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Other Security News
COVID-19 Pandemic News

Other Security News

• Authorities Say Suspect in Nashville Blast Died at Scene VOA 28 Dec 2020 -- U.S. investigators are working to determine a motive in Friday's explosion that injured three people, damaged dozens of buildings and disrupted telecommunications systems in the southern city of Nashville, Tennessee.
• DHS Modernizes Critical Identification Requirements after Congress Passes REAL ID Modernization Act DHS 28 Dec 2020 -- As a result of extensive state, industry, and government collaboration, Congress has passed the bipartisan REAL ID Modernization Act. The Act modernizes REAL ID requirements originally set more than 15 years ago.

COVID-19 Pandemic News

• Countries tighten restrictions, accelerate vaccine campaigns in response to new COVID-19 strains People's Daily 28 Dec 2020 -- Countries around the world have tightened their restrictive measures and accelerated the race for vaccines after several new strains of the coronavirus have been reported recently in different parts of the world.
• UN underscores need to learn lessons from COVID-19, urges greater investments in preparedness People's Daily 28 Dec 2020 -- The United Nations (UN) on Sunday commemorated the first International Day of Epidemic Preparedness, underscoring the need to learn lessons from the coronavirus pandemic, and urging greater investments in preparedness, to confront future health emergencies.
• Worldwide Coronavirus Cases Cross 80.43 Million, Death Toll at 1,760,548 SPA 28 Dec 2020 -- More than 80.43 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,760,548 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
• Vaccination no guarantee of virus eradication: WHO officials UN News 28 Dec 2020 -- In the final World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 press conference of the year, on Monday, senior officials warned that the virus is "not necessarily the big one", and that there is a real chance of another, more serious pandemic spreading across the world.

United States

• Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Announces 140,000 New Yorkers Have Received First Vaccine Dose New York State 28 Dec 2020
• Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Issues Executive Order Increasing Penalties on Health Care Providers That Intentionally Disregard Vaccine Prioritization Protocols New York State 28 Dec 2020
• TSA: Nearly 1.3 Million Travel by Air Over Christmas, Pandemic Record VOA 28 Dec 2020 -- Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Americans increasingly seem to be tuning out warnings against travel during what is traditionally one of the busiest periods of the year.
• Biden to Invoke Defense Production Act to Boost COVID Vaccine Output, Adviser Says Sputnik 28 Dec 2020 -- US President-Elect Joe Biden will invoke the Defense Production Act after he takes office in January to ensure enough availability of vaccines for the COVID-19, a senior doctor on his team said in an interview on Monday.
• U.S. sees more COVID-19 deaths in December than before People's Daily 28 Dec 2020 -- The United States has witnessed more COVID-19 deaths in December than in any other month since the outbreak of the pandemic, according to a latest report of The COVID Tracking Project.
• U.S. COVID-19 cases surpass 19 mln -- Johns Hopkins University People's Daily 28 Dec 2020 -- The total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 19 million on Sunday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.
• State Officials Announce Latest COVID-19 Facts California Department of Public Health 28 Dec 2020

