Coronavirus digest: UK sets another daily record

The United Kingdom has registered a record 53,135 coronavirus cases in its daily update, according to official data from the British government.

It is an increase of almost 10,000 on Monday's total for the country with the sixth highest caseload in the world.

With 71,675 fatalities in total, the UK is vying with Italy for Europe's highest death toll while it battles a new variant of COVID which the WHO says is "substantially" more infectious.

"We are continuing to see unprecedented levels of COVID-19 infection across the UK, which is of extreme concern particularly as our hospitals are at their most vulnerable," said Susan Hopkins, a senior medical adviser to Public Health England.

Health Minister Matt Hancock is set to give an update on regional coronavirus restrictions on Wednesday.

A leading epidemiologist who advises the government, Andrew Hayward, has warned that the UK is heading for a "catastrophe."

Americas

Brazil's huge port city of Rio de Janeiro is set to block off beaches for New Year's Eve to help stem the spread of the virus. Usually, millions of tourists flock to the famous Copacabana beach to watch fireworks launched from rafts.

United States Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine against COVID-19. "I encourage everyone to get the vaccine," she said.

Chile's health authorities say they have detected a case of the new strain of the disease first found in the UK. This would be the first infection in Latin America.

Venezuela has signed a contract with Russia to acquire more than 10 million doses of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine.

Mexican singer-songwriter Armando Manzanero died Monday at the age of 86 after being hospitalized with the coronavirus. The composer and singer of romantic Latin ballads became the first Mexican to receive a Grammy lifetime achievement award in 2014.

Europe

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has increased by 12,892 to over 1,664,000 in the past 24 hours, according to figures from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases. The reported death toll rose by 852 to 30,978.

Armin Laschet, premier of Germany's most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia, said he sees "not much room" for Germany's current lockdown to end on January 10 as is currently planned.

Ireland has begun its coronavirus vaccination plan with a 79-year-old woman in Dublin. The country plans to deliver a vaccine to everyone in the country who wants one by August. The news came as the Irish Cabinet announced an emergency meeting on Wednesday as the daily number of cases tripled in the days following Christmas.

Turkey says it will produce Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine domestically, but wants more information before inoculating its citizens. Turkey will also buy 50 million doses of CoronaVac, a vaccine produced by Chinese company Sinovac.

Denmark has extended its hard lockdown until January 17 following a drastic spike in new cases over the last month. Hospitalizations and infections are now more serious than in the spring.

But France has ruled out another hard lockdown for now, instead extending the night curfew will be extended in four eastern regions.

Asia

Indian health authorities said on Tuesday that six people had tested positive for the new, more infectious variant of the coronavirus.

Those infected had all returned from Britain in recent weeks where the new variant was first identified.

All six patients have been kept in isolation, the health ministry said in a statement. "Their close contacts have also been put under quarantine," the statement said.

Case and death numbers are rising in almost every country around the world, but vaccines continue to be approved and rolled out. Here's an overview of other major developments around the world.

China's capital city Beijing has entered "emergency" mode after seven cases of coronavirus were found. Some villages in Shunyi District have been completely sealed off. While the number of infections appears small, before last week the city of over 21 million had not logged a local case of COVID-19 in 152 days.

Indonesia is securing 50 million doses of coronavirus vaccines from drugmakers BioNTech-Pfizer and AstraZeneca, the country's new health minister has announced. Deals are set to be finalized in the coming weeks.

Around 1.3 million frontline health workers will be prioritized in the first vaccine drive.

American troops stationed in South Korea received the first doses of coronavirus vaccine to be administered in the country on Tuesday. Frontline health workers and first responders in US Forces Korea (USFK) were vaccinated first.

The vaccinations for US troops comes as health officials in capital city Seoulreported a daily record of 40 deaths amid a surge in new cases. Seoul plans to start its vaccinations in February, with health workers and vulnerable people first in line.

Iran has launched its first phase of a clinical trial of a vaccine developed in the country. State television reported that three people have been injected. The country has been among the countries hardest hit by the pandemic with nearly 55,000 people dead and 1.2 million infected.

Africa

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has returned to his homeland after a two-month absence in Germany, where he received treatment for the coronavirus, and he appeared on television shortly after landing to tell viewers: "It is hard to be far from one's country."

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a ban on selling alcohol and said face masks will be compulsory in public. The curbs were introduced after the country became the first in Africa to record one million cases.

ed,kmm,jsi/rt (Reuters, dpa, AP, AFP)