[ad_1]
The global human rights group Amnesty International released a new report on Thursday documenting rights violations committed by security forces in nearly 60 countries in the fight against COVID-19.
“Security forces around the world are widely violating international law during the pandemic, using excessive and unnecessary force to implement lockdowns and curfews,” said Patrick Wilcken, Deputy Director of the Global Affairs Program at Amnesty International.
The report describes multiple cases during which security forces killed or seriously injured citizens while trying to enforce coronavirus restrictions.
“Horrible abuses committed under the guise of fighting COVID-19 include Angolan police shooting a teenager in the face for allegedly violating the curfew, and police in El Salvador shooting a man in the legs after who went out to buy food, “Wilcken said.
The rights group also criticized governments’ crackdown on peaceful protests, arbitrary arrests and detentions, as well as racial bias and discrimination in the enforcement of coronavirus restrictions.
DW has an overview of other major developments around the world.
Americas
US President-elect Joe Biden could receive the coronavirus vaccine next week, while outgoing Vice President Mike Pence will receive the vaccine this Friday, in a bid to build public confidence in the vaccine.
“I don’t want to get ahead of the line, but I want to make sure that we show the American people that it is safe to drink,” Biden said at an event earlier that day. At 78, he is in a high-risk category for the virus.
the US FDA has said that all additional doses from BioNTech-Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine vials can be used. This comes after reports emerged that some doses were being discarded due to labeling confusion.
Previous reports indicated that hospital pharmacists were throwing away one in six doses of the vaccine after finding additional doses (six or seven, as opposed to the five that were supposed to be there) in the vials. Without manufacturer approval, the extras had to be scrapped.
Brazil has surpassed 7 million confirmed infections after hitting an all-time daily high of more than 70,000 new coronavirus cases. His account remains the third highest in the world, after the United States and India.
The country’s Health Ministry also reported 936 deaths, but did not include data from Brazil’s most populous state, Sao Paulo, for technical reasons.
Europe
Germany is scheduled to launch the BioNTech-Pfizer coronavirus vaccine on Dec. 27, according to the Berlin city government. Seniors will be given priority in residences.
The announcement came shortly after Germany entered a strict lockdown to control the spread of the virus. The blockade, which took effect on December 16, will remain in effect until at least January 10.
As a member of the EU, Germany has to wait for the European Medicines Agency to approve the vaccine. Approval is expected to arrive on December 23.
France it is slated to receive about 1.16 million coronavirus vaccines by the end of the year, Prime Minister Jean Castex said. Another 2.3 million doses are expected to arrive over the next two months.
Priority will be given to the elderly, the vulnerable and caregivers but “only in late spring will we open the vaccination program to the entire population,” he added.
France has ordered nearly 200 million doses, enough to inoculate 100 million people. The total population of the country is just under 70 million.
Asia
WHO has announced that China It will host an international team of researchers to investigate the coronavirus early next year, according to WHO’s regional director for emergencies in the Western Pacific, Babatunde Olowokure.
The team is expected to travel to China in early January, but the agency is still in talks with the country about where the researchers will be allowed to enter the country.
Read more: Fact Check: Will Poor Countries Miss COVID-19 Vaccines?
South Korea has marked its deadliest day with the virus after the death of 22 patients, bringing the country’s death toll to 634. The country is battling a surge in coronavirus infections with more than 1,000 new cases per second day consecutive.
The Korea Disease Prevention and Control Agency said South Korea had 12,209 active patients, of whom 242 were in serious or critical condition.
After registering a remarkable response to the virus in the first days of its spread, South Korea has been struggling to contain COVID-19 in the densely populated metropolitan area of Seoul. Officials are now considering tougher restrictions.
see / rt (AP, Reuters, dpa, AFP)
[ad_2]
