Country, Other	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths
World	125,415,975	+583,815	2,756,176
USA	30,704,292	+66,538	558,422
Brazil	12,227,179	+90,564	301,087
India	11,787,013	+53,419	160,726
Russia	4,483,471	+8,861	96,219
France	4,378,446	+33,389	93,180
UK	4,312,908	+5,605	126,382
Italy	3,440,862	+21,267	106,339
Spain	3,241,345	+7,026	74,064
Turkey	3,091,282	+29,762	30,462
Germany	2,709,872	+20,667	75,911
Colombia	2,353,210	+5,986	62,394
Argentina	2,269,877	+8,300	54,946
Mexico	2,203,041	+5,881	199,048
Poland	2,120,671	+29,978	50,340
Iran	1,823,317	+7,605	62,045
Ukraine	1,579,906	+14,174	30,773
South Africa	1,540,009	+1,048	52,372
Peru	1,492,519	+11,260	50,656
Czechia	1,486,598	+10,957	25,367
Indonesia	1,476,452	+5,227	39,983
Netherlands	1,220,945	+7,579	16,371
Chile	947,783	+4,825	22,402
Canada	946,370	+4,050	22,759
Romania	913,143	+6,136	22,579
Belgium	842,775	+3,537	22,763
Israel	830,028	+339	6,154
Portugal	818,787	+575	16,805
Iraq	809,092	+6,051	14,095
Philippines	684,311	+6,666	13,039
Pakistan	637,042	+3,301	13,965
Hungary	593,710	+7,587	18,952
Bangladesh	580,808	+3,567	8,763
Serbia	566,669	+5,297	5,039
Jordan	562,857	+9,130	6,181
Austria	523,269	+3,289	9,151
Morocco	492,842	+439	8,786
Japan	459,043	+1,289	8,908
Lebanon	448,721	+3,856	5,903
UAE	446,594	+2,196	1,456
Saudi Arabia	386,300	+466	6,624
Slovakia	352,528	+1,977	9,261
Panama	352,082	+415	6,065
Malaysia	336,808	+1,268	1,246
Bulgaria	317,116	+4,375	12,413
Ecuador	316,807	+3,237	16,540
Belarus	313,852	+1,378	2,184
Georgia	278,628	+450	3,722
Nepal	276,389	+145	3,020
Bolivia	266,086	+879	12,093
Croatia	260,636	+1,891	5,828
Dominican Republic	250,579	+402	3,289
Azerbaijan	249,492	+1,185	3,404
Tunisia	247,254	+747	8,637
Greece	245,405	+3,058	7,649
Kazakhstan	235,095	+1,088	2,941
Ireland	232,164	+680	4,628
Palestine	230,076	+2,032	2,501
Denmark	227,894	+863	2,405
Kuwait	223,042	+1,299	1,256
Moldova	219,988	+2,273	4,661
Slovenia	208,588	+1,288	3,994
Paraguay	200,823	+2,688	3,869
Egypt	197,350	+641	11,720
Ethiopia	192,575	+1,981	2,718
Guatemala	190,208	+1,141	6,749
Armenia	186,184	+1,164	3,398
Honduras	184,031	+751	4,489
Qatar	175,332	+570	278
Nigeria	162,178	+102	2,031
Libya	154,320	+909	2,582
Venezuela	153,315	+807	1,521
Oman	153,105	+741	1,644
Myanmar	142,292	+28	3,204
Bahrain	138,283	+733	507
Kenya	124,707	+1,540	2,066
Albania	122,295	+448	2,171
North Macedonia	122,227	+1,345	3,545
Algeria	116,438	+89	3,069
S. Korea	99,846	+425	1,707
Estonia	99,008	+1,553	823
Latvia	98,870	+776	1,851
Sri Lanka	91,018	+253	552
China	90,125	+10	4,636
Norway	90,104	+984	656
Montenegro	88,550	+434	1,224
Uruguay	87,812	+1,805	843
Kyrgyzstan	87,652	+115	1,492
Zambia	86,993	+214	1,187
Uzbekistan	81,678	+119	623
Finland	73,516	+803	809
Cuba	68,986	+736	405
Mozambique	66,649	+153	752
El Salvador	63,766	+135	1,990
Singapore	60,236	+15	30
Luxembourg	59,907	+245	728
Afghanistan	56,226	+34	2,467
Cyprus	43,286	+293	248
Namibia	42,864	+93	502
Ivory Coast	41,307	+439	224
Thailand	28,346	+69	92
Suriname	9,077	+3	177
Aruba	8,985	+83	82
Vietnam	2,576	+1	35

 

Retrieved from:  https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

 

 

 

EU and UK working together to "expand vaccine supply"

From CNN’s Vasco Cotovio

 

A health worker administers a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine in London, on Tuesday, March 23. Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images

The European Union and the United Kingdom are working together on specific steps “to create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply,” they said in a joint statement on Wednesday. 

