• Military
• WMD
• Intelligence

• Security Menu                     

• Systems
• Industry
• Operations
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Space

Other Security News
COVID-19 Pandemic News

Other Security News

• CISA Issues Emergency Directive Requiring Federal Agencies to Mitigate Apache Log4J Vulnerabilities CISA 17 Dec 2021 -- The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued Emergency Directive (ED) 22-02 today requiring federal civilian departments and agencies to assess their internet-facing network assets for the Apache Log4j vulnerabilities and immediately patch these systems or implement other appropriate mitigation measures. This Directive will be updated to further drive additional mitigation actions.

COVID-19 Pandemic News

• WHO lists 9th COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use UN News 17 Dec 2021 -- The World Health Organization (WHO) approved on Friday the Covovax vaccine for emergency use listing (EUL), elevating to nine the number of immunizations approved to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Omicron: School closures must be 'avoided whenever possible' UN News 17 Dec 2021 -- COVID-19 cases are spiking all over the world, but the Executive Director of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday that despite the rise of the highly transmissible Omicron variant "nationwide school closures should be avoided whenever possible."

United States

• Press Briefing by White House COVID-19 Response Team and Public Health Officials The White House 17 Dec 2021
• US CDC Recommends 'Test-to-Stay' COVID-19 Options to Keep Kids in School VOA 17 Dec 2021 -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday issued guidelines for keeping children in school even if they are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated and have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
• Biden warns of winter of 'severe illness and death' as Omicron rages on Press TV 17 Dec 2021 -- US President Joe Biden on Thursday warned that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is going to spread more rapidly in the country and a winter of "severe illness and death" awaits the unvaccinated.
• Trump Admin. Deliberately Undermined COVID Response for Political Purposes - House Report Sputnik 17 Dec 2021 -- The Trump administration deliberately weakened the federal government's COVID-19 response for political reasons, the US House select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis said in a report out on Friday.
• US State of Ohio to Deploy 1,050 National Guard Members to Staff Hospitals Sputnik 17 Dec 2021 -- The US state of Ohio has decided to deploy more than 1,000 members of the National Guard to support local hospitals and testing locations that face an increased number of novel coronavirus cases, the Governor's office said in a statement on Friday.

China

• Over 2.65 bln COVID-19 vaccine doses administered on Chinese mainland People's Daily 17 Dec 2021 -- More than 2.65 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered on the Chinese mainland as of Thursday, data from the National Health Commission showed Friday.
• Chinese mainland reports 56 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 17 Dec 2021 -- The Chinese mainland on Thursday reported 56 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, the National Health Commission said in its daily report on Friday.

Europe

• German Health Minister Warns of Massive Fifth COVID-19 Wave VOA 17 Dec 2021 -- German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told reporters Friday he expects a "massive" fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic driven by the omicron variant of the coronavirus that causes the disease.
• Denmark Proposes New Lockdown Measures Amid World Omicron Spread VOA 17 Dec 2021 -- Denmark proposed new lockdown measures Friday to curb the alarming spread of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus, as other European countries consider imposing travel and other restrictions to stem the variant's spread.
• WHO Europe urges caution over double coronavirus surge People's Daily 17 Dec 2021 -- The World Health Organization's (WHO) Regional Office for Europe on Thursday urged people to exercise caution this holiday season, as the region is now coping with two highly transmissible coronavirus strains that have the potential to overload the already overburdened health systems.
• Italy reports 120 coronavirus deaths on Friday, 28,632 new cases SPA 17 Dec 2021 -- Italy reported 120 coronavirus-related deaths on Friday against 123 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 28,632 from 26,109, according to Reuters.
• Denmark Seeks New COVID-19 Restrictions as Cases Soar Sputnik 17 Dec 2021 -- Denmark's health authorities find it necessary to impose new restrictions on public leisure and cultural activities to curb the rapid spread of COVID-19, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Friday.

Russia

• Russian Lawmakers Fight To Approve First Reading Of Bill On COVID QR Codes RFE/RL 17 Dec 2021 -- Russian lawmakers have approved the first reading of a bill on the introduction of QR codes for citizens to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, though not without a fight. Literally.

India

• India's Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage exceeds 135.99 Cr India PIB 17 Dec 2021 -- With the administration of 70,46,805 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 135
• COVID-19 Vaccination Update - Day 336 India PIB 17 Dec 2021 -- India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 136 Crore landmark milestone (136,58,69,610) today
• Update on COVID-19 Vaccine Availability in States/UTs India PIB 17 Dec 2021 -- The Union Government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of COVID-19 vaccination throughout the country
• COVID-19 UPDATE India PIB 17 Dec 2021

Iran

• COVID-19 kills 46 more Iranians over past 24 hours IRNA 17 Dec 2021 -- The number of deaths from the coronavirus pandemic in Iran increased to 130,992 with 46 more Iranians killed by the deadly disease over the past 24 hours, Iran's Health Ministry announced on Friday.

Japan

• Japan Seeks Additional Vaccines for COVID-19 Booster Campaign VOA 17 Dec 2021 -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday his government is seeking to accelerate its COVID-19 booster shots campaign and has reached out to the head of U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer to secure additional vaccines.

Saudi Arabia

• Ministry of Health Reports 80 New COVID-19 Cases, 92 Recoveries in Saudi Arabia SPA 17 Dec 2021 -- The Ministry of Health (MoH) announced the registration of 80 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 92 recoveries in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the past 24 hours.

Taiwan

• Taiwan reports 15 new COVID-19 cases, zero deaths CNA 17 Dec 2021 -- Taiwan reported 15 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, all contracted overseas, and no new deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

Other Countries

• Iraq Records 357 New Cases of COVID-19 SPA 17 Dec 2021 -- Iraq recorded, in the past 24 hours, 357 new infections with the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), binging tally of infections to 2,090,026.
• Jordan Records 3,705 New Cases of COVID-19 SPA 17 Dec 2021 -- Jordan recorded, in the past 24 hours, 3,705 new infections with the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total number of infections to 1,031,549.
• Morocco Records 209 New Cases of COVID-19 SPA 17 Dec 2021 -- Morocco recorded, in the past 24 hours, 209 new infections with the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total number of infections to 952,398.
• Palestine Records 333 New Cases of COVID-19 SPA 17 Dec 2021 -- Palestine recorded, in the past 24 hours, 333 new infections with the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), 4 deaths, and 363 recoveries, in all Palestinian governorates.
• Qatar Records 164 New Cases of COVID-19 SPA 17 Dec 2021 -- Qatar recorded, in the past 24 hours, 146 cases of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19(, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 246,188.
• Mexico's Confirmed COVID-19 Death Toll Rises to 297,356 SPA 17 Dec 2021 -- Mexico's health ministry on Thursday reported 169 more fatalities from COVID-19, bringing the country's official death toll since the pandemic began to 297,356, Reuters reported.