COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
Last updated: January 09, 2021, 09:18 GMT
Coronavirus Cases:
90,142,202
Deaths:
1,936,026
Recovered:
64,541,017
Source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
French President Macron’s wife tested positive for COVID-19 in December
The wife of French President Emmanuel Macron tested positive for COVID-19 towards the end of December but resumed normal activities after a second test proved negative, French radios Europe 1 and France Info reported on Saturday.
Deaths top 20,000 in Belgium
The number of fatalities in Belgium from the new coronavirus crossed 20,000 on Sunday, health officials said, with more than half the dead from retirement care homes.
Jordan approves China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine
Jordan said on Saturday it has approved China’s Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine for emergency use, after previously giving the Pfizer-BioNTech jab the green light.
Rapid testing to launched in England this week
Rapid testing to find symptomless carriers of Covid-19 is to be launched in England this week. The aim of the programme is to identify some of the tens of thousands of infected people who are unwittingly spreading the virus across the country.
The dramatic escalation of the programme – which uses detectors known as lateral flow devices – comes as Covid death rates have continued to soar and hospitals have reported alarming numbers of patients needing intensive care.
Vietnam limiting flights for Lunar New Year
A year after first death in China
Monday marks the anniversary of China confirming its first death from Covid-19, a 61-year-old man who was a regular at the now-notorious Wuhan wet market, writes AFP.
Nearly 2m deaths later, the pandemic is out of control across much of the world, leaving tens of millions ill, a pulverised global economy and recriminations flying between nations.
Yet China, which has broadly controlled the pandemic on its soil, is still frustrating independent attempts to trace the virus’s origins and the central question of how it jumped from animals to humans.
UK helps raise $1 billion in global Covid-19 vaccine donations
Britain said on Sunday it had helped raise $1bn from global donors towards the drive to help “vulnerable countries” access coronavirus vaccines, by match-funding contributions.
It has also committed £548m ($743.4m) to the Covax Advance Market Commitment after matching with £1 for every $4 pledged by other donors.
Pope urges people to get vaccinated
Francis urged people to get the vaccination, calling opposition to the jab “suicidal denial” and saying he would get inoculated next week when the Vatican would begin its campaign.
“There is a suicidal denial which I cannot explain, but today we have to get vaccinated,” he said in an interview with Canale 5 due to be broadcast in full on Sunday.
Demand for drug not approved for humans increases in S.Africa
The popularity of dispensing ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19 continues to rise, despite numerous warnings against this, ENCA reported
The drug is used to kill parasites in animals and is not approved for humans.
Even so, some doctors are prescribing it for the coronavirus.
Health authorities have warned against the use of the drug as a treatment for COVID-19. The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority has prohibited the drug’s use.
“It hasn’t been tested, there are no clinical trials available and it is considered to be unsafe at this stage,” said SAHPRA’s Yuven Gounden.
The Health Department has also said there isn’t enough evidence for it to recommend the medication.
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