UK
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared a “major incident” due to the rapid spread of coronavirus throughout the capital and the rise in Covid-19 cases in hospitals, which has left the NHS at risk. of being overwhelmed, “his office wrote in a press release.
He made the decision, as the number of Covid-19 cases in London exceeded “1,000 per 100,000”, putting greater pressure on the National Health Service (NHS), which saw an increase in the number of patients a 27% between December 30 and January 6.
“We are declaring a major incident because the threat this virus poses to our city is at a time of crisis. If we do not take immediate action now, our NHS could be overwhelmed and more people will die,” Khan said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Moderna became the third Covid-19 vaccine authorized by UK regulators. The government has agreed to buy an additional 10 million doses in addition to its previous order of 7 million, the UK Department of Health announced on Friday.
However, it occurs when the UK recorded 1,162 Covid-19-related deaths on Thursday, the highest number since the first peak in April.
Germany
The daily death toll from coronavirus-related deaths in Germany has reached an all-time high of 1,188 deaths on the last day. The previous record was 1,129, recorded on December 30 last year.
The German Ministry of Health said on Friday that it will receive more than 60 million doses of the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine across the EU. In addition, there is a safe option for another 30 million doses nationwide. From Moderna, Germany will receive 50 million doses across the EU alone, and additional doses will be negotiated nationally.
This means that from BioNTech / Pfizer and Modern alone, Germany has the potential to receive at least 140 million doses of vaccine this year.
Spain
Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa warned on Friday that the country will have some difficult weeks ahead as Covid-19 cases continue to rise.
On Thursday, the country surpassed the two million cumulative cases of Covid-19, with figures that doubled in just the past 11 weeks, according to a CNN count published in data released by its Ministry of Health.
Sweden
For a long time since a large-scale coronavirus blockade like its European neighbors was not implemented, Sweden headed in a more conventional direction on Friday, when its parliament voted in favor of an act that would allow restrictions. stricter.
This will include banning public meetings, if necessary, and effectively giving the government the legal right to impose a “closure” of any degree.
European union
The European Union continues its work to obtain vaccines for its member states. On Friday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU will extend its contract with Pfizer / BioNTech for “up to 300 million additional vaccines” in 2021, doubling the dose of that vaccine.
Meanwhile, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) expects AstraZeneca to submit a “conditional marketing application” for the Covid-19 vaccine “next week,” the regulator said in a statement on Twitter on Friday. .