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- Switzerland has detected the new coronavirus variant identified for the first time in South Africa.
- Deaths in Latin America as a result of Covid-19 are high.
- China National Biotec Group has developed a vaccine.
Countries braced for further infections ahead of the New Year’s long weekend, with Australia tightening restrictions on gatherings in Sydney, while the first known case in the US of a highly infectious variant of coronavirus was detected in Colorado. on Tuesday.
LIVE | All the latest coronavirus updates and lockdown
Europe
* Switzerland has documented five cases of a variant of the coronavirus in Britain and two cases of a South African variant, a Swiss Health Ministry official said Tuesday.
* British Prime Minister Boris Johnson approved placing more swaths of the country under Level 4 restrictions as the government becomes increasingly alarmed by the speed at which a new variant of the virus is spreading, The Times reported.
* The European Union will purchase an additional 100 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, bringing the total of the two companies to 300 million doses, said the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
* Turkey received its first shipment of Covid-19 vaccines from Sinovac of China, Reuters television images showed.
Americas
* The first known U.S. case of a highly infectious coronavirus variant was detected in Colorado when President-elect Joe Biden warned that it could take years for most Americans to get vaccinated against the virus at current distribution rates.
* Strict stay-at-home orders were renewed indefinitely for much of California, as the state’s top health official said many hospitals were on the brink of crisis.
* U.S. Elected Representative Luke Letlow of Louisiana died Tuesday of Covid-19, his campaign said.
* Panama has signed agreements with four producers of Covid-19 vaccines to acquire a total of 5.5 million doses, enough for 80% of the population.
* Deaths in Latin America and the Caribbean from Covid-19 surpassed 500,000 on Tuesday and cases soared above 15 million, according to a tally of figures in government reports.
Pacific Asia
* A 46-year-old nurse became the first person in Singapore to receive the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech on Wednesday.
* Chinese meat importers and processors have asked exporters from countries with Covid-19 outbreaks to step up controls on shipments before they are sent to the world’s largest market, China’s top industry group said.
* South Korean authorities rushed to contain a cluster of infections in a Seoul prison as inmates waved signs through barred windows calling for help.
* The coronavirus situation in Tokyo is quite dire and the Japanese capital could face an “explosion” of Covid-19 cases, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said on Wednesday ahead of the New Year holidays.
* Australian authorities restricted movement and restricted gatherings in Sydney, hoping to prevent a coronavirus “super spreader” event during New Year’s Eve celebrations in the city.
Middle East and Africa
* The United Arab Emirates has discovered a “limited number” of cases of people infected with the new variant of the coronavirus in the country, said a government official; the first confirmed cases of a more contagious Covid-19 mutant in the Gulf region.
Medical developments
* A vaccine developed by a unit of the China National Biotec Group (CNBG) is 79.34% effective in protecting people from Covid-19 and the company has submitted an application for regulatory approval in China for general public use .
* A new variant of the novel coronavirus does not appear to cause more serious illness than other variants, according to a paired study from Public Health England.
* Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc said that initial data from an ongoing study of its cocktail of experimental antibodies for use in some hospitalized Covid-19 patients shows that the therapy was effective enough to warrant continuing the trial.
Economic impact
* Asian equities hit a record as investors bet on a strong economic recovery next year, as there is little sign that policymakers back down from massive stimulus efforts aimed at avoiding recessions caused by the coronavirus.
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