Latest On Coronavirus

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th July, 2021) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 4.045 million, over 187.6 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 Tuesday, the number of cases globally is 187,612,311, including 4,045,064 fatalities. As many as 3.49 billion of vaccine doses have been administered to date.

France's hesitance in recognizing coronavirus vaccines not approved by the EU regulator is "of a scientific nature," its foreign ministry said after Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned Paris for "discriminatory statements" on the Sputnik V vaccine.

A Reuters article about alleged data gaps delaying the review of Russia's Sputnik V by the EU drug regulator is "fake news" spread about the vaccine, the Russian Direct Investments Fund (RDIF) said. Earlier in the day, Reuters claimed, citing informed sources, that Sputnik V developers had repeatedly failed to present "standard" data necessary to have the drug approved.

The RDIF and the Serum Institue of India (SII) will start production of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in September, according to a joint statement published on Tuesday.

The RDIF expects the World Health Organization (WHO) to approve the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in the fall, RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said.

The Armenian Health Ministry is not making vaccination against COVID-19 mandatory, but urges people to get vaccinated, press secretary Hripsime Khachatryan told Sputnik, denying media reports.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on her fellow citizens to get vaccinated, noting that the more people protected against the virus, the less restrictions society will face. Germany can prevent the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic by going ahead with the vaccination campaign and continuing to follow sanitary restrictions, Merkel said.

Approximately one million French people have signed up for coronavirus vaccination following President Emmanuel Macron's address to the nation, French Health Minister Olivier Veran said in an interview with French BFM tv.

Pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson said that it had been discussing with the US food and Drug Administraton (FDA) the cases of a neurological disorder reported after vaccinations against the novel coronavirus.

Over half of Canadians eligible to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 are fully immunized, while nearly 80 percent have received at least one dose, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

Beijing is urging developed countries to help the rest of the world gain equal access to COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.

Japan will send 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine shots each to Taiwan, Vietnam, and Indonesia on July 15, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said.

Afghanistan has the supply and access to vaccines against the coronavirus disease, but has yet to achieve vaccines distribution across the country, UN Deputy Special Representative Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov told Sputnik.

Russia registered 24,702 COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, taking the overall tally to 5,833,175, the federal response center said.

British Medical Association (BMA) council chair Chaand Nagpaul on Tuesday criticized the UK government's decision to lift all remaining COVID-19 restrictions in England by July 19, warning that "it makes no sense" to knowingly accept that infections will increase in coming weeks.

An increasing number of new coronavirus cases has prompted authorities in the Spanish region of Catalonia to introduce fresh restrictions, including a ban on outdoor eating and drinking.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has accused Athens of arbitrary conduct after the Galatasaray football club refused to enter Greece over a request to have additional COVID-19 tests.

The United States has issued updated travel advisories for Germany and Austria, saying that the citizens who travel to these countries should "exercise increased caution," the US State Department said.

The residents of a suburb in Australia's Sydney feel as if they are under house arrest after an entire apartment block was put on a harsh lockdown following several COVID-19 cases of unknown transmission among its inhabitants, ABC News reported.

India has temporarily shut down its diplomatic mission in North Korea due to COVID-19, government sources told Sputnik.

A delegation from Russia will visit Egypt to assess the epidemiological situation and the capabilities of medical institutions, Russian consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said.

The European Union has approved a 1.82 billion euro ($2.1 billion) plan to support Latvia's economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the Latvian Finance Ministry said.

The Spanish government will posthumously award the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit to healthcare workers who fell victim to COVID-19, spokeswoman Isabel Rodriguez said.

More than 1,500 hospitals located in rural US communities will receive $398 million to expand COVID-19 testing and other pandemic mitigation measures, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said.

The cancellation of the Olympic Games in Tokyo is not up for discussion as it could cost the world a whole generation of athletes, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said. Tokyo is the "best-ever prepared" city to host the Olympics despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bach said.