NEW DELHI – India has tested its COVID-19 vaccine system through a nationwide study as it prepares to launch an inoculation program to stop the coronavirus pandemic.
Saturday’s exercise included entering data into an online platform for monitoring vaccine delivery, along with testing cold storage and transport arrangements for the vaccine.
The massive exercise came a day after a group of government-appointed experts held a meeting to discuss applications from potential vaccine candidates, including Covishield, the front leader, developed by Oxford University and British doctor AstraZeneca.
The government plans to inoculate 300 million people in the first phase of the vaccination program, which will include healthcare and front-line workers, police and military troops, and those with underlying medical conditions for more than 50 years.
India has confirmed over 10.3 million cases of coronavirus, second in the world in the US Over 149,000 people have died in India, third behind the US (347,000) and Brazil (195,000).
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VIRUS FIRE:
India, which plans to vaccinate 300 million people in its first phase, has tested its coronavirus vaccine administration system through a nationwide study storage and delivery. Meanwhile, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is urging the national government to declare a “state of emergency” to reduce the growing coronavirus “in the name of capitalizing on life.” Tokyo reported a daily record of 1,337 cases on New Year’s Eve, and concerns are growing ahead of hosting the July Olympics. In Italy, the elderly defy stereotypes that they need care and protection amid the pandemic and many are key workers.
California started the new year, reporting a record 585 coronavirus deaths in a single day as infections grow and hospitals reach capacity. Texas reported a record for hospitalizations for the fifth consecutive day. There were 12,481 patients with COVID-19 on New Year’s Day, an increase of over 1,750 from a week ago.
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Here’s what happens:
TOKYO – Officials in Tokyo and three nearby prefectures have called on the national government to declare a state of emergency to reduce the growing spread of coronavirus.
“In the name of capitalizing on life, we made this plea together,” Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said after meeting with the minister responsible for coronavirus measures on Saturday, along with Governors Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa.
Japan has seen a recent increase in reported cases of coronavirus, especially in urban areas. Tokyo recorded 1,337 cases a day on New Year’s Eve.
There are concerns about hosting the Olympics in July, with 11,000 Olympic athletes entering Japan, as well as tens of thousands of officials and the media.
“The Crown doesn’t know the timing,” says Koike. “Hospitals are packing up, affecting health care for everyone.”
Japan has never had a stalemate, trying to juggle the need to keep the economy at risk for health. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has been criticized for what some believe is a mishandling of the pandemic. Japan has more than 3,500 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths.
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BERLIN – The CEO of the German tour operator, TUI, predicts a “largely normal summer” in 2021, more and more people are vaccinated against coronavirus.
TUI chief Fritz Joussen was quoted as saying on Saturday’s Rheinische Post that the company’s market research shows that “people have a huge longing to be able to make beautiful journeys again after the difficult period of the crown”.
He said that “we expect a largely normal summer.” However, he added that the company will offer only about 80% of the flights it has made in the pre-pandemic years “to achieve optimal occupancy”.
Coronavirus infections that reappeared in the autumn and winter have led to national and regional restrictions on travel and hotel stays, along with quarantine requirements, largely disrupting tourism in Europe after a resurgence last summer.
Vaccinations began in Europe last month, but it will take some time to make a significant impact on the situation.
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SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea is extending strict spacing rules for another two weeks, as authorities try to suppress a viral recurrence, while confirming its first case of a seemingly more contagious variant of coronavirus detected in South Africa.
Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said on Saturday that the second highest level of distance rules would remain in place for the Seoul region until January 17. He says the third highest level of restrictions will remain in other areas until then.
Borders include bans on social gatherings of more than five people and religious services in person. The government will ask foreigners entering South Korea to show negative results of virus tests starting January 8.
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LONDON – The British government is facing growing calls to keep all schools in England closed for at least two weeks as a result of rising coronavirus cases following another sudden reversal of policy.
The call from the National Union for Education, which represents more than 450,000 members working in schools, came after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson changed his approach and said all schools for younger pupils in London should remain closed next week. , because the capital’s battles with high levels of infections.
Mary Bousted, the union’s joint head, said the decision was “absolutely necessary”, but criticized the government for initially intending to allow schools to reopen in areas where new infections occur.
The UK is experiencing a strong rise in new cases of coronavirus, which many have blamed on a new variant of the virus that is said to be up to 70% more infectious.
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LOS ANGELES – California began the new year by reporting a record 585 coronavirus deaths in a single day.
The State Department of Public Health said on Friday that more than 47,000 new confirmed cases had been reported, bringing the total to more than 2.29 million.
State hospitals have ended the year “on the brink of disaster,” a health official said, as the pandemic pushed deaths and diseases to staggering levels, and some medical centers rushed to provide oxygen for the seriously ill.
Governor Gavin Newsom’s office announced Friday that California will begin working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate and upgrade outdated oxygen delivery systems at six hospitals in Los Angeles.
The collaboration comes as older hospitals have difficulty maintaining oxygen pressure in aging infrastructure, and some are struggling to locate additional oxygen tanks for outpatients to take home.
This week, California became the third state to exceed 25,000 COVID-19 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
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AUSTIN, Texas – Texas reached a new record for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 for the fifth day in a row on Friday, in a steady rise in coronavirus disease after holiday meetings and travel.
Texas reported 12,481 COVID-19 patients in state hospitals on New Year’s Day, an increase of more than 1,750 from a week ago.
State health officials reported 12,369 new confirmed cases of the virus and another 3,658 probable cases on Friday.
According to the Texas Department of State Services, intensive care units in many parts of Texas were full or nearly full.
The gloomy numbers continued to grow as some Texans gathered to celebrate the new year, despite warnings from health officials that the congregation could continue to spread the virus.
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CARSON CITY, Nevada – Nevada reported 2,315 additional known cases of COVID-19 on Friday, along with another 21 coronavirus deaths.
The state’s total since the beginning of the pandemic has risen to 227,046 cases and 3,146 deaths.
In the last two weeks, there have been seven-day averages with new daily cases and daily deaths in Nevada. According to data from Johns Hopkins University and The COVID Tracking Project.
It is believed that the number of infections is much higher than reported, as many people have not been tested, and studies suggest that people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
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LONDON – British medical authorities are warning that hospitals across the country are facing dangerous weeks amid new coronavirus infections, blamed on a new variant of the virus.
Concerns are being raised about the already expanded capacity of the National Health Service to cope with the anticipated increase in the number of people seeking treatment for COVID-19.
The field hospitals that were built in the first days of the pandemic, but which were later dizzy, are reactivated.
The English director of the Royal College of Nursing says Britain is in the “eye of the storm”.
More than 55,280 new infections and another 613 deaths were recorded on Friday, putting the UK on track to once again overtake Italy, Europe’s worst-hit country in a pandemic.
The increase in new cases is said to be due to a new, more contagious variant of the virus first identified around London and the south-east of England.
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