Public and private hospitals in South Africa is grappling with increasing number of Covid-19 patients. In the last seven days hospital admissions have doubled everywhere, Gauteng Premier David Makhura said today.&nbsp;

Makhura visited Steve Biko Academic hospital on Monday after grim pictures of the hospital was trending on social media.&nbsp;

Due to increased number of Covid-19 patients, the hospital put up several tents as treatment areas in its rooftop parking.

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“The number of fatalities have increased exponentially in Gauteng province. You may remember we did say that after people return from festive season we will foresee significant increase,” Makhura said.

Some of the patients are coming from private hospitals because of lack of space, while others are self-referred from other provinces, he said.

South Africa’s recorded Covid-19 death toll surpasses 33,000 on Sunday and infections increased by 17, 412, taking the total to 1,231,597.

SA President Cyril Ramphosa is going to address the nation tonight at 8pm (local time) on developments in SA’s covid-19 response.

He is expected to address after NCCC meet ( National Coronavirus Command Council )

Public and private hospitals in South Africa is grappling with increasing number of Covid-19 patients. In the last seven days hospital admissions have doubled everywhere, Gauteng Premier David Makhura said today.

Public and private hospitals in South Africa is grappling with increasing number of Covid-19 patients. In the last seven days hospital admissions have doubled everywhere, Gauteng Premier David Makhura said today. Makhura visited Steve Biko Academic hospital on Monday after grim pictures of the hospital was trending on social media. Due to increased number of Covid-19 patients, the hospital put up several tents as treatment areas in its rooftop parking. WATCH| “The number of fatalities have increased exponentially in Gauteng province. You may remember we did say that after people return from festive season we will foresee significant increase,” Makhura said. Some of the patients are coming from private hospitals because of lack of space, while others are self-referred from other provinces, he said. South Africa’s recorded Covid-19 death toll surpasses 33,000 on Sunday and infections increased by 17, 412, taking the total to 1,231,597. SA President Cyril Ramphosa is going to address the nation tonight at 8pm (local time) on developments in SA’s covid-19 response. He is expected to address after NCCC meet ( National Coronavirus Command Council )

South Africa: Hospital struggle to provide beds as coronavirus cases surge

With the identification of cases of the new strains of coronavirus — from the UK and South Africa — Germany's&nbsp;Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned locals for the upcoming weeks, claiming they might be the "hardest" weeks till now.

The warning from Merkel came at a time when the European country crossed&nbsp;40,000 deaths from the deadly virus after&nbsp;465 new deaths were reported on Saturday, taking the death toll to&nbsp;40,343.

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During her weekly video message to the country, Merkel warned locals "these next winter weeks will be the hardest phase of the pandemic". She also warned locals that majority doctors and other healthcare workers are already working in their full capacity.

She also reported that the full impact of the increase in coronavirus cases and deaths during the Christmas and New Year holiday season has not yet been added in the statistics.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russias-putin-and-germanys-merkel-discuss-possible-joint-vaccine-production-354606">Russia's Putin and Germany's Merkel discuss possible joint vaccine production</a>

As of now, more than 5,000 COVID-19 patients are admitted in the Intensive Care Units (ICU) and the ICUs are filled to 8- per cent capacity, with a massive increase in demand. hospitals, in general too, are struggling to provide beds to coronavirus patients after a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Germany has recorded more than&nbsp;1.9 million coronavirus cases, with an increase of&nbsp;almost 17,000 cases recorded on Saturday. Following the increase, the government ordered shut down of all non-essential shops,&nbsp;culture and leisure facilities till January 31.

Also read|<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/schools-salons-shut-down-in-germany-as-merkel-announces-another-covid-19-lockdown-349511">&nbsp;Schools, salons shut down in Germany as Merkel announces another COVID-19 lockdown</a>

The European country started a mass<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus-vaccine"> vaccination</a> drive towards the end of December after the European Union (EU) approved emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against coronavirus. Till now, more than half a million people have been vaccinated. Germany will soon begin the usage of US firm Moderna's vaccine too.

Merkel, during the address, assured people that while the initial speed of the vaccination drive has been slow, it will soon pick up. "What's important is that we can say: we will have enough of the vaccine available for everyone in Germany," she said. "Month after month we will inoculate more people and eventually we will be able to offer the vaccine to anyone who wants it."

With the identification of cases of the new strains of coronavirus — from the UK and South Africa — Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned locals for the upcoming weeks, claiming they might be the "hardest" weeks till now.

With the identification of cases of the new strains of coronavirus — from the UK and South Africa — Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned locals for the upcoming weeks, claiming they might be the "hardest" weeks till now. The warning from Merkel came at a time when the European country crossed 40,000 deaths from the deadly virus after 465 new deaths were reported on Saturday, taking the death toll to 40,343. Also read| Berlin to examine parliament security after US Capitol violence During her weekly video message to the country, Merkel warned locals "these next winter weeks will be the hardest phase of the pandemic". She also warned locals that majority doctors and other healthcare workers are already working in their full capacity. She also reported that the full impact of the increase in coronavirus cases and deaths during the Christmas and New Year holiday season has not yet been added in the statistics. Also read| Russia's Putin and Germany's Merkel discuss possible joint vaccine production As of now, more than 5,000 COVID-19 patients are admitted in the Intensive Care Units (ICU) and the ICUs are filled to 8- per cent capacity, with a massive increase in demand. hospitals, in general too, are struggling to provide beds to coronavirus patients after a surge in COVID-19 cases. Germany has recorded more than 1.9 million coronavirus cases, with an increase of almost 17,000 cases recorded on Saturday. Following the increase, the government ordered shut down of all non-essential shops, culture and leisure facilities till January 31. Also read| Schools, salons shut down in Germany as Merkel announces another COVID-19 lockdown The European country started a mass vaccination drive towards the end of December after the European Union (EU) approved emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against coronavirus. Till now, more than half a million people have been vaccinated. Germany will soon begin the usage of US firm Moderna's vaccine too. Merkel, during the address, assured people that while the initial speed of the vaccination drive has been slow, it will soon pick up. "What's important is that we can say: we will have enough of the vaccine available for everyone in Germany," she said. "Month after month we will inoculate more people and eventually we will be able to offer the vaccine to anyone who wants it."

'Hardest phase of pandemic': Angela Merkel cautions after German virus deaths cross 40,000

Ireland was one of the countries which reported cases of the new variant of coronavirus — first identified in the UK. The neighbouring country of the UK had also reported three new cases of the other strain of the coronavirus from South Africa.

A state of panic had taken over the country after the new strains were reported. However, the health experts in Ireland have now assured the locals that the new strains have successfully been contained in the country.

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Cases of the new variant of South Africa&nbsp;had been reported in Ireland on Friday after three people had travelled to Ireland from South Africa during the Christmas holidays.

"The UK variant is of more concern to us purely because of the amount of virus that’s on the island, and we know that it’s transmitting in the community,"&nbsp;Cillian De Gascun, the head of Ireland’s national virus laboratory told the local media. "The good thing about the South African variant is we know exactly where those cases came from, they have been contained, controlled and contact traced, and to the best of my knowledge there was no onward transmission."

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Ireland had observed a surge in coronavirus cases which exceeded last year's first wave. Since the identification of the new variant in the UK, Ireland has reported nearly 25 per cent positive cases which have then further been tested. This has increased from a previous nine per cent rate two weeks before January 03.

Since the identification of the new strains, Ireland has announced another strict lockdown urging people to stay indoors to make sure another "tsunami" of coronavirus cases does not pile up due to the new variants.

Ireland hospitals have also urged the government to increase funding as the Intensive Care Units (ICU) are struggling to meet the rising demands with a surge in coronavirus cases.

Ireland was one of the countries which reported cases of the new variant of coronavirus — first identified in the UK. The neighbouring country of the UK had also reported three new cases of the other strain of the coronavirus from South Africa.

Ireland was one of the countries which reported cases of the new variant of coronavirus — first identified in the UK. The neighbouring country of the UK had also reported three new cases of the other strain of the coronavirus from South Africa. A state of panic had taken over the country after the new strains were reported. However, the health experts in Ireland have now assured the locals that the new strains have successfully been contained in the country. Also read| Cancer doctor in US voids bills worth over $600,000 Cases of the new variant of South Africa had been reported in Ireland on Friday after three people had travelled to Ireland from South Africa during the Christmas holidays. "The UK variant is of more concern to us purely because of the amount of virus that’s on the island, and we know that it’s transmitting in the community," Cillian De Gascun, the head of Ireland’s national virus laboratory told the local media. "The good thing about the South African variant is we know exactly where those cases came from, they have been contained, controlled and contact traced, and to the best of my knowledge there was no onward transmission." Also read| England goes into lockdown again as new coronavirus strain cases surge Ireland had observed a surge in coronavirus cases which exceeded last year's first wave. Since the identification of the new variant in the UK, Ireland has reported nearly 25 per cent positive cases which have then further been tested. This has increased from a previous nine per cent rate two weeks before January 03. Since the identification of the new strains, Ireland has announced another strict lockdown urging people to stay indoors to make sure another "tsunami" of coronavirus cases does not pile up due to the new variants. Ireland hospitals have also urged the government to increase funding as the Intensive Care Units (ICU) are struggling to meet the rising demands with a surge in coronavirus cases.

New strain of coronavirus under control: Ireland health experts

The wife of the French President Emmanuel Macron had tested positive for coronavirus days after Christmas celebrations, her office reported to the local media on Saturday.

Brigitte Macron, the First lady of France, had gone into isolation after her husband had tested positive for the virus on December 17. Brigitte had started showing mild symptoms of the virus but tested negative after six days.

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The Macrons had taken proper precautions and while the president isolated himself at a residence outside Paris, the First lady stayed alone in her official presidential residence, the Elysees Palace.

This news was not let out to the media at that time as the officials believe it would have had no impact on the public agenda. It was, therefore, decided to keep the news under wraps.

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Mrs. Macron has since made a full recovery and has now ended her self-isolation along with her husband.

After the President tested positive for the virus, his office had reported his symptoms included&nbsp;cough, fever and stiffness. Macron, too, had issued video messages through his social media accounts to assure of his well-being.

After Emmanuel Macron, several other senior French politicians had to self-isolate themselves, including French Prime Minister Jean Castex and the&nbsp;president of the European Council, Charles Michel.

The wife of the French President Emmanuel Macron had tested positive for coronavirus days after Christmas celebrations, her office reported to the local media on Saturday.

The wife of the French President Emmanuel Macron had tested positive for coronavirus days after Christmas celebrations, her office reported to the local media on Saturday. Brigitte Macron, the First lady of France, had gone into isolation after her husband had tested positive for the virus on December 17. Brigitte had started showing mild symptoms of the virus but tested negative after six days. Also read| France confirms two clusters of UK coronavirus variant The Macrons had taken proper precautions and while the president isolated himself at a residence outside Paris, the First lady stayed alone in her official presidential residence, the Elysees Palace. This news was not let out to the media at that time as the officials believe it would have had no impact on the public agenda. It was, therefore, decided to keep the news under wraps. WATCH| × Mrs. Macron has since made a full recovery and has now ended her self-isolation along with her husband. After the President tested positive for the virus, his office had reported his symptoms included cough, fever and stiffness. Macron, too, had issued video messages through his social media accounts to assure of his well-being. After Emmanuel Macron, several other senior French politicians had to self-isolate themselves, including French Prime Minister Jean Castex and the president of the European Council, Charles Michel.

Emmanuel Macron's wife, Brigitte Macron, had tested positive for coronavirus

A giant sinkhole opened up in the car park of a hospital in Naples, Italy which is 20-metre-deep and has led to the temporary closure of a COVID-19 residence in the neighbourhood.

On Friday, at dawn, a large portion of the ground in the car park of a famous hospital started breaking out, leading to the formation of a giant sinkhole.

The sinkhole is&nbsp;20-metre-deep (66ft), 2,000 sq metre (21,527 sq ft) and is located in the centre of the car park.

It also led to a temporary closure of a nearby residence which was giving a roof to coronavirus patients. Nobody from the COVID-19 residence was hurt during this incident.&nbsp;

However, the residence faced major power cuts and water services were also interrupted. The hospital, too, lost access to electricity and water, but the backup services let the hospital continue their work.

Local authorities believe this sinkhole may have been&nbsp;caused by an infiltration of water underground from the recent heavy rains, as reported by local media.

As of now, the&nbsp;regional governor has assured people the care home will soon reopen and the services will be restored as soon as possible in the COVID-19 residence and the hospital.&nbsp;

An investigation in the matter has been initiated.

A giant sinkhole opened up in the car park of a hospital in Naples, Italy which is 20-metre-deep and has led to the temporary closure of a COVID-19 residence in the neighbourhood.

A giant sinkhole opened up in the car park of a hospital in Naples, Italy which is 20-metre-deep and has led to the temporary closure of a COVID-19 residence in the neighbourhood. On Friday, at dawn, a large portion of the ground in the car park of a famous hospital started breaking out, leading to the formation of a giant sinkhole. The sinkhole is 20-metre-deep (66ft), 2,000 sq metre (21,527 sq ft) and is located in the centre of the car park. It also led to a temporary closure of a nearby residence which was giving a roof to coronavirus patients. Nobody from the COVID-19 residence was hurt during this incident. However, the residence faced major power cuts and water services were also interrupted. The hospital, too, lost access to electricity and water, but the backup services let the hospital continue their work. Local authorities believe this sinkhole may have been caused by an infiltration of water underground from the recent heavy rains, as reported by local media. As of now, the regional governor has assured people the care home will soon reopen and the services will be restored as soon as possible in the COVID-19 residence and the hospital. An investigation in the matter has been initiated.

Giant sinkhole appears in hospital's car park in Italy

The number of deadly coronavirus cases in India fell below 19,000 for the fifth time this month, taking the country's caseload to 1,04,13,417, while the recoveries have surged to 1,00,37,398, according to data updated by the Union health ministry on Friday.

A total of 18,139 new infections were reported in a day, while the death toll increased to 1,50,570 as 234 more people succumbed to the disease during the same period, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,00,37,398, pushing the national recovery rate to 96.39 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stood at 1.45 per cent.

The active COVID-19 caseload remained below three lakh for the 18th consecutive day.

There are 2,25,449 active coronavirus infections in the country, which account for 2.16 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 17,93,36,364 samples have been tested for COVID-19 till January 7, including 9,35,369 on Thursday.

The 234 new fatalities include 72 from Maharashtra, 25 from Kerala, 19 from Delhi and 18 from West Bengal.

Of the total 1,50,570 COVID-19 deaths reported in the country so far, Maharashtra accounted for 49,897, followed by Tamil Nadu (12,200), Karnataka (12,131), Delhi (10,644), West Bengal (9,881), Uttar Pradesh (8,452), Andhra Pradesh (7,126) and Punjab (5,422).

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to co-morbidities.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of the figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

The number of deadly coronavirus cases in India fell below 19,000 for the fifth time this month, taking the country's caseload to 1,04,13,417, while the recoveries have surged to 1,00,37,398, according to data updated by the Union health ministry on Friday.

