Other Security News
COVID-19 Pandemic News

Other Security News

• S. Korea Reports New Case of Highly Pathogenic Bird Flu SPA 14 Mar 2021 -- South Korea's agricultural authorities confirmed Saturday one more case of highly pathogenic bird flu amid growing concerns over a prolonged battle against the animal disease, Yonhap reported.

COVID-19 Pandemic News

• Worldwide COVID-19 Cases Approach 120 Million, Johns Hopkins Says VOA 14 Mar 2021 -- More than 119.5 million people have contracted COVID-19, the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Sunday. The United States tops the list as the place with the most infections at 29.4 million. Brazil and India follow the U.S. with 11.4 million and 11.3 million, respectively.
• AstraZeneca Says No Evidence Vaccine Causes Blood Clots VOA 14 Mar 2021 -- AstraZeneca said Sunday a review of its data found no evidence that its vaccine against the coronavirus causes blood clots, the same day that Ireland and the Netherlands joined a growing list of countries that are suspending use of the shot.

United States

• Fauci: US Normalcy Soon, but Cautions on Premature Easing of COVID Restrictions VOA 14 Mar 2021 -- Dr. Anthony Fauci, U.S. President Joe Biden's top coronavirus adviser, said Sunday he is optimistic the country can return to some sense of normalcy by the annual July 4 independence celebration, but that precautions still need to be taken in the meantime to avert a new surge in infections.
• U.S. hoarding COVID-19 shots fuels global vaccine gap: media People's Daily 14 Mar 2021 -- The U.S. administration has ordered "almost enough COVID-19 vaccine to fully inoculate every American adult twice," and its hoarding could fuel a vaccine gap worldwide, Bloomberg has reported.

China

• Chinese authority in HKSAR issues easier visa policy for foreigners inoculated with Chinese vaccine Global Times 14 Mar 2021 -- China has simplified its visa policy for foreigners applying to enter the Chinese mainland via Hong Kong who have received China-produced COVID-19 vaccines, which experts said shows the authorities' confidence in the efficacy and safety of the Chinese vaccines and will facilitate personnel exchanges.
• China to ease domestic travel restrictions, allowing people to move freely by train without nucleic acid test report Global Times 14 Mar 2021 -- Chinese residents will be able to travel more freely by train across the country starting from March 16, as China further lifts domestic travel restrictions amid a clear and stable COVID-19 epidemic situation.
• COVID-19 variant identified in Nigeria first detected in South China's Guangdong Global Times 14 Mar 2021 -- China's Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Guangdong CDC) detected the B.1.525 COVID-19 variant identified in Nigeria from nasopharyngeal swabs of two imported COVD-19 cases for the first time on Friday, and the virus isolation is still in progress, according to the announcement released on its official website on Sunday.
• Beijing administers 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine Global Times 14 Mar 2021 -- Beijing has administered 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine as of 9:30 am on Sunday since its inoculation drive began on January 1 targeting key groups.
• Update: More Beijing districts inoculate seniors against COVID-19 Global Times 14 Mar 2021 -- More districts in Beijing recently have begun COVID-19 vaccination for seniors aged 60 and above who are in need and who are in good health.
• 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Beijing People's Daily 14 Mar 2021 -- Beijing has administered a total of 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses as of 9:30 a.m. Sunday, according to local authorities.
• Chinese mainland reports no new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 14 Mar 2021 -- The Chinese mainland reported no new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the National Health Commission said Sunday.
• China Reports 10 New COVID-19 Cases SPA 14 Mar 2021 -- The Chinese mainland reported 10 new COVID-19 cases during the past 24 hours.

Europe

• Italy to tighten anti-COVID-19 restrictions nationwide ahead of Easter People's Daily 14 Mar 2021 -- Italy approved a fresh round of tight anti-COVID-19 restrictions nationwide on Friday, as the virus variants circulating in the country were boosting infections.
• French Coronavirus Cases Rise By 29,759 SPA 14 Mar 2021 -- France reported today, on Saturday 29,759 new COVID-19 cases, up from 25,229 the previous day, Reuters cited the latest data from the health ministry as showing.

