People walk past Christmas trees and a social distancing sign outside the Selfridges department store on Oxford Street, in London, Nov 23, 2020. (MATT DUNHAM / AP)
TRIPOLI / SANTIAGO / RIO DE JANEIRO / OTTAWA / HOUSTON / BUENOS AIRES / ROME / BERLIN / ZAGREB / LONDON / NAIROBI / MEXICO CITY / BELIZE CITY / PARIS / ADDIS ABABA / QUITO / MOSCOW / WARSAW / BELGRADE / PRAGUE - England will introduce a new system on Dec 15 allowing passengers arriving from high-risk countries to take a COVID-19 test after five days of quarantine and to be released from any further self-isolation if they test negative.
England’s current lockdown bans most international travel but when it ends on Dec 2, people will be free to go abroad whatever restrictions are imposed in their local area, transport minister Grant Shapps said on Tuesday.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed Monday that England’s national lockdown will end next week and will be replaced by a three-tier system of regional restrictions.
Under Tier One, the lowest level, people will be urged to work from home wherever possible.
In Tier Two areas, pubs and bars must close unless they are serving substantial meals along with alcoholic drinks.
In Tier Three areas, all pubs, bars and restaurants must close except for delivery, takeaway and drive-through. Hotels and indoor entertainment venues must also be closed in these areas.
Johnson said he will announce which areas will fall into which tier later this week, probably on Thursday.
Johnson said the "rule of six" will return, which means people will again be able to meet up to six people from different households outdoors across England.
The United Kingdom reported 15,450 new COVID-19 cases and 206 additional deaths on Monday, bringing the tally to 1,527,495 and the toll to 55,230.
Britain's Princess Michael, the wife of Queen Elizabeth's cousin, is recovering from severe fevers and fatigue after testing positive for COVID-19, her spokesman said Monday.
The princess, the wife of Prince Michael of Kent, tested positive for the coronavirus three weeks ago, her spokesman Simon Astaire said, adding that Prince Michael did not test positive.
This undated September 2020 photo provided by Johnson & Johnson shows vials of single-dose COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the company. (CHERYL GERBER / JOHNSON & JOHNSON VIA AP)
WHO
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday there is “real hope” to end the COVID-19 pandemic, after a third major drug company announced late-stage data for its potential COVID-19 vaccine.
"There is now real hope that vaccines, in combination with other tried and tested public health measures, will help to end the pandemic," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The WHO chief said some US$4.3 billion is needed immediately to support the mass procurement and delivery of vaccines, tests and treatments
The WHO chief's remarks came after AstraZeneca said its vaccine, developed with Oxford University, was up to 90 percent effective.
READ MORE: Astra-Oxford vaccine prevents 70% of COVID-19 cases
"The significance of this scientific achievement cannot be overstated. No vaccines in history have been developed as rapidly as these. The scientific community has set a new standard for vaccine development," Tedros said.
He pointed out now the international community must set a new standard for access, as "the urgency with which vaccines have been developed must be matched by the same urgency to distribute them fairly."
According to the WHO chief, some US$4.3 billion is needed immediately to support the mass procurement and delivery of vaccines, tests and treatments, while an additional US$23.8 billion will be needed next year.
Immunization services in Africa
African governments should establish robust systems to facilitate the resumption of immunization services that were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO said on Monday.
Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said that scaling up immunization during the pandemic era was key to reducing the death toll from ailments that affect vulnerable groups, such as children, in the continent.
Statistics from WHO indicate that in 2019, immunization coverage in Africa was stagnated at 74 percent for the third dose of diphtheria tetanus pertussis containing vaccine (DPT3), and at 69 percent for the first dose of the measles vaccine-far, below the continent's target of 90 percent.
According to WHO, the pandemic worsened the gaps in immunization coverage in 2020. It said that an additional 1.37 million children across the African region missed the vaccine against Tuberculosis, and an extra 1.32 million children below the age of one missed their first dose of measles vaccine between January and August when compared to the same period in 2019.
Immunization campaigns covering measles, yellow fever, polio and other infectious diseases have also been postponed in at least 15 African countries this year due to the pandemic.
ALSO READ: Virus: WHO fears 3rd wave, calls Europe response 'incomplete'
Traditional Christmas lights shine over the closed shops in downtown Vienna, Austria, on Nov 23, 2020. (RONALD ZAK / AP)
Global tally
Coronavirus cases worldwide has surpassed 59.1 million while the global death toll neared 1.4 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Africa tally
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases recorded across the African continent has reached 2,069,923, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Monday.
The death toll has risen to 49,702 as of Monday afternoon, it added.
The Africa CDC launched a campaign dubbed #AfricaMaskWeek, which is aimed at sustaining and increasing mask-wearing as a protective measure among Africans amid the pandemic.
