MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2021) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 2.212 million, over 102.3 million cases of 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.
As of 19:30 GMT Saturday, the number of cases globally is 102,314,963, including 2,212,812 fatalities.
The United States still has the highest case count in the world, with 25,980,190, including 437,711 fatalities.
The Italian Medicines Agency on Saturday announced approving the use of the vaccine against the coronavirus disease developed by UK-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and Oxford University. The vaccine is recommended for use among people aged between 18 and 55.
Vietnam and Kuwait have also approved the use of the AtraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine against COVID-19.
Tunisia has registered the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus disease, the country's health ministry said on Saturday.
The first phase of the mass vaccination campaign against the novel coronavirus has been launched in Algeria after the country received the first shipment of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, national media reported on Saturday.
Tehran and Moscow have signed an agreement on the deliveries of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine and the first batch of the drug is expected to be sent to Iran next week, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali told IRNA news agency.
An Iranian domestically developed vaccine is effective against the UK strain of COVID-19, a spokesman for the national coronavirus combat task force, Hojjat Niki Maleki said on Saturday.
US pharmaceutical company Moderna will deliver next week 50,000 less COVID-19 vaccine doses to Canada than anticipated, exacerbating an already crippling shortage, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
Moderna will reduce by 20 percent the volume of COVID-19 vaccine doses set to be delivered to the Netherlands in February, the NL Times newspaper reported on Saturday, citing the Dutch Department of Health.
The first batch of 1 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine produced by the China's Sinopharm will be delivered to Peru on February 9, Peruvian Prime Minister Violeta Bermudez said.
The first two cases of a highly infectious variant of COVID-19 first identified in the United Kingdom have been reported in Palestine, in the province of Bethlehem, governor Kamel Hmeid said on Saturday.
A new variant of COVID-19 originating in the United Kingdom was registered for the first time in Uzbekistan, Deputy Health Minister Bakhodir Yusupaliev said on Saturday.
The new strain of the novel coronavirus that first appeared in the United Kingdom will become more dominant in the United States by the middle of spring, US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci said.
US citizens will be required to wear masks in public transport, including planes and trains, starting from February 1, according to the new order by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) aimed at preventing further spread of the coronavirus.
France, Germany and the Czech Republic said Friday they will restrict in- and outbound travel amid concerns about more contagious strains of the coronavirus spreading across the European Union.
Vatican City will reopen its museums, closed over the COVID-19 pandemic, for visitors starting from February 1, the museums said.
Norway has decided to soften some of the lockdown measures aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19 in the Oslo municipality starting next Wednesday, Health Minister Bent Hoie said on Saturday. Students will be able to attend classes in person if necessary, and children will be allowed to play sports outside. Small bars, restaurants and cafes will be allowed to open as well, although the sale of alcohol will still be prohibited.
Bolivia's lower house has voted in favor of a bill that would bar medical personnel from going on strike during the COVID-19 pandemic and make it easier for new doctors, including foreigners, to find employment.
Argentina has decided to extend mandatory social distancing measures until the end of February to curb the further spread of the coronavirus, according to a decree issued by President Alberto Fernandez on Saturday.
Japan has begun working on extending an extension of the state of emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic in at least eight prefectures, Japanese media reported on Saturday, citing sources.
Members of the Georgian tourism and restaurant industry have held a protest outside the government chancellery building in Tbilisi on Saturday, demanding the authorities to lift the current coronavirus restrictions, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn defended the EU's controls on coronavirus vaccine exports as a way of building acceptance at home of the bloc's charitable efforts. He argued at the virtual Davos forum that it was about finding the "right balance" between the need to protect EU nationals and vaccine needs of people in poorer countries.
The European Commission said it had decided to ensure that Northern Ireland - which is a part of the Single European Market - would be exempted from the need to get authorization for purchasing coronavirus vaccines from the bloc.
