Italy's coronavirus death toll tops 100,000 – latest updates

Monday, March 8, 2021:

Italy's coronavirus death toll tops 100,000

Italy's coronavirus death toll has passed the 100,000 mark and Prime Minister Mario Draghi has warned that the situation was worsening again with a jump in hospitalisations.

Italy is the seventh country in the world to reach the bleak milestone, following the United States, Brazil, Mexico, India, Russia and Britain.

The Health Ministry said 318 people had died of the disease in the past 24 hours bringing the total tally since the epidemic hit the country 13 months ago to 100,103.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has acknowledged that the situation was deteriorating, but said his government was going to "significantly step up" its vaccination campaign and predicted that the end to the crisis was in sight.

"The pandemic is not yet over, but with the acceleration of the vaccine plan, a way out is not far off," Draghi said.

Biden to give primetime address on Covid-19 lockdown anniversary

President Joe Biden will give a primetime TV address this week to mark the one year anniversary of the US lockdown ordered to mitigate the Covid-19 pandemic, the White House has said.

In the address on Thursday, Biden will "discuss the many sacrifices the American people have made over the last year and the grave loss communities and families across the country have suffered," Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.

Syria's Assad and his wife test positive for Covid

Syria's regime leader Bashar al Assad and his wife Asma have tested positive for Covid-19 after experiencing mild symptoms, the government statement said.

"After experiencing mild symptoms that resemble ... Covid-19, President al Assad and first lady Asma al Assad took a PCR test, and the result showed that they are infected with the virus," the statement said.

"They are in good health and their condition is stable," it said, adding that the couple will quarantine for up to three weeks. 

Assad is 55 and his wife is 10 years his junior. 

EU to get 100M vaccine doses per month from April

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has said she expects the bloc to receive 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccines every month from April, giving a boost to Europe's stuttering inoculation campaign.

Given higher delivery volumes promised by manufacturers, and "because more vaccines are about to be approved," von der Leyen told the German media the bloc should see a big ramp up in arrivals of the jabs.

The EU will receive "in the second quarter an average of around 100 million doses a month, in total 300 million by end June," she said.

North Macedonia gets first batch of Russia vaccine Sputnik V

North Macedonia has received the first batch of 3,000 doses of Russian vaccine Sputnik V from a total order of 200,000.

The first shipment was delivered to the country’s main airport near the capital, Skopje, and Health Minister Venko Filipce said that the Russian vaccine is aimed at people over the age of 65, and that inoculation is expected to start from the middle of next week.

Turkey gives over 10M Covid-19 vaccine jabs nationwide

Turkey has so far administered more than 10 million coronavirus vaccine jabs across the country, according to official figures.

Turkish Health Ministry data showed that over 7.58 million people to date have received their first doses of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus, while second vaccine doses were given to more than 2.45 million.

EU bloc could halt more vaccine exports

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has warned that the bloc could halt further exports of the coronavirus vaccine, after Italy stopped a shipment to Australia.

"That was not a one-off," the president of the European Commission told business newspaper Wirtschaftswoche.

Italy last week revealed it had blocked the export of 250,700 doses of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine meant for Australia, blaming the shortage of jabs in virus-hit Europe, and the lack of urgent need in Australia.

Defending Italy's action, von der Leyen said AstraZeneca had delivered less than 10 percent of the volumes that the bloc had ordered for December to March.

New UK Covid-19 cases fall to lowest since late September

The number of new Covid-19 cases recorded in the United Kingdom has fallen to its lowest total since late September, government data showed.

The daily data showed 4,712 people tested positive for Covid-19, down from 5,177 on Sunday and marking the smallest total since September 28.

The figures also showed 65 new deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test, the smallest total since October 12.

WHO says influenza-like illness post Covid-19 vaccinations expected side effect

The World Health Organization has said a subcommittee has concluded that the benefit-risk balance of the Covid-19 vaccines remains favourable after reviewing reports of influenza-like illness in healthcare workers who got vaccinated.

The Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety concluded that the symptoms of an influenza-like illness may be expected as immune responses following vaccinations in general and the reports of Covid-19 vaccines are consistent with the expected side effects of vaccines, the WHO said.

Italy approves AstraZeneca vaccine for over 65s

Italy has recommended the use of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines for those aged over 65, the Health Ministry said in a statement, overcoming previous doubts that the drug might not be very effective on the elderly.

"Scientific evidence that has become available ... indicates that, even in people aged over 65, the vaccine is capable of providing significant protection," the ministry said.

East Timor imposes first lockdown over outbreak fears

East Timor, the Southeast Asian nation of around 1.3 million people, has said it will put its capital city on a lockdown for the first time, amid fears it could be facing its first local outbreak.

A "sanitary fence and mandatory confinement" will be imposed in Dili for seven days from midnight Monday with residents asked to stay home unless necessary to leave, the country's council of ministers said in statement.

England's children go back to school after virus lockdown

Millions of children have returned to school in England for the first time in two months, with the government beginning to ease coronavirus restrictions as a mass vaccination drive ramps up.

