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People queue outside a vaccination centre for young people and students at the Hunter Street Health Centre, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in London, Britain, June 5, 2021 - Sputnik International

Live Updates: Britain Records Over 16,500 COVID Cases in Past 24 Hours, Highest Daily Toll Since Feb

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According to Johns Hopkins University, the global death toll from the coronavirus has topped 3.890 million, while over 179.5 million cases of infection have been registered.

The United States, India, and Brazil are in the lead in terms of the number of registered coronavirus infections, while the highest number of COVID-19-related deaths has been observed in the United States, Brazil, India, and Mexico, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Meanwhile, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that hand sanitizers, an ubiquitous presence during the coronavirus pandemic, threatens users with nausea, dizziness and occasional adverse events requiring treatment by healthcare providers.

Follow Sputnik’s feed to find out more.

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18:45 GMT 24.06.2021

Africa is in the midst of a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, as cases surge weekly and are on course to overtake the second wave at its peak if the trend continues, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Thursday.

"Africa is facing a fast-surging third wave of COVID-19 pandemic, with cases spreading more rapidly and projected to soon overtake the peak of the second wave the continent witnessed at the start of 2021," the statement said.

According to the WHO, the number of infections in Africa has been increasing for five consecutive weeks since the onset of the third wave in early May. As of June 20, the continent reported 470,000 new cases, which is a 21% increase compared to the same period during the second wave.

The resurgence of the pandemic has been observed in 12 African countries due to poor safety measures, low vaccination rates, increased social interaction and spread of new strains, including the more viral Delta variant.

The WHO has urged African countries to increase efforts to combat the virus, and has also extended aid to the worst-hit countries, such as Uganda and Zambia.

Currently, just above 1% of Africa's population has been vaccinated, the WHO stressed. The agency has further called on high-income countries, in particular, the EU, to approve all vaccines from the WHO emergency use list and to prevent unfair restriction of movement for people from countries that have limited access to vaccines.

18:44 GMT 24.06.2021

The United States will deliver three million doses of coronavirus vaccines produced by Johnson & Johnson to Brazil on Friday, US State Department Principal Deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter told reporters on Thursday.

“I am pleased to announce that three million doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for arrive in Campinas, Brazil tomorrow morning,” Porter said. “This donation is a part of 80 million doses that President Biden announced on May 17 and is the result of close collaboration between the governments of the United States and Brazil toward putting an end to this pandemic.”

Earlier in June, the Ministry of Health announced that the number of coronavirus vaccines administered in Brazil has exceeded 100 million.

President Jair Bolsonaro said during a televised address that those who are willing to get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus have until the end of the year to do so.

18:26 GMT 24.06.2021

The COVAX vaccine-sharing mechanism is working against the clock to supply COVID-19 shots to Venezuela and will make an announcement soon, the Gavi Vaccine Alliance told Sputnik on Thursday.

"COVAX is in close touch with the Government of Venezuela to finalize arrangements so that the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines can take place as soon as possible. We will be issuing updates in due course," Gavi spokesperson Evan O'Connell said.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza demanded that COVAX return the money that the cash-strapped South American nation had paid for the vaccines.

Venezuela reportedly transferred about $109 million to the UN-backed mechanism but did not receive a single dose, while neighbouring countries got hundreds of thousands. Russia and China have been supplying it with vaccines of their own.

About $10 million in Venezuelan transactions to COVAX have been blocked by an international bank under US sanctions. President Nicolas Maduro demanded last week that the United States unblock the money needed to buy life-saving vaccines.

15:56 GMT 24.06.2021
15:22 GMT 24.06.2021

Spain is cancelling the mandatory wearing of face masks outdoors, Health Minister Carolina Darias said on Thursday.

The measure will take effect on June 26. About a year ago, Spain passed a law mandating that everyone six and up must wear a mask both indoors and outdoors.

"This helped to protect against the virus, to protect others, and also to some extent allowed us to protect social interaction ... All indicators are developing positively, " the minister told a press conference after a government meeting.

In addition, people are now also allowed to attend football and basketball matches of professional leagues. There will be no need to wear masks given a social distance of 1.5 meters at open stadiums. The decision on how many fans will be able to attend sporting events is to be made by the autonomous communities’ authorities.

As of yesterday, the number of fully vaccinated residents of Spain exceeded 15 million.

According to the Johns Hopkins University, the country has logged over 3.7 million COVID-19 cases, including more than 80,000 deaths.

14:11 GMT 24.06.2021

The Russian EpiVacCorona COVID-19 vaccine is effective against Delta and Delta Plus coronavirus variants, Rinat Maksyutov, the director of the Vector research centre that developed the vaccine, said on Thursday.

"All mutations that cause concern — alpha, beta, gamma, delta, delta plus, do not fall into the structure of the selected peptide," Maksyutov said at a scientific conference, adding that the peptide is a basis of the EpiVacCorona vaccine.

13:38 GMT 24.06.2021
12:49 GMT 24.06.2021

Filing for jobless benefits in the United States fell by 7,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, but overall claims remained above the 400,000 mark in a continued challenge to recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

“In the week ending 19 June, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 411,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level,” the department said in a statement. “The previous week's level was revised up by 6,000 from 412,000 to 418,000.”

12:16 GMT 24.06.2021
11:47 GMT 24.06.2021

 India's central state of Madhya Pradesh reported on Thursday the first death related to the mutated Delta plus highly more transmissible coronavirus strain, the patient was not vaccinated.

"As of now, five people infected with the Delta plus coronavirus variant were detected in Madhya Pradesh. It must be noted that four of them ... were vaccinated and are now in good health. However, the patient who was not inoculated died because of the virus. This is why we call on everyone to get vaccinated," state minister Vishvas Sarang told reporters.

