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COVID-19 Pandemic News

Other Security News

• Enactment of Legal Peace Legislation to Restore Sudan's Sovereign Immunities US Dept. of State 30 Dec 2020 -- With the enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act on December 28, the way is clear for victims of the 1998 East African Embassy bombings, the 2000 attack on USS Cole, and the 2008 murder of USAID employee John Granville, to receive long-awaited compensation for their immeasurable losses.

COVID-19 Pandemic News

• COVID-19 Crackdowns, Expanded Authoritarianism, And The Post-Pandemic World RFE/RL 30 Dec 2020 -- The approval of COVID-19 vaccines has raised hopes that the "new normal" of a post-pandemic world will start to emerge in 2021.
• The virus that shut down the world: Economic meltdown UN News 30 Dec 2020 -- With millions forced to work from home this year, offices and shops closing as part of containment measures, and travel severely curtailed everywhere, it was inevitable that the economy would suffer. In part five of our look back at 2020, we focus on the seismic effect that COVID-19 has had on the global economy.
• Worldwide Coronavirus Cases Cross 81.5 Million, Death Toll at 1,781,355 SPA 30 Dec 2020 -- More than 81.5 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,781,355 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

United States

• Perna: Whole-of-America Operation Warp Speed Effort 'Remarkable Feat' DoD News 30 Dec 2020 -- With two vaccines for COVID-19 — one from Pfizer and one from Moderna — now available to Americans following emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration, Operation Warp Speed has been moving quickly to get those doses out to everyone who needs them, OWS's chief operating officer said.
• U.S. social divide exacerbates spread of COVID-19 People's Daily 30 Dec 2020 -- The poor performance of the U.S. in COVID-19 response is no wonder one of the biggest "black swans" of 2020. The "systematic fracture" is believed by the U.S. society to be a major reason why the world's No. 1 economic and tech power failed in this regard.
• U.S. reports over 2 mln child COVID-19 cases People's Daily 30 Dec 2020 -- Over two million children in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, according to the latest data of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association.
• Colorado confirms first known case of COVID-19 variant in U.S. People's Daily 30 Dec 2020 -- A more contagious variant of COVID-19 that was first discovered in Britain was identified in the U.S. state of Colorado on Tuesday, according to the state's governor.
• U.S. Vice President-elect Harris receives first dose of COVID-19 vaccine People's Daily 30 Dec 2020 -- U.S. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday live on television.
• California Confirms First Case of New COVID-19 Strain - Governor Sputnik 30 Dec 2020 -- California has become the second US state to identify a case of the new coronavirus strain, following an announcement made on Tuesday by Colorado Governor Jared Polis regarding the first new variant case in the state.
• Coronavirus Variant Found in Britain Detected in U.S. for 1st Time SPA 30 Dec 2020 -- Local health officials in the western state of Colorado yesterday, on Tuesday announced the United States' first known case of a potentially more transmissible coronavirus variant spreading in Britain, Kyodo reported.
• State Officials Announce Latest COVID-19 Facts California Department of Public Health 30 Dec 2020

