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Other Security News
COVID-19 Pandemic News

Other Security News

• Joint Statement by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and the National Security Agency (NSA) CISA 05 Jan 2021 -- On behalf of President Trump, the National Security Council staff has stood up a task force construct known as the Cyber Unified Coordination Group (UCG), composed of the FBI, CISA, and ODNI with support from NSA, to coordinate the investigation and remediation of this significant cyber incident involving federal government networks. The UCG is still working to understand the scope of the incident but has the following updates on its investigative and mitigation efforts.
• U.S. Government Says Russia 'Likely' Behind Massive 'Intelligence Gathering' Hack RFE/RL 05 Jan 2021 -- The U.S. government said January 5 that Russia was "likely" behind a massive hack of government and private company networks discovered last month and the intrusion was an "intelligence gathering effort."
• Statement from National Security Advisor Robert C. O'Brien Regarding the National Maritime Cybersecurity Plan The White House 05 Jan 2021
• Statement From Acting Secretary Wolf on The Completion of 450 Miles of Border New Wall System DHS 05 Jan 2021
• Avian Flu Hits India: 40,000 Birds to be Culled in Kerala as Four States on High Alert Sputnik 05 Jan 2021 -- As the world contines to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, countries across Europe and Asia have reported an outbreak of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), more commonly known as bird flu.
• Experts: Report of China Hacking African Union HQ Fits Larger Pattern VOA 05 Jan 2021 -- A recent report that Chinese hackers secretly redirected surveillance footage from the African Union headquarters so it could be viewed abroad is part of a larger pattern by Chinese networks to electronically infiltrate key communication channels in Africa, experts say.

COVID-19 Pandemic News

• Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) - Weekly Epidemiological Update WHO 05 Jan 2021
• WHO chief begins 2021 with plea for 'less politicking' over health UN News 05 Jan 2021 -- In a race to "save lives, livelihoods and end this pandemic", the head of the UN heath agency said on Tuesday that it was important to remember COVID-19 was just one of a number of major disease outbreaks facing communities across the world.
• Worldwide Coronavirus Cases Cross 85.23 Million, Death Toll at 1,847,660 SPA 05 Jan 2021 -- More than 85.23 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,847,660 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

United States

• Statement by Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller on Operation Warp Speed Vaccine Doses Delivered Today DoD 05 Jan 2021
• Air Force update for COVID-19 US Air Force 05 Jan 2021
• US loses over 18,400 lives to COVID in deadliest week amid slow vaccine rollout Press TV 05 Jan 2021 -- More than 18,400 Americans died from COVID-19 in the week ended Jan. 3, bringing the pandemic's total to over 351,000 deaths in the US.
• At least four U.S. states identify cases of new coronavirus strain People's Daily 05 Jan 2021 -- The U.S. state of New York on Monday confirmed its first case of a new coronavirus variant that was first identified in Britain and appears to be more contagious, making it the fourth state to report the strain.
• NYS confirms its first infection of UK variant of coronavirus: governor Global Times 05 Jan 2021 -- A state laboratory has confirmed New York State's first case of the UK variant (B.1.1.7) of the virus that causes the COVID-19, Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted on Monday.
• Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress During COVID-19 Pandemic New York State 05 Jan 2021

