MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th December, 2021) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 5.318 million, over 271.2 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 20:35 GMT Tuesday, the number of cases globally is 271,287,552, including 5,318,421 fatalities. As many as 8.51 billion of vaccine doses have been administered to date.
Russia has been working with the World Health Organization to help it fill in the missing data about the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The US Supreme Court denied a bid by New York healthcare workers to block a state law mandating they receive COVID-19 vaccines without providing any religious exemptions.
Venezuela will vaccinate citizens with a booster shot of coronavirus vaccine from January 1, 2022, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said.
The United States intends to donate over 1.2 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines to other countries by the end of 2022, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
A new stage of trials proved the high efficacy of Pfizer's oral antiviral treatment against COVID-19 by reducing risk of hospitalization or death by 89%, the company announced.
Massive inequality in vaccination rates across the world prevents the world from overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, adding that as much as 41 countries are still not able vaccinate 10% of their population.
Russia has confirmed 28,343 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the cumulative total to 10,074,797, the federal response center said. The response center also reported 1,145 deaths linked to the coronavirus, bringing the country's death toll to 291,749.
The World Health Organization (WHO) told Sputnik that it expected an increase in the number of hospitalizations and fatalities related to the new Omicron coronavirus strain.
Norway, amid a rapid spread of COVID-19 in the country, tightens restrictions from Wednesday, in particular, bans sale of alcohol in restaurants and cafes, requires to wear masks in public places if it is impossible to keep a distance; the number of participants in events is limited, the Norwegian government said.
All countries from where travel is forbidden under the UK's coronavirus restrictions will be wiped off the "red list" on Wednesday, the British secretary for transport announced.
The United States urges Americans to avoid travel to Italy, Greenland and Mauritius due to a substantial increase in new Omicron variant of COVID-19 infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website
California authorities have reinstituted an indoor mask mandate for all non-exempt individuals through January 15 in order to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus Omicron variant during the holiday season, State Public Health Officer Tomas Aragon and Governor Gavin Newsom said in a new guidance to all residents.
The Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) has banned travelers who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 from entering the country, overriding the government's decision on the issue.
Eighty-one percent of Japanese support the government's decision not to issue new visas to foreigners due to the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported, citing a poll.
Russian Health Ministry specialists arrived in South Africa to provide assistance in the coronavirus response effort, the ministry said.
UK Conservative lawmaker Tobias Ellwood called on the government to create a dedicated department to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that the current structure, "however well intended," is not adapted to handling an enduring emergency.
Police in the Indian city of Bangalore detained four people involved in the forgery of the PCR COVID-19 test of the first diagnosed Omicron variant case brought from South Africa to India.
The Afghan health authority said it would reopen COVID-19 treatment centers soon, after donor support resumes.
