A pharmacy technician prepares a Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at a University Hospital Network (UHN) vaccination clinic in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Dec 15, 2020. (PHOTO / BlOOMBERG)

LONDON / ROME / WASHINGTON / ADDIS ABABA / SANTIAGO / BUENOS AIRES / QUITO / ABUJA / LILONGWE / LISBON / SAO PAULO / HARARE / NIAMEY / ACCRA / BERLIN / ALGIERS / WARSAW / BRUSSELS / KIEV / MINSK / OTTAWA / LA PAZ / TEGUCIGALPA / MEXICO CITY / MOSCOW / OSLO / PARIS / TBILISI / WARSAW / BUCHAREST / VIENNA / BRATISLAVA / BUDAPEST - Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE’s COVID-19 vaccine won the backing of a key European review panel, clearing the way for inoculations to start before the end of the year as the continent struggles with rising death rates and tighter lockdowns.

The endorsement was announced in a news briefing by the European Medicines Agency on Monday. The final step in approval is a sign-off from the European Commission.

The endorsement was announced in a news briefing by the European Medicines Agency on Monday. The final step in approval is a sign-off from the European Commission

European Union leaders pushed the regulator to speed up its review amid complaints that residents across the continent were still waiting to get a vaccine -- pioneered in Germany -- that is already being used in the UK and US. The goal is to start a European immunization campaign on Dec 27, commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last week.

Monday’s recommendation puts the EU in position to meet that timeline. The commission last week signaled it would give the official go-ahead for distribution to start no later than two days after the agency’s sign-off.

Just as Europe prepares to roll out the first vaccine, countries are suspending travel links to the UK amid an effort to contain a variant of the coronavirus that officials say is spreading quickly across London and southeast England.

Unlike the US and UK, which conducted emergency authorizations, the EMA reviewed the vaccine for a conditional marketing authorization. Such a decision requires more evidence, the EU commission’s directorate-general for health said last week. The EMA committee is also reviewing a similar vaccine from Moderna Inc, with a key meeting set for Jan 6.

WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with scientists in the United Kingdom to understand if a new coronavirus variant reported there spreads easier, causes more severe illness and evades the antibody response generated by vaccination, Maria van Kerkhove, the agency’s technical lead on COVID-19, told BBC Sunday.

“What they’re working on is to understand if it is the variant itself that is causing its ability to spread more easily, or if it’s a combination of behavioral factors of individuals,” Van Kerkhove said. “So far, the information that they have shared with us is that it doesn’t have any impact on the vaccines and it doesn’t seem to cause any difference in clinical picture or it doesn’t seem to cause more severe disease.”

It could take days or more than a week to find out the virus mutation’s response to vaccines as experiments need to be done, but there are currently no indications that the shots won’t work, according to Soumya Swaminathan, the WHO's chief scientist.

ALSO READ: UK's Hancock says new COVID-19 mutation 'out of control’

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said preliminary analysis in the UK indicates that the coronavirus varient “is significantly more transmissible than previously circulating variants,” with an estimated increased transmissibility of up to 70 percent. 

“There is no indication at this point of increased infection severity associated with the new variant,” ECDC said in a brief risk assessment report.

France

French President Emmanuel Macron was still displaying some coronavirus symptoms but his overall condition was stable, government spokesman Gabriel Attal told reporters on Monday.

Macron, 43, has tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and has gone into quarantine at the presidential retreat of La Lanterne, close to the Palace of Versailles.

France needs to step up its vigilance regarding the COVID-19 situation in the country, given the emergence of a new strain of the virus in the United Kingdom, Macron said on Monday.

France’s deaths linked to COVID-19 rose by 131 to 60,549 on Sunday, the smallest increase since Oct 25. 

The country registered 12,799 new cases, with the pace of infections increasing for the fifth straight day. 

Hospitalizations and patients in intensive care increased, after falling for most of the past week.

This photo shows a deserted Regent Street in London on Dec 20, 2020, after British Prime Ministr Boris Johnson introduced Tier 4 restrictions for the city and the south east of the country. (STEFAN ROUSSEAU / PA VIA AP)

UK

Britain’s European neighbours began closing their doors to travelers from the United Kingdom on Sunday amid alarm about a rapidly spreading strain of coronavirus that has caused cases to soar there.

France said it would bar all people coming from the United Kingdom for 48 hours from Sunday night, including freight carriers, whether by road, air, sea or rail.

Germany, Italy and the Netherlands ordered a suspension of flights from Britain, while Ireland said it would impose restrictions on flights and ferries from its neighbour.

