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The new coronavirus has infected more than 95 million people worldwide and has claimed more than 2 million lives. Here are the updates for January 18:
Health workers receive a dose of the vaccine against the Sinovac coronavirus disease (Covid-19), after the Brazilian health regulator, Anvisa, approved its emergency use at the Hospital das Clínicas in Sao Paulo, Brazil, January 17, 2021. (Reuters)
Monday, January 18, 2021:
The death toll from Covid-19 in Brazil is close to 210,000
Brazil had 33,040 new confirmed cases of the new coronavirus reported in the last 24 hours and 551 deaths, the first day of six the death toll has been below 1,000, the Ministry of Health said.
The South American country has registered 8,488,099 cases since the pandemic began, and the official death toll has risen to 209,847, according to ministry data.
It is the third worst outbreak in the world outside of the United States and India.
The death toll from viruses in Mexico rises to 140,704
Mexico reported 11,170 new confirmed virus cases and 463 more deaths, according to the Health Ministry, bringing the total to 1,641,428 infections and 140,704 deaths.
The actual number of infected people and deaths is likely significantly higher than the official count, the ministry said, due to a lack of widespread testing.
Slovakia expands and strengthens blockade against coronavirus
The Slovak government tightened the country’s blockade and extended it until February 7, as it launched a week-long testing campaign in an attempt to control the epidemic.
The blockade, declared on New Year’s Eve until January 24, includes a ban on family visits, travel beyond the district or public religious services.
Slovaks are now being asked to take the test from Monday to January 26. After that, only people with a negative result will be able to go to their workplace, the rest will have to stay at home.
Ghana’s President Warns of Health System Overload as Covid Cases Rise
Ghana’s virus infection rates are skyrocketing and include new strains of the virus never seen before in the country, filling up treatment centers and threatening to overwhelm the healthcare system, said President Nana Akufo-Addo.
Since January 5, the number of active cases has risen from about 900 to 1,924, Akufo-Addo said in a speech. There are now 120 serious cases, up from 18 a week ago.
Ghana is not yet close to a peak seen during the first wave of infections in the middle of last year, but could quickly reach that level if cases continue to increase at the current rate.
Turkey plans to reopen schools from February
Turkey plans to reopen schools from February 15, the country’s education minister said.
“We have made a political decision about the reopening of the schools as of February 15,” Ziya Selcuk said in an interview with CNN Turk.
The decision on possible scenarios for the school’s reopening will be decided and shared with the public 10 days before the scheduled reopening date, Selcuk added.
Noting that the decision will be made in accordance with the instructions of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Council, he said that it is not yet possible to reopen all classes at once, not only in Turkey but also in many countries around the world due to the pandemic.
Brazil approves two vaccines against Covid, Sao Paulo nurse receives first vaccine
Brazil’s health regulator gave emergency approval for two virus vaccines, kicking off a mass inoculation campaign amid a devastating second epidemic wave that killed more than 1,000 people daily in the vast South American nation.
Monica Calazans, a 54-year-old nurse in Sao Paulo became the first person in Brazil to receive the Chinese CoronaVac coup after the long-awaited decision by Anvisa’s watchdog.
Anvisa also approved AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford Covishield injection for use in the nation, whose death toll from Covid-19 now exceeds 209,000, second only to the United States.
Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello announced that the government would begin distributing vaccines to all 27 states on Monday so that a national vaccination campaign begins on Wednesday.
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