China

• China strengthens prevention work against COVID-19 for holiday travel rush Global Times 30 Dec 2020 -- China has strengthened prevention work against COVID-19 for the upcoming Spring Festival travel rush, including reserving seats for passengers with fever and improving disinfection work in stations and trains, officials said at a press conference on Wednesday.
• The first batch of China's vaccine arrived in Turkey and expected to put into use in two weeks Global Times 30 Dec 2020 -- Flight TK6175 took off from Beijing carrying China's first batch of the novel coronavirus vaccine touched down at Ankara Esenboga International Airport in Ankara, the capital of Turkey on Wednesday, and will hopefully be put into use after two weeks, marking another milestone of how China's self-developed inactivated vaccine reaching out to those in needs around the world.
• Beijing investigation finds imported case caused Shunyi cluster Global Times 30 Dec 2020 -- Beijing has released a thorough epidemiological investigation into the recent 16 cases of COVID-19 reported in the capital's Shunyi district, which showed that the sudden spike was caused by an imported case from Indonesia, Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the municipal center for disease prevention and control, said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
• NE China's Shenyang enters 'wartime' mode amid COVID-19 flare-ups Global Times 30 Dec 2020 -- Shenyang in Northeast China's Liaoning Province announced it will heighten its emergency response and enter "wartime mode" on Wednesday, after the city experienced COVID-19 flare-ups recently.
• CNBG vaccine efficacy rate boosts confidence Global Times 30 Dec 2020 -- Chinese vaccine producer Sinopharm announced an inactivated vaccine developed by its subsidiary China National Biotech Group (CNBG) has an efficacy rate of more than 79 percent, and confirmed they have officially filed for market approval with Chinese regulators.
• Beijing workers reconsidering Spring Festival travel plans due to new COVID-19 cases Global Times 30 Dec 2020 -- The national railways are expected to transport 407 million passengers in China during the 2021 Spring Festival, with an average of 10.18 million passengers per day. However, because of recent coronavirus cases in Beijing, some are starting to reconsider their travel plans.
• Chinese mainland reports 7 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 30 Dec 2020 -- The Chinese mainland on Tuesday reported 24 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, including seven locally transmitted cases and 17 arriving from outside the mainland, the National Health Commission said Wednesday.
• Beijing reports one locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 case People's Daily 30 Dec 2020 -- Beijing reported one new locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 case on Tuesday, local health authorities said Wednesday.
• Beijing's Shunyi samples over 1.29 mln for COVID-19 tests People's Daily 30 Dec 2020 -- Beijing's Shunyi District has sampled over 1.29 million people for nucleic acid tests in a health screening following newly emerged COVID-19 cases, local authorities said Tuesday.
• China's Shenyang to increase nucleic acid testing frequency People's Daily 30 Dec 2020 -- The city of Shenyang in northeast China's Liaoning Province will increase nucleic acid testing frequency, the city headquarters in charge of COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control said Tuesday.
• Beijing adds 1 medium-risk COVID-19 area People's Daily 30 Dec 2020 -- Beijing added one medium-risk COVID-19 area starting from Tuesday, the Beijing municipal health commission said.
• China's Liaoning reports 5 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases People's Daily 30 Dec 2020 -- Northeast China's Liaoning Province on Tuesday reported five confirmed COVID-19 cases and four asymptomatic cases, all locally transmitted, the provincial health commission said Wednesday.
• Lawyer-Turned-Citizen Journalist Zhang Zhan Hit Out at Judge During Trial: Lawyer Radio Free Asia 30 Dec 2020 -- Jailed citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, who was sentenced to four years' imprisonment for posting reports from Wuhan during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the city, spoke up in court and challenged the judge during her trial earlier this week, RFA has learned.

Europe

• Vaccination is beginning of end of pandemic, says Spanish health minister People's Daily 30 Dec 2020 -- Spain along with the rest of the European Union on Sunday started a vaccination drive against COVID-19, which Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa called the "beginning of the end" of the coronavirus pandemic in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.
• UK records over 50,000 COVID cases overnight for first time People's Daily 30 Dec 2020 -- Britain recorded more than 50,000 coronavirus cases overnight for the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the world, according to official figures released Tuesday.

Russia

• Russia confirms 27,002 new COVID-19 cases People's Daily 30 Dec 2020 -- Russia registered 27,002 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, the country's COVID-19 response center said Tuesday.

India

• 70 percent of all COVID-19 deaths in India are among men: health ministry People's Daily 30 Dec 2020 -- India's federal health ministry Tuesday said 70 percent of the 148,153 people who died due to COVID-19 in the country have been men.
• 20 persons found with the new mutant variant of SARS- CoV-2 virus reported from UK India PIB 30 Dec 2020 -- Total of 20 persons have been found with the mutant variant of SARS- CoV-2 virus reported from UK. These include the six persons reported earlier (3 in NIMHANS, Bengaluru, 2 in CCMB, Hyderabad and 1 in NIV, Pune). 107 samples were tested in the 10 labs as indicated in the table below.
• Health Ministry recommends extension of temporary suspension of international flights from the UK to India till 7th Jan 2021 India PIB 30 Dec 2020 -- The Health Ministry has recommended to the Ministry of Civil Aviation the extension of the temporary suspension of flights originating from UK into India to be further extended till 7th January (Thursday), 2021.
• Dr. Harsh Vardhan reviews status of Kala Azar in Four States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal India PIB 30 Dec 2020 -- Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare today chaired an event to review the status of the disease Kala-Azar in the four states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
• Subject Expert Committee (SEC) meets to consider the EUA request from Pfizer, SII and Bharat Biotech India PIB 30 Dec 2020 -- The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) in the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) met today in the afternoon to consider the Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) request of Pfizer, Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech Pvt. Ltd.