The number of coronavirus cases in Britain surged by 35,928 on Sunday, the highest daily rise since the start of the pandemic, and it recorded 326 deaths, taking the official toll to more than 67,000

ALSO READ: Saudi Arabia suspends international flights over mutant virus

The crisis prompted Prime Minister Boris Johnson to convene a meeting of the government’s emergency committee on Monday in a bid to keep goods flowing. Further meetings were happening Sunday evening and Monday morning “to ensure robust plans are in place,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement.

The number of coronavirus cases in Britain surged by 35,928 on Sunday, the highest daily rise since the start of the pandemic, and it recorded 326 deaths, taking the official toll to more than 67,000.

London and southeast England may stay under tighter curbs for some time until vaccinations become more widely available, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock suggested on Sunday. 

Meanwhile, Hancock criticized people who fled London before the new Tier Four lockdown came into force in the day as "totally irresponsible", the London-based Evening Standard newspaper reported. Hancock made the remarks after millions of people in London and the southeast were forced to tear up their Christmas plans due to the new tighter coronavirus restrictions.

Austria

Austria reported on Monday 1,519 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country's total caseload to 340,373, according to data published by the Austrian Interior Ministry.

To date, the country's total COVID-19 death toll reached 5,435, while 305,658  have recovered in total, said the ministry.

Travelers wait for trains on the concourse at King's Cross station in central London, Britain, Dec 20, 2020. (VICTORIA JONES / PA VIA AP)

Italy

The first case of new coronavirus strain was officially registered in Italy in a person recently returned from Britain, the Italian Health Ministry said on Monday.

In a statement, the ministry said the new variation of the virus first detected in the United Kingdom (UK) was sequenced at Celio military hospital in the Italian capital.

"The Scientific Department of Celio Military Polyclinic, cooperating with the National Health Institute (ISS) in this emergency, has sequenced the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 from a subject who tested positive for the virus variation found in Britain in recent weeks," it said.

The ministry said the patient and her partner, who had returned from the UK in the last few days with a flight landed at Fiumicino airport in Rome, were in isolation, along with their family members and close contacts.

The patient is a 25-year-old woman, and her British partner has tested positive for COVID-19, but not for the new virus strain so far, according to Ansa news agency quoting medical sources.

Both patients are asymptomatic, although the woman showed a high viral load, Ansa added.

Intergovernmental Authority on Development

Leaders of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc, urged the international community to come together to ensure fair, equitable and timely distribution of COVID-19 vaccine, with particular emphasis given to addressing the needs of African countries.

They made the urgent call during the 38th Extraordinary Assembly of IGAD Heads of State and Government, which was held on late Sunday in Djibouti.

"Noting that the COVID-19 vaccine is a public good, the Summit emphasized the need for the international community to come together to ensure fair, equitable and timely distribution of a safe and affordable COVID-19 vaccine and guarantee that African countries shall not be left behind," a joint communique says.

US

US congressional leaders reached agreement on Sunday on a US$900 billion package to provide the first new aid in months to an economy and individuals battered by the surging coronavirus pandemic, with votes likely on Monday.

President Donald Trump supports the bill and will sign it into law, White House spokesman Ben Williamson said.

The package would be the second-largest economic stimulus in US history, following a US$2.3 trillion aid bill passed in March. It comes as the pandemic accelerates, infecting more than 214,000 people in the country each day. Over 17.8 million Americans have been infected and more than 317,000 have already died.

The US has administered more than half a million COVID-19 vaccine doses in the first week of the country’s mass inoculation campaign, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Sunday. The shots, made by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE, are being distributed mostly to frontline healthcare workers around the country. 

Immunizations with Moderna's shot are likely to begin Monday morning, said Moncef Slaoui, head of the US government’s vaccine drive. 

When asked when the US could achieve herd immunity, Slaoui said “I hope in May or June.”

Meanwhile, a member of the White House virus task force, Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir, said that the US does not need to suspend flights from the UK because of a new variant of the virus.

Georgia

Georgia reported 824 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing its total to 209,462, the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC) said.

Among the new cases, 333 were confirmed in the capital city of Tbilisi, said the center, which added as of Monday, 184,668 patients have recovered, while 2,140 have died.

Global tally

Coronavirus cases worldwide have surpassed 76.8 million while the global death toll topped 1.69 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Boxes containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are prepared to be shipped at the McKesson distribution center in Olive Branch, Mississippi, the United States, Dec 20, 2020. (PAUL SANCYA / POOL / AP)

Colombia

Colombia’s capital Bogota will return to partial mobility restrictions where citizens are only allowed to buy staples, go to restaurants, shopping malls, among other spots, depending on the last digit of their ID, Mayor Claudia López said in a video posted on Twitter. The new measures will take place from Monday.

