In this July 6, 2020 photo, a resident walks past a games room in a street of the old center in the town of Cinquefrondi in Calabria region in south Italy. (ANDREAS SOLARO / AFP)
ADDIS ABABA / ALGIERS / SAO PAULO / OTTAWA / HAVANA / ADDIS ABABA / PARIS / RABAT / BELGRADE / TUNIS / LONDON / NEW YORK / LISBON / ROME - Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza on Saturday signed an order banning direct flights to Italy from Brazil after a new variant of the coronavirus was identified in four passengers arriving from that country.
The ban is effective immediately through Jan 31, according to the order posted on the website of the Ministry of Health.
"I signed an order blocking flights departing from Brazil, and forbidding entry into Italy to anyone who has traveled through Brazil over the past 14 days," Speranza wrote in a statement.
"It is mandatory for anyone already in Italy who came from Brazil to contact health authorities and to get tested (for the virus)," the minister said. "It is essential for our scientists to be able to conduct an in-depth study of the new variant. Meanwhile, we choose the path of maximum caution."
Italy on Saturday reported 16,310 new coronavirus cases, 16,186 recoveries and 475 deaths.
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Africa
COVID-19 cases on the African continent amounted to 3,207,639 as of Saturday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.
According to the continental disease control and prevention agency's Africa COVID-19 dashboard, the death toll related to the pandemic stood at 77,684 as of Saturday with 2,617,110 recoveries.
The Southern African region is the hardest-hit area in Africa in terms of the number of cases, followed by the Northern African region, according to the Africa CDC.
The five highly-affected African countries include South Africa with 1,311,686 cases, Morocco with 457,625 cases, Tunisia with 175,065 cases, Egypt with 154,620 cases, as well as Ethiopia with 130,326 cases.
Algeria
Algeria on Saturday reported 230 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total infections in the North Africa country to 103,611.
The death toll from the coronavirus in Algeria rose to 2,831 after four new fatalities were recorded, said the Algerian Ministry of Health in a statement.
Meanwhile, 185 more patients recovered from the disease and were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 70,433.
Brazil
Brazil registered 1,050 deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 209,296, the Ministry of Health reported on Saturday.
Additionally, another 61,567 cases were registered in the last 24 hours, bringing the national total to 8,455,059.
Hospitals in Manaus, capital of the state of Amazonas, are overwhelmed. Since Thursday, they have reported a shortage of oxygen tanks. Family members of patients have had to take to the streets in search of oxygen.
The Ministry of Defense said in a statement that a C-130 Hercules aircraft had carried 13 oxygen tanks to the city of Manaus, as efforts are being made to transfer patients to other states for treatment with local health centers strained to full capacity.
In this April 1, 2020 photo, a passenger wheels her luggage near an Air Canada logo at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Canada. (COLE BURSTON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
Canada
Canada's COVID-19 cases surpassed 700,000 on Saturday morning, with the total hitting 700,988, including 17,847 deaths, according to CTV.
Canada reported 22 cases of the B.1.1.17 virus variant found in Britain and one case of the 501Y.V2 virus variant confirmed in South Africa as of Jan. 13, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Ontario reported 3,056 new cases of COVID-19 Saturday morning, as well as 51 more deaths related to the disease.
The province's total number of cases came to 234,364 and the total number of fatalities rose to 5,340 while the number of recovered patients was 200,406.
Cuba
The Cuban Ministry of Public Health reported on Saturday that in the last 24 hours, four deaths and 405 new cases of the novel coronavirus were registered in the country, in the midst of a strong rebound in infections.
According to the ministry, the total number of cases rose to 17,501 and the number of deaths to 166.
Ethiopia
The Ethiopian Ministry of Health said Saturday the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the East African country rose to 130,772, after new 446 cases were reported.
The ministry said that the number of COVID-19 related deaths in the country reached 2,029 as of Saturday evening, including six new deaths reported during the last 24-hour period.
France
France reported 196 COVID-19 deaths in a 24-hour span on Saturday, taking the national tally to 70,142, according to the latest data released by the Public Health Agency.
Another 21,406 people tested positive for COVID-19 in one day, bringing the cumulative total of cases in the country to 2,894,347.
Over the last seven days, 9,653 COVID-19 patients have been hospitalized, including 1,402 who are on ventilator, the agency added.
Morocco
Morocco announced on Saturday 1,240 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally in the North African country since March 2 to 458,865.
The number of recoveries from the coronavirus in Morocco increased to 433,937 after 1,361 more were added, while the death toll rose by 23 to 7,911, the ministry of health said in a statement.
