(Reuters) – Britain is at risk of suffering a third wave of coronavirus infections if it does not get the approach to lockdown restrictions right, foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread of COVID-19, open https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/ in an external browser.
* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news.
EUROPE
* The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 11,169 to 1,053,869, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Monday.
* Over 1,300 people in Britain were inaccurately informed they were infected with coronavirus after a laboratory error at the government’s NHS Test and Trace system, the Department of Health and Social Care told Reuters on Saturday.
* Turkey’s daily COVID-19 death toll hit a record high for a seventh consecutive day on Sunday, with 185 fatalities in the last 24 hours, data from the Health Ministry showed.
* Belgium will let shops reopen from Tuesday, but keep other curbs over the festive period, while Italy will ease anti-COVID restrictions in five regions from Sunday. Ireland will allow shops, restaurants, gyms and pubs serving food to reopen next week, and permit travel between counties from Dec. 18
AMERICAS
* Brazil has registered 24,468 additional coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours and 272 new deaths, the Health Ministry said on Sunday.
* Mexico reported 6,388 new confirmed coronavirus infections and 196 additional deaths on Sunday, health ministry data showed.
* U.S. health authorities will hold an emergency meeting this week to recommend that a coronavirus vaccine awaiting approval be given first to healthcare professionals and people in long-term care facilities.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Indonesia reported a record daily rise in coronavirus infections on Sunday with 6,267 cases, bringing the total to 534,266, data from the country’s COVID-19 task force showed.
* Hong Kong reported 115 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, including 109 locally transmitted, the highest in nearly four months, as authorities battle a renewed wave of COVID-19.
* Malaysia will hold a general election when the pandemic is over, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Saturday.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Mass vaccination against COVID-19 is unlikely to start in Africa until midway through next year and keeping vaccines cold could be a big challenge, the continent’s disease control group said.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Britain asked its regulator to assess AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for a possible rollout, while the Philippines and Thailand secured millions of doses, giving the shot a vote of confidence after experts raised questions about trial data.
* Ten COVID-19 vaccines could be available by the middle of next year if they win regulatory approval, but their inventors need patent protection, the head of the global pharmaceutical industry group said.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Canada this week will reveal the breadth of the emergency spending it has made during the pandemic and lay the groundwork for future stimulus and social measures, like a national childcare program, government sources told Reuters.
* Kenya’s central bank has cut its forecast for 2020 economic growth by more than half, joining the Treasury in realising that the coronavirus had inflicted more damage to the economy than previously thought.
(Compiled by Linda Pasquini and Vinay Dwivedi; Edited by Louise Heavens, Sriraj Kalluvila and Subhranshu Sahu)
