In this Feb 12, 2021 photo, a person records healthcare workers administering the Sinovac Biotech Ltd COVID-19 vaccine on their phone at a drive-thru clinic in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)
GENEVA / ADDIS ABABA / BRASILIA / OTTAWA / SANTIAGO / HAVANA / QUITO / PARIS / BUDAPEST / ROME / RABAT / WARSAW / LONDON / WASHINGTON – Brazil surpassed India in coronavirus infections, retaking the post of second hardest-hit country in the world, as it rushes to contain the spread of the virus that’s wreaking havoc across the vast Latin American nation.
The country reported 85,663 new cases on Friday, pushing the total to 11,363,380. The number of deaths rose by 2,216, bringing the tally to 275,105. Now, Brazil trails only the US in deaths and infections globally.
While a mix of aggressive social distancing restrictions and mass vaccinations have caused infections to decline across much of the world in recent weeks, Brazil is currently going through its worst phase of the pandemic. Cases and deaths have surged following year-end gatherings and clandestine Carnival festivities while a new, more transmissible, variant is accelerating contagion. Hospitals across the vast country are on the brink of collapse, prompting state governors to impose curfews and shutter businesses.
A possible new variant of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has been detected in several regions of Brazil, the Ministry of Science and Technology's National Laboratory for Scientific Computing (LNCC) said Friday.
Brazilian scientists discovered the new variant as the country's healthcare system nears collapse due to a rise in cases generated by the P.1 strain that emerged in northern Brazil's state of Amazonas in November 2020.
Brazil registered 85,663 new cases of COVID-19 in a day, the second-highest daily increase since the start of the pandemic, lifting the nationwide tally to 11,363,380, the Ministry of Health said Friday.
The record daily count was reported on Jan 7, when tests detected 87,843 new cases.
The previous 24 hours also saw 2,216 more deaths from the virus, bringing the national count to 275,105, the ministry said.
According to the ministry, the South American country registers an average of 131 deaths and 5,407 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Brazil's Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) on Friday said it approved the registration of a vaccine against COVID-19 developed by Britain's AstraZeneca and Oxford University, as well as the antiviral remedy remdesivir for relevant treatment.
Doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine are displayed during the launch of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign at Mulago Specialized Women and Neonatal Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, March 10, 2021. (JOSEPH KIGGUNDU / XINHUA)
WHO
Head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that the Geneva-based UN health agency "systematically reviews safety signals, and is carefully assessing the current reports on the AstraZeneca vaccine."
The COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has been suspended in a number of countries across Europe and Asia, following reports of blood clots in some vaccinated people.
"WHO is aware that some countries have suspended the use of AstraZeneca vaccines, based on reports of blood clots in some people who received doses of the vaccine from two batches. This measure was taken as a precaution while a full investigation is finalized," said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press briefing on Friday.
A number of countries like Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Romania and Thailand have suspended the rollout of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine after it was linked to blood clots in recipients, while Austria and France have decided to continue using it.
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"It is important to note that the European Medicines Agency has said there is no indication of a link between the vaccine and blood clots, and that the vaccine can continue to be used while its investigation is ongoing," Tedros said.
The WHO on Friday approved the emergency listing of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, giving its seal of approval to expedite use especially in countries with weaker regulatory agencies.
It is the third COVID-19 vaccine after the two-shot regimens of Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca to receive backing from the WHO, and the first requiring just a single injection.
The listing covers use in all countries, for roll-out of the vaccine facility COVAX and follows the European Medicines Agency (EMA) authorisation announcement on Thursday.
The WHO announced on Friday to list the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Janssen, the pharmaceutical arm of Johnson & Johnson, for emergency use, following the European Medicines Agency (EMA) authorization a day earlier.
The COVID-19 vaccine Ad26.COV2.S from Janssen is the first to be listed by the WHO as a single-dose regimen, which should facilitate vaccination logistics in all countries, the WHO said.
Africa
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 4,007,530 as of Friday evening, said the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the 55-member African Union, said the death toll related to the pandemic stood at 107,028, while 3,590,628 patients across the continent have recovered from the disease.
Canada
Canada's cumulative COVID-19 cases surpassed 900,000 as of Friday morning, with the total hitting 901,129, including 22,389 deaths, according to CTV.
Ontario, the most populous province with a population of more than 14 million, reported 1,371 new COVID-19 cases and 18 deaths Friday morning.
The latest report brought Ontario's COVID-19 case total to 314,891, including 296,252 recoveries and 7,127 deaths.
Chile
Chile on Friday registered nearly 6,000 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, amid an upward trend of infections and tightening restrictive measures across the South American country.
The Health Ministry reported 5,983 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the accumulated total to 879,485, as well as 89 more deaths, for a total of 21,451.
Cuba
Cuba reported on Friday 762 new COVID-19 infections in 24 hours, bringing the confirmed cases to 59,919, along with four more deaths to a total of 365, the Public Health Ministry said.
The ministry's national director of hygiene and epidemiology Francisco Duran detailed that of the cases reported in the last day, 759 were from community transmission, with only three imported.
Ecuador
Ecuador is approaching 300,000 COVID-19 infections, after registering 1,259 new cases in the last 24 hours, for a total of 299,216, the Public Health Ministry reported on Friday.
