People collect water from a tank on a street in San Antonio, Artemisa province, Cuba, on July 7, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic. (YAMIL LAGE / AFP)

NEW YORK / LONDON / BERLIN / CAIRO / MILAN / MADRID / SAO PAULO / ZURICH / MOSCOW / KIEV / ATHENS / TBILISI / GENEVA / AMSTERDAM / LAGOS / NIAMEY - One in four health centers in the world lacks water services, putting around 1.8 billion people at increasing risk of contracting COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

This result was reached from a study based on 165 countries' data, which was jointly reported by the WHO and the UN children's fund (UNICEF).

"Working in a healthcare facility without water, sanitation and hygiene is akin to sending nurses and doctors to work without personal protective equipment," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The situation is particularly bad in least developed countries, he added.

Global tally

Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 72.1 million on Sundan while the related deaths topped 1.6 million, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

Remdesivir

A single-patient study conducted by British scientists has found that Gilead’s antiviral drug remdesivir could be highly effective against COVID-19, raising questions about previous studies that found it had no impact on death rates from the disease.

Published in the journal Nature Communications, the study describes how doctors who gave the drug to a patient with both COVID-19 and a rare immune disorder saw a marked improvement in his symptoms and the disappearance of the virus.

“Our patient’s unusual condition gave us a rare insight into the effectiveness of remdesivir as a treatment for coronavirus infection,” said Nicholas Matheson, who co-led the study at Cambridge University’s Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease.

“The dramatic response to the drug – on repeated challenge – suggests that it can be a highly effective treatment, at least for some patients.”

Niger

Niger on Sunday confirmed 59 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the nation's caseload to 2,258, the Ministry of Public Health said.

The death toll remained at 80 as no additional deaths were reported.

Nigeria

The Nigerian army has confirmed that 26 senior officers have tested positive for COVID-19 following a meeting early last week which was attended by an officer who later died of the disease.

In a statement released late Sunday, army spokesperson Sagir Musa said a total of 417 personnel had been tested as of Sunday, and 26 samples returned positive results. All 417 personnel were in self-isolation, according to Musa.

Musa said the tests were conducted following the death of Johnson Irefin, an army officer based in Port Harcourt in south Nigeria. Irefin had shown symptoms of COVID-19 when he attended the Chief of Army Staff Conference in Abuja, together with other senior army officers from across the country.

A test later confirmed Irefin had contracted the disease. He died last Thursday, triggering the shutdown of the conference, according to the spokesperson.

The entire army headquarters complex was thoroughly fumigated on Saturday, Musa said. 

Nationwide, Nigeria on Sunday registered 418 new cases and three more deaths over the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 73,175 and the toll to 1,197, said the country's Center for Disease Control.

Netherlands

The Netherlands will enter its toughest lockdown of the coronavirus pandemic this week, as Prime Minister Mark Rutte is expected to announce that schools and shops will be closed for at least a month, Dutch media reported on Monday.

Rutte held emergency meetings on Monday about the rapid rise of infections and took the unusual step of inviting the heads of all political parties in parliament to join the talks.

NOS and RTL cited government sources as saying that all schools and non-essential shops would be closed until Jan 19.

Other public buildings, such as museums, cinemas and zoos, will also be closed, NOS reported, along with daycare centers and barber shops.

New coronavirus infections in the country of 17 million jumped by almost 10,000 in the 24 hours through Sunday morning, data released by national health authorities showed, the biggest rise in more than six weeks.

The Netherlands has recorded more than 600,000 cases and 10,000 deaths so far.

Ukraine

A total of 900,666 COVID-19 cases and 15,247 deaths have been registered in Ukraine as of Monday, the country's health ministry reported, adding that 506,718 patients have recovered.

In the past 24 hours, 6,451 people tested positive for COVID-19 and another 5,154 patients have recovered, the ministry added.

Ukraine saw a decrease in the number of new cases and hospitalizations last week due to anti-epidemic restrictions, including weekend quarantine, said Health Minister Maxym Stepanov.

Last week, 78,719 new cases were registered in the country, 10,603 less than the week before, the minister said, adding that 27,393 patients are currently in hospital for treatment, down from last week's 28,163.

