Mon 04 January 2021:
The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 1.83 million lives in 191 countries and regions since it originated in China in December 2019.
Over 84.76 million cases have been reported worldwide, with more than 47.70 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University. The US, India, and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries in terms of cases.
UK to go back into Covid-19 lockdown from midnight
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce a new coronavirus lockdown for all of England similar to the one imposed when the pandemic hit the country in March.
The measures would include school closures for most pupils and people would be asked to work from home unless they are unable to do their jobs remotely or are key workers, the BBC reported, adding the measures would come into effect from midnight.
Johnson is due to deliver a televised address to the nation at 2000 GMT.
Orthodox Church in Greece will defy government lockdown
The Greek Orthodox church has announced it will defy government lockdown orders aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus and open places of worship to mark Epiphany on Wednesday.
After an emergency session of the holy synod, its governing body, senior clerics said they would press ahead as planned and celebrate the baptism of Christ on 6 January.
“The synod does not agree with the new government measures regarding the operation of places of worship and insists on what was originally agreed with the state,” the ecclesiastical body said in a statement.
Three weeks full lockdown in Lebanon
Lebanon has announced a full lockdown for three weeks, including a night curfew, to stem a rise in Covid-19 infections that threatens to overwhelm hospitals in a country already facing financial meltdown.
The caretaker health minister Hamad Hasan said the lockdown would start on Thursday and run until 1 February, with further details on Tuesday on which sectors would be exempt. The lockdown will include a curfew from 6pm to 5am local time.
It has become clear that the pandemic challenge has reached a stage that is seriously threatening Lebanese lives as hospitals are not capable of providing beds.
The country registered 2,870 new infections on Sunday, bringing its total to 189,278 cases and 1,486 deaths since 21 February. The new lockdown comes amid concerns over soaring unemployment, inflation and poverty.
Over 50 foreign nationals tried to enter S.Africa with fake covid results
Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Monday said it was not clear if there were syndicates selling fake COVID-19 tests to foreign nationals returning to work but at least 50 such tests were found at the Beitbridge Border Post with Zimbabwe.
Minister Motsoaledi has visited the border post where nationals from Zimbabwe and other countries north of the Limpopo are seeking to enter.
“We don’t know whether it’s a syndicate, but we just find a lot of COVID-19 tests that are not authentic, and we confiscate them.”
Cambodia reopens schools and museums
Cambodia has started reopening schools and museums as it relaxes a six-week lockdown following a coronavirus outbreak late last year.
The Southeast Asian country of just over 16 million people, one of the least impacted by the novel coronavirus with just 382 infections and no deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, saw a rare cluster of cases in November.
While private schools have started reopening this week, students at public schools are due to return next week.
Indonesia to start vaccinations programme next week
A senior minister has said thatIndonesia’s mass vaccination programme is set to start next week, pending authorisation from the country’s food and drug agency (BPOM), as about 700,000 doses of vaccines have already been widely distributed.
Currently battling one of Asia’s most stubborn coronavirus epidemics, Indonesia has secured more than 329 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, most notably from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, and AstraZeneca.
Those to be used in the first phase are from China’s Sinovac , which has named its vaccine CoronaVac.
Palestinians say aim to launch vaccinations next month
The Palestinians said that they expect to receive their first coronavirus vaccine doses next month, covering 20 percent of the population in the West Bank and Gaza, through an UN-backed programme.
“We have received an official letter from the World Health Organization which says the delivery of vaccines will begin next month to cover 20 percent of the population,” a Palestinian Health Ministry official, Yasser Bouzia, told AFP news agency.
COVAX – supported by WHO, the European Commission, and other bodies – aims to help the world’s poorest nations address the pandemic.
According to Bouzia, the cost of administering vaccinations for the first 20 percent of the Palestinian population will be covered by WHO.
COVAX will vaccinate in the West Bank, home to some 2.8 million Palestinians, and Israeli-blockaded Gaza, where around two million Palestinians live.
FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:
TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent
FACEBOOK (CLICK HERE)
https://web.facebook.com/ipindependent
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
