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COVID-19 Pandemic News

Other Security News

• Australia to Cancel Citizenship of Convicted Algerian-Born Terrorist VOA 26 Nov 2020 -- A convicted terrorist has had his Australian citizenship canceled by authorities in Canberra. Algerian-born Abdul Nacer Benbrika was jailed for 12 years in 2008 for his role in a plot to attack targets in the states of Victoria and New South Wales.
• Terror Threats Across Africa 'Not Degraded' VOA 26 Nov 2020 -- U.S. efforts to stem the threat from terror groups across Africa are struggling as military commanders grapple with the prospect of troop reductions and shifting priorities, according to a new government report on counterterrorism operations.
• Tanzania Teams Up with Mozambique to Contain Terrorists VOA 26 Nov 2020 -- Tanzania's government says is teaming up with Mozambique to launch a joint operation against violent attacks by Islamist militants along their shared border. But some opposition parties and rights groups are raising concerns about how the Tanzanian government plans to tackle the threat.
• Leader of Aum Shinrikyo Cult's Russian Branch Jailed for 15 Years on Terrorism Charges Sputnik 26 Nov 2020 -- A military court in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don has sentenced Mikhail Ustyantsev, the founder of the Russian cell of the Aum Shinrikyo cult* to 15 years in prison, the court's spokesman told reporters.

COVID-19 Pandemic News

• WHO chief calls for prioritization of older persons in COVID-19 vaccine distribution People's Daily 26 Nov 2020 -- Older persons and those living in care homes should be prioritized when COVID-19 vaccines become available, according to the World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom.
• Global COVID-19 cases surpass 60 mln -- Johns Hopkins University People's Daily 26 Nov 2020 -- Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 60 million on Wednesday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.
• Worldwide Coronavirus Cases Cross 60.05 Million, Death Toll at 1,415,428 SPA 26 Nov 2020 -- More than 60.05 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,415,428 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

United States

• Millions of Americans Travel for Thanksgiving Despite COVID-19 Warnings VOA 26 Nov 2020 -- Millions of people in the U.S. are traveling ahead of Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday, despite a surging COVID-19 death toll and record hospitalizations.
• US Records Highest Coronavirus Toll Since May VOA 26 Nov 2020 -- The United States registered its deadliest day from the coronavirus since May on Wednesday while also adding nearly 200,000 infections to a wave of new cases that is by far the worst the country has experienced at any time during the pandemic.
• U.S. COVID-19 deaths top 260,000: Johns Hopkins University People's Daily 26 Nov 2020 -- U.S. COVID-19 deaths surpassed 260,000 on Wednesday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.
• Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Announces New Record-High Number of COVID-19 Tests Reported to New York State New York State 26 Nov 2020
• Biden can't save US from darkest period of epidemic Global Times 26 Nov 2020 -- "I know that we can and will beat this virus," US President-elect Joe Biden said in a Thanksgiving speech on Wednesday.
• US sets new record for COVID-19 hospitalizations for 15th consecutive day Global Times 26 Nov 2020 -- More than 88,000 COVID-19 patients were in hospitals across the United States as of Tuesday, reaching a new all-time high for the 15th consecutive day, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
• Transmission rate of COVID-19 reaches highest in LA County Global Times 26 Nov 2020 -- The transmission rate of COVID-19, or the R number, has reached 1.27, the highest ever for the most populous county in the United States, Los Angeles County's health official said on Wednesday.
• Americans defy pandemic as US COVID cases set new record Press TV 26 Nov 2020 -- Americans have defied pleas from officials to stay home for the Thanksgiving holiday amid record-breaking COVID-19 cases in recent days.
• State Officials Announce Latest COVID-19 Facts California Department of Public Health 26 Nov 2020

China

• China pushes test-based health code, eyes global mechanism Global Times 26 Nov 2020 -- More Chinese embassies have joined the push for pre-departure health codes based on coronavirus nucleic acid and antibody tests, a prerequisite for China-bound travels, which can shed light on how a global mechanism for mutual health code recognition will look like.
• Manzhouli rushes to curb COVID-19 outbreak after virus strain found similar to that of Russia Global Times 26 Nov 2020 -- China's largest land port - Manzhouli in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region - vowed to curb the latest COVID-19 outbreak, as the city announced the virus strain of the initial infections was highly similar to that of Russia. A total of 11 cases have been confirmed so far.
• Disinfection in low temperatures a new challenge in COVID-19 combat: expert Global Times 26 Nov 2020 -- Disinfection in low temperatures and freezing environments has become a new challenge in combatting COVID-19, as many places in China have detected the coronavirus on the outer packaging of imported cold-chain products, and concerns over coronavirus transmission via cold-chain products continue to grow.
• Mainland to offer COVID-19 vaccine to HK amid 'fourth wave' Global Times 26 Nov 2020 -- Amid the fourth wave of the COVID-19 surge, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the Chinese central government had agreed to supply Hong Kong people with a vaccine.

