Coronavirus digest: Russia wants UK arrivals to quarantine

Russia's sanitary safety agency, Rospotrebnadzor, on Friday said that all people traveling to the country from the United Kingdom will be obliged to remain in isolation for 14 days after their arrival.

The measure goes into effect starting Saturday.

Russia earlier this week suspended direct flights from the UK for a week starting on Tuesday after a new variant of the coronavirus was detected there. The variant is thought to be 70% more transmissible than other forms of the virus.

Dozens of other countries have barred flights from the UK or announced travel restrictions since the new variant was detected.

Rest of Europe

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany's federal agency for disease control and prevention, reported 25,533 new cases on Friday, along with 412 deaths from the virus.

More than 600,000 people in the United Kingdom have received the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine since the rollout began earlier this month.

The UK was the first country in the world to approve and begin inoculating people with the vaccine. Care home residents, adults over 80, and health and social care staff were first to receive the shot at more than 500 sites across the country.

As of Christmas Day, and until January 3, most retailers in Denmark will be closed, with the exceptions being supermarkets, grocery stores, pharmacies and shops selling medical equipment.

Slovakia reported a record of 4,046 coronavirus infections for the past day on Friday. Health organizations have already warned that hospitals were becoming overstrained and have criticized the government's management of the pandemic as "chaotic."

The country has had a curfew in effect since December 19 and most shops have been closed since then, but skiing is still allowed and two households can stay overnight together in winter sports areas. So far, 1,732 people have died from COVID-19 in the country, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

Italy has reported a fourth straight day of rising coronavirus infections, with 19,037 new cases confirmed on Friday. The northeast Veneto region is currently the worst-hit. The overall pandemic tally now stands at 2,028,354, with 71,359 killed by the virus — the highest death toll in Europe.

France has confirmed 20,262 new cases of infection and 159 coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours. The death toll, the seventh-highest in the world, now stands at 62,427, while the overall tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases is 2,547,771.

The Netherlands has declared Germany to be a high-risk area, according to the German Foreign Ministry. From December 29, all travelers from Germany will need to present a recent negative result from a PCR test if they want to go to the Netherlands by plane, train, bus or ship. They are also urgently recommended to isolate for 10 days after arrival.

Africa

Malian opposition leader Soumaila Cisse has died of COVID-19, just over two months after being freed from the hands of jihadis who took him hostage on March 25. A family member said he had died in France, where he had been taken for treatment.

Cisse, 71, who led the URD party, was runner-up in three presidential elections.

He has said he suffered no form of violence during his captivity in the Timbuktu region, where he had been campaigning when he was captured.

Mali had reported 6,347 cases of coronavirus infection by Wednesday, with 229 deaths. It is currently fighting a second wave of the pandemic.

South Africa's health minister has refuted his British counterpart's claim that a new variant in the country is more contagious or more dangerous than a similar one currently rampant in the UK.

"At present, there is no evidence that the 501.V2 (variant) is more transmissible than the United Kingdom variant, as suggested by the British Health Secretary," Zwelini Mkhize said in a statement.

"There is also no evidence that (it) causes more severe disease or increased mortality than the UK variant or any variant that has been sequenced around the world."

Middle East

Israel has reported a three-month high caseload as it prepares to enter its third lockdown since the onset of the pandemic.

The Israeli Health Ministry announced on Friday that 3,958 new infections had been reported over a 24-hour period.

As a result of the ever-increasing numbers, a third partial lockdown is to be imposed from Sunday afternoon. This will be in place for at least two weeks.

Americas

Three Latin American countries began their immunization programs against COVID on Thursday. Frontline medical staff in Mexico and Chile were among the first to get the injection, while Costa Rica began its own program.

Mexican nurse Maria Irene Ramirez said, "it's the best gift I could receive in 2020," while she received the shot.

A nursing assistant in Chile was the first to receive the vaccine in the country in the presence of President Sebastian Pinera.

Elizabeth Castillo, a 91-year-old nursing home resident, was the first vaccine recipient in Costa Rica.

"I am very grateful to God, because I have asked so much of him. My life is very important to me, so take advantage of every moment," said Castillo.

Argentina received 300,000 doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine on Thursday. It is the first Latin American country to approve the use of the Russian vaccine.

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez has vowed to take the first shot to prove it was safe, after the vaccine was criticized that it was registered before the start of large-scale clinical trials.

The American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a mandate that requires all airline passengers arriving from the UK starting Monday to test negative for COVID.

Asia

Japan has urged its citizens to spend a "silent" New Year to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which has been breaking infection records almost on a daily basis.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also announced a fresh package of 270 billion yen ($2.61 billion, €2.14 billion) for institutions treating coronavirus patients.

South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Friday there were 1,241 new cases reported the day before. That is the highest 24-hour count that the country has seen so far in the pandemic.

Hong Kong extended its required quarantine for international arrivals from 14 days to 21 days, effective Friday. This does not include people arriving from mainland China.

The city also banned all people who were in South Africa in the past 21 days from arriving, due to the new variant found in the country. Hong Kong had already stopped flights arriving from the UK from Monday.

jsi, tj/csb (AFP, Reuters, dpa, AP)