WHO says new virus strain prevalent in UK can be contained – latest updates

Monday, December 21, 2020

WHO says new coronavirus variant not out of control

The new coronavirus variant discovered in Britain with a higher transmission rate is not yet out of control and can be contained using existing measures, the World Health Organization ()has said.

"We have had a much higher (contamination rate) at different points in this pandemic and we've got it under control," WHO's emergencies chief Michael Ryan told a press conference.

"So this situation is not in that sense out of control. But it cannot be left to its own devices."

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock had earlier claimed the new variant was "out of control", with British officials saying it was 70 percent more transmissible than the main strain.

"The measures we currently have in place are the correct measures," Ryan said.

"We need to do what we have been doing, we may just have to do it with a little more intensity and for a little longer to make sure we can bring this virus under control."

Biden receives Covid-19 vaccine live on TV

US President-elect Joe Biden has received a Covid-19 vaccine live on television in a campaign to boost Americans' confidence in the jabs.

The 78-year-old incoming president got the Pfizer vaccine at the Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware. His wife Jill received the shot earlier, the presidential transition team said.

Biden told Americans "there's nothing to worry about" when they get the vaccine and that in the meantime they should keep wearing masks and "listen to the experts."

'No hard evidence' new virus variant more contagious

It is not yet certain whether the new coronavirus variant discovered in Britain is more contagious, but the US is conducting studies to learn more, a top official has said.

Moncef Slaoui, the chief advisor to the Operation Warp Speed vaccine programme, added he expected that lab experiments would show the new strain would respond to existing vaccines and treatments.

While several countries have shut their borders to Britain, Slaoui said it was possible the variant has long been prevalent in the United Kingdom – but that scientists had not begun looking for it until now, creating the impression of a surge when they did.

"There is no hard evidence that this virus is actually more transmissible, (but) there is clear evidence that there is more of it in the population," the vaccine scientist and former pharmaceutical executive said.

Canada's most populous province announces new lockdown

Canada's most populous province, Ontario, will impose a new lockdown beginning on Saturday for its 14 million inhabitants, its premier announced as Covid-19 cases climb.

"Make no mistake, thousands of lives are at stake right now. If we fail to take action now the consequences could be catastrophic," Premier Doug Ford said at a news conference.

Ford said the lockdown will last 28 days in the southern part of the province and 14 days in the less populated north.

Toronto, the country's biggest city, has already been in lockdown for nearly a month.

The new restrictions prohibit, among other things, private indoor gatherings outside the family circle. 

EU approves Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

The EU will formally rollout Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine from December 27, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a video statement.

The statement came after the vaccine was given the greenlight as safe by the European Medicines Agency, the bloc's regulator.

"Based on this scientific assessment, we proceeded to authorise it for the European Union market," she said.

"As we have promised, this vaccine will be available for EU countries at the same time on the same conditions," she said, adding that the rollout would begin on December 27.

US administers first Moderna vaccines

A nurse at a hospital in Connecticut became one of the first people in the United States to receive the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.

Mandy Delgado, who works for Hartford Healthcare, was administered the shot around 1640 GMT, according to a live feed of the event.

"I'm excited. I feel privileged," the critical care nurse said afterwards, to a loud round of applause.

The first Moderna inoculations come after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced late Friday that it had granted emergency approval for the vaccine.

UK records 33,364 cases

The United Kingdom recorded a further 33,364 virus cases and 215 deaths of people who had tested positive for the virus within 28 days.

That compares with 35,928 cases announced on Sunday and 326 deaths.

Italy reports 10,872 cases 

Italy reported 415 virus-related deaths against 352 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections decreased to 10,872 from 15,104, reflecting the customary decline in testing over the weekend.

There were 87,889 swab tests carried out in the past day, down from a previous 137,420, the ministry said.
France reports 5,797  cases

France reported 5,797 new confirmed virus cases in the past 24 hours, pushing the country's total number of infections resulting from the new virus to 2,479,151.

There were also 351 new deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 60,900, health ministry data showed. 

Turkey sees record death toll

Turkey reported 19,103 more virus infections and 254 new fatalities, the highest daily figure so far, over the past 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry data.

The new cases include 3,412 symptomatic patients and the total number of infections exceeded two million.

As many as 34,419 people also recovered in the past day, bringing the tally to 1,835,705, while the death toll climbed to 18,351.

An additional 196,110 tests were conducted across the country, pushing the total to over 22.63 million.

Russia reports record 29,350 new coronavirus cases and 493 deaths

Russia has reported a single-day record of 29,350 new cases of Covid-19 during the past 24 hours, including 7,797 in Moscow, pushing the total number of cases to 2,877,727 since the pandemic began.

Authorities confirmed 493 deaths in the last 24 hours, pushing the official death toll to 51,351.

Belarus registers Sputnik V vaccine

The Belarusian health ministry has registered Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, becoming the first country outside Russia to do so, Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund has said.

Belarus, a close ally of Russia, began conducting clinical trials using the vaccine on volunteers on October 1 and also reviewed data received during Russia's Phase three clinical trials, the Russian Direct Investment Fund said. 