China

• Four-year Jail Term for Citizen Journalist's COVID Reporting in China VOA 28 Dec 2020 -- A court in Shanghai, China on Monday sentenced former lawyer and citizen journalist Zhang Zhan to four years in prison for her reporting on the coronavirus outbreak, a harsh sentence that legal scholars say is aimed at having a chilling effect on Chinese rights activists.
• Chinese Lawyer-Turned-Citizen Journalist Gets Four Years For Wuhan Posts Radio Free Asia 28 Dec 2020 -- A court in Shanghai has handed down a four-year jail term to a citizen journalist who reported on the coronavirus pandemic as it emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
• Chinese Journalist Jailed for 4 Years Over Reports on Early COVID-19 Outbreak in Wuhan Sputnik 28 Dec 2020 -- A court in Shanghai on Monday found citizen journalist Zhang Zhan guilty of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" in her reporting of the country's early coronavirus outbreak in the city of Wuhan early this year, Zhang's lawyer said, adding that the journalist was sentenced to four years in prison.
• China's national epidemiological survey finds COVID-19 infection rate at low level among population Global Times 28 Dec 2020 -- China's CDC has completed a national epidemiological survey of COVID-19 serum and found that the Chinese population had a low infection rate, which experts say demonstrates China's success in bringing the epidemic under control and lays a solid foundation for carrying out mass vaccinations uniformly. .
• Epidemic control tightens amid sporadic cases as holidays near Global Times 28 Dec 2020 -- As small COVID-19 flare-ups in China's capital city of Beijing and Northeastern port city of Dalian alerted the public about a new wave of outbreaks with the government ramping up strict measures restricting outings and large gatherings, concerns have emerged over a resurgence of the infections in the country as holiday season is approaching.
• Beijing tests 1.37 million residents, anti-epidemic measures to be strengthened Global Times 28 Dec 2020 -- Beijing has provided nucleic acid tests for over 1.37 million people in key areas related to COVID-19 infections in Shunyi and Chaoyang districts, the local government said, and anti-epidemic measures at airports and customs will be strengthened in an effort to curb the latest cases.
• China's speedy economic revival is owing to strict measures to contain virus: FM Global Times 28 Dec 2020 -- China's economic development not only leads to more people enjoying a better life but has also injected impetus to the recovery of global economy, which has been severely damaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the country will actively integrate with global market and deepen foreign cooperation, the Foreign Ministry (FM) said on Monday.
• NE Chinese city adds 3 medium-risk COVID-19 areas People's Daily 28 Dec 2020 -- Another three communities were classified as medium-risk areas for COVID-19 in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, local authorities said Monday.
• Chinese mainland reports 6 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 28 Dec 2020 -- The Chinese mainland on Sunday reported 21 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, including six locally transmitted cases and 15 arriving from outside the mainland, the National Health Commission said Monday.
• China's Liaoning reports 6 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases People's Daily 28 Dec 2020 -- Northeast China's Liaoning Province on Sunday reported six confirmed COVID-19 cases and three asymptomatic cases, all locally transmitted, the provincial health commission said Monday.
• China's Dalian sees 10 more medium-risk COVID-19 areas People's Daily 28 Dec 2020 -- Another 10 communities and villages were classified as medium-risk areas for COVID-19 in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian, bringing the city's total number of medium-risk areas to 12, local authorities said on Sunday.
• Beijing strengthens epidemic prevention as sporadic cases emerge People's Daily 28 Dec 2020 -- Beijing has tightened epidemic prevention and control measures following new reports of local COVID-19 infections, local authorities said on Sunday.
• China's Shenzhen reports one asymptomatic COVID-19 case People's Daily 28 Dec 2020 -- South China's city of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province reported one asymptomatic COVID-19 case on Sunday, according to the city's health commission.
• Another Chinese adenovirus vector COVID-19 vaccine ready for human trials PLA Daily 28 Dec 2020 -- One more Chinese adenovirus vector vaccine candidate against COVID-19 is ready for human trials at home and abroad, its developers said Monday.

Europe

• France starts COVID-19 vaccinations as 78-year-old woman receives first dose People's Daily 28 Dec 2020 -- A 78-year-old woman received the first dose of vaccine in France on Sunday morning, marking the start of the vaccination campaign in the west European country.
• Portugal starts vaccination campaign against COVID-19 People's Daily 28 Dec 2020 -- Portugal began its vaccination campaign against COVID-19 on Sunday, with the first batch of 9,750 doses of vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech being administered to health professionals at hospitals in the cities of Porto, Coimbra and Lisbon.

Russia

• Russian Coronavirus Fatalities Much Higher Than Initially Reported RFE/RL 28 Dec 2020 -- Russia has confirmed that it has been underreporting its coronavirus death toll, announcing that the actual number of fatalities related to the pandemic is more than three times higher than previously released figures.
• Zambia Considering Russian Proposal to Use Its COVID-19 Vaccine, Envoy Says Sputnik 28 Dec 2020 -- Zambia is currently considering the proposal by Russia for the use of its domestically produced Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, Russian Ambassador to Zambia Alexander Boldyrev told Sputnik.

