Latest On Coronavirus

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st December, 2021) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 5.426 million, over 285.5 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 20:20 GMT Thursday, the number of cases globally is 285,530,130, including 5,426,781 fatalities. As many as 9.09 billion of vaccine doses have been administered to date.

China will keep working with Russia on cooperation issues related to COVID-19 vaccines, including mutual recognition of medicines, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said in an interview with Sputnik.

The European Union has enough doses of vaccines to conduct booster vaccination, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

The Technical Scientific Commission of the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA), has authorized the use of two new antiviral drugs - molnupiravir and remdesivir - for the treatment of COVID-19, the regulator said.

Hungary donated 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Armenia in humanitarian gesture despite a diplomatic spat, the Armenian Health Ministry said.

The first batch of the anti-coronavirus Paxlovid medicines by Pfizer was delivered to Israel on Thursday, making the country a pioneer in approving the drug, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said.

A study published by South African researchers on preprint server for health sciences, medRxiv, showed that a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose COVID-19 vaccine provides up to 85% effectiveness against developing severe disease and hospitalization one to two months after the shot.

The US food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning to allow the Pfizer coronavirus "booster" vaccines to be used on 12 to 15-year-old adolescents, the New York Times reported.

Children who are 5-11 years old are reporting local and systemic reactions after receiving the coronavirus vaccines produced by Pfizer and BioNTech, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a report.

US infectious disease expert and presidential medical adviser Anthony Fauci said a coronavirus vaccine for children younger that five years old might take months to be approved.

Mexican sanitary regulator Coferpis approved the use of Cuban coronavirus vaccine Abdala.

Russia confirmed 21,073 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the cumulative total to 10,479,344, the federal response center said. The response center reported 926 deaths linked to the coronavirus, bringing the country's cumulative coronavirus death toll to 307,948.

A record 19,000 COVID-19 cases were registered in Switzerland on Thursday amid the fifth wave of the COVID-19 and the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus strain in the country, the Federal Office of Public Health said.

A fifth wave of the coronavirus is inevitable and is likely to hit Moldova in the middle of the next month, the National Public Health Agency said.

Cases involving the coronavirus Omicron variant will likely peak by the end of January, US presidential medical adviser Anthony Fauci said.

The Spanish Health Ministry reduced the quarantine period for citizens who have tested positive for COVID-19 from 10 to seven days, despite the current increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

France plans to sanction businesses not complying with the requirements for remote work amid the coronavirus pandemic by requiring them to pay 1,000 Euros ($1132) per employee, Labor Minister Elisabeth Borne said.

Italy revised anti-coronavirus measures in light of the spread of the Omicron strain of COVID-19, among others canceling the quarantine for people inoculated with three doses of vaccines after contacts with COVID-19 patients.

Wearing face masks indoors and out became mandatory in Greece for everyone, including children four and over, an order published in the Government Gazette says.

The Chinese authorities have ensured a stable and seamless supply of basic necessities to the Chinese city of Xian located in the Shaanxi province, where a lockdown was imposed due to a new COVID-19 outbreak, Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said.

Americans should avoid all cruise travel even if they have been vaccinated for the novel coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said as it raised to the highest level the risk level for travelers from the Omicron variant.

Russia's mortality grew 18.5% year-on-year in January-November 2021, with more than 100% of additional mortality being due to COVID-19, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said.

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific flagship airline was forced to suspend all long-haul cargo and cargo-only passenger flights for a week after authorities increased a quarantine period for crew members from three to seven days, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported.

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific flagship airline has been forced to suspend all long-haul cargo and cargo-only passenger flights for a week after authorities increased a quarantine period for crew members from three to seven days, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported.

The UK government has pledged �105 million ($141.7 million) in emergency aid to help vulnerable countries, particularly in Africa, fight the Omicron coronavirus variant.