A NHS pharmacy technician at the Royal Free Hospital, simulates the preparation of the Pfizer vaccine to support staff training ahead of the rollout, in London, Dec 4, 2020. (PHOTO / AP)

NEW YORK / LONDON / MOSCOW / BERLIN / CARIO / MEXICO CITY / SAN PAULO - The UK will become the first western country to deploy a COVID-19 vaccine after regulators approved the Pfizer-BioNTech shot on Wednesday. The government has bought 40 million doses from the companies, enough to inoculate 20 million people on the two-dose regimen. The shots will be given in order of priority, with the first vaccines going to those in care homes, including workers, and people over 80 years old.

“This coming week will be an historic moment as we begin vaccination against COVID-19,” Matt Hancock, the UK’s health secretary, said in a statement. “We are doing everything we can to make sure we can overcome significant challenges to vaccinate care home residents.”

Another 15,539 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 1,705,971, according to official figures released Saturday.

The coronavirus-related deaths in Britain rose by 397 to 61,014, the data showed.

The figures came as Britain's chief medical officers warned Saturday that the coming winter would be "especially hard" for the health service due to coronavirus despite hopes brought by vaccines.

Global tally

The number of fatalities from COVID-19 recorded globally has exceeded 1.52 million while the global tally topped 66.5 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

People wait in line to be tested for COVID-19 at a testing site in the North Hollywood section of Los Angeles on Dec 5, 2020. (PHOTO / AP)

US

More than 14.5 million people in the United States have contracted COVID-19 so far, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called for "universal face mask use" on Friday.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States has hit 14,577,003 as of 7:26 pm EST on Saturday, and its death toll reached over 281,000, according to data updated by Johns Hopkins University.

Daily infections in the country set a new record high of nearly 228,000 cases on Friday, according to the Associated Press.

The vast region of the US state of California, including Southern California and parts of Central California, will enter a new stay-at-home order on Sunday night, as many parts of the state have hit the 15 percent or lower threshold for intensive care unit (ICU) capacity amid COVID-19 surge, local health authorities said Saturday.

A COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE could be in use by Friday if the Food and Drug Administration approves an emergency use authorization, James Hildreth, a member of the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee, told NBC News.

The panel is scheduled to vote on the matter after reviewing the vaccine’s data at a meeting on Thursday.

Russia

Russia registered 29,039 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the highest number of daily infections to date, the country's COVID-19 response center said Sunday. 

Italy

Italy reported 21,052 new cases Saturday, confirming the downwards trend from last week. Daily fatalities dropped to 662 from 814 on Friday.

Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on SkyTg24 television on Saturday that strict anti-Covid measures are a necessity to avoid a new uptick in virus cases that would swamp hospitals and cause a further increase in deaths.

Portugal 

Portugal will ease coronavirus rules over the Christmas period to allow people to visit loved ones, but measures will be reimposed a few days later to crack down on New Year’s Eve parties, the government said on Saturday.

While a ban on domestic travel will not be imposed between Dec. 23 and Dec. 26, Prime Minister Antonio Costa urged people to avoid spending too long in large festive gatherings without wearing a face mask.

“It’s essential that this Christmas is a time of sharing but that in this sharing there is no involuntary transmission of the virus,” Costa told reporters as he announced the measures.

Georgia 

Georgia reported 4,321 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing its total to 162,475.

A total of 1,615 of the 4,321 new cases were confirmed in the capital city of Tbilisi, said the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health.

As of Sunday, 133,511 of the 162,475 patients have recovered, while 1,504 others have died, said the center.

   Georgia reported its first confirmed case on Feb. 26.

READ MORE: UN warns 2021 shaping up to be a humanitarian catastrophe

Police officers, left, watch over as people stroll in Via del Corso shopping street, downtown Rome, Dec 5, 2020.  (PHOTO / AP)

Germany

German police intervened on Saturday to break up a demonstration by opponents of coronavirus lockdown measures in the northern city of Bremen after the protest was banned by the country’s highest court.

Germany’s constitutional court upheld earlier rulings by lower courts that had already denied permission for 20,000 demonstrators to convene in the city centre of Bremen.

However, hundreds of people still gathered, some of them opponents of the government’s coronavirus measures and others part of a counter-demonstration.

France

France’s reported confirmed coronavirus cases increased by 12,923 on Saturday to 2.28 million. The seven-day average of new cases rose by 0.5 percent to 10,397, climbing for the first time in more than two weeks.

The rate of positive COVID-19 tests remained at 10.7 percent for a third day, following three weeks of declines. Hospitalizations and patients in intensive care for COVID-19 continued to fall from their mid-November peak. Deaths linked to the virus increased by 214 to 54,981.

The Netherlands 

The Netherlands on Saturday reported 6,577 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total caseload to 550,445, said the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).

Meanwhile, 39 people have died from the disease over the past 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 9,662.

A total of 1,130 people are currently in the hospital nursing wards, and 472 in intensive care units. 

Spain

As of Saturday morning, Spain reported 8,745 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 1,684,647, the country's health ministry reported.

Meanwhile, 214 more COVID-19 deaths were recorded, taking the country's death toll from the disease to 46,252, it said.