Iran

• Iran among 10 coronavirus producing countries IRNA 30 Dec 2020 -- A member of Majlis presiding board on Wednesday hailed Iranian youth efforts in producing coronavirus vaccines, saying that by producing the vaccine, Iran was placed among the ten vaccine producing countries in the world.
• COVID-19 kills 149 more people in Iran IRNA 30 Dec 2020 -- Some 149 more Iranians have died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) over the past 24 hours bringing the total deaths to 55,095, Iran's Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Wednesday.
• Iran to buy COVID-19 vaccine from reliable foreign companies: Minister IRNA 30 Dec 2020 -- Iranian Minister of Health, Treatment and Medical Education Saeed Namaki said that Iran will purchase COVID-19 vaccines from reliable foreign companies in parallel with manufacturing domestic vaccines.
• Iran starts human trials of indigenous COVID-19 vaccine; Turkey's tally tops 2.17 mln Global Times 30 Dec 2020 -- Iran on Tuesday started the human trials of its indigenous COVID-19 vaccine. Meanwhile, the tally of Turkey's coronavirus cases surpassed 2.17 million after 15,805 new infections were added.

South Korea

• New Virus Cases above 1,000 for 2nd Day in S. Korea SPA 30 Dec 2020 -- South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 1,000 for a second straight day Wednesday as the government is mulling the toughest distancing rules to curb the pandemic, Yonhap reported.

Saudi Arabia

• Health Ministry: 113 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 Reported in Saudi Arabia SPA 30 Dec 2020 -- The Ministry of Health said in a statement today that 113 new confirmed cases of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number to 362,601 cases, including 2,705 active cases receiving necessary medical care. Of these, there are 387 critical cases, while the health condition of the rest is stable.

Taiwan

• Taiwan to re-impose 14-day quarantine for all business travelers CNA 30 Dec 2020 -- Starting from Jan. 1, all business travelers arriving in Taiwan, irrespective of which country they are from, will be required to undergo 14 days of quarantine rather than the shorter periods some of them currently enjoy, health authorities announced Wednesday.
• Taiwan confirms first case of COVID-19 patient with U.K. variant CNA 30 Dec 2020 -- A Taiwanese teenager who returned from the United Kingdom on Sunday has been confirmed to be infected with a new variant of the COVID-19 virus that was detected in the U.K., the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Wednesday.
• Taiwan reports two new, asymptomatic COVID cases from Philippines CNA 30 Dec 2020 -- Taiwan has reported two new imported cases of COVID-19 infection, both migrant workers from the Philippines who have been asymptomatic since their arrivals on Dec. 15 and 16, respectively.
• First COVID-19 vaccines to arrive in March at earliest: CECC CNA 30 Dec 2020 -- Taiwan is in the process of buying 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from foreign suppliers and expects the first delivery in March at the earliest, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said in a statement Wednesday.

Other Countries

• COVID-19 vaccination brings "high hopes" in Argentina Global Times 30 Dec 2020 -- Argentina on Tuesday launched its vaccination campaign against COVID-19, generating "high hopes" for the battle against the pandemic.
• Singapore starts COVID-19 vaccination exercise People's Daily 30 Dec 2020 -- Singapore started the COVID-19 vaccination exercise on Wednesday morning, with the first batch of healthcare workers at the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID) getting vaccinated, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH).
• Brazilian vice president recovering well after being diagnosed with COVID-19 People's Daily 30 Dec 2020 -- Brazil's Vice President Hamilton Mourao is recovering well after being diagnosed with COVID-19, his press office reported Tuesday.
• Second Wave of Coronavirus in Thailand Leaves Lao Migrants Unemployed and Stranded Radio Free Asia 30 Dec 2020 -- A second wave of the coronavirus pandemic that hit Thailand this month has left many Lao migrant workers simultaneously unemployed and unable to return home because the countries' shared border is closed.