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More than 1.5 million people have lost their lives due to Covid-19 and one death was reported every nine seconds on average during the last week.
Half a million deaths occurred in the past two months, indicating that the severity of the pandemic is far from over.
Nearly 65 million people around the world have been infected by the disease and the worst-affected country, the United States, is currently battling a third wave of coronavirus infections.
In the last week alone, more than 10,000 people in the world died on average every day, and the number has steadily increased with each passing week.
Latest coronavirus stories
The disease has caused more deaths in the past year than tuberculosis in 2019 and nearly four times the number of deaths from malaria, according to the World Health Organization.
Slovenia embarks on massive tests
Mass coronavirus testing will begin in Slovenia this month as restrictions imposed to address the pandemic have failed to halt infections.
The nationwide program should start after December 11 or 12, when the first 100,000 test kits are expected to be delivered, Health Minister Tomaz Gantar said at a press conference.
While health and home care workers are already being screened for the coronavirus, the Slovenian government plans to expand the scheme to include other key members of the workforce, such as teachers, soldiers and police.
By the end of the year, the tests, which provide a result in minutes, will be offered to all citizens who request them, Gantar said.
Call for additional restrictions in Germany
German Health Minister Jens Spahn has called for additional restrictions to halt the spread of the coronavirus in parts of Germany where infection figures are very high.
“Where there are a higher number of infections in Germany, in my opinion, additional measures are needed to reduce the number of contacts beyond what was agreed,” Spahn told German television ZDF.
“We still have too many districts and regions where additional measures are still needed,” he added.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany rose by 23,449 to 1,130,238, data from the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases showed today.
The reported death toll rose 432 to 18,034, the tally showed.
Increase in covid cases in Korea
South Korea said it is considering tightening its social distancing rules as it reported 629 new cases of coronavirus yesterday, the most since the first wave of infections in the country peaked in late February.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said the situation was critical as infections continued to rise at an alarming rate despite the reimposition of social distancing rules late last month, adding that the government would decide this Sunday whether to update. The restrictions.
What is happening in other places with the pandemic?
The Spanish region of Catalonia will not relax restrictions as planned due to worsening infection rates, prompting some ski slopes to postpone opening next week.
France will guarantee free vaccination for all and has allocated around 1.5 billion euros from next year’s social security budget to cover the cost.
Britain will pay people who suffer serious side effects from Covid-19 vaccines under an existing program, the government said, ahead of the launch of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine in the country following emergency approval.
The coronavirus will be added as a “precautionary step” to the list of diseases covered for potential liabilities under the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), the Department of Health and Social Care said.
Under the plan, people are entitled to a lump sum limited to £ 120,000 (€ 132,000) if they can show that they have suffered a serious disability as a result of a vaccine.
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