"The key to controlling the spread of COVID-19 in the absence of a vaccine is to adopt the age-old public health strategy of wearing a mask, washing your hands regularly and keeping a safe distance from others", said John Nkengasong, director of Africa CDC.
Argentina
Argentina's defense and health ministries are planning the cold-storage delivery and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines as they prepare for a large-scale vaccination campaign, Defense Minister Agustin Rossi said Monday.
Rossi said the operation basically consists of two stages: "the vaccine's journey and the vaccination operation itself."
To efficiently deliver the vaccines to Argentina, the Defense Ministry "is making all its air and ground transportation means available so that the vaccine reaches different parts of Argentina in the shortest possible time," said Rossi.
For the vaccination phase, defense staff will still be involved, but the brunt of the task will fall to local governments and health authorities, he said.
Argentina has so far recorded 1,370,366 cases and 37,002 deaths as of Sunday night.
Belize
Belize's Prime Minister Johnny Briceno has tested positive for COVID-19, and will remain in isolation for the following two weeks, after which he will be tested again, the prime minister's office said in a statement on Monday.
Brazil
Brazil on Monday reported 302 additional COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 169,485.
The Ministry of Health said in its daily report that tests detected 16,207 new cases of infection, bringing the total caseload to 6,087,608.
Organizers of clandestine parties will be held criminally liable for violating lockdown rules amid the pandemic, Sao Paulo's Secretary of Health Jean Gorinchteyn said.
According to Gorinchteyn, a 17-percent rise in hospitalizations in the third week of November had to do with unauthorized events that drew crowds of people, especially young people.
Meanwhile, Brazil has gathered enough infection data from a late-stage trial of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech and expects to have interim results on its efficiency in early December, trial organizers said.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria reported record-high 189 daily COVID-19 deaths, bringing the total death toll to beyond 3,000.
The number of weekly deaths in the Balkan country has more than doubled in the past two weeks. Bulgaria has climbed to EU’s third in two-week deaths per 100,000 people, after the Czech Republic and Belgium.
Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, who himself recovered from the COVID-19 two weeks ago, has repeatedly rejected the option of a lockdown.
Health Minister Kostadin Angelov proposed late Monday shutting down all schools and non-essential businesses, while Borissov said every measure has to be “balanced.” A final decision is expected on Wednesday.
Medical personnel in personal protective equipment wheel a patient into St. Paul's hospital in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on Nov 23, 2020. (JONATHAN HAYWARD / THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP)
Canada
Canada reported 5,119 new cases of COVID-19 and an additional 49 deaths Monday evening, according to CTV.
It was the fourth straight day Canada has reported more than 5,000 fresh infections in a day. In total, Canada had confirmed a total of 337,555 cases and 11,521 deaths, CTV reported.
Ontario reported a record-high 1,589 new cases, as Toronto and the Peel Region in the province began lockdowns.
Alberta posted 1,549 fresh cases while Quebec confirmed 1,164 cases and 13 deaths, and Manitoba reported a record-high 543 new cases.
According to the the Public Health Agency of Canada's COVID-19 modeling charts released last Friday, Canada could see upward of 60,000 new cases of COVID-19 by the end of December if Canadians increase their contacts and gatherings.
Chile
Chile's Ministry of Health on Monday reported that 1,440 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 37 more deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours, raising the total caseload to 542,080 and the death toll to 15,106.
Of the total caseload, 517,524 people have recovered, while 704 people are currently hospitalized in intensive care units, including 544 on ventilators and 76 in critical condition.
Also on Monday, Deputy Health Minister Paula Daza announced the opening to foreign visitors of the Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport, in Santiago, "under a strict sanitary protocol to reduce the possibility of infected persons entering Chile".
Croatia
Croatia's capital Zagreb started on Monday massive free antigen tests for COVID-19 amid the pandemic.
Local authorities said that the goal was to test 60,000 people in the first phase.
The move came on the same day the Croatian Institute of Public Health reported that 1,973 new COVID-19 cases and 45 more deaths related to the disease were recorded in the last 24 hours.
The country has recorded more than 100,000 confirmed cases and 1,398 deaths.
Ecuador
At least 9 million people will be vaccinated in Ecuador against COVID-19 early next year, President Lenin Moreno said on Monday.
"We will be able to vaccinate 30,000 people a day, which will take some time ... but we will try to do it as efficiently and as quickly as possible," Moreno said during a radio program, where he was accompanied by Health Minister Juan Carlos Zevallos.
"The vaccines will arrive in Ecuador the moment they are ready, when their efficiency and effectiveness have been proven," Moreno said.
According to the country's health authorities, Ecuador plans to receive some 18 million doses of vaccine by the second quarter of 2021 to immunize 65 percent of its population, or at least 9 million people.
Ecuador said on Monday the country has recorded a total of 185,944 cases and 13,225 deaths.