The number of deadly coronavirus cases in India fell below 19,000 for the fifth time this month, taking the country's caseload to 1,04,13,417, while the recoveries have surged to 1,00,37,398, according to data updated by the Union health ministry on Friday. A total of 18,139 new infections were reported in a day, while the death toll increased to 1,50,570 as 234 more people succumbed to the disease during the same period, the data updated at 8 am showed. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,00,37,398, pushing the national recovery rate to 96.39 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stood at 1.45 per cent. The active COVID-19 caseload remained below three lakh for the 18th consecutive day. There are 2,25,449 active coronavirus infections in the country, which account for 2.16 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 17,93,36,364 samples have been tested for COVID-19 till January 7, including 9,35,369 on Thursday. The 234 new fatalities include 72 from Maharashtra, 25 from Kerala, 19 from Delhi and 18 from West Bengal. Of the total 1,50,570 COVID-19 deaths reported in the country so far, Maharashtra accounted for 49,897, followed by Tamil Nadu (12,200), Karnataka (12,131), Delhi (10,644), West Bengal (9,881), Uttar Pradesh (8,452), Andhra Pradesh (7,126) and Punjab (5,422). The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to co-morbidities. "Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of the figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

18,139 new Covid-19 cases push India’s tally to 1,04,13,417

With 20,346 new coronavirus infections and 222 deaths in the past 24 hours, India's overall tally stood at 1,03,95,278 on Thursday, while the death toll touched 1,50,336, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,00,16,859, pushing the national recovery rate to 96.36 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stood at 1.45 per cent.

The number of active COVID-19 cases remained below three lakh for the 17th consecutive day.

There are 2,28,083 active coronavirus cases in the country, which account for 2.19 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 17,84,00,995 samples have been tested for COVID-19 till January 6, including 9,37,590 on Wednesday.

(With inputs from agencies)

With 20,346 new coronavirus infections and 222 deaths in the past 24 hours, India's overall tally stood at 1,03,95,278 on Thursday, while the death toll touched 1,50,336, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

With 20,346 new coronavirus infections and 222 deaths in the past 24 hours, India's overall tally stood at 1,03,95,278 on Thursday, while the death toll touched 1,50,336, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,00,16,859, pushing the national recovery rate to 96.36 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stood at 1.45 per cent. The number of active COVID-19 cases remained below three lakh for the 17th consecutive day. There are 2,28,083 active coronavirus cases in the country, which account for 2.19 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 17,84,00,995 samples have been tested for COVID-19 till January 6, including 9,37,590 on Wednesday. (With inputs from agencies)

20,346 new Covid-19 cases push India's tally to 1,03,95,278

India has leaped across a significant milestone in its fight against COVID-19 with the cumulative recoveries crossing the 1 crore-mark, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. A total 19,587 patients have recuperated and discharged in a span of 24 hours, taking the total recoveries to 10,016,859.

India's recoveries are the highest in the world.

The gap between active cases and recovered cases is continuously increasing and stands at 97,88,776, the ministry highlighted.

"The recovered cases are 44 times the number of active cases," it said.

The active caseload presently stands at 2,28,083 and comprises merely 2.19 percent of the total infections.

The ministry said that51 percent of the total recovered cases are concentrated in five states -Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 96.36 percent. Following the national pursuit, all states and union territories have recovery rate more than 90 percent.

"India's recovery rate is the highest in the world. Countries with higher caseload are reporting lesser recovery rate than India's," the ministry underlined.

With the expansion in the testing infrastructure, the COVID-19 positivity rate of India has also gone down. The daily positivity rate remains below 3 per cent.

"Seventeen states and UTs have weekly positivity rate more than the national average," the ministry said.

It said 79.08 percent of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in 10 states and union territories.

Kerala continues to lead with 5,110 single-day recoveries, followed by Maharashtra with 2,570 new recoveries.

About 83.88 percent of the new confirmed cases are from 10 states and UTs.

Kerala has reported 6,394 cases in a span of 24 hours. Maharashtra recorded 4,382 new cases while Chhattisgarh has registered 1,050 new cases on Wednesday.

A total of 222 case fatalities have been reported in a span of 24 hours. Of these, 67.57 percent are concentrated in six states and UTs.

Maharashtra has reported the maximum single-day deaths (66 deaths). Kerala also saw a fatality count of 25 while West Bengal reported 22 new deaths.

India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,03,95,278 with 20,346 infections being reported in a day, while the death toll increased to 1,50,336 with 222 new fatalities, according to data updated at 8 am.

India has leaped across a significant milestone in its fight against COVID-19 with the cumulative recoveries crossing the 1 crore-mark, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday.

India has leaped across a significant milestone in its fight against COVID-19 with the cumulative recoveries crossing the 1 crore-mark, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. A total 19,587 patients have recuperated and discharged in a span of 24 hours, taking the total recoveries to 10,016,859. India's recoveries are the highest in the world. The gap between active cases and recovered cases is continuously increasing and stands at 97,88,776, the ministry highlighted. "The recovered cases are 44 times the number of active cases," it said. The active caseload presently stands at 2,28,083 and comprises merely 2.19 percent of the total infections. The ministry said that51 percent of the total recovered cases are concentrated in five states -Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 96.36 percent. Following the national pursuit, all states and union territories have recovery rate more than 90 percent. "India's recovery rate is the highest in the world. Countries with higher caseload are reporting lesser recovery rate than India's," the ministry underlined. With the expansion in the testing infrastructure, the COVID-19 positivity rate of India has also gone down. The daily positivity rate remains below 3 per cent. "Seventeen states and UTs have weekly positivity rate more than the national average," the ministry said. It said 79.08 percent of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in 10 states and union territories. Kerala continues to lead with 5,110 single-day recoveries, followed by Maharashtra with 2,570 new recoveries. About 83.88 percent of the new confirmed cases are from 10 states and UTs. Kerala has reported 6,394 cases in a span of 24 hours. Maharashtra recorded 4,382 new cases while Chhattisgarh has registered 1,050 new cases on Wednesday. A total of 222 case fatalities have been reported in a span of 24 hours. Of these, 67.57 percent are concentrated in six states and UTs. Maharashtra has reported the maximum single-day deaths (66 deaths). Kerala also saw a fatality count of 25 while West Bengal reported 22 new deaths. India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,03,95,278 with 20,346 infections being reported in a day, while the death toll increased to 1,50,336 with 222 new fatalities, according to data updated at 8 am.

Covid-19 in India: Recovered cases are 44 times number of active cases

The head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday he was "very disappointed" that China has still not authorised the entry of a team of international experts to examine the origins of the coronavirus.

The 10-strong team had been due to set off in early January as part of a long-awaited mission to probe early cases of the coronavirus, first reported over a year ago in China's Wuhan.

"Today we learned that Chinese officials have not yet finalised the necessary permissions for the team's arrival in China," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an online news conference in Geneva.

"I have been in contact with senior Chinese officials and I have once again made it clear the mission is a priority for the WHO," he said of the trip he said was developed with Beijing.

The mission was due to be led by Peter Ben Embarek, WHO's top expert on animal diseases that cross the species barrier, who went to China on a preliminary mission last July.

Two members of the international team had already set out on their journey to China. One has now turned back and the other is in transit in a third country, emergencies chief Mike Ryan said.

However, he added: "We trust and hope that is just a logistic and bureaucratic issue that can be resolved very quickly."

Ahead of the trip, Beijing has been seeking to shape the narrative about when and where the pandemic began, with senior diplomat Wang Yi saying "more and more studies" showed that it emerged in multiple regions. Ryan has previously called this "highly speculative".

China has dismissed criticism of its handling of early cases that emerged in late 2019, although some including U.S. President Donald Trump have questioned Beijing's actions during the outbreak.

Washington, which has announced plans to leave the WHO, has called for a "transparent" investigation and criticised its terms under which Chinese experts conducted the first phase of research.

The head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday he was "very disappointed" that China has still not authorised the entry of a team of international experts to examine the origins of the coronavirus.

The head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday he was "very disappointed" that China has still not authorised the entry of a team of international experts to examine the origins of the coronavirus. The 10-strong team had been due to set off in early January as part of a long-awaited mission to probe early cases of the coronavirus, first reported over a year ago in China's Wuhan. "Today we learned that Chinese officials have not yet finalised the necessary permissions for the team's arrival in China," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an online news conference in Geneva. "I have been in contact with senior Chinese officials and I have once again made it clear the mission is a priority for the WHO," he said of the trip he said was developed with Beijing. The mission was due to be led by Peter Ben Embarek, WHO's top expert on animal diseases that cross the species barrier, who went to China on a preliminary mission last July. Two members of the international team had already set out on their journey to China. One has now turned back and the other is in transit in a third country, emergencies chief Mike Ryan said. However, he added: "We trust and hope that is just a logistic and bureaucratic issue that can be resolved very quickly." Ahead of the trip, Beijing has been seeking to shape the narrative about when and where the pandemic began, with senior diplomat Wang Yi saying "more and more studies" showed that it emerged in multiple regions. Ryan has previously called this "highly speculative". China has dismissed criticism of its handling of early cases that emerged in late 2019, although some including U.S. President Donald Trump have questioned Beijing's actions during the outbreak. Washington, which has announced plans to leave the WHO, has called for a "transparent" investigation and criticised its terms under which Chinese experts conducted the first phase of research.

WHO ‘very disappointed’ China hasn't granted entry to Covid experts

North Korea was among a group of developing countries that requested shipments of COVID-19 vaccines, despite declaring itself free of the virus, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

According to the WSJ, North Korea submitted the application with the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations(GAVI).

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/england-goes-into-lockdown-again-as-new-coronavirus-strain-cases-surge-354484">Also read | England goes into lockdown again as new coronavirus strain cases surge</a>

The journal said while GAVI's spokesperson would not comment on the North's application, the group is currently conducting assessments of individual nations' requests. The spokesperson reportedly said that the group will provide a detailed update soon.&nbsp;

GAVI said earlier that 86 of 92 countries eligible for its assistance for lower-income nations have filed applications. North Korea is among the eligible countries.&nbsp;

According to official data by the authorities, no cases of the novel coronavirus infection have been recorded in North Korea, but nearly 12,000 people have undergone testing up to December 17 and tens of thousands have quarantined, according to the newspaper, citing the World Health Organization.

Since late December, the North Korean authorities have introduced urgent measures on preventing the spread of the disease.

North Korea has also purchased Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine and Chinese diagnostic equipment, including thermographs.

Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un marked the new year with a letter to the country's citizens.

In the letter, Kim offered thanks to the people for having trusted and supported the ruling Party even in the "difficult" times, state news agency KCNA reported on Friday.

The North Korean leader has previously apologised for failing to fulfil promises of economic improvement and for the hardships citizens have endured as a result of international sanctions and strict measures aimed at preventing a coronavirus outbreak.

(With inputs from agencies)

North Korea was among a group of developing countries that requested shipments of COVID-19 vaccines, despite declaring itself free of the virus, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

North Korea was among a group of developing countries that requested shipments of COVID-19 vaccines, despite declaring itself free of the virus, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. According to the WSJ, North Korea submitted the application with the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations(GAVI). Also read | England goes into lockdown again as new coronavirus strain cases surge The journal said while GAVI's spokesperson would not comment on the North's application, the group is currently conducting assessments of individual nations' requests. The spokesperson reportedly said that the group will provide a detailed update soon. GAVI said earlier that 86 of 92 countries eligible for its assistance for lower-income nations have filed applications. North Korea is among the eligible countries. According to official data by the authorities, no cases of the novel coronavirus infection have been recorded in North Korea, but nearly 12,000 people have undergone testing up to December 17 and tens of thousands have quarantined, according to the newspaper, citing the World Health Organization. Since late December, the North Korean authorities have introduced urgent measures on preventing the spread of the disease. North Korea has also purchased Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine and Chinese diagnostic equipment, including thermographs. Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un marked the new year with a letter to the country's citizens. In the letter, Kim offered thanks to the people for having trusted and supported the ruling Party even in the "difficult" times, state news agency KCNA reported on Friday. The North Korean leader has previously apologised for failing to fulfil promises of economic improvement and for the hardships citizens have endured as a result of international sanctions and strict measures aimed at preventing a coronavirus outbreak. (With inputs from agencies)

After months of claiming to have no cases, North Korea requests Covid vaccine

Almost a few hours after the Uk entered another nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, a cabinet office minister has revealed that the lockdown may not be lifted very soon, and may continue till March, or later.

The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a nationwide lockdown and stated new regulations and measures,&nbsp;which include closure of the primary and secondary schools, in addition to the existing bans on gatherings.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/british-pm-boris-johnson-postpones-india-visit-due-to-virus-surge-in-england-354611" hreflang="en">ritish PM Boris Johnson postpones India visit due to virus surge in England</a>

While the locals were not happy with the decision, a further blow was delivered by the&nbsp;Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove during an interview with a national TV channel. Gove, when asked how long will the lockdown continue for, said he could not give a precise answer but later said it could be more than the announced six weeks.

"I think it is right to say that as we enter March we should be able to lift some of these restrictions but not necessarily all," he said. Gove also added that the lockdown will be reviewed on February 15, but the Johnson-led government cannot&nbsp;"predict with certainty" as to when will the lockdown be lifted.

Gove's statement attracted concern and criticism from the locals of the country who have already been worried about the numerous lockdowns.&nbsp;

Also read|<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/england-goes-into-lockdown-again-as-new-coronavirus-strain-cases-surge-354484">&nbsp;England goes into lockdown again as new coronavirus strain cases surge</a>

The lockdown was initiated due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, especially after identification of the new variant of the novel coronavirus in the UK. With a rise in cases, the local hospitals have also been struggling to provide beds and care to COVID patients.

"With most of the country already under extreme measures, it's clear that we need to do more, together, to bring this new variant under control while our vaccines are rolled out,"&nbsp;the PM had announced on Tuesday morning. "In England, we must therefore go into a national lockdown."

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The lockdown has come at a time when the UK has already vaccinated&nbsp;over one million people. Various local supermarkets, such as Morrisons, have now offered their parking spaces to the government to carry out vaccination drives. On Monday,&nbsp;58,784 people tested positive for the deadly virus.

Along with this statement, an official announcement was also made to notify that the PM has postponed his plans to travel to India in January.

Almost a few hours after the Uk entered another nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, a cabinet office minister has revealed that the lockdown may not be lifted very soon, and may continue till March, or later.

Almost a few hours after the Uk entered another nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, a cabinet office minister has revealed that the lockdown may not be lifted very soon, and may continue till March, or later. The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a nationwide lockdown and stated new regulations and measures, which include closure of the primary and secondary schools, in addition to the existing bans on gatherings. Also read| ritish PM Boris Johnson postpones India visit due to virus surge in England While the locals were not happy with the decision, a further blow was delivered by the Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove during an interview with a national TV channel. Gove, when asked how long will the lockdown continue for, said he could not give a precise answer but later said it could be more than the announced six weeks. "I think it is right to say that as we enter March we should be able to lift some of these restrictions but not necessarily all," he said. Gove also added that the lockdown will be reviewed on February 15, but the Johnson-led government cannot "predict with certainty" as to when will the lockdown be lifted. Gove's statement attracted concern and criticism from the locals of the country who have already been worried about the numerous lockdowns. Also read| England goes into lockdown again as new coronavirus strain cases surge The lockdown was initiated due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, especially after identification of the new variant of the novel coronavirus in the UK. With a rise in cases, the local hospitals have also been struggling to provide beds and care to COVID patients. "With most of the country already under extreme measures, it's clear that we need to do more, together, to bring this new variant under control while our vaccines are rolled out," the PM had announced on Tuesday morning. "In England, we must therefore go into a national lockdown." WATCH| × The lockdown has come at a time when the UK has already vaccinated over one million people. Various local supermarkets, such as Morrisons, have now offered their parking spaces to the government to carry out vaccination drives. On Monday, 58,784 people tested positive for the deadly virus. Along with this statement, an official announcement was also made to notify that the PM has postponed his plans to travel to India in January.

