MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th May, 2021) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 3.321 million, over 159.8 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 20:40 GMT Wednesday, the number of cases globally is 159,896,332, including 3,321,888 fatalities.
The United States still has the highest case count in the world, with 32,803,953, including 583,385 fatalities.
Over 24 million Russians have got vaccinated against the coronavirus, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Wednesday, stressing that herd immunity must be achieved by the end of the year.
Russian vaccines are effective against the coronavirus strain originating in India, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova assured.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the process of recognition of Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V by the World Health Organization (WHO) was underway, and the UN would welcome its completion.
Angola registered Russian single-dose coronavirus vaccine Sputnik Light, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed Russia's readiness to deliver Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to Turkey, a Turkish delegation will come to Russia in the coming days, the Kremlin said following Putin's phone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ecuador intends to sign an agreement on the supply of the Sputnik V vaccine, President-elect Guillermo Lasso said.
Venezuela expects to shortly receive Sputnik Light, the single-dose version of Russia's flagship coronavirus vaccine, President Nicolas Maduro said.
The COVID-19 expert committee of India's drug regulator has approved testing Covaxin COVID-19 vaccine, developed by national company Bharat Biotech, on those aged 2-18 years old, the Press Trust of India reported, citing official sources.
The Canadian provinces of Ontario and Alberta will no longer offer the Oxford-AstraZeneca's first dose of the coronavirus vaccine to its residents, provincial health officials said.
Around 90% of people who received the vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. were found to have COVID-19 antibodies against the coronavirus variant detected in Japan.
The Brazilian Health Ministry said it would allocate more than $1.26 billion for the purchase of 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines produced by Pfizer.
Russia registered 8,217 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, up from 8,115 the day before, taking the overall tally to 4,905,059, the coronavirus response center said.
The European Union registered a steady decrease in excess mortality rate in the first months of 2021, after seeing deaths rise by almost 41% above average levels in November, official figures showed.
France has observed a significant decrease in the coronavirus-linked workload of hospitals, as the epidemic seems to be in retreat, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said.
The United Kingdom is likely to experience a new surge in the coronavirus infections in the coming winter, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
It is necessary to look into allowing entry into Germany without undergoing quarantine for those inoculated with vaccines not approved by the European Union, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said following the decision to ease entry restrictions for those vaccinated with shots certified by the bloc.
COVID certificates should be only a temporary measure in the European Union, as they can promote tourism in the current situation, but in principle this is an obstacle to free travel, European Tourism Association CEO Tom Jenkins said in an interview with Sputnik.
The Dutch parliament voted in favor of a bill that will formalize the use of coronavirus tests to help ease the lockdown, after seeing a drop in new cases, media said.
Mexico has closed the ancient Mayan ruins in the southern city of Palenque to visitors due to coronavirus concerns, the National Institute of Anthropology and History said.
The UK Gross Domestic Product shrank by 1.5 percent year-on-year in the period from January to March, a quarter when most of the country was under its third COVID-19 lockdown, the Office for National Statistics reported.
The commercial air traffic in the European Union has not recovered from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying travel restrictions in early 2021, including last month, Eurostat, the EU's official statistics bureau, said.
International cooperation in the fight against terrorism did not weaken because of the coronavirus pandemic, but it moved to the online format, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said in an interview with Sputnik.
Thirty-one Japanese municipalities have abandoned their plans to host foreign athletes for training camps and cultural exchanges before the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, the Kyodo news agency reported.
Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations Zhang Jung said on Wednesday that he was working very hard to resume in-person meetings at the UN Security Council while presiding over that body during the month of May.
The World Health Organization (WHO)'s Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response warned on Wednesday that the global healthcare system is currently unfit to prevent another novel and highly infectious pathogen from developing into a pandemic.
The Japanese government mulls contributing an additional $700 million to the COVAX vaccine-sharing mechanism led by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Kyodo news agency reported on Wednesday, citing government sources.
Germany has allocated 300 million Euros ($363.5 million) for scientific research to treat the COVID-19 disease, including by the means of vaccines, Health Minister Jens Spahn said.