China

• WHO Chief 'Disappointed' China Hasn't Allowed Researchers into Wuhan VOA 05 Jan 2021 -- The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed disappointment Tuesday with the failure of Chinese officials to grant final permission to an international team of researchers to enter the country to investigate the origins of the coronavirus.
• Hebei enters 'wartime' mode with dozens of cases related to gatherings Global Times 05 Jan 2021 -- North China's Hebei Province entered "wartime" mode after recording 59 cases in three days and its capital city is rolling out a city-wide testing, which prompted many to ask if the epidemic is making a big comeback in winter and if the outbreak is controllable.
• North China's Shijiazhuang launches citywide COVID-19 testing, starting Wednesday Global Times 05 Jan 2021 -- Shijiazhuang in North China's Hebei Province will roll out city-wide nucleic acid COVID-19 testing starting Wednesday: local officials
• China's COVID-19 vaccine production in full swing to meet mass vaccination demand Global Times 05 Jan 2021 -- Chinese vaccine producers are swinging in full speed to produce vaccines as China has carried out nationwide vaccination, and overseas buyers are waiting for the vaccines to get rid of the severe epidemic.
• NE China's Shenyang improves testing program after complaints, conflicts Global Times 05 Jan 2021 -- Shenyang in Northeast China's Liaoning Province has seen two cases where residents and epidemic control staff had conflicts when the city's 8.3 million people rolled out massive testing in the bleak weather.
• Newly confirmed coronavirus strain in Hebei an imported one, likely from Europe: CDC official Global Times 05 Jan 2021 -- The coronavirus strain of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases across North China's Hebei Province has been determined to be an imported one, very likely from Europe, Feng Zijian, Chinese CDC deputy director, said at a press conference on Tuesday night.
• East China's Shandong reports first confirmed case with new virus strain Global Times 05 Jan 2021 -- East China's Shandong becomes the third province to report its first confirmed COVID-19 case of the new coronavirus strain on Tuesday.
• Hebei enters 'wartime' mode for COVID-19 prevention after 19 confirmed cases Global Times 05 Jan 2021 -- North China's Hebei Province, which is adjacent to Beijing, announced entering "wartime" mode on Tuesday night after the province revealed 19 confirmed coronavirus cases and 40 asymptomatic ones since Saturday. It has started nucleic acid testing for all personnel and inspection of the cold-chain food industry.
• Beijing adopts '14+7' policy, extending quarantine period to up to 3 weeks Global Times 05 Jan 2021 -- Beijing tightened its quarantine and medical observation measures for travelers from outside of the city, requiring observation period for arrivals from overseas, which is 14 days, to be extended by another seven days if environment or people on their flights tested positive.
• Dalian punishes 5 officials for violating epidemic prevention rules Global Times 05 Jan 2021 -- Despite the recent spike in COVID-19 cases and "fake negatives" looming over the city of Dalian in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, several government officials were still found to be neglecting their duties and even breaking epidemic prevention and control regulations. On Tuesday, two cases reportedly saw five officials punished for organizing private gatherings while in quarantine and disobeying anti-virus rules.
• Hebei village becomes only COVID-19 high-risk area in China Global Times 05 Jan 2021 -- A village in Shijiazhuang, North China's Hebei Province, raised its COVID-19 emergency response level to high-risk on Tuesday, becoming the only high-risk area in China at the moment.
• China's Covid-19 vaccine plants able to produce 1 billion doses in 2021 Global Times 05 Jan 2021 -- Leading Chinese vaccine producers are racking up efforts to make COVID-19 vaccines and they are ready for large-scale production as the country tries to meet domestic demand for mass vaccination, Chinese officials said on Tuesday.
• Chinese companies announce one-hour testing kits for mutant B117 variant strain Global Times 05 Jan 2021 -- Two Chinese firms on Tuesday announced they had developed a rapid testing kit for the more transmissible variant of COVID-19, initially reported by the UK on December 14, and both said that results can come as fast as one hour.
• China vaccinating key groups against COVID-19 People's Daily 05 Jan 2021 -- China is administering COVID-19 vaccines to key groups across the country, with Beijing slated to complete the inoculation for key groups before the Spring Festival, which falls on Feb. 12 this year.
• China open to int'l cooperation on COVID-19 vaccine: FM spokesperson People's Daily 05 Jan 2021 -- China is always open to international cooperation on COVID-19 vaccine and highly values the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday.
• China to expand COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing capacity People's Daily 05 Jan 2021 -- The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has moved to facilitate corporate cooperation along industrial chains to accelerate the industrialization of COVID-19 vaccines and expand production capacity to ensure the supply of vaccines, an official said Tuesday.
• China's Hebei reports 14 new locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 05 Jan 2021 -- China's Hebei Province reported 14 locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases and 30 asymptomatic cases on Monday, the provincial health commission said Tuesday.
• Chinese mainland reports 17 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 05 Jan 2021 -- China's National Health Commission said Tuesday that it received reports of 33 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Monday, of which 17 were locally transmitted and 16 were imported.
• China's Hebei reports 4 new locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 05 Jan 2021 -- China's Hebei Province reported four locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases and 13 asymptomatic cases on Sunday, the provincial health commission said Monday.
• Hong Kong reports 53 new COVID-19 cases, exceeding 9,000 in total People's Daily 05 Jan 2021 -- Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported 53 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday, taking its total tally to 9,017.
• Beijing strengthens anti-epidemic measures for public transport People's Daily 05 Jan 2021 -- Beijing has further laid out requirements for COVID-19 prevention and control in the public transport services, including taxis and road passenger transportation.

