COVID-19 UPDATE: MICRONESIA RECORDS ITS FIRST-EVER CASE OF COVID-19, INDIA IS PREPARING FOR A MASS VACCINE ROLLOUT

Mon 11 January 2021:

Monday marks a year since the first coronavirus death was announced in Wuhan. China announced the first death from a new virus in Wuhan on 11 January 2020. Twelve months later, Covid-19 has claimed 1.9 million lives worldwide.

COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Last updated: January 11, 2021, 10:02 GMT

Coronavirus Cases:

90,750,054

Deaths:

1,944,418

Recovered:

64,894,273

Source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Russia says 1.5 mln people received Sputnik vaccine worldwide

Russia announced Monday that 1.5 million people around the world had received its Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine as part of an initiative Kremlin critics have described as a geopolitical push.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which has financed the development of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, confirmed the figure to AFP without offering a breakdown of where the jab was distributed.

“We cannot say how many of them are in Russia and in the rest of the world,” RDIF spokesman Arseny Palagin said, adding that individual nations could release data separately.

Malaysia buys additional 12.2 million doses of Pfizer-Biontech vaccine

Malaysia has signed a deal to buy an additional 12.2 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by US and German drugmakers Pfizer and Biontech, the health ministry said in a statement.

The deal brings the total amount of the Pfizer vaccines procured by Malaysia to 25 million doses, enough to cover 39 percent of its population, the ministry said.

Germany’s confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 12,497

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has increased by 12,497 to 1,921,024, data from the Robert Koch Institute, RKI, for infectious diseases showed.

The reported death toll rose by 343 to 40,686, the tally showed.

France should consider closing borders, says government adviser

France should consider closing its borders with the UK and other countries that have a strong presence of the UK variant, a French epidemiologist and government adviser has said.

Arnaud Fontanet, a member of the French government’s scientific council, also said on BFM television that, to get the epidemic under control, France needs to vaccinate 10-15 million people by the end of March and 25-30 million people by the end of June.

Indonesia to begin vaccine rollout Wednesday

“God willing, we will start [the vaccination process] on Wednesday,” Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in a news conference.

Indonesia’s top Muslim body on Friday declared China’s Sinovac vaccine for COVID-19 halal, or permissible under Islam.

In a news conference, Asrorun Niam, the secretary of fatwa (Islamic decree) commission of Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), said the decision was taken based on a plenary session discussing the ingredients and production processes for the coronavirus vaccine made by the Chinese company, Sinovac Lifescience Co.

About 80% of people in Japan are against holding the Tokyo 2020 Olympics this summer

Amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the host city and other parts of Japan. A weekend poll by the Kyodo news agency found that 35.3% wanted the Games to be cancelled, while 44.8% favoured another delay. Local organisers and the International Olympic Committee have said that it will not be possible to postpone a second time. The Games, which are due to open on 23 July, were delayed by a yeardue to the Covid pandemic.

India is preparing for a mass coronavirus vaccine rollout

India aims to begin vaccinating its 1.3 billion people against coronavirus from Saturday, a colossal and complex task compounded by safety worries, shaky infrastructure and public scepticism. In one of the world’s biggest rollouts, the planet’s second-most populous nation hopes to inoculate 300 million people – equal almost to the entire US population – by July.

Biden to receive 2nd dose of COVID vaccine Monday

US President-elect Joe Biden will receive his second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, according to his transition team.

Biden got his first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine on live television on Dec. 21 in a move meant to bolster public confidence as the country seeks to break free from the pandemic’s grip.

Pfizer’s vaccine must be delivered in two separate rounds spaced weeks apart.

It will get worse before it gets better, warns UK health official

The worst is yet to come for the UK, as the new highly infectious variants of the virus rampages across the country, the government’s chief medical adviser Chris Whitty has warned. He told the BBC:

The next few weeks are going to be the worst weeks of this pandemic in terms of numbers into the NHS (National Health Service). What we need to do before the vaccines have had their effect, because it will take several weeks before that happens, we need to really double down.

Mainland China saw its biggest daily increase in Covid-19 cases in more than five months

China’s national health authority said on Monday, as new infections in Hebei province surrounding Beijing continued to rise. Hebei accounted for 82 of the 85 new local infections reported on 10 January.

The National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement, with Liaoning Province also reporting two new cases and Beijing reporting one new case. The country also saw 18 new imported infections from overseas.

A county in the northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province on Monday moved into lockdown after reporting new novel coronavirus infections, state television also reported separately.

Fears black market will emerge for ivermectin in S.Africa

A health worker shows a bottle of Ivermectin. Picture: AFP.

There are growing fears a black market may emerge for the so-called COVID-19 miracle drug Ivermectin, EWN reported

Authorities are clamping down on the dispensing of the drug, which is used to treat and kill parasites in animals.

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) on Sunday said the medication was not approved for human use in the country and any attempts to import the drug were unlawful.

A 43-year-old man was arrested last week at King Shaka International Airport for being in possession of hundreds of Ivermectin tablets.

Pacific nation of Micronesia records its first-ever case of COVID-19

The remote Pacific nation of Micronesia recorded its first case of Covid-19 on Monday, ending its run as one of the few places on Earth without the coronavirus.

President David Panuelo acknowledged the development was “alarming” for the country’s 100,000 inhabitants but said the case had been contained at the border.

Far-flung Pacific island nations have been among the most successful in the world at keeping out the virus after closing their borders early in response to the threat, despite the huge cost to tourism-reliant economies.

Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, the Marshall Islands, Samoa and now Micronesia have lost their virus-free status, although none have so far reported community transmission.

The island nations and territories of Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Tonga and Tuvalu are believed to still be free of the coronavirus.

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