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Live Updates: 5.7Mln New COVID-19 Cases Recorded This Week, Biggest Surge Since Pandemic’s Outbreak

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The global death toll from the coronavirus infection has topped 3.069 million; over 144.4 million cases of the infection have been detected, according to... 23.04.2021, Sputnik International

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global covid-19 cases spike to highest level post-lockdown, newsfeed

A patient wearing an oxygen mask is wheeled inside a COVID-19 hospital for treatment, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ahmedabad, India, April 21, 2021. - Sputnik International

Live Updates: 5.7Mln New COVID-19 Cases Recorded This Week, Biggest Surge Since Pandemic’s Outbreak

04:37 GMT 23.04.2021 (Updated: 00:15 GMT 24.04.2021)

The global death toll from the coronavirus infection has topped 3.069 million; over 144.4 million cases of the infection have been detected, according to Baltimore, Maryland's Johns Hopkins University, which tracks and compiles data from national and local authorities, the media and other sources.

The US (31.9 million infected, 570,000 deaths), India (15,9 million cases, 184,000 fatalities), and Brazil (14.1 million cases, 383,000 deaths) are among the most affected nations.

The EU member states have agreed on the technical specifications for a Digital Green Certificate, which certifies a person's COVID-19 vaccination status and facilitates movement across the bloc, ahead of its planned rollout in June, the European Commission said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are set to conduct a joint visit of facilities where the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V is produced from 10 May through June.

Follow Sputnik’s feed to find out more.

Table of contents

02:03 GMT 24.04.2021

Brazil’s Health Regulator to Decide on Sputnik V Import on Monday

01:40 GMT 24.04.2021

Chile Gets First Batch of AstraZeneca Vaccines Through COVAX - Health Ministry

01:37 GMT 24.04.2021

Canada to Get 35 Million Booster Pfizer Shots Next Year - Prime Minister

21:54 GMT 23.04.2021

NACI Approves Vaccinating Canadians Over 30 Unwilling to Wait for AstraZeneca Shots

21:24 GMT 23.04.2021

US Disease Control Agency Experts Voted to End Pause on J&J Vaccine Administration

20:34 GMT 23.04.2021

Russia’s Putin Signs Decree to Extend National May Holidays by 4 Days to Avoid Virus Spike

20:32 GMT 23.04.2021

France Delivers First Batch of AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine to Africa – Macron

18:04 GMT 23.04.2021

Cyprus to Enter Strict COVID-19 Lockdown From Monday

17:50 GMT 23.04.2021

Turkey Registers Over 49,000 New COVID-19 Cases in Last 24 Hours

17:13 GMT 23.04.2021

Canadian PM Trudeau Receives First Dose of AstraZeneca's Coronavirus Vaccine

17:09 GMT 23.04.2021

France Reports More Than 32,000 New COVID-19 Cases

16:24 GMT 23.04.2021

Fauci Says COVID-19 Situation in India ‘Terrible’ After Record Number of Cases Reported

16:23 GMT 23.04.2021

Kurz: Austria to Reopen Restaurants, Cultural, Sports Facilities From 19 May

16:23 GMT 23.04.2021

EMA Says Monitoring mRNA Vaccines as Well, Sees No Serious Risks Associated

14:34 GMT 23.04.2021

5.7Mln New COVID-19 Cases Recorded This Week, Biggest Surge Since Pandemic’s Outbreak

13:34 GMT 23.04.2021

Vaccine Nationalism Threatens Global COVID Recovery, South African President Ramaphosa Says

13:04 GMT 23.04.2021

Iran Reports 22,904 New COVID-19 Cases

12:56 GMT 23.04.2021

Pakistan's Edhi Foundation Offers Help to India in Combating COVID-19 Flare-Up

12:53 GMT 23.04.2021

Switzerland Detects 2,113 New Coronavirus Cases

12:07 GMT 23.04.2021

Afghan Foreign Minister to Miss Conference in Turkey Over COVID-19 Suspicions

11:58 GMT 23.04.2021

Afghanistan Registers 188 New COVID-19 Cases

11:41 GMT 23.04.2021

Indonesia Bans Entry of Foreigners Coming From India Amid Surging COVID-19 Cases

11:28 GMT 23.04.2021

EU Seals New Deal With Pfizer-Biontech For Up to 1.8 Billion Doses of Vaccine, EU Official Says

