Passers-by stand in front of a shop in the city center in Dresden, eastern Germany on Dec 12, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)
RIO DE JANEIRO / LISBON / BOGOTA / NEW YORK / LONDON / CAIRO / BERLIN - Germany will close most stores from Wednesday until at least Jan. 10, cutting short the busy Christmas shopping season, as it tightens coronavirus restrictions and tries to rein in the spread of the disease, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday.
“I would have wished for lighter measures. But due to Christmas shopping the number of social contacts has risen considerably,” Merkel told journalists following a meeting with leaders of the country’s 16 federal states.
“There is an urgent need to take action,” she said.
Only essential shops such as supermarkets and pharmacies, as well as banks, are to remain open from Dec 16. Hair salons, beauty salons and tattoo parlours will also have to shut.
The government will support affected companies with a total of around 11 billion euros ($13.3 billion) a month. Businesses that are forced to close may receive up to 90% of fixed costs, or up 500,000 euros a month, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said.
Schools will be closed in principle, and employers are asked to close operations or have employees work from home. The sale of fireworks will be banned ahead of New Year’s Eve.
Germany has been in partial lockdown for six weeks, with bars and restaurants closed, while stores and schools have remained open. Some regions have already imposed tougher measures as infections grew.
“‘Lockdown light’ has had an impact, but it was not sufficient,” Bavaria’s prime minister Markus Soeder said. “The situation is out of control.”
Private gatherings will remain limited to no more than five people from two households. For the Christmas holidays, the rule will be eased slightly so that families can celebrate together.
Merkel and Soeder said it was too soon to say whether the economy could re-open after Jan. 10.
New daily infections and deaths have reached records in recent days, and more politicians have been sounding the alarm.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, was more successful than many European countries in keeping the pandemic under control in the first wave in March and April. But it has been struggling to turn the tide in the second wave.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 20,200 to 1,320,716, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday. The reported death toll rose by 321 to 21,787, the tally showed.
Global tally
Global COVID-19 deaths reached 1.6 million on Saturday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.
The global death toll rose to 1,600,807, with a total of more than 71.4 million cases worldwide as of 1:26 pm (1826 GMT), the CSSE data showed.
The United States remains the worst-hit nation, with 15,939,022 cases and 296,656 deaths, accounting for more than 18 percent of the global death toll.
Brazil recorded 180,437 deaths, just shy of the US death toll. India has the world's third largest fatalities of 142,628 and the second largest caseload of more than 9.8 million.
An updated model forecast by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington projected a total of 502,256 COVID-19 deaths in the United States by April 1, 2021, based on current projection scenario.
Pfizer
A panel of advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted to recommend that people age 16 and older receive Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s COVID-19 vaccine, clearing one of the last hurdles for US vaccinations.
CDC Director Robert Redfield must give a final sign-off on the panel’s recommendations at a meeting on Saturday.
UN
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday called for more investment in health systems on International Universal Health Coverage Day, which falls on Dec. 12.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us just how important it is for all countries to have strong health systems that provide the entire population with quality services when and where they need them," said Guterres in a message.
READ MORE: COVID-19: UK shortens self-isolation period to 10 days
US
The United States reported over 244,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day on Friday, setting a gloomy new record as the country is preparing distribution of the first COVID-19 vaccine to states.
A total of 244,011 new cases and 3,013 deaths were reported across the country on Friday, according to data updated Saturday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), setting new world records.
The new data brought the seven-day average daily case increase to a record-high of more than 209,000 cases, and the seven-day average daily death increase to nearly 2,400, highest since late April.
There are over 108,000 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in the United States, a new all-time record since the onset of the pandemic, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 16 million on Saturday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.
UK
Britain recorded 21,502 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday and 519 deaths within 28 days of a positive test for the virus, according to official data.
Friday’s data had shown 21,672 new cases and 424 deaths.
ALSO READ: World watches as Britain probes adverse reactions to Pfizer vaccine
France
France’s rolling seven-day average of new cases increased 1.2% to almost 12,000, marking a further rise from a recent low of 10,348 on Dec. 4.