UK's COVID-19 lockdown may be extended till March: Minister

As the cases surge, Japan's Prime Minister&nbsp;Yoshihide Suga is mulling declaring a state of emergency in the greater Tokyo area amid rising concerns of a "very severe" third wave of the novel coronavirus infections.

"The national government will consider issuing a state of emergency," Suga said in a daily press conference. He also added that the vaccination drives will begin in the country in late February and also reported that he will be among the first ones to receive the vaccine to assure citizens there is nothing to worry about.

"Initially, we wish to start vaccination of medical workers, the elderly and those who work at elderly care facilities," he said. "I will also take the lead in getting vaccinated."

While he has shown confidence in the developing and developed vaccines, he has urged locals to practice social distancing and wear face masks when stepping out. he has also requested people to not to step out for non-essential work.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/japan-pm-says-government-will-consider-state-of-emergency-354296">WATCH|</a>

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The Japanese government is also aiming to introduce legislation to penalise businesses that will be found guilty of not adhering to coronavirus guidelines such as the shortened working hours of businesses and capped entry of people in shops and restaurants.

While the country awaits a final decision on a national lockdown, Suga has assured people that "limited and focused measures" will be effective, but has denied giving any further clarifications.

Suga's statement has come a few days after the Tokyo governor&nbsp;Yuriko Koike and leaders of three other neighbouring regions called on the central government urging them to impose a state of emergency in the respective areas.

However, the central government has been hesitant about imposing a state of emergency fearing another downward spiral in the national economy that Suga has struggled with since he joined the office in September. Suga, although, now feels "a stronger message was necessary".

The biggest concern for Suga's government right now is the upcoming Tokyo Olympics which are scheduled in less than six months. The Olympics were scheduled to be held in 2020 but were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, leading to huge losses for the country. This year, however, Suga has announced that his government does not plan to push the much-awaited event any further and believes the Games will be "proof that mankind overcame the virus".

As the cases surge, Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is mulling declaring a state of emergency in the greater Tokyo area amid rising concerns of a "very severe" third wave of the novel coronavirus infections.

As the cases surge, Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is mulling declaring a state of emergency in the greater Tokyo area amid rising concerns of a "very severe" third wave of the novel coronavirus infections. "The national government will consider issuing a state of emergency," Suga said in a daily press conference. He also added that the vaccination drives will begin in the country in late February and also reported that he will be among the first ones to receive the vaccine to assure citizens there is nothing to worry about. "Initially, we wish to start vaccination of medical workers, the elderly and those who work at elderly care facilities," he said. "I will also take the lead in getting vaccinated." While he has shown confidence in the developing and developed vaccines, he has urged locals to practice social distancing and wear face masks when stepping out. he has also requested people to not to step out for non-essential work. WATCH| × The Japanese government is also aiming to introduce legislation to penalise businesses that will be found guilty of not adhering to coronavirus guidelines such as the shortened working hours of businesses and capped entry of people in shops and restaurants. While the country awaits a final decision on a national lockdown, Suga has assured people that "limited and focused measures" will be effective, but has denied giving any further clarifications. Suga's statement has come a few days after the Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike and leaders of three other neighbouring regions called on the central government urging them to impose a state of emergency in the respective areas. However, the central government has been hesitant about imposing a state of emergency fearing another downward spiral in the national economy that Suga has struggled with since he joined the office in September. Suga, although, now feels "a stronger message was necessary". The biggest concern for Suga's government right now is the upcoming Tokyo Olympics which are scheduled in less than six months. The Olympics were scheduled to be held in 2020 but were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, leading to huge losses for the country. This year, however, Suga has announced that his government does not plan to push the much-awaited event any further and believes the Games will be "proof that mankind overcame the virus".

Japan's PM mulls over state of emergency amid rising coronavirus cases

Thousands of people were lining up in Beijing to receive a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus-vaccine">Covid-19 vaccine</a> as China races to innoculate millions before the Chinese New Year mass travel season in February.

More than 73,000 people in the Chinese capital have received the first dose of the vaccine over the last couple of days, state media reported Sunday, including community workers and bus drivers.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/brazils-private-clinics-seek-indias-covaxin-vaccine-354288" hreflang="en">Brazil's private clinics seek India's COVAXIN vaccine</a>

Health authorities on New Year's Eve granted "conditional" approval to a vaccine candidate made by Chinese pharma giant Sinopharm, which the company said had a 79 per cent efficacy rate.

Footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed queues outside local hospitals and community health centres as people waited to read consent forms and have their temperatures taken before getting the jab.

Health officials said gyms and empty factories were among centres being used for the vaccination programme.

China plans to vaccinate millions this winter in the run-up to Lunar New Year in mid-February.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-approves-sii-and-bharat-biotechs-covid-19-vaccines-for-restricted-emergency-use-354141" hreflang="en">India approves SII and Bharat Biotech's Covid-19 vaccines for restricted emergency use</a>

Beijing has already administered around 4.5 million doses of largely unproven emergency vaccines this year — mostly to health workers and other state employees destined for overseas jobs, according to authorities.

But China now plans a gradual rollout for the vaccine starting with key groups considered to have a high risk of exposure to the virus, including port and logistic workers and people planning to return to studies abroad.

China — where the coronavirus first emerged late in 2019 -- has broadly stamped out the virus inside its borders, introducing swift local lockdowns and mass testing when cases emerge.&nbsp;

But the country has stepped up testing and movement controls after a recent spate of small local outbreaks, including a handful of cases in Beijing.

Thousands of people were lining up in Beijing to receive a Covid-19 vaccine as China races to innoculate millions before the Chinese New Year mass travel season in February.

Thousands of people were lining up in Beijing to receive a Covid-19 vaccine as China races to innoculate millions before the Chinese New Year mass travel season in February. More than 73,000 people in the Chinese capital have received the first dose of the vaccine over the last couple of days, state media reported Sunday, including community workers and bus drivers. Also read| Brazil's private clinics seek India's COVAXIN vaccine Health authorities on New Year's Eve granted "conditional" approval to a vaccine candidate made by Chinese pharma giant Sinopharm, which the company said had a 79 per cent efficacy rate. Footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed queues outside local hospitals and community health centres as people waited to read consent forms and have their temperatures taken before getting the jab. Health officials said gyms and empty factories were among centres being used for the vaccination programme. China plans to vaccinate millions this winter in the run-up to Lunar New Year in mid-February. Also read| India approves SII and Bharat Biotech's Covid-19 vaccines for restricted emergency use Beijing has already administered around 4.5 million doses of largely unproven emergency vaccines this year — mostly to health workers and other state employees destined for overseas jobs, according to authorities. But China now plans a gradual rollout for the vaccine starting with key groups considered to have a high risk of exposure to the virus, including port and logistic workers and people planning to return to studies abroad. China — where the coronavirus first emerged late in 2019 -- has broadly stamped out the virus inside its borders, introducing swift local lockdowns and mass testing when cases emerge. But the country has stepped up testing and movement controls after a recent spate of small local outbreaks, including a handful of cases in Beijing.

Beijing vaccinates thousands in COVID-19 jab drive

As governments around the world rush to vaccinate their citizens against the surging <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus">coronavirus</a>, scientists are locked in a heated debate over a surprising question: Is it wisest to hold back the second doses everyone will need, or to give as many people as possible an inoculation now — and push back the second doses until later?

Since even the first shot appears to provide some protection against COVID-19, some experts believe that the shortest route to containing the virus is to disseminate the initial injections as widely as possible now.

Officials in Britain have already elected to delay second doses of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus-vaccine">vaccines</a> made by the pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and Pfizer as a way of more widely distributing the partial protection afforded by a single shot.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/brazils-private-clinics-seek-indias-covaxin-vaccine-354288" hreflang="en">Brazil's private clinics seek India's COVAXIN vaccine</a>

Health officials in the United States have been adamantly opposed to the idea. “I would not be in favor of that,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, told CNN on Friday. “We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing.”

But on Sunday, Moncef Slaoui, scientific adviser of Operation Warp Speed, the federal effort to accelerate vaccine development and distribution, offered up an intriguing alternative: giving some Americans two half-doses of the Moderna vaccine, a way to possibly milk more immunity from the nation’s limited vaccine supply.

The rising debate reflects nationwide frustration that so few Americans have gotten the first doses — far below the number the Trump administration had hoped would be inoculated by the end of 2020. But the controversy itself carries risks in a country where health measures have been politicized and many remain hesitant to take the vaccine.

“Even the appearance of tinkering has negatives, in terms of people having trust in the process,” said Natalie Dean, a biostatistician at the University of Florida.

Also read|&nbsp;<a data-ctorig="https://www.wionews.com/world/mexican-doctor-admitted-to-icu-after-receiving-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-354093" data-cturl="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/mexican-doctor-admitted-to-icu-after-receiving-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-354093&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjE2pbkwoHuAhUT63MBHS7PDYYQFjAAegQIAhAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw35kU5dg5JYTZFzkO6jRITH" dir="ltr" href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mexican-doctor-admitted-to-icu-after-receiving-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-354093" target="_blank">Mexican doctor admitted to ICU after receiving Pfizer&nbsp;Covid-19&nbsp;vaccine</a>

The public rollout remained bumpy over the weekend. Seniors lined up early for vaccinations in one Tennessee town, but the doses were gone by 10 a.m. In Houston, the Health Department phone system crashed Saturday, the first day officials opened a free vaccination clinic to the public.

Nursing home workers in Ohio were opting out of the vaccination in great numbers, according to Gov. Mike DeWine, while Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles, now a center of the pandemic, warned that vaccine distribution was moving far too slowly. Hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients during the past month have more than doubled in California.

The vaccines authorized so far in the United States are produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Britain has greenlit the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines.

All of them are intended to be delivered in multiple doses on a strict schedule, relying on a tiered protection strategy. The first injection teaches the immune system to recognize a new pathogen by showing it a harmless version of some of the virus’ most salient features.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/outdoor-gym-and-at-home-exercises-on-trend-in-2021-354292">WATCH|</a>

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After the body has had time to study up on this material, as it were, a second shot presents these features again, helping immune cells commit the lesson to memory. These subsequent doses are intended to increase the potency and durability of immunity.

Clinical trials run by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna showed the vaccines were highly effective at preventing cases of COVID-19 when delivered in two doses separated by three or four weeks.

Some protection appears to kick in after the first shot of vaccine, although it’s unclear how quickly it might wane. Still, some experts now argue that spreading vaccines more thinly across a population by concentrating on first doses might save more lives than making sure half as many individuals receive both doses on schedule.

That would be a remarkable departure from the original plan. Since the vaccine rollout began last month in the United States, second shots of the vaccines have been held back to guarantee that they will be available on schedule for people who have already gotten their first injections.

But in Britain, doctors have been told to postpone appointments for second doses that had been scheduled for January, so that those doses can be given instead as first shots to other patients. Officials are now pushing the second doses of both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines as far back as 12 weeks after the first one.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-may-halve-modernas-vaccine-doses-to-inoculate-more-people-354289" hreflang="en">US may halve Moderna's vaccine doses to inoculate more people</a>

In a regulatory document, British health officials said that AstraZeneca’s vaccine was 73% effective in clinical trial participants three weeks after the first dose was given and before the second dose was administered. (In cases in which participants never received a second dose, the interval ended 12 weeks after the first dose was given.)

But some researchers fear the delayed-dose approach could prove disastrous, particularly in the United States, where vaccine rollouts are already stymied by logistical hurdles and a patchwork approach to prioritizing who gets the first jabs.

“We have an issue with distribution, not the number of doses,” said Saad Omer, a vaccine expert at Yale University. “Doubling the number of doses doesn’t double your capacity to give doses.”

Federal health officials said last week that some 14 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines had been shipped out across the country. But as of Saturday morning, just 4.2 million people in the United States had gotten their first shots.

That number is most likely an underestimate because of lags in reporting. Still, the figure falls far short of the goal that federal health officials set as recently as last month to give 20 million people their first shots by the end of 2020.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/when-in-doubt-call-it-covid-trump-accuses-exaggeration-of-tally-fauci-reacts-354280" hreflang="en">'When in doubt, call it Covid': Trump accuses 'exaggeration' of tally</a>

Many of these rollout woes are caused by logistical issues — against the backdrop of a strained health care system and skepticism around vaccines. Freeing up more doses for first injections won’t solve problems like those, some researchers argue.

Shweta Bansal, a mathematical biologist at Georgetown University, and others also raised concerns about the social and psychological effects of delaying second doses.

“The longer the duration between doses, the more likely people are to forget to come back,” she said. “Or people may not remember which vaccine that they got, and we don’t know what a mix and match might do.”

In an emailed statement, Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration, endorsed only the strictly scheduled two-dose regimens that were tested in clinical trials of the vaccines.

The “depth or duration of protection after a single dose of vaccine,” he said, cannot be determined from the research published so far. “Though it is quite a reasonable question to study a single-dose regimen in future clinical trials, we simply don’t currently have these data.”

Slaoui of Operation Warp Speed said in an emailed statement Sunday that “the approach some countries are taking of delaying the booster shot could backfire and could decrease confidence in the vaccines.”

The vaccine-makers themselves have taken divergent positions.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/a-covid-19-relief-fund-was-only-for-black-residents-then-came-the-lawsuits-354254" hreflang="en">A COVID-19 relief fund was only for black residents. Then came the lawsuits</a>

In a trial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, volunteers in Britain were originally intended to receive two doses given four weeks apart. But some vaccinated participants ended up receiving their doses several months apart, and still acquired some protection against COVID-19.

An extended gap between doses “gives you a lot of flexibility for how you administer your vaccines, dependent on the supply that you have,” said Menelas Pangalos, executive vice president of biopharmaceuticals research and development at AstraZeneca.

Delayed dosing could help get countries “in very good shape for immunizing large swaths of their populations to protect them quickly.”

Steven Danehy, a spokesperson for Pfizer, struck a far more conservative tone. “Although partial protection from the vaccine appears to begin as early as 12 days after the first dose, two doses of the vaccine are required to provide the maximum protection against the disease, a vaccine efficacy of 95%,” he said.

“There are no data to demonstrate that protection after the first dose is sustained after 21 days,” he added.

Ray Jordan, a spokesperson for Moderna, said the company could not comment on altering dosing plans at this time.

There is no dispute that second doses should be administered sometime near the first dose.

“They key is to expose the immune system at a time when it still recognizes” the immunity-stimulating ingredients in the vaccine, said Angela Rasmussen, a virus expert affiliated with Georgetown University.

During a public health emergency, “companies will tend to pick the shortest period they can that gives them that full, protective response,” said Dean of the University of Florida.

But it’s unclear when that critical window really starts to close in the body. Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University who supports delaying second doses, said she thought the body’s memory of the first injection could last at least a few months.

Doses of other routine vaccines, she noted, are scheduled several months apart or even longer, to great success. “Let’s vaccinate as many people as possible now, and give them the booster dose when they become available,” she said.

