Brazilan President Jair Bolsonaro poses for photos with the mascot of the nation's vaccination campaign, named "Ze Gotinha," or Joseph Droplet, during a ceremony to present Brazil's National Vaccination Plan Against COVID-19, at Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Dec 16, 2020. (ERALDO PERES / AP)
BAMAKO / DAKAR / ADDIS ABABA / WARSAW / WASHINGTON / MADRID / PARIS / BERLIN / PRAGUE / DUBLIN / ABUJA / NIAMEY / COPENHAGEN / LISBON - All Brazilians are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 under the penalty of being banned from certain public activities and spaces, the country’s top court has decided.
Ten justices of the 11-member court backed the mandatory inoculation with only one vote against in a virtual session held Thursday. The ruling is a blow to President Jair Bolsonaro, who has said he won’t get a vaccine and nobody should be forced to.
The court underscored that its decision doesn’t mean Brazilians will be taken by force to receive shots that will be offered by the government through the public health network. It will be up to governors and mayors to decide on which restrictive measures to impose on holdouts.
Bolsonaro said after the court's decision that the decision may end up being “innocuous” because the government will hardly have vaccines for all of the country's 210 million people by the end of 2021.
Bolsonaro on Thursday signed a decree allocating 20 billion reals (US$4 billion) for the purchase of vaccines and other supplies needed for a nationwide immunization drive.
The health ministry said Thursday the country's tally has risen to 7,110,434 after 69,826 new COVID-19 cases were registered. Deaths rose by 1,092 to 184,827.
The southeastern state of Sao Paulo, the country's COVID-19 epicenter, decided to start the 2021 school year in February with mandatory face-to-face classes and social distancing regulations.
Also, the Rio de Janeiro State Court ordered closure of Buzios, a tourist resort in the state, and asked all tourists to leave the site and return home in 72 hours, so that hotels and restaurants could be closed to curb the spread of the virus.
WHO
As COVID-19 infections grow across Europe, holiday season etiquette and the rising mental health crisis were the major takeaways from a press statement from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge on Friday.
Highlighting close to 23 million cases and more than half a million lost lives in Europe due to COVID-19 during the year, Kluge sought to appeal to the region's population to stay home.
"There remains a difference between what you are being permitted to do by authorities and what you should do. The safest thing right now is to stay at home," he said.
In addressing the ongoing human psychological toll of the pandemic, Kluge said "a growing mental health crisis" had been inflicted upon the European region.
"From anxieties around virus transmission, the psychological impact of lockdowns and self-isolation, to the effects of unemployment, financial worries, and social exclusion, the mental health impact of the pandemic will be long-term and far-reaching."
Further elaborating on the devastating psychological impact, Kluge cited national surveys in the region which had revealed that a third or more of adults, one in two young people (18 to 29-year-olds) and up to 20 percent of healthcare workers were already subject to anxiety and depression because of the pandemic.
Slovakia
Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic has tested positive for COVID-19, the government office said on its website Friday.
"For this reason, the prime minister has canceled all work programs," it said.
Speaker of the country's parliament Boris Kollar, who had a meeting with Matovic on Thursday, will go into quarantine for five days, according to Kollar's spokesperson.
US
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will “rapidly” work towards granting emergency approval of Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said on Thursday.
A panel of outside advisers to the FDA overwhelmingly endorsed the emergency use of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine on Thursday, virtually assuring a second option for protecting against COVID-19 for a pandemic ravaged nation.
The committee voted 20-0 with one abstention that the benefits of the vaccine outweighed its risks in people aged 18 and older.
A week ago, the same panel backed a vaccine from Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE, leading to an FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) a day later.
Following Hahn’s comments, the Financial Times reported that the FDA had decided to approve Moderna’s vaccine candidate on an emergency basis. It cited people close to the process and added that the emergency approval will be granted in coming days.
The FDA is expected to grant EUA late on Thursday or Friday.
It would provide more hope to a nation that has lost more than 300,000 lives to COVID-19 - including a one-day high of 3,580 deaths on Wednesday - while record numbers of patients threaten to overwhelm US hospitals and healthcare workers.
The number of people tested for the coronavirus as of Dec 17 totaled 224.5 million, growing by 0.8 percent compared to the same time the previous day, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.
US Vice-President Mike Pence receives a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shot at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex, in Washington, Dec 18, 2020. (ANDREW HARNIK / AP)
Vice-President Mike Pence received the coronavirus vaccine in a televised event at the White House on Friday in a bid to encourage Americans to get the shot. Pence received the first of two doses of Pfizer’s shot at an office building on the White House compound.
