Information box: The latest worldwide spread of the coronavirus

(Reuters) – Singapore has confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus variant found in Britain, with Irish health leaders saying the mutation was present in Ireland although it was not solely responsible for it for the rapid spread of the disease.

ATTITUDES AND INNOVATIONS

EUROPE

* The British transport minister has said he has ordered the cessation of flights and arrivals from South Africa following a potentially more contagious modification of the COVID-induced coronavirus novel- 19 spread to Britain.

* Spain will receive 350,000 weekly doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine starting Saturday, Health Minister Salvador Illa said.

* Irish health leaders believe that a new strain of COVID-19 found in nearby Britain is present in Ireland, but not just because of the rapid spread of the disease.

* Around 500 relatives of people who died from COVID-19 in Italy said they were starting a lawsuit against regional and national authorities, seeking 100 million euros ($ 122 million) in damages.

AMERICAS

* Millions of COVID-19 vaccines are sitting unused in U.S. hospitals and elsewhere a week into the massive inoculation campaign, casting doubt on the government’s target for 20 million vaccines.

* Merck & Co. said it would give about 60,000-100,000 doses of its COVID-19 experimental treatment to the U.S. government for up to about $ 356 million.

* Canada agreed to moderna Inc coronavirus vaccine, the second country to do so, paving the way for health authorities to launch an inclusion campaign against a worsening second wave.

* Mexico plans to begin protecting health workers against COVID-19 on Thursday with the advent of the first vaccines.

* Argentina has issued an emergency permit for the use of Russia’s Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine, the health ministry said.

* The first batch of COVID-19 vaccine doses will arrive from Pfizer to Costa Rica on Wednesday night, with inoculations set to begin Thursday, President Carlos Alvarado told a news conference.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Singapore confirmed their first case of the new coronavirus variant found in the UK, while a further 11 that were already in quarantine had returned positive results for the new strain.

* South Korea has signed contracts with Pfizer Inc and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen to receive coronavirus vaccines for 10 million people and 6 million, respectively.

* Aurobindo Pharma Ltd stated that it would manufacture and sell a US – based COVAXX vaccine candidate for supply in India and to the United Nations Children ‘s Fund under a license agreement.

* Taiwan ‘s tourism department on Wednesday canceled its annual New Year’ s reception at the northeast of the island, following a report on the first COVID-19 case transferred locally since April 12.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Israel has identified four cases of the new infectious strain that have emerged in Britain.

MEDIA DEVELOPMENTS

* Moderna Inc expects that the immunity induced by its COVID-19 vaccine would protect against the reported coronavirus changes in the UK.

* Altimmune Inc reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had clinically suspended its claim to begin human trials of the single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, AdCOVID.

* Brazilian researchers reported that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech in China is more than 50% effective based on preliminary data, but kept full results of their end-of-period test again on Sinovac application.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Asian shares and the British pound rose on Thursday ahead of the Christmas holidays, when Britain and the European Union closed a free trade deal and investors bet on the prospects of a global economic recovery.