This photo shows pedestrians wearing face masks walking on Oxford Street in London on Dec 26, 2020. (KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH / AP)

PARIS / BRASILIA / RIO DE JANEIRO / OTTAWA / CAPE TOWN / LONDON / MADRID / ROME  /WASHINGTON / PANAMA CITY / BERLIN / ADDIS ABABA / CAIRO / COPENHAGEN / CARACAS / BOGOTA / BUENOS AIRES / UNITED NATIONS / MADRID / MOSCOW / KIGALI - Germany is pushing to ramp up production of COVID-19 vaccines as Europe faces pressure to close the gap with Britain and the US in a bid to end the pandemic.

With inoculations gradually getting started across the region, authorities are concerned the slow pace of the rollout could force longer lockdowns and cause more economic damage for months to come. Across Europe, more than 400,000 people have died from the virus, which has infected 16.2 million and continues to spread.

“We’re working intensely on having additional production here in Germany soon,” Jens Spahn, the country’s health minister, said Monday on ZDF television, adding that more capacity could be available at a facility in Marburg as soon as February. “That would increase the amount considerably.”

Less than a week after the European Union cleared a shot developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, the sense of urgency has grown amid concerns about a faster-spreading strain that emerged in the UK and has been found in Spain and elsewhere in Europe.

Like other European countries, Italy started its vaccination campaign on Sunday, administering a shot to health workers. The country is now seeking to speed up the process of inoculating the bulk of the population, which will take months, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said in an interview with La Stampa.

ALSO READ: Europe starts massive, coordinated vaccination program

In Germany, the campaign faced delays in several cities after a temperature tracker showed that about 1,000 shots may not have been kept cold enough during transit. The Bavarian cities of Coburg, Lichtenfels, Kronach, Kulmbach, Bayreuth, Hof and Wunsiedel were all affected, according to a statement posted on the Lichtenfels website. 

Some German districts will not use the COVID-19 vaccine received over the weekend on the suspicion that the cold chain could have been interrupted during its delivery, a district administrators told Reuters TV.

In France, the mayor of Nancy called on the government to prioritize vaccinations in the eastern part of the country, where COVID-19 cases are surging again.

While inoculations offer a way out of the pandemic, bottlenecks have disrupted distribution. In Spain, vaccines were held up by a logistic problem in Belgium and will be delayed until Tuesday.

To speed up the rollout, a debate has emerged about breaking BioNTech’s license or sharing it with other manufacturers. Spahn dismissed the proposal in favor of boosting existing capacity, saying more suppliers wouldn’t speed things up because production is complicated and requires preparation.

Europe had launched a mass COVID-19 vaccination drive with pensioners and medics lining up to get the first shots.

The European Union is due to receive 12.5 million doses by the end of the year, enough to vaccinate 6.25 million people based on the two-dose regimen. 

The vaccination drive is all the more urgent because of the concern around the new variants of the virus.

Global tally

Coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 80.8 million while the global death toll exceeded 1.76 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

UK

The United Kingdom is poised to approve the vaccine produced by AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford, giving the country another powerful tool to fight the pandemic as concern mounts over rising infections. 

Britain’s drug regulator could clear the shot for use as early as this week, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. 

The approval of the vaccine could accelerate the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said

The approval could accelerate the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said on Monday. He said that the independent regulator had to assess the vaccine, but if it was approved there would be a “significant increase” in vaccine available. 

ALSO READ: Despite hi-tech advances, many Europeans wary of taking shot

Meanwhile, Gove also said that Britain was planning a staggered return for secondary school pupils after the Christmas holidays, but that is under review in the face of a spread in a new variant of the coronavirus.

Gove said the current plan was that students doing GCSEs and A-levels this year and the children of key workers would return to school next week, with other secondary school students returning the following week. But he said that this could be changed.

According to official figures released Sunday, the UK has registered 30,501 new COVID-19 infections and 316 deaths, bringing the tally to 2,288,345 and the death toll to 70,752.

The latest figures were revealed as scientists from the British government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) urged all regions of England to be placed in highest Tier Four restrictions.

