|
 DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals
https://apac1.apps.cp.
thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and
summary of news.
EUROPE
* Pfizer has postponed the delivery of a new batch of the
coronavirus vaccine to Spain by one day to Tuesday due to a
logistics hurdle, Health Minister Salvador Illa said on Monday.
* British regulatory approval of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate
developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca could accelerate the
lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, cabinet office minister Michael
Gove said.
* Hungary and Slovakia stole a march on their fellow EU nations as
they began vaccinations on Saturday, a day ahead of rollouts in
several other countries, while a 101-year-old woman became the first
German to receive the shot.
AMERICAS
* U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday signed into law a $2.3
trillion pandemic aid and spending package, restoring unemployment
benefits to millions of Americans and averting a federal government
shutdown.
* The U.S. government will require all airline passengers arriving
from Britain to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of
departure starting Monday.
* Hamilton Mourão, Brazil's vice president, has tested positive.
* Argentina will begin vaccinating its citizens on Tuesday using the
recently delivered Sputnik V vaccine.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* South Korean officials are vowing to speed up efforts to launch a
public coronavirus vaccination programme as the country on Monday
announced it had detected its first cases of the virus variant
linked to the rapid rise in infections in Britain.
* A Chinese court handed a four-year jail term on Monday to a
citizen-journalist who reported from the central city of Wuhan at
the peak of last year's coronavirus outbreak, on grounds of "picking
quarrels and provoking trouble," her lawyer said.
[to top of second column] |
 * Authorities in Kazakhstan
said on Monday they had signed a preliminary
agreement with Pfizer to potentially buy its
vaccine against COVID-19.
* Sydney, one of the first major cities to
welcome each New Year with a public countdown
featuring a firework display over its well-known
Opera House, has banned large gatherings that
night. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Saudi Arabia's interior ministry extended on Monday a ban on entry
to the kingdom by air, land and sea for another week amid concerns
over a fast-spreading variant of the new coronavirus.
* South Africa's total infections crossed a million on Sunday, days
after a new faster spreading variant was confirmed to be present in
the country.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Fragmental releases of efficacy data for the COVID-19 vaccine
developed by China's Sinovac could undermine confidence in the shot,
experts warned.
* Britain's Department of Health said medicines regulator MHRA must
be given time to carry out its review of the data of the Oxford-AstraZeneca
COVID-19 vaccine, while the Sunday Telegraph reported that the UK
plans to roll out the vaccine from Jan. 4.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Global shares rose, the dollar softened and oil prices edged
higher on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a $2.3
trillion coronavirus aid and spending package. [MKTS/GLOB]
(Compiled by Veronica Snoj, Charles Regnier, and Aditya Soni;
Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
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