Dr. Robert Wachter, an infectious disease physician at the University of California, San Francisco, said he was originally skeptical of the idea of delaying second doses.

But the disappointingly slow vaccine rollout in the United States, coupled with concerns about a new and fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus, have changed his mind, and he now believes this is a strategy worth exploring.

“The past couple weeks have been sobering,” he said.

Other researchers are less eager to take the gamble. Delaying doses without strong supporting data “is like going into the Wild West,” said Dr. Phyllis Tien, an infectious disease physician at the University of California, San Francisco. “I think we need to follow what the evidence says: two shots 21 days apart for Pfizer, or 28 days apart for Moderna.”

Some experts also fear that delaying an immunity-boosting second dose might give the coronavirus more opportunity to multiply and mutate in partly protected people.

There is some evidence to support the alternative strategy of halving the dose of each shot, suggested Sunday by Slauoi of Operation Warp Speed.

In an interview on the CBS program “Face the Nation,” Slaoui pointed to data from clinical trials run by Moderna, whose vaccine is typically given in two doses, four weeks apart, each containing 100 micrograms of active ingredient.

In the trials, people between the ages of 18 and 55 who received two half-doses produced an “identical immune response to the 100 microgram dose,” Slaoui said. The FDA and Moderna are now considering implementing this regimen on a more widespread scale, he added.

While there’s little or no data to support the soundness of second dose delays, Slaoui said, “injecting half the volume” might constitute “a more responsible approach that will be based on facts and data to immunize more people.”

But Dean and John Moore, a vaccine expert at Cornell University, both pointed out that this regimen would still represent a departure from the ones rigorously tested in clinical trials.

A half-dose that elicits an immune response that appears similar to that triggered by a full dose may not in the end deliver the expected protection against the coronavirus, Moore noted. Halving doses “is not something I would want to see done unless it were absolutely necessary,” he said.

“Everyone is looking for solutions right now, because there is an urgent need for more doses,” Dean said. “But the dust has not settled on the best way to achieve this.”

As governments around the world rush to vaccinate their citizens against the surging coronavirus, scientists are locked in a heated debate over a surprising question: Is it wisest to hold back the second doses everyone will need, or to give as many people as possible an inoculation now — and push back the second doses until later?

As governments around the world rush to vaccinate their citizens against the surging coronavirus, scientists are locked in a heated debate over a surprising question: Is it wisest to hold back the second doses everyone will need, or to give as many people as possible an inoculation now — and push back the second doses until later? Since even the first shot appears to provide some protection against COVID-19, some experts believe that the shortest route to containing the virus is to disseminate the initial injections as widely as possible now. Officials in Britain have already elected to delay second doses of vaccines made by the pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and Pfizer as a way of more widely distributing the partial protection afforded by a single shot. Also read| Brazil's private clinics seek India's COVAXIN vaccine Health officials in the United States have been adamantly opposed to the idea. “I would not be in favor of that,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, told CNN on Friday. “We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing.” But on Sunday, Moncef Slaoui, scientific adviser of Operation Warp Speed, the federal effort to accelerate vaccine development and distribution, offered up an intriguing alternative: giving some Americans two half-doses of the Moderna vaccine, a way to possibly milk more immunity from the nation’s limited vaccine supply. The rising debate reflects nationwide frustration that so few Americans have gotten the first doses — far below the number the Trump administration had hoped would be inoculated by the end of 2020. But the controversy itself carries risks in a country where health measures have been politicized and many remain hesitant to take the vaccine. “Even the appearance of tinkering has negatives, in terms of people having trust in the process,” said Natalie Dean, a biostatistician at the University of Florida. Also read| Mexican doctor admitted to ICU after receiving Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine The public rollout remained bumpy over the weekend. Seniors lined up early for vaccinations in one Tennessee town, but the doses were gone by 10 a.m. In Houston, the Health Department phone system crashed Saturday, the first day officials opened a free vaccination clinic to the public. Nursing home workers in Ohio were opting out of the vaccination in great numbers, according to Gov. Mike DeWine, while Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles, now a center of the pandemic, warned that vaccine distribution was moving far too slowly. Hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients during the past month have more than doubled in California. The vaccines authorized so far in the United States are produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Britain has greenlit the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines. All of them are intended to be delivered in multiple doses on a strict schedule, relying on a tiered protection strategy. The first injection teaches the immune system to recognize a new pathogen by showing it a harmless version of some of the virus’ most salient features. WATCH| × After the body has had time to study up on this material, as it were, a second shot presents these features again, helping immune cells commit the lesson to memory. These subsequent doses are intended to increase the potency and durability of immunity. Clinical trials run by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna showed the vaccines were highly effective at preventing cases of COVID-19 when delivered in two doses separated by three or four weeks. Some protection appears to kick in after the first shot of vaccine, although it’s unclear how quickly it might wane. Still, some experts now argue that spreading vaccines more thinly across a population by concentrating on first doses might save more lives than making sure half as many individuals receive both doses on schedule. That would be a remarkable departure from the original plan. Since the vaccine rollout began last month in the United States, second shots of the vaccines have been held back to guarantee that they will be available on schedule for people who have already gotten their first injections. But in Britain, doctors have been told to postpone appointments for second doses that had been scheduled for January, so that those doses can be given instead as first shots to other patients. Officials are now pushing the second doses of both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines as far back as 12 weeks after the first one. Also read| US may halve Moderna's vaccine doses to inoculate more people In a regulatory document, British health officials said that AstraZeneca’s vaccine was 73% effective in clinical trial participants three weeks after the first dose was given and before the second dose was administered. (In cases in which participants never received a second dose, the interval ended 12 weeks after the first dose was given.) But some researchers fear the delayed-dose approach could prove disastrous, particularly in the United States, where vaccine rollouts are already stymied by logistical hurdles and a patchwork approach to prioritizing who gets the first jabs. “We have an issue with distribution, not the number of doses,” said Saad Omer, a vaccine expert at Yale University. “Doubling the number of doses doesn’t double your capacity to give doses.” Federal health officials said last week that some 14 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines had been shipped out across the country. But as of Saturday morning, just 4.2 million people in the United States had gotten their first shots. That number is most likely an underestimate because of lags in reporting. Still, the figure falls far short of the goal that federal health officials set as recently as last month to give 20 million people their first shots by the end of 2020. Also read| 'When in doubt, call it Covid': Trump accuses 'exaggeration' of tally Many of these rollout woes are caused by logistical issues — against the backdrop of a strained health care system and skepticism around vaccines. Freeing up more doses for first injections won’t solve problems like those, some researchers argue. Shweta Bansal, a mathematical biologist at Georgetown University, and others also raised concerns about the social and psychological effects of delaying second doses. “The longer the duration between doses, the more likely people are to forget to come back,” she said. “Or people may not remember which vaccine that they got, and we don’t know what a mix and match might do.” In an emailed statement, Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration, endorsed only the strictly scheduled two-dose regimens that were tested in clinical trials of the vaccines. The “depth or duration of protection after a single dose of vaccine,” he said, cannot be determined from the research published so far. “Though it is quite a reasonable question to study a single-dose regimen in future clinical trials, we simply don’t currently have these data.” Slaoui of Operation Warp Speed said in an emailed statement Sunday that “the approach some countries are taking of delaying the booster shot could backfire and could decrease confidence in the vaccines.” The vaccine-makers themselves have taken divergent positions. Also read| A COVID-19 relief fund was only for black residents. Then came the lawsuits In a trial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, volunteers in Britain were originally intended to receive two doses given four weeks apart. But some vaccinated participants ended up receiving their doses several months apart, and still acquired some protection against COVID-19. An extended gap between doses “gives you a lot of flexibility for how you administer your vaccines, dependent on the supply that you have,” said Menelas Pangalos, executive vice president of biopharmaceuticals research and development at AstraZeneca. Delayed dosing could help get countries “in very good shape for immunizing large swaths of their populations to protect them quickly.” Steven Danehy, a spokesperson for Pfizer, struck a far more conservative tone. “Although partial protection from the vaccine appears to begin as early as 12 days after the first dose, two doses of the vaccine are required to provide the maximum protection against the disease, a vaccine efficacy of 95%,” he said. “There are no data to demonstrate that protection after the first dose is sustained after 21 days,” he added. Ray Jordan, a spokesperson for Moderna, said the company could not comment on altering dosing plans at this time. There is no dispute that second doses should be administered sometime near the first dose. “They key is to expose the immune system at a time when it still recognizes” the immunity-stimulating ingredients in the vaccine, said Angela Rasmussen, a virus expert affiliated with Georgetown University. During a public health emergency, “companies will tend to pick the shortest period they can that gives them that full, protective response,” said Dean of the University of Florida. But it’s unclear when that critical window really starts to close in the body. Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University who supports delaying second doses, said she thought the body’s memory of the first injection could last at least a few months. Doses of other routine vaccines, she noted, are scheduled several months apart or even longer, to great success. “Let’s vaccinate as many people as possible now, and give them the booster dose when they become available,” she said. Dr. Robert Wachter, an infectious disease physician at the University of California, San Francisco, said he was originally skeptical of the idea of delaying second doses. But the disappointingly slow vaccine rollout in the United States, coupled with concerns about a new and fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus, have changed his mind, and he now believes this is a strategy worth exploring. “The past couple weeks have been sobering,” he said. Other researchers are less eager to take the gamble. Delaying doses without strong supporting data “is like going into the Wild West,” said Dr. Phyllis Tien, an infectious disease physician at the University of California, San Francisco. “I think we need to follow what the evidence says: two shots 21 days apart for Pfizer, or 28 days apart for Moderna.” Some experts also fear that delaying an immunity-boosting second dose might give the coronavirus more opportunity to multiply and mutate in partly protected people. There is some evidence to support the alternative strategy of halving the dose of each shot, suggested Sunday by Slauoi of Operation Warp Speed. In an interview on the CBS program “Face the Nation,” Slaoui pointed to data from clinical trials run by Moderna, whose vaccine is typically given in two doses, four weeks apart, each containing 100 micrograms of active ingredient. In the trials, people between the ages of 18 and 55 who received two half-doses produced an “identical immune response to the 100 microgram dose,” Slaoui said. The FDA and Moderna are now considering implementing this regimen on a more widespread scale, he added. While there’s little or no data to support the soundness of second dose delays, Slaoui said, “injecting half the volume” might constitute “a more responsible approach that will be based on facts and data to immunize more people.” But Dean and John Moore, a vaccine expert at Cornell University, both pointed out that this regimen would still represent a departure from the ones rigorously tested in clinical trials. A half-dose that elicits an immune response that appears similar to that triggered by a full dose may not in the end deliver the expected protection against the coronavirus, Moore noted. Halving doses “is not something I would want to see done unless it were absolutely necessary,” he said. “Everyone is looking for solutions right now, because there is an urgent need for more doses,” Dean said. “But the dust has not settled on the best way to achieve this.”

As rollout falters, scientists debate new vaccination tactics

The outgoing US President Donald Trump has once again accused the states and the top US&nbsp;infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci of exaggerating the coronavirus cases and death tally in the country.

As the country struggled to meet the rising demand for the COVID-19 vaccines, Trump&nbsp;took to Twitter to spread panic and chaos through his tweets accusing officials of spreading&nbsp;'fake news'. "The number of cases and deaths of the China Virus is far exaggerated in the United States because of&nbsp;@CDCgov’s ridiculous method of determination compared to other countries, many of whom report, purposely, very inaccurately and low. “When in doubt, call it Covid.” Fake News!," he tweeted.

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The number of cases and deaths of the China Virus is far exaggerated in the United States because of <a href="https://twitter.com/CDCgov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CDCgov</a>’s ridiculous method of determination compared to other countries, many of whom report, purposely, very inaccurately and low. “When in doubt, call it Covid.” Fake News!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1345720107255926784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The tweet came as the country passed the mark of&nbsp;350,000&nbsp; deaths caused by the novel coronavirus. The US is struggling to contain the spread of the deadly virus, especially after identification of the new variants of COVID-19.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trumps-leaked-audio-tape-reveals-he-wanted-to-find-votes-to-win-us-election-354264" hreflang="en">Donald Trump's leaked audio tape reveals he wanted to 'find' votes</a>

Anthony Fauci, who has been on the bad side of the outgoing President for the past few months now, however, feels trump should "go into the trenches" to take a reality check of the situation in the country he has lead for the past four years. "Go into the hospitals, go into the intensive care units and see what is happening. Those are real numbers, real people and real deaths," Fauci said in an interview with the local media.

Turns out, Fauci is not the only one who disagrees with Trump's claims.&nbsp;Dr Jerome Adams, the surgeon general, also disagreed with trump's claims of the figures being 'exaggerated'.&nbsp;

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/kamala-harris-lambasts-trumps-georgia-phone-call-as-abuse-of-power-354263">Kamala Harris lambasts Trump's Georgia phone call as 'abuse of power'</a>

"I have no reason to doubt those numbers, and I think people need to be very aware that it’s not just about the deaths, as we talked about earlier," Adams told the local media. "It’s about the hospitalisations, the capacity, these cases are having an impact in an array of ways, and people need to understand that there’s a finish line in sight but we’ve got to keep running towards it."

However, Trump — rarely known to take defeat in a healthy way — shot back at Fauci directly through another tweet saying, "Something how Dr. Fauci is revered by the LameStream Media as such a great professional, having done, they say, such an incredible job, yet he works for me and the Trump Administration, and I am in no way given any credit for my work. Gee, could this just be more Fake News?"

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Something how Dr. Fauci is revered by the LameStream Media as such a great professional, having done, they say, such an incredible job, yet he works for me and the Trump Administration, and I am in no way given any credit for my work. Gee, could this just be more Fake News?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1345749709592342530?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2021</a></blockquote>
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While the Trump-Fauci war continues, the health expert has, however, taken responsibility and has said there are "no excuses" for the delay in the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccines. The US officials had predicted of administering the vaccines to at least 20 million by January 01. However, till now, not even four million people have been&nbsp;given the vaccine.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/anthony-fauci-denies-following-uks-decision-to-delay-covid-19-vaccines-second-dose-354113">Anthony Fauci denies following UK's decision to delay COVID-19 vaccine's second dose</a>

"We’re not where we want to be," Fauci admitted on national television. "We’ve got to do much better, but let’s give it about a week or two into January to see if we can pick up momentum that was slowed down by the holiday season."

The rebuke from Fauci against trump has come at a time when the outgoing President has been caught in yet another controversy due to a leaked audio tape in which trump cna be heard asking the Georgia state leader to 'find' votes for him and overturn Joe Biden's election victory.

The outgoing US President Donald Trump has once again accused the states and the top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci of exaggerating the coronavirus cases and death tally in the country.

