Latest On Coronavirus

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2022) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 5.579 million, over 344.7 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 20:30 GMT Friday, the number of cases globally is 344,705,842, including 5,579,862 fatalities. As many as 9.76 billion of vaccine doses have been administered to date.

Moscow holes that the World Health Organization (WHO) will recognize Russia's coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V in the foreseeable future, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) approved the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 for children ages 5-11.

A US judge blocked the Biden administration's vaccine mandate for federal workers and barred the firing of employees who are unvaccinated, a court filing revealed.

Washington offered to provide North Korea with 60 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine through the United Nations tools, which Pyongyang has greeted with enthusiasm although it has not officially responded yet, South Korean lawmaker and Chairman of the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly Kim Kyung-hyup said.

African countries will be able to produce coronavirus vaccines locally and solve the issue with vaccine access when the intellectual property protection for the drug is lifted, Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said.

Russia confirmed 49,513 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which brings the cumulative total to 10,987,774, the federal response center said.

Over the past 24 hours, 692 deaths of patients with COVID-19 have been confirmed, bringing the country's total coronavirus death toll to 324,752.

The US seven-day average for newly reported cases has dropped by 5% in comparison with the previous week, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the next COVID-19 variant might be worse than Omicron, and the global community must go into emergency mode to fight the pandemic.

The European Commission expects the EU nations to coordinate travel guidelines for coronavirus certificates within the next few days, commission spokesman Christian Wigand said.

The French Constitutional Council acknowledged that the bill on vaccine passes, set to come into effect on January 24, conformed to the country's constitution.

The Biden administration suspended 44 flights to China from the United States in response to the Chinese government's decision to suspend some US flights over COVID-19 concerns, the Department of Transportation said.

Ontario will begin easing restrictions that have been in place to stop the spread the Omicron variant, with certain limits slated to be lifted on January 31, Premier Doug Ford said.

Wales First Minister Mark Drakeford said that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson would never escape the damage done to his reputation following revelations that he and his staff held parties in Downing Street during COVID-19 lockdowns, even if he manages to survive current calls for his resignation.