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Tuesday, August 11, 2020, 22:48
Russia is first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine, says Putin
By Agencies
Tuesday, August 11, 2020, 22:48 By Agencies

In this file photo taken on July 9, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures during a video conference meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia. (ALEXEI DRUZHININ / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN POOL PHOTO VIA AP)

MEXICO CITY / MADRID / PARIS / WASHINGTON / RIO DE JANEIRO / BERLIN / LONDON / HAVANA / MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia had become the first country in the world to grant regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine after less than two months of human testing, a move hailed by Moscow as evidence of its scientific prowess.

“As far as I know, this morning the first vaccine against the novel conoravirus infection in the world was registered this morning,” Putin said Tuesday at a televised government meeting.

I know that it works quite effectively, forms strong immunity, and I repeat, it has passed all the needed checks.

Vladimir Putin, Russian president

The development paves the way for the mass inoculation of the Russian population, even as the final stage of clinical trials to test safety and efficacy continue.

Putin said the vaccine, developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Institute, was safe and that it had even been administered to one of his daughters.

"I know that it works quite effectively, forms strong immunity, and I repeat, it has passed all the needed checks," said Putin. He said he hoped the country would soon start mass producing the vaccine. 

READ MORE: Philippines’ Duterte accepts Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine offer

A spokesman for the World Health Organization (WHO) said the organization and Russian health authorities were discussing the process for possible WHO prequalification for its newly approved vaccine.

Regulators around the world have insisted that the rush to develop COVID-19 vaccines will not compromise safety. 

Russian health workers treating COVID-19 patients will be offered the chance of volunteering to be vaccinated soon after the vaccine's approval, a source told Reuters last month.

Putin's announcement came as Russia registered 4,945 new cases on Tuesday, pushing its infection tally to 897,599, the fourth highest in the world.

The official death toll rose to 15,131 after authorities said in their daily coronavirus report that 130 people had died in the previous 24 hours.

Global tally

Coronavirus infections topped 20 million On Monday, the latest milestone as the pandemic wreaks havoc across the globe. 

The global case count reached 20,001,019, with a total of 733,897 deaths worldwide as of 2335 GMT, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

While it took six months after the virus first surfaced to reach 10 million infections, the spread has steadily accelerated, doubling in six weeks.

With more than 5 million cases and over 163,000 fatalities, the United States is the worst-hit nation in this pandemic. Trailing behind is Brazil, which has recorded more than 3 million cases and over 101,00 deaths. 

ALSO READ: WHO: Over US$100b needed to ensure access to vaccines

Argentina

The Argentinian government has not ruled out tightening lockdown restrictions that are in force since March 20 if a rise in novel coronavirus infections threatens to overwhelm hospitals, a top official said on Monday.

Social distancing and mandatory self-isolation measures due to end on Aug 16 could be extended, Argentina's Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers Santiago Cafiero noted, adding President Alberto Fernandez was expected to make an announcement on Friday.

Some 87 percent of Argentina's productive activities have resumed around the country, but cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, he said.

Argentina registered its first case of COVID-19 on March 3, and has since reported 246,499 cases of infection and 4,634 deaths. 

Brazil 

Brazil on Monday registered 22,048 new cases of coronavirus and 703 deaths, the health ministry said.

Overall, Brazil now has 3,057,470 confirmed cases while the death toll has risen to 101,752.

Interim Minister of Health Gen. Eduardo Pazuello urged Brazilians suspected of suffering from COVID-19 to immediately consult a healthcare professional.

Meanwhile, sunbathers wanting to visit Rio de Janeiro's famous beaches, despite Brazil's raging COVID-19 epidemic, could soon be able to reserve socially-distant sand space through a mobile app, the city's mayor said on Monday.

Nobody has been allowed to plunk down on the beaches and take in the sun on Rio's beaches since the coronavirus outbreak. Now city officials are hoping to turn to technology to help ensure that social-distancing measures, including and proper conditions for sunbathing, are respected.

READ MORE: WHO: COVID-19 cases in Americas surpass 10 million

Canada

A total of 505 COVID-19 cases were confirmed since July 4 in connection with public venues in 61 cities across seven provinces in Canada, according to Canadian Project Pandemic on Monday.

The public venues included stores, bars, restaurants, daycares and schools after more businesses reopened and restrictions were eased.

More than half of the 505 infections involved food sales, with potential exposure to the virus reported at 85 grocery stores, liquor stores and restaurants.

There were also at least eight reports of infections and exposures at day camps, eight at schools and daycares, and three at parks and pools.

Canada has so far reported a total of 119,451 confirmed cases, including 8,981 deaths. 

Chile

Chile on Monday reported that the country has tallied a total of 375,044 COVID-19 cases and 10,139 deaths.

