reviewing a transcript of a government conference call on December 15, where the mass vaccination rollout plan was discussed.
Tao added that implementation will depend on conditions on the ground.
“It is only a plan and whether the target can be reached depends on the actual situation,” he said.
Chinese authorities have said their first step will be to vaccinate essential workers such as medical and disease control professionals, customs and border inspection workers, and people in the food industry, according to health officials who attended a press conference Saturday on the country’s vaccination plan.
Since July, China has administered more than a million doses of domestically produced vaccines to people considered “high-risk” groups under an emergency use program. Officials say they have found no serious adverse reactions so far.
Currently, five vaccines developed by Chinese companies are going through the final phase of clinical trials in more than a dozen countries around the world.
From CNN’s Arnaud Siad in London
The new Covid-19 variant, originating from south-east England, has been identified in Denmark, the Netherlands and as far as Australia, World Health Organization (WHO) Covid-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove said on Sunday.
"We understand that this variant has been identified also in Denmark, in the Netherlands and there was one case in Australia and it didn’t spread further there,” she told the BBC in a pre-recorded interview.
Asked whether it was her understanding that the new variant originated or evolved from southeastern England, she said: “It is, yes. From the information that [the UK] shared with us in either south-east England or in London, yes.”
She added that “the UK had picked [the existence of the new variant] up in September and seen that this had been circulating in south-east England since September.”
“It is of concern that the virus is spreading and that it has so many mutations,” she said.
She also added: “We understand that the virus does not cause more severe disease from the preliminary information that [the UK] shared with us, although again those studies are underway to look at hospitalized patients with this variant.”
Van Kerkhove said that doing more sequencing will be helpful in determining whether this variant is circulating elsewhere.
“The longer this virus spreads, the more opportunities it has to change. So we really need to do everything we can right now to prevent spread,” she added.
Retrieved from: https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-vaccine-updates-12-21-20/index.html
Patients and their relatives rest on the sidewalk near Holy Family Hospital, one of the busiest government hospitals and a treatment center for Covid-19, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.Credit...Saiyna Bashir for The New York Times
As winter sets in, cold weather, pollution and public apathy to the coronavirus are weighing heavily on Pakistan’s limited health care system.
Pakistan’s Covid-19 positivity rate has rocketed up to about 7.7 percent of tests administered in recent weeks from only 2 percent in October, prompting a plea from health experts and doctors in Karachi for the government to impose a strict nationwide lockdown.
Despite the rise, people in Karachi show few signs of concern. Even as the positive testing rate topped 18 percent in the city of 20 million, markets were packed with shoppers not wearing masks. Buses were full. Overflow passengers rode on the roofs.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has closed schools but ruled out a second lockdown, saying it would decimate the economy.
By official figures, Pakistan is weathering the coronavirus better than the United States, Europe and neighboring India. Government restrictions on travel or the overall youth and resilience of Pakistan’s population may have contributed.
“Pakistanis remained safe during the first wave and didn’t face a serious situation like seen in other countries, mainly because of God’s special blessings,” said Dr. Qaiser Sajjad, a leader of the Pakistan Medical Association.
But the second wave is proving more lethal. Cases are surging, and limited testing compared with other countries suggests the virus could be racing through the country at an even higher rate.
Total infections have reached 448,522, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University using official figures, and more than 9,000 people have died from the virus. Some hospitals are turning away patients. In Dr. Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital in Karachi, managers are scrambling for beds.
Health experts faulted the rising caseload on ineffective government limits on personal contact and widespread doubts — often fueled by conspiracy theories — that Covid-19 poses a threat.
A survey conducted in October by Gallup Pakistan showed that 55 percent of respondents in the country doubted that the virus was real and 46 percent believed it was a conspiracy. Those attitudes make it tougher to enforce mask-wearing and other preventive measures and could complicate the distribution of vaccines when they become widely available.
Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/12/19/world/covid-19-coronavirus/a-covid-19-surge-and-conspiracy-theories-roil-pakistan
People wait to depart from St. Pancras train station in London. On Saturday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain imposed a lockdown in London and southeast England, citing a fast-spreading coronavirus variant.CreditCredit...Stefan Rousseau/Press Association, via Associated Press
Countries across Europe and beyond began closing their borders to travelers from the United Kingdom on Sunday, and the European Union set up a crisis management meeting, a day after Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, ordered a wholesale lockdown on London and surrounding areas, citing concerns of a new fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus.
Train stations in London on Saturday night filled with crowds of people scrambling to leave the city to escape the new restrictions, which went into effect at midnight and effectively quarantined the capital and other areas from the rest of the country, the harshest measures to be taken since the country’s first lockdown in March.
