The UK authorities have approved a second coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca. In England, the number of regions with the highest threat level is increasing. Scientists have found that nearly 5% of the population in Wuhan has been infected with Covid-19. Turkey has banned walking on the streets of cities on New Year’s Eve. This and other news about the coronavirus pandemic around the world is in our daily roundup.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the current number of people infected with the coronavirus worldwide is 82.1 million, with nearly 1.8 million deaths. In England, the number of counties with the highest – fourth – level of epidemiologic threat has been expanded due to an increase in the number of new infection cases, announced Health Secretary Matt Hancock. As a result, an additional 20 million people in England were placed under maximum quarantine.
According to official data, the number of infections has risen sharply in recent days. In the UK, 50,000 new cases of infection were recorded in the past day, and the number of deaths was 981 – more than double the number of the previous day. The fourth level of threat means that people will be asked to stay home, and restaurants, cafes, hair salons, gyms, and non-food stores will be closed.
British authorities have approved the coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca for medical use. The UK is the first country in the world to approve the AstraZeneca drug. The United Kingdom has ordered 100 million doses, enough to cover 50 million people. With the order from Pfizer and BioNTech, the number of doses will be enough for the entire population of the country. The vaccine was developed in early 2020, and the first volunteer was tested in April. Thousands of people have since participated in the trials. Unlike the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine, which must be stored at a temperature no higher than -70 degrees Celsius, the AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored in a regular refrigerator, making it easier to transport. AstraZeneca has announced that it will be able to provide up to 2 million doses of the vaccine per week. In the UK, more than 600,000 people have been vaccinated since the start of mass vaccination. Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the development of the vaccine as a triumph for British science. “Now we will vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible,” he said. In an interview with the BBC, Health Secretary Matt Hancock called the approval of the vaccine an important moment in the fight against the virus. “2021 could be the year of hope and recovery as we see how it is possible to overcome the pandemic,” he noted. As expected, vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine will begin on Monday, January 4.
Researchers from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that nearly 5% of the residents of the Chinese city of Wuhan were likely to have had Covid-19. The population of Wuhan is 11 million, so the report estimates that approximately 500,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus. This is almost 10 times higher than the official statistics, which indicate only 50,300 cases of infection. It should be noted that in China, the authorities do not take into account asymptomatic cases of infection when compiling data.
The study was conducted earlier this year and included 34,000 people in Wuhan and Hubei province, as well as Beijing, Shanghai and other cities and provinces, the center said. Antibodies were found in 4.4% of the population in Wuhan and in 0.44% of the population in Hubei Province. In January, international experts will arrive in Wuhan to determine the origin of the current coronavirus. This follows lengthy negotiations with Beijing, which has shown no willingness to allow an independent investigation.
The Chinese company Sinopharm has announced a 79% efficacy of its coronavirus vaccine and also stated that only the approval of the authorities is missing to distribute it to the population. Previously, the UAE reported that the vaccine was 86% efficacious according to preliminary results from the third phase of the trial conducted there. The company representative did not explain the reason for the discrepancy, only noting that all test data will be published. As part of a special program, about one million Chinese people received the vaccine before the start of the third phase of the trial.
The first case of “coronavirus mutation” has been identified in the United States: the British strain was found in a patient in the state of Colorado. The patient is a man between 20 and 30 years old, according to his documents, and has not left the United States. This could theoretically mean that he was infected by someone who visited one of the countries where the new strain of the virus is spreading. Currently, this person is in self-isolation and medical professionals are trying to determine who he has been in contact with.
Several countries, including France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Belgium, Austria and Canada, have already reported cases of the new, more contagious strain of the virus. Meanwhile, the president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden, criticized the administration of the current president, Donald Trump, for falling behind the vaccination schedule. Officials planned to vaccinate 20 million Americans by the end of the year, but so far only 2.1 million people have received the vaccine, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The Trump administration’s vaccine distribution plan is significantly behind schedule. I will move mountains to make sure we move in the right direction,” Biden said. Trump responded on Twitter, stating that vaccine distribution is the prerogative of state authorities, as the federal government is only responsible for its delivery.
Foreign tourists in Turkey will not be allowed to walk around the city centers on New Year’s Eve – this was revealed by the Hurriyet newspaper, which found out that the directive to this effect was sent by the country’s Interior Ministry to provincial authorities. New Year’s celebrations on the streets are prohibited from 9 p.m. on December 31 to 10 a.m. on January 1 for both foreigners and locals. Usually, the squares of large cities are particularly popular on New Year’s Eve. Police officers will monitor the implementation of the decree. Earlier, Turkish authorities banned festive events in hotels and their restaurants. Restaurants in the country will close at 22:00 on December 31.
Apple has removed the Vybe Together app from the App Store. The app provided information about private parties during quarantine restrictions. The program positioned itself as a private community that helped people find and organize parties. The app’s TikTok account features a video stating that Vybe Together hosts secret parties every weekend. Although the app has been removed from the App Store and the website has been shut down, the company that created it has promised to return. “We’ve been removed from the App Store! We will be back! Follow us to stay updated!” – It announced on Instagram.
The Vybe Together app promoted parties. We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what will happen next. The number of episodes should remain the same. The end of the story: Podcast Advertising In order to use the program, users had to upload their profile for review by the application’s administrators. Among other things, it had to include photos of parties the person had attended, The Verge website reported. After activation, users could submit a request to find parties, and organizers could accept or reject them. If approved, the person received the address two hours before the event began. One of the service’s founders told The Verge that several thousand people were using the program at the time it was blocked, and several more were waiting for their applications to be approved. “Some terrible people have created an entire application to find and promote large indoor parties that don’t meet Covid-19 safety regulations, and they’re using TikTok to make millions of people aware of it,” wrote New York Times correspondent Taylor Lorenz, accompanied by screenshots of the service and promotional videos from TikTok. TikTok told the BBC that the service’s profile had been removed for violating its terms of service.