In the same period, 62 deaths were registered, bringing the death toll to 11,403, with an additional 4,790 "probable deaths" due to COVID-19, the ministry said in its daily report.
All 24 provinces have seen an increase in cases, with a higher incidence rate in Pichincha and Guayas.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia reported 1,361 new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours, taking the national count to 172,571, the country's Federal Ministry of Health said on Friday evening.
Meanwhile, 27 new related fatalities were reported across the country, taking the nationwide death toll to 2,510, said the ministry.
With 355 more patients having recovered from the virus, the country's total number of recoveries reached 141,195, it said.
France
France’s health regulator said on Friday it had approved Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine for use in France, a day after it was approved by the European Union authorities.
“The COVID-19 Janssen vaccine can be used on people from the age of 18 … within the framework of the French vaccination strategy, including for people aged 65 and older and who might have illnesses,” the Haute Autorite de Sante (HAS) said in a statement.
HAS said the vaccine was efficient and well tolerated by patients. It will be the fourth vaccine on the French market.
The European Medicines agency (EMA) approved the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Thursday, paving the way for the first shots to be delivered in a month.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in France rose above four million on Friday, as the health ministry reported 25,229 new infections.
Friday’s increase was lower than the 23,507 new cases reported last Friday, and took the total number of confirmed infections since the start of the pandemic to 4.01 million.
France has the world’s sixth-highest total of COVID-19 cases, just behind Britain, which has had more than 4.24 million infections.
Hungary
The Hungarian government on Friday reported a record 9,011 COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour span, raising the national total to 498,183.
The latest daily high came close on the heels of the previous one, which stood at 8,312 new cases on Thursday.
In the past 24 hours, 130 people have died from the disease, taking the toll to 16,627 in the country. Currently, 346,904 have recovered and 8,718 patients are being treated in hospitals, including 949 on ventilators, according to figures from the government's coronavirus information website.
A medical worker (right) injects a dose of the British-Swedish AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine to a teacher on March 9, 2021 as part of a COVID-19 vaccination campaign at the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci in Milan. (MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP)
Italy
Italy approved a fresh round of tight anti-COVID-19 restrictions nationwide on Friday, as the virus variants circulating in the country were boosting infections.
The new measures will be implemented between March 15 and April 6, including Easter Sunday and Easter Monday (April 4-5), which represent a traditional holiday for Italians in spring.
Prime Minister Mario Draghi's cabinet passed the decree in late morning, after discussing it on Thursday night with the scientific-technical committee (CTS) counseling Italian authorities during the pandemic emergency.
Morocco
Morocco's COVID-19 tally rose to 488,181 on Friday as 431 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Health, the death toll mounted to 8,716 as four COVID-19 patients died in the last 24 hours.
Poland
The highly contagious coronavirus variant first identified in the United Kingdom (UK) is about to become the dominant strain for new COVID-19 infections in Poland, the country's Health Ministry said on Friday.
The variant, which according to experts is more lethal than previous variants, now accounts for around 40 percent of all infections in Poland, the ministry's spokesman Wojciech Andrusiewicz said. The mutation is definitely going to spread further and will reach a 50 percent infection share, he said.
According to government statistics, 18,775 new cases were reported on Friday, taking the total since the start of the pandemic to 1,868,297. The death toll has risen by 351 to 46,724.
UK
The coronavirus infection rate in England has fallen to the lowest level since late September, data from Britain's Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed Friday.
One in 270 people were infected with the coronavirus in the week ending March 6, down from one in 220 in the previous week, the latest ONS Infection Survey data showed.
It is the lowest figure since the week to Sept 24 last year, when the number stood at one in 470, according to ONS.
Another 6,609 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,248,286, according to official figures released Friday.
The country also reported another 175 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 125,343. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.
More than 23.3 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.
READ MORE: France eases virus restrictions on international travelers
US
President Joe Biden’s administration is holding on to its stockpile of AstraZeneca PLC vaccines, even though the shot isn’t authorized for US use, top aides said Friday – rebuffing pressure from Europe and the company to consider sharing doses of the shot.
Even though it has yet to seek US regulatory approval, the UK-based company has begun manufacturing doses in the US to fill an order for 300 million shots the American government placed last year.
AstraZeneca has encouraged Biden to consider sharing those US-owned doses of its vaccine with the European Union, where countries face shortages and the drug is authorized for use. But Biden and his administration have made clear their priority is to inoculate the US population first.
US health officials have restricted orders of Eli Lilly and Co’s single-antibody therapy in three states on concerns about efficacy against a new coronavirus variant identified in California earlier this year.
The limit on Lilly’s bamlanivimab affects California, Arizona and Nevada, the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response said Thursday in a statement. Government officials are continuing to study whether to recommend the drug in areas where the variant, called CAL.20C, is prevalent.
Doctors and health officials are wary of the emergence of mutated forms of the coronavirus that have shown diminished responses to certain drugs and vaccines. After months of focus on strains identified in the UK, South Africa and Brazil – all of which have since appeared in the US – homegrown variants are now arousing fears.
More than 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered across the United States as of Friday, according to the latest data of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