On Sunday, Britain’s health secretary, Matt Hancock, called those who packed trains “clearly irresponsible.” He also said that the restrictions Mr. Johnson imposed could be in place for months.
The first wave of countries to bar travelers from the United Kingdom were in Europe. The Netherlands said it would suspend flights from Britain from Sunday until Jan. 1, noting that the variant found in England was “ thought to spread more easily and more quickly.”
Italy also suspended air travel, and Belgian officials on Sunday enacted a 24-hour ban on arrivals from the United Kingdom by air or train, which could be extended. Germany and Switzerland announced bans on travel between their countries and both Britain and South Africa, where a similarly contagious version of the virus has emerged. Austria, Ireland, France and Bulgaria also announced bans. Portugal, which banned travel to and from the United Kingdom, is making exceptions for Portuguese nationals or residents. And Canada said on Sunday that it would ban all flights from the U.K. for 72 hours, beginning at midnight.
In the United States, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York urged the federal government to take action, saying that “right now, this variant in the U.K. is getting on a plane and flying to J.F.K.,” while also acknowledging that it may be too late. The State Department said that its travel advisory to Britain had not been changed and remained at Level 3.
Spain asked the European Union for a coordinated response, and senior officials from the bloc’s 27 member states met by video conference Sunday evening to share their plans. They agreed to decide on any coordinated action at the crisis management meeting, to be held Monday morning.
Within hours, more countries took action. Iran suspended flights to Britain for two weeks, Reuters reported. Israel barred foreign nationals not only from the United Kingdom, but also from South Africa and Denmark, where a coronavirus mutation that occurred in mink was transmitted back into the human population. Turkey temporarily suspended flights from those three countries, as well as the Netherlands, Reuters said.
Transportation officials in England said that they would increase the number of police officers monitoring hubs like railway stations to ensure only essential journeys were being taken. And during one of the year’s biggest shipping periods, the effects were sure to be seen at Britain’s ports. The Port of Dover, one of the world’s busiest, where thousands of trucks travel each day, closed its ferry terminal to “all accompanied traffic.” Traffic had reached a fever pitch as companies stockpiled goods before new post-Brexit customs rules went into effect.
Viral mutations are not uncommon, and British officials said this variant had been detected in a handful of other countries. The estimate of greater transmissibility for the British variant is based on modeling and has not been confirmed by lab experiments, said Muge Cevik, an infectious disease expert at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and a scientific adviser to the British government.
“Over all, I think we need to have a little bit more experimental data,” she said. “We can’t entirely rule out the fact that some of this transmissibility data might be related to human behavior.”
The virus lockdown came as another down-to-the-wire drama was playing out for Britons: the trade negotiations between Britain and the European Union. Critics say the British prime minister’s penchant for last-minute decisions has complicated the handling of the coronavirus crisis and narrowed the window for scrutiny of any trade deal with the E.U.
Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/20/world/UK-travelers-barred-over-new-virus-variant.html
Rebecca Ratcliffe in Bangkok
Migrant workers queue Covid tests in Samut Sakhon province, in Thailand, after an outbreak of cases connected to the Central Shrimp market. Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters
Thailand is testing tens of thousands of people for Covid-19 after an outbreak at a shrimp market led to the biggest surge in cases in the country, which had appeared to have almost eradicated the virus.
More than 1,000 people have tested positive over recent days, mostly migrant workers in Samut Sakhon, where coronavirus was detected late last week. Cases have since been reported elsewhere, including in Bangkok, which is 45km away by road.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha said the virus was under control but urged people to wear masks and practice social distancing. “We will have to cut the epidemic cycle quickly. We already have experience in handling it,” he wrote in a post on Facebook.
Thailand recorded more than 500 cases on Saturday, the biggest one-day increase in the country, and a number that has continued to rise due to extensive testing. On Monday, a further 382 new cases were confirmed.
Thailand has so far managed to contain Covid-19, recording fewer than 5,300 cases and a total of 60 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Life in the country has mostly returned to normal, though strict entry restrictions have brought the tourism industry, which is crucial to the economy, to a halt.
The outbreak is centred on the Central Shrimp market, one of the largest in Thailand, which relies upon low-wage migrant workers from neighbouring Myanmar, where the virus has not been brought under control. Myanmar has reported more than 115,000 cases, and 2,424 deaths.
On Sunday, long queues of people, mostly migrants, waited for nasal swabs, while barbed wire blocked off access to the market and nearby accommodation, where workers live in crowded conditions.
Samut Sakhon has been placed under a two-week lockdown and nighttime curfew, while shopping malls, cinemas, spas and other entertainment venues have been closed.