India

• India's Active Caseload continues to decline, stands at 2.77 lakh today India PIB 28 Dec 2020 -- The ongoing trend of contraction of India's total active cases continues. The active caseload of the country stands at 2,77,301 today. The share of Active Cases in the total Positive Cases has further shrunk to 2.72%.
• India Begins Dry Run For COVID-19 Vaccine Immunisation Sputnik 28 Dec 2020 -- India, which has been preparing for the mass vaccination of its 1.3 billion population, has yet to announce when the campaign will kick off. Meanwhile, the country has confirmed 22,272 new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, with the total number of those infected having reached 10,169,118.

Iran

• Iran's COVID-19 death toll lower than predicted: Minister IRNA 28 Dec 2020 -- Iran's Minister of Health Saeed Namaki said on Monday that a reduction of at least 50 to 60 percent of the country's daily coronavirus deaths is an honor that was achieved in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Basij, various apparatuses and the people's support.
• Iran's Red Crescent Society to receive 150,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines IRNA 28 Dec 2020 -- Iran's Red Crescent Society (IRCS) said it is planning to take delivery of a batch of 150,000 coronavirus vaccines produced by Pfizer Inc.
• COVID-19 kills 121 more people in Iran IRNA 28 Dec 2020 -- Some 121 more Iranians have died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) over the past 24 hours bringing the total deaths to 54,814, Iran's Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Monday.
• Iran to produce 1.5 million doses of domestic COVID-19 vaccine in 40 days Press TV 28 Dec 2020 -- Iran will produce one and a half million doses of a homegrown vaccine within the next 30 to 40 days, said the director of Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam after meeting with the researchers who produced the vaccine.
• Iran To Get 150,000 Doses Of Pfizer Vaccines From 'Philanthropists' In U.S. RFE/RL 28 Dec 2020 -- The head of Iran's Red Crescent Society says the country will receive a shipment of coronavirus vaccines developed by Pfizer and BioNTech in three weeks.

South Korea

• S. Korea confirms 1st COVID-19 variant infections from entrants from Britain People's Daily 28 Dec 2020 -- South Korea's health authorities said on Monday that it detected the country's first cases of more transmissible COVID-19 variant infections from entrants from Britain.
• S. Korea Extends Britain Flight Ban After Positive Tests of Virus Variant VOA 28 Dec 2020 -- South Korea announced Monday that it will extend a ban on direct flights from Britain until January 7 after three people who recently entered the country tested positive for the COVID-19 variant that was first identified in Britain.

Saudi Arabia

• 119 New Confirmed COVID-19 Cases Detected, 174 Recoveries Reported, in Saudi Arabia SPA 28 Dec 2020 -- The Ministry of Health announced in a statement here today that 119 new confirmed cases of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number to 362,339, including 2,790 active cases undergoing treatment.

Taiwan

• Flight crews to face stricter quarantine rules in Taiwan CNA 28 Dec 2020 -- Taiwan is tightening its quarantine rules for long-haul flight crews by lengthening the quarantine period after an EVA Air pilot infected another person earlier this month despite the protocols in place.
• Arrivals from U.K. among 8 new imported COVID-19 cases (update) CNA 28 Dec 2020 -- Three passengers who arrived in Taiwan on Sunday, on the first direct flight from the United Kingdom since stricter rules were imposed for travelers from the country, were among eight new imported COVID-19 cases reported in Taiwan on Monday, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

Other Countries

• Canada's COVID-19 cases top 550,000 Global Times 28 Dec 2020 -- Canada's COVID-19 cases surpassed 550,000, with the total hitting 552,020, including 14,963 deaths, as of Sunday afternoon, according to CTV.
• Brazil VP tests positive for COVID-19 People's Daily 28 Dec 2020 -- Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourao tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, his office said in a statement.
• Venezuela says U.S. economic blockade prevents it from funding COVAX People's Daily 28 Dec 2020 -- The economic blockade imposed by Washington is preventing Venezuela from funding the COVAX initiative led by the World Health Organization, Venezuelan Minister of Health Carlos Alvarado said on Sunday.