The outgoing US President Donald Trump has once again accused the states and the top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci of exaggerating the coronavirus cases and death tally in the country. As the country struggled to meet the rising demand for the COVID-19 vaccines, Trump took to Twitter to spread panic and chaos through his tweets accusing officials of spreading 'fake news'. "The number of cases and deaths of the China Virus is far exaggerated in the United States because of @CDCgov’s ridiculous method of determination compared to other countries, many of whom report, purposely, very inaccurately and low. “When in doubt, call it Covid.” Fake News!," he tweeted. The number of cases and deaths of the China Virus is far exaggerated in the United States because of @CDCgov’s ridiculous method of determination compared to other countries, many of whom report, purposely, very inaccurately and low. “When in doubt, call it Covid.” Fake News! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2021 × The tweet came as the country passed the mark of 350,000 deaths caused by the novel coronavirus. The US is struggling to contain the spread of the deadly virus, especially after identification of the new variants of COVID-19. Also read| Donald Trump's leaked audio tape reveals he wanted to 'find' votes Anthony Fauci, who has been on the bad side of the outgoing President for the past few months now, however, feels trump should "go into the trenches" to take a reality check of the situation in the country he has lead for the past four years. "Go into the hospitals, go into the intensive care units and see what is happening. Those are real numbers, real people and real deaths," Fauci said in an interview with the local media. Turns out, Fauci is not the only one who disagrees with Trump's claims. Dr Jerome Adams, the surgeon general, also disagreed with trump's claims of the figures being 'exaggerated'. Also read| Kamala Harris lambasts Trump's Georgia phone call as 'abuse of power' "I have no reason to doubt those numbers, and I think people need to be very aware that it’s not just about the deaths, as we talked about earlier," Adams told the local media. "It’s about the hospitalisations, the capacity, these cases are having an impact in an array of ways, and people need to understand that there’s a finish line in sight but we’ve got to keep running towards it." However, Trump — rarely known to take defeat in a healthy way — shot back at Fauci directly through another tweet saying, "Something how Dr. Fauci is revered by the LameStream Media as such a great professional, having done, they say, such an incredible job, yet he works for me and the Trump Administration, and I am in no way given any credit for my work. Gee, could this just be more Fake News?" Something how Dr. Fauci is revered by the LameStream Media as such a great professional, having done, they say, such an incredible job, yet he works for me and the Trump Administration, and I am in no way given any credit for my work. Gee, could this just be more Fake News? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2021 × While the Trump-Fauci war continues, the health expert has, however, taken responsibility and has said there are "no excuses" for the delay in the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccines. The US officials had predicted of administering the vaccines to at least 20 million by January 01. However, till now, not even four million people have been given the vaccine. Also read| Anthony Fauci denies following UK's decision to delay COVID-19 vaccine's second dose "We’re not where we want to be," Fauci admitted on national television. "We’ve got to do much better, but let’s give it about a week or two into January to see if we can pick up momentum that was slowed down by the holiday season." The rebuke from Fauci against trump has come at a time when the outgoing President has been caught in yet another controversy due to a leaked audio tape in which trump cna be heard asking the Georgia state leader to 'find' votes for him and overturn Joe Biden's election victory.

'When in doubt, call it Covid': Trump accuses 'exaggeration' of tally; Fauci reacts

China's scientists have found traces of the novel coronavirus on samples of several auto part packages. the samples were tested for traces after a company engaged in auto parts sale reported a positive case for the deadly virus.

The case was reported by the local centre for disease control and prevention in&nbsp;the city of Jincheng, Shanxi province. Upon detection of the virus traces, the centre immediately activated an emergency response.

All personnel who came in close contact with the products were also tested for the virus, who tested negative but have still been quarantined for precaution. All related goods have also been sealed.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/africa/beijing-vaccinates-thousands-in-covid-19-jab-drive-354304">Beijing vaccinates thousands in COVID-19 jab drive</a>

In Hohhot, capital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, nearly five samples of the auto parts packaging found traces of the novel coronavirus,&nbsp;city's headquarters for COVID-19 prevention and control.

A statement issued on Sunday by the headquarters said three batches of auto parts from the company where a confirmed case was reported were distributed to three stores in Hohhot.&nbsp;

Another store also found a few more samples of packaging that had traces of the novel coronavirus. Few more samples were found in the city of Cangzhou in Hebei province; and Yantai and Linyi in Shandong province. All stores have been locked down and the related auto parts sealed.

Also read|<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/chinese-billionaire-jack-ma-goes-missing-after-controversial-speech-354337">&nbsp;Chinese billionaire Jack Ma goes missing after controversial speech</a>

To find the traces, nucleic acid tests were carried out on all auto parts and personnel in various cities of China.

This news has come as mainland China reported 33 new coronavirus cases out of which 20 cases were imported, the country's national health authority said on Monday.

The National Health Commission has also reported 13 new locally transmitted cases,&nbsp;six in Liaoning province, four in Hebei province, two in Beijing and one in Heilongjiang province.

China's scientists have found traces of the novel coronavirus on samples of several auto part packages. the samples were tested for traces after a company engaged in auto parts sale reported a positive case for the deadly virus.

China's scientists have found traces of the novel coronavirus on samples of several auto part packages. the samples were tested for traces after a company engaged in auto parts sale reported a positive case for the deadly virus. The case was reported by the local centre for disease control and prevention in the city of Jincheng, Shanxi province. Upon detection of the virus traces, the centre immediately activated an emergency response. All personnel who came in close contact with the products were also tested for the virus, who tested negative but have still been quarantined for precaution. All related goods have also been sealed. Also read| Beijing vaccinates thousands in COVID-19 jab drive In Hohhot, capital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, nearly five samples of the auto parts packaging found traces of the novel coronavirus, city's headquarters for COVID-19 prevention and control. A statement issued on Sunday by the headquarters said three batches of auto parts from the company where a confirmed case was reported were distributed to three stores in Hohhot. Another store also found a few more samples of packaging that had traces of the novel coronavirus. Few more samples were found in the city of Cangzhou in Hebei province; and Yantai and Linyi in Shandong province. All stores have been locked down and the related auto parts sealed. Also read| Chinese billionaire Jack Ma goes missing after controversial speech To find the traces, nucleic acid tests were carried out on all auto parts and personnel in various cities of China. This news has come as mainland China reported 33 new coronavirus cases out of which 20 cases were imported, the country's national health authority said on Monday. The National Health Commission has also reported 13 new locally transmitted cases, six in Liaoning province, four in Hebei province, two in Beijing and one in Heilongjiang province.

Traces of coronavirus found on auto parts packaging in China

The finishing touches were being put on a glitzy show at the Sydney Opera House Saturday, as the venue prepared to host an opera crowd for the first time since March.

"The Merry Widow" will open on Tuesday to masked audiences up to 75 per cent capacity, in a sign of hope for a performing arts industry crippled by the pandemic, artistic director Lyndon Terracini told AFP.

"Walking back into the theatre was a very emotional time for everyone involved," he said.

"I think throughout this year, other opera houses will be opening very soon and people will be coming back to the theatre with a sense of hope."

Thanks to Australia's success in suppressing the virus, crowds inside venues -- including the Sydney Opera House -- have been permitted in the country's most populous city for months.

But even as the performers readied for their opening night, an outbreak in the city forced officials to tighten restrictions — including a new mandate on mask-wearing on public transport and in many indoor settings from midnight Saturday.

The outbreak of over 180 cases first emerged in December in Sydney's northeast but has since sparked other clusters, including in Melbourne.

Areas of Sydney remain under lockdown and officials have suggested further restrictions may be needed to curb the spread -- which could include a change to audiences at indoor performances.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/wool-industry-witnesses-shift-in-attitudes-in-australia-353978">WATCH|</a>

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Julie Lea Goodwin, who leads the show along with Alexander Lewis, said she was thrilled to be back performing but after a nine-month hiatus the uncertainty of the pandemic still loomed.

"I have no idea what's ahead," Goodwin said.

"I think that Australia is doing an unbelievable job... but it's just going to be a process for the next year, I'd say, or longer."

Australia has recorded over 28,400 cases of the virus and 909 deaths linked to Covid-19 in a population of about 25 million.

The finishing touches were being put on a glitzy show at the Sydney Opera House Saturday, as the venue prepared to host an opera crowd for the first time since March.

The finishing touches were being put on a glitzy show at the Sydney Opera House Saturday, as the venue prepared to host an opera crowd for the first time since March. "The Merry Widow" will open on Tuesday to masked audiences up to 75 per cent capacity, in a sign of hope for a performing arts industry crippled by the pandemic, artistic director Lyndon Terracini told AFP. "Walking back into the theatre was a very emotional time for everyone involved," he said. "I think throughout this year, other opera houses will be opening very soon and people will be coming back to the theatre with a sense of hope." Thanks to Australia's success in suppressing the virus, crowds inside venues -- including the Sydney Opera House -- have been permitted in the country's most populous city for months. But even as the performers readied for their opening night, an outbreak in the city forced officials to tighten restrictions — including a new mandate on mask-wearing on public transport and in many indoor settings from midnight Saturday. The outbreak of over 180 cases first emerged in December in Sydney's northeast but has since sparked other clusters, including in Melbourne. Areas of Sydney remain under lockdown and officials have suggested further restrictions may be needed to curb the spread -- which could include a change to audiences at indoor performances. WATCH| × Julie Lea Goodwin, who leads the show along with Alexander Lewis, said she was thrilled to be back performing but after a nine-month hiatus the uncertainty of the pandemic still loomed. "I have no idea what's ahead," Goodwin said. "I think that Australia is doing an unbelievable job... but it's just going to be a process for the next year, I'd say, or longer." Australia has recorded over 28,400 cases of the virus and 909 deaths linked to Covid-19 in a population of about 25 million.

Sydney's Opera House to reopen on Sunday after combating COVID-19 fears

After a massive rave party in&nbsp;northwestern France, the Macron government has decided to impose night curfew in 15 northeastern and southeastern areas which will be starting from 6 pm, instead of 8 pm every night.

"We are taking a decision for 15 departments. In a week's time, we will assess the impact of this earlier curfew on these 15 departments, on the circulation of the virus elsewhere in the country," Gabriel Attal, a government spokesperson told local media.

He has also urged people to avoid wandering out during the day, warning that if the situation gets worse, a complete lockdown can also be placed. "Obviously if the situation were to deteriorate further in some regions, we would take the necessary decisions. The measures are incremental and can of course - in principle - go as far a lockdown," he said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/france-at-least-30-cars-torched-on-new-years-eve-by-rioters-on-violence-spree-353973">WATCH|</a>

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In addition to this, the government has also decided to continue the ban on theatres, cinemas, concert and other entertainment venues. Restaurants and bars will also stay temporarily closed until further notice.

The decision has come after France identified cases of the new variant of coronavirus, which was first reported in the UK a few weeks ago.&nbsp;

This has also come as a direct result of several New Year parties which took place in the country, flouting all coronavirus guidelines and regulations imposed by the health experts and the government. The recent one was an&nbsp;illegal rave in Lieuron south of Rennes in Brittany which was attended by nearly 2,500 people for which the local police claims they tried to "prevent this event but faced fierce hostility from many partygoers".

The party took place after the&nbsp;Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin claimed to have deployed nearly 132,000 police officers on the streets of France for patrolling on New Year's Eve.

On Friday, France recorded&nbsp;19,348 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. France has also suspended all incoming passengers from the UK after a fresh outbreak of the new variant of coronavirus.

After a massive rave party in northwestern France, the Macron government has decided to impose night curfew in 15 northeastern and southeastern areas which will be starting from 6 pm, instead of 8 pm every night.

After a massive rave party in northwestern France, the Macron government has decided to impose night curfew in 15 northeastern and southeastern areas which will be starting from 6 pm, instead of 8 pm every night. "We are taking a decision for 15 departments. In a week's time, we will assess the impact of this earlier curfew on these 15 departments, on the circulation of the virus elsewhere in the country," Gabriel Attal, a government spokesperson told local media. He has also urged people to avoid wandering out during the day, warning that if the situation gets worse, a complete lockdown can also be placed. "Obviously if the situation were to deteriorate further in some regions, we would take the necessary decisions. The measures are incremental and can of course - in principle - go as far a lockdown," he said. WATCH| × In addition to this, the government has also decided to continue the ban on theatres, cinemas, concert and other entertainment venues. Restaurants and bars will also stay temporarily closed until further notice. The decision has come after France identified cases of the new variant of coronavirus, which was first reported in the UK a few weeks ago. This has also come as a direct result of several New Year parties which took place in the country, flouting all coronavirus guidelines and regulations imposed by the health experts and the government. The recent one was an illegal rave in Lieuron south of Rennes in Brittany which was attended by nearly 2,500 people for which the local police claims they tried to "prevent this event but faced fierce hostility from many partygoers". The party took place after the Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin claimed to have deployed nearly 132,000 police officers on the streets of France for patrolling on New Year's Eve. On Friday, France recorded 19,348 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. France has also suspended all incoming passengers from the UK after a fresh outbreak of the new variant of coronavirus.

After new year parties and violence, France imposes night curfew to contain COVID-19 cases

A few weeks after the European Union approved the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine for emergency use in the union, the German pharmaceutical company&nbsp;BioNtech has lashed out at the EU for not approving enough doses.

The EU is now fearing a 'gap' in the vaccination drive, which BioNtech says has been caused as the EU did not approve and order enough doses. The vaccine was approved by the EU after the UK, Canada and the US started their vaccination drive from the same company. The German company claims other countries have been able to manage the mass vaccine drive in a better way than the EU.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/does-new-covid-19-strain-affect-young-people-more-353928" hreflang="en">Does new Covid-19 strain affect young people more?</a>

Uğur Şahin, Founder and the head of the German biotech firm, claims the vaccination programme in the EU "certainly did not go as fast and smooth as it did with other countries".&nbsp;

He also explained that the gap has been caused as the EU wrongfully assumed that several Other vaccines would be ready for approval by this time. "The assumption was that many other companies would come up with their vaccines," he said. "It would seem that the impression was: ‘We’ll get enough, it won’t be so bad, and we have this under control.’ It surprised me."

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/france-massive-rave-party-with-little-social-distancing-causes-concern-353915" hreflang="en">rance: Massive rave party with little social distancing causes concern</a>

His wife and company's Chief Medical Officer said while she understands the logic behind EU's initial assumption, the union should have realised with time that the other companies will be unable to deliver in the set timeframe. "Such an approach makes sense. But then at some point it became clear that many would be unable to deliver so quickly," she said. "By that time it was too late to make up for under-ordering."

The company is now racing with its partner firm, Pfizer, to increase the production and deliver vaccine doses to the Eu to avoid the impending gap. However, the company has also added that they cannot produce flat-out to meet the widening gap. Hopefully, they will be able to set up a new manufacturing plant in Germany by the end of February. "By the end of January we should have clarity on how much more we can produce,"&nbsp;Şahin said.

Explaining the gap, the company reported that while the US ordered 600 million doses of the vaccine in July, the Eu waited until November to order half as many as the US, leading to a situation of chaos, especially with the identification of the new variants of the novel coronavirus.

A few weeks after the European Union approved the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine for emergency use in the union, the German pharmaceutical company BioNtech has lashed out at the EU for not approving enough doses.

