UK
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared a “‘big incident’ due to the rapid spread of coronavirus across the capital and the increase in Covid-19 cases in hospitals, which left the NHS at risk of being overwhelmed,” wrote his office. in a press release.
He made the decision when the number of Covid-19 cases in London surpassed “1,000 per 100,000”, putting increasing pressure on the National Health Service (NHS), which saw the number of patients increase 27% between December 30 and 6 of January.
“We are declaring a major incident because the threat that this virus poses to our city is in crisis. If we don’t take immediate action now, our NHS could become overwhelmed and more people will die, “said Khan in a statement.
Meanwhile, Moderna has become the third Covid-19 vaccine to be authorized by UK regulators. The government has agreed to buy 10 million additional doses in addition to the previous order of 7 million, the UK Department of Health announced on Friday.
However, the result is that the UK recorded 1,162 Covid-19-related deaths on Thursday, the highest number since the first peak in April.
Germany
The number of daily coronavirus-related deaths in Germany peaked at 1,188 deaths the previous day. The previous record was 1,129, recorded on December 30 last year.
The German Ministry of Health said Friday it would receive more than 60 million doses of the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine across the EU. In addition, there is a safe option for an additional 30 million doses nationwide. From Moderna, Germany will receive 50 million doses by the EU alone, with additional doses being negotiated nationally.
This means that, with BioNTech / Pfizer e Moderna alone, Germany has the potential to receive at least 140 million doses of vaccines 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 Covid-19’s two million cumulative cases, with the numbers doubling only in the past 11 weeks, according to a CNN count set in data released by the Ministry of Health.
Sweden
Long considered an exception for not implementing a total blockade of the coronavirus like its European neighbors, Sweden moved in a more conventional direction on Friday, when its parliament voted in favor of a law that would allow stricter restrictions.
This will include a ban on public meetings, if necessary, and effectively give the government the legal right to impose a “block” of any degree.
European Union
The European Union continues its effort to secure 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 to “up to 300 million additional vaccines” in 2021 – doubling the amount of doses of that vaccine.
Meanwhile, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) expects AstraZeneca to submit a “conditional marketing order” for its Covid-19 vaccine “next week,” the regulator said in a statement on Twitter on Friday.