People wearing face masks walk along the touristic Arbat street in downtown Moscow on Dec 4, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

GENEVA / MEXICO CITY / MONTEVIDEO - Moscow began distributing the Sputnik V COVID-19 shot via 70 clinics on Saturday, marking Russia’s first mass vaccination against the disease, the city’s coronavirus task force said.

The task force said the Russian-made vaccine would first be made available to doctors and other medical workers, teachers and social workers because they ran the highest risk of exposure to the disease.

“You are working at an educational institution and have top-priority for the COVID-19 vaccine, free of charge,” read a phone text message received by one Muscovite, an elementary school teacher, early on Saturday and seen by Reuters.

Moscow, the epicentre of Russia’s coronavirus outbreak, registered 7,993 new cases overnight, up from 6,868 a day before and well above the daily tallies of around 700 seen in early September.

“Over the first five hours, 5,000 people signed up for the jab - teachers, doctors, social workers, those who are today risking their health and lives the most,” Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on his personal website on Friday.

The age for those receiving shots is capped at 60. People with certain underlying health conditions, pregnant women and those who have had a respiratory illness for the past two weeks are barred from vaccination.

Russia has developed two COVID-19 vaccines, Sputnik V which is backed by the Russian Direct Investment Fund and another developed by Siberia’s Vector Institute, with final trials for the both yet to be completed.

Scientists have raised concerns about the speed at which Russia has worked, giving the regulatory go-ahead for its vaccines and launching mass vaccinations before full trials to test its safety and efficacy had been completed.

The Sputnik V vaccine is administered in two injections, with the second dose is expected to be given 21 days after the first.

Moscow closed down all public places including parks and cafes, with exception for delivery, in late March, with police patrolling the streets looking for whose violating the rules. Restrictions were eased from mid-June, however.

Russia as a whole reported 28,782 new infections on Saturday, its highest daily tally, pushing the national total to 2,431,731, the fourth-highest in the world.

In October, certain restrictions such as remote learning for some secondary school children and a 30 percent limit on the number of workers allowed in offices were introduced again.

South Africa

South Africa will probably take its first delivery of coronavirus vaccines by the middle of next year after agreeing on an initial payment, according to the Health Ministry.

The government will pay about 327 million rand (US$22 million) to take delivery of the vaccines under the Covax initiative that will cover about 10 percent of the population, the ministry said in a statement. The total cost of the vaccines could amount to more than 2 billion rand. The World Health Organization-backed Covax initiative aspires to give lower-income countries the same access to vaccines as wealthier nations.

“Our understanding from the production estimates we have been provided with at this stage is that we should expect to receive the first batch of stock in quarter two of 2021,” the ministry said.

South Africa is seeing a surge in coronavirus cases in some districts just as millions of people prepare to travel to their home towns and holiday destinations during the festive season. President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday reintroduced restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the virus in Nelson Mandela Bay, the nation’s sixth-largest city, with a population of 1.3 million people.

WHO

World Health Organization officials on Friday warned governments and citizens not to drop their guard over the pandemic now a vaccination was close, saying healthcare systems could still buckle under pressure.

Britain approved Pfizer Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, raising hopes that the tide could soon turn against a virus that has killed nearly 1.5 million people globally, hammered the world economy and upended normal life for billions.

“Progress on vaccines gives us all a lift and we can now start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, WHO is concerned that there is a growing perception that the COVID-19 pandemic is over,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a Geneva news conference.

Tedros said the pandemic still had a long way to run and that decisions made by citizens and governments would determine its course in the short run and when the pandemic would ultimately end.

“We know it’s been a hard year and people are tired, but in hospitals that are running at or over capacity it’s the hardest it can possibly be,” he said.

“The truth is that at present, many places are witnessing very high transmission of the COVID-19 virus, which is putting enormous pressure on hospitals, intensive care units and health workers.”

Two promising vaccines could soon receive emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration, and some 20 million Americans could be vaccinated this year, helping stem the tide of the virus in the world’s worst hit country.

However, the WHO’s top emergency expert Mike Ryan also cautioned on Friday against complacency in the wake of vaccine roll-out, saying that although they were a major part of the battle against COVID-19, vaccines would not on their own end the pandemic.

“Vaccines do not equal zero COVID,” he said.

Ryan said some countries would have to sustain very strong control measures for some time into the future or they would risk a “blow up” in cases, and a yo-yoing of the pandemic.

“We are in a pivotal moment in some countries. There are health systems in some countries at the point of collapse,” he said, without referring to specific countries.

The World Health Organization hopes to have half a billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines available for distribution by the global COVAX initiative in the first quarter of 2021, its chief scientist said on Friday.

