Coronavirus live news: Spain’s rate of confirmed cases at lowest level since August; Canada approves Pfizer vaccine
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3.07pm EST 15:07
The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel would start Covid-19 vaccinations from 27 December, after receiving its first batch of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine.
“The first vaccinations will be given on December 27,” he said in a press conference, noting the public health service would be capable of administering 60,000 inoculations a day.
Earlier in the day, the first batch of Pfizer’s eight million coronavirus vaccine doses landed in Israel.
“Tomorrow another shipment is arriving, a much larger one,” Netanyahu said. “I’m asking that every Israeli citizen be vaccinated, and to do so, requested to set an example and be the first person being vaccinated in Israel,” he added, repeating a similar statement from earlier in the day, without specifying when that might take place.
Netanyahu also said the health ministry was working on developing a “green passport”.
Whoever receives a vaccination will be able to show a certificate or application that would enable entry to events, malls and all kinds of services.
This will encourage vaccinations and help return us to normalcy quickly.
The virus has infected 349,916 Israelis, 2,934 of them fatally, according to a Wednesday update.
While reiterating the need to keep up with “masks, distancing, hygiene and preventing gatherings,” Netanyahu was nonetheless upbeat.
We’re bringing an end to the plague.
2.35pm EST 14:35
Police used tear gas late on Wednesday to disperse hundreds of Albanians protesting the killing by police of a young man who authorities said had violated an overnight curfew imposed to halt the spread of the coronavirus.
A 25-year-old man identified by Albanian media as Klodian Rasha was killed early on Tuesday in what police described as an excessive use of force by an officer during a curfew introduced to prevent the surge of Covid-19 cases.
The police had first said that Rasha failed to obey a police officer’s order to stop and that he had carried a weapon. But later the police said the man was holding an object but not a weapon, as initially reported.
Protesters who were demanding the resignation of the interior minister threw objects at his ministry and set Christmas trees on fire as police used tear gas to disperse the crowd, a Reuters witness said.
Two police officers and a journalist were reported slightly injured.The police officer who allegedly killed the man was arrested and an investigation was launched.
“The police officer did not act according to the law while using his firearm,” Albanian police said in a statement.
Albanian government has introduced different measures, including a curfew, to prevent rising number of Covid-19 infections.
A protester throws a stone at police officers outside the prime’s minister office during clashes in Tirana. Hundreds are demanding the interior minister’s resignation over the fatal police shooting of a 25-year-old man who had breached a coronavirus-linked curfew. Photograph: Hektor Pustina/AP Demonstrators set fire to a Christmas tree during a protest in reaction to the killing of Klodian Rasha. Photograph: Florion Goga/Reuters
2.29pm EST 14:29
South Africa has officially entered a second wave as the number of new infections per day exceeds 6,000, the health minister said on Wednesday, raising concerns that restrictions to limit the spread of the virus could be tightened.
The health minister Zwelini Mkhize said in a televised address that infections stood at over 828,000 cases with deaths at more than 22,500, the most on the continent. Daily cases peaked at around 15,000 in July.
“The increases are shown in about six of the provinces and that is why it is important for us to now recognise this is a second wave,” said Mkhize during a televised address.
South Africa is experiencing a resurgence of new cases in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape. The president Cyril Ramaphosa last week tightened rules in the Eastern Cape province, but stopped short of a wider crackdown.
Mkhize also expressed concern that in the last two days the age distribution of new cases has peaked in those who are between 15 to 19 year of age.
School students who attended a series of end-of-year parties were urged on Sunday to enter 10 days of quarantine after identifying four such parties as “super-spreader events”.
2.28pm EST 14:28
The number of new coronavirus infections over 24 hours in France rose again to 14,595 on Wednesday, from 13,713 on Tuesday, and 14,064 last Wednesday, further crushing government hopes for a fall towards 5,000 per day, which the government has said is one of the requirements to end a nationwide lockdown on 15 December.
The seven-day moving average of new cases – which reached a high of 54,440 on 7 November – increased for the fifth day in a row and now stands at 11,369.
The health ministry also reported the number of people who died of Covid-19 in hospitals fell to 296 from 377 on Tuesday.
2.27pm EST 14:27
The Czech lower house approved extending the government’s state of emergency powers to 23 December, a shorter period than the cabinet sought as it seeks to contain rising Covid-19 infections.
The state of emergency is the legal basis for some government measures aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus, such as limits on assembly or temporarily shutting businesses.
2.05pm EST 14:05
German biotech firm BioNTech said on Wednesday that regulation documents related to the Covid-19 vaccine it is developing with Pfizer were “unlawfully accessed” after a cyberattack on Europe’s medicines regulator.
Earlier, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is responsible for assessing and approving medicines, medical devices and vaccines for the European Union – said it had been targeted in a cyberattack. It gave no further details.