Czech Republic
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Tuesday he aimed to offer free antigen testing for COVID-19 by Christmas for any citizens who want it.
The Czech Republic has been one of the worst-hit countries in Europe in the second wave of the pandemic but COVID-19 infections are falling after weeks of lockdown measures and the government lowered its risk level on Monday.
The country has already started using targeted antigen testing - which is faster and logistically easier than standard PCR tests but not as accurate - in homes for the elderly.
The risk level was moved on Monday from the fifth, or highest, rung on the government’s coronavirus danger scale, to the fourth. That means restaurants, some schools and most shops remain closed but may reopen as soon as next week if current trends continue and allow another shift on the scale.
The country of 10.7 million people has carried out 2.9 million standard lab tests since the pandemic started in the spring and has confirmed 496,638 infections.
On Monday, it registered 4,377 new cases, a third of the daily peaks seen at the turn of October and November. Total deaths have doubled in November to 7,360 after cases surged.
France
France reported 4,452 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, the lowest daily tally since Sept 28, suggesting a second national lockdown was making its mark.
The toll rose by 500 to 49,232 on Monday, versus 214 on Sunday and a seven-day moving average of 597.
The cumulative number of cases now totals 2,144,660, the fourth highest in the world.
Passengers and staff members wearing face masks are seen at Frankfurt Airport in Germany on Nov 23, 2020. (KEVIN VOIGT / XINHUA)
Germany
Germany's 16 federal states plan to allow gatherings of up to 10 people over Christmas and New Year, offering some relaxation of coronavirus restrictions to let families and friends celebrate together, a draft proposal showed on Tuesday.
The premiers of the states are due to discuss their plans with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday. Berlin Mayor Michael Mueller told ARD television he was confident the measures, agreed by the leaders late on Monday, would be adopted.
The premiers of two states also said there was broad agreement to extend a national "lockdown light" until Dec 20 to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, to make family gatherings over Christmas possible.
Coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 13,554 to 942,687 while the death toll rose by 249 to 14,361, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Tuesday.
Vaccination centers across Germany would be operational by mid-December, Minister of Health Jens Spahn said Monday, adding he was confident that a first shot could be approved and be available in Germany by the end of this year or at the beginning of next year.
Spahn also announced the planned purchase of 5 million vaccine doses from German pharmaceutical company IDT Biologika, which expects its vaccine to be approved by the end of 2021.
Italy
Italy's COVID-19 death toll rose to 50,453 as another 630 patients have died, the Ministry of Health reported on Monday.
It added that 22,930 new cases were reported across the country, down by 5,407 compared to Sunday, bringing the total caseload to 1,431,795.
There were 796,849 active cases, of whom 3,810 were in intensive care and 34,697 hospitalized.
Also on Monday, Health Minister Roberto Speranza signed an ordinance suspending activities on Italy's mink farms, effective immediately until February 2021.
Mexico
Mexico's health ministry on Monday reported 7,483 additional cases of the novel coronavirus and 250 more deaths in the country, bringing the official number of cases to 1,049,358 and the death toll to 101,926.
Mexican church and civic leaders have canceled an annual gathering that attracts massive crowds of Catholic pilgrims to protect people amid the pandemic.
The feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, celebrated on Dec 12, typically features lavish pageantry at her namesake basilica in the north of Mexico City where throngs of pilgrims arrive on their knees in prayer. But this year the festivities will move online, according to a statement issued by the bishops' conference and city government.
Morocco
Morocco's infection tally rose by 2,587 to 327,528 while the death toll climbed by 80 to 5,396.
The number of recoveries increased to 275,185 as 4,701 more patients have recovered.
Libya
Libya on Monday reported 650 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country's infection tally to 78,473, the National Center for Disease Control of Libya said.
Another 13 deaths were also reported, taking the death toll to 1,102, while 678 more patients have recovered, raising the total recoveries to 49,592.
According to Acting Special Representative of the United Nations (UN) Secretary General in Libya Stephanie Williams, the first two weeks of November saw a 22-percent increase in the number of cases, with Libya's biggest cities, Tripoli, Misrata and Benghazi, witnessing the largest increases.
"With limited testing capacity and poor mortality surveillance, the numbers are a fraction of what health experts suspect to be the true scale of the problem," she told the UN Security Council recently.
Poland
Polish scientists have identified eight cases of COVID-19 in minks at a farm in the north of the country, the Medical University of Gdansk said on Tuesday.
No coronavirus cases among mink have been discovered in Poland previously.
The Chief Veterinary Inspectorate was not immediately available to comment.
A woman wearing a face mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus looks at her smartphone as she walks through a street in Moscow, Russia, Nov 23, 2020. (ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO / AP)
Russia
Russia will charge less for its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine than rivals as Moscow aims to produce more than 1 billion doses at home and abroad next year, the head of Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev, said on Tuesday.
