Filenews 21 February 2021
Many countries on all continents continue to report an increase in cases of coronavirus, while more and more people are being added to the long list of deaths from the pandemic. This is while efforts to control the spread are working in some countries, while in others they are not.
Mexico's Ministry of Health announced yesterday Saturday that 7,785 cases of SARS-CoV-2 have been confirmed in the previous 24 hours, while another 832 patients with COVID-19 succumbed, with the account of the pandemic of the new coronavirus in the Latin American country of 127 million inhabitants reaching 179,797 dead out of a total of 2,038,276 infections.
The third heaviest death toll from the pandemic in the world in absolute numbers is likely to be underestimated, as Mexican health ministry officials acknowledge that in fact the death toll and cases are probably much higher than those officially recorded.
Health authorities in Brazil recorded another 1,212 deaths from COVID-19 and 57,472 new confirmed cases on Saturday, according to data released by the health ministry. The South American country has recorded a total of 245,977 deaths from coronavirus and 10,139,148 confirmed cases.
Ethiopia's Ministry of Health announced yesterday Saturday that 841 cases of SARS-CoV-2 have been confirmed in the previous 24 hours, while another 12 patients have succumbed due to COVID-19. The record of the pandemic of the new crown in the country has reached this stage 2,271 deaths out of a total of 151,857 infections, according to official data. The second most populous African country continues to record the highest number of infections in the eastern region of the continent. According to Africa's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, cases in Ethiopia account for 4% of all recorded across the continent.
Albania's Ministry of Health announced yesterday Saturday that 1,153 cases of SARS-CoV-2 have been confirmed in the previous 24 hours, while a further 17 patients with COVID-19 have succumbed. The death toll of the new crown in the Balkan country has reached 1,653 deaths out of a total of 99,062 infections, according to official figures.
According to the ministry, there were 3,975 tests in the previous 24 hours. Yesterday Saturday the immunisation campaign was extended to the town of Elbasan. Eighty medical and nursing staff were due to receive the first dose of their vaccines within the day. So far, vaccination has been carried out in five cities, particularly in the capital, Tirana.
Iraq's Ministry of Health announced yesterday Saturday that 3,273 cases of SARS-CoV-2 have been confirmed in the previous 24 hours, with a total of 664,750. At the same time, another 13 patients with COVID-19 succumbed, with the death toll of the new crown in the country reaching 13,245. The Ministry attributed the rapid increase in cases in recent times to a changed strain of the new coronavirus, much more infectious.
Argentina announced yesterday Saturday that 5,944 cases of SARS-CoV-2 have been confirmed in the previous 24 hours, with the number of people infected with the new coronavirus in the Latin American country reaching 2,060,625. At the same time, another 122 patients with COVID-19 succumbed, with the outbreak since 3 March 2020, when it occurred on the territory of the country, reaching 51,122 dead by this stage. The province of Buenos Aires recorded the most cases (2,510), with 596 diagnoses made in the capital.
Turkey's Ministry of Health announced yesterday Saturday that 7,857 cases of SARS-CoV-2 have been confirmed in the previous 24 hours, while a further 80 patients with COVID-19 have succumbed. The account of the pandemic of the new crown since it occurred in Turkey on 11 March 2020 has reached 27,983 deaths out of a total of 2,631,876 infections, according to official data. According to the ministry, 1,180 people are being treated in hospitals across the country in serious condition.
The campaign of mass immunisation began in Turkey on 14 January, following authorisation for the urgent use of the Chinese CoronaVac vaccine by the competent supervisory body. By yesterday, more than 5,513,000 people had been vaccinated for the new coronavirus.
Confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 in Germany increased by 7,676 in the previous 24 hours, reaching 2,386,559, data gathered by the Robert Koch Institute, the country's epidemiological surveillance body, show Sunday. At the same time, another 145 patients with COVID-19 succumbed, with the death toll of the new coronavirus pandemic reaching 67,841 dead so far, according to the same source.
The number of cases of new crown virus in France compared with a week earlier increased for the third consecutive day, with the health ministry reporting 22,371 new cases on Saturday, compared with 21,231 last Saturday. The rolling average of 7 days of new cases increased further by 163 to 19,217, after its near-continuous decline in the first half of the month. French health authorities also reported 183 deaths from coronavirus in hospitals in the past 24 hours, compared with 571 on Friday, when the count included data on several-day deaths in nursing homes. Health Minister Olivier Veran said earlier that the trend in the data in recent days is not good and France may decide to strengthen the curfew measure or partially exclude areas where the virus is spreading faster, mainly on the Mediterranean coast in and around Nice.
Cases of SARS-CoV-2 have increased by 2,715 in the past 24 hours in Canada, reaching 843,301, the North American country's health ministry announced Saturday. At the same time, another 54 patients with COVID-19 succumbed, with the death toll from 15 January 2020 reaching 21,630 dead from 15 January 2020. The immunisation campaign that began in Canada on 14 December continues. So far more than a million people have been vaccinated, or about 2.77% of the population.
The Cuban Ministry of Health announced yesterday Saturday that 937 cases of SARS-CoV-2 have been confirmed in the previous 24 hours, while four more covid-19 patients have succumbed. The toll of the new coronavirus pandemic on the Caribbean island has reached 291 deaths out of a total of 43,484 infections since March 2020.
According to Francisco Duran, chief epidemiologist at the Cuban Ministry of Health, 895 of the new cases were due to local transmission, while 42 were detected among travellers from the US, Russia, Mexico, Germany, Spain and Jamaica. Most infections were detected in the capital Havana. Mr Duran also pointed out that patients with COVID-19 admitted and treated in hospitals fell for the second day in a row, to 4,947, but insisted - as the previous day - that this was "a very high number".
The country of 11.2 million inhabitants, formerly the good student of the Latin American and Caribbean region in dealing with the pandemic, continues to find it difficult to control the chosen second wave, even if the epidemiological situation is not comparable to that in other countries in the region.
Source: KYPE