US President-elect Joe Biden tested negative for COVID-19 on Thursday, after an incoming White House adviser, Cedric Richmond, contracted the deadly respiratory disease, a spokeswoman for Biden said in a statement.
Richmond was not in close contact with Biden as defined by the Centers for Disease Control, spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield said.
Many US states are going to get fewer vaccine doses than originally planned, according to Washington State Governor Jay Inslee, marking what could be a significant hiccup in the effort to distribute shots to all Americans.
Next week’s allocation for Washington, the state that saw the first outbreak of the epidemic in the US, was cut by 40 percent, Inslee, a Democrat, said on Twitter. “All states are seeing similar cuts,” he said, adding the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention didn’t give the state any explanation.
J&J
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) said on Thursday it has enrolled about 45,000 participants for the first late-stage trial of its COVID-19 single-dose vaccine candidate and that it expects interim data by late-January.
J&J's study, named Ensemble, is being conducted by its unit Janssen, the drugmaker said here in a statement.
J&J also said it plans to submit an EUA application to the US FDA in February if the data from the study is safe and effective.
A separate late-stage clinical trial of an investigational COVID-19 vaccine candidate by Janssen to explore a two-dose regimen was ongoing, J&J said.
EU
Moderna Inc said the European Commission exercised an option to double its order of vaccines for COVID-19 to 160 million.
The first deliveries to European Union countries should begin early in 2021, following regulatory approval by the European Medicines Agency, Moderna said Friday. An EU advisory panel meeting is scheduled for Jan 6 and another the following week.
Sweden
Sweden, which has so far avoided a lockdown, is set to unveil new restrictions on Friday to fight the spread of the coronavirus, according to tabloid Expressen.
The Nordic country has been battered by a severe second wave of infections that’s led to rising fatalities and left intensive care wards short-staffed. In response, the Lofven government has started gradually stepping up curbs on movement.
Switzerland
Switzerland and Liechtenstein on Friday reported 4,478 new COVID-19 cases, bringing their combined tally to 403,989, according to data published by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health.
There were 120 more deaths recorded, taking the death toll to 6,003 as of Friday afternoon, the office said.
Swiss Health Minister Alain Berset will ask cabinet colleagues later Friday to close restaurants for a month to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus, two newspapers reported.
The government’s leading scientific adviser urged the immediate imposition of a strict lockdown on Tuesday, echoing calls by other scientists, officials and medical professionals.
The Tages-Anzeiger and Blick newspapers reported that Berset wanted restaurants closed from Dec 22 but faced resistance from cabinet colleagues to sweeping measures that could cripple the economy.
The Tages-Anzeiger also cited the deputy head of the drugs regulator as saying the agency was highly likely to approve a COVID-19 vaccine this month. Switzerland has ordered vaccines from Pfizer and partner BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca which are under regulatory review.
Denmark
Denmark reported 4,508 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing its total caseload to 128,321, health authorities said on Friday.
The country also reported 15 additional deaths, taking its toll to 1,007.
COVAX
A WHO-led program aimed at delivering COVID-19 vaccines to the entire world has gained access to almost 2 billion doses of future shots, including one developed by Johnson & Johnson, as it grapples with concerns about fulfilling its ambitious mission.
All the countries participating in the initiative known as COVAX will be able to receive supplies to protect vulnerable groups in the first half of 2021, its backers said Friday in a statement.
Portugal
Portugal on Thursday reported 4,320 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 362,616, said the country's Directorate-General for Health.
The death toll rose by 87 to 5,902 while the total recoveries reached 287,028.
Nigeria
Nigeria’s government said Thursday that there was indication that the country has been hit by a second wave of COVID-19 infections following a recent spike.
Later in the day, the Center for Disease Control reported that the country has confirmed 1,145 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national total to 76,207.
The death toll rose by one to 1,201.
Niger
Niger on Thursday confirmed 89 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally to 2,506, said the Ministry of Public Health.
Deaths rose by one to 84, it added.
Serbia
Serbia expects to receive first delivery of Pfizer-BioNTech shots for COVID-19 on Monday or Tuesday and will use them for elderly people in nursing homes, government says on website, citing Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar.
Germany
Germany’s health minister sees potential upside to the country’s plan to administer 11 million to 13 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the first quarter.