According to the Health Ministry, 1,988 new cases and 62 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours.

A total of 347,342 people have recovered from the disease while 17,563 cases are currently considered active, according to health authorities.

Residents get their temperatures taken amid the new coronavirus pandemic at a police checkpoint set up on the border of the province of Havana, Cuba, Aug 10, 2020. (RAMON ESPINOSA / AP)

Cuba

Cuba reported a record 93 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday as a surge of the disease in the Havana area threatened to stall the re-opening of the country after a partial lockdown beginning in March.

Most of the cases were in Havana, where a partial lockdown was re-imposed on Monday, and in neighboring Artemisa province. The area has been isolated from the rest of the country where with but few exceptions no cases have been reported in more than two months.

In Havana, restaurants, bars and pools are once more closed, public transportation suspended and access to the beach banned.

Perhaps of most concern to officials in Monday's health ministry report was that 22 cases had not been traced to contacts, a figure way above the usual two or three untraceable cases per day.

Cuba has reported just under 3,000 cases and 88 deaths to date.

Denmark

Denmark has seen a new spread of COVID-19 infections in the past week with the reproduction rate rising to 1.4, the country's health minister said on Monday.

"The virus is moving through our society once again," Magnus Heunicke told reporters.

In the past week, infections have been confirmed in 67 out of Denmark's 98 municipalities. The country's second biggest city Aarhus had the biggest number of new infections.

Denmark has so far reported 15,135 confirmed cases and 620 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Ecuador

Ecuador on Monday said 242 new COVID-19 cases and 10 more deaths were reported in the previous 24 hours, taking its total caseload to 94,701 and the death toll to 5,932.

According to the Ministry of Public Health, the actual death toll could be close to 9,500 as another 3,539 deaths are suspected of being COVID-19 related but have not been verified.

The city worst hit by the outbreak is currently the capital Quito, where a total of 16,210 people have been infected. 

Ethiopia

Ethiopia's total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 23,591 after 773 new cases were confirmed on Monday, the Ministry of Health said.

According to the ministry, another 13 deaths were reported, taking the death toll to 420, while recoveries rose by 205 to 10,411.

Finland

Finland will introduce mandatory coronavirus tests and quarantines for travelers from certain high-risk countries, the minister in charge said on Monday, after 24 of 157 passengers arriving from Skopje in North Macedonia tested positive for COVID-19.

The mandatory two-week quarantine and a possible random coronavirus test upon arrival to Finland will be applicable to anyone arriving from a country with more than 8 to 10 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the latest 14-day period, authorities said.

Currently, the rule applies to most countries, excluding 25 countries such as Italy, Japan, Greece and Norway where infections remain low.

Passengers who fail to comply face at most three months jail time or a fine and airlines will be required to disclose transit passengers to avoid attempts to circumvent the rules. The government will also allow authorities to conduct mandatory testing of passengers for COVID-19, Kiuru said, adding that the new restrictions will come into force as soon as possible.

Last week, Finland's own infections stood at 2.3 per 100,000 inhabitants over 7 days, with altogether 7,601 cases and 333 deaths confirmed by Monday.

Tourists wearing face masks tour the Montmartre district in Paris, France, Aug 10, 2020. (MICHEL EULER / AP)

France

The French health ministry on Monday reported the first significant rise in the number of people in hospital due to the new coronavirus since the end of the country's lockdown, reversing a trend seen since mid-April.

The ministry said the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 had increased by 34 to 5,045 compared with Friday. It was the first significant increase since the number began falling steadily from a high of 32,292 on April 14.

The number of people in intensive care also increased again, rising by 13 from Friday to 396.

The ministry also reported that the number of confirmed cases had risen by 4,854 to 202,775 over the past three days, adding to signs that the virus is spreading more quickly.

The ministry said that the cumulative death toll from the virus had increased to 30,340.

Germany

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 966 to 217,293, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Tuesday.

The reported death toll rose by four to 9,201, the tally showed.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, Germany reccorded 1,220 new infections in the 24 hours through Tuesday morning, up from 385 on Monday and above the 1,000 mark for the third time in less than a week.

The infection rate eased to 1.09 on Monday, from 1.26 the previous day, the latest report from RKI showed.

The institute said the recent trend in cases remains “very worrying” and urged citizens to respect hygiene and distancing rules.

Greece

Starting next Monday, Greece will require visitors arriving on flights from Sweden, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands to test negative for COVID-19 no later than 72 hours before arrival, a government spokeswoman said. 

The same requirement will apply to all people entering Greece via its land borders except for Greek citizens or legal residents.

Meanwhile, public events including concerts where people stand are prohibited until further notice. Greece is also canceling the 85th Thessaloniki International Fair scheduled for Sept 5 to 13.