While another 194 people died of causes related to COVID-19, the rolling average fell to 397 in Saturday’s data, the lowest in more than a month.
France recorded 13,947 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the nationwide tally to 2,365,319, according to data published on a government website.
Poland
Poland confirmed on Saturday 11,497 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country's total caseload to 1,126,700, according to the health ministry.
The ministry also announced 502 new deaths from the virus, and the national death toll climbed up to 22,676.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said recently that Poland had signed contracts with various vaccine developers for the delivery of 45 million doses.
Italy
Italy’s deaths blamed on COVID-19 rose by 649 to 64,036 and now exceed UK fatalities, which increased to 64,026 in Saturday data from both countries.
Italy reported 19,903 new cases, an increase of more than 1,000 compared to Friday.
Sweden
Sweden’s foreign minister Ann Linde said she won’t advise against traveling within the European Union over Christmas and New Year. The emphasis should be on distancing and hygiene, because trips themselves aren’t the main issue, Linde said in an interview with Swedish Radio P1 on Saturday.
Portugal
Portugal reported on Sunday 4,413 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 344,700, the country's health ministry reported.
Meanwhile, 88 more COVID-19 deaths were recorded, taking the country's death toll to 5,461, it said.
The Netherlands
The Netherlands reported on Saturday 9,182 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide tally to 603,603, according to the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment.
The country also reported 53 new deaths from the virus, raising the total death toll to 10,019, said the institute.
Earlier this month, the Netherlands made it compulsory to wear a face mask in indoor public spaces such as schools, shops and railway stations to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.
Hungray
Hungary on Saturday registered 5,047 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the national tally to 276,247, according to the government's coronavirus information website.
Over the last 24 hours, 162 people died of COVID-19, raising the death toll to 6,784, while 79,769 people have recovered in total so far, according to the same source.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said last week on Facebook that New Year's Eve celebrations will be banned this year and current restrictions will remain until at least Jan. 11, including a curfew and the closing of secondary schools, universities and restaurants.
Slovenia
The COVID-19 death toll in Slovenia has passed 2,000, showed official figures on Saturday.
The country's death toll rose by 43 in the last 24 hours to 2,041, while the total number of cases increased by 1,744 to 95,479.
A healthcare worker wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) administers a nasal swab test at a COVID-19 testing site in San Francisco, California, US, on Dec 1, 2020. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)
Romania
Romania reported on Saturday 6,333 new cases of COVID-19, bringing its total infections to 551,900, according to official statistics.
The country also reported 148 new deaths from the virus, and the total death toll now stands at 13,264, said the Strategic Communication Group, the official novel coronavirus communication task force.
Official statistics show the epidemic situation in the country has worsened in the past month, with a daily average of 7,800.76 new cases and 145.43 deaths reported, more than doubling the numbers in October.
Serbia
Serbia reported on Saturday 5,679 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide tally to 261,437, according to information released by the country's Institute for Public Health.
The country also reported 48 new deaths from the virus, and the total death toll in Serbia reached 2,275, according to the same source.
Canada
Canada has confirmed a total of 453,257 COVID-19 cases and 13,337 deaths as of Saturday afternoon, according to the Canadian television network CTV.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said on Saturday that the country's daily average over the past seven days has reached 6,543.
Mexico
Mexico reported on Saturday 12,057 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the national total to 1,241,436, according to its health ministry.
Meanwhile, the country's death toll from the virus increased by 685 to 113,704.
Mexico ranks fourth among Latin American countries in terms of documented COVID-19 cases, following Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.
The country has the world's fourth highest COVID-19 death toll, after the United States, Brazil and India.
Brazil
Brazil has total infections of 6,880,127, according to Health Ministry data released Saturday. Death toll rose 686 in the past 24 hours to 181,123.
The Brazilian government unveiled its long-awaited national vaccination plan against COVID-19 on Saturday with an initial goal of vaccinating 51 million people, or about one-fourth of the population, in the first half of 2021.
Argentina
Argentina on Saturday reported 5,274 new COVID-19 cases, bringing its national tally to 1,494,602, said the Ministry of Health.