To date 189 countries have joined the COVAX programme, which is backed by the WHO and seeks to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines. The United States is not among them, having secured bilateral deals.

The initial COVAX plan is to vaccinate the 20% of populations at highest risk, including health workers and people aged over 65.

BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine

BioNTech SE said it’s on track to produce 50 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine with partner Pfizer Inc this year, easing concerns that they might miss production targets.

As of Friday, the companies had made the majority of the promised supply for this year, BioNTech said in a statement to Bloomberg. For next year, they’re looking for ways to increase production capacity beyond a promised 1.3 billion doses.

Moderna

Moderna Inc will be able to produce 500 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in 2021, Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Bancel said on Friday.

The company has submitted applications seeking emergency use authorization in the United States and the European Union after full results from a late-stage study showed the vaccine was 94.1 percent effective with no serious safety concerns.

“For 500 million, I am very comfortable we are gonna get there (2021),” Bancel said at the Nasdaq Investor Conference.

US

The mayor of San Francisco on Friday ordered new lockdowns and business restrictions across the Bay Area in the face of the COVID-19 surge, as political leaders nationwide ramp up pressure on Americans to stay home until vaccines can be distributed.

The new measures announced by Mayor London Breed, a first-term Democrat, apply across five Bay Area counties and are among the harshest of any major US city, closing all personal services, outdoor dining and most public gatherings.

The United States on Friday registered a record 225,201 new COVID-19 infections within 24 hours, with the national caseload surpassing 14.19 million and the death toll topping 276,00, according to Johns Hopkins University.

During the same period, the country reported 2,506 COVID-19 related deaths, the university said.

Americans should be wearing a mask indoors whenever they’re outside their own home, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending for the first time as COVID-19 surges across the country.

The recommendation on mask-wearing in all indoor sites came in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report, which cited a high-level transmission of the virus as the ongoing holiday season and colder weather have driven more people indoors.

“Consistent and correct use of face masks is a public health strategy critical to reducing respiratory transmission” of COVID-19, the report stated, adding that this was particularly important “in light of estimates that approximately one half of new infections are transmitted by persons who have no symptoms.”

With cases nationwide at a high, US states including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, Oregon and Arkansas reported a record number of cases. Iowa hit its highest number of new COVID-19 deaths for a second straight day. New York City’s average cases and positive-test rate continued to climb as Mayor Bill de Blasio advised people over 65 and with health conditions to stay home.

US President-elect Joe Biden says he’ll take a coronavirus vaccine to demonstrate its safety. BioNTech SE said it’s on track to produce 50 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine with partner Pfizer Inc. this year, easing concerns that they might miss production targets.

ALSO READ: Health minister: Norway to use all 3 vaccines to stop COVID-19

Mexico

Mexicans should cancel year-end travel plans and even avoid exchanging Christmas presents, the president said on Friday, unveiling measures particularly aimed at one of the world’s largest capital cities amid surging coronavirus cases.

Mexico's Health Ministry on Friday reported a record daily increase of 12,127 COVID-19 cases, bringing its national caseload to 1,156,770.

Meanwhile, the country's death toll from the virus increased by 690, reaching 108,863.

According to the Mexican government, the real number of infections is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.

Mexico now ranks fourth among Latin American countries in terms of documented COVID-19 cases, following Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.

Canada

Canada reported 3,763 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the national total to 400,031, according to CTV.

The COVID-19 death toll rose to 12,470 as of Friday afternoon. 

France

With 11,221 people testing positive for coronavirus in a 24-hour span and the national caseload nearing 2.27 million, France on Friday continued to see a downward trend in infections, data from the health authorities showed.

The daily figure was lower than Thursday's 12,696 and well below the record 60,486 reported on Nov 6, suggesting the country, which had introduced a second confinement in late October, is gaining control over the virus resurgence.

A total of 627 new deaths were reported Friday, taking the overall death toll to 54,767. Among them, 282 COVID-19 patients had died in hospitals from the respiratory disease, down from 324 registered a day before. Another 345 new deaths were reported in retirement homes over a three-day period.

A total of 26,311 COVID patients remain in hospitals for treatment, representing a daily fall of 392. Of those hospitalized, 132 left resuscitation units in the past 24 hours, reducing the total number of serious cases to 3,293.

Italy

Italy approved new restrictions on Thursday to avoid a surge in novel coronavirus infections over Christmas and the New Year, banning midnight mass and halting movement between towns, as the country posted its highest daily death toll of the pandemic.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that from Dec 21 to Jan 6 movement between Italy’s 20 regions will only be allowed for work, medical reasons or emergencies. On Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, Italians cannot even leave their towns.

Brazil

Brazil on Friday reported 694 more deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, raising the total fatalities to 175,964.