Egypt sees daily case record

Egypt has reported another record number of new coronavirus cases, adding 664 infections.

The Health Minister also said that there were 29 new fatalities.

Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country with more than 100 million people, has reported at least 125,555 cases overall, including 7,098 deaths.

The spike in new cases comes amid repeated warnings by the government about a second wave of the virus. Authorities have been urging people to adhere to preventive measures, especially by wearing face masks and practising social distancing.

India suspends UK flights

India's government has said it would suspend all flights from Britain until December 31 after the emergence of a new strain of coronavirus.

"Considering the prevailing situation in UK. Govt. of India has decided that all flights originating from UK to India to be suspended till 31st December 2020," the aviation ministry said in a tweet.

EU agrees to pay nearly $19 per dose for Pfizer vaccine

The European Union has agreed to pay $18.90 (15.5 euros) per dose for the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, an internal EU document reviewed by Reuters showed.

The price, which is confidential and was negotiated for a total of 300 million doses, is slightly lower than the $19.50 per shot the United States agreed to pay for a first shipment of 100 million doses of the same vaccine, in line with what Reuters reported in November.

The EU document dated November 18 was circulated internally after the EU announced its supply deal with Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech on November 11.

Interpol foresees rise in crime over vaccine shipments

Interpol chief Juergen Stock has predicted a sharp rise in crimes with robbers seeking to get their hands on precious vaccines aimed at stopping the coronavirus pandemic.

"With vaccines rolling out, crime will increase dramatically," Stock told business weekly WirtschaftsWoche. "We will see thefts and warehouse break-ins and attacks on vaccine shipments."

'Possible new variant is circulating in France'

French health minister Olivier Veran said that it was possible a new strain of the Covid-19 was circulating in France, although recent tests had not detected it in the country.

"It is entirely possible that the virus is circulating in France," Veran told Europe 1 radio.

He also said that the current vaccines should work against a new strain of the virus, recently found in the United Kingdom.

"In theory, there is no reason to think that the vaccine should not be effective," Veran said.

Qatar, Oman to receive Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this week

Qatar's Ministry of Public Health granted emergency use authorisation for the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech and is due to receive the first shipment on Monday, state media reported.

A ministry statement said people aged 16 years and above would be eligible. Qatar has also signed an agreement with drugmaker Moderna Inc to buy its vaccine.

Fellow Gulf Arab state Oman will receive its first Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shipment on Wednesday, a health ministry official said in remarks carried on a government Twitter account, adding the initial phase would cover 20 percent of the population.

Saudi Arabia last week became the first Arab country to start inoculating people with the Pfizer-BioNTech shot. Kuwait has said it expects to start receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine before the end of the year.

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain earlier this month rolled out a vaccine developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) to the general public. Bahrain has also granted emergency authorisation use for the Pfizer vaccine.

India records 24,337 new cases

India has recorded 24,337 new cases of the coronavirus taking its tally to 10.06 million infections.

India's total number of infections passed the 10 million milestone mark on Saturday, but the rate of new infections has slowed considerably since a September peak.

A total of 145,810 people in India have died of Covid-19, with 333 deaths in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said. 

South Korea's Seoul to ban gatherings of five people or more

South Korean capital Seoul and surrounding areas will ban most gatherings of five people or more later this week in an attempt to reduce coronavirus cases over the Christmas and New Year holidays, officials have announced.

Thailand confirms 382 more cases

Thailand has confirmed 382 new coronavirus infections, with the majority of cases linked to a seafood centre outbreak in a province near the capital, the health ministry said.

The new cases include 360 migrant workers in the southwestern province of Samut Sakhon, where Thailand's worst outbreak yet appeared at the weekend.

There were also 14 other cases in six provinces, all but one of which are located close to the capital Bangkok.

Germany's cases rise by around 16,000

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has increased by 16,643 to 1,510,652, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed. 

The reported death toll rose by 226 to 26,275, the tally showed.

Argentina, Chile suspend UK flights

Argentina and Chile will suspend flights to and from Great Britain, the governments of both South American counties have said in separate statements.

Argentina's Interior Ministry said in its statement that the last flight from Great Britain before the suspension starts will be one scheduled to arrive in Buenos Aires Monday morning.

Passengers and crew arriving on that flight will have to go into a seven-day quarantine, it said.

Chile's government said non-resident foreigners who had been in Great Britain over the last 14 days will be banned from entering the country. The measure will go into effect at midnight on Tuesday and last two weeks, the Chilean statement said.

Mexico's confirmed death toll surpasses 118,200

Mexico's health ministry has reported 6,870 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 326 more fatalities, bringing the country's totals to 1,320,545 cases and 118,202 deaths.

The government says the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.

South Korea reports 926 new cases

South Korea has reported 926 new coronavirus cases, the Korea Disease Control and PreventionAgency said, down from a record high 1,097 the day before.

The recent surge in cases has confounded efforts to contain it and the country is running short of hospital beds, prompting debate over whether the government should impose stricter social distancing measures.

