MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st December, 2020) As of the second-last Sunday of 2020, the global COVID-19 tally stands at 76,531,725 cases, with the United States leading the count (17.6 million). The death toll has risen by about 10,000 fatalities to a total of 1.689 million, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University, which tracks and compiles data from Federal and local authorities, media as well as other sources.
The United States has confirmed a record of more than 400,000 new coronavirus cases over a 24-hour period, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in its latest update. The US has the largest total number of confirmed coronavirus cases, as well as the highest COVID-19 death toll � over 315,600 � of all the countries in the world.
Russia has registered 28,948 new positive tests for COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, the federal response center said on Sunday, adding that the country's case total has topped 2.84 million. The authority also reported 511 new coronavirus-related fatalities. As a result, Russia's COVID-19 death toll now stands at 50,858.
South Korea has registered a record high number of new coronavirus cases confirmed in the past 24 hours, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The total number of infections in South Korea now stands at 49,665. The country's coronavirus death toll stands at 674, while the number of recovered individuals is at over 34,700.
Germany's COVID-19 case total has risen by 22,771 over the past 24 hours to surpass 1.49 million, the European country's Robert Koch Institute said. With Sunday's rise, Germany's COVID-19 case total now stands at 1,494,009. The European country's coronavirus-related death toll also rose by 409 over the past 24 hours to 26,049.
The Estonian health ministry has registered 579 COVID-19 cases over the past day, bringing the country's total to 21,794. The death toll has risen by four fatalities to 174.The first case of coronavirus among lawmakers of the Estonian Parliament, which is currently on a Christmas break, has been recorded.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has received his first shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday, the day the mass vaccination program officially started in the country.
Ukrainian citizens cannot understand why their country is turning away from Russian coronavirus vaccines when western countries are refusing to supply them with the treatment, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with The New York Times.
All foreigners arriving in Israel, regardless of the coronavirus situation in their country of origin, will have to abide by a 14-day quarantine starting Sunday, the Israeli Ministry of Health has announced.
Kazakhstan will introduce tighter coronavirus-related measures starting from Friday, including a ban on mass New Year celebrations, corporate parties and sporting events up until January 5, the government said on Sunday.
The Netherlands is banning flights from the United Kingdom starting Sunday because of the new strain of the coronavirus that threatens to spread far more rapidly than other variants, the Dutch government announced in a statement.
Italy is set to suspend flights to the United Kingdom due to the new strain of the coronavirus that threatens to spread far more rapidly than its other variants, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Sunday.
France is considering to follow in Italy's lead by barring air and rail travel to the island nation.
Austria has also joined the ranks of EU states to restrict UK flights. The Osterreich news outlet reported, citing government sources, that the central European nation would introduce a ban on the landing of planes from the United Kingdom. The specifics are currently being worked on.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced on Sunday that the country was halting flights and Eurostar trains from the UK for a minimum 24-hour period starting midnight.
German Healthcare Minister Jens Spahn confirmed on Sunday that Germany was suspending the UK-bound flights starting from midnight, and introducing restrictions for South African flights on Monday due to the mutated COVID-19 strain discovered in both countries.
Greece has introduced a seven-day quarantine for all passengers arriving from the United Kingdom as a preventive measure against the fast-spreading COVID-19 variant recently discovered in parts of the UK, the Greek Secretary General for Civil Protection said on Sunday.
Russia's flagship carrier Aeroflot told Sputnik on Sunday it had no information on possible suspension of air traffic with the United Kingdom in the wake of the discovery of a new, more infectious coronavirus strain there.
The World Health Organization says it will release additional information on the new coronavirus strain discovered in the UK as it becomes available.
The Spanish government has called on the European Union to agree a common strategy of response to the mutation of SARS-CoV-2, the discovery of which in the United Kingdom prompted many EU countries to shut the borders with the former fellow member state.
US tech giant Apple has temporarily closed all of its 53 stores in the state of California and more than a dozen of its outlets in the UK capital, London, amid a continued surge in new coronavirus disease cases in both areas, according to US media outlets.
The European Council on Sunday convened a meeting of representatives of the EU member states to discuss the situation with a mutated COVID-19 strain recently discovered in the United Kingdom and related measures, a source at the EU government institutions said.