11:09 GMT 23.04.2021

Indonesia Reports 5,436 New COVID-19 Cases

11:01 GMT 23.04.2021

Romania Registers 2,523 New Coronavirus Cases

10:57 GMT 23.04.2021

Russian Watchdog Warns COVID-19 Situation Could Deteriorate

10:41 GMT 23.04.2021

Latvia Detects 683 New COVID-19 Cases

10:23 GMT 23.04.2021

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Says 6.8Mln Citizens Got Both Shots of Coronavirus Vaccine

10:19 GMT 23.04.2021

Japan Introduces COVID-19 State of Emergency for Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo from 25 April to 11 May

10:00 GMT 23.04.2021

Italian Transport Workers Go on Strike to Demand COVID-19 Vaccines

09:39 GMT 23.04.2021

Special Train Loaded With Oxygen Heads for India's COVID-Stricken Maharashtra

08:46 GMT 23.04.2021

One in Four Germans Will Be Vaccinated by Early May, German Health Minister Jens Spahn Says

08:43 GMT 23.04.2021

Maas Sees No Reason for Germany Not to Use Sputnik V Vaccine Once It is Approved by EU

08:35 GMT 23.04.2021

Philippines Reports 8,719 New Coronavirus Cases

08:01 GMT 23.04.2021

Russia Registers 8,840 COVID-19 Cases in Past 24 Hours

07:52 GMT 23.04.2021

At Least 32 Crew Members Test Positive for COVID on South Korean Military Vessel, Reports Say

07:44 GMT 23.04.2021

Thailand Registers 2,070 New COVID-19 Cases

07:03 GMT 23.04.2021

Russia Offers Supplies of Medical Oxygen, Remdesivir Antiviral Drug to India, Reports Say

07:00 GMT 23.04.2021

Perth, Australia to Enter Three-day Lockdown

06:50 GMT 23.04.2021

Lithuania Detects 1,278 New Coronavirus Cases

06:03 GMT 23.04.2021

Uzbekistan Receives 1st Batch of Russia's Sputnik V Vaccine, Health Ministry Says

05:17 GMT 23.04.2021

Number of COVID-19 Cases in Ukraine Exceeds 2 Million, Health Minister Says

04:46 GMT 23.04.2021

South Korea Reports 797 New COVID-19 Cases

04:38 GMT 23.04.2021

India Registers Record 332,730 New COVID-19 Cases Within Past 24 Hours

New firstOld first

02:02 GMT 24.04.2021

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency Anvisa says it will make a decision on permitting the import of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus on Monday.

The decision will be made after Anvisa holds a meeting of the Collegiate Board on April 26, to assess the received requests from states and municipalities for the import of Sputnik V, the regulator said on Friday.

Earlier this month, governors of Brazil's northeastern states announced their intention to appeal to the Supreme Court if they did not receive a response from Anvisa on the delays in import approval of Russia's Sputnik V. On April 13, Supreme Judge Ricardo Lewandowski gave Anvisa until the end of this month to decide on the import of Sputnik V doses.

A team of Anvisa experts that are currently on a visit in Russia, collecting data at a Sputnik V production facility, is expected to return to Brazil this Saturday.

In August 2020, Russia became the first country in the world to register a vaccine against the coronavirus, dubbed Sputnik V, and developed by the Gamaleya research institute. The vaccine has been approved for emergency use in 60 countries worldwide.

According to an interim analysis from a trial published in The Lancet medical journal, the vaccine has 91.6 percent efficacy. Meanwhile, the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) have reported that Sputnik V has 97.6 percent efficacy.

01:38 GMT 24.04.2021

BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) - Chile has received the first batch of 158,400 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 under the COVAX international distribution initiative, the country’s Ministry of Health has announced.

The ministry said on Friday that the delivery of AstraZeneca shots was welcomed by Minister of Health Enrique Paris at Santiago Airport.

"This is the first vaccine that comes to us within the COVAX agreement," Paris said on Friday.

Chile expects to get a total of over 800,000 doses through the COVAX initiative.

Chile launched its mass vaccination campaign in February. Apart from AstraZeneca, the country has approved several other coronavirus vaccines: China's CanSino and Sinovac shots, the Pfizer vaccine and Russia's Sputnik V.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has become notorious for reported cases of post-inoculation thrombosis and multiple countries restricted its use last month or completely removed the vaccine from national immunization programs.

01:36 GMT 24.04.2021

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Canada has secured 65 million booster coronavirus vaccine doses from Pfizer for 2022-2023, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced.

"We’ve reached an agreement with Pfizer for 35 million booster doses for next year, and 30 million the year after that. These boosters will be the latest version of the vaccine and they’ll help make sure we can keep the virus under control," Trudeau wrote on Twitter on Friday.