Greece

Greece reported 693 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally to 124,534, authorities announced on Sunday.

The death toll rose by 85 to 3,625, according to the National Public Health Organization.

Russia

Russia recorded 27,328 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, down from 28,080 from a day earlier, the country's COVID-19 response center said Monday.

The new cases brought the tally to 2,681,256, including 47,391 deaths and 2,124,797 recoveries, the center said.

Moscow, the country's worst-hit region, reported 5,874 new cases, bringing the city's total to 698,084.

Georgia

Georgia reported 1,337 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing its tally to 191,063.

Of the new cases, 571 were confirmed in the capital city of Tbilisi, said the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health.

As of Monday, 161,681 patients have recovered while 1,839 have died, according to the center.

Christmas lights twinkle as shoppers make their way down the stairs to the Piccadilly underground station in London on Dec 12, 2020, as with under two weeks to Christmas, people take advantage of the easing of England's restrictions on shop openings to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

UK

London Mayor Sadiq Khan called for schools in the capital to close to stem a rising tide of coronavirus infections that threatens to push the city into the government’s tightest pandemic rules.

Khan wants schools to break early for Christmas, with lessons continuing online until the end of term, and to reopen later than usual in January. In a statement on Twitter, the mayor also called for face coverings to be made mandatory in all busy outdoor public spaces such as shopping streets.

Earlier Sunday, NHS (National Health Service) Providers, which represents health trusts in England, urged British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a letter to exercise "extreme caution" when reviewing the coronavirus tiers system.

Another 18,447 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 1,849,403, according to official figures released Sunday.

The coronavirus-related deaths in Britain rose by 144 to 64,170, the data showed.

Pfizer 

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE may soon allow participants in its COVID-19 vaccine trial to learn whether they received a placebo, rather than the real thing, and get the actual shot if they wish.

“Pending required approvals, Pfizer and BioNTech plan to provide an option for clinical trial participants who received the placebo to get the vaccine at scheduled time points in the study,” Pfizer said in an emailed statement. “This option will be voluntary and implemented in alignment with the regulatory authorities where the trial is being conducted.”

US

Inoculations against COVID-19 are set to begin in the US as early as Monday, as deaths in the country approached 300,000. The head of the government’s vaccine drive said as much as 80 percent of the population could be vaccinated by summer.

A US decision on Moderna Inc’s vaccine could come by the end of the week. 

Director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Robert Redfield said on Sunday he has signed the recommendation of a key CDC advisory group to use the COVID-19 vaccine of American drugmaker Pfizer in partnership with German company BioNTech.

Initial COVID-19 vaccination is set to start as early as Monday, Redfield said in a statement.

President Donald Trump, Vice-President Mike Pence and other top US officials will be offered the newly approved COVID-19 vaccine beginning on Monday as part of a plan aimed at ensuring the continuity of government, a source familiar with the plans said.

Essential personnel at the White House and certain officials in all three branches of government were to be vaccinated within the next 10 days, said the source.

However, Trump suggested late Sunday that senior White House officials would wait longer for COVID-19 vaccines hours after media outlets reported senior officials were to receive doses within 10 days.

Pfizer’s chief executive Albert Bourla said on Monday that the drugmaker has not yet signed an agreement with the US on providing 100 million more vaccine doses in 2021. Bourla told CNN in an interview that Pfizer was still negotiating with the US on whether it will be able to deliver the vaccine in the second or third quarter of the year.

Meanwhile, a US$908 billion bipartisan COVID-19 relief plan set to be introduced in the US Congress as early as Monday will be split into two packages in a bid to win approval, a person briefed on the matter said.

EU

European Council President Charles Michel said he expects the first COVID-19 vaccines to be approved in the EU “in the coming weeks, maybe even before the end of the year.”

The bloc has decided to follow its regulatory process and “not to play” with approval, Michel said. European countries are working on a simultaneous vaccination drive, to avoid some countries falling months behind others, Michel said in an interview with France Inter radio Sunday.

This Dec 8, 2020 photo shows customer sitting in an outdoor dining tent of a restaurant in New York. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)

Ireland

Ireland may “very well” face new restrictions in January, in the wake of Christmas celebrations, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Monday. Ireland was the first the Western European country to re-enter lockdown in late October, pushing case numbers down to around 250 a day.