Meanwhile, 975 patients are in intensive care units.
The COVID-19 fatality rate in Morocco stands at 1.7 percent while the recovery rate is 94.6 percent.
This Jan 10, 2021, photo shows vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine against the novel coronavirus at the vaccination center in Pfaffenhofen, southern Germany. (CHRISTOF STACHE / AFP)
Norway
Norway expressed increasing concern about the safety of the Pfizer Inc vaccine on elderly people with serious underlying health conditions after raising an estimate of the number who died after receiving inoculations to 29.
The latest figure adds six to the number of known fatalities in Norway, and lowers the age group thought to be affected to 75 from 80. While it’s unclear exactly when the deaths occurred, Norway has given at least one dose to about 42,000 people and focused on those considered most at risk if they contract the virus, including the elderly.
Until Friday, the vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech SE was the only one available in Norway, and “all deaths are thus linked to this vaccine,” the Norwegian Medicines Agency said in a written response to Bloomberg on Saturday.
“There are 13 deaths that have been assessed, and we are aware of another 16 deaths that are currently being assessed,” the agency said. All the reported deaths related to “elderly people with serious basic disorders,” it said. “Most people have experienced the expected side effects of the vaccine, such as nausea and vomiting, fever, local reactions at the injection site, and worsening of their underlying condition.”
Official reports of allergic reactions have been rare as governments rush to roll out vaccines to try to contain the global pandemic. U.S. authorities reported 21 cases of severe allergic reactions from Dec. 14-23 after administration of about 1.9 million initial doses of the Pfizer vaccine. The first Europe-wide safety report on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is due to be published at the end of January.
Portugal
Portugal’s Finance Minister Joao Leao has tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said on Saturday, a day after he took part in an in-person meeting in Lisbon with top EU officials including Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.
The 46-year-old minister has so far shown no symptoms and will continue to work from home during a period of self-isolation, a statement from his ministry said. Self-isolation could last between 10 to 14 days.
Leao’s positive test result was announced more than 24 hours after he attended the meeting at the Belem Cultural Center on Friday to discuss Portugal’s top priorities during its six-month EU presidency, which started this month.
Prime Minister Antonio Costa was also at the meeting, as were several other ministers and secretaries of state. Costa recently had to self-isolate for 14 days after a lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron, who then tested positive for the virus.
A woman wearing a face mask is reflected in a shop window while walking in Lisbon on Jan 15, 2021 as Portugal entered a fresh lockdown over a surge in coronavirus cases. (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP)
Serbia
A million doses of China's Sinopharm inactivated coronavirus vaccines arrived at the Belgrade Airport in Serbia on Saturday, the government confirmed in a press release.
The shipment was welcomed at the Belgrade Airport by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, China's Ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo, Serbian Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar and the head of the Security Intelligence Agency Bratislav Gasic.
Vucic said that the arrival of the vaccine is a "proof of the great friendship between Serbia and China," and it will help protect the lives of 500,000 people, adding he will get vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine.
Tunisia
Tunisian Health Ministry on Saturday night reported 2,166 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 177,231.
The death toll from the virus rose by 88 to 5,616 in the North African country, it said in a statement.
The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients reached 1,921 and a total of 746,580 lab tests have been carried out so far, according to the data issued by the ministry.
UK
Britain's daily increase of coronavirus infections dropped to its lowest level since Dec. 27, 2020, but the country recorded the third highest daily death toll from COVID-19 since the pandemic began, according to official figures released Saturday.
Another 41,346 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, down from 55,761 people on Friday, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 3,357,361, the figures showed.
Another 1,295 have died within 28 days of a positive test, the third highest daily death toll. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 88,590, the data showed.
READ MORE: Virus: Pfizer temporarily reduces vaccine deliveries to Europe
US
Los Angeles became the first county in the United States to surpass 1 million total cases since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, local health officials said Saturday.
The most populous county in the country, home to 10 million residents, on Saturday reported 14,669 new confirmed cases and 253 additional deaths, pushing its cumulative cases up to 1,003,923 with 13,741 related deaths, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
There are 7,597 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in the county with 22 percent of them in intensive care, said the department in a daily release.
Local health officials also confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus strain, which was first discovered in the United Kingdom. The individual found to have contracted the virus is a male, who recently spent time in LA County but has traveled to Oregon, where he is currently in quarantine.
The more contagious variant has been previously detected in Southern California's San Diego and San Bernardino.
New York City's COVID-19 test positivity rate on a seven-day average went down to 8.6 percent, compared with 8.7 percent one day earlier, Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted on Saturday.
