The US is currently the most-hit country, with over 32.4 million infected, while at least 577,000 Americans have passed away since the beginning of the pandemic. Next comes India, which is suffering from a major COVID-19 surge, with more than 19.5 million cases and 215,000 deaths, and then Brazil with over 14.7 million cases and around 407,000 deaths.
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WARSAW (Sputnik) - Due to the high number of detected COVID-19 cases, the Polish government announced a nationwide quarantine in March. A lockdown was introduced throughout the country. Shopping facilities were closed, except for grocery stores and pharmacies, bars, cafes and restaurants could only work for takeaway. Hotels and hostels were closed, gatherings of more than five people were banned, wearing masks became mandatory, including on the street. Educational institutions switched to remote learning.
Having recorded a significant decrease in the incidence at the end of April, the authorities decided to gradually ease the epidemiological restrictions. From May 1, it will be possible to play sports in the open air and in closed facilities. From May 4, shopping centers, construction stores and other retail facilities will open. Also, from May 4, art galleries, museums and other cultural facilities will resume work.
On May 15, restaurants and cafes will open, where visitors can only be served outdoors, and not indoors. Also from May 15, theaters and outdoor cinemas will open.
Family events such as weddings will be allowed, but with a maximum of 25 people present. From May 15, students of grades 4-8 return to normal education, and all other schoolchildren - from May 29.
In the spring, the number of coronavirus carriers detected daily increased sharply in Poland. At the beginning of April, 35,251 cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the country per day, which was the highest figure since the beginning of the pandemic. Also in early April, a daily record of deaths was recorded - 954 patients with coronavirus died.
In the last ten days, the incidence does not exceed 10,000 per day. On Monday, the minimum increase in coronavirus cases since February 1 was recorded - 2,525 people.
The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Poland since the start of the pandemic stands at 2,805,756. The overall death toll in the country is 68,105.
TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - Israel will send medical aid to India to help the country address the difficult situation with the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the country's Foreign Ministry said.
"The provision of emergency assistance is an expression of deep friendship between the countries in difficult times for India," Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said.
Israel will begin supplying medical equipment to India on Tuesday, including group and individual oxygen generators, respirators, medicines and other medical equipment, the ministry said.
India in in the world's second place in terms of the number of detected cases of coronavirus. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Health, more than 20.2 million cases of COVID-19 have been registered in the country. More than 16.2 million people have recovered, 218,000 people have died of coronavirus and related diseases.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Sri Lanka has received the first batch of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, according to a statement in the official Twitter account of the vaccine.
"The first batch of #SputnikV vaccine arrives in #SriLanka," the statement said.
In early March, Sri Lanka's health authorities approved the emergency use of the Sputnik V vaccine.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is preparing to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for those aged 12 to 15, The New York Times reported, citing federal officials.
The authorization is expected to come early next week, the report said on Monday.
Pfizer announced several weeks ago that none of the adolescents who have received the vaccine during trials have contracted a symptomatic case of COVID-19.
However, plans to vaccinate teens and children, who rarely contract serious cases of the illness, have sparked debate, the report added, as many question whether excess US vaccines could be put to better use on adults in other countries.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Denmark excludes the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine from its immunization program, as associated risks outweigh benefits, the Danish Health Authority said on Monday.
The country’s government halted the use of the US-developed vaccine in mid-April pending an EU probe into reports of post-vaccination blood clots in people who received the shot.
"The Danish Health Authority has concluded that the benefits of using the COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson do not outweigh the risk of causing the possible adverse effect, VITT [Vaccine‐induced Immune Thrombocytopenia and Thrombosis], in those who receive the vaccine. Therefore, the Danish Health Authority will continue the Danish mass vaccination programme against COVID-19 without the COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson," the authority said in a statement.
Besides the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Denmark has also abandoned the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine due to post-inoculation adverse effects.
However, the authorities have allowed the population to choose one of these two vaccines voluntarily to make use of the doses the country still possesses. The measure is expected to come into force later in May.
To date, Denmark has confirmed over 253,000 COVID-19 infections and nearly 2,500 related fatalities.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said on Monday that the company has been trying to register its coronavirus vaccine in India for several months and is currently discussing with the government an expedited approval procedure in the country.
"Unfortunately, our [COVID-19] vaccine is not registered in India although our application was submitted months ago," Bourla said. "We are currently discussing with the Indian government an expedited approval pathway to make our Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine available for use in the country."