Russia

• Russia's Daily Coronavirus Cases Grow to More Than 10,000 SPA 14 Mar 2021 -- Russia reported 10,083 coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours on Sunday, the first time the number of daily infections has crossed the 10 thousand mark since Monday. It brought the total case tally to 4,390,608, according to Reuters.

India

• In the World's Largest Vaccination Drive, close to 3 crore vaccine doses administered in India India PIB 14 Mar 2021 -- India has rolled out the world's largest vaccination drive. The country is nearing 3 cr cumulative vaccination doses. 2,97,38,409 vaccine doses have been administered through 5,10,400 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today.

Iran

• Iran's Defense Ministry unveils COVID-19 vaccine IRNA 14 Mar 2021 -- Iran's Health Minister Saeed Namaki said that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the country's Defense Ministry, called Sepand, would start clinical trial on Tuesday, promising to reveal good news on vaccine production.
• COVID-19 claims 88 lives in past 24 hours in Iran: Official IRNA 14 Mar 2021 -- Some 88 more Iranians have died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) over the past 24 hours bringing the total deaths to 61,230, Iran's Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Sunday.
• Iran to inoculate 56 mln people to reach herd immunity against coronavirus Press TV 14 Mar 2021 -- Iran has set a target of providing vaccinations to 56 million to reach herd immunity against the coronavirus pandemic, according to the head of Iranian health ministry information center Kianoush Jahanpour.
• Health minister: Iran to unveil fourth domestic COVID-19 vaccine this week Press TV 14 Mar 2021 -- Iran's health minister says the country will unveil a new COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Defense Ministry on Tuesday, when it will go on its human trials to become the fourth domestic vaccine developed in Iran.

South Korea

• S. Korea Reports New 500 Virus Cases , Reaching 3-Week high SPA 14 Mar 2021 -- South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases reached the highest in 22 days today, on Saturday, stubbornly remaining above 400 for the fifth consecutive day, Yonhap reported.
• South Korea Reports 459 New Coronavirus Cases SPA 14 Mar 2021 -- South Korea reported today 459 COVID-19 cases, including 436 local infections, raising the total caseload to 95,635, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Yonhap News Agency reported.

Saudi Arabia

• Saudi Press: COVID-19 Vaccination Centers Witness Great Turnout SPA 14 Mar 2021 -- Saudi newspapers highlighted in their editorials today a number of issues at local, regional and international arenas.
• Health Ministry Spokesman: 348 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 Reported in Saudi Arabia SPA 14 Mar 2021 -- Official Spokesman of the Ministry of Health Dr. Mohammed Al-Abdulaali said in a press conference today that 348 new confirmed cases of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; thus bringing the total number to 382,407 confirmed cases, including 3,137 active cases receiving necessary medical care. Of these, there are 555 critical cases, while the health condition of the rest is stable.

Taiwan

• Taiwan confirms one new imported COVID-19 case CNA 14 Mar 2021 -- Taiwan confirmed one new imported case of COVID-19 on Sunday from South Africa, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 985, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said.

Brazil

• Scientists discover possible new coronavirus mutation in Brazil Global Times 14 Mar 2021 -- A possible new variant of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has been detected in several regions of Brazil, the Ministry of Science and Technology's National Laboratory for Scientific Computing (LNCC) said Friday.
• Brazil Registers 1,997 New COVID-19 Deaths - Health Ministry SPA 14 Mar 2021 -- Brazil registered 76,178 new cases of coronavirus and 1,997 new COVID-19 deaths, Reuters quoted the country's health ministry as saying.

Other Countries

• UAE Announces 1,992 New COVID-19 Cases, 2,169 Recoveries, 7 Deaths in Last 24 Hours SPA 14 Mar 2021 -- The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) announced that it conducted 232,901 additional COVID-19 tests over the past 24 hours, using state-of-the-art medical testing equipment, WAM News Agency reported today.
• Bahrain Interested in Localization of Production of Russia's Sputnik V, Ambassador Says Sputnik 14 Mar 2021 -- Bahrain is interested in the production of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V in the kingdom, the country's ambassador to Moscow, Ahmed Abdulrahman Al Saati, told Sputnik on Sunday.