Latest On Coronavirus

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th July, 2021) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 4.173 million, over 195 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 20:10 GMT Tuesday, the number of cases globally is 195,093,652, including 4,173,584 fatalities. As many as 3.91 billion of vaccine doses have been administered to date.

The Russian Health Ministry approved joint trials of coronavirus vaccines AstraZeneca and Sputnik Light, according to its registry of clinical trials approvals.

It is difficult to fully cope with the spread of COVID-19 in Russia as the vaccination rate is not high enough, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The Chechen Republic became the first Russian region to reach the 60% COVID-19 vaccination rate among adults, Elkhan Suleymanov, the region's health minister, said.

Ethiopia has taken the coronavirus pandemic under control and expects deliveries of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine to increase the immunization level, the African country's ambassador to Russia, Alemayehu Tegenu, said in an interview with Sputnik.

The European Union has achieved its target of inoculating 70% of adult population with at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced.

The United States is partnering with Africa to boost the supply of coronavirus vaccines to the continent as the Delta variant continues to spread, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a pre-recorded speech released to the US-Africa business Summit.

A 54 percent majority of likely US voters who remain unvaccinated against the novel coronavirus say they do not expect to change their minds, a Rasmussen Reports poll said.

President Joe Biden said his administration was currently considering requiring all US federal employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Months of procurement talks between Argentina and Pfizer have ended with a contract for 20 million doses, Argentine Health Minister Carla Vizzotti said.

The Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) canceled clinical trials of Indian vaccine Covaxin after the manufacturer informed it about the change of a local partner, none of the volunteers received it.

In parts of the world where coronavirus vaccines are in short supply, schools should be the last institutions to close and the first to reopen because classrooms are not major sources of coronavirus contagion, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said.

Russia registered 23,032 COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, down from 23,239 the day before, taking the overall tally to 6,172,812, the federal response center said.

The Japanese capital of Tokyo, currently hosting the Olympic Games, registered a new single-day record of over 3,000 COVID-19 cases, Mainichi Shimbun newspaper reported.

More than 550,000 patients with COVID-19 have died in Brazil since the start of the pandemic, the country's health ministry said.

Russian tourists vaccinated against COVID-19 will be able to freely enter Hungary from July 27.

Russia and Thailand intend to work out mutual recognition of certificates of vaccination against coronavirus infection, Russian consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said.

Prison staff, waste collectors and people working in defense are the latest job roles to be allowed to take daily COVID-19 tests rather than self-isolating if they come into contact with someone who has coronavirus, the UK government announced.

Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy's euroskeptic Lega party, said that COVID-19 vaccination passports should not be obligatory for teachers and students over 12 years old.

Another demonstration against COVID-19 passes drew several hundred people in the center of Rome on Tuesday, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

The US government will lift travel restrictions between the United States and Canada when the coronavirus cases of the emergent Delta variant are sufficiently reduced, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said during a Senate hearing.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will advise coronavirus vaccinated individuals to wear masks indoors, reversing earlier guidance that face masks are no longer needed, the New York Times reported.

White House staff will be ready to wear face masks again if so required amid the spread of the coronavirus' Delta variant, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the slower-than-expected pace of coronavirus vaccinations may pose a risk to global economic growth.

US consumer confidence increased for a fifth straight month in June to return to levels seen before the novel coronavirus outbreak 16 months ago, the Conference board said.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that further Tokyo Olympics competitions would not be canceled despite the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.

Toyota Motor Corporation said it was suspending another three assembly lines in Japan for several days in August after a surge in COVID-19 infections in Vietnam cripples supply chain.

The Thai government said that it had to start evacuating COVID-19 patients in Bangkok on temporary stay to their home regions due to the shortage of hospital beds in the capital.