“Today is just the first stage,” Kiattiphum Wongrajit, the ministry’s permanent secretary, told a news conference on Sunday. “Further results will show a lot more infections.”
So far, 90% of people testing positive have been asymptomatic. The authorities plan to test 40,000 people, with efforts focused on migrant workers.
Over recent weeks, a separate, smaller cluster of cases has emerged, linked to people travelling unofficially over the porous border with Myanmar, which stretches for 2,416 km. Anyone entering Thailand is required to quarantine in designated facilities for 14 days, and undergo multiple Covid-19 tests.
Measures have also been stepped up in the capital. Schools in three districts of Bangkok that border Samut Sakhon province have been shut as a precaution until 4 January. Across Bangkok, companies have been urged to allow staff to work from home where possible, while the public has been advised to avoid large gatherings.
Stricter rules have been introduced for the New Year, with organisers of celebrations told to seek official permission to hold gatherings. Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has cancelled countdown events and the chanting of prayers on New Year’s Eve. Entertainment venues and restaurants have been reminded to observe social distancing, while limits have been placed on the number of fans able to attend boxing matches.
Thailand is the latest country to record an outbreak among migrant worker communities. Earlier this year, the virus spread rapidly within overcrowded migrant worker dormitories in Singapore, while, more recently, Malaysia has struggled to control outbreak among migrants who are employed in its medical glove factories. Workers in the Malaysian glove factories, who have toiled for long hours to supply protective gloves to countries around the world, had earlier complained about a lack of social distancing.
Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/21/thailand-begins-covid-testing-blitz-after-biggest-ever-surge-in-cases
Boris Johnson will hold crisis talks with ministers after France banned lorries carrying freight from the UK and countries around the world ended flights amid fears over the new mutant coronavirus strain, PA media reports.
The Prime Minister will chair a meeting of the Government’s Cobra civil contingencies committee on Monday amid warnings of “significant disruption” around the Channel ports in Kent.
Hauliers were urged to stay away from the area amid warnings of potential problems as the end of the Brexit transition period looms on 31 December.
Kent Police said they were implementing Operation Stack in a bid to ease potential congestion, while the Department for Transport said Manston Airport was also being prepared as another contingency measure against the anticipated level of disruption.
Countries including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, and Bulgaria announced restrictions on UK travel following the disclosure that the highly infectious new strain is widespread across south-east England.
Italian authorities also announced the mutant strain had been detected in a traveller who recently returned to the country from the UK.
With France suspending all traffic from the UK for 48 hours, it raised fears that trade flows could be severely disrupted while passengers across Europe could be left stranded in the final run-up to Christmas.
A No 10 spokesman said on Sunday: “The Prime Minister will chair a Cobra meeting tomorrow to discuss the situation regarding international travel, in particular the steady flow of freight into and out of the UK.
“Further meetings are happening this evening and tomorrow morning to ensure robust plans are in place.”
Here are the key developments – and UK flight bans – from the last few hours:
· Boris Johnson will hold crisis talks with ministers after France banned lorries carrying freight from the UK and countries around the world ended flights amid fears over the new mutant coronavirus strain.
· A growing number of European and other nations have banned travel from the UK in a bid to stop a mutant strain of coronavirus crossing their borders. The full list is here.
· France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Portugal, Belgium, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Romania, Sweden, Croatia and the Netherlands have all said they will halt flights arriving from the UK.
· The Czech Republic has imposed stricter quarantine measures for people arriving from Britain.
· All three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – have halted all passenger flights from the UK. Lithuania will still allow flights to depart for the UK, while Estonia and Latvia have halted those as well. Latvia has also banned bus and ferry passenger traffic to and from the UK. The bans will go into effect on Monday and last until the end of the year.
· Iran’s health ministry has ordered flights from Britain suspended for two weeks, the state news agency IRNA reported.
· Israel said it was barring entry to foreign citizens travelling from Britain, Denmark and South Africa.
· Kuwait has added Britain to a list of “high-risk” nations and banned flights.
· El Salvador’s president announced that anyone who had been in Britain or South Africa in the past 30 days will not be allowed to enter the country.
· Colombia is suspending flights to and from the UK starting Monday and Chile has introduced mandatory two-week quarantine for anyone who visited the UK in the last fortnight.
· Turkey and Morocco have announced they will be suspending air travel from the UK.
· The official Saudi Press Agency reports Saudi Arabia is also suspending international flights for one week.
· Canada has halted flights from the UK for 72 hours. Prime minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement that for 72 hours starting at midnight Sunday, “all flights from the UK will be prohibited from entering Canada”. He added that travellers who arrived on Sunday would be subject to secondary screening and other health measures. A follow-up statement from the government said cargo flights were not included in the ban.
Medicine