The deal also includes an option for 60 million doses in 2024, according to the prime minister.

Canada has authorized the Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson shots and has purchased a combined total of over 117 million doses of the four vaccines. The country expects to get all adults vaccinated by this upcoming fall.

Trudeau received his first dose of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine at an Ottawa pharmacy on Friday.

Health Canada had temporarily paused inoculation for Canadians under the age of 55 with the AstraZeneca vaccine following a recommendation from Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunizations (NACI) over blood clot concerns, however, immunization has since resumed with those over 40 eligible to receive it.

21:53 GMT 23.04.2021

TORONTO (Sputnik) - Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunizations (NACI) on Friday gave authorities the green light to vaccinate citizens aged 30 older with the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine if they are unwilling to wait for other messenger RNA (mRNA) inoculations.

In its prior guidance the vaccine advisory panel has given preference to mRNA vaccines, namely the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots, because of "suggested superior efficacy."

"NACI recommends that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine may be offered to individuals 30 years of age and older, without counterindications, if the individual does not wish to wait for an mRNA vaccine and the benefits outweigh the risks," NACI Vice-Chair Shelley Deeks said during a press briefing.

Health Canada had temporarily paused inoculation for Canadians under the age of 55 with with the AstraZeneca vaccine following a recommendation from Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunizations (NACI), however, immunization has since resumed with those over 40 eligible to receive it.

Earlier this month, a Canadian safety review of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine concluded that blood clotting events are possibly linked to it. As a result of the review, Canadian health officials introduced a warning section indicating the "stronger link" between the blood clotting events and the AstraZeneca vaccine on the safety label.

21:23 GMT 23.04.2021

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 10-4 to recommend the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine for adults 18 years and older.

"The Janssen COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for persons 18 years of age and older in the US population under the FDA Emergency Use Authorization," the ACIP experts said in a recommendation on Friday.

ACIP also recommended putting a warning label on the vaccine packaging to inform its receivers about the risk of thrombosis in females aged 18 through 49 years.

20:32 GMT 23.04.2021

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Friday, extending public May holidays to bridge over a four-day gap between the Labor Day and the Victory Day celebrations.

The measure was billed as a way to "preserve the downward trend in the number of coronavirus infections and promote health of Russian citizens," according to a Kremlin statement.

This year’s holiday period starts on May 1 and continues through May 10. Workers are to be paid their salaries in full. Public organizations will keep a minimal staff presence during the 10-day period.

20:30 GMT 23.04.2021

GENEVA (Sputnik) – France on Friday sent the first batch of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to the African nations, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

Despite the EU recommendation to consider AstraZeneca post-inoculation thrombosis a "very rare" side effect, a number of countries restricted its use last month or completely removed the vaccine from immunization programs.

"It is time to share. A vaccination campaign has already been launched in each of our countries. Our most vulnerable part of the population is gradually being vaccinated. And we continue to get more and more vaccines. And we have enough funds to strengthen our solidarity by giving some of the doses. That is why I am announcing today that France will send the first doses through the COVAX program. As I speak, these doses of AstraZeneca are already being flown to West Africa, confirming the COVAX equitable access mechanism," Macron said at an event to mark the one-year anniversary of the launch of the international COVID-19 ACT-Accelerator initiative.

According to the president, this way France helps other countries, especially in Africa, to vaccinate their populations. For this purpose, 500,000 doses of vaccines from various manufacturers will be delivered until mid-June.

COVAX is a component of the global ACT Accelerator facility whose aim is to bring together and make equitably accessible all global developments in the diagnostics, treatment and vaccines against COVID-19. The COVAX facility is responsible for equitable access to vaccines both for countries that can afford it and those in need of assistance. COVAX aims to ship close to 2 billion doses of vaccines by the end of 2021, in an unprecedented global effort to guarantee access to vaccines for all.

18:03 GMT 23.04.2021

Cyprus’ government decided on Friday to impose stricter restrictions against the spread of COVID-19 from April 26 to May 9 due to the deteriorating epidemiologic situation.

According to the statement, published by Cyprus’ press and information office, public gatherings will be banned and the curfew will be in place from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. Churches will conduct religious services without churchgoers except for Orthodox Holy Saturday on May 1.

Cafes, restaurants, bars and retail shops, except for those selling food, will also be shut down.

Cyprus introduced emergency measures to fight the coronavirus in late November. However, the country has recently been witnessing a spike in COVID-19 cases with their overall number almost 50,000. A total of 268 people have died of the disease.