According to the local government, the female patient died on 23 May. She was confirmed to have the Delta plus strain after analysis. Her husband tested positive for COVID-19 and was later vaccinated, while the woman did not get a single vaccine shot.

The government is tracing contacts of patients with the Delta plus strain, Sarang assured.

11:21 GMT 24.06.2021
11:06 GMT 24.06.2021

"I think that the whole double jab process is offering the real prospect of opening up to travel, and we'll be setting out a bit more later on," Boris Johnson said.

10:54 GMT 24.06.2021

"We are obviously concerned about the delta variant," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. "I will lobby for a more coordinated approach, particularly with regard to entries from regions where virus variants abound."

10:48 GMT 24.06.2021
09:45 GMT 24.06.2021
09:19 GMT 24.06.2021

"If supplies continue to arrive as planned, we will be able to substantially cover most of our population with a first dose sometime in July," health ministry said.

09:11 GMT 24.06.2021

China has administered nearly 1.1 billion vaccine shots against COVID-19 as part of its mass immunization campaign, the country’s National Health Commission informs.

As of June 23, 1,095,902,000 coronavirus vaccine shots have been administered to residents of 31 Chinese regions, according to the commission's Thursday statement.

The health commission did not specify the number of people who have received one or both shots and did not provide any details on the types of vaccines used.

Chinese health officials have said that the country plans to inoculate 40 percent of its population by the start of July and 80 percent - by the end of this year.

Although China, a country with a population of 1.4 billion, has administered more than a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses, concerns about emerging variants remain. New Chinese visas are only issued to those who have received a Chinese vaccine and all foreign arrivals are placed into a 14-day quarantine upon entry.

09:04 GMT 24.06.2021
08:44 GMT 24.06.2021
08:18 GMT 24.06.2021

Russia registered 20,182 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, up from 17,594 the day before, taking the cumulative total to 5,388,695, the federal response centre said on Thursday.

"Over the past day, 20,182 COVID-19 cases were confirmed across 85 Russian regions, including 3,038 cases (15.1 percent) without clinical symptoms," the centre said, adding that the rate of increase grew to 0.38 percent.

Moscow confirmed 8,598 daily infections, up from 6,534 the day before. The Russian capital was followed by the Moscow Region with 2,308 cases, down from 2,323 the day before, and St. Petersburg with 1,143 infections, up from 1,092 the day before.

The response centre reported 568 new fatalities linked to the coronavirus, up from 548 the day before, raising the country's death toll to 131,463.

In the same 24 hours, 13,505 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals across the country, up from 12,660 the day before, bringing the total to 4,915,615.

06:39 GMT 24.06.2021

"Given the supplies we have and depending on how high vaccination willingness is, we can expect that by the end of July and beginning of August everyone who wants to will have received their first vaccination," Helge Braun, Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff said.

06:39 GMT 24.06.2021
06:26 GMT 24.06.2021
05:46 GMT 24.06.2021

Japanese Emperor Naruhito has expressed concerns about holding of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo in July, saying it can deteriorate the epidemiological situation in the country and cause a new spike in COVID-19 infections, the grand steward of the Imperial Household Agency, Yasuhiko Nishimura, said on Thursday.

"I suppose that (the emperor) is concerned that while there are voices of anxiety among the public, the holding (of the games) may lead to the expansion of infections," Nishimura said, as cited by the Kyodo news agency.

The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, initially scheduled for 2020, were postponed for a year due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The Games are currently scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 8. The event will be held without spectators from overseas, while the number of domestic spectators is capped at 10,000 at each venue unless the number exceeds 50% of a venue's capacity.

05:26 GMT 24.06.2021
05:11 GMT 24.06.2021
05:10 GMT 24.06.2021

Colombia received the first 480,000 doses of the Janssen coronavirus vaccine, President Ivan Duque said.

“We received the first 480,000 doses from pharmaceutical company Janssen, which will allow us to reach the remote areas of the country and move forward with the National Vaccination Plan,” Duque wrote on Twitter.

With that batch, the number of doses of various vaccines Colombia has received is 20,732,624.

The Janssen vaccine, which requires only one dose, has been approved in Brazil, Chile, the United Kingdom, Canada, the EU, Mexico, the United States and Colombia.

04:41 GMT 24.06.2021

India has confirmed 54,069 new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, with the total number of those infected having reached 30,082,778 the country's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Thursday.

The death toll from the disease has reached 391,981 people, with 1,321 new fatalities being recorded over the past day.

More than 29.06 million people have recovered in India since the start of the outbreak.

A day earlier, the country confirmed 50,848 new coronavirus cases, with 1,358 fatalities.

04:38 GMT 24.06.2021
04:19 GMT 24.06.2021

Sixty percent of US citizens believe that the coronavirus was created in the Wuhan laboratory in China and then leaked, which caused the pandemic, a poll conducted by the Fox News broadcaster reported.

According to the survey, only 31 percent of Americans think that the deadly virus had evolved from nature in China.

The poll was conducted among 1,001 US citizens between 19 June and 22 June.

In March, the World Health Organization released the full version of a report by an international group of experts of the organization on a visit to the Chinese city of Wuhan. The report concluded that the leak of COVID-19 from a laboratory was very unlikely. According to the experts, the new type of the coronavirus was most likely transmitted to humans from bats through another animal.

However, a US intelligence report revealed that three researchers from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology became ill with respiratory infections resembling COVID-19 in November of 2019, a month before China officially reported any cases, which sparked new rumors around the origins of the deadly virus. US President Joe Biden has recently ordered the intelligence community to probe the leak theory.

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