“We are all facing the same pandemic and the third wave makes cooperation between the EU and UK even more important,” the statement read. “We have been discussing what more we can do to ensure a reciprocally beneficial relationship between the UK and EU on COVID-19.”

"Given our interdependencies, we are working on specific steps we can take – in the short, medium and long term – to create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply for all our citizens,” they said. 

The statement goes on to say that global cooperation not just between the two, but with all countries will be key to overcoming this pandemic and future challenges, with the two sides vowing to continue discussions. 

 

 

 

Iraq reports highest number of Covid-19 cases since start of pandemic

From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq and Aqeel Najim

 

 Iraqi health personnel work at a mobile Covid-19 testing unit at Baghdad's Shorja market on February 22. Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images

Iraq has reported the highest daily cases since the start of the pandemic after 6,051 Covid-19 daily cases were recorded on Wednesday, according to the country's Ministry of Health. 

The total number of cases in Iraq since the pandemic began is 809,092 as per government figures.

The ministry also recorded 29 new coronavirus related deaths, bringing the total number of recorded deaths in Iraq to 14,095 since the start of the pandemic. 

There are currently 67,526 Covid-19 patients hospitalized across the county, among them 476 cases in ICUs.

The Iraqi government announced an easing of lockdown restrictions last week saying the country faced economic challenges during the lockdown.

"We must rethink our approach in confronting coronavirus, without impacting people's livelihood and their economy," Iraqi government spokesman Hassna Nadhim said during a press conference last week.

Current restrictions: The country now has a lockdown on Fridays and Saturdays instead of Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The daily curfew has been reduced by one hour, and is now between 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. local, while malls, shops, restaurants, and cafes were reopened on March 22 under strict health measures.

 

 

 

India reports highest single-day Covid-19 death toll this year as country marks anniversary of first lockdown 

From CNN's Esha Mitra in New Delhi

 

India reported 275 deaths due to coronavirus on Wednesday, the highest number of fatalities in a single day since December 31, according to a CNN tally of figures from the Indian Ministry of Health.

The country also reported 47,262 new Covid-19 infections Wednesday, the highest single-day rise since November 12, bringing the total to 11,734,058 cases, including 160,441 deaths.

This comes as India marks one year since the first nationwide Covid-19 lockdown was imposed in the country, forcing its 1.3 billion people indoors. 

New rules: In light of the "fresh surge in cases in some parts of the country," the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday announced new Covid-19 control guidelines that will be in place until the end of April.

India has reported more than 35,000 new cases daily for seven consecutive days, according to CNN's tally of figures from the Ministry of Health. This rise follows a "sustained decline in the number of active cases, continuously for about 5 months," as per the MHA order.

Some of the measures outlined in the Tuesday order included quickly isolating positive cases and tracing contacts of Covid-positive patients within 72 hours.

According to the Ministry of Health on Tuesday, Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu accounted for 81% of new cases reported over the previous 24 hours. Parts of many of these states have imposed complete or partial lockdowns and night curfews in order to contain the spread of the virus.  

India has distributed more than 50 million vaccine doses since January 16 when it began vaccinating healthcare and frontline workers, as well as those over age 60 or above 45 with comorbidities. Everyone 45 or older will be included in the rollout from April 1, according to the Ministry of Health. 

 

 

 

New AstraZeneca report says vaccine was 76% effective in preventing Covid-19 symptoms

From CNN Health's Maggie Fox

 

A medical worker fills a syringe from a vial of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in Rome, on March 24. Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images

Drug giant AstraZeneca updated its data on how well its coronavirus vaccine works, saying late Wednesday the vaccine showed 76% efficacy against symptomatic coronavirus disease and 100% efficacy against severe or critical disease or the need for hospitalization.

The vaccine was 85% effective in preventing symptoms in volunteers 65 and older, the company said.

The numbers are not terribly different from data the company released in a statement Monday. On Monday, AstraZeneca said its Covid-19 vaccine showed 79% efficacy against symptomatic disease and 100% efficacy against severe disease and hospitalization.

As with Monday's data, the company has released them via news release and not in a peer-reviewed report or as a formal submission for US Food and Drug Administration review.

"The primary analysis is consistent with our previously released interim analysis, and confirms that our COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective in adults, including those aged 65 years and over. We look forward to filing our regulatory submission for Emergency Use Authorization in the US and preparing for the rollout of millions of doses across America," Mene Pangalos, executive vice president for biopharmaceuticals research for the company, said in a statement.

Concerns raised in US: On Tuesday, the independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) that reviews data from multiple Covid-19 vaccine candidates expressed concern over AstraZeneca's announcements on its latest findings, and, unusually, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases publicly announced those concerns.