It’s possible that Europe will approve shots from AstraZeneca Plc or CureVac NV, or perhaps both, this winter, which would immediately add to Germany’s expected inoculations, Jens Spahn said at a press conference Friday.
The winter targets could also rise if the Pfizer-BioNTech partnership or Moderna manage to increase their production capacities, assuming Europe approves those companies’ two vaccine candidates first, Spahn said.
New COVID-19 infections in Germany increased by 33,777 within one day, passing the 30,000 mark for the first time and bringing the national total to 1.44 million, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Friday.
The death toll rose bhy 813 to 24,938, the RKI said.
Austria
Austria’s government plans to impose a third lockdown starting after the Christmas holidays until at least Jan 17, Austrian media reported.
There will be a second round of mass tests at the end of the lockdown, encouraged by restrictions for those who don’t participate, according to the reports. A first round of voluntary mass-testing was used by just around a quarter of all Austrians in December.
Austria’s 7-day incidence has dropped by two thirds since the peak on Nov 13, but is still at four times the target level of 50 per 100,000.
Spain
Spain must react right away to stop the expansion of the coronavirus pandemic given a recent change in infection trends, according to the country’s health minister.
“Spain is facing a very concerning situation with the pandemic” as the trend of infections changes in many of the country’s regions, Health Minister Salvador Illa said in a press conference Friday.
Illa said that vaccination will start in the country on Dec 27.
Spain is facing a very concerning situation with the pandemic.
Salvador Illa, Spanish health minister
Also on Friday, Spain’s Supreme Court ordered an investigation into the deaths of elderly people in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of protective gear for health workers.
Magistrates were asked to find out if deaths at nursing homes “were associated with political, administrative or management decisions and whether those decisions are criminally reproachable”.
Spain has been one of the countries in Europe hardest-hit by the pandemic, both in terms of disease and the economic impact. A total of 48,777 people have died from the coronavirus, with the toll climbing by 181 over the last 24 hours.
More than 20,000 people died of COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19 in nursing homes in Spain during the first coronavirus wave, according to preliminary official data reported by El Pais newspaper and broadcaster RTVE.
The Supreme Court also asked the lower courts to look into the possible misuse of public funds to purchase flawed or fraudulent equipment to fight the pandemic.
Ireland
Ireland on Thursday reported 484 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 77,678, the country's National Public Health Emergency Team said in a statement. It was the highest daily tally in a month.
Three additional COVID-19 deaths were recorded, taking the death toll to 2,143, according to the statement.
As of Thursday afternoon, hospitalizations stood at 200 with 31 patients in intensive care units.
Ireland is likely to bring in new coronavirus limits before year-end, Prime Minister Micheal Martin told RTE Television. Ireland had planned to tighten restrictions on Jan 6 after easing them for three weeks over Christmas.
The so-called reproduction number is now between 1.1 and 1.4, with case numbers rising steadily, he said.
The government is likely to set new restrictions on pubs and restaurants, while limits on household visits will be tightened.
Montenegro
Montenegro won’t repeat the mistake of closing its borders to curb COVID-19 because it has to resuscitate its tourism-dependent economy, the Adriatic nation’s new finance minister said.
Making up almost a quarter of the US$6 billion economy, the 90 percent plunge in tourism revenue between January and September hurt.
Montenegro has already removed all entry restrictions for residents of the European Union and dozens of other countries.
In any case, the restrictions didn’t help much in containing the coronavirus: The country of 620,000 people, a candidate for EU membership, is struggling with one of the highest number of cases per capita.
West and Central Africa
A second wave of coronavirus infections is hitting West and Central Africa, and experts are warning it could be worse than the first as cooler weather descends on a region where most countries cannot afford a vaccine.
Nigeria, Niger, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo and Democratic Republic of Congo are all at or near record levels of infection, data compiled by Reuters shows. Infections in Senegal are also rising fast.
Compared to the United States and Europe, the region has so far been spared the worst of the pandemic. West and Central African countries are reporting between dozens and a few hundred new daily cases -- still only a fraction of the more than 600,000 cases reported globally each day -- although testing rates in Africa are among the lowest in the world.
But as temperatures drop, and governments struggle to enforce months-long restrictions, some experts fear this surge will be worse than the first.
Mali reported a record 155 new cases on Dec 7, compared to fewer than 20 a month earlier. The health ministry ordered test kits a month ago, anticipating that it would need about 500 a day. They are now getting through five times that.
