- This daily collection gives you a selection of the latest news and updates about COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, as well as tips and tools to help you stay informed and protected.
- Top stories: ‘Green pass’ opens concert for Israelis vaccinated; Angela Merkel warns of COVID-19 changes; An effective and safe single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, U.S. regulators say.
1. How COVID-19 affects the universe
Proven cases of COVID-19 have now surpassed 112.1 million worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The number of confirmed deaths is more than 2.48 million.
A think tank has called on British finance minister Rishi Sunak to follow up the United States by announcing a £ 100 billion ($ 142 billion) boost in his budget next week.
More than 200 civil society organizations have urged G20 officials to support the withdrawal of $ 3 trillion of the IMF’s own money – or Special Image Rights – to help countries fight the COVID-19 pandemic to help.
COVID-19 cases and deaths in the United States fell 30% last week, and were declining in most South American countries, but vaccines will take months to affect the virus, the Pan American Health Organization said yesterday.
The French government has ordered a weekend closure in the Dunkirk area following a “frightening” rise in affairs. They suggested that additional restrictions may be needed elsewhere, after day-to-day affairs across the country peaked since November.
Senegal has embarked on its wider COVID-19 vaccination program, following a launch ceremony dozens of officials were vaccinated to demonstrate its safety.
Denmark plans to allow shops and some schools to reopen in March, with the prime minister calling it a “calculated risk”.
Sweden is facing increasing restrictions – including reducing opening hours for all restaurants, bars and cafes – in a bid to prevent a third wave of COVID epidemic -19.
Thai authorities are preparing a plan to ease restrictions for passengers vaccinated against COVID-19, officials said yesterday.
U.S. regulators have found that a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson is safe and effective. It is a way to approve the vaccine for use in the United States.
COVAX – the global vaccine delivery scheme – has delivered the first vaccines, with them being shipped to Ghana.
More than half a million Malaysians signed up to receive the vaccine on the first day of the country’s COVID-19 National Vaccination Program.
Moderna says the first batch of a specific vaccine, designed to work against the South African variety, has been sent for initial human trials.
2. A ‘green pass’ opens a music concert for vaccinated Israelis
An outdoor party was held in Tel Aviv yesterday for Israelis vaccinated against COVID-19.
Attendees were asked to present a “Green Pass”, a government-certified certificate showing that they had received, or recovered from, both doses of the vaccine more than a week before the event. COVID-19 and apparent immunity.
The ceremony was held in Yarkon Park, Tel Aviv.
Image Credit: REUTERS / Amir Cohen
The passes are valid for six months from the time of complete vaccination.
“It provides protection, but also a sense of comfort among those receiving the vaccine,” said Doron Zicher, a retired businessman who was preparing to watch the vaccine. Israeli singer Nurit Galron plays at dusk in Yarkon Park.
3. New COVID changes are threatened by the third wave: Angela Merkel
New variants of COVID-19 threaten the third wave of diseases and other lockouts across the country, Chancellor Angela Merkel told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
“Because of (changes), we are entering a new phase of pandemics, from which a third wave may emerge,” she said. “So we need to proceed sensibly and carefully so that a third wave does not have to close completely across Germany.”
New daily infections have declined in the past week in Germany, with the seven-day incidence rate going around 60 cases per 100,000.
Restrictions apply throughout Germany until at least March 7th.
As part of work identifying issues of promising technology use to counter COVID, the Boston Consulting Group recently used contextual AI to study more than 150 million English-language media articles from 30 countries published between December 2019 and May 2020.
The result is a collection of hundreds of technology usage cases. It has more than three times the number of solutions, giving better visibility to the diverse uses of technology for the COVID-19 response.
To see a full list of 200+ interesting technology usage cases during COVID – follow this link.