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Latest on worldwide spread of coronavirus

AAP
The global death toll from the coronavirus is approaching 2.6 million.
Camera IconThe global death toll from the coronavirus is approaching 2.6 million.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

EUROPE

* The number of people treated in French intensive care units for COVID-19 reached a 14-1/2-week-high on Monday, at 3849, while total hospitalisations for the disease increased for the second day running, to 25,195.

* Italy's coronavirus death toll passed the 100,000 mark on Monday and Prime Minister Mario Draghi warned that the situation was worsening again with a jump in hospitalisations.

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* The number of new cases recorded in the United Kingdom fell on Monday to its lowest total since late September, government data showed.

* Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday said an evening curfew to combat the coronavirus outbreak must remain in place until at least March 31.

* Italy recommended the use of AstraZeneca vaccines for those aged over 65, overcoming previous doubts that the drug might not be very effective on the elderly.

* Turkey recorded 13,215 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, Health Ministry data showed, the highest level since January 6, bringing the total number of cases to 2,793,632.

AMERICAS

* Preliminary studies suggest the AstraZeneca vaccine will protect against the P1 variant of the coronavirus, Mauricio Zuma, the head of production at Brazil's Fiocruz biomedical institute said on Monday, confirming a Reuters report on Friday.

* People who have been fully vaccinated can meet without masks indoors in small groups with others who have been inoculated but should avoid non-essential travel and continue to wear face-coverings in public, the Biden administration said on Monday.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Indonesia has received about 1.1 million ready-to-use doses of vaccine produced by AstraZeneca under the global vaccine-sharing COVAX facility.

* Thailand will from next month reduce its mandatory quarantine from 14 to seven days for foreigners arriving in the country who have been vaccinated against the virus.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Israel on Monday extended its COVID-19 vaccination campaign to Palestinians working in Israel or its West Bank settlements, after facing criticism for not providing more doses to Palestinians in occupied territory.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Waiving intellectual property rights will not be enough to resolve COVID-19 vaccine access issues, the developers of the Oxford/Astrazeneca and the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines said on Monday, ahead of a meeting on the topic at the World Trade Organisation this week.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* With plenty of practice sending out coronavirus relief payments, the US government should be able to start delivering $1400 cheques almost immediately once Congress finalises a new aid bill and President Joe Biden signs it, tax experts say.

* The pandemic has had an "extremely unfair" impact on the income and economic opportunities of women, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, calling for long-term steps to improve labour market conditions for women.

WORLDWIDE

DEATHS: 2.59 MILLION

CASES: 117 MILLION

RECOVERED: 66.1 MILLION

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