Mali’s government said last week that it would enforce compulsory mask wearing and strengthen screening at airports.
Many African countries lack the financial clout to secure vaccine purchase agreements with drug companies. Some could wait months if not years for access to vaccines through the World Health Organization’s COVAX program - unlike richer nations where inoculations are already underway.
The Nigerian government said Thursday that there is indication the country has been hit by a second wave of COVID-19 infections following a recent spike in the number of infections.
Speaking on behalf of Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation and chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Hadi Sirika, the minister of aviation, told a daily news conference that the latest development in the most populous African country could be "a potentially difficult phase of the COVID-19 resurgence."
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the African continent has reached 2,429,662 as of Thursday afternoon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.
The continental disease control and prevention agency said in a statement that the death toll related to the pandemic stood at 57,422, while a total of 2,057,104 people infected with COVID-19 have recovered across the continent.
Russia
Russia recorded 28,552 more COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, slightly up from 28,214 a day earlier, the country's COVID-19 response center said Friday.
The national tally of COVID-19 cases has increased to 2,791,220, including 49,762 deaths and 2,228,633 recoveries, the center said.
Moscow, the country's worst-hit region, reported 6,937 new cases over the past day, bringing the city's total to 722,178.
Over 84.9 million COVID-19 tests have been conducted across the country.
The country is close to completing clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine for domestic animals and mink and expects to begin the regulatory approval process in February, according to Russia’s agricultural safety watchdog.
The Federal Centre for Animal Health began developing the vaccine in spring after the authorities established the virus could be passed from humans onto some domestic animals.
ALSO READ: Virus: Macron tests positive, forcing leaders to self-isolate
UK
The rate of coronavirus infection in England rose to one in 95 people from 1 in 115 a week earlier, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday. While the pace of new cases is falling in Yorkshire and the Humber, it is rising in London, east of England, East Midlands and the South East.
The United Kingdom recorded its highest daily increase of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, in part because Wales added thousands of previously unreported infections.
A further 35,383 new cases were reported, about 11,000 of them as a result of “system maintenance in the NHS Wales Laboratory Information Management System.”
Even without the additional cases, the number is a worrying sign that the UK hasn’t fully controlled its second outbreak, with the seven-day rolling average steadily creeping higher. Earlier on Thursday more areas of England were moved to the nation’s highest level of coronavirus restrictions.
France
France is unlikely to return to normal post-coronavirus life before autumn next year as it could take longer than initially envisioned to role out vaccines, a senior government scientific adviser said on Friday.
“The production of vaccines will be slower than envisioned 15 days or three weeks ago,” immunologist Jean-François Delfraissy told BFM television. “We will not face a vaccine shortfall but we will have something that is more spread out over time.”
Delfraissy estimated there were 22 million people in France more vulnerable than others and that it could take until May to vaccinate them all, before shots could be rolled out to others.
France’s coronavirus situation is worrying as the number of new cases is rising again after a November decline and the year-end holiday period will increase infection risk, the country’s director general of health said.
“We know we have a two-week risk period ahead of us, this being the festive period,” Jerome Salomon said in a briefing on Thursday.
France registered 18,254 new COVID-19 cases over 24 hours, the most since Nov 20. The rolling seven-day average of cases, which smooths out fluctuations over a week, jumped 5.3 percent to 12,764, back to levels last seen at the end of November.
Hours after being tested positive for COVID-19 after what an official described as “mild symptoms,” Macron, 42, took part in a conference about development aid via video, from isolation. His 67-year-old wife Brigitte tested negative on Thursday.
Macron is suffering from a cough, fever and fatigue, an official in his office said. Macron will isolate and work in a state residence known as “la Lanterne” in Versailles, while his wife will remain at the Elysee Palace.
Pfizer
Pfizer Inc said it has shipped all 2.9 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine that the US government ordered this week and that it has millions more doses sitting in warehouses awaiting instructions for where to ship.
Some governors have complained this week that their allocations of Pfizer’s vaccine are less than what they had expected. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has said Pfizer is experiencing production issues, an assertion that Pfizer rejected. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar made similar claims in a briefing Wednesday.
Pfizer Inc and US drug regulators are revising information for use and monitoring of the company’s Covid-19 vaccine developed with BioNTech SE after rare allergic reactions were seen in some recipients.
The revisions reflect guidelines from the CDC for following vaccine recipients and managing potential reactions, Doran Fink, deputy director of FDA’s division of vaccines and related products applications, said Thursday in a meeting of FDA advisers.