The resumption of classroom teaching was the first step on a path which the government hopes will see life return to normal by late June, after a wrenching crisis that has seen Britain endure one of the world's worst death tolls.

Also on Monday, hundreds of thousands of care home residents in England were able to start getting indoor visits from a designated friend or relative, and two friends can now meet each other outdoors.

Poland set to hit 20,000 cases a day, ministry says

Poland could this week see up to 20,000 new coronavirus cases a day, the health ministry said, as it grapples with its third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

A ministry spokesman told the private radio station Radio Plus that Poles should expect restrictions during the Easter holidays.

Germany ramps up use of AstraZeneca vaccine

Germany has been looking to ramp up the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after authorities last week gave the green light for it to be administered to people 65 and over.

Hundreds of thousands of doses have been gathering dust in recent weeks due to the restrictions on who could get the vaccine and misgivings among some who were eligible. According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Germany has received 2.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca shot so far but administered just 721,000.

Berlin is opening a sixth vaccine centre on Monday at the former Tempelhof airport in the centre of the city that will administer only the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Israel's vaccination of Palestinians holding work permits ramps up

Israel has launched a campaign to vaccinate some 100,000 Palestinians in the West Bank who hold permits to work in Jewish settlements in the occupied territory and inside the Jewish state.

A pilot programme involving 700 Palestinian West Bank residents began on Thursday.

The Israeli military branch responsible for civil affairs in Palestinian territories, COGAT, said the main campaign involving an estimated 100,000 Palestinians would begin this week.

Seoul finds no link between Covid-19 vaccines and deaths 

South Korea has found no link between the coronavirus vaccines and several recent deaths, as it ordered nearly 100,000 foreign workers to be tested after clusters emerged in dormitories.

Health officials had been investigating the deaths of eight people with underlying conditions who had adverse reactions after receiving AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, but said they found no evidence that the shots played a role.

“We’ve tentatively concluded that it was difficult to establish any link between their adverse reaction after being vaccinated, and their deaths,” Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a briefing.

South Korea began vaccinating residents and workers at nursing homes and other at-risk individuals at the end of February, with 316,865 people having received their first shots as of Sunday.

Several outbreaks in manufacturing and other industrial workplaces prompted authorities to begin inspecting 12,000 work sites with international workers, while multiple local governments ordered foreign workers to be tested in coming days.

Thailand to reduce quarantine for vaccinated foreigners from April 

Thailand's Health Minister Anutin Charnviranku has said it will reduce mandatory quarantine from 14 to seven days starting April for foreigners arriving in the country who have been vaccinated.

Vaccinations must be administered within three months of the travel period and travellers will be required to show negative test results, he said, adding that those who have not been inoculated but have virus free certificates would be quarantined for 10 days.

Russia reports more than 10,500 new cases

Russia has reported 10,253 new cases taking the national case tally to 4,333,029 since the pandemic began.
The government's virus task force said that 379 people had died in the last 24 hours, bringing the Russian death toll to 89,473.

Turkey administers 10M vaccine doses across the nation

Turkey has so far administered more than 10 million coronavirus vaccine jabs across the country, according to official figures.

According to Turkish Health Ministry data, over 7.57 million people to date have received their first doses of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus, while more than 2.44 million people had received their second vaccine shots.

In the commercial hub Istanbul, home to nearly one-fifth of Turkey’s population, more than 1.59 million coronavirus vaccine jabs were administered, including more than 1.17 million first doses and 419,717 second doses.

Hong Kong expands vaccine programme to teachers, taxi drivers

Hong Kong's top officials have said that the city's vaccine programme would be expanded to include more priority groups including teachers and delivery workers, as fears grow over a series of adverse reactions following the vaccine rollout.

At least two people have died and several fallen seriously ill after receiving a vaccination by China's Sinovac. The government has said it is still assessing the causality between the incidents and the vaccine and would report findings as soon as possible.

Around 93,000 people have been vaccinated since the public rollout started on Feb 26.

India's richest state has half of new, active cases

India's richest state of Maharashtra has accounted for more than half of both new and total active coronavirus infections, health ministry data showed, although a team of experts said the state's current wave might be "less virulent."

India's tally of 11.23 million infections is the world's highest after the United States, with the state accounting for 11,141 of the 18,599 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, and 52% of the 188,747 people still infected.

As a proportion of its population, however, India's virus deaths rank among the lowest in the world, rising by 97 on Monday to 157,853.

Malaysia to buy more Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses

Malaysia will buy additional Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 doses, bringing the total secured to 32 million.

The total amount of doses secured is expected to be enough to cover 50 percent of Malaysia's population, the country's science minister Khairy Jamaluddin said.

Japan struggles syringe shortages

Japan's Covid-19 inoculation campaign is moving at a glacial pace, hampered by a lack of supply and a shortage of specialty syringes that underscore the enormous challenge it faces in its aim to vaccinate every adult by the year's end.