The group also said that an emergency plan should be introduced to enable safe education in January and February as the mutated coronavirus strain in Britain seemed to be infectious among children.

Georgia 

Georgia reported 538 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing its total to 222,143.

Among the new cases, 257 were confirmed in the capital city of Tbilisi, the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC) said.

As of Monday, 206,313 of the 222,143 patients have recovered, while 2,418 others have died, said the center.

Sweden

The Swedish government will have the power to close shopping centres and public transport from Jan. 10 and fine people who break the rules,under a new law proposed on Monday to help halt the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Up to now, Sweden has relied mainly on voluntary social distancing measures, setting it apart from most other countries in Europe where enforced lockdowns have been used to fight the COVID-19 virus.

A box of some of the the first Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccines arrive at a nursing home in Madrid, Spain, Dec 27. 2020. (PAUL WHITE / AP)

Brazil

Brazilian Vice-President Hamilton Mourão has tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said on Sunday, when the country registered 344 new COVID-19 deaths.

Mourão, President Jair Bolsonaro’s deputy, is the latest in a long line of senior Brazilian officials to contract the virus. Bolsonaro, a prominent coronavirus skeptic, was infected in July, and recovered.

In a statement, Mourão’s office said he tested positive on Sunday afternoon, and that he will isolate in Jaburu, his official residence.

Separately, Brazil’s health ministry on Sunday reported that Brazil registered 344 new COVID-19 deaths, and 18,479 fresh coronavirus cases.

Brazil now has nearly 7.5 million confirmed cases, and a total of 191,139 deaths from the virus since the outbreak began, according to the health ministry figures.

Venezuela

The economic blockade imposed by Washington is preventing Venezuela from funding the COVAX initiative led by the World Health Organization, Venezuelan Minister of Health Carlos Alvarado said on Sunday.

The official said Venezuela offered "to place US$18 million into the COVAX fund," but as a result of the blockade, the country has not "been able to free those resources to pay the fund".

He added that the US sanctions have affected other vaccination programs previously conducted through the Pan American Health Organization revolving fund.

"We have not been able to pay the revolving fund, therefore, we have not been able to buy vaccines through that fund," said Alvarado.

As a result of the US sanctions, the country has had vaccination failures for at least two and a half years, the minister said. 

Canada

Canada confirmed two more COVID-19 variant cases Sunday evening, bringing the country's total variant cases to four.

One case was discovered in British Columbia province and the other in Ontario province, according to public health authorities in the two provinces Sunday.

On Saturday, Canada confirmed two cases of the variant in Durham region in Ontario province. 

Canada's COVID-19 cases surpassed 550,000, with the total hitting 552,020, including 14,963 deaths, as of Sunday afternoon, according to CTV.

France

President Emmanuel Macron and some senior cabinet ministers will review the COVID-19 situation on Wednesday, the Elysee said on Monday, amid another surge in cases that has spurred fears of a third lockdown in France.

The European Union rolled out a massive COVID-19 vaccination drive on Sunday to try to rein in a pandemic that has crippled economies worldwide and claimed more than 1.7 million lives.

The French health ministry reported 8,822 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours on Sunday, sharply up from Saturday’s 3,093 as the country, in unison with most of the EU, started its vaccination program.

France’s cumulative total of cases now stands at 2,559,686, the fifth highest in the world.

The seven-day moving average of new infections, which averages out weekly data reporting irregularities, stands at 12,333, an 11-day low.

The death toll was up by 173, at 62,746.

US

The United States has witnessed more COVID-19 deaths in December than in any other months since the outbreak of the pandemic, according to a latest report of The COVID Tracking Project.

"December is already the deadliest month since the beginning of the pandemic in the United States," reads a weekly report of the tracking project.

The report came as the country continues to see surges in cases, deaths and hospitalizations nationwide.

Total COVID-19 deaths in December stood at 63,526 as of Saturday, with a seven-day average of 2,219 daily deaths, according to the tracking project. Currently, there are more than 117,300 people hospitalized with COVID-19.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 19 million on Sunday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

US COVID-19 case count rose to 19,000,572, with a total of 332,145 deaths, as of 11:22 am local time (1622 GMT), according to the CSSE tally.