A few weeks after the European Union approved the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine for emergency use in the union, the German pharmaceutical company BioNtech has lashed out at the EU for not approving enough doses. The EU is now fearing a 'gap' in the vaccination drive, which BioNtech says has been caused as the EU did not approve and order enough doses. The vaccine was approved by the EU after the UK, Canada and the US started their vaccination drive from the same company. The German company claims other countries have been able to manage the mass vaccine drive in a better way than the EU. Also read| Does new Covid-19 strain affect young people more? Uğur Şahin, Founder and the head of the German biotech firm, claims the vaccination programme in the EU "certainly did not go as fast and smooth as it did with other countries". He also explained that the gap has been caused as the EU wrongfully assumed that several Other vaccines would be ready for approval by this time. "The assumption was that many other companies would come up with their vaccines," he said. "It would seem that the impression was: ‘We’ll get enough, it won’t be so bad, and we have this under control.’ It surprised me." Also read| rance: Massive rave party with little social distancing causes concern His wife and company's Chief Medical Officer said while she understands the logic behind EU's initial assumption, the union should have realised with time that the other companies will be unable to deliver in the set timeframe. "Such an approach makes sense. But then at some point it became clear that many would be unable to deliver so quickly," she said. "By that time it was too late to make up for under-ordering." The company is now racing with its partner firm, Pfizer, to increase the production and deliver vaccine doses to the Eu to avoid the impending gap. However, the company has also added that they cannot produce flat-out to meet the widening gap. Hopefully, they will be able to set up a new manufacturing plant in Germany by the end of February. "By the end of January we should have clarity on how much more we can produce," Şahin said. Explaining the gap, the company reported that while the US ordered 600 million doses of the vaccine in July, the Eu waited until November to order half as many as the US, leading to a situation of chaos, especially with the identification of the new variants of the novel coronavirus.

BioNTech lashes out at EU for not ordering enough COVID-19 vaccine

As the world entered a new year, the US topped 20 million COVID-19 cases, even though the celebrations this year were highly muted due to the widespread of the novel coronavirus.

The death toll of the US crossed 346,000 on the first day of the new year in the country, making the US the worst-hit country by the coronavirus pandemic.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/does-new-covid-19-strain-affect-young-people-more-353928" hreflang="en">Does new Covid-19 strain affect young people more?</a>

This new high in the coronavirus cases has come a few days after the US started its mass vaccination programme after Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were given a go-ahead by the US'&nbsp;Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Since the approval, nearly 2.8 million people have already been administered with a shot of the coronavirus vaccine, including some the outgoing Vie President Mike Pence, incoming VP Kamala Harris and incoming President Joe Biden.

The rise in the figure has come a day after several locals flocked out on the streets to celebrate the new year, giving rise to many new infections.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-china-attempts-to-rewrite-the-story-of-wuhan-with-a-party-353936">WATCH|</a>

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"The current situation is not rosy, there's a hole because there's an absence of other approved vaccines and we have to fill this gap," BioNTech co-founder Ugur Sahin said in an interaction with local media.

Meanwhile, the outgoing US President Donald Trump has hailed the vaccine rollout, urging people to give him the 'due credit'. He has assured people that everyone will soon be receiving the vaccine very soon — which he earlier promised to would be the end of 2020. "Our most vulnerable citizens are already receiving the vaccine, and millions of doses are quickly being shipped all across our country," he said.

As the world entered a new year, the US topped 20 million COVID-19 cases, even though the celebrations this year were highly muted due to the widespread of the novel coronavirus.

As the world entered a new year, the US topped 20 million COVID-19 cases, even though the celebrations this year were highly muted due to the widespread of the novel coronavirus. The death toll of the US crossed 346,000 on the first day of the new year in the country, making the US the worst-hit country by the coronavirus pandemic. Also read| Does new Covid-19 strain affect young people more? This new high in the coronavirus cases has come a few days after the US started its mass vaccination programme after Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were given a go-ahead by the US' Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Since the approval, nearly 2.8 million people have already been administered with a shot of the coronavirus vaccine, including some the outgoing Vie President Mike Pence, incoming VP Kamala Harris and incoming President Joe Biden. The rise in the figure has come a day after several locals flocked out on the streets to celebrate the new year, giving rise to many new infections. WATCH| × "The current situation is not rosy, there's a hole because there's an absence of other approved vaccines and we have to fill this gap," BioNTech co-founder Ugur Sahin said in an interaction with local media. Meanwhile, the outgoing US President Donald Trump has hailed the vaccine rollout, urging people to give him the 'due credit'. He has assured people that everyone will soon be receiving the vaccine very soon — which he earlier promised to would be the end of 2020. "Our most vulnerable citizens are already receiving the vaccine, and millions of doses are quickly being shipped all across our country," he said.

US crosses 20 million coronavirus cases on new year

Twenty-six care home residents in Belgium have reportedly died after contracting coronavirus, following a visit from a man dressed as Santa Claus, who has since tested positive for Covid-19. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/super-gonorrhea-on-the-rise-due-to-covid-19-who-352835">Also read | ‘Super Gonorrhea’ on the rise due to Covid-19: WHO</a> 
 
Over 80 people were infected at the nursing home earlier this month, with an outbreak emerging in the days after the Santa visit. &nbsp;

However, a Flemish health official said on Thursday it is not yet certain that it was the visitor who brought the coronavirus to the Hemelrijck home in Mol on December 5. 
 
Also read |<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/next-four-to-six-months-could-be-worst-of-coronavirus-pandemic-bill-gates-349593">&nbsp;Next four to six months could be worst of coronavirus pandemic: Bill Gates</a>

But 26 residents have died since the visit, and 85 more have tested positive for the coronavirus, along with 40 staff.

The outbreak was detected a few days after the visit, and prominent virologist Marc Van Ranst reported on Twitter that most of the infections came from the same source. &nbsp;

The white-bearded, red-robed figure of Sinterklaas, the equivalent of the English-speaking world's Santa Claus, brings gifts to Belgians every December 6.

This year's festivities, however, have been clouded by the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit Belgium particularly hard, especially at its retirement homes.

No inquiry has been launched in the absence of a formal complaint, regional health spokesman Joris Moonens said, and there is no suggestion the volunteer knew he was infected.

But a crisis manager has been appointed for Hemelrijck — which housed 169 people before the Covid outbreak — to help staff, residents and relatives cope "in this difficult period".

Belgium has one of the highest per capita coronavirus death tolls in the world and more than half of the deceased — 11,066 people —were retirement home residents.

(With inputs from agencies)

Twenty-six care home residents in Belgium have reportedly died after contracting coronavirus, following a visit from a man dressed as Santa Claus, who has since tested positive for Covid-19.

Twenty-six care home residents in Belgium have reportedly died after contracting coronavirus, following a visit from a man dressed as Santa Claus, who has since tested positive for Covid-19. Also read | ‘Super Gonorrhea’ on the rise due to Covid-19: WHO Over 80 people were infected at the nursing home earlier this month, with an outbreak emerging in the days after the Santa visit. However, a Flemish health official said on Thursday it is not yet certain that it was the visitor who brought the coronavirus to the Hemelrijck home in Mol on December 5. Also read | Next four to six months could be worst of coronavirus pandemic: Bill Gates But 26 residents have died since the visit, and 85 more have tested positive for the coronavirus, along with 40 staff. The outbreak was detected a few days after the visit, and prominent virologist Marc Van Ranst reported on Twitter that most of the infections came from the same source. The white-bearded, red-robed figure of Sinterklaas, the equivalent of the English-speaking world's Santa Claus, brings gifts to Belgians every December 6. This year's festivities, however, have been clouded by the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit Belgium particularly hard, especially at its retirement homes. No inquiry has been launched in the absence of a formal complaint, regional health spokesman Joris Moonens said, and there is no suggestion the volunteer knew he was infected. But a crisis manager has been appointed for Hemelrijck — which housed 169 people before the Covid outbreak — to help staff, residents and relatives cope "in this difficult period". Belgium has one of the highest per capita coronavirus death tolls in the world and more than half of the deceased — 11,066 people —were retirement home residents. (With inputs from agencies)

26 retirement home residents die of Covid-19 after Santa Claus visit in Belgium

Bangkok's nightlife will go quiet as a ban on bars, nightclubs and restaurant alcohol sales goes into effect Saturday, among a raft of restrictions aimed at curbing the kingdom's rising coronavirus toll.

Thailand initially appeared to have escaped the worst of the virus, registering just under 4,000 total cases in November, despite being the second country to detect an infection in January.

But an outbreak last month at a massive seafood market has spiralled into a resurgence, with infections now detected in 53 of the kingdom's 73 provinces. By Saturday the caseload had jumped to over 7,300.&nbsp;

In Bangkok, where more than 2,600 active cases have been detected, city authorities acted swiftly and announced a partial lockdown to go into effect Saturday.&nbsp;

Bars and nightclubs, boxing stadiums, cockfighting rings and massage parlours -- as well as beauty salons and gyms -- will be among a slew of businesses affected.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/diving-santa-spreads-christmas-joy-at-bangkok-aquarium-352383">WATCH|</a>

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The capital also announced yesterday that public schools will be closed for two weeks, while more than a dozen virus checkpoints were set up Saturday across the city.

"We don't want to use extreme measures like a lockdown and putting up a curfew, but we need a stronger medicine to prevent the new surge," said Taweesin Visanuyothin, a spokesman for Thailand's Covid-19 taskforce.&nbsp;

Nationwide restrictions and closures are expected to go into effect from January 4 to February 1, he added, allowing a two-day "grace period" for business owners to prepare.

Authorities worried about inciting alarm nationwide had been reluctant to classify the new emergence of the virus as a "second wave".

But anger resounded across Thai social media Saturday on the renewed restrictions, with business owners expressing frustration with the partial lockdown.

"I comply with the measures strictly, yet I now need to close my business while there are many people scrambling on the skytrain everyday," wrote Aksika Chantarawinji, a spa owner, on the official Facebook page of Bangkok's governor.

Thailand's economy has been hit hard by the coronavirus, and is among the worst-affected in Southeast Asia due to its reliance on tourism and exports.

Bangkok's nightlife will go quiet as a ban on bars, nightclubs and restaurant alcohol sales goes into effect Saturday, among a raft of restrictions aimed at curbing the kingdom's rising coronavirus toll.

Bangkok's nightlife will go quiet as a ban on bars, nightclubs and restaurant alcohol sales goes into effect Saturday, among a raft of restrictions aimed at curbing the kingdom's rising coronavirus toll. Thailand initially appeared to have escaped the worst of the virus, registering just under 4,000 total cases in November, despite being the second country to detect an infection in January. But an outbreak last month at a massive seafood market has spiralled into a resurgence, with infections now detected in 53 of the kingdom's 73 provinces. By Saturday the caseload had jumped to over 7,300. In Bangkok, where more than 2,600 active cases have been detected, city authorities acted swiftly and announced a partial lockdown to go into effect Saturday. Bars and nightclubs, boxing stadiums, cockfighting rings and massage parlours -- as well as beauty salons and gyms -- will be among a slew of businesses affected. WATCH| × The capital also announced yesterday that public schools will be closed for two weeks, while more than a dozen virus checkpoints were set up Saturday across the city. "We don't want to use extreme measures like a lockdown and putting up a curfew, but we need a stronger medicine to prevent the new surge," said Taweesin Visanuyothin, a spokesman for Thailand's Covid-19 taskforce. Nationwide restrictions and closures are expected to go into effect from January 4 to February 1, he added, allowing a two-day "grace period" for business owners to prepare. Authorities worried about inciting alarm nationwide had been reluctant to classify the new emergence of the virus as a "second wave". But anger resounded across Thai social media Saturday on the renewed restrictions, with business owners expressing frustration with the partial lockdown. "I comply with the measures strictly, yet I now need to close my business while there are many people scrambling on the skytrain everyday," wrote Aksika Chantarawinji, a spa owner, on the official Facebook page of Bangkok's governor. Thailand's economy has been hit hard by the coronavirus, and is among the worst-affected in Southeast Asia due to its reliance on tourism and exports.

Bangkok imposes partial lockdown to combat virus

While the world is struggling to get access to coronavirus vaccine, a&nbsp;pharmacist was caught purposely ruining nearly&nbsp;500 doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in a hospital in Wisconsin, US.

An employee of&nbsp;Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, Wisconsin, the pharmacist&nbsp;deliberately removed vaccine from the refrigerator to spoil the doses being saved for locals of the area. Nearly 57 vials of&nbsp;vaccine were found left out of cold storage earlier this week, officials reported.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/who-grants-emergency-validation-to-pfizer-biontech-covid-vaccine-353709">WHO grants 'emergency validation' to Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine</a>

Each vial contains 10 doses and nearly 60 doses were already administered by the time the officials realised the vaccine had been kept&nbsp;unrefrigerated long enough for the vaccine to become ineffective. Following this, the remaining 500 doses were thrown out by the hospital staff.

The pharmacist has since been fired for the blunder, although the reason behind this sabotage has not been made clear yet by the authorities or the pharmaceutical company.

While the doses were thrown out, Dr. Jeff Bahr, Aurora Health Care Medical Group president has reported that Moderna Inc has assured that any recipients of the&nbsp;refrigerated vaccine shot will not be facing any side effects.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-pandemic-diminishes-new-years-magic-353691">WATCH|</a>

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The people who were administered with the ineffective doses of the Modern vaccine are being notified and will be called in again for another shot of the same vaccine. This will also lead to a further delay for nearly 570 people who were scheduled for the shot in the coming days. First priority will now be given to the people who were administered the ineffective shot.

While Bahr said there was no evidence that the pharmacist tampered with the doses in any other way rather than placing them out of the refrigerator, Grafton police said in a statement that the pharmacist "knew the spoiled vaccinations would be useless and that people who received the vaccinations would think they had been vaccinated against the virus when in fact they were not."

The pharmacist had earlier called it an 'inadvertent error' in the initial stages of the investigation, but later admitted to deliberately placing the doses out of the refrigerator, hospital officials reported.

While the world is struggling to get access to coronavirus vaccine, a pharmacist was caught purposely ruining nearly 500 doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in a hospital in Wisconsin, US.

While the world is struggling to get access to coronavirus vaccine, a pharmacist was caught purposely ruining nearly 500 doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in a hospital in Wisconsin, US. An employee of Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, Wisconsin, the pharmacist deliberately removed vaccine from the refrigerator to spoil the doses being saved for locals of the area. Nearly 57 vials of vaccine were found left out of cold storage earlier this week, officials reported. Also read| WHO grants 'emergency validation' to Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine Each vial contains 10 doses and nearly 60 doses were already administered by the time the officials realised the vaccine had been kept unrefrigerated long enough for the vaccine to become ineffective. Following this, the remaining 500 doses were thrown out by the hospital staff. The pharmacist has since been fired for the blunder, although the reason behind this sabotage has not been made clear yet by the authorities or the pharmaceutical company. While the doses were thrown out, Dr. Jeff Bahr, Aurora Health Care Medical Group president has reported that Moderna Inc has assured that any recipients of the refrigerated vaccine shot will not be facing any side effects. WATCH| × The people who were administered with the ineffective doses of the Modern vaccine are being notified and will be called in again for another shot of the same vaccine. This will also lead to a further delay for nearly 570 people who were scheduled for the shot in the coming days. First priority will now be given to the people who were administered the ineffective shot. While Bahr said there was no evidence that the pharmacist tampered with the doses in any other way rather than placing them out of the refrigerator, Grafton police said in a statement that the pharmacist "knew the spoiled vaccinations would be useless and that people who received the vaccinations would think they had been vaccinated against the virus when in fact they were not." The pharmacist had earlier called it an 'inadvertent error' in the initial stages of the investigation, but later admitted to deliberately placing the doses out of the refrigerator, hospital officials reported.

Wisconsin pharmacist arrested for removing 500 doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine

Florida health officials said on Thursday they have evidence that the Covid-19 variant first detected in the United Kingdom has been found in a patient there, making it the third state to report the strain.