Worldwide, Spain has the eighth highest number of COVID-19 infections and ninth highest record of deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

ALSO READ: Moscow starts mass vaccination with its Sputnik V shot

Serbia 

The overall number of COVID-19 cases in Serbia has increased to 213,843 on Saturday, as authorities try to expand capacities for the growing number of severe cases.

The Ministry of Health confirmed Saturday afternoon another 6,903 infections from testing 18,232 people in the past 24 hours. In the same period, 57 people died, raising the COVID-19 death toll in Serbia to 1,891.

Since Nov. 19 when Serbia crossed the threshold of 100,000 cases, the number of total cases has doubled.

Belarus 

Belarus reported 1,896 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, taking its total to 145,279, the country's health ministry reported.

There have been 1,768 new recoveries in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 122,339, the ministry added.

So far, 1,198 people have died of the disease in the country, including eight over the past 24 hours, it said.

Austria 

Austria reported on Saturday 3,444 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country's total caseload to 300,689, according to data published by the Austrian Interior Ministry.

To date, the total COVID-19 death toll in Austria reached 3,757, said the ministry.

The country started its second lockdown earlier in November. The Austrian government has announced a plan of mass COVID-19 testing in December. According to a draft federal framework, teachers and police officers will be tested first. 

Armenia 

Armenia on Saturday reported 1,267 new COVID-19 cases, bringing its total caseload to 140,959, according to the country's ministry of healthcare.

Also on Saturday, the ministry confirmed 32 new deaths from the virus, raising the country's total death toll to 2,309.

Estonia 

Estonia reported 561 new COVID-19 cases within 24 hours, bringing its total caseload to 14,500, said the country's Health Board on Saturday.

As of Saturday morning, the disease has claimed the lives of 126 people in Estonia, including two deaths recorded within the past 24 hours, it added.

Poland

Poland confirmed on Saturday 12,430 new COVID-19 cases, bringing its total caseload to 1,054,273, according to the country's health ministry.

The ministry also announced 502 new deaths from the virus, and the death toll in Poland went up to 19,861.

Brazil

Brazil reported 43,209 new cases at the end of a fourth week in a steep resurgence of the virus, according Health Ministry data. Infections have more than doubled over the past month to levels near the last peak in August. Another 664 people died.

The nation now has a total of 6,577,177 total cases, the most after the US and India, and 176,628 deaths.

Canada

COVID-19 cases reported new records in Canada, with a total of 406,839 cases and 12,583 deaths as of Saturday afternoon, according to CTV.

Quebec set a new high record on Saturday in the fight against the pandemic, reporting 2,031 new cases. It is the first time in Canada that a daily increase in confirmed cases has surpassed 2,000 in a single province. It also broke the previous record number of new cases set on Dec. 1 when the province confirmed 1,513 new cases.

Peru 

Peru confirmed on Friday 2,014 new COVID-19 cases, bringing its total caseload to 970,860, according to the country's health ministry.

The ministry also announced 91 new deaths from the virus, and the death toll in this country went up to 36,195.

Peru registered a stagnation of death toll, which has been maintained over the last six weeks at an average of 320 to 380 deaths per week, said Luis Rodriguez, director of the epidemiology center of the Health Ministry.

The official also indicated that these figures reflect a trend which can be considered toward normalization of the number of deaths.

Vendors and shoppers mingle in a commercial district of central Mexico City, Dec 5, 2020. （PHOTO / AP）

Chile

The Chilean Ministry of Health reported on Saturday that 1,533 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) were registered in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 558,668.

According to the official report, there were 9,509 active cases and 533,250 people had recovered.

The Department of Health Statistics and Information (DEIS) reported that, in the last 24 hours, another 34 deaths were registered, bringing the death toll to 15,592.

Ecuador 

Ecuador registered 909 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number to 197,391, the Ministry of Public Health reported on Saturday.

In addition, 52 more deaths from the novel coronavirus were reported in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 9,252.

Although the virus continues to spread in all 24 provinces, the most affected is the province of Pichincha where the capital of Quito is located, with infections reaching 65,267 in the capital city on Saturday, about one-third of national caseload.

Bolivia

The Bolivian government has ruled out the possibility of re-entering a rigid quarantine if a second wave of COVID-19  infections occurs, in a bid to avoid damaging economic recovery.

Minister of Economy Marcelo Montenegro said earlier this month that the government is working on a series of strategies to face another potential outbreak of COVID-19, without measures that would harm economic recovery.

Africa

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the African continent has reached 2,232,944, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Saturday.

The continental disease control and prevention agency said in a statement that the death toll related to the pandemic stood at 53,252 as of Saturday afternoon.

A total of 1,903,987 people infected with COVID-19 have recovered across the continent so far, according to the continental disease control and prevention agency.

Ethiopia 

As of Friday, Ethiopia reported 512 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 112,091, the country's Health Minister Lia Tadesse said on Twitter.

Meanwhile, 10 more COVID-19 deaths were recorded, taking the country's death toll from the disease to 1,734, she said.

The minister also reported 1,215 new recoveries from the disease over the same period, taking the total number to 78,619.