The two-shot vaccine will cost less than US$20 per person on international markets and will be free of charge for Russian citizens, according to a statement issued later in the day on the official Sputnik V Twitter account.
The RDIF and the Gamaleya National Center said new clinical trial data based on 39 confirmed cases and 18,794 patients who got both shots had shown that Sputnik V was 91.4 percent effective on day 28 and over 95 percent effective on day 42.
Earlier on Tuesday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said the coronavirus situation was becoming more complicated with the onset of autumn and winter, Russian news agencies reported.
The country reported a record 491 deaths linked to COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the official death toll to 37,031.
Authorities also reported 24,326 new coronavirus infections in the space of 24 hours, including 5,838 in the capital Moscow, bringing the national cumulative tally to 2,138,828.
Serbia
More restrictive measures stepped into force in Serbia on Tuesday as the country marked dramatic increase in daily COVID-19 cases.
Over the past 24 hours, Serbia registered 5,067 confirmed cases and 38 deaths, raising the total caseload and death toll to 126,187 and 1,237 respectively, said the country's Health Ministry.
According to a regulation published on the official website of the Serbian government, in the following 10 days starting from Tuesday, restaurants, bars, night clubs, bookmakers and shopping malls will have to close between 6:00 pm and 5:00 am local time, while masks are obligatory indoors.
Public transportation should work at half capacity, according to the government regulation.
Outdoor and indoor gatherings of over 5 people are both prohibited, excluding educational institutions and shops where there should be at least 4 square meters per person, according to the regulation. Employees are advised to work from home.
South Africa
South Africa’s Employment and Labor Minister Thulas Nxesi has warned that the state-run Unemployment Insurance Fund could collapse if it is forced to again extend special benefits to workers who’ve lost income as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The government initially committed 40 billion rand (US$2.6 billion) from the fund, which is financed using workers’ monthly contributions, to subsidize the special benefits for three months.
The relief, which was given to those whose employers couldn’t afford to pay them or who were forced to take leave, was subsequently extended by a further four months until mid-October. Almost 53 billion rand has been dispensed to more than 4.7 million people so far.
Spain
The Spanish government is to propose a “different” Christmas and New Year under coronavirus restrictions with just six people at parties - although it hopes the “soul and spirit” of the festive season will still shine, El Mundo newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Quoting a health ministry draft document to be discussed with regional health chiefs, el Mundo said the government would recommend that office gatherings and similar celebrations in the run-up to the holidays be held on restaurant terraces, outside, or in a place with “no more than two walls”.
They would be limited to six people.
The start of the nighttime curfews in force in most Spanish regions would be moved to 1 am from 11 pm on Dec 24 and Dec 31.
Spain's King Felipe VI started 10 days of quarantine on Monday after coming into close contact with someone who later tested positive for the coronavirus, a Royal House source said.
The king, 52, has canceled his public appearances during the quarantine period after the person tested positive on Monday, one day after they were in close contact, the source added.
Queen Letizia and their two daughters will continue their royal activities, the source said.
Spain has registered more than 1.58 million COVID-19 cases - western Europe's second highest tally after France - and 43,131 deaths.
The overall number of infections has grown by almost 26,000 since Friday and the number of deaths has increased by 512, the Health Ministry said on Monday.
Spain is unlikely to make vaccination against the coronavirus compulsory, at least initially, health ministry sources said on Monday.
People dine at a restaurant in downtown Barcelona, Spain, on Nov 23, 2020, as bars and restaurants in Catalonia were allowed to reopen to the public with the number of customers limited to less than 30% of their total capacity. (JOAN GOSA / XINHUA)
US
Millions of Americans appeared to be disregarding public health warnings and traveling ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, likely fueling an alarming surge in coronavirus infections before a series of promising new vaccines are expected to become widely available.
Some 1 million passengers passed through airport security gates on Sunday, the highest number since March. It was the second time in three days US air travel screenings surpassed 1 million, though the numbers are down nearly 60 percent from the same time last year, the US Transportation Security Administration said.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday reported 12,175,921 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 147,840 from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 882 to 255,958.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, his wife and their four children are quarantining for two weeks after three of the kids were in contact with a California Highway Patrol officer who tested positive for COVID-19. Newsom’s office said the entire family tested negative Sunday.
Thirty thousand doses of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc’s antibody cocktail will be shipped Tuesday, after the experimental coronavirus treatment got an emergency authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar detailed plans to distribute the therapy at a news conference on Monday.
Patients will require a positive COVID-19 test and a prescription from their physician, government officials said at a Monday briefing. For those who lack a physician, some emergency departments will prescribe it.
Sites are also being set up for the medication, which is given as an infusion, including a convention center in Baltimore, Maryland, said Janet Woodcock, director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the FDA.
Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that health workers providing direct care for COVID-19 patients and other vulnerable residents will be the first to receive vaccines.