Poland
Poland confirmed on Thursday 11,953 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country's total caseload to 1,171,854, according to the country's health ministry.
The ministry also announced 431 new deaths from the virus, raising the national death toll to 24,345.
EU
The European Union (EU) will start vaccination for COVID-19 after Christmas, the bloc's executive chief Ursula von der Leyen announced on Thursday.
"It's Europe's moment. On 27, 28 and 29 December vaccination will start across the EU," von der Leyen tweeted.
The announcement came two days after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) decided to bring forward a meeting to conclude its assessment of the vaccine jointly developed by Germany's BioNTech and America's Pfizer.
Rwanda
The Rwandan Health Ministry has permitted selected private clinics to carry out COVID-19 rapid antigen tests in order to ease public access to voluntary testing, an official said Thursday.
"A total of 42 private clinics were accredited to start COVID-19 tests using rapid antigen tests. This will ease access to testing services for more citizens," Edson Rwagasore, Epidemic Surveillance Response Division manager at the Rwanda Biomedical Center, told a news briefing in the capital city of Kigali.
Assuring the public about the accuracy of the tests, Rwagasore said the move would ease access to testing services for people requiring test results to participate in various activities.
The official, however, noted that the rapid test is not recommended for travellers in need of COVID-19 negative result certificate.
The results can be provided within 15 minutes, much faster than the molecular test whose results are provided in more than 6 hours, he said.
Rwanda Thursday reported 78 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the national count to 7,032, with 6,089 recoveries and 57 deaths.
Ecuador
Ecuador confirmed 788 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking its national total to 204,249, the country's ministry of public health said Thursday.
The ministry said that 13 more patients have died, raising the national death toll to 9,386.
The actual death toll may be closer to 14,000, because another 4,546 deaths are suspected of being coronavirus-related, it said.
Chile
Chile on Thursday reported 1,998 daily cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, one of the highest figures this month, and an 11 percent increase in new daily cases last week nationwide.
"The situation in the southern regions, particularly Magallanes, Los Rios and Biobio continues to be of great concern," Deputy Health Minister Paula Daza said at a press conference.
Infections in the Metropolitan region, where the capital is located, rose 10 percent in a week, leading Daza to call on the public to respect self-care measures, especially in this month of Christmas and New Year.
"Let's avoid social gatherings in closed spaces with large groups. Let's try to keep groups small and in the open air, and avoid places where there are crowds," said Daza at a time when holiday shoppers are seen flocking to shopping centers.
According to the latest pandemic report, the number of people diagnosed with COVID-19 since March rose to 578,732, while the death toll reached 16,007.
READ MORE: Merkel ties pandemic exit to immunization rates of over 60%
Canada
COVID-19 continues rampaging in Canada, resulting in 486,393 cases and 13,865 deaths as of Thursday afternoon, according to CTV.
Ontario, Canada's most populous province, reported 2,432 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, the highest number of cases recorded in a single day since the start of the pandemic in the country.
Thursday marked the third straight day in which the province logged more than 2,000 cases of the novel coronavirus.
The Ontario Hospital Association called for a four-week lockdown in every public health unit where there is an infection rate of 40 per 100,000 people or higher.
There are 75,885 active cases across the country with a daily average of 6,614 new cases reported in the past seven days, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada on Thursday.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria's current COVID-19 restrictions, scheduled to end on Dec 21, will continue with some tweaks until Jan 31, 2021, the government's information service informed after a working meeting of ministers on Thursday.
Night clubs, gambling halls, sports halls, restaurants and shopping malls will remain closed. Theaters, museums, art galleries and cinemas will open at 30 percent of their capacity from Jan 1. First- to fourth-graders will resume in-person classes and kindergartens and nurseries will open from Jan 4.
The current restrictions have been in place since Nov 27.
The Health Ministry on Thursday reported 1,959 new COVID-19 cases and 191 deaths over the past 24 hours, taking the national totals to 186,246 infections and 6,196 fatalities.
Peru
Peru confirmed 2,061 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, taking its total caseload to 991,518 as of 10 pm Wednesday local time (0300 GMT Thursday), according to the country's health ministry.
The ministry also reported 43 more deaths from the virus, raising the total death toll to 36,901.
Uruguay
Uruguay registered 547 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, raising the national tally to 11,436, the country's health ministry reported on Thursday.
The ministry said that three more patients died of the disease, bringing the nationwide death toll to 105.