The ministry also said that 62 more patients have died of the disease, raising the nationwide death toll to 40,668.
A total of 1,330,160 patients have recovered, while 123,774 cases remain active, it added.
Chile
Chile is getting ready to start an immunization campaign with Pfizer Inc’s vaccine against the coronavirus, if it wins approval, Health Minister Enrique Paris said on Saturday.
Next week, the state Institute of Public Health will review data on the performance of the vaccine, which is also expected to be used in the United States. Chilean authorities will make an official decision based on the review of that data.
“I cannot give you any dates, but we will make every effort ... to start the coronavirus vaccination program as soon as possible,” Paris said in televised remarks.
Ten regions of Chile have seen an increase in novel coronavirus cases, while another six reported a decline in the number of cases, the Ministry of Health reported on Saturday.
Colombia
Colombia reported 8,163 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide tally to 1,417,072, its health authorities said Saturday.
Meanwhile, 197 more deaths were reported, raising the nationwide death toll to 38,866, they said, adding that 1,310,425 people have so far recovered from the disease.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico will begin receiving COVID-19 vaccines next week, though the general population might not get them until next summer, Governor Wanda Vazquez said Saturday.
The US territory of 3.2 million people will have access to some 205,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine by the end of December, Vazquez said. Medical professionals and nursing homes will have priority, followed by first responders, public school employees and essential workers.
The National Guard, which is helping manage the effort, said it has five specialized freezers deployed across the island. On Monday, Puerto Rico tightened its nightly curfew, business restrictions and social distancing measures through Jan. 7. The territory has reported 108,485 COVID-19 cases and 1,266 deaths.
Bolivia
Bolivia increased 333 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing its national caseload to 147,030, according to the ministry of health on Sunday.
Meanwhile, it reported one more coronavirus-related deaths, taking the national toll to 9,014.
Minister of Economy Marcelo Montenegro said earlier that the government is working on a series of strategies to face another potential outbreak of COVID-19, avoiding measures that would harm economic recovery.
Honduras
Honduras on Saturday added 335 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 114,043, the health ministry tweeted on its official account.
The country also reported three more deaths from the disease, taking the national death toll to 2,974, said the ministry.
Africa
The number of COVID-19 recoveries in the African continent has reached 2,010,127, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Saturday.
The continental disease control and prevention agency said in a statement that the number of overall COVID-19 cases in the continent stands at 2,343,128 as of Saturday afternoon.
A total of 55,669 people infected with COVID-19 have died from the disease across the continent so far, according to the continental disease control and prevention agency.
South Africa
South Africa on Saturday reported 7,882 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 852,965, the country's health department reported.
Meanwhile, 154 more COVID-19 deaths were recorded, taking the country's death toll from the disease to 23,106, it said. The ministry also reported a total of 760,118 recoveries from the disease to date.
South Africa is currently in the midst of a second wave of the coronavirus, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize warned on Wednesday.
Morocco
In Morocco, the tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 397,597 with 3,033 new cases. The total recoveries reached 353,098 and the death toll hit 6,589 with 47 new deaths.
Nigeria
Authorities in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub and the epicenter of COVID-19 cases, on Saturday confirmed that state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The governor tested positive after close contact with a person feeling unwell and testing positive for the COVID-19 infection, said Akin Abayomi, the state commissioner for health, in a statement. Sanwo-Olu became aware of his status after a PCR test performed on Friday confirmed that he has been infected with the virus which is supported by mild symptoms and fatigue typical of a mild case of COVID-19, the statement said.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia on Saturday reported 515 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 116,297, Health Minister Lia Tadesse tweeted.
Meanwhile, 12 more COVID-19 deaths were recorded, taking the nationwide count to 1,803, she said.
The minister also said that with 1,240 new recoveries registered, the national total amounted to 92,449.
on Saturday reported 515 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 116,297, Health Minister Lia Tadesse tweeted.
Meanwhile, 12 more COVID-19 deaths were recorded, taking the nationwide count to 1,803, she said.
