PARIS, Aug 19, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Here are the latest developments in the
coronavirus crisis:
– More than 780,000 deaths –
The pandemic has killed at least 781,194 people worldwide since surfacing
in China late last year, according to a tally from official sources compiled
by AFP at 1100 GMT on Wednesday.
More than 22 million cases have been registered.
The United States has recorded the most deaths with 171,833, followed by
Brazil with 109,888, Mexico with 57,774, India with 52,889 and Britain with
41,381.
– Mandatory vaccine? –
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison calls for coronavirus
immunisations to be mandatory, wading into ethical and safety debates raging
around the world.
“There are always exemptions for any vaccine on medical grounds, but that
should be the only basis,” Morrison says, after Australia secures access to a
vaccine currently under development by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.
– Europe’s ‘tightest’ border policy –
Finland has removed most EU countries from its “green travel list”, with
only arrivals from a handful of states now able to enter without
restrictions, the government announces.
“Finland’s border policy is the tightest in the European Union, because we
have wanted to preserve the relatively good virus situation in Finland,”
Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo says.
The tougher rules mean only people coming from Italy, Hungary, Slovakia,
Estonia and Lithuania will now be allowed into Finland without proving they
have a valid reason for travel and self-isolating for two weeks.
– Brazil go ahead –
Brazilian health regulators give the green light to the final stage of
trials on a vaccine by Johnson & Johnson. The US pharmaceutical firm will
test its drug on 7,000 volunteers in the country, part of a group of up to
60,000 worldwide.