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COVID-19 Pandemic News

Other Security News

• Department of Defense Releases Report on Countering Extremist Activities and Outlines Next Steps DoD 20 Dec 2021 -- On February 3, 2021, Secretary Austin directed a one-day stand down at all levels to hold an in-depth conversation on the values underpinning national service, the oath of office, and the importance of unit cohesion, as well as to gain a better understanding of the scope of the problem of extremist activity within the ranks.
• DOD Issues Guidance on Plans to Counter Extremist Activity in the Force DoD News 20 Dec 2021 -- On April 9, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III established the Countering Extremist Activity Working Group to examine how the services are implementing these actions and reviewing and updating the definition of extremism in Department of Defense Instruction 1325.06.
• Bowling Green Man Arrested on Multiple Terrorism Charges US Dept. of Justice 20 Dec 2021 -- A federal court in Kentucky unsealed an indictment today charging a dual U.S.-Bosnian citizen with providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization. The defendant is also charged with conspiring to provide material support to ISIS and receiving military type training from ISIS.
• U.S. Charges Extradited Kremlin-Linked Russian Businessman With Cybercrimes, Names Four Other Russian Suspects RFE/RL 20 Dec 2021 -- U.S. authorities have unveiled the formal charges against Kremlin-linked Russian businessman Vladislav Klyushin, who was extradited from Switzerland to the United States last week over his alleged involvement in a global scheme to trade on hacked confidential information.
• Readout of CISA Call with Critical Infrastructure Partners on Log4j Vulnerabilities and the Need for Increased Vigilance this Holiday Season CISA 20 Dec 2021 -- This afternoon, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) held a call with critical infrastructure entities from the public and private sectors to emphasize the importance of remaining vigilant against cyber threats over the holiday season, particularly with the widespread exploitation of vulnerabilities in the Log4j software, which pose a severe risk to network security.

COVID-19 Pandemic News

• 'Consistent evidence' of Omicron's spread vs Delta: WHO's Tedros UN News 20 Dec 2021 -- There is now "consistent evidence" that the Omicron variant is outpacing Delta, as COVID-19 continues to account for around 50,000 deaths worldwide every week, said the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday.
• Pandemic Will End When Vaccine Inequity Ends, WHO Chief Says VOA 20 Dec 2021 -- The World Health Organization warned the COVID-19 pandemic will not end until the unequal distribution of life-saving vaccines between rich and poor countries ends.
• Moderna Says Extra Dose of Its COVID Vaccine Boosts Immunity Against Omicron VOA 20 Dec 2021 -- U.S.-based drugmaker Moderna says that initial laboratory tests show a third shot of its current COVID-19 vaccine is effective against the fast-spreading omicron variant of the coronavirus.
• Moderna Announces Preliminary Booster Data and Updates Strategy to Address Omicron Variant Moderna 20 Dec 2021 -- Moderna, Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, today announced preliminary neutralizing antibody data against the Omicron variant following the Company's booster candidates at 50 µg and 100 µg dose levels. The currently authorized 50 µg booster of mRNA-1273 increased neutralizing antibody levelsagainst Omicron approximately 37-fold compared to pre-boost levels and a 100 µg dose of mRNA-1273 increased neutralizing antibody levelsapproximately 83-fold compared to pre-boost levels.

United States

• Quick-Spreading Omicron Variant Now Dominant COVID-19 Strain in US, Making Up 73% of Cases, CDC Says Sputnik 20 Dec 2021 -- The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Monday that 73% of the new COVID-19 cases detected in the previous week were from the Omicron variant, identified just a few weeks ago by South African scientists.

China

• Beijing reports 1 new locally transmitted COVID-19 case People's Daily 20 Dec 2021 -- Beijing Municipality reported one new locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 case on Sunday, the city's health commission said Monday.
• Chinese mainland reports 37 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 20 Dec 2021 -- The Chinese mainland on Sunday reported 37 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, the National Health Commission said in its daily report on Monday.
• 2.67 bln COVID-19 vaccine doses administered on Chinese mainland People's Daily 20 Dec 2021 -- More than 2.67 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered on the Chinese mainland as of Saturday, data from the National Health Commission showed Sunday.
• Hong Kong reports 8 new imported COVID-19 cases People's Daily 20 Dec 2021 -- Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported eight new imported cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, taking the total tally of confirmed cases to 12,526.

Europe

• Protesters, police clash in Brussels over renewed COVID-19 restrictions Press TV 20 Dec 2021 -- Belgian police and protesters have engaged in fierce clashes after thousands of people demonstrated in Brussels against reinforced COVID-19 restrictions.
• UK records biggest daily jump of Omicron cases People's Daily 20 Dec 2021 -- Another 12,133 Omicron cases have been recorded in Britain, the biggest daily increase since the COVID-19 variant was detected in the country, taking the total Omicron cases found in the country to 37,101, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said Sunday.
• EU to supply 20 mln additional vaccine doses to fight Omicron variant People's Daily 20 Dec 2021 -- The member states of the European Union (EU) will receive an additional 20 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the first three months of next year to hasten the pace against the fast-spreading Omicron variant, the European Commission said on Sunday.

India

• India's Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage exceeds 137.67 Cr India PIB 20 Dec 2021 -- With the administration of 15,82,079 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 137
• COVID-19 Vaccination Update - Day 339 India PIB 20 Dec 2021 -- India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 138 Crore landmark milestone (138,26,28,849) today
• Update on COVID-19 Vaccine Availability in States/UTs India PIB 20 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 20 Dec 2021

Iran

• COVID-19 kills 41 more Iranians over past 24 hours IRNA 20 Dec 2021 -- The number of deaths from the coronavirus pandemic in Iran increased to 131,124 with 41 more Iranians killed by the deadly disease over the past 24 hours, Iran's Health Ministry announced on Monday.

South Korea

• S.Korea Records 5,318 New Cases of COVID-19 SPA 20 Dec 2021 -- South Korea recorded 5,318 new cases of the novel coronavirus along with 54 deaths in the past 24 hours.

Saudi Arabia

• Ministry of Health Reports 146 New COVID-19 Cases, 99 Recoveries in Saudi Arabia SPA 20 Dec 2021 -- The Ministry of Health (MoH) announced the registration of 146 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 99 recoveries in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the past 24 hours.

Taiwan

• Taiwan reports 11 new COVID-19 cases, zero deaths CNA 20 Dec 2021 -- Taiwan on Monday reported 11 new cases of COVID-19, all contracted overseas, and no new deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
• Taiwan to open more COVID vaccine mixing, booster shot options Friday CNA 20 Dec 2021 -- More COVID-19 vaccine mixing options will be open to the public from Friday while people with weakened immune systems will be able to get an additional dose of the vaccine, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Monday, citing recommendations put forth by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

Other Countries

• Australia Relaxes COVID-19 Restrictions as Case Numbers Soar VOA 20 Dec 2021 -- Australia's most populous state is being urged to reintroduce COVID-19 restrictions after seeing a record number of new infections.