MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th January, 2021) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 1.83 million and over 84.7 million cases of the infection were detected, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University, which tracks and compiles data from Federal and local authorities, media and other sources.
The United States still has the highest case count in the world, with a tally of 20.4 million, including over 350,000 fatalities.
Egypt has officially licensed the Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccine Sinopharm for emergency use, Health Minister Hala Zayed said.
India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) on Sunday issued licenses to two COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use, heralding the official start of the vaccination campaign in the country, media reported.
About 30,000 workers of the Dutch Network for Emergency Care (LNAZ) will be the first ones in the Netherlands to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against the coronavirus, the country's Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport said on Saturday.
Kazakhstan will likely acquire the Pfizer vaccine against the coronavirus disease no earlier than the second half of 2021, Health Minister Alexey Tsoy said Sunday.
Deputy health ministers from Russia and Iran will soon hold a meeting about cooperation on the COVID-19 vaccine, a source from the Iranian Embassy in Moscow told Sputnik Sunday.
Mexico is planning to have everyone over 60 years old vaccinated by late March, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said in a video address.
The United States has reported 299,087 COVID-19 new cases in the past 24 hours, which is a single-day record since the beginning of the pandemic. The country's total of confirmed cases has reached 20,427,780. The number of COVID-19 fatalities has surpassed 350,000, and death toll stands at 350,186.
�India recorded 18,177 new cases, similar to the day before, the total tally coming to 10,323,965, while 217 patients died, taking total deaths to 149,435.
Brazil registered 15,827 new cases and 314 patients died. The country's total tally is at 7,716,405 cases and 195,725 deaths.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Russia has increased by 24,150 to 3,236,787 in the last 24 hours. The death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia has reached 58,506 with 504 new fatalities recorded.
Thailand has identified its first four cases of the new coronavirus strain that originated in the United Kingdom.
Cyprus has found the "British" strain in 12 people who flew in from the UK between December 6-20 and were tested for COVID-19.
Saudi Arabia is set to scrap entry ban related to a new strain of SARS-CoV-2 on Sunday, state media reported, citing an interior ministry source.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted on Sunday that parents should send their children to Primary schools on Monday, despite the fact that the number of COVID-19 cases has been rising exponentially all over the United Kingdom in the last few days. At the same time, the opposition Labour party demanded a tougher lockdown within 24 hours to curb the spread of the mutant COVID-19 strain.
The Japanese government plans to convene a council of experts next week to discuss the possibility of introducing a state of emergency in Tokyo and in three neighboring prefectures. The move comes after the governors of the Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures asked the government to introduce a state of emergency as current restrictions are failing to stop the spread of COVID-19. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has opposed tougher restrictions and has advocated combining COVID-19 curbs with measures to stimulate the economy. He is expected to give a press conference following next week's meeting with experts.
