Newest updates as EU nations launch coordinated vaccination marketing campaign whereas fears develop over new coronavirus pressure.
European Union nations have kicked off a coordinated effort to present COVID-19 vaccinations to adults amongst their 450 million residents, marking a second of hope on the continent.
In the meantime, fears develop over a brand new variant of the coronavirus that’s spreading throughout the UK with Japan barring on Sunday the entry of all non-resident overseas nationals as a precaution in opposition to the pressure.
Thailand, in the meantime, is scrambling to comprise a COVID outbreak related to a seafood market in a southern province, and residents of Sydney – Australia’s largest metropolis – are awaiting phrase on whether or not any public New 12 months’s Eve celebrations will probably be allowed.
Listed here are the most recent updates:
EU begins vaccine roll-out
Pictures have been administered to probably the most susceptible individuals, well being care staff who maintain them and a few politicians to reassure the general public that the vaccinations are protected.
The vaccines, developed by Germany’s BioNTech and American drugmaker Pfizer, began arriving in EU nations on Friday.
Altogether, the EU’s 27 nations have recorded at the least 16 million coronavirus infections and greater than 336,000 deaths – big numbers that consultants nonetheless conform to understate the true toll of the pandemic attributable to missed instances and restricted testing.
European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen launched a video Saturday celebrating the vaccine rollout, calling it “a touching second of unity.”
Thailand’s COVID-19 outbreak grows
Thailand confirmed 121 new infections of the novel coronavirus, a senior official mentioned, up from the 103 instances reported earlier within the day.
Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the nation’s COVID-19 pandemic process drive, mentioned at a briefing that the brand new instances embody 94 home transmissions and 18 in migrant staff related to an outbreak at a seafood market in Samut Sakhon, a province southwest of Bangkok.
Infections related to this cluster have unfold to 38 provinces.
Japan halts all overseas arrivals over UK variant
Japan is barring entry of all nonresident overseas nationals as a precaution in opposition to a brand new and probably extra contagious coronavirus variant that’s spreading throughout the UK.
The International Ministry says the entry ban will begin Monday and final via January 31.
Sydney awaits verdict on New 12 months’s festivities
Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak continued on Sunday with greater than 1 / 4 of 1,000,000 individuals in lockdown as Australia’s largest metropolis awaited phrase on whether or not any public New 12 months’s Eve celebrations will probably be allowed.
Seven COVID-19 instances have been reported in New South Wales state, six linked on to the outbreak in Sydney’s northern seashore suburbs, that are beneath a stay-at-home order till Wednesday. Infections stand at 122.
“We hope to have some clear data for everyone tomorrow, or the most recent the day after, on what the New 12 months’s Eve and the subsequent weeks will appear like,” state Premier Gladys Berejiklian informed a information convention.