The shutdown was eased 10 days ago, and cases hit 429 on Sunday, sparking concern among health authorities.

Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan said Ireland’s pace of COVID -19 infections is increasing and a cause for concern. 

The rolling five-day average of cases is back to more than 300 after declining for weeks, he said. Ireland reported 429 new cases Sunday, “a large number by the standard of recent weeks,” Holohan said.

Italy

The Italian government is considering new measures to tighten COVID-19 restrictions over the holidays, effectively walking back some recent moves to allow more movement and business openings during the period, Corriere della Sera reported.

Italy reported 484 coronavirus-related deaths on Sunday after surpassing Britain the previous day as the European country with the worst toll of fatalities.

Sunday’s tally was down from 649 deaths reported on Saturday. There were 152,697 swabs carried out in the past 24 hours, well below a previous 196,439, the health ministry added.

Italy has suffered 64,520 deaths linked to COVID-19 since the outbreak first started in February, making it the first Western country to face the virus emergency.

Belgium 

Belgium on Monday reported 2,171 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing its national tally to 608,137, according to the public health institute Sciensano.

It also reported 49 coronavirus-related deaths, taking the country's death toll from the disease to 17,951.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said last week that Belgium's COVID-19 figures will be good enough for current restrictions to be eased "in mid-January."

Swden

An intensive care unit in Sweden’s third biggest city has been gripped by an outbreak of COVID-19 that has already infected more than 40% of the staff, newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported. 

A total of 33-35 nurses and assistant nurses, as well as 11 doctors, at the unit in the southern city of Malmo have recently tested positive, leaving the remaining healthy staff to work double shifts for many days in a row, according to the article.

Switzerland

The directors of five of Switzerland’s largest hospitals have written to the health minister asking for urgent measures to reduce coronavirus infections, the SonntagsZeitung newspaper reported on Sunday.

In their letter to Health Minister Alain Berset, the directors of the university hospitals of Zurich, Bern, Basel, Lausanne and Geneva said the pandemic was forcing them to postpone operations for patients with other life-threatening conditions while intensive care beds were becoming scarce.

More than 4,000 operations have been postponed at the five hospitals since October, the newspaper reported.

Switzerland has been hard hit by the epidemic, with around 5,000 new COVID-19 cases every day recently.

Serbia 

Serbia reported on Sunday 4,995 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide tally to 266,432, according to information released by the country's Institute for Public Health.

The country also reported 56 new deaths from the virus, and the total death toll in Serbia reached 2,331, according to the same source.

Mirsad Djerlek, state secretary at the Ministry of Health, said recently that vaccination of the general population can be expected in the first quarter of 2021, while doctors, police officers and soldiers can expect it before the end of this year. 

Spain 

Spain should achieve herd immunity from COVID-19 by the end of summer 2021 if enough people are vaccinated by then, the health minister said in an interview published on Sunday.

Salvador Illa said a vaccination programme will start in January and by the end of the summer more than two thirds of the population of 47 million should be vaccinated.

New cases rose by 10,519 to 1,730,575 on Friday, according to health ministry data, while the number of deaths increased by 280, bringing the total to 47,624.

Germany

Germany will close most stores from Wednesday until at least Jan 10, cutting short the busy Christmas shopping season, as it tightens coronavirus restrictions and tries to rein in the spread of the disease, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday.

Only essential shops such as supermarkets and pharmacies, as well as banks, are to remain open from Dec. 16. Hair salons, beauty salons and tattoo parlours will also have to shut.

The government will support affected companies with a total of around 11 billion euros (US$13.3 billion) a month. Businesses that are forced to close may receive up to 90 percent of fixed costs, or up 500,000 euros a month, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said.

Schools will be closed in principle, and employers are asked to close operations or have employees work from home. The sale of fireworks will be banned ahead of New Year’s Eve.

Germany reported on Monday 16,362 more COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 1,337,078, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

The country's new COVID-19 deaths in the same period reached 188, taking nationwide death toll to 21,975, the data showed.

Poland 

Poland confirmed on Sunday 8,977 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country's total caseload to 1,135,676, according to the health ministry.

