The President of the European Commission announced Wednesday, December 16 that the green light to start vaccination campaigns in the 27 member countries of the Union could be given within a week, in the United States, from major political figures such as Joe Biden or Mike Pence claim to want to be vaccinated in public to "
strengthen the confidence
" of their fellow citizens.
Unicef feeds children in UK
The British government drew criticism on Wednesday December 16 after UNICEF's contribution to a campaign to feed children from families weakened by the pandemic in the United Kingdom, a first in the history of the UN agency.
Read also: Covid: should we be worried about the mutant circulating in the south-east of England?
Mike Pence will be vaccinated Friday "in public"
US Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen will be vaccinated Friday, December 18 "
in public
" against Covid-19 to "
strengthen the confidence
" of Americans.
Read also: Biden ready to be vaccinated "in public" against Covid-19
Automated screening station in Latvia
Latvia has launched an automated coronavirus screening system, possibly the first in the world, that can operate around the clock and virtually eliminates the risk of contamination between its users.
Read also: Covid: is France one of the countries in Europe that carries out the most screening tests?
Simultaneous vaccine in the EU
The 27 states of the European Union will be able to "
start the same day
" their anti-Covid vaccination campaigns, as soon as the green light "within a week" from the European regulator for the vaccine of the Pfizer-BioNTech alliance, announced on Wednesday December 16 the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
Read also: Covid-19: all EU member countries will start vaccination "on the same day"
Germany: re-containment and start of vaccination on December 27
Germany announced that it had recorded a record number of 952 deaths in 24 hours linked to the pandemic, on the first day of the entry into force of a partial containment, and plans to start its vaccination campaign against Covid-19 on December 27, starting with his retirement homes, German authorities said on Wednesday (December 16th).
Read also: Covid-19: should nursing home residents be vaccinated as a priority?
London is closing its pubs
Pubs and restaurants in London are forced to close their doors for the third time since the start of the pandemic, the British capital and parts of southern England falling under the highest level of alert and restrictions.
Read also: Covid-19: the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech not recommended in the United Kingdom in case of serious allergies
Double record of cases and deaths in the United States
The pandemic has killed at least 1,636,687 people around the world, according to an AFP report.
The United States recorded a very heavy death toll of 3,784 deaths and 250,458 cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, December 16, in a single day, a double record since the start of the pandemic, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
Read also: Covid-19: 292 deaths in 24 hours, resurgence of new contaminations
The United States is the most affected country, with 307,076 deaths, followed by Brazil (183,735), India (144,096), Mexico (115,099) and Italy (65,857).
Restrictions in Denmark
Denmark will tighten up its restriction measures again by closing businesses during the holidays.
These restrictions join the long list of measures taken to curb the increasingly sharp rise in new cases, after the extension of semi-containment measures (closure of middle and high schools, bars, restaurants, sports centers and cultural venues) to the whole country.
Increase in cases in Mali
The public hearings of the courts of first instance and the Courts of Appeal will be suspended for a month in Mali, facing an increase in cases of coronavirus, the authorities announced on Wednesday (December 16th).
Pompeo in quarantine
Mike Pompeo went into quarantine after contact with a person positive for Covid-19, the US State Department said.
"
The Secretary of State has been tested and is negative,
" it was said.
Read also: The United States authorizes the first Covid-19 test at home and without a prescription
New Zealand emerges from recession
New Zealand emerged from the recession linked to the coronavirus pandemic by setting a quarterly growth record of 14.0% for the period July-September, official figures show on Thursday (December 17th).