Greece has so far reported 5,749 confirmed cases and 213 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally.

Honduras

Honduras took another step toward normalizing day-to-day activity on Monday, resuming the operation of public transportation following months of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Officials from the Honduran Land Transportation Institute (IHTT) said new measures were in place to keep units clean and prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Among the measures is a regulation that limits units to 50 percent of their passenger capacity, IHTT Commissioner Pyubani Williams said.

Meanwhile, national flights also resumed operating while international flights are set to resume operations on Aug 17.

Honduras has reported 47,454 COVID-19 cases and 1,495 deaths.

Italy

A total of 259 new cases were reported across Italy over the last 24 hours, latest data from the Health Ministry showed on Monday. Currently, the number of active infections stood at 13,368.

Four more deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 35,209, while recoveries rose by 150 to 202,248.

Overall, the total number of COVID-19 cases assessed, including active infections, recoveries, and fatalities stood at 250,825, according to the data.

New clusters of COVID-19 cases linked to holidaymakers returning from abroad had been detected in several regions across the country lately, but all of them appeared to have been swiftly circumscribed by local health authorities so far.

Kenya

Kenya's Ministry of Health said on Monday the total number of COVID-19 recoveries passed the 13,000 mark on Monday amid steady increase in the number of patients being discharged from various health facilities.

Mutahi Kagwe, Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Health, said that 534 patients were discharged in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 13,485.

He also reported that 492 people tested positive for COVID-19 out of 4,063 samples that were tested between Sunday and Monday, bringing the tally to 26,928.

The death toll rose to 423 after three more deaths were added, according to Kagwe.

Libya

The National Center for Disease Control of Libya on Tuesday reported 388 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally in the country to 5,929.

The center said that 14 more patients have recovered and another five people died, taking the number of recoveries to 724 and the death toll to 125.

A street vendor wearing a face mask sits on a bench while waiting for customers to buy roses from her, outside Metro Hidalgo in central Mexico City, Aug 10, 2020. (REBECCA BLACKWELL / AP)

Mexico

Mexico's coronavirus death toll passed the 53,000 mark on Monday as the health ministry reported 705 additional fatalities and 5,558 new cases of infection, pushing the country closer to the government's most negative scenarios.

Mexico, which has the third-highest death toll worldwide from the virus after the United States and Brazil, has now reported 485,836 cases and 53,003 deaths, with fatalities rising nearly 5,000 over the past week.

On June 4, Mexico's coronavirus czar, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell, said for the toll to reach 60,000 would be a "very catastrophic scenario." At the time, Mexico had registered just over 12,500 deaths from the pandemic.

Earlier on Monday, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said she would go into temporary quarantine after the capital's interior minister tested positive for the virus.

Morocco

Morocco on Monday reported 826 new COVID-19 cases, raising the country's tally to 34,063.

Recoveries increased by 1,177 to 24,524 while the death toll rose by 18 to 516, said Mouad Mrabet, coordinator of the Moroccan Center for Public Health Operations at the Ministry of Health.

Mozambique

Mozambique's health authorities declared on Monday the capital Maputo a hot spot for community transmission of COVID-19, following the northern cities of Nampula and Pemba.

Contributing over 25 percent of all COVID-19 cases in the country, Maputo has met all the requirements to be declared as a community transmission hot spot according to the criteria by World Health Organization, said Health Minister Armindo Tiago at a press conference.

Mozambique on Monday registered 142 new cases, the largest increase in a single day since the first case was detected on March 22 in the country. Among the new cases, 78 were posted in Maputo. 

In total, the the country has reported 2,411 confirmed cases , with 860 recoveries and 16 deaths.  

Namibia

Namibia on Monday recorded 152 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the country's infection tally to 3,101.

Health Minister Kalumbi Shangula said that out of the 152 new cases, 73 cases were from Windhoek, 64 from Walvis Bay, and the remaining from other towns in Namibia.

"We are strengthening control measures in Windhoek as well as in all areas, to curb the further spread. These include increasing testing, increasing isolation and quarantine facilities, among others," Shangula said.

The country has so far recorded 715 recoveries and 19 deaths.  

Nigeria

A Nigerian official has said that positive COVID-19 cases in the country are gradually declining as the daily new cases revolve around 400 since the end of July, compared to more than 500 daily cases in most days between early June and the end of July.

The decline was not in a way a win, said Sani Aliyu, coordinator of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, in a statement to Xinhua on Tuesday. 

The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) on Monday night announced 290 new cases, taking the tally to 46,867, with 33,346 recoveries and 950 deaths.

Minister of Health Osagie Ehanire said earlier Monday that recent figures showed that the country was approaching 1,000 deaths, a grim reality that should be a wake-up call for the country.