READ MORE: Trump signs virus aid, spending bill, averting govt shutdown

Panama 

Panama will extend lockdowns in two provinces, including the capital, from Jan 4 - 14 in an effort to contain a jump in coronavirus cases in the heavily populated areas, the health minister said on Sunday.

With 231,357 registered COVID-19 cases and 3,840 deaths, Panama is the Central American nation that has accumulated the highest number of infections.

Under the lockdown measures, which authorities last week said would go into effect nationwide from Dec 31-Jan 4, residents may only leave their homes for essential services such as medical appointments and grocery shopping, Health Minister Luis Sucre said.

Faced with a spike in hospitalizations, officials are working to increase the country’s hospital capacity and hire extra healthcare staff, he added.

Ecuador

The Ecuadorian Ministry of Health reported on Sunday 81 new COVID-19 cases were registered in the last 24 hours, bringing the tally to 209,355.

The death toll remained at 9,439, according to the ministry, but it said there were another 4,553 deaths that were likely caused by COVID-19.

The ministry added that all 24 provinces have reported an increase in cases, and that the province of Pichincha, where the capital of Quito is located, continued to be the epicenter of the pandemic in the country, with 74,282 cases and 2,023 deaths.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry said the state of emergency will include a curfew and restrictions on alcohol sales as well as on mobility, and that police and other agencies will monitor compliance with these measures. 

A woman wearing a mask and face shield to protect from the coronanvirus sits at a taxi rank in Johannesburg's main railway station, South Africa, on Dec 24, 2020. (DENIS FARRELL / AP)

South Africa

South Africa surpassed 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday, with the total number of people infected with the coronavirus standing at 1,004,413, the highest in Africa.

"Today, we have breached the 1 million mark cumulative cases of COVID-19 in South Africa," Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced.

It took only nine days for South Africa to reach the 1 million mark after the country reported 900,000 cases

He said in the part 24-hour period, there were 9,502 new confirmed cases while 214 lives were lost to COVID-19, bringing the toll to 26,735 deaths.

It took two weeks for South Africa to reach 900,000 from 800,000 cases. However, it took only nine days to reach the 1 million mark after the country reported 900,000 cases.

READ MORE: South Africa rejects UK claims over new coronavirus

The country is considering reinstating a total ban on liquor sales as the number of infections surge, a person familiar with the discussions said.

The ban could start on Tuesday and last through Jan 10, said the person, who requested anonymity because the information is not public and a final decision hasn’t been made.

“Government continuously monitors all dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic and as and when decisions are taken they are communicated publicly,” Tyrone Seale, acting spokesman for President Cyril Ramaphosa, said by text message in a response to questions.

Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Ministry of Health on Sunday evening reported 451 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 122,864.

The ministry also reported another eight deaths, taking the death toll to 1,909.

The ministry added that some 109,293 patients had recovered, including 1,024 in the last 24-hour period.

Germany

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has ruled out a rapid lifting of the nation’s coronavirus restrictions, as the nation’s death toll from the disease ticked above 30,000.

“We must not risk everything we have achieved with quick easing, otherwise it will start all over again,” Seehofer said in an interview with Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

“If the lockdown does not have a sufficient effect, the measures must be tightened,” he said, adding that a “third wave” must be avoided “at all costs”.

Germany has recorded several hundred coronavirus-related deaths each day in the past few weeks. The number of fatalities rose by another 351 in the 24 hours through Monday morning, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, after having crossed the 30,000 mark for the first time on Sunday. Total cases exceed 1.65 million.

Germany joined EU partners in starting vaccinations on Sunday, but officials have said it will take months for the program to have a tangible impact on the spread of the disease.

Italy

As vaccinations began, Italy reported a slowing of infections and fatalities, partly because of reduced testing over the holiday. 

The nation reported 8,913 new cases Sunday and 305 deaths, for a total of 71,925 fatalities. 