The ministry also announced 188 new deaths from the virus, and the national death toll climbed up to 22,864.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said recently that Poland had signed contracts with various vaccine developers for the delivery of 45 million doses.

People opposed to COVID-19 health guidelines march with a police escort in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia,  Dec 13, 2020. (DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP)

France

Another 11,533 people in France tested positive for COVID-19 in a 24-hour span, the lowest daily tally this week, while more patients were admitted to hospital, ending a week-long decline in coronavirus-related hospitalization, official data showed on Sunday.

The number of daily new infections fell by 2,414 compared to Saturday. France's cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases now stands at nearly 2.38 million.

Another 150 people died from the disease in the 24 hours, bringing the total fatalities in France to 57,911 since the beginning of the pandemic, official data showed.

The Netherlands

The Dutch government is set to decide on stricter measures to fight the coronavirus outbreak in the Netherlands on Monday, as the infection rate has climbed back to the peak levels reached at the end of October.

New coronavirus infections in the country jumped by almost 10,000 in the 24 hours through Sunday morning, data released by national health authorities showed, the biggest rise in more than six weeks.

The number of 9,924 new infections is 760 higher than the number reported on Saturday. It is the highest daily amount since the end of October when the number of reported infections over the last 24 hours topped the 10,000 mark.

Denmark 

Denmark registered 2,642 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide tally to 109,758, said the Danish health authority on Sunday.

The country also reported six new deaths from the virus, taking its total COVID-19 death toll to 941.

Denmark's Minister for Health and Elderly Affairs Magnus Heunicke announced on Thursday an extension of the country's partial lockdown measures as of 4 p.m. local time (0300 GMT) Friday. Around 80 percent of the population have come under the restrictions, local media reported. 

Ukraine 

Ukraine on Sunday registered 9,176 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the national tally to 894,215, said the country's National Security and Defense Council.

Meanwhile, the nationwide death toll rose to 15,154, as 156 new deaths from the virus were reported.

A total of 501,564 patients have so far recovered from COVID-19 in the country, said the council.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in his official Telegram channel on Wednesday that the government decided to introduce a lockdown throughout Ukraine from Jan. 8 until Jan. 24, 2021.

Portugal 

Portugal on Sunday reported 4,044 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 348,744, the country's Directorate-General of Health reported.

Meanwhile, 98 more COVID-19 deaths were recorded, taking the country's death toll to 5,559, the health authority said. 

Romania 

Romania reported on Sunday 4,435 new cases of COVID-19, bringing its total infections to 556,335, according to official statistics.

The country also reported 121 new deaths from the virus, and the total death toll now stands at 13,385, said the Strategic Communication Group, the official novel coronavirus communication task force.

Romania has decided to extend the state of alert introduced to contain the COVID-19 outbreak by 30 days until Jan. 13, the government announced on Friday.

READ MORE: US readies inoculation rollout as FDA approves Pfizer vaccine

Over 1,953,303 people have been tested for COVID-19 since the country reported its first case on Feb. 28.

Austria 

Austria reported on Sunday 2,641 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country's total caseload to 322,463, according to data published by the Austrian Interior Ministry.

To date, the country's total COVID-19 death toll reached 4,473, while 281,106 have recovered in total, said the ministry.

Cananda

Canada’s first COVID-19 inoculations are set to begin as soon as Monday after some of the 30,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine arrived over the weekend, making Canada one of the few Western nations to start vaccinations.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced late on Sunday that a first batch had arrived.

Canadian officials said last week the first shots would be given on Monday or Tuesday.

The initial 30,000 doses will go to 14 sites around Canada. The most vulnerable people, including the elderly in long-term care facilities and healthcare workers, will be first in line for shots.

The hard-hit province of Quebec is prioritizing residents and staff in two care homes, a provincial Health Department spokeswoman said. More than 80 percent of Canada’s 13,350 pandemic deaths have been in such homes.

Canada reported 5,891 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the nationwide tally to 460,743, according to a report by the Canadian Press.

The country also reported 81 more deaths from the virus, and the total death toll now stands at 13,431, said the report by Canada's national news agency.

Chile

Chile reported 2,139 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the last 24 hours, the highest daily figure since Sept. 25, for a total of 571,919 cases, the Ministry of Health reported on Sunday.

