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HEALTH-VIRUS-WORLD
Coronavirus: Latest global developments
PARIS, Nov 9, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Here are the latest developments in the
coronavirus crisis:
– Vaccine hope –
A vaccine jointly developed by US company Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech is
90 percent effective in preventing infections in ongoing Phase 3 trials, the
companies announce.
European stocks and oil prices soared 5 percent on the news.
– Russia surge –
Russia registers a record number of new infections with cases in Moscow
surpassing a previous high set in May.
Despite new infections nearly doubling the country’s first-wave record, the
Kremlin has so far ruled out putting back into place sweeping restrictions
lifted earlier this year.
– Hungary lockdown –
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announces a partial lockdown for his
country from Wednesday.
– South Africa –
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa calls for vigilance to avoid
lockdown measures that could stifle the country’s economic recovery. After
months of restrictions almost all businesses have reopened though masks are
still mandatory and large gatherings discouraged.
– France economy blues –
France’s central bank says it expects economic activity to decline between
9 and 10 percent this year, a bigger drop than previously forecast due to a
new lockdown.
– More than 50 million cases –
The virus has claimed at least 1,255,803 lives worldwide since it first
emerged in China late last year, according to an AFP tally on Monday at 1100
GMT based on official sources.
More than 50,376,020 cases have been registered across the globe.
The United States is the worst-affected country with 237,584 deaths from
9,972,333 cases.
After the US, the hardest-hit countries are Brazil with 162,397 deaths,
India with 126,611, Mexico with 95,027 and the United Kingdom with 49,044
deaths.
– India firecracker ban –
India’s environmental court orders a ban on firecrackers in cities with
poor air quality during the country’s biggest festival, Diwali, citing a link
between pollution and a coronavirus surge.
– Algerian leader –
The health of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who has been
hospitalised in Germany with Covid-19 since late October, is “constantly
improving”, the presidency says.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1904 hrs