The positive test rate hovered at about 15 percent. The virus continued to accelerate in the Venice region, which reported 3,337 cases.

Greece 

The Mediterranean nations of Greece and Portugal started their vaccination programs Sunday by inoculating health workers. 

Greek President Aikaterini Sakellaropoulou was among those who were vaccinated.

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou (left) receives a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Evaggelismos Hospital in Athens, Greece, Dec 27, 2020. (POOL PHOTO VIA XINHUA)

Norway

Norway has detected the new strain of the virus in two people who traveled from the UK in December, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health said in a statement on its website. The institute did not disclose the people’s nationality in the statement.

Eritrea

The Eritrean government on Sunday stressed the need to strengthen the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as the number of confirmed cases in the country crossed the 1,000 mark.

The urgent call was made by the Ministry of Health in a statement issued late Sunday, in which it announced that the number of confirmed cases has risen to 1,039 after the Red Sea nation recorded 47 new cases.

The nation, which confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on March 21, has so far recorded only one COVID-19-related death.

Egypt

The Egyptian government on Sunday announced a package of new restrictions to control the spread of the COVID-19.

The new measures will come into force from next Sunday, the Egyptian cabinet said in a statement, adding that establishments and people who violate the new measures will be fined.

The government has also decided to cancel all New Year celebrations, according to the statement.

Individuals who do not follow the precautionary measures or not wear face masks in public places will be fined 50 Egyptian pounds (US$3.2), according to the statement.

Restaurants and cafes must abide by the government's previous decision to operate at 50-percent capacity. In case of violations, establishments such as restaurants and cafes will be fined 4,000 pounds and will be closed for a week, according to the statement.

Egypt, which has so far registered 131,315 COVID-19 cases and 7,352 deaths, has witnessed a sudden spike in coronavirus infections in the past few days. 

Africa tally

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the African continent reached 2,644,112 as of Sunday afternoon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The death toll related to the pandemic stood at 62,366 while a total of 2,212,975 people infected with COVID-19 have recovered, it said.

Denmark

The elderly and the chronically ill became the first group of Danes to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday morning.

Denmark is dispensing an initial delivery of 9,750 doses of the vaccines, with more to follow weekly.

To date, the country has reported 151,764 COVID-19 cases and 1,153 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. 

Chile

Chile reported 1,711 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total infections to 600,105, the Ministry of Health said on Sunday.

Currently, 716 people are in intensive care units, including 565 on ventilators and 61 in critical condition, said the authorities.

Mexico

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday that he’ll allow private companies to import and sell the COVID-19 vaccine. 

The president said the Pfizer vaccine would be targeted at health care workers, which he expects will all be vaccinated in January. The elderly would then begin receiving single-dose shots from companies like CanSino.

Mexico expects to wrap up its first-dose COVID-19 vaccinations for healthcare workers by early January, before moving to inoculate elderly people in the month’s second half, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Sunday.

The second day of vaccinations for medical staff saw the health ministry record 6,217 new confirmed infections and 400 more deaths, taking Mexico’s tally to 1,383,434 cases and 122,426 deaths.

“Finishing with health personnel...by the second two weeks of January, we start with the elderly,” Lopez Obrador said in a video posted on Twitter, adding that the vaccine would be taken to any who were housebound.

Mexico has received two shipments of vaccine from Pfizer, and Lopez Obrador said the drugmaker would provide enough vaccines for about 700,000 to 750,000 people by March.

The president added that he expected vaccines from China’s CanSino Biologics, with which Mexico has a pact to buy 35 million doses, to begin arriving in January.

Colombia

Colombia reported 9,594 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 1,594,497, health authorities said on Sunday.

The death toll rose by 228 to 42,171, the authorities said, adding that 1,455,975 people have so far recovered from the disease.

The mayor of the capital Bogota announced new measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, such as the suspension of the transportation system at 6:00 pm local time (2300 GMT).

Restrictions on the sale of alcohol will also be put in place from Monday and any venues selling alcohol outside specified hours will be punished.

The measures were announced after thousands of fans gathered in front of a hotel where the players were staying, flouting social distancing and mask-wearing rules.