It was not immediately clear when or how the attack took place, who was responsible or what other information may have been compromised.
Following the disclosure, BioNTech said the EMA informed it that “that the agency has been subject to a cyber attack and that some documents relating to the regulatory submission for Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate … had been unlawfully accessed”.
It added that “no BioNTech or Pfizer systems have been breached in connection with this incident and we are unaware of any personal data of study participants being accessed”.
Messages sent to BioNTech and Pfizer seeking further details about the breach were not immediately returned.
The EMA gave no details about the attack in its earlier statement, saying only that it was investigating the incident with help from law enforcement. “EMA cannot provide additional details whilst the investigation is ongoing. Further information will be made available in due course,” it said in a statement.
Hacking attempts against healthcare and medical organisations have intensified during the Covid-19 pandemic as attackers ranging from state-backed spies to cyber criminals scramble to obtain the latest information about the outbreak.
Reuters has previously documented how hackers linked to North Korea, Iran, Vietnam, China and Russia have on separate occasions been accused of trying to steal information about the virus and its potential treatments.
2.01pm EST 14:01
Marty Wilde is to become one of the first celebrities to get the Covid-19 vaccination.
The rock’n’roll star Marty Wilde is to become one of the first celebrities to get the Covid-19 vaccination, PA reports.
The 1950s pop star, best known for his hit Teenager in Love, will be given the jab on Thursday.
Vaccinations began being administered at 70 hospital hubs across the UK from Tuesday – starting with healthcare workers, people living in care homes and the elderly.
Wilde told the PA news agency:
This is one of the few times I am glad I am older than Cliff Richard because I am going to get my injection before that bugger does.
Wilde, the father of singer Kim Wilde, added:
I feel a responsibility not just to my family but people like me can be useful to the public.
I don’t say it in a conceited way. I don’t mean it that way. But I just think a lot of people count on me.
Lots of fans have been affected by Covid, lost money on hotels they have booked to see our tour earlier this year.
They can’t get their money back. I’ve got to be good for them. I know it sounds boring but it’s not. I really feel that.
Updated at 2.16pm EST
1.39pm EST 13:39
Spain’s rate of confirmed coronavirus cases reach lowest level since August
Spain’s rate of confirmed coronavirus cases fell to 193 cases per 100,000 people on Wednesday, the lowest level recorded since August, health ministry data showed, Reuters reports.
The ministry reported 9,773 infections since Monday, bringing the total up to just over 1.7 million, while the number of deaths increased by 373 to 47,019.
No data was released on Tuesday as it was a national holiday in Spain.
While Spain’s infection rate has slowed in recent weeks, the health minister, Salvador Illa, urged Spaniards to stay at home over Christmas to avoid a fresh resurgence.
Updated at 2.05pm EST
1.35pm EST 13:35
For a man presenting landmark results from trials of a vaccine that it is hoped will save the world from a devastating pandemic, Sir Menelas Pangalos did not look cheerful on Wednesday.
Pangalos, the executive vice-president of biopharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca, and his colleagues are undoubtedly exhausted, having been working round the clock on the coronavirus vaccine with Oxford University since April. But they are now dealing with a sizeable new headache – the doubts of the US regulator.
It is clear that in spite of the critical need for coronavirus vaccines, the Food and Drug Administration is not going to rush to approve this vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, even though the US, through its “Operation Warp Speed”, has put in substantial funding and ordered 300m doses.
Unlike Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna’s mRNA products, the AstraZeneca vaccine is cheap, it can be stored at ordinary fridge temperatures, is easy to manufacture and presents the best hope at the moment for a vaccine for the billions rather than the few.
But while the UK, the rest of Europe, and Canada and India could approve this vaccine in the coming weeks, the US, which has the world’s biggest epidemic, will have to wait.
Updated at 2.06pm EST
1.29pm EST 13:29
South Africa’s health minister said on Wednesday that the country has entered a second wave of Covid-19 infection, Reuters reports.
“As South Africa we are now experiencing a second wave. A criteria was formulated by our scientists and modelling teams. As it stands, as a country we now meet that criteria,” said Zwelini Mkhize during a televised address.
Updated at 2.07pm EST
1.25pm EST 13:25
Slovakia ordered schools and most shops closed for at least three weeks from 21st December as the number of COVID-19 cases continued to rise, Reuters reports.
The central European country also ordered outside seating at restaurants to end from Dec. 11, only allowing take-away.
It introduced a requirement to show negative Covid-19 tests at hotels and ski lifts from 14th December and ordered regular testing at large companies to start from 28th December.
Health minister Marek Krajci said at a news conference:
Unfortunately the situation has been worsening in the past days and it will continue to worsen in the coming days.
This Christmas holiday will be a test for our health system.