"The DSMB expressed concern that AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from that trial, which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data," the NIAID, which has helped AstraZeneca run trials in the US, said.
"We urge the company to work with the DSMB to review the efficacy data and ensure the most accurate, up-to-date efficacy data be made public as quickly as possible."

 

Retrieved from: https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-vaccine-updates-03-25-21/index.html

 

 

 

Desperate to secure vaccine doses, Europe is starting to flex its muscles

By Matina Stevis-Gridneff

 

 People waiting to receive the coronavirus vaccination at a hospital in Milan this week.Credit...Alessandro Grassani for The New York Times

 

When a team of police inspectors descended on a vaccine-manufacturing facility outside Rome over the weekend, they discovered 29 million doses of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines, feeding suspicions that the company was trying to spirit them overseas instead of distributing them in the European Union.

Four days of checks later, Italian officials have accepted AstraZeneca’s explanation that the doses were going through quality control before being shipped to the developing world, and to European countries.

But the cinematic raid — intended to put a little muscle behind European Union threats to make the company stop exporting doses — now stands as a vivid example of just how desperate the hunt for vaccines is getting.

It was also a sign of the continuing tensions between the bloc and those it suspects might be cheating.

“We are in the crisis of the century,” the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, warned last week. “And I’m not ruling out anything for now, because we have to make sure that Europeans are vaccinated as soon as possible.”

On Wednesday the bloc flexed its powers, unveiling emergency rules that grant it broad authority to halt exports of Covid vaccines made in the E.U., escalating an uncharacteristically protectionist stance and risking a fresh crisis in its fragile relations with Britain, a former member.

Britain has been by far the biggest beneficiary of the bloc’s exports, so it has the most to lose. But the rules — if applied — could also be used to curb exports to Israel and others. The legislation is unlikely to affect the United States, and shipments to poor countries through a global consortium will continue.

The moves highlighted the E.U.’s predicament: having launched an ambitious joint vaccine-procurement program last year on behalf of its 27 members, the bloc realized in early 2021 that it had not taken the necessary steps to safeguard supply.

It has been falling behind ever since.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/03/24/world/covid-vaccine-coronavirus-cases/desperate-to-secure-vaccine-doses-europe-is-starting-to-flex-its-muscles

 

 

 

Miami Beach opened up to revelers, only to have to crack down on them

 

Crowds gather in the street while a speaker blasts music an hour past curfew in Miami Beach, Fla., over the weekend. The city extended a curfew after police struggled to contain unruly crowds of spring break tourists.Credit...Daniel A. Varela/Miami Herald, via Associated Press

College students on spring break and tourists who had mostly stayed inside for a year descended by the tens of thousands on Miami Beach, a vacation hot spot that — along with the rest of Florida — has lifted most Covid-19 restrictions, opening its restaurants and clubs and bars.

But the huge crowds that gathered in the city’s famous 10-block beachside entertainment district starting in late February became unruly at times, with fights breaking out and gunshots fired into the air, causing stampedes.

In the weeks since the influx began, more than 1,000 people have been arrested, one-third or more of them on drug and alcohol consumption charges. The police have seized more than 100 guns. And there has been some violence: In perhaps the most serious case, two male visitors are accused of drugging and raping a woman who later died.

But the raucous partying was largely nonviolent, city officials say. And for that reason, many Black leaders in town have questioned what happened next.

On Saturday, the city declared a state of emergency, and a few hours later, a military-style armored vehicle and police officers in riot gear moved down Ocean Drive, blaring sound cannons and firing pepper balls to disperse the crowds and enforce the newly declared curfew.

The resulting video images of heavily armed police officers cracking down on unarmed crowds reminded many people of last summer’s protests against police brutality, prompting local Black leaders to criticize Miami Beach city officials for being poorly prepared for the chaos and for being unnecessarily heavy-handed in their response.

The city has been accused of racism before in its handling of large Black crowds, particularly during Memorial Day weekends over the years.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/03/24/world/covid-vaccine-coronavirus-cases/miami-beach-opened-up-to-revelers-only-to-have-to-crack-down-on-them

 

 

 

In other news around the world:

By Melissa Eddy and Monika Pronczuk

· Belgium will tighten restrictions on Friday as it faces rising numbers of hospitalizations and new cases. Hairdressers and beauty salons will be closed until April 25, and other nonessential businesses will be allowed to open to the public only by appointment. Alexander de Croo, the country’s prime minister, called the new measures “an Easter break.” Schools’ spring break will be extended by one week, so students will not return to in-person instruction until April 19

· In India, citing rising case numbers and increased domestic demand, officials have decided to halt AstraZeneca exports, officials told the BBC. Delayed vaccine shipments from the world’s largest vaccine producer, the Serum Institute of India, have slowed Britain’s vaccination program, and India’s decision to halt its exports could further affect vaccine distribution in other countries that depend on the country’s resources.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/world/europe/merkel-germany-coronavirus-easter.html