Argentina

Russia’s first big international shipment of its coronavirus vaccine -- 300,000 doses sent to Argentina last week -- consisted only of the first dose of the two-shot vaccine, which is easier to make than the second dose, sources told Reuters.

Argentina registered 5,030 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 1,583,297, the Ministry of Health said.

The ministry also reported 149 more deaths, taking the death toll to 42,650.

According to the ministry, there are 132,721 active cases in the country and 3,313 people are currently hospitalized in intensive care units.

UN

The United Nations (UN) on Sunday commemorated the first International Day of Epidemic Preparedness, underscoring the need to learn lessons from the coronavirus pandemic and urging greater investments in preparedness to confront future health emergencies.

In a message, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres highlighted the need for strong health systems and social protection, support for communities on the frontlines, and technical cooperation among countries.

He also honored medical professionals, frontline personnel and essential workers globally for their "remarkable commitment" in face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Volkan Bozkir, president of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), said that the "devastating experience" of the COVID-19 pandemic has made clear the benefits of tackling epidemics.

In a separate message, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed the importance of a "One Health Approach," which integrates human health, animal health and plant health, as well as environmental factors.

The WHO chief also urged countries to invest in preparedness capacity to prevent, detect and mitigate emergencies, and reiterated the importance of strong primary health systems as the foundation of universal health coverage as well as the "eyes and ears" of health systems everywhere.

Russia

Russia will begin trials of an antibody treatment for COVID-19 patients next year, the head of the Moscow institute that developed the country’s first vaccine against the new disease, Sputnik V, said on Monday

Russia said late on Sunday it had sent more military police to an area in northern Syria where fighters backed by Turkey have clashed with Kurdish forces near a strategic highway patrolled by Russian and Turkish troops.

The deployment comes ahead of talks in Russia on Tuesday between Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. They are expected to focus in part on Syria, where Turkey backs rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad, while Russia supports Assad’s forces.

Russia on Monday reported 27,787 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, including 6,253 in Moscow, pushing the national tally to 3,078,035.

Authorities said 487 people had died overnight, taking the official death toll to 55,265.

President Vladimir Putin will receive the Sputnik V vaccine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a Russian state TV channel on Sunday.

“He said he will be vaccinated, he made this decision and was waiting until all formalities are completed,” the spokesman was quoted as saying to Rossiya 1 TV Channel on its website.

Spain

Pfizer has postponed the delivery of a new batch of the coronavirus vaccine to Spain by one day to Tuesday due to a logistics hurdle, Health Minister Salvador Illa said on Monday.

The company suffered an incident related to the control of temperature in the process of loading and sending out the vaccines, the minister said, adding the incident is now solved.

“They (vaccines) will be available tomorrow first thing in the morning in vaccination points,” Illa said in an interview to Cadena SER radio station. Spain started vaccinating people on Sunday.

He expected around 70 percent of the country’s population to be immunized by the end of the summer.

Rwanda

Rwanda on Sunday reported 153 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily increase since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country on March 14.

The new infections included 103 cases detected in a prison in Southern Province, according to the health ministry.

In total, the small central African country has reported 7,970 COVID-19 cases, of which 6,289 people have recovered and 74 have succumbed to the disease, the ministry said in its latest update on the pandemic.

Latvia

Latvia's COVID-19 vaccination campaign started on Monday with the first batch of shots going to medical practitioners of 10 hospitals nationwide.

The country's first jab was given here at the Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital, whose representative Janita Veinberga told reporters that the hospital planned to inoculate 1,055 people within three days.

Latvia received the first 9,750 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Saturday and stored them in a health facility's freezers.

Health Minister Ilze Vinkele repeatedly stressed that the vaccination process in Latvia will be transparent and voluntary.

Belarus 

Belarus reported 1,841 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, taking its total to 188,588, said the health ministry.

As many as 1,385 patients recovered in the past 24 hours, bringing the total recoveries to 167,421, the ministry added.

So far, 1,394 people have died of the disease in the country, including nine new deaths, it said.