17:49 GMT 23.04.2021

17:12 GMT 23.04.2021

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau received his first dose of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine at an Ottawa pharmacy on Friday.

The Prime Minister and his spouse Sophie Trudeau, who contracted the disease last March, appeared to be in good spirits as they received their first dose during a broadcast carried live by most federal news channels.

The Trudeaus became eligible to receive their first dose after Ontario authorized the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for individuals aged 40 and older.

17:08 GMT 23.04.2021

16:24 GMT 23.04.2021

India is going through a terrible situation amid a record number of coronavirus cases and new variants reported, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci said in a briefing on Friday.

“Obviously, India is going through a very terrible situation right now. They had yesterday, the largest number of cases that has ever been reported by any country. They have a situation there, where there are variants that have arisen,” Fauci said.

Fauci pointed out that the relationship between the new coronavirus variants and vaccines has not been discovered yet, but in any case, India needs vaccines to fight the pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is consulting with the Indian authorities and vaccination is the only way to turn the situation in the country around, Fauci added.

Within the past 24 hours, India has reported 332,730 new cases - a record since the start of the pandemic a year ago.

16:23 GMT 23.04.2021

The Austrian government is planning to relax some COVID-19 restrictions starting May 19 and reopen restaurants, hotels, as well as cultural and sports facilities, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Friday.

According to Kurz, the main requirements for visiting the facilities that are reopening will be a green passport — the confirmation of COVID-19 vaccination or a fresh negative PCR test. Mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing rules will remain in place.

"No more than 10 guests per table will be allowed outside restaurants, and a maximum of four adults with children can sit indoors," the chancellor said.

Cultural and sports events will be allowed to host a maximum of 1,500 visitors indoors and 3,000 outdoors.

On April 1, the Austrian government introduced a fourth harsh lockdown in three eastern regions — Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland — due to the spread of the UK coronavirus variant and the strain on hospitals.

16:23 GMT 23.04.2021

Following comments from the developers of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine regarding the media’s focus on the risks associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine and not the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has said that they are monitoring the safety of that vaccine as well.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is a viral vector type vaccine like Sputnik V, whereas the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine uses an mRNA method. Indeed, the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine was the first mRNA vaccine ever approved for human use.

"We are monitoring closely the safety in the post-approval phase also for the mRNA vaccine. We have not identified considerable risks that have been emerging with the use of these vaccines so far. Of course, a number of deaths may have occurred after vaccination but that is not going to be linked with the vaccination itself, but just occurring at the same time," Marco Cavaleri, head of the EMA’s Office for Biological Health Threats and Vaccine Strategy, said.

The statement comes after the official Sputnik V Twitter account posted a study showing that there have been significantly more deaths following receival of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine than the AstraZeneca one, when measured per 1 million administered doses.

The study reported that the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine had a simple weighted average of 16 registered deaths per 1 million administered doses, AstraZeneca at 8.8, and Sputnik V at 3.7. Despite the EU recommendation to consider post-inoculation thrombosis a "very rare" side effect, a number of countries restricted its use last month or completely removed the vaccine from immunization programs.

14:34 GMT 23.04.2021

13:32 GMT 23.04.2021

"Let us together challenge vaccine nationalism and ensure that protecting intellectual property rights does not come at the expense of human lives," South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

13:04 GMT 23.04.2021

12:56 GMT 23.04.2021

Pakistan's charity Edhi Foundation on Friday offered India assistance in handling the ongoing resurgence in COVID-19 cases, requesting permission to enter the country with a humanitarian team and 50 ambulances.

"We sympathise with you greatly and during this strenuous time, we would like to extend our help in the form of a fleet of 50 ambulances along with our services to assist you in addressing, and further circumventing, the current health conditions. I ... am personally offering to lead and manage the humanitarian team from my organization," the founder, Abdul Sattar Edhi, said in a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The founder went on to say that he wished to support the Indian authorities without causing any inconvenience to the country, noting that the charity will arrange all the necessary supplies to provide assistance, including fuel and food, among other things.

"In order to implement our proposed service, we only request your permission to enter India as well as any necessary guidance from the local administration and police department. We are willing and ready to deploy our team into any critical areas of concern at your direction without hesitation," the letter read.

The Edhi Foundation's ambulances operating in Pakistan are known to be more efficient than government services and often reach the scene of accidents or terrorist attacks before government ambulances.

