Covid-19 Pandemic: Updates and live news for December 19, 2020

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed a complete blockade in London and large parts of the south-east of England in a desperate attempt to stop a new strain of coronavirus that is spreading rapidly in the UK. The nation has surpassed 2 million total infections.

The US reported 260,663 new cases on Friday, just short of the record set on Monday. Another 2,889 people died, a daily decrease after three consecutive days of deaths of more than 3,000.

Switzerland approved the leader of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE shot, while the Oxford-AstraZeneca version is expected to be approved for use in the UK by the end of the year, Telegraph reported.

Key developments:

• Global Tracker: Cases exceed 75.8 million; deaths exceed 1.6 million
• Modern shot eliminated in the US, stimulating the immunization effort
• World it seems to be spring for the virus to improve as vaccinations begin
• December appears as the USA the worst month of the pandemic
• More than 1.2 million people were vaccinated
• Can I be asked to get vaccinated ?: QuickTake
• Subscribe to a daily virus update from Bloomberg’s forecast team here. Click CVID

Confusion over shotgun supply, Perna says (12:15 pm NY)

The army general who is making the effort to distribute vaccines in the United States said that a gap between the time when fires are produced and when they are released for dispatch has led to widespread confusion about how many doses states will receive next week.

Gender. Gustave Perna, chief operations officer for Operation Warp Speed, the US vaccine program, said he took “personal responsibility” for a misrepresentation that led some states to complain that their allowances were being reduced without explanation.

Arizona deaths exceed 100 again (11:48 am NY)

Arizona reported 118 new deaths, the fourth consecutive day with more than 100 deaths. Infections and hospitalizations are on the rise, after the state contained a major outbreak this summer.

London was blocked by emergency while Britain fights new strain of virus (11:37 am NY)

Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed a complete blockade of London and large parts of the south-east of England in a desperate attempt to stop a new strain of coronavirus that is spreading rapidly in the UK

After emergency talks with his top officials, Johnson canceled plans to ease the pandemic’s restrictions for five days during the holidays. Household mixing will be banned in London and the South East and socialization will be limited to Christmas in the rest of England.

The prime minister announced that a new level 4 will be applied in the hot spots in the capital starting Sunday, with all non-essential stores closing and millions of people being ordered to stay at home.

The United Kingdom reported 27,052 new cases on Saturday, bringing the total to more than 2 million. The country reached 1 million cases on October 31. Another 534 people died, 100 more than the weekly average.

Ontario Cases Remain High (11:26 AM NY)

Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, recorded 2,357 new cases of Covid, the second-highest daily record, the province said on website. This compares with 2,290 cases on Thursday and records 2,432 cases registered a day earlier. From Ontario The government said on Friday it was tightening measures in five regions.

Canada is approaching a total of 500,000 confirmed cases, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News.

Italy deaths, slow cases (11:11 AM NY)

The number of daily deaths caused by coronavirus fell in Italy on Saturday to 553, compared to 674 the previous day. On Friday, there were 16,308 new cases against 17,992.

The government voted late on Friday to impose a “stop-and-go” blockade from December 24 to January 6 to continue to limit the spread of coronavirus across the country. There will be strict restrictions on traffic and non-essential restaurants and shops closed for Christmas, New Year and the Feast of the Baptism on January 6, and slightly freer borders for December 28-30 and January 4.

Germany provides 30 million more doses of BioNTech vaccine: Bild (9:30 am NY)

Germany has bought an additional 30 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, Bild am Sonntag reported, citing sources in the German Ministry of Health. This allocation will increase the 55.8 million doses it will receive through a European Union plan, with another 50.5 million doses from Moderna Inc. due from the EU. Collectively, this will allow Germany to obtain herd immunity in 2021, the newspaper’s Federal Ministry of Health said.

US reports 260,663 new cases, just shy of registration (7:30 am NY)

The US reported 260,663 new cases on Friday, shortly after the record set on Monday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. The average number of seven-day cases increased to 230,929, 10% higher than the daily average of the previous week.

Another 2,889 people died, a daily decrease after three consecutive days of deaths of more than 3,000. However, the weekly average rose to 2,591, 9% higher than the daily average of the previous week.

French President Macron Stable, able to work (7:25 am NY)

French President Emmanuel Macron’s condition is stable, his office said in a statement on Saturday. He is tired, but able to work.

Qatar to receive first vaccine delivery on Monday (6:47 am NY)

Gas-rich Qatar will receive its first shipment of coronavirus vaccines on Monday, according to a report tweet from the country’s prime minister. Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani did not specify which vaccine manufacturer produced the doses sent as part of the first shipment. Qatari officials have previously stated that they have entered into agreements for the purchase of both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.

Switzerland approves Pfizer shot (6:45 am NY)

Switzerland has authorized the Covid-19 Pfizer Inc. vaccine. and BioNTech SE, the first approved for use in the country. The nation has previously signed contracts with companies to deliver three million doses of vaccine. “Deliveries will begin in 2020 and take place throughout 2021,” BioNTech said in a separate statement.

“The data available to date have shown a comparable high level of efficacy in all age groups investigated, thus meeting safety requirements,” the Swissmedic regulatory authority said on Saturday. “The level of protection offered seven days after the second injection is over 90% in adults.”

Iranian infections go down to eight weeks (18:51 HK)

Iran’s daily infections fell to its lowest level in eight weeks, with 6,421 new cases on Friday, bringing the total number of cases to 1,152,072. The number of daily deaths fell for the fifth day to 175. In the last three weeks, the country has seen a sharp downward trend in its Covid-19 deaths, helped by two weeks of strict national blockade, after daily deaths approached of 500 at the end of November.

The Polish death toll rose the most in three days (5:27 pm HK)

Poland, which announced new harsh blocking measures for the holiday season, reported 11,267 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, compared to 11,013 on Friday. The Ministry of Health said the death toll had risen by 483, the highest in three days.

Emerges from Hong Kong in cases of unknown origin (5:14 pm HK)

Hong Kong reported 109 new cases of the virus on Saturday, seven of which were imported. Of the local infections, 42 are of unknown origin, the highest number in the last wave of the city and since 25 on Friday. More than 70 preliminary positive cases were found. New clusters have appeared in several building complexes, triggering mandatory tests for residents.

Britain could approve Oxford vaccine until December 29, Telegraph reports (17:09 HK)