Since the campaign began three weeks ago, just under 46,500 doses had been administered to frontline medical workers as of Friday.

At the current rate, it would take 126 years to vaccinate Japan's population of 126 million. Supplies are, however, expected to increase in the coming months.

By contrast, South Korea, which began its vaccinations a week later than Japan, had administered nearly seven times more shots as of Sunday.

Germany reports 5,011 more cases

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has increased by 5,011 to 2,505,193. 

The reported death toll rose by 34 to 71,934, the data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.

Vietnam begins vaccinations after successful virus containment

Vietnam has launched its Covid-19 vaccination programme with healthcare workers first in the queue, even as the Southeast Asian country looked set to contain its fourth outbreak of the coronavirus since the pandemic began.

Vietnam has been lauded globally for its record fighting the virus. Thanks to early border closures, targeted testing, and a strict, centralised quarantine programme, Vietnam has suffered fewer disruptions to its economy than much of Asia.

New Zealand to buy enough Pfizer vaccines for entire population

New Zealand will buy additional vaccines, developed by Pfizer Inc and Germany's BioNTech, which will be enough to vaccinate the whole country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said. 

The government has signed an agreement to buy an extra 8.5 million doses, enough to vaccinate over 4 million people, Ardern said, adding the vaccines were expected to reach the country in the second half of the year.

The government's original agreement with Pfizer was for 1.5 million doses, enough to vaccinate 750,000 people.

Moderna reaches supply deal with Philippines for 13 mln doses

Moderna Inc has said it has agreed to supply the Philippines government with 13 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine, with deliveries set to begin in mid-2021.

The company will work with regulators to pursue necessary approvals before distribution, it said in a press release.

Moderna said it expected to reach a separate deal with the Philippines government and private sector to supply an additional 7 million doses.

China reports 19 new cases

China reported 19 new cases , up from 13 a day earlier.

The National Health Commission said in a statement that all of the new cases were imported infections. The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, rose to 17 from 11 cases a day earlier.

Total confirmed cases in mainland China now stand at 89,994. The death toll remains unchanged at 4,636.

EU regulator urges caution on Sputnik vaccine

A senior European Medicines Agency (EMA) official urged European Union members on Sunday to refrain from granting national approvals for Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V while the agency reviews its safety and effectiveness.

"We need documents that we can review. We also don't at the moment have data...about vaccinated people. It is unknown. That's why I would urgently advise against giving a national emergency authorisation," EMA managing board head Christa Wirthumer-Hoche told a talk show on Austrian broadcaster ORF.

Sputnik V has already been approved or is being assessed for approval in three EU member states - Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic - and EU officials have said Brussels could start negotiations with a vaccine maker if at least four member countries request it.

Wirthumer-Hoche said EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) would hold an extraordinary meeting on March 11 to review Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine for use in the EU.

Homeless eligible for vaccines in Michigan

People who are homeless will be eligible for vaccines in Michigan.

Health officials say it’s a critical step in curbing infections and making sure vulnerable populations have access.

The news comes as infection rates are dropping and vaccine campaigns are ramping up.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently announced the further loosening of the state’s coronavirus restrictions, easing capacity limits in restaurants and other businesses while also allowing for larger indoor and outdoor gatherings.

Mexico's death toll rises to over 190,000

Mexico's Health Ministry reported 2,734 new confirmed cases in the country and 247 additional fatalities, bringing the total tally to 2,128,600 infections and 190,604 deaths.

Health officials have said the real number of infected people and deaths in Mexico is likely significantly higher than the official count because of a lack of wide-scale testing. 

France donates 15,000 vaccine doses to Slovakia

Slovakia, a country suffering the world's highest mortality rate, has received a donation of 15,000 vaccine doses from France, Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic said.

Matovic described the Oxford-AstraZeneca doses as a "very kind and useful gift" and a "great gesture of friendship", at a news conference with French Ambassador Christophe Leonzi, local press agency TASR reported.

Speaking in Bojnice, western Slovakia, the premier added that France had supported the idea of the European Union urgently sending 100,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to Slovakia.

An EU nation of 5.4 million people, Slovakia has registered an average of 24.09 deaths per 100,000 residents over the past 14 days -- the highest rate in the world.

Thousands attend anti-vaccination protest in Romania

Around 3,000 anti-vaccination protesters from across Romania converged outside the parliament building in Bucharest as authorities announced new restrictions.

It has been less than six weeks since restrictions were relaxed in Bucharest, but rising infections have prompted authorities to reimpose tighter restrictions for a 14-day period effective as of Monday.

The restrictions will see bars, restaurants, theatres, gambling venues, and cafes close indoor spaces as the capital’s infection rate rose above three cases per 1,000 inhabitants over a 14-day rolling period, effectively entering a “red scenario,” which the authorities use as a threshold to manage both restrictions and the spread of the virus.

Many protestors brandished Romanian flags and chanted “freedom” and “down with the mask.” A large placard read: “Say no to forced vaccination.”