MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th November, 2020) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 1.393 million, almost 59 million cases of infection were detected, and over 37.6 million of those patients were cured, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University, which tracks and compiles data from Federal and local authorities, media and other sources.
As of 20:00 GMT Monday, the number of cases globally is 58,967,830, including 1,393,543 fatalities.
The United States still has the highest case count in the world, with 12,314,229, including 257,095 fatalities and 4,526,635 recoveries.
Russia will add all coronavirus vaccines to the list of vital medications, prices of which are government-regulated, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said.
The first five volunteers aged over 60 have received the first dose of Russia's coronavirus vaccine EpiVacCorona as part of the post-registration trials, the federal consumer rights watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, told Sputnik.
The EpiVacCorona vaccine against COVID-19, which was developed by Russia's Vector research center, can be easily stored and transported at normal refrigerated conditions, the federal public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, told Sputnik
Positive results of several anti-coronavirus vaccine trials presented in recent days give hope that the pandemic will be defeated by the use of vaccines in combination with other public health measures, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Over 45 African countries have so far joined the WHO's COVAX initiative for the equitable global distribution of prospective COVID-19 vaccines, Bruce Aylward, a senior adviser to the WHO director-general, said.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is conducting discussions with logistical and health partners to ensure the air delivery of 2 billion doses of safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19 to low- and middle-income countries in 2021 as part of efforts coordinated by the COVAX Facility.
The European Commission continues to work with the EU member states to develop COVID-19 vaccination programs, the commission's spokesman, Stefan de Keersmaecker, said.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn told the RND media group that he expects the coronavirus vaccination to commence as early as mid-December.
The results from trials conducted on AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford's candidate vaccine against the coronavirus disease, which had an average efficacy of 70 percent, are "really encouraging," UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.
Russia has registered a new daily record of 25,173 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, up from 24,581 the day before, bringing the total to 2,114,502, the federal response center said.
Egypt has entered the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the Arab nation's health ministry said.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that upcoming Christmas would not be normal, but that the United Kingdom had turned a corner in the fight against COVID-19 and the escape route is in sight, after confirming that the current national lockdown will be lifted in England next week.
Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has issued guidance to re-impose strict coronavirus measures, including new limits on mass gatherings, as the number of infection cases in the region continue to grow significantly.
Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza signed a decree banning mink farming until at least March, amid fears that coronavirus mutations may affect vaccine efficacy.
Catalonia allowed hospitality businesses to return to work after over a month of closure, Spanish news agency RTVE reported.
The Austrian government's decision to toughen social distancing measures in mid-November as part of efforts to curb the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is contributing to a reduction in transmission, Health Minister Rudolf Anschober said.
The weekend lockdown recently introduced in Ukraine had a positive effect, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday at a meeting on preventing the spread of COVID-19, adding that the projected increase in the infection rate can be contained.
The Lithuanian parliament, also known as the Seimas, will suspend operations for one week amid the surge in new COVID-19 cases observed in the Baltic country, parliamentary speaker Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen said.
Venezuela will cancel its strict quarantine imposed to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic starting December, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said.
The prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, Mohammad Shtayyeh, announced on Monday the introduction of a complete nationwide lockdown from Friday until Sunday as part of anti-COVID-19 measures.
Global security threats have not diminished despite the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during an address to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in which he set out his plans to adapt the military alliance over the next decade.
Paris-headquartered multinational food company Danone is set to slash about 2,000 jobs both at its headquarters in the French capital and abroad as part of its recovery strategy following the COVID-19 crisis, the company announced.
The European Commission is planning to procure 200 robots for disinfection of COVID-19 patient rooms in hospitals across the bloc, President Ursula von der Leyen said.
The international expert team probing the origins of the novel coronavirus will travel to China, the WHO's senior officials said, adding that they expect Beijing to facilitate the trip as soon as possible.
The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator immediately needs $4.3 billion to ensure the mass procurement and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, tests, as well as treatments, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
