New Delhi: The novel coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate countries across the world — the latest count being over 8.2 crore cases and close to 18 lakh deaths.
The UK recorded the highest-ever number of coronavirus cases Tuesday. Hospitals in South Africa are getting overwhelmed as coronavirus cases rise. And Singapore has started its vaccination programme.
ThePrint brings you the most important global stories on the coronavirus pandemic and why they matter.
UK records highest number of new Covid-19 cases
The UK recorded the highest-ever number of coronavirus cases Tuesday, a day after the number of infections crossed 40,000-mark for the first time Monday. The country saw 53,135 new daily infections as well as 414 deaths as the new strain of coronavirus makes its presence felt, reports The Guardian.
While the high numbers may be due to a lag in data that was not reported over Christmas, Public Health England said the figures were “largely a reflection of a real increase”.
UK has recorded 2,382,865 cases of Covid-19 and 71,567 deaths.
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Israel vaccinates 500,000th person against Covid-19
The 500,000th person in Israel was vaccinated against Covid-19 in Jerusalem Tuesday, in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein. The prime minister said Israel was “ahead of the world in bringing and administering vaccines”, reports The Jerusalam Post.
“Israel is the world champion in vaccines, in first place. My task now is to ensure that we continue at this pace and we work on it together,” Netanyahu said.
Health Minister Edelstein also said that the number of Israelis vaccinated against the coronavirus is now higher than those infected with the virus (around 410,000) since the beginning of the outbreak.
The report also said that Netanyahu was working closely with Pfizer to ensure that Israel can keep pace with its goal of vaccinating between 100,000 and 150,000 people every day.
Israel has reported 412,398 number of Covid cases and 3,292 deaths.
South Africa hospitals are overwhelmed as cases rise
Hospitals in South Africa are overwhelmed with the number of Covid-19 patients as infections rise. Africa News reported that even waiting rooms were being transform into wards to accommodate patients.
With the holiday season on, South Africa reported more than 100,000 new Covid-19 cases in just nine days.
The Western Cape Provincial Minister of Health, Nomafrench Mbombo, has been quoted as saying, “I don’t want a situation where we seem as if we are portraying that we got this. What we are saying is ‘the house is on fire’, we can do as much as we can.”
She also said that by the end of this week, they would have produced more that 880 additional beds.
South Africa has recorded 1,021,451 cases and 27,568 deaths so far.
Ontario Finance Minister takes out-of-country vacation
Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips has been vacationing on the Caribbean island of St. Barts, despite officials urging Canadians to avoid non-essential travel, reports The Globe and Mail. Ontario is also under lockdown after new cases of a variant of the coronavirus emerged.
The Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, said he was extremely disappointed at the minister’s decision to travel abroad.
In a statement later, Phillips apologised and said he “deeply regret travelling over the holidays”. He also said that he was making arrangements to return to Ontario immediately and will begin 14-day quarantine.
Canada has recorded 565,506 cases and 15,378 deaths due to Covid-19.
Singapore kickstarts its vaccination program
Singapore has started its vaccination programme. A senior staff nurse at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) was the first to be vaccinated with a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Wednesday, reports The Straits Times.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the vaccinations mark a new chapter in Singapore’s fight against the pandemic.
“The vaccine is key to living in a Covid-19 world, but it will still be some time before this storm will pass,” he said.
An expert committee had suggested that frontline and healthcare workers, and those most vulnerable to the infection should be vaccinated first. Singapore residents aged 70 and older will receive vaccines from February next year, followed by other medically- eligible long-term residents.
Singapore has recorded 58,542 Covid-19 cases and 29 deaths so far. .
What else we are reading:
Covid-19 further entrenched income, health, racial and educational inequalities across Hong Kong, experts say: The South China Morning Post
Australia’s hotel quarantine to remain for ‘years to come’ despite travellers getting vaccinated: The Sydney Morning Herald
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