Here's the latest on the COVID-19 pandemic from around the world.
Europe
- Turkey's COVID-19 death toll rose above 30,000 on Sunday (local time), while the cumulative number of cases topped 3 million, weeks after the country started easing restrictions, health ministry data showed
- More than 27.6 million people in the UK, well over half the adult population, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, official data showed on Sunday, after a daily record of 844,285 doses were administered the previous day
- Italy reported 300 coronavirus-related deaths on Sunday, down from 401 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections decreased to 20,159 from 23,832
- Greece has lifted restrictions on flights from Turkey, Albania, and North Macedonia that were imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19, its civil aviation authority said
- The rate at which Germans are getting infected with the coronavirus has jumped above the level at which authorities say healthcare systems will be overburdened, raising pressure on political leaders to tighten lockdown measures
- Russia on Sunday reported 9,299 new COVID-19 cases, including 1,511 in Moscow, pushing the national tally of cases to 4,456,869 since the pandemic began.
Americas
- The US has administered 124,481,412 doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Sunday morning (local time), the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said
- Cuba announced on Sunday it would vaccinate 150,000 frontline workers as part of the final phase of a clinical trial of the country's leading COVID-19 vaccine candidate amid a surge in cases.
Asia-Pacific
- The Transportation Minister of the Houthi-controlled administration in Yemen, Zakaria al-Shami, died on Sunday (local time) of complications of coronavirus infection, two Yemeni officials said
- Tighter COVID-19 rules in the Phillippines will be expanded to include four provinces surrounding the capital Manila, and restrict travel to and from these areas for two weeks beginning on Monday, as the country battles a renewed surge in infections
- China has accelerated its vaccinations against COVID-19, administering 10 million doses in around a week, and is considering varied visa policies based on vaccination and virus conditions in different countries, officials said on Sunday
- India's health ministry warned on Sunday that a huge gathering of devotees for a Hindu festival could send coronavirus cases surging, as the country recorded the most new infections in nearly four months.
Africa and the Middle East
- South Africa has sold AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines it had acquired but did not use to other African Union member states, the health ministry said on Sunday (local time)
- An Israeli court on Sunday upheld a school's decision to bar a teaching assistant who had refused to show proof she had been vaccinated or tested for COVID-19, in what could be a test case as the country reopens after its vaccine drive
- Saudi Arabia and neighbouring UAE said on Sunday health authorities have expanded COVID-19 vaccinations to all citizens and residents aged 16 and above as Gulf states race to bring the virus under control.
Vaccines
AstraZeneca said on Sunday its COVID-19 vaccine contains no pork-derived ingredients, countering an assertion in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, that the drug violates Islamic law.
Indonesia's highest Muslim clerical council, the Indonesia Ulema Council, said on its website Friday that the vaccine is "haram" because the manufacturing process uses "trypsin from the pork pancreas".
Still, the council approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for use given the pandemic emergency.
But AstraZeneca Indonesia director Rizman Abudaeri said in a statement: "At all stages of the production process, this virus vector vaccine does not use nor come in contact with pork-derived products or other animal products."