Europe

• European Health Officials Cast Nervous Eye at Britain's Struggling Hospitals VOA 05 Jan 2021 -- Last April, European medical workers watched with rising horror as the health care system in parts of northern Italy buckled, overwhelmed by wave after wave of COVID-19-related patients.
• Britain in Lockdown as Hospitals 'Overwhelmed' Amid New Coronavirus Outbreak VOA 05 Jan 2021 -- Britain entered another strict national lockdown Tuesday, amid a sudden and sharp resurgence in cases of COVID-19 linked to a new variant of the coronavirus.
• Scotland's Sturgeon Says Trump Can't Come to Play Golf VOA 05 Jan 2021 -- Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Tuesday that because of the newly-imposed COVID-19 lockdown, U.S. President Donald Trump would not be allowed in to play golf in the coming weeks.
• Boris Johnson: More than a million people infected with Covid-19 in England Press TV 05 Jan 2021 -- Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has painted a grim picture of the coronavirus situation in England barely a day after he imposed the third national lockdown on the country.
• Britain imposes fresh lockdown as new COVID-19 variant rampages Press TV 05 Jan 2021 -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has introduced a new lockdown for England in a bid to stem a surge in coronavirus cases driven by the new variant.
• UK PM announces new coronavirus lockdown for England People's Daily 05 Jan 2021 -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Monday that England will enter a national lockdown from midnight, the third of its kind since the coronavirus pandemic began in the country.
• UK PM to set out "further steps" to curb rising COVID infections: spokesman People's Daily 05 Jan 2021 -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will make a televised address Monday evening to set out "further steps" to fight the spread of COVID-19, according to a Downing Street spokesman.
• UK records highest daily increase in coronavirus cases People's Daily 05 Jan 2021 -- Another 58,784 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, marking the highest daily increase in coronavirus cases since the pandemic began in the country, according to official figures released Monday.
• French Health Minister Details Plan to Accelerate COVID-19 Vaccinations VOA 05 Jan 2021 -- French Health Minister Olivier Veran said Tuesday the nation was going to "amplify, accelerate and simplify" its COVID-19 vaccination program after coming under fire for the initial slow roll out of the program.
• Public Frustration Grows as France's Vaccination Campaign Lags VOA 05 Jan 2021 -- In France, public frustration with the government is growing as the nation's coronavirus immunization campaign gets off to a slow start. In response, officials say they will speed up and widen the vaccine rollout.
• Italy's coronavirus data holding steady, new rules in discussion as lockdown to end People's Daily 05 Jan 2021 -- The main indicators tied to the coronavirus outbreak in Italy so far in 2021 remained below peaks recorded in late November and early December, as the country's national holiday lockdown drew to a close. But health experts warned it was still too early to know how effective the restrictions put in place for the holidays would prove to be.
• Over 265,000 in Germany receive COVID-19 vaccine People's Daily 05 Jan 2021 -- A total of 265,986 people have received COVID-19 vaccine in Germany as of Monday, the Robert Koch Institute said.

Russia

• Developer of Russia's Sputnik V Vaccine Stands Up for Its Reliability Sputnik 05 Jan 2021 -- Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine was thoroughly tested and major foreign vaccine producers followed suit, Alexander Gintsburg, the head of the Gamaleya Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, told Sputnik on Tuesday.

India

• Tally of mutant COVID-19 strain cases rises to 38 in India Global Times 05 Jan 2021 -- India's health ministry said on Monday that 38 cases of mutant COVID-19 strain detected in Britain have been traced in the country.
• India continues its streak of shedding Active Caseload as Daily Recoveries continue to outnumber Daily New Cases India PIB 05 Jan 2021 -- India's active caseload which has been decreasing continuously stands at 2,31,036 today. This constitutes a paltry 2.23% of Total Positive Cases so far.

