Latest On Coronavirus

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th May, 2021) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 3.335 million, over 160.6 million cases of infection were detected, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University, which tracks and compiles data from Federal and local authorities, media and other sources.

As of 20:40 GMT Thursday, the number of cases globally is 160,658,300, including 3,335,757 fatalities.

The United States still has the highest case count in the world, with 32,840,007, including 584,249 fatalities.

Russia's Gamaleya research institute has received a sample of the Indian strain of the coronavirus and plans to test Sputnik V vaccine effectiveness against this variant of the virus, results are expected to be available by the end of the next week, institute director Alexander Gintsburg told Sputnik.

The shelf life of Sputnik V has been increased to eight months and is about to be extended to one year, Gintsburg told Sputnik.

Foreign coronavirus vaccine producers have already launched trials involving children, while Russia starts to lag behind, Gintsburg also told Sputnik.

The Republic of Maldives became the 65th country in the world to approve Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said.

China supports the proposal of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to waive intellectual property protection for coronavirus vaccines, Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said.

India's Drugs Controller General (DCGI) has approved Phase II/III clinical trials of the COVAXIN vaccine against coronavirus for children aged 2-18, the trials will be conducted in 525 healthy volunteers, the ministry of health announced.

More than 1 million coronavirus vaccines have been given to soldiers, family members and Defense Department civilian employees, the US Army said.

Several more Canadian provinces have joined Ontario and Alberta in halting or limiting the use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus injection in their immunization programs. Quebec has become the latest Canadian province to halt the first-dose vaccination with the AstraZeneca shot, citing the dangerous complications to human health if it is administered, the provincial health ministry said.

The uneven distribution of the coronavirus vaccines in favor of richer economies has been a matter of grave concern to the World Health Organization (WHO), which is trying to work out the issue through its COVAX global initiative aimed at equitable access to the vaccines, WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

The acquisition and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines has become a "new frontier" in the struggle for equality, Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, said.

Russia registered 8,380 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, up from 8,217 the day before, taking the overall tally to 4,913,439, the coronavirus response center said.

An analysis of the genome sequences of COVID-19 fragments found in students from Russia's Ulyanovsk does not allow attributing them to the Indian coronavirus strain, the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Russia's watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said.

The number of new COVID-19 cases in Brazil has increased by 76,692 within the past 24 hours to 15,359,397, the national health ministry said.

India has confirmed 362,727 new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, with the total number of those infected having reached 23,703,665, the country's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is "cautiously optimistic" that the fast spreading of the Indian coronavirus variant will not delay the government's roadmap out of the COVID-19 lockdown in England.

From May 14, Greece is lifting a number of restrictions, imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic, in connection with the opening of tourism: mandatory text messages about leaving home are canceled, travel between regions and islands is allowed, curfew is reduced, Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister for Government Coordination Akis Skertsos said.

Ukraine and Hungary will mutually recognize their coronavirus vaccination certificates, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said after a meeting with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto.

Oman decided to lift a night curfew which has been in effect there for one and a half months, starting Saturday, the nation's Supreme Committee to Combat Coronavirus said.

The Canadian province of Ontario is extending the province-wide stay-at-home order until June 2, at the earliest, Premier Doug Ford announced.

US airlines carried almost 10 percent more passengers in March 2021 compared to March 2020, the first increase since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics said.

Just three in ten Americans say they are worried about catching the novel coronavirus, the lowest level of fear in the past year, a Gallup poll said.

China on Thursday established a national administration for disease prevention and control, state-run broadcaster CCTV reported.

Research published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal confirms that a simple air filtration system developed by auto engineers can cleanse poorly ventilated rooms of the coronavirus, US carmaker Ford said.

The US is not satisfied with the initial investigation of COVID-19 origins and supports the ongoing probe into the causes of coronavirus pandemic, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said