Meanwhile, 7,406 patients have so far recovered in the country.
Mexico
Mexico reported 11,799 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 718 relevant deaths on Thursday, bringing the national caseload to 1,289,298 and death toll to 116,487, according to the country's health ministry.
A total of 953,762 patients have so far recovered from the disease.
According to the Mexican government, the real number of infections is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.
Mexico ranks fourth among Latin American countries in terms of documented COVID-19 cases, following Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.
Argentina
Argentina registered 7,326 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, raising the national tally to 1,524,372, the ministry of health reported on Thursday.
The ministry said that 169 more patients died of the disease, bringing the nationwide death toll to 41,534.
Meanwhile, 1,352,556 patients have so far recovered in the country.
Comments by Russia's President Vladimir Putin signaling caution about Russia’s coronavirus vaccine reverberated in Argentina, where the government plans to use it on priority groups, including the elderly. Argentina will await the final results before importing the vaccines by plane to Buenos Aires, said a person familiar with the matter.
Putin, 68, expressed caution about taking the Sputnik V vaccine, saying at a news conference earlier Thursday that it hasn’t been fully tested on people his age.
Belgium
Belgium on Friday registered 3,146 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing its national tally to 618,204, the public health institute Sciensano reported.
It also reported 93 new deaths, taking the country's death toll from the disease to 18,371.
Colombia
Colombia reported 12,196 new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours, bringing the nationwide tally to 1,468,795, the country's health authorities said Thursday.
The country also reported 227 more deaths, raising its total death toll to 39,787.
Meanwhile, 1,343,819 people have recovered so far, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection said in an update.
Bolivia
Bolivia registered on Friday 451 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing its national count to 148,665, said the ministry of health.
Meanwhile, it reported two more coronavirus-related deaths, taking the national death toll to 9,031.
Minister of Economy Marcelo Montenegro said earlier that the government is working on a series of strategies to avoid measures that would harm economic recovery.
Honduras
Honduras added 157 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 115,474, the health ministry tweeted Friday on its official account.
The country also reported eight more deaths from the disease, taking the national death toll to 3,021, the ministry said.
Panama
Panama confirmed 3,348 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing its nationwide tally to 203,295, the Ministry of Health reported.
The country also reported 42 new deaths from the virus, taking its total death count to 3,481.
South Africa
South Africa’s main opposition party will file a complaint against Finance Minister Tito Mboweni for allegedly misleading the legislature about the country’s payment to sign up to the global COVAX program, which is to procure and distribute COVID-19 vaccines.
The Democratic Alliance will submit the complaint to parliament’s ethics committee after Mboweni told lawmakers that the government would make a down payment to COVAX by Dec 15, party leader John Steenhuisen told reporters in Cape Town on Friday.
The party has also made a legal request for government to give full disclosure on its plans to store and distribute any COVID-19 vaccines, Steenhuisen said.
The country on Thursday reported 9,126 new coronavirus cases, taking the national tally to 892,813, the country's health department reported.
Meanwhile, 184 more COVID-19 deaths were recorded, taking the country's death toll from the disease to 24,011.
COVID-19 took a huge toll on South Africa's education system as 1,493 teachers succumbed to the virus this year, said Basic Education Minister Angie Motshega on Thursday.
The Czech Republic
The Czech Republic reported 7,590 new COVID-19 cases over the past day, taking its total caseload to 610,006, the country's health ministry said Friday.
Meanwhile, the ministry reported 53 new deaths, bringing the total death toll to 10,163.
Malta
Malta will start a vaccination program against the COVID-19 virus on Dec 27, local media reported Friday.
The inoculation, which was previously set to start on Jan. 7, has been rescheduled to begin the same day as other European Union countries, Health Minister Chris Fearne told local newspaper Times of Malta.
Fearne's remarks came a day after the EU announced that it will kick off inoculation on Dec. 27 across member states.
Meanwhile, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will convene on Monday to evaluate the vaccine jointly developed by Germany's BioNTech and America's Pfizer.
Croatia
Croatia recorded 3,918 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total confirmed cases to 186,963, said the Croatian Institute of Public Health on Thursday.
The disease has killed 2,955 people in the country, including 85 in the past 24 hours.
To date, a total of 920,509 people have been tested, 12,294 of them in the past 24 hours.
Travel between counties will be banned, and private gatherings will be limited to 10 people from maximum two households, Croatia’s Deputy Prime Minister Davor Bozinovic told reporters in Zagreb.