Bourla also said that Pfizer has donated $70 million worth of medications to India, including steroids to reduce inflammation, anticoagulants to prevent blood clotting as well as antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections.
India is currently facing a surge in the number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations with over 400,000 cases reported last Saturday alone.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill that provides him the power to overrule local emergency COVID-19 orders and another one that immediately suspends all remaining pandemic-related restrictions.
"I'm going to sign the bill. It's effective July 1," DeSantis told reporters. "I will also sign an executive order, pursuant to that bill, invalidating all remaining local emergency COVID orders, effective on July 1. To bridge the gap between then and now I'm gonna suspend under my executive power, the local emergency orders, as it relates to COVID-19."
DeSantis also said that those who are talking about policing people do not actually have trust in the existing COVID-19 injections.
Over the last week, Florida reported that nearly 34,000 people tested positive for the novel coronavirus with a total number of the cases exceeding 2.2 million since the beginning of the pandemic more than a year ago.
French nationals who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus are eligible to receive a digital health pass starting Monday, France’s Health Insurance service said.
"This certified vaccination certificate will include two visible electronic stamps: a Datamatrix (a kind of QR Code) authenticating the document via the 2D-DOC standard, used by the French administration to certify documents, and a QR Code allowing for the digitized certificate to be stored in the TousAntiCovid Carnet app", the agency said, as cited by BFM TV.
The measure is deemed to be a new step in the implementation of the initiative to create a system of health passes, which will be required to travel and attend major public events starting 30 June.
According to the insurance service, the purpose of the digital pass is to avoid forgery of certificates after travel resumes with other countries. Last week, President Emmanuel Macron said that the country would reopen to foreign tourists from June 9, as part of the countrywide lockdown exit plan.
In March, the European Commission presented a proposal to create a "digital green certificate." The certificate is aimed at easing EU citizens’ movement within the bloc. In late March, European Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, who is in charge of the vaccination program in the union, said that the certificate would be available by 15 June.
"I feel good and I have been expecting this shot a long time ago", Duterte said in the video when asked about his well-being.
According to Filipino lawmaker Bong Go, who posted a relevant video on Facebook, the inoculation with the Sinopharm vaccine took place at Malacanang Palace, the official presidential residence.
Media report that while Sinopharm has yet to receive an emergency use authorization in the country, a compassionate special usage permit was previously granted to the presidential security detail.
Bavaria will cancel Oktoberfest and other major folk festivals this year due to persisting coronavirus concerns, the German state’s premier announced Monday.
"The situation is simply too uncertain. There are economic obligations that must be upheld … Incidence could rise any time and a later cancellation would be an economic loss", Markus Soeder said.
He said holding Oktoberfest with numerous restrictions for millions of visitors from Germany and abroad was "practically impossible to organise", and any superspreading event could damage the brand.
Munich mayor Dieter Reiter said the festival, which was due to take place from 18 September to 3 October, would be cancelled just for the 26th time. The fest Oktoberfest was first held in 1810. It was cancelled at the onset of the pandemic last year.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Pfizer expects to develop an alternative "ready-to-use" version of its coronavirus vaccine that can be used without dilution and stored at -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of this year, the Axios news portal reported on Monday, citing Pfizer's vice president for global supply chain, Tanya Alcorn.
The pharmaceutical company also announced plans to start distributing smaller packages of COVID-19 vaccine across the world from late May due to of fluctuating demand. Pfizer will decrease the number of doses from 1,170 to 450 to reduce potential waste, Axios said.
"Vaccine manufacturing is a specialised process, it is therefore not possible to ramp up production overnight. We also need to understand that the population of India is huge and to produce enough doses for all adults is not an easy task. Even the most advanced countries and companies are struggling in relatively smaller populations", Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla said.
"The UK government should discourage all international leisure travel to prevent the importation of new variants into the UK, in order to reduce the risk of a third wave and further lockdowns," the All-Party Parliament Group on coronavirus (APPG) said in a report.
"Today, the Commission is proposing that Member States ease the current restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU to take into account the progress of vaccination campaigns and developments in the epidemiological situation worldwide," the commission said in a statement.
"Over the past day, 8,489 coronavirus cases were confirmed across 82 Russian regions, including 1,173 cases (13.8%) without clinical symptoms", the coronavirus response centre said, adding that the rate of increase was at 0,18%.