Tests also detected 46,884 infections in the past 24 hours, bringing Brazil's total caseload to 6,533,968, according to the Health Ministry.

Peru

Peru will resume commercial flights to European cities starting mid-December, under strict sanitary guidelines against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Minister of Transport and Communications Eduardo Gonzalez said on Friday.

Peru is coordinating the flights with officials at the destinations, which include Amsterdam (the Netherlands), London (the United Kingdom), Madrid and Barcelona (Spain), and Paris (France).

"These are more than 8-hour flights ... basically flights to Europe, which will resume from Dec. 15," Gonzalez told state-run TV Peru.

The measure resumes some 24 to 30 flights to different destinations.  

Portugal

Portugal’s parliament on Friday approved a 15-day extension of a state of emergency to Dec 23 under a decree that envisages a further extension into January, as the government prepared measures to limit COVID-19 contagion during the holiday season.

The nationwide state of emergency to tackle the second wave of the virus initially came into force on Nov 9 and will now likely stay in place at least until Jan 7.

Parliament can only authorize extensions of 15 days, but in his decree, which lawmakers approved on Friday, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa had made clear the extension until January was on the cards.

Argentina

Argentines are being urged to test and trace as a way to "minimize the possibility of having a second wave of infections" of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Health Ministry's Secretary of Access to Health Carla Vizzotti said on Friday.

"If we have symptoms, it is necessary to consult (a professional) immediately," Vizzotti said in a statement.

However, "it is important to share again that the testing strategy is a relevant part, but it is not the only part of managing pandemic cases," she added.

Those testing positive also need to notify their closest contacts, so they can in turn get tested, she said.

Chile

Chile's Ministry of Health on Friday reported 1,729 new cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in the previous 24 hours, the highest figure since early November, bringing the total caseload since March to 557,135.

In its daily pandemic report, the ministry also reported 39 deaths in 24 hours from causes associated with COVID-19, raising the death toll to 15,558.

This week, Chile reopened to foreign visitors in the lead up to the end-of-year holiday season, but restricted entry to a single gateway, the Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport in the capital Santiago.

Health officials have warned of a likely second wave of COVID-19 cases, anticipating between 3,000 and 9,000 positive cases a day and an increase in critically ill patients starting in January 2021.

Slovenia

Slovenia on Friday reported 61 COVID-19-related deaths in the past 24 hours, the highest daily death toll yet, taking the total number of fatalities to 1,653.

The same period saw 1,784 new confirmed coronavirus cases, pushing the national tally to 83,133.  

The COVID-19 tracker site Sledilnik shows that there are currently 20,523 active cases in the country. The average 14-day incidence rate is now 979 per 100,000 inhabitants.   

Tunisia

Tunisian Health Ministry on Friday evening reported 1,403 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 100,683.

The death toll from the virus rose by 56 to 3,415 in the North African country, according to the ministry statement.

The total number of recoveries has reached 74,513 in the country, it said. 

UK

Another 16,298 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 1,690,432, according to official figures released Friday.

The coronavirus-related deaths in Britain rose by 504 to 60,617, the data showed.

Earlier Friday, the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) announced that Britain's coronavirus reproduction number, known as the R number, has dropped to between 0.8 and 1.0, its lowest level since August.

If the figure is above one, it means the virus can grow exponentially.

READ MORE: Backsliding worries WHO after progress

Germany

Germany has reported 23,318 new cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the nation's total to 1,153,556, the federal Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said on Saturday.

The country's death toll has increased by 483 to 18,517, the RKI's COVID-19 dashboard showed.

To cope with rising COVID-19 infection rates, the country's federal and state governments last week decided to extend a partial lockdown until Dec 20.

Ukraine

A total of 787,891 COVID-19 cases and 13,195 deaths were registered in Ukraine as of Friday, while 397,809 patients have recovered, the country's health ministry reported.

A total of 15,131 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the country in the past 24 hours, while 13,383 patients have recovered, the ministry added.

Ukrainian Health Minister Maxym Stepanov said that he would propose to the government to introduce a strict three-week quarantine starting from the beginning of January 2021.

Uruguay

Uruguay is bracing for a record number of daily COVID-19 cases after seeing huge increases in infections in recent days, Minister of Public Health Daniel Salinas said on Friday.

At a press conference, Salinas said 177 new cases had been confirmed by Friday morning, "so we are not surprised that there could be a new record" to break the previous day's high of 238 confirmed cases.

However, the rise in cases could also be due to stepped up testing and tracing, he said, adding that "we go out to look for the sick ... we do the tests, we go out to look for their contacts, and we are working hard."

Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou on Tuesday announced new measures to contain the outbreak, including remote working for all civil servants, the suspension of sports and activities at indoor gyms, and closing of bars and restaurants.