MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd December, 2021) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 5.366 million, over 275.9 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 20:10 GMT Tuesday, the number of cases globally is 275,981,287, including 5,366,248 fatalities. As many as 8.76 billion of vaccine doses have been administered to date.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended Nuvaxovid, a COVID-19 vaccine developed by US company Novavax, for emergency use.
US Magistrate Judge David Noce blocked the enforcement of the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors in ten states, a court order from the US District Court of Eastern Missouri said.
New York City is offering $100 to every resident who will receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose before the new year, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
Medsafe, New Zealand's medical regulatory body, on Tuesday approved a new medicine Ronapreve with monoclonal antibodies for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in adults and adolescents.
Russia has confirmed 25,907 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the cumulative total to 10,267,719, the federal response center said. The response center also reported 1,027 deaths linked to the coronavirus, bringing the country's death toll to 299,249.
The Omicron coronavirus variant now accounts for more than 73% of the cases sequenced in the United States, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The European Commission announced that it limited the validity of COVID-19 vaccination certificates to nine months to facilitate travels within the European Union.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the government had no plans of issuing tougher COVID-19 restrictions despite a surge in cases of the Omicron variant.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) put eight more countries on its list of states that Americans should avoid due to the high risk of being infected with the novel coronavirus, including Spain, Finland, Chad, Lebanon, Bonaire, Gibraltar, Monaco and San Marino.
The United States may ease restrictions on visitors from southern African countries because the number of coronavirus infections in the country is already high, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, said.
The Biden administration is studying whether it is safe to reduce the standard 10-day quarantine period for healthcare workers infected with COVID-19 but without symptoms so that they could continue attending to sick people, Fauci said.
Australia is not going back to COVID-19 lockdowns despite the spread of the Omicron variant, expecting Australians to take health precautions out of personal responsibility and common sense, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
The US population has grown by 0.1% or 392,665, the lowest rate in the country's history, the Census Bureau said.
The UK government announced a 1 billion pound ($1.3 billion) package to help the hospitality and leisure sector cope with the wave of cancellations and "reduced footfall" prompted by the rapid spreading of the Omicron variant in England ahead of Christmas.
The Unites States is rolling out new measures to fight the Omicron coronavirus variant, including deployment of an extra 1,000 troops to COVID-19 hospitals and 500 million free rapid at-home tests, the White House announced.
The Pentagon has not received a large-scale request from states across the United States to provide military assistance amid the winter surge of coronavirus cases, spokesman John Kirby said.
The United States has allocated an extra $580 million to support the pandemic response of seven multilateral organizations, including the WHO, UNICEF and FAO, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
