in-cyprus 15 November 2020 - by Annie Charalambous
More than 54.01 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,312,334 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
The latest coronavirus developments are:
EUROPE
* Restrictions aimed at slowing a surge in coronavirus cases will be extended in various Italian regions, with both Tuscany and Campania set to be designated as high-risk “red zones”.
* Government officials in Germany dampened hopes that a partial lockdown there would be lifted at the end of November.
* Russia reported a record new infections as Moscow prepared to close restaurants and bars overnight.
* Slovakia will open theatres, cinemas and churches at half capacity and let fitness centres and pools operate with limited visitors.
* Sweden remains steadfast in its strategy of voluntary measures and no lockdowns, the architect of its unorthodox COVID-19 response said.
* Ireland may take a staged approach to lifting restrictions from Dec. 1 in the run-up to Christmas.
* Confirmed coronavirus cases in Portugal pushed past the 200,000 mark as the number of new daily infections reached a record high.
* Denmark has not registered any new examples of humans infected with a so-called Cluster-5 mutated coronavirus strain stemming from mink.
AMERICAS
* U.S. states, cities, and hospitals are scrambling to buy ultra-cold freezers that can safely store Pfizer Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine, ignoring advice from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to hold off.
* Canadians have time to tamp down the surging second wave of COVID-19 by Christmas if they act now, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, as he urged provincial leaders to impose more health restrictions.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Delhi’s COVID-19 deaths rose by a record number and it reported the most infections in India.
* Indonesia has sought emergency authorisation to start a mass vaccination campaign by the end of the year.
* Japan’s prime minister said the country does not need another state of emergency to tackle the pandemic, even though it is seeing record numbers of daily cases.
* The Chinese city of Wuhan said it had detected the coronavirus on the packaging of a batch of Brazilian beef.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Iran is considering imposing a two-week lockdown in the capital.
* Israel signed a deal with Pfizer Inc to receive 8 million doses of the drugmaker’s potential vaccine, enough to cover close to half of its population.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* The head of world’s top intensive care body said Gilead’s remdesivir should not be used as a routine treatment for COVID-19 patients in critical care wards.
* South Korea’s GL Rapha will make more than 150 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine per year.
* A facility set up by the WHO and the GAVI vaccine group has exceeded an interim target of raising more than $2 billion to buy and distribute COVID-19 shots for poorer countries, but it said it still needs more.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* U.S. stocks jumped and the Treasury yield curve steepened as upbeat earnings and President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID advisory team helped reassure investors about the threat of new pandemic-related lockdowns.
* The United States, China and other G20 countries agreed for the first time on a common approach for restructuring government debt as the coronavirus crisis leaves some poorer nations at risk of default.