Europe

• UK records highest daily COVID death toll since May 5 People's Daily 26 Nov 2020 -- The coronavirus-related deaths in Britain rose by 696 to 56,533, marking the highest daily death number since May 5, according to official figures released Wednesday.
• UK Prime Minister Says Three-Tiered System Best Way to Avoid Spike in COVID-19 Cases Sputnik 26 Nov 2020 -- The new COVID-19 alert level tier allocations, which will come into force in the UK once the country's nationwide lockdown expires on 2 December, is the best way to prevent a spike in COVID-19, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at a press briefing on Thursday.
• France unveils gradual easing of nationwide coronavirus lockdown People's Daily 26 Nov 2020 -- French people will enjoy more freedom in outdoor exercises starting Saturday, and the nationwide coronavirus lockdown could be lifted on Dec. 15 if health conditions are met, President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday in a TV address.
• Italy Reports 29,003 New Coronavirus Cases, 822 Deaths, Health Ministry reports SPA 26 Nov 2020 -- Italy reported 822 COVID 19-related deaths today, on Thursday, up from 722 the day before, and 29,003 new infections, up from 25,853 on Wednesday, Reuters cited the health ministry as saying.
• Austrian Chancellor Opposes Common EU Rules for Ski Resorts Amid COVID-19 Pandemic Sputnik 26 Nov 2020 -- Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Thursday that he opposed the common guidelines for all European Union countries on operation of ski resorts amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Russia

• Sputnik V Developers Suggest Combining Their Vaccine With AstraZeneca Shot to Boost Efficacy Sputnik 26 Nov 2020 -- The vaccine developed by AstraZeneca in collaboration with Oxford University demonstrated 62% efficacy - a far cry from the 90% and over shown in the trials of two US and one Russian vaccine that were presented earlier.
• EU Drug Agency Confirms Talks With Producer of Russia's Sputnik V Vaccine are Ongoing Sputnik 26 Nov 2020 -- A representative of the European Commission said the day before that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is in talks with the manufacturer of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus.

India

• Indian Company Says it Made Millions of Doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate VOA 26 Nov 2020 -- There is rising optimism in India about getting access to a prospective Covid 19 vaccine after Britain-based pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca announced this week that clinical trials of its vaccine candidate have shown that it is highly effective in preventing infections.
• India's 61% of Daily New Cases contributed by Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh India PIB 26 Nov 2020 -- 44,489 new confirmed COVID cases have been registered in the last 24 hours in the country. Of these, 60.72% is contributed by six States/UT i.e. Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• India continues to suspend international flights till year end due to pandemic People's Daily 26 Nov 2020 -- The Indian government on Thursday decided to continue the suspension of international flights till the year-end due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Iran

• Washington's Sanctions Should Not Bar Iran From Getting US Vaccines, Health Ministry Says Sputnik 26 Nov 2020 -- The worldwide death toll from the coronavirus is now over 1.4 million, while the global case tally is more than 60 million. Scientists are working on vaccines in order to stop the global pandemic, as a new wave has forced multiple countries to re-impose lockdowns or severe restrictions.
• Official: 482 more Iranians die from COVID-19 over past 24 hours IRNA 26 Nov 2020 -- Some 482 people in Iran have died as a result of the coronavirus disease over the past 24 hours, Iranian Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Thursday.
• Iran, Russia to cooperate on COVID-19 vaccine development IRNA 26 Nov 2020 -- Spokeswoman for Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education announced on Thursday that Tehran and Moscow are to cooperate on COVID-19 vaccine development.

Saudi Arabia

• Health Ministry: 322 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 Reported, in Saudi Arabia SPA 26 Nov 2020 -- The Ministry of Health announced today that 322 new confirmed cases of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number to 356,389 cases, including 5,334 active cases receiving necessary medical care.

Taiwan

• Taiwan reports 2 new imported COVID-19 cases CNA 26 Nov 2020 -- Two additional imported COVID-19 cases were reported in Taiwan on Thursday, boosting the number of total cases to 625 in the country since the pandemic broke out at the end of last year, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
• Taiwan representative office in U.S. reports 9 new COVID-19 cases CNA 26 Nov 2020 -- Nine more staff members at Taiwan's representative office in the United States tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday (U.S. time), after two cases were reported the previous day, forcing the closure of the office's consular hall, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

Other Countries

• Africa Braces for Second Coronavirus Wave VOA 26 Nov 2020 -- As a second wave of coronavirus approaches, Africa has a plan, says the continent's top health official.
• WHO Urges Africa to Prepare for Vaccine Rollout VOA 26 Nov 2020 -- The World Health Organization urged African countries Thursday to prepare plans to distribute vaccinations for COVID-19 as they become available.
• Sudan Mourns Former Leader Who Died of COVID-19 VOA 26 Nov 2020 -- Flags across Sudan are flying at half-staff after former prime minister Sadiq al-Mahdi, who was overthrown in the 1989 coup that brought Omar al-Bashir to power, died of COVID-19 on Thursday.
• Australian State of Victoria Celebrates 28 Days Without a New COVID-19 Case VOA 26 Nov 2020 -- The Australian state of Victoria has recorded no new coronavirus cases or deaths for 28 consecutive days. Health authorities say they have achieved what is widely considered to be the official benchmark for eliminating COVID-19 from the community.