Iran

• COVID-19 kills 98 more people in Iran IRNA 05 Jan 2021 -- Some 98 more Iranians have died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) over the past 24 hours bringing the total deaths to 55,748, Iran's Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Tuesday.
• Iran's top banker says prepayment for COVID-19 vaccines now finalized Press TV 05 Jan 2021 -- Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati says the country has finally made a prepayment for purchase of vaccines to tackle COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

South Korea

• South Korea Reports 715 more COVID-19 Cases SPA 05 Jan 2021 -- South Korea reported 715 more cases of COVID-19 Tuesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 64,979.

Japan

• Japanese PM says state of emergency for Tokyo area "a possibility" to combat COVID-19 resurgence People's Daily 05 Jan 2021 -- Japan could declare a month-long state of emergency in Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures starting from Saturday, in a bid to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus as a resurgence in cases has taken hold, government sources said Monday.

Saudi Arabia

• 104 New Confirmed COVID-19 Cases Detected, 146 Recoveries, 39,433 Lab Tests Reported, in Saudi Arabia SPA 05 Jan 2021 -- The Ministry of Health announced in a statement here today that 104 new confirmed cases of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number to 363,259, including 2,239 active cases undergoing treatment.

Taiwan

• Taiwan reports two imported symptomatic COVID-19 cases from U.S. CNA 05 Jan 2021 -- Two Taiwanese nationals who reside in the United States and returned to Taiwan on Sunday were both suffering symptoms of COVID-19 upon arrival, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said on Tuesday.
• Taiwan's mainland affairs council's malicious smears against mainland-made vaccine strongly condemned Global Times 05 Jan 2021 -- The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council strongly condemned the remarks against the mainland-made vaccine by the mainland affairs council (MAC) on the island, saying it showed again the MAC's malicious intent to incite conflicts.

Other Countries

• Africa's confirmed COVID-19 cases pass 2.83 mln: Africa CDC People's Daily 05 Jan 2021 -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the African continent has reached 2,830,462 as of Monday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.
• Ecuador's speed of COVID-19 transmission rises Global Times 05 Jan 2021 -- Ecuador's Minister of Public Health Juan Carlos Zevallos reported Monday that in 17 of the country's 24 provinces, the speed of transmission of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has increased, pushing the average positivity rate nationwide slightly higher to 21 percent.
• Cases of new COVID-19 variant detected in LatAm Global Times 05 Jan 2021 -- Cases of a new and more infectious coronavirus variant that was first identified in Britain have been detected in Latin America.
• Philippine Leader Quashes Attempts to Probe COVID-19 Vaccinations Among Guards Radio Free Asia 05 Jan 2021 -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has quashed attempts to investigate how members of his bodyguard received shots of a Chinese-developed coronavirus vaccine in September and October, when no vaccine had been approved or officially procured in the country to date.
• COVID-19: Indonesia Plans to Launch Mass Innoculations With Chinese Vaccine Next Week Radio Free Asia 05 Jan 2021 -- Indonesia is poised to begin its mass COVID-19 inoculation drive starting with a Chinese-made vaccine on Jan. 13, officials said Tuesday, as the archipelago-nation combats Southeast Asia's worst coronavirus caseload.
• Thailand COVID-19 Second Wave Sends Cambodian Migrants Fleeing, Sparks Myanmar Worker Protest Radio Free Asia 05 Jan 2021 -- Thousands of Cambodian migrant laborers are returning home from Thailand following a second outbreak of the deadly virus there over the past week, and aid groups are warning of food shortages among long jobless workers, the migrants and supporters told RFA.
• Armenian President Sarkisian Tests Positive For Coronavirus RFE/RL 05 Jan 2021 -- Armenian President Armen Sarkisian has become the latest world leader with coronavirus, testing positive during a visit to London.
• Mexico Grants Emergency Approval to AstraZeneca-Oxford Coronavirus Vaccine VOA 05 Jan 2021 -- Mexico has become the latest nation to approve the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University.