The US tops the list of the worst-hit countries, with over 20 million infected, and a death toll of almost 350,000 (over 1 percent of the general population). It is followed by India (10.3 million cases, 149,000 deaths), and Brazil (7.7 million cases, over 195,000 fatalities).
At the same time, multiple nations have suspended flights from the UK due to a new mutated strain of coronavirus, discovered in Britain.
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TOKYO (Sputnik) - The Japanese government is expected to convene a panel of infectious disease and other experts next week to discuss the possibility of introducing a state of emergency in Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday.
According to the media outlet, citing officials, the panel's focus will likely center around the duration of the possible state of emergency and which areas should be put under the new restrictions.
On Saturday, the governors of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba asked the government to declare the state of emergency, as measures taken so far have not yielded positive results and the number of COVID-19 cases continued to grow.
Earlier in the day, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga held a meeting with Economic Revitalization Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and other senior officials, who briefed Suga about the current situation in the country.
Japan has so far registered almost 246,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 3,600 fatalities.
LONDON (Sputnik) - The United Kingdom registered 54,990 COVID-19 cases within the past 24 hours, a drop from 57,725 the day before, according to government figures.
This takes the total number of registered cases in the country to 2,654,779.
At the same time, an additional 454 fatalities, up from 445 on Saturday, put the overall death toll at 75,024.
UK’s health authorities do not keep a tally of recoveries, which leaves the number of active cases in the country unknown.
The UK may have been the origin of a new strain of the coronavirus which is believed to be 70 percent more infectious than its predecessor and may be driving the new wave of transmissions.
Much of the UK is under the strictest level of lockdown with the holiday season effectively canceled this year.
The number of cases and deaths of the China Virus is far exaggerated in the United States because of @CDCgov’s ridiculous method of determination compared to other countries, many of whom report, purposely, very inaccurately and low. “When in doubt, call it Covid.” Fake News!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2021
BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) - Mexico is planning to have everyone over 60 years old vaccinated by late March, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said in a video address.
"In late January, we will begin vaccinating senior citizens with the [Chinese] vaccine CanSino. We are currently going through all procedures [to acquire it]. We will have everyone older than 60 years old vaccinated by late March," the president said.
LONDON (Sputnik) - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted on Sunday that parents should send their children to primary schools on Monday, despite the fact that the number of COVID-19 cases has been rising exponentially all over the United Kingdom in the last few days.
"There is no doubt in my mind that schools are safe", Johnson told BBC broadcaster amid calls from teaching unions to keep schools closed for at least two weeks to cut the spiraling infection rate which on Saturday led the UK to report a record-high 57,725 lab-confirmed cases.
Although most primary schools in England are scheduled to open on Monday and secondary schools are set for a staggered start a week later, primary schools in London and in other areas of southeast England, where the rising number of cases is being fueled by a more contagious new coronavirus strain, will remain closed after the holidays.
Johnson warned, however, that tougher restrictions may be implemented in the near future to try to stop the spread of the virus.
"It may be that we need to do things in the next few weeks that may be tougher. I'm fully reconciled to that. I think the whole country is fully reconciled to that", he said.
"We do hope that ... we'll be able to do tens of millions in the course of the next three months", Boris Johnson told the BBC
BEIRUT (Sputnik) - Egypt has officially licensed the Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccine Sinopharm for emergency use, Health Minister Hala Zayed said.
"We have signed agreements with Sinopharm, and today we received permission from the Egyptian Drugs Authority for emergency licensing", she said in a televised appearance on MBC Masr Saturday.
"In the last 24 hours, there were 24,150 [newly] confirmed cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus infection in 84 regions, including 2,613 detected cases (10.8 percent) without clinical implications", the response centre said in a statement, adding that the total number of cases has risen to 3,236,787.
Vaccines from the Serum Institue of India and Bharat Biotech, as well as AstraZeneca, have been authorised for restricted use in emergency situations, the Indian drugs regulator stated.
A decisive turning point to strengthen a spirited fight!
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 3, 2021
DCGI granting approval to vaccines of @SerumInstIndia and @BharatBiotech accelerates the road to a healthier and COVID-free nation.
Congratulations India.
Congratulations to our hardworking scientists and innovators.
It would make every Indian proud that the two vaccines that have been given emergency use approval are made in India! This shows the eagerness of our scientific community to fulfil the dream of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat, at the root of which is care and compassion.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 3, 2021