Poland

Poland does not plan to introduce quarantine for people crossing land borders from the European Union, a government spokesman said on Monday, but flights from Britain to Poland will be suspended from midnight on Monday until further notice.

“We do not plan to introduce border quarantine with other EU countries,” Piotr Muller told reporters.

Poland confirmed on Sunday 4,633  new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country's total caseload to 1,207,333, according to the country's health ministry.

The ministry also reported 77 new deaths from the virus, raising the national death toll to 25,474.

The Polish government announced on Thursday a nationwide lockdown from Dec 28 to Jan 17 in an effort to contain the COVID-19 epidemic.

Romania

Romania reported on Monday 2,489 new COVID-19 cases, bringing its total infections to 593,783, according to official statistics.

The country also reported 87 new deaths from the virus, and the total death toll now stands at 14,481, according to the official novel coronavirus communication task force.

Canada

Canada surpassed 500,000 COVID-19 cases, with infections in Ontario and Quebec, the two most populous provinces, running close to the highest levels on record. 

The country reported on Sunday 6,203 new COVID-19 cases over the past day, taking the tally to 507,795, according to data published by the Public Health Agency.

Another 74 deaths were also reported, raising the death toll to 14,228 as of Sunday evening, the agency added.

Africa tally

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases recorded across the African continent reached 2,490,397 as of Sunday afternoon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The death toll stood at 58,762 while a total of 2,094,336 have recovered, it added.

READ MORE: COVID-19: S. Africa identifies new strain causing surge in cases

Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Ministry of Health said on Sunday evening that the country's total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has reached 119,951 after 457 new cases were reported.

According to the ministry, the death toll rose to 1,853 after seven more deaths were recorded.

The ministry said that some 102,980 patients had recovered, including another 827 registered in the last 24-hour period.

Ecuador

Ecuador reported 337 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, pushing its tally to 206,257, the Ministry of Public Health said Sunday.

The death toll remained at 9,400 as no additional deaths were reported, it said.

The ministry added that all 24 Ecuadorian provinces continued to see an increase in infections, with the provinces of Azuay, Carchi, Galapagos, Morona Santiago, and Pichincha reporting a greater increase compared to the previous week.

Chile

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera announced on Sunday that a vaccination program will begin next week.

"We hope to start the vaccination process next week, and we are going to start with the people who have been on the front lines in critical units caring for critical patients," the president said, adding that "we are going to continue with the elderly, the chronically ill, the people who are deployed fighting COVID-19".

According to Pinera, the country has so far reported 585,545 cases.

Nigeria

Nigeria on Sunday confirmed 501 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the nation's tally to 78,434, said the country's Center for Disease Control.

The death toll stood at 1,221.

Hungary

Hungary on Monday registered 2,141 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the national tally to 305,130, according to the government's coronavirus information website.

Over the last 24 hours, 183 people died of COVID-19, raising the death toll to  8,282, according to the same source. 

Malawi  

Malawi on Sunday confirmed eight new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 6,161, the health ministry announced.

It added that the death toll remained at 187 as no additional deaths were reported.

Zimbabwe 

Zimbabwe on Sunday confirmed 174 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national total to 12,325, said the country's health ministry.

Two newly reported deaths took the death toll to 320, the ministry said.

Brazil

Brazil's health ministry on Sunday reported 408 deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 186,764.

In the same period, another 25,445 cases were registered, bringing the tally to 7,238,600. 

One of those who died on Sunday from COVID-19 was 87-year-old actress Nicette Bruno. Bruno was one of the pioneers in television soap operas in Brazil.

Also on Sunday, health inspection agents closed nine places where parties were held, including one in the municipality of Foz do Iguacu, in Parana state, where at least 600 people gathered in violation of official regulations against large events, local authorities reported.

Niger

Niger on Sunday confirmed 47 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the national total to 2,659, said the Ministry of Public Health.

One additional death was reported, taking the toll to 87.

Ghana

Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said late Sunday that preparations were in place to secure COVID-19 vaccines for the country's population.

In his national COVID-19 broadcast, Akufo-Addo said he had put together a team of experts to work out a program for purchasing the vaccines now in use in some countries. He added that the government "will ensure that the COVID-19 vaccines to be deployed in the country are effective and are safe".

The president said that the cluster of cases in the country were due to indoor spaces with poor ventilation, congested workplaces, factories, schools, parties, and arriving passengers "at our airports."

