22nd January 2021 – (Hong Kong) Total worldwide COVID-19 cases have reached 97,543,164 with 2,089,009 deaths as of 12.30am today.
Europe
KLM said it would cut an additional 1,000 jobs in 2021 and warned on Thursday that government plans to require all passengers and crew to pass a COVID-19 test before flying to the Netherlands would ground its long-haul flights.
The UK is giving 200 COVID-19 vaccinations every minute and 63% of residents in elderly care homes have now received a shot, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told lawmakers on Thursday, a day after the country recorded the highest daily death figures of the pandemic so far. The U.K. has now administered over five million coronavirus vaccine jabs across the country, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a tweet on Thursday.
The organizers of Glastonbury have announced that Britain’s famous music festival will be cancelled for a second consecutive year amid the coronavirus pandemic — an ominous move for live music promoters and artists ahead of an uncertain summer.
The Hungarian pharmaceutical authority has approved both the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines, a spokesperson for the Hungarian government told CNN on Thursday.
Germans must take the spread of the new, more contagious variant of coronavirus ”very seriously,” Chancellor Angela Merkel said during a Thursday news conference.
Ireland will extend its current lockdown regime, one of the strictest in Western Europe, “well” into February, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said. The current limits are in place until 30th January, but it will be “well into the next month” before the “vast majority” of rules are reviewed, he told Virgin Media Television.
Portugal reported the highest daily number of deaths from the coronavirus since the start of the outbreak. There were 221 fatalities in a day, taking the total to 9,686. The government reported 13,544 new infections, below the record 14,647 announced Wednesday, and taking the total to 595,149.
France is tracking a more contagious variant of Covid-19 that emerged in the U.K. on a daily basis to guide its measures, Health Minister Olivier Veran said in a senate hearing. Should the prevalence of the variant rise significantly “and we would follow the U.K. trajectory, a lockdown would probably become an absolute necessity,” he said.
U.S. and Canada
President Joe Biden launched initiatives on Thursday to rein in the raging COVID-19 pandemic, tackling his top priority on his first full day in the White House as he tries to turn the page on Donald Trump’s tumultuous leadership. His administration plans a coordinated federal coronavirus response aimed at restoring trust in the government and focused on boosting vaccines, increasing testing, reopening schools and addressing inequalities thrown up by the disease. Later on Thursday, Biden will sign a series of executive orders related to the pandemic, including requiring mask-wearing in airports and on certain public transportation, including many trains, airplanes and intercity buses, officials said.
Newly sworn in President Joe Biden and his advisers are inheriting no coronavirus vaccine distribution plan to speak of from the Trump administration, sources tell CNN, posing a significant challenge for the new White House.
The United States could face as many as 100,000 more COVID-19 deaths in less than a month, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although the CDC’s new leader offered a glimmer of hope, saying that “healthier days lie ahead.”
President Joe Biden’s first full day in office Thursday will focus on COVID-19, rolling out his national strategy for the pandemic amid the Trump administration response he inherited, with record high cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.
Anthony Fauci pledged his country’s commitment to the World Health Organization, marking the first effort by the Biden administration to mend ties with an agency crucial to fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
Southwest Airlines Co said on Thursday it would vaccinate its employees against COVID-19 for free once a vaccine has been made widely available in the United States. The airline said its employees were strongly encouraged to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Eli Lilly & Co.’s antibody therapy reduced nursing home residents’ risk of symptomatic Covid-19 by as much as 80% when used preventively in a study.
Central and Latin America
Cuba plans to produce 100 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine in 2021, state-run newspaper Granma reported on Wednesday.
A group of Peruvian medics went on hunger strike Tuesday demanding more investment in the health sector and rejecting the country’s handling of the pandemic amid rising cases of COVID-19, according to a statement from Peru’s Social Security National Medical Union (SINAMMSOP) published Wednesday.
China and Hong Kong
China’s finance hub Shanghai reported 3 local coronavirus cases on Thursday, the first infections found in the city in almost two months. The flareup comes as a resurgence in the north grows to over 1,300 cases and threatens the capital of Beijing, in what is the government’s biggest COVID-19 challenge since the original Wuhan crisis a year ago.
The Chinese city of Shijiazhuang, the scene of the country’s largest COVID-19 outbreak in months — is conducting its third citywide testing program in January, provincial officials said at a news conference this week.
Elsewhere in the world
Russian pharmaceutical company Generium, which manufactures the Sputnik V vaccine developed by Gamaleya Institute, is willing to help in technology transfer and training for possible production in Serbia, Minister for Innovation Nenad Popovic said.
The United Arab Emirates approved Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for emergency use on Thursday, amid a surge in coronavirus cases.
Nigeria expects to take delivery of its first coronavirus vaccine doses in February, with health workers, top government officials and vulnerable people to be given priority.
Thailand approved AstraZeneca Plc’s vaccine for emergency use on Thursday, paving the way for the country to begin inoculating its 67 million people as it endures an increase in coronavirus cases. Anthony Fauci pledged his country’s commitment to the World Health Organization, marking the first effort by the Biden administration to mend ties with an agency crucial to fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
China will gift Pakistan 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, according to Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
Jackson Mthembu, a South African minister, has died from COVID-19, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Thursday.
Paula Badosa became the first player entered for next month’s Australian Open to confirm a positive test for COVID-19 while in quarantine in Melbourne, with the Spaniard saying on Thursday that she had symptoms.
Lebanon has extended its strict general lockdown, which includes a 24-hour curfew, until Monday 8th February, according to a statement tweeted by the Prime Minister’s office on Thursday. On Friday, Lebanon reported 6,154 new cases, the highest daily total so far. The total number of cases in the country is 264,647.
A fire broke out at facility for the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s biggest vaccine maker, in the city of Pune on Thursday.
A banned Thai opposition politician, who is facing a criminal complaint of defaming the monarchy, on Thursday defended his criticism of the government’s coronavirus vaccine strategy that relies on a company owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Four community cases were among the 38 new COVID-19 infections reported in Singapore as of noon on Thursday, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Malaysia extended restrictions on movement in six states and federal territories by more than a week amid surging coronavirus cases. The Movement Control Order — the nation’s strictest form of lockdown — that had been due to end on 26th January will continue until 4th February, Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Thursday.
Information compiled from REUTERS, CNN, CNA and Bloomberg.