The state Health Department tweeted that the strain was identified in a 20-year-old man in Martin County with no history of travel. The county is on Florida's east coast, south of Port St. Lucie.

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Florida has evidence of the first identified case of the UK COVID-19 variant in Martin County. The individual is a male in his 20s with no history of travel. The Department is working with the CDC on this investigation. We encourage all to continue practicing COVID-19 mitigation.
— Florida Dept. Health (@HealthyFla) <a href="https://twitter.com/HealthyFla/status/1344815068479954944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2021</a></blockquote>
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"The Department is working with the CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) on this investigation," it tweeted.

The Covid-19 variant is believed to be more transmissible but not more deadly than the strain that started the pandemic, and there is no evidence that vaccines are any less effective against it, health officials say.

On Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom said the coronavirus variant B.1.1.7 had been identified in Southern California.

A day earlier, Colorado Governor Jared Polis said the variant had been identified there, while another state health official said a second possible case was being investigated.

The cases, found in individuals who had not recent traveled, showed the likely community spread of the variant from person-to-person in the United States. Health experts have said they believe the new variant is more infectious but recently approved vaccines should provide protection against it.

Health officials have stressed that the best way to avoid getting what is referred to as the U.K. variant is the same as for other forms of the coronavirus: washing hands, keeping away from crowds and other people and wearing a mask.

(With inputs from agencies)

Florida health officials said on Thursday they have evidence that the Covid-19 variant first detected in the United Kingdom has been found in a patient there, making it the third state to report the strain.

Florida health officials said on Thursday they have evidence that the Covid-19 variant first detected in the United Kingdom has been found in a patient there, making it the third state to report the strain. The state Health Department tweeted that the strain was identified in a 20-year-old man in Martin County with no history of travel. The county is on Florida's east coast, south of Port St. Lucie. Florida has evidence of the first identified case of the UK COVID-19 variant in Martin County. The individual is a male in his 20s with no history of travel. The Department is working with the CDC on this investigation. We encourage all to continue practicing COVID-19 mitigation. — Florida Dept. Health (@HealthyFla) January 1, 2021 × "The Department is working with the CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) on this investigation," it tweeted. The Covid-19 variant is believed to be more transmissible but not more deadly than the strain that started the pandemic, and there is no evidence that vaccines are any less effective against it, health officials say. On Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom said the coronavirus variant B.1.1.7 had been identified in Southern California. A day earlier, Colorado Governor Jared Polis said the variant had been identified there, while another state health official said a second possible case was being investigated. The cases, found in individuals who had not recent traveled, showed the likely community spread of the variant from person-to-person in the United States. Health experts have said they believe the new variant is more infectious but recently approved vaccines should provide protection against it. Health officials have stressed that the best way to avoid getting what is referred to as the U.K. variant is the same as for other forms of the coronavirus: washing hands, keeping away from crowds and other people and wearing a mask. (With inputs from agencies)

More infections variant of Covid-19 found in Florida

India reported as many as 20,036 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of positive cases in the country to 1,02,86,710, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed on Friday.

With this, the total number of active cases now stands at 2,54,254.

As many as 256 lives were claimed by the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 1,48,994.

So far 98,83,461 recoveries have been reported in the country.

Maharashtra, one of the worst-affected states, reported 3,509 new cases and 58 deaths in the last 24 hours. So far, 18,28,546 people have recovered, while the death toll stands at 49,521, the state health department informed.

Kerala reported 5,215 new cases, 5,376 recoveries and 30 deaths on Thursday. The total number of active cases in the state now stands at 65,381.

As many as 574 new coronavirus cases and 888 recoveries were reported in the national capital on Thursday, as per the Delhi Health Department. The total number of positive cases now stands at 6,25,369, while the death toll stands at 10,536, including 13 on Thursday. There are currently 5,511 active cases in the national capital.

With 10,62,420 samples tested for the coronavirus on Thursday, the total number of samples tested so far stands at 17,31,11,694, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) informed.

India reported as many as 20,036 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of positive cases in the country to 1,02,86,710, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed on Friday.

India reported as many as 20,036 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of positive cases in the country to 1,02,86,710, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed on Friday. With this, the total number of active cases now stands at 2,54,254. As many as 256 lives were claimed by the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 1,48,994. So far 98,83,461 recoveries have been reported in the country. Maharashtra, one of the worst-affected states, reported 3,509 new cases and 58 deaths in the last 24 hours. So far, 18,28,546 people have recovered, while the death toll stands at 49,521, the state health department informed. Kerala reported 5,215 new cases, 5,376 recoveries and 30 deaths on Thursday. The total number of active cases in the state now stands at 65,381. As many as 574 new coronavirus cases and 888 recoveries were reported in the national capital on Thursday, as per the Delhi Health Department. The total number of positive cases now stands at 6,25,369, while the death toll stands at 10,536, including 13 on Thursday. There are currently 5,511 active cases in the national capital. With 10,62,420 samples tested for the coronavirus on Thursday, the total number of samples tested so far stands at 17,31,11,694, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) informed.

India reports 20,036 new COVID-19 cases, 256 deaths

To pay respects to the ones who lost their lives in the coronavirus pandemic, the city of Los Angeles in the United States decided to run a Twitter campaign titled&nbsp;#Every10Minutes on the official Twitter account of&nbsp;LA Public Health.

"#Every10Minutes someone dies of COVID-19 in LA County. People who were loved and will be missed. Until we slow the spread, the next person to tragically pass away could be someone you know.," the officials tweeted as soon as the clock stuck 12.&nbsp;

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Every10Minutes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Every10Minutes</a> someone dies of COVID-19 in LA County. People who were loved and will be missed. Until we slow the spread, the next person to tragically pass away could be someone you know.
— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) <a href="https://twitter.com/lapublichealth/status/1344553883062972419?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The campaign was also used to spread awareness and urge locals to stay home rather than stepping out on New Year's eve. The officials requested people to stay indoors and help contain the spread of the novel coronavirus and lower the death toll of the city.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/with-fireworks-australia-new-zealand-welcome-2021-353638">With fireworks, India, other nations welcome 2021 as celebrations turn low-key</a>

"This is a 24 hour campaign that began at midnight last night and will end at midnight tonight," the department officials said. "We want to highlight the devastating impact of COVID-19 on our community; more than 10,000 people passing away this year, and all were loved by and loved others."

The first post read "someone's mother", which was followed by several other descriptions of people who lost their lives to the deadly virus, such as 'a cancer survivor', 'someone who loved the rain', 'abuelita', and more.

All posts read a message at the end reminding people to "Please physically distance. Slow the spread. Save a life."

Here are some of the tweets:

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A friend who always put smiles on people's faces. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Every10Minutes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Every10Minutes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LACounty?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LACounty</a> 
 
Please wear a face covering when outside. Slow the spread. Save a life.
— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) <a href="https://twitter.com/lapublichealth/status/1344591629299150849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The energetic grandma who was dancing well into her 80s. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Every10Minutes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Every10Minutes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LACounty?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LACounty</a> 
 
Please stay home tonight. Slow the spread. Save a life.
— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) <a href="https://twitter.com/lapublichealth/status/1344594145138995204?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The server at your favorite restaurant that knew your order. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Every10Minutes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Every10Minutes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LACounty?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LACounty</a> 
 
Please stay home tonight. Slow the spread. Save a life.
— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) <a href="https://twitter.com/lapublichealth/status/1344601694961807362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The best singer in the church choir. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Every10Minutes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Every10Minutes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LACounty?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LACounty</a> 
 
Please physically distance. Slow the spread. Save a life.
— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) <a href="https://twitter.com/lapublichealth/status/1344596661817884673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2020</a></blockquote>
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A sister who beat breast cancer. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Every10Minutes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Every10Minutes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LACounty?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LACounty</a> 
 
Please stay home tonight. Slow the spread. Save a life.
— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) <a href="https://twitter.com/lapublichealth/status/1344611761253724160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Baba. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Every10Minutes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Every10Minutes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LACounty?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LACounty</a> 
 
Please stay home tonight. Slow the spread. Save a life.
— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) <a href="https://twitter.com/lapublichealth/status/1344621827545391106?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The friend who always fixed your resume. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Every10Minutes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Every10Minutes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LACounty?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LACounty</a> 
 
Please stay home tonight. Slow the spread. Save a life.
— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) <a href="https://twitter.com/lapublichealth/status/1344629378978820099?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The LA Mayor Eric Garcetti had also asked the local police to patrol the streets and stop any ongoing parties that were not following the COVID-19 guidelines set by&nbsp;the health experts.

Los Angeles has been one of the worst-hit areas in the US with more than&nbsp;750,000 cases and 10,000 deaths.

To pay respects to the ones who lost their lives in the coronavirus pandemic, the city of Los Angeles in the United States decided to run a Twitter campaign titled #Every10Minutes on the official Twitter account of LA Public Health.

To pay respects to the ones who lost their lives in the coronavirus pandemic, the city of Los Angeles in the United States decided to run a Twitter campaign titled #Every10Minutes on the official Twitter account of LA Public Health. "#Every10Minutes someone dies of COVID-19 in LA County. People who were loved and will be missed. Until we slow the spread, the next person to tragically pass away could be someone you know.," the officials tweeted as soon as the clock stuck 12. #Every10Minutes someone dies of COVID-19 in LA County. People who were loved and will be missed. Until we slow the spread, the next person to tragically pass away could be someone you know. — LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 31, 2020 × The campaign was also used to spread awareness and urge locals to stay home rather than stepping out on New Year's eve. The officials requested people to stay indoors and help contain the spread of the novel coronavirus and lower the death toll of the city. Also read| With fireworks, India, other nations welcome 2021 as celebrations turn low-key "This is a 24 hour campaign that began at midnight last night and will end at midnight tonight," the department officials said. "We want to highlight the devastating impact of COVID-19 on our community; more than 10,000 people passing away this year, and all were loved by and loved others." The first post read "someone's mother", which was followed by several other descriptions of people who lost their lives to the deadly virus, such as 'a cancer survivor', 'someone who loved the rain', 'abuelita', and more. All posts read a message at the end reminding people to "Please physically distance. Slow the spread. Save a life." Here are some of the tweets: A friend who always put smiles on people's faces. #Every10Minutes #LACounty Please wear a face covering when outside. Slow the spread. Save a life. — LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 31, 2020 × The energetic grandma who was dancing well into her 80s. #Every10Minutes #LACounty Please stay home tonight. Slow the spread. Save a life. — LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 31, 2020 × The server at your favorite restaurant that knew your order. #Every10Minutes #LACounty Please stay home tonight. Slow the spread. Save a life. — LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 31, 2020 × The best singer in the church choir. #Every10Minutes #LACounty Please physically distance. Slow the spread. Save a life. — LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 31, 2020 × A sister who beat breast cancer. #Every10Minutes #LACounty Please stay home tonight. Slow the spread. Save a life. — LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 31, 2020 × Baba. #Every10Minutes #LACounty Please stay home tonight. Slow the spread. Save a life. — LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 31, 2020 × The friend who always fixed your resume. #Every10Minutes #LACounty Please stay home tonight. Slow the spread. Save a life. — LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 31, 2020 × The LA Mayor Eric Garcetti had also asked the local police to patrol the streets and stop any ongoing parties that were not following the COVID-19 guidelines set by the health experts. Los Angeles has been one of the worst-hit areas in the US with more than 750,000 cases and 10,000 deaths.

Los Angeles officials tweet names of COVID warriors #Every10Minutes to spread awareness

In yet another coronavirus vaccine-related accident, a&nbsp;West Virginia clinic accidentally injected antibodies to 44 people&nbsp;instead of&nbsp;Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, the&nbsp;West Virginia National Guard reported.

People were administered with&nbsp;a Regeneron antibody product, instead of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.&nbsp;This incident was soon identified and reported to the higher authorities.&nbsp;

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/who-grants-emergency-validation-to-pfizer-biontech-covid-vaccine-353709">WHO grants 'emergency validation' to Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine</a>

"The moment that we were notified of what happened, we acted right away to correct it, and we immediately reviewed and strengthened our protocols to enhance our distribution process to prevent this from happening again,"&nbsp;said Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard, in the statement.

After the incident was identified, the Boone County Health Department reached out to 42 people who had been wrongfully injected with antibodies and has now given them the option of rescheduling for their shot of the vaccine on Thursday.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/more-infections-variant-of-covid-19-found-in-florida-353754" hreflang="en">More infections variant of Covid-19 found in Florida</a>

Officers have claimed it to be an isolated incident, but are still unsure about how did the mix-up of the antibodies and the vaccine occur. An investigation was immediately launched into the matter by the National Guard and the local authorities.

The experts have also assured that since the drug was administered as a shot, it will not come up as a hurdle in the process of&nbsp;inoculation of the affected people.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-pandemic-diminishes-new-years-magic-353691">WATCH|</a>

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Clay Marsha, the&nbsp;coordinator of West Virginia’s coronavirus task force also reported that the drug administered is the same one that was given to the outgoing US President Donald Trump when he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. "In fact, this product was the same one that was administered to President Trump when he became infected," he said. "While this injection is not harmful, it was substituted for the vaccine."

The hospital officials and staff have claimed that the vaccine was also not incorrectly labelled, and therefore the reason and confusion behind the mix-up stays a mystery for now.

In yet another coronavirus vaccine-related accident, a West Virginia clinic accidentally injected antibodies to 44 people instead of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, the West Virginia National Guard reported.

In yet another coronavirus vaccine-related accident, a West Virginia clinic accidentally injected antibodies to 44 people instead of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, the West Virginia National Guard reported. People were administered with a Regeneron antibody product, instead of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. This incident was soon identified and reported to the higher authorities. Also read| WHO grants 'emergency validation' to Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine "The moment that we were notified of what happened, we acted right away to correct it, and we immediately reviewed and strengthened our protocols to enhance our distribution process to prevent this from happening again," said Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard, in the statement. After the incident was identified, the Boone County Health Department reached out to 42 people who had been wrongfully injected with antibodies and has now given them the option of rescheduling for their shot of the vaccine on Thursday. Also read| More infections variant of Covid-19 found in Florida Officers have claimed it to be an isolated incident, but are still unsure about how did the mix-up of the antibodies and the vaccine occur. An investigation was immediately launched into the matter by the National Guard and the local authorities. The experts have also assured that since the drug was administered as a shot, it will not come up as a hurdle in the process of inoculation of the affected people. WATCH| × Clay Marsha, the coordinator of West Virginia’s coronavirus task force also reported that the drug administered is the same one that was given to the outgoing US President Donald Trump when he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. "In fact, this product was the same one that was administered to President Trump when he became infected," he said. "While this injection is not harmful, it was substituted for the vaccine." The hospital officials and staff have claimed that the vaccine was also not incorrectly labelled, and therefore the reason and confusion behind the mix-up stays a mystery for now.

West Virginia: 44 people accidentally injected with antibodies instead of COVID-19 vaccine

The year 2020 saw one of the biggest global shutdowns of the entertainment industry. The impact of this worldwide film and TV production shutdown was perhaps felt nowhere more than in India, where the world`s most prolific film industry was forced to go on a hiatus. 
 
