Covid-19 Pandemic: Live Updates and News for December 19, 2020

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson explained one shut down London and large swaths of South East England in a desperate effort to stop a new strain of coronavirus that is spreading rapidly in the UK. The nation exceeded a total of 2 million infections.

The US reported 260,663 new cases on Friday, just below Monday’s record. Another 2,889 people died, a daily dip after three consecutive days with fatalities of more than 3,000.

Switzerland approved the industry-leading shot from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE well, while the Oxford-AstraZeneca version is expected to be approved for use in the UK by the end of the year, the Telegraph reported.

Main Developments:

• Global Tracker: Cases pass 75.8 million; deaths over 1.6 million
• Moderna shot approved in the US, boosting the immunization effort
• World seems to be championing virus relief when vaccinations begin
• December is on the rise as the US. worst month of the pandemic
• More than 1.2 million people have been vaccinated
• Can I be obliged to get vaccinated ?: QuickTake
• Subscribe to one daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click on CVID

Confusion over shot offer due to miscommunication, says Perna (12:15 p.m. NY)

The Army General who led the U.S. vaccination distribution said a delay between when shots are taken and when they are released for shipment widespread confusion about the number of doses states will receive next week.

Gene. Gustave Perna, chief operations officer of Operation Warp Speed, the US vaccine program, said he took “personal responsibility” for a miscommunication that led some states to complain that their allocations were being reduced without explanation.

Deaths in Arizona again exceed 100 (11:48 am NY)

Arizona reported 118 new deaths, the fourth consecutive day of more than 100 deaths. Infections and hospital admissions are more popular after a major outbreak in the state this summer.

London Deploys Emergency Lockout As UK Fights New Virus Strain (11:37 am NY)

Prime Minister Boris Johnson explained one complete shutdown of London and large swaths of South East England in a desperate attempt to stop a new form of coronavirus that is spreading rapidly in the UK

After emergency talks with his senior officials, Johnson canceled plans to ease pandemic restrictions for five days over the holidays. Household mixing is banned in London and the South East, and socializing is limited to Christmas Day only in the rest of England.

The Prime Minister announced that starting Sunday, a new Tier 4 will apply in the hotspot areas around the capital, closing all non-essential stores and telling millions of people to stay at home.

The UK reported 27,052 new cases on Saturday, bringing the total to more than 2 million. The country reached 1 million cases on October 31. Another 534 people died, 100 more than the weekly average.

Ontario Cases Remain at High Level (11:26 am NY)

Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, registered 2,357 new Covid cases, the second highest daily record, the province said. website. That compares to 2,290 cases on Thursday and 2,432 registered cases a day earlier. Ontario’s The government said on Friday that it was tightening lockdown measures in five regions.

According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News, Canada is approaching a total of 500,000 confirmed cases.

Italy Deaths, Business Slow (11:11 am NY)

Italy saw the number of daily deaths from the coronavirus drop to 553 on Saturday from 674 the day before. On Friday there were 16,308 new cases against 17,992.

The government voted late Friday to impose a “stop-and-go” lockout from December 24 to January 6 to continue limiting the spread of the coronavirus across the country. There will be strict restrictions on traffic and restaurants and non-essential stores closing on and around Christmas, New Year and Epiphany on January 6, and slightly looser curbs for December 28-30 and January 4.

Germany Insures 30 Million More BioNTech Vaccine Doses: Bild (9:30 am NY)

Germany bought an additional 30 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, Bild am Sonntag reported, citing sources at the German Ministry of Health. That allocation will bolster the 55.8 million doses it will receive through a European Union plan, with an additional 50.5 million doses from Moderna Inc. that come from the EU. Collectively, this will enable Germany to achieve herd immunity by 2021, the federal health ministry told the paper.

US Reports 260,663 New Cases, Just Shy of Record (7:30 am NY)

The US reported 260,663 new cases on Friday, just below Monday’s record, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. The seven-day mean number of cases rose to 230,929, 10% higher than the prior week’s daily mean.

Another 2,889 people died, a daily dip after three consecutive days with fatalities of more than 3,000. Still, the weekly average climbed to 2591, 9% higher than the previous week’s daily average.

French President Macron Stable, Able to Operate (7:25 am NY)

French President Emmanuel Macron’s condition is stable, his office said in a statement Saturday. He is tired but can work.

Qatar receives first vaccine shipment Monday (6:47 a.m. NY)

Small, gas-rich Qatar will receive its first shipment of coronavirus vaccines on Monday, one said tweet from the prime minister of the country. Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani did not specify which vaccine manufacturer had produced the doses sent as part of the initial shipment. Qatari officials have previously said they had struck deals to buy both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.

Switzerland Approves Pfizer Shot (6:45 am NY)

Switzerland has the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE authorized, the first to be approved for use in the country. The country had previously signed contracts with the companies for the supply of three million doses of vaccine. “Deliveries will begin in 2020 and will take place in 2021,” BioNTech said in a separate statement.

“The data available so far showed a similarly high level of efficacy across all age groups studied, thus meeting safety requirements,” drug regulator Swissmedic said in a statement Saturday. “The level of protection afforded seven days after the second injection is over 90% in adults.”

Iranian infections drop to lowest in eight weeks (6:51 PM HK)

Daily infections in Iran have fallen to its lowest in eight weeks with 6,421 new cases since Friday, bringing the total number of cases to 1,152,072. The number of daily deaths fell for a fifth day to 175. The country has seen a sharp downward trend in its Covid-19 fatalities over the past three weeks, aided by two weeks of strict nationwide lockdown after the daily fatalities ended in late November. nearly 500. .

Polish death toll raised by most in three days (17:27 HK)

Poland, which announced tough new holiday lockdown measures, reported 11,267 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, compared to 11,013 on Friday. The Ministry of Health said the death toll is up 483, the highest number in three days.

Hong Kong Peak in Cases of Unknown Origin (5:14 PM HK)

Hong Kong reported 109 new virus cases on Saturday, seven of which were imported. Of the local infections, 42 are of unknown origin, the highest number in the last wave of the city and 25 on Friday. More than 70 provisional positive cases were found. New clusters were created at various building complexes, which meant that the residents were required to be tested.

UK could approve Oxford Vaccine by Dec 29, Telegraph Reports (5:09 pm HK)