The West African country has lost 333 lives to the pandemic from 53,954 infections as of Sunday, according to Akufo-Addo.

He urged citizens to continue observing the pandemic safety protocols during Christmas to avert any mass infections resulting from related celebrations. 

Portugal

Portugal on Sunday reported 3,334 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the country's tally to 374,121, said the country's Directorate-General for Health.

Another 71 newly reported deaths took the death toll to 6,134, while the total number of recoveries rose to 297,233. 

A Santa Claus wearing a face mask waits for people to take photos at a Christmas set, in Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, on Dec 20, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic. (ULISES RUIZ / AFP)

Mexico

Mexico’s health ministry on Sunday reported 6,870 newly confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 326 more fatalities, bringing the country’s totals to 1,320,545 cases and 118,202 deaths.

Algeria

Algeria will begin a vaccination program against COVID-19 in January 2021, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on Sunday.

"I ordered prime minister to hold a meeting with the scientific committee in charge of monitoring the pandemic development, in a bid to select the best anti-COVID-19 vaccine ahead of starting the vaccination operation in January 2021," Tebboune said in a statement on his official Twitter account.

Last week, Health Minister Abderrahmane Benbouzid told reporters that the recommended coronavirus vaccine "will be free for all" in the country.

Algeria reported Sunday 422 new infections, another 391 recoveries and seven more deaths, Djamel Fourar, spokesman of the committee, announced in his daily briefing.

The overall tally stood at 95,203, including 2,666 deaths and 63,260 recoveries, Fourar said. 

Germany

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Germany rose by 16,643 to 1,510,652, data from the Robert Koch Institute showed on Monday.

The institute also reported 226 additional deaths, taking the death toll to 26,275.

A German government spokesperson announced on Sunday that Germany planned to limit travel to the South Africa as well over fears of a new virus strain.

Government spokesperson Martina Fietz made the announcement via Twitter, in which he said travel to the UK would also be restricted. 

The spread of the virus variant could be a coincidence. The mutations do not necessarily give the virus a selection advantage, even if that is possible, a leading German virologist Christian Drosten tweeted on the same day.

Ukraine

A total of 964,448 COVID-19 cases and 16,585 deaths have been registered in Ukraine, while 581,162 patients have recovered, the country's health ministry said Sunday.

In the past 24 hours, 8,325 new infections and 116 deaths were registered, the ministry said.

As of Sunday, a total of 100,450 COVID-19 cases and 1,713 deaths have been registered in Kiev, Ukraine's capital city, while 32,175 Kyivites have recovered, Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said in his Telegram channel.  

Belarus

Belarus reported 1,944 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, taking its tally to 173,523, according to the health ministry.

The number of recoveries rose by 2,282 to 151,635, while the death toll climbed by eight to 1,324, according to the ministry.

Belgium

Belgium on Monday registered 2,170 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing its tally to 625,930, the public health institute Sciensano reported.

It also reported 81 more deaths, taking the death toll to 18,626.

Bolivia

Bolivia's Health Ministry on Sunday night reported 253 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country's caseload to 150,023.

It also reported one more coronavirus-related death and 154 new recoveries.

Honduras

Honduras added 162 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 117,022, the health ministry tweeted Sunday on its official account.

The country also reported two more deaths from the disease, taking the death toll to 3,027, the ministry said.

Kenya

Members of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union withdrew their services starting Monday after eight months of talks between the state and the union failed to resolve issues concerning their welfare and safety.

Doctors are protesting “no provision of medical insurance, workman-injury benefits and compensation and lack of adequate quality PPEs,” the union said in a statement on Twitter. “Health care workers have died and are now facing threats of sacking for protesting.”

Efforts by lawmakers to mediate the stalemate between the health workers’ unions and the government failed and the strike is likely to slow the fight against the coronavirus in the East African nation, which has 94,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,639 fatalities as at Dec 20, according to the Ministry of Health data.

Russia

Russia registered 29,350 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the highest daily tally to date, the country's COVID-19 response center said Monday.

In total, the country has registered 2,877,727 confirmed cases, making its caseload the fourth highest in the world.

Meanwhile, 493 additional deaths were reported, taking the toll to 51,351.

Moscow, the country's worst-hit region, reported 7,797 new cases, taking its tally of infections to 743,697, the response center said.

According to the center, another 19,705 patients have recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 2,295,362.

Slovakia

Slovakia reported 1,219 new COVID-19 cases and 63 more deaths, according to official data from the government website on Monday.

The total caseload in the country has reached 152,555, with the total death toll at 1,618 and total recoveries at 109,807, according to official statistics.