The Indian entertainment industry churns out more than 2,000 movies per year, dwarfing the number made by Hollywood. In order to facilitate such levels of activity, the production machinery of such a colossal widespread industry has to work each and every day of the week. The COVID-induced lockdown saw all production around the nation go on a hiatus from March 19, 2020, with no clear timeframe for it to resume. Due to this pause on film productions, the audiences had no option but to settle in front of their home screens. 
 
As a consequence of this lockdown revenue from this industry was hit big time. The annual box office earnings of Bollywood stand at a little over Rs 3,000 crore, but in the year 2020, it was around Rs 500-600 crore only. 
 
While there is no exact figure of the revenue that was lost, some estimates say it to be upwards of Rs 1,500 crore with single-screen theatres losing approximately between Rs 25 to Rs 75 lakh a month. These losses go even further into thousands of crores as there are overheads on cinemas, cost of interest on films, holding costs and a lot of other things. 
 
All of this spelled catastrophe for an industry that supports lakhs of people including actors, directors and producers, who are registered with the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE). 
 
The COVID-19 virus did not spare the celebrities, which in turn affected the production and shoots even after the lockdown was lifted. While most of them recovered, we lost some of our favourite personalities to COVID-19. Stars who braved the virus and returned back to production for the audiences were Varun Dhawan, veteran Neetu Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Genelia D`Souza, among several others. Some members of the Bachchan family, which included Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan were also tested positive but later recovered.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/ludo-to-unpaused-5-thought-provoking-films-that-delivered-entertainment-in-2020-352934" hreflang="en">'Ludo', to 'Unpaused': 5 thought-provoking films that delivered entertainment in 2020</a> 
 
Due to the lockdown, all the film studios in the country had to delay their scheduled releases as all movie theatres were closed. This included the highly anticipated shared cop universe action film `Sooryavanshi` and the cricket biopic `83`, the latter tells the story of India`s 1983 cricket World Cup victory. Both the movies were pushed back for "health and safety" reasons. A lot of the movies, which could not be released on the big screen chose the OTT route in order to slash their losses. Some A-lister actors even embraced roles on these OTT platform Originals.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/yearender-2020-the-worst-hindi-films-of-the-year-352899">Yearender 2020: The worst Hindi films of the year</a> 
 
Known for their subversive and edgy content, these streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar and others already had a strong set of young and urban viewers. In June, the first film to release online was `Gulabo Sitabo`, starring Bollywood`s biggest star Amitabh Bachchan, followed by Vidya Balan`s `Shakuntala Devi`. 
 
Even Bollywood`s highest-paid actor, Akshay Kumar, released his horror-comedy `Laxxmi Bomb` on Disney+ Hotstar. At a time when Bollywood`s favoured destination was out of commission these streaming platforms, helped loosen a rigid divide between cinema and TV. In a true sense, the small screen became a big screen for the box office. 
 
The productions, which were halted have now resumed while adhering to the strict COVID-19 guidelines to ensure the safety of the cast and crew, which includes social distancing, masks, PPE kits, face shields and regular temperature checks. 
 
Though theatres have reopened in most cities around the nation, it is still going to be a slow walk towards normalcy due to the COVID-related restrictions and a lack of theatrical film releases.

The year 2020 saw one of the biggest global shutdowns of the entertainment industry. The impact of this worldwide film and TV production shutdown was perhaps felt nowhere more than in India, where the world`s most prolific film industry was forced to go on a hiatus.

The year 2020 saw one of the biggest global shutdowns of the entertainment industry. The impact of this worldwide film and TV production shutdown was perhaps felt nowhere more than in India, where the world`s most prolific film industry was forced to go on a hiatus. The Indian entertainment industry churns out more than 2,000 movies per year, dwarfing the number made by Hollywood. In order to facilitate such levels of activity, the production machinery of such a colossal widespread industry has to work each and every day of the week. The COVID-induced lockdown saw all production around the nation go on a hiatus from March 19, 2020, with no clear timeframe for it to resume. Due to this pause on film productions, the audiences had no option but to settle in front of their home screens. As a consequence of this lockdown revenue from this industry was hit big time. The annual box office earnings of Bollywood stand at a little over Rs 3,000 crore, but in the year 2020, it was around Rs 500-600 crore only. While there is no exact figure of the revenue that was lost, some estimates say it to be upwards of Rs 1,500 crore with single-screen theatres losing approximately between Rs 25 to Rs 75 lakh a month. These losses go even further into thousands of crores as there are overheads on cinemas, cost of interest on films, holding costs and a lot of other things. All of this spelled catastrophe for an industry that supports lakhs of people including actors, directors and producers, who are registered with the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE). The COVID-19 virus did not spare the celebrities, which in turn affected the production and shoots even after the lockdown was lifted. While most of them recovered, we lost some of our favourite personalities to COVID-19. Stars who braved the virus and returned back to production for the audiences were Varun Dhawan, veteran Neetu Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Genelia D`Souza, among several others. Some members of the Bachchan family, which included Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan were also tested positive but later recovered. 'Ludo', to 'Unpaused': 5 thought-provoking films that delivered entertainment in 2020 Due to the lockdown, all the film studios in the country had to delay their scheduled releases as all movie theatres were closed. This included the highly anticipated shared cop universe action film `Sooryavanshi` and the cricket biopic `83`, the latter tells the story of India`s 1983 cricket World Cup victory. Both the movies were pushed back for "health and safety" reasons. A lot of the movies, which could not be released on the big screen chose the OTT route in order to slash their losses. Some A-lister actors even embraced roles on these OTT platform Originals. Yearender 2020: The worst Hindi films of the year Known for their subversive and edgy content, these streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar and others already had a strong set of young and urban viewers. In June, the first film to release online was `Gulabo Sitabo`, starring Bollywood`s biggest star Amitabh Bachchan, followed by Vidya Balan`s `Shakuntala Devi`. Even Bollywood`s highest-paid actor, Akshay Kumar, released his horror-comedy `Laxxmi Bomb` on Disney+ Hotstar. At a time when Bollywood`s favoured destination was out of commission these streaming platforms, helped loosen a rigid divide between cinema and TV. In a true sense, the small screen became a big screen for the box office. The productions, which were halted have now resumed while adhering to the strict COVID-19 guidelines to ensure the safety of the cast and crew, which includes social distancing, masks, PPE kits, face shields and regular temperature checks. Though theatres have reopened in most cities around the nation, it is still going to be a slow walk towards normalcy due to the COVID-related restrictions and a lack of theatrical film releases.

Yearender 2020: Biggest shutdown of entertainment industry due to COVID-19

The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) president Gabrielle Carteris and national executive director David White on Tuesday (local time) posted a message to the labour union website with an update to COVID-19 filming protocols amid the current surge in cases. 
 
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the note read, before acknowledging the concern and need to take immediate action, "We are writing to let you know that we are closely monitoring the recent surge in COVID-19 infections along with the reported lack of intensive care unit (ICU) beds throughout the state of California and particularly in Los Angeles County." 
 
The message outlined, "Most entertainment productions will remain on hiatus until the second or third week of January if not later. This means that the number of our member performers working on sets right now is reduced. Our safety protocols ensure appropriate precautions for the holiday hiatus period including additional time for testing prior to the resumption of production." 
 
The labour union will continue monitoring the situation in connection with public health officials. It urged all members to remain vigilant and "adhere to safety principals to protect yourselves, your families, communities and colleagues."Along with the reminder to frequently wash hands and maintain social distancing, a link was given to SAG-AFTRA`s list of COVID-19 safety tips. 
 
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, earlier on Tuesday, the regional stay-at-home order was extended in California, with no specific end date. 
 
Additionally, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on December 24 sent an update to local film industry members with a reminder to exercise caution and "strongly consider pausing work for a few weeks during this catastrophic surge in COVID cases." 
 
Los Angeles on Tuesday issued a media advisory detailing the availability of new permits when the new year begins, noting that the film industry is "highly invested" in efforts to control COVID-19 as demonstrated by the strict safety protocols that have been in place thus far. 
 
According to L.A. Public Health, there are currently 12,979 new COVID-19 cases in L.A. County and over 7,181 people are hospitalised.&nbsp;

The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) president Gabrielle Carteris and national executive director David White on Tuesday (local time) posted a message to the labour union website with an update to COVID-19 filming protocols amid the current surge in cases.

The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) president Gabrielle Carteris and national executive director David White on Tuesday (local time) posted a message to the labour union website with an update to COVID-19 filming protocols amid the current surge in cases. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the note read, before acknowledging the concern and need to take immediate action, "We are writing to let you know that we are closely monitoring the recent surge in COVID-19 infections along with the reported lack of intensive care unit (ICU) beds throughout the state of California and particularly in Los Angeles County." The message outlined, "Most entertainment productions will remain on hiatus until the second or third week of January if not later. This means that the number of our member performers working on sets right now is reduced. Our safety protocols ensure appropriate precautions for the holiday hiatus period including additional time for testing prior to the resumption of production." The labour union will continue monitoring the situation in connection with public health officials. It urged all members to remain vigilant and "adhere to safety principals to protect yourselves, your families, communities and colleagues."Along with the reminder to frequently wash hands and maintain social distancing, a link was given to SAG-AFTRA`s list of COVID-19 safety tips. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, earlier on Tuesday, the regional stay-at-home order was extended in California, with no specific end date. Additionally, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on December 24 sent an update to local film industry members with a reminder to exercise caution and "strongly consider pausing work for a few weeks during this catastrophic surge in COVID cases." Los Angeles on Tuesday issued a media advisory detailing the availability of new permits when the new year begins, noting that the film industry is "highly invested" in efforts to control COVID-19 as demonstrated by the strict safety protocols that have been in place thus far. According to L.A. Public Health, there are currently 12,979 new COVID-19 cases in L.A. County and over 7,181 people are hospitalised.

SAG AFTRA says most productions will remain on hiatus until mid-January amid COVID-19

With 21,821 new coronavirus infections and 299 deaths in the past 24 hours, India`s overall tally stood at 1,02,66,674 on Thursday, while the death toll touched 1,48,738, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

The tally of active cases stands at 2,57,656 while the total recoveries have reached 98,60,280.

A total of 1,48,738 people have succumbed to coronavirus in the country, according to MoHFW.

Kerala has reported 65,572 active COVID-19 cases while Maharashtra has reported 54,206 active cases.

Delhi has reported 5,838 active cases, 6,08,434 recoveries and 10,523 fatalities.

In a major development, terming the approval for Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for use in the UK as a "big step forward", AIIMS Delhi Director Dr Randeep Guleria on Wednesday said that India will have the COVID-19 vaccine within days.

Meanwhile, a total of 17,20,49,274 samples have been tested for COVID-19 up to December 30. Of these, 11,27,244 samples were tested yesterday, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

(With inputs from agencies)

With 21,821 new coronavirus infections and 299 deaths in the past 24 hours, India`s overall tally stood at 1,02,66,674 on Thursday, while the death toll touched 1,48,738, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

With 21,821 new coronavirus infections and 299 deaths in the past 24 hours, India`s overall tally stood at 1,02,66,674 on Thursday, while the death toll touched 1,48,738, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said. The tally of active cases stands at 2,57,656 while the total recoveries have reached 98,60,280. A total of 1,48,738 people have succumbed to coronavirus in the country, according to MoHFW. Kerala has reported 65,572 active COVID-19 cases while Maharashtra has reported 54,206 active cases. Delhi has reported 5,838 active cases, 6,08,434 recoveries and 10,523 fatalities. In a major development, terming the approval for Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for use in the UK as a "big step forward", AIIMS Delhi Director Dr Randeep Guleria on Wednesday said that India will have the COVID-19 vaccine within days. Meanwhile, a total of 17,20,49,274 samples have been tested for COVID-19 up to December 30. Of these, 11,27,244 samples were tested yesterday, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). (With inputs from agencies)

21,821 new cases take India's COVID-19 tally to 1,02,66,674

The Union Health Ministry has said that India has crossed a significant milestone in its fight against coronavirus, with the national COVID-19 recovery rate crossing 96 per cent, one of the highest globally.

"The total recovered cases have crossed 98.6 lakhs (98,60,280), the highest globally. The gap between active cases and recoveries is continuously increasing and stands at 96,02,624," the ministry highlighted.

Further, the active cases have drastically declined to 2.57 lakh.

The total positive cases of the country are 2,57,656 and now comprise merely 2.51 per cent of the total cases.

"With a high number of COVID patients recovering every day and the sustained fall in the mortality rate, India's steady trend of registering dipping active cases continues," the ministry said.

A total of 21,822 new confirmed cases were recorded in a span of 24 hours in the country whereas 26,139 new recoveries were registered in the same period.

It has led to a net decline of 4,616 cases from the total active caseload, the ministry underlined.

Of the new recovered cases, 77.99 per cent are observed to be concentrated in 10 states and UTs.

Kerala has reported the maximum number of single-day recoveries with 5,707 newly recovered cases, 4,913 people recovered in Maharashtra followed by 1,588 in Chhattisgarh.

The ministry said that 79.87 per cent of the new cases are from 10 States and UTs.

Kerala has reported the highest daily new cases at 6,268. It is followed by Maharashtra with 3,537 new cases.

Also, 299 case fatalities have been reported in a span of 24 hours with ten states and UTs accounting for 80.60 per cent of these.

Maharashtra reported maximum casualties with 90 new fatalities.

Kerala and West Bengal both follow with 28 daily deaths.

India's COVID-19 caseload increased to 1,02,66,674 with &nbsp;21,822 new infections being reported in a day while the death toll rose to 1,48,738 with 299 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

(With inputs from agencies)

The Union Health Ministry has said that India has crossed a significant milestone in its fight against coronavirus, with the national COVID-19 recovery rate crossing 96 per cent, one of the highest globally.

The Union Health Ministry has said that India has crossed a significant milestone in its fight against coronavirus, with the national COVID-19 recovery rate crossing 96 per cent, one of the highest globally. "The total recovered cases have crossed 98.6 lakhs (98,60,280), the highest globally. The gap between active cases and recoveries is continuously increasing and stands at 96,02,624," the ministry highlighted. Further, the active cases have drastically declined to 2.57 lakh. The total positive cases of the country are 2,57,656 and now comprise merely 2.51 per cent of the total cases. "With a high number of COVID patients recovering every day and the sustained fall in the mortality rate, India's steady trend of registering dipping active cases continues," the ministry said. A total of 21,822 new confirmed cases were recorded in a span of 24 hours in the country whereas 26,139 new recoveries were registered in the same period. It has led to a net decline of 4,616 cases from the total active caseload, the ministry underlined. Of the new recovered cases, 77.99 per cent are observed to be concentrated in 10 states and UTs. Kerala has reported the maximum number of single-day recoveries with 5,707 newly recovered cases, 4,913 people recovered in Maharashtra followed by 1,588 in Chhattisgarh. The ministry said that 79.87 per cent of the new cases are from 10 States and UTs. Kerala has reported the highest daily new cases at 6,268. It is followed by Maharashtra with 3,537 new cases. Also, 299 case fatalities have been reported in a span of 24 hours with ten states and UTs accounting for 80.60 per cent of these. Maharashtra reported maximum casualties with 90 new fatalities. Kerala and West Bengal both follow with 28 daily deaths. India's COVID-19 caseload increased to 1,02,66,674 with 21,822 new infections being reported in a day while the death toll rose to 1,48,738 with 299 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. (With inputs from agencies)

Covid recovery rate in India crosses 96%, decline in active cases

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