People wearing face masks walk down a shopping street in the Las Delicias neighborhood of Zaragoza in northeastern Spain, Aug 10, 2020. (CESAR MANSO / AFP)

Spain

In Spain, the government defended its response to the pandemic on Monday after official data showed the country had overtaken Britain to have the most infections in Western Europe.

"Appropriate measures are being taken to control the pandemic in coordination" with the regions, the government said in a statement, after experts questioned its policies. "The data shows that we are being very active in tracking and detecting the virus."

Health ministry data showed 1,486 new cases were diagnosed in the past day, bringing the cumulative total to 322,980, compared with 311,641 in Britain.

The disease claimed 65 lives in Spain over the past seven days. More than 28,000 people have died from the disease in Spain, while more than 46,000 have died in Britain.

Switzerland

The Swiss federal government signed a pact for priority access to the first 200,000 doses of Molecular Partners AG’s therapeutic agent against the coronavirus, as well as a right to be supplied with up to 3 million further doses, according to a statement. Clinical trials are planned for autumn.

Switzerland has so far reported 36,708 confirmed cases and 1,987 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Tunisia

Tunisia's Ministry of Health reported on Monday 20 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the tally to 1,717.

A total of 1,265 patients had recovered while 51 deaths had been reported, according to the statement by the ministry.

UK

England's COVID-19 Test and Trace scheme is to become more locally targeted, the government said on Monday, after data suggested it was not reaching as many contacts of infected people as needed to avoid a second wave of infections.

The new approach will give more responsibility to local authorities and public health teams to track people down, with back-up from teams from the national scheme who will be allocated specific local areas to work on.

Latest data shows that between July 23 and 29, contact tracers reached just under 80 percent of people referred to the system after a positive test, and just under 80 percent of those provided recent contacts.

Of the 19,150 people who were identified as recent close contacts of infected people, 72 percent were reached, down from 76 percent in the previous week.

Britain on Monday recorded 816 newly confirmed cases in its latest daily statistics, bringing its tally to 311,641. More than 46,000 people have died of COVID-19, the highest death toll in Europe.

US

The administration of US President Donald Trump is considering a measure to block US citizens and permanent residents from returning home if they are suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus, a senior US official confirmed to Reuters.

The draft regulation, which was first reported by The New York Times on Monday, would be issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has played a lead role in the pandemic response, the senior official told Reuters.

The United States has recorded more than 5.08 million cases and over 163,000 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Hard-hit states including New York, California and Texas reported falling hospitalizations

In California, the top public health officer has resigned following  data-collection failures that led to an undercount of coronavirus cases as the state was reporting a downward trend in COVID-19 infections, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Monday.

Meanwhile, US congressional leaders and Trump administration officials said they were ready to resume negotiations on a coronavirus aid deal, but talks remained deadlocked as Democrats said Republicans needed to meet them in the middle.

South Sudan

At least 126 frontline health workers have tested positive for COVID-19, South Sudan's Ministry of Health has said.

In its weekly COVID-19 situation report released on Monday evening, the public health emergency operation center said only one medical worker has died of COVID-19 since South Sudan recorded its first coronavirus case on April 5.

Health officials in South Sudan have warned that non-adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures could derail efforts to fight the virus and fuel the spread of the pandemic in the east African country.

The country's cumulative cases stand at 2,473, with 47 deaths and 1,264 recoveries as of Monday. 

Health officials in South Sudan on Monday warned that non-adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures could derail efforts to fight the virus and fuel the spread of the pandemic in the east African country.

Uganda 

Uganda on Tuesday reported 16 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the east African country to 1,313, the ministry of health said.

Out of the 2,250 samples collected over the past 24 hours, 12 alert cases, two contacts of previously confirmed cases, a Ugandan cross-border truck driver who arrived from South Sudan and a returnee from Kenya who was under quarantine tested positive for the virus, said the ministry in a statement issued here.

Belarus 

Belarus reported 58 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, taking its total to 69,005, according to the country's health ministry.

There have been 228 new recoveries in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 65,219, the ministry added.

So far, 592 people have died of the disease in the country, including three over the past 24 hours, it said.

As of Tuesday, over 1,377,000 tests for the virus have been conducted across the country, according to official figures.

Zambia 

Schools in Zambia which were closed following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March will remain closed following an escalation of cases, its health ministry said on Tuesday.

The government reopened examination classes in June in order to allow them to start preparing for their examinations while the other classes remained closed.

But some private schools have started conducting class to non-examination classes despite the ban still in effect.

Meanwhile, the country recorded 65 new cases in the last 24 hours out of 362 tests conducted, bringing the cumulative cases to 8,275.

The country also discharged 202 patients in the last 24 hours, bringing the total recoveries to 7,004. The death toll stood at 241.

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