India, with over 16.2 million cases in total, has been witnessing a spike in the daily infection rate since mid-February. Hospitals across the country have reported a reduction in oxygen and other medical supplies due to a sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country, tattering the country's healthcare system.

12:52 GMT 23.04.2021

12:06 GMT 23.04.2021

Afghan Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar, who is currently on a visit in Turkey, will not take part in the planned trilateral conference with Turkish and Pakistani counterparts, as he is suspected of having contracted the coronavirus, the Afghan Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The conference was due to be held in Istanbul later on Friday. The ministers were supposed to discuss the Afghan peace process, as well as cooperation in security and energy.

"Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar, who is in Turkey for a trilateral conference, will not attend the conference because he is suspected of having Coronavirus," the ministry said in a statement.

11:57 GMT 23.04.2021

11:41 GMT 23.04.2021

11:22 GMT 23.04.2021

The European Union is set to reach an agreement with Pfizer/BioNTech for the delivery of 1.8 billion doses of their COVID-19 vaccine, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.

"mRNA vaccines will be central to the EU's preparedness plan for fighting COVID-19 and other viruses. We are working with BioNTech/Pfizer on a new contract. This contract will foresee the delivery of 1.8 billion doses for the years 2021 to 2023. We will conclude [the deal] in the next days. It will secure the doses necessary to give booster shots to increase our immunity against the virus," von der Leyen said in a statement delivered at a Pfizer manufacturing site in Belgium.

The senior EU official added that the bloc's COVID-19 vaccination program was "on track" despite encountered obstacles.

"In terms of deployment, we have already passed 123 million vaccinations and with this, the European Union is among the top three in terms of COVID-19 vaccinations worldwide ... In other words, the EU vaccination campaign is on track. Yes, we have had difficulties at the very beginning, delays and production bottlenecks, but we were able to counter them due to our broad vaccine portfolio and also thanks to strong and reliable suppliers like BioNTech/Pfizer," von der Leyen stressed.

11:09 GMT 23.04.2021

11:00 GMT 23.04.2021

10:57 GMT 23.04.2021

Anna Popova, the head of Russia's consumer health protection watchdog, warned on Friday that the coronavirus situation in the country could deteriorate.

"As of now, the epidemiological process of the novel coronavirus infection remains stable in the Russian Federation ... For weeks, we see that the incidence rate is slowing down, but it was 13 percent down in March, it has been less than 1 percent down in the past three weeks. We have nearly stalled ... There is a trend that says the situation can aggravate," Popova said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The UK strain and the South African variant of the coronavirus have been detected in 51 regions across Russia, Popova continued.

10:40 GMT 23.04.2021

10:23 GMT 23.04.2021

Over 11.1 million Russian citizens were inoculated with the first component of the coronavirus vaccine, while 6.8 million citizens got both shots of the vaccine, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on Friday.

"As of now, over 11.1 million of our citizens were vaccinated with the first component. A total of 6.8 million of our citizens received both components," Golikova told Russian President Vladimir Putin.

10:19 GMT 23.04.2021

Japan introduces a state of emergency related to COVID-19 in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures from 25 April to 11 May, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Friday.

"We are introducing a state of emergency in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo from 25 April to 11 May. The new measure is being introduced during the Golden Week [May holidays from April 29 to May 9] Intensively and for a short period in order to reduce the flow of people," Suga told the NHK broadcaster.

09:59 GMT 23.04.2021

Italian railway and city transport employees on Friday went on strike demanding vaccination against COVID-19.

The statement, issued by Orsa Transporti trade union on 15 April, demanded “the immediate vaccination of the personnel employed in the transport sphere and including them into the vaccination plan against COVID-19 in the category of employees providing basic services.”

According to the transport ministry, city transport staff will stop working for four hours, mainly in the evening.

At the same time, Milan transport will operate as usual, after the regional transport company promised to inoculate 10,000 workers against COVID-19.

National railway operator Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane informed passengers and clients that the train schedule in regions could be disrupted between 9:00 am – 5:00 pm (07:00-15:00 GMT). However, the company assured that high-speed trains will run as planned.

Italy, the second EU country in terms of COVID-19 cases, has so far registered about 3.92 people infected and over 118,000 deaths.

09:39 GMT 23.04.2021

Special train named Oxygen Express has left India's eastern state of Andhra Pradesh for western Maharashtra, which has been the worst hit by the pandemic, as part of the so-called Oxygen Express service aimed to help curb a spike in infections, Sputnik correspondent reported.

The service was launched after several hospitals reported earlier this week that they had alarmingly little oxygen left due to a sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases.