China reports 23 new cases vs 23 a day earlier

Mainland China has recorded 23 new Covid-19 cases on December 20, the same number of cases from the previous day, said the country's health authority on Monday.

The National Health Commission said in its daily bulletin that 21 of the new cases were imported. The two local transmissions were in the northeastern provinces of Liaoning and Heilongjiang.

Additionally, 15 asymptomatic cases were reported on December 20, down from 10 the previous day. China does not include asymptomatic patients in its total confirmed case list.

Mainland China has now reported an accumulated total of 86,852 coronavirus cases, with 4,634 deaths.

Brazil reports 25,445 cases

Brazil has reported 25,445 new coronavirus cases, the Health Ministry said, although it cautioned that published numbers were missing figures from Sao Paulo state due to technical issues.

Deaths rose by 408, although those numbers also missed figures from Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous state. 

Netherlands says to bar ferry passengers arriving from UK

The Dutch government has said that passengers arriving from the UK on ferries would be refused access to the Netherlands.

Earlier Sunday The Hague had barred arrivals by air from Britain, where the government says a new more infectious strain of the coronavirus is spreading "out of control" and has locked down London and large parts of England.

UK PM Johnson to chair emergency response meeting on travel, freight 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair an emergency response meeting on Monday to discuss international travel, in particular the flow of freight in and out of Britain, a spokesperson for his office said on Sunday.

"The prime minister will chair a COBR (emergency response)meeting tomorrow to discuss the situation regarding international travel, in particular the steady flow of freight into and out of the UK. 

Further meetings are happening this evening and tomorrow morning to ensure robust plans are in place," the spokeswoman said.

Algeria says to start vaccinations in January

Algeria will launch Covid-19 vaccinations in January, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said, although the North African nation has not yet selected which vaccine it will deploy.

Tebboune, who is recovering from Covid-19 in Germany, where he was hospitalised on October 28, made the announcement on Twitter.

He said he had tasked Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad to convene without delay a meeting of the country's specialist Covid-19 science committee with a view to choosing an "adequate vaccine".

In Algeria, people with Covid-19 are given hydroxychloroquine among other treatments, despite a raft of studies showing it is ineffective.

The 75-year-old president promised last week to return to Algeria "as soon as possible."

Algeria has officially recorded more than 100,000 virus cases and 2,666 deaths, health officials said Sunday.

Saudi Arabia suspends flights, land and sea entry for a week

Saudi Arabia has suspended all international commercial flights for a renewable week except for the foreign flights already in the kingdom which will be allowed to leave, state news agency SPA reported quoting an interior ministry source.

The source added the entry to the kingdom through land and sea ports will be also suspended for a renewable week, and those measures come after the spread of a new strain of Covid-19 among number of countries.

Iran suspends flights to UK

Iran suspended flights to Britain for two weeks due to the new coronavirus strain, state news agency IRNA reported.

"Due to the new circumstances in the spread of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom, flights between Tehran and destinations in the UK will be suspended for two weeks," IRNA quoted Shahram Adamnejad, a deputy transport minister, as saying.

Frontline workers should be next in line for vaccines – CDC panel

A US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel has recommended frontline essential workers, and persons 75 years and older to be next in line to receive a Covid-19 vaccine.

The frontline group includes 30 million workers such as first responders, teachers, food and agriculture, manufacturing, US Postal Service, public transit, and grocery store workers.

Turkey suspends some flights over virus mutation

Turkey has temporarily suspended flights from Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark and South Africa over a new strain of coronavirus, the health minister said.

The measure was taken as a precaution in coordination with the transport ministry, minister Fahrettin Koca said.

EU ambassadors to meet on new coronavirus strain in UK

EU ambassadors will hold a crisis meeting in Brussels on Monday on travel restrictions to the UK after the emergence of a new coronavirus strain there suspected to be very infectious.

Several EU countries – Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands – have announced the suspension of air links, and in some cases rail and ferry links, with Britain.

In most cases, the bans were effective from 2300 GMT Sunday and were to last a day or two, as a precaution while the threat of the new strain was evaluated and a coordinated response was worked out.

An EU official said ambassadors from representatives from the 27 member states would meet on Monday under the bloc's integrated political crisis response mechanism designed to swiftly react to crises.

Vaccines effective against new virus strain – German health minister

European Union experts believe existing vaccines against coronavirus are effective against the new fast-spreading strain identified in Britain, Germany's health minister said Sunday.

"According to everything we know so far" the new strain "has no impact on the vaccines", which remain "just as effective", Jens Spahn told public broadcaster ZDF, citing "talks among experts of European authorities".

Spahn was referring especially to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is already being administered in countries including the US and UK and which is on the brink of receiving approval from the European Medicines Agency.

A health ministry spokesman said the EU experts' meeting had taken place on Sunday and included representatives of Berlin's Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for public health.

A number of EU nations have banned air travel from Britain in response to the new strain, while France said it would block people arriving from the UK and all freight unless it is unaccompanied.