According to the ministry, the country also registered another 40 deaths from COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 15,886.

The ministry added in its daily report that to date, 544,822 people have recovered from the disease while 10,887 people are in the active stage.

Peru

Peru confirmed on Sunday 908 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, taking its total caseload to 984,973, according to the country's health ministry.

The ministry also reported 68 more deaths from the virus, raising the total death toll to 36,677.

In total, 918,352 people have recovered from the disease across the South American nation.

Brazil

Brazil registered 21,825 new COVID-19 cases in the past day, raising the national count to 6,901,952, the Brazilian Ministry of Health said.

According to the ministry, the country's COVID-19 death toll rose to 181,402 on Sunday after 279 more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

ALSO READ: Germany to impose stricter lockdown to battle COVID-19

Ecuador 

Ecuador on Sunday said it has registered 202,110 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with tests detecting 586 new cases in the past 24 hours.

According to the Ecuadorian Ministry of Public Health, the South American country has so far registered 9,337 fatalities from the disease. Another 4,538 deaths are suspected of having been caused by the virus but have not been confirmed.

Meanwhile, 177,951 patients have recovered from the disease in the country, said the ministry.

According to the official report, all the 24 provinces in the country continue to register an increase in cases due to "community transmission of COVID-19."

Argentina 

Argentina registered 3,213 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, raising the national tally to 1,498,160, the ministry of health reported on Sunday.

The ministry said 98 patients died of the disease in the same period, bringing the nationwide death toll to 40,766.

Meanwhile, 1,335,317 patients have so far recovered in the country.

Panama 

Panama confirmed 2,422 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing its nationwide tally to 193,007, the Ministry of Health reported.

The country also reported 25 new deaths from the virus, taking its total death count to 3,356.

Mexico 

Mexico on Sunday reported 8,608 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the national total to 1,250,044, according to its health ministry.

Meanwhile, the country's death toll from the virus increased by 249 to 113,953.

Mexico ranks fourth among Latin American countries in terms of documented COVID-19 cases, following Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.

The country has the world's fourth highest COVID-19 death toll, after the United States, Brazil and India.

Colombia 

Colombia reported 8,702 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide tally to 1,425,774, its health authorities said here on Sunday.

Meanwhile, 187 more deaths were reported, raising the national death toll to 39,053, they said, adding that 1,314,836 people have so far recovered from the disease.

Africa

The death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic in the African continent reached 55,989 as of Sunday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC said that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 2,361,271 as of Sunday afternoon.

A total of 2,004,985 people infected with COVID-19 have recovered across the continent so far, according to the continental disease control and prevention agency.

Morocco 

Morocco announced 2,012 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally in the North African country since March 2 to 399,609.

The number of recoveries from the coronavirus in Morocco increased to 356,023 after 2,925 more were added, while the death toll rose by 35 to 6,624 the ministry of health said in a statement.

In this file photo taken on Sept 5, 2019 Prime Minister of Eswatini Mandulo Ambrose Dlamini smiling at a plenary session of African Leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Africa meeting at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in Cape Town. Dlamini dies on Dec 13, 2020 after being hospitalized with COVID-19. (RODGER BOSCH / AFP)

Eswatini

Eswatini Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini, who tested positive for COVID-19 four weeks ago, has died at age 52 after being hospitalised in neighbouring South Africa, the tiny absolute monarchy’s government said late on Sunday.

“Their Majesties have commanded that I inform the Nation of the sad and untimely passing away of His Excellency the Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini. His Excellency passed on this afternoon while under medical care in a hospital in South Africa”, Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku said in a statement.

Dlamini was moved to South Africa on Dec.1, to “guide and fast track his recovery,” from COVID-19. At that time, Masuku said Dlamini was stable and responding well to treatment.

South Africa 

South Africa on Sunday reported 7,999 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 860,964, the country's health department reported.

Meanwhile, 170 more COVID-19 deaths were recorded, taking the country's death toll from the disease to 23,276, it said. The ministry also reported a total of 761,011 recoveries from the disease to date.

South Africa is currently in the midst of a second wave of the coronavirus, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize warned on Wednesday.