The train arrived at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant on Thursday morning to load up on oxygen. Its cargo includes seven trucks carrying 100 tonnes of oxygen.

India has been witnessing a spike in the daily infection rate since mid-February, resulting in a surge in the number of patients from about 135,000 to over 1.4 million. On Friday, India registered 332,730 new COVID-19 cases, marking the largest daily increase since the start of the outbreak, with Maharashtra alone accounting for 67,013 of new cases.

Earlier in the day, Russia offered to supply medical oxygen and antiviral drug Remdesivir, which is regarded as a promising drug for the treatment of COVID-19, to India.

08:45 GMT 23.04.2021

08:41 GMT 23.04.2021

The German government see no obstacles for supply and use of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 once it is approved by the EU regulator, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Friday.

"With regards to Sputnik V, we have always said that if the EU approves the vaccine then we do not see any reason not to use it. But it should be approved and the EU should have an opportunity to inspect production sites and obtain data that are necessary for a conclusion on the vaccine," Maas said at a briefing during his visit to Serbia.

08:34 GMT 23.04.2021

08:00 GMT 23.04.2021

Russia registered 8,840 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, down from 8,996 the day before, taking the overall tally to 4,744,961, the coronavirus response centre said on Friday.

"Over the past day, 8,840 coronavirus cases were confirmed across 84 Russian regions, including 1,187 cases (13.4 percent) without clinical symptoms," the centre said.

The rate of increase stands at 0.19 percent.

Moscow confirmed 2,502 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, down from 2,704 the day before. The Russian capital was followed by St. Petersburg with 694 new cases, up from 682 the day before, and the Moscow Region with 609 new cases, up from 590 on Thursday.

No new cases were recorded in the Nenets Autonomous Region.

The response centre reported 398 COVID-19 fatalities, up from 397 the day before, raising the country's death toll to 107,501.

Total recoveries increased by 9,407 over the given period, up from 8,934 the previous day, and reached 4,371,214 in total.

07:52 GMT 23.04.2021

At least 32 sailors of South Korea’s Gojunbong landing ship tested positive for COVID-19 in the first such massive outbreak on a military vessel, Yonhap News Agency reported on Friday, citing sources in the defense ministry.

According to the agency, a naval officer requested to be tested after learning that his child’s kindergarten teacher was infected and the result came back positive. Then all 84 crew members from the ship underwent PCR testing, resulting in 31 other positive cases, while another four are waiting for their results. The rest tested negative.

During an emergency meeting earlier on Friday, Suh Wook, the defense minister, ordered stricter measures against the infection in order to prevent rising infection among the rest of staff, including by regularly conducting PCR tests on service members.

South Korea has so far registered over 117,000 COVID-19 cases and 1,811 deaths caused by the disease.

07:43 GMT 23.04.2021

07:01 GMT 23.04.2021

Russia has offered to supply medical oxygen and antiviral drug Remdesivir, which has been touted as a treatment for COVID-19, to India, The Economic Times reported on Friday, citing its sources.

According to the media outlet, the first deliveries may start in the next 15 days. Russia has in particular proposed to supply 300,000-400,000 injection doses of Remdesivir to India per week and this volume may be increased, an informed official told the news outlet.

"Also, oxygen supply will start via ship soon," the official said.

Many Indian hospitals have reported a reduction in oxygen supplies due to a sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country. Stocks of antiviral drug Remdesivir have also been running out. During the pandemic, oxygen consumption in the country increased from 1,000 to 4,000 metric tonnes per day, and India reportedly plans to import 50,000 metric tonnes of medical oxygen to meet the growing demand.

With over 16.2 million cases, India comes second in terms of the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, following the United States with nearly 32 million patients. The growth in the number of confirmed cases of the infection in India has continued since mid-February.

06:57 GMT 23.04.2021

"I know this is hard to take and I wish we didn't need to do this. But we can't take any chances with the virus," Premier Mark McGowan said.

06:50 GMT 23.04.2021

06:03 GMT 23.04.2021

05:17 GMT 23.04.2021

04:46 GMT 23.04.2021

04:37 GMT 23.04.2021

India has registered 332,730 new COVID-19 cases within the past 24 hours, marking the largest daily increase since the start of the outbreak, the national Ministry of Health said on Friday.

The total number of those who tested positive for the coronavirus in India has reached 16,263,695, according to the ministry.

Within the same period of time, the death toll has risen by 2,263 to 186,920 people. More than 13.64 million patients have recovered since the start of the epidemic.