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HEALTH-VIRUS-WORLD, FACTS
Coronavirus: Latest global developments
PARIS, Feb 2, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Here are the latest developments in the
coronavirus crisis:
– 100 million vaccinated –
More than 100 million vaccines have been given around the world, an AFP
tally from official sources found Tuesday.
But none of the world’s 29 poorest countries has formally started mass
vaccination drives, while the richest nations have provided more than two-
thirds of jabs administered.
– Russian jab has ‘high efficacy’
Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is 91.6 percent effective against symptomatic
Covid-19, says an analysis published in The Lancet.
Independent experts say the preliminary findings allay transparency
concerns over the jab, which Moscow is already rolling out.
– Black Americans miss out –
A study suggests Black Americans have not received jabs at a rate
proportionate to their population in the US even though they are almost three
times more likely to be hospitalised by the virus and twice as likely to die.
– Fake shot gang busted –
Chinese police arrest more than 80 people involved in a scam selling
saline solution as vaccine as the country races to give shots to 50 million
before the Lunar New Year holiday on February 12.
– Japan jabs EU –
Japan says a rule requiring European Union drug-makers to seek approval
before shipping vaccines to non-EU countries is holding up its vaccination
plan.
– Emergency extended –
Tokyo Olympics president Yoshiro Mori insists the Games will go ahead no
matter what even as Japan extends its state of emergency less than two months
before the Olympic torch is due to arrive.
– BP pummelled –
BP says it tumbled $20.3 billion (16.8 billion euro) into the red last
year with oil hit hard by the pandemic.
– UK variant in Nigeria –
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control says six new cases of the British
variant were found in the West African nation at the weekend.
– Dubai bars shut –
Dubai orders bars to close and restricts hours and capacity at
restaurants, cafes, shops, cinemas and sports venues to suppress a spike in
cases, after tourists flock to the emirate.
– ‘Ambush lockdowns’ –
Hong Kong’s leader defends “ambush lockdowns” — where neighbourhoods
are sealed off and residents tested — after a spate of overnight operations
uncovered no new cases.
– Austria eases lockdown –
Shops, museums and zoos in Austria will be able to reopen and meetings
of people from more than two households will be allowed, but mask-wearing and
increased testing are required.
– Care improved –
A study shows Covid-19 treatments and improved hospital care around the
world have reduced death rates in intensive care by more than a third since
the early months of the pandemic.
– S.Africa cricket tour out –
Australia pulls out of their South African cricket tour citing
“unacceptable” risk as a new variant accelerates the outbreak in the
continent’s worst-affected country.
– More than 2.2 million dead –
The coronavirus has killed more than 2,237,990 people since the outbreak
emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally based on
official sources.
The countries with the most deaths are the US on 443,365, Brazil 225,099
and Mexico 159,100.
The global death toll, calculated from official daily figures published
by national health authorities, is an underestimate and does not include
later revisions by statistics agencies.
BSS/AFP/IJ/1919 hrs