Covid update: Coronavirus news from around the world | DW News

Following criticism in Germany of the pace of the coronavirus vaccination roll-out, a health ministry official has revealed that Berlin has struck preliminary deals for an extra 50-million vaccine doses in the summer - outside what's been negotiated by the EU. December was the deadliest month of the pandemic so far in Germany - and the number of daily deaths remains high, reaching a new record on Friday. Pressure is high to protect vulnerable groups by quickly rolling out vaccines - but some predictions in German media say if the pace of inoculation continues as it is now, herd immunity would not be reached until 2027.
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An outbreak of COVID-19 has prompted Chinese officials to tell people in two cities south of Beijing to stay at home for seven days. The cities in Hebei province have tightened lockdown measures - including a ban on public transportation. Nearly 350 people have tested positive so far. Around three-thousand medical staff have been mobilized to support mass testing of more than 11 million people. China says it will provide coronavirus vaccines free of charge.
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The UK has recorded its highest number of daily deaths from the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic. With a new variant that appears to be more transmissible surging across the country - authorities are particularly alarmed by the situation in London. Mayor Sadiq Kahn says the virus is 'out of control' in the capital - and hospitals face breaking point.
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The coronavirus pandemic is also hitting some African nations hard, especially South Africa, where case numbers have been surging since the start of this year. It's the worst affected of all the African countries, with more than one million cases already reported. DW's Adrian Kriesch has more.
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In India, a particularly cold winter has hit the residents of Delhi, with temperatures falling to almost zero degrees centigrade. Usually, at this time, many of the city's homeless stay in shelters but this season will be complicated by COVID-19 and the need for social distancing, as DW's Manira Chaudhary reports.
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A year ago, thousands of believers came to the Serbian Orthodox Church of St. Sava in Düsseldorf to worship and celebrate Christmas Eve. One year later, due to the COVID pandemic, a lot has changed. The church had to adapt services to the circumstances to avoid the risks.
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The United States has set another daily record for new infections, with almost 300-thousand new cases - and more than 3,600 deaths reported on Friday.
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Australia's third-largest city of Brisbane has entered a 3-day lockdown after the emergence of a variant first detected in Britain. Officials say it was contracted by a cleaner at a quarantine facility. No community transmissions have been reported.
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A new study published in the 'Lancet' medical journal says most people hospitalized with coronavirus still have symptoms after six months. The most common ones are fatigue and muscle weakness, but also sleeping difficulties.

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[moniho]

2020 was the trailer, 2021 is the movie

[Jackbyl]

I am based in Beijing. China is testing the entire population of those two cities for 3 rounds. So their strategy is to quarantine the infected districts or the city, and at the same time test everybody multiple times to flush out all the hidden infected cases and isolate them so that the rest of the community can get back on its feet.
China had multiple outbreaks since Wuhan, and they were all pressed down using this strategy, and the health care system has never been compromised since then, so they have plenty of resources to treat every case.

[georgekiosses]

"herd immunity will not be reached until 2027 .."
now I feel better

[kabulpaws]

Corona is an iq test some countries passed some failed

[KJSvitko]

Bicycles are great for social distancing. If mass transit is shut down or restricted bicycles are a great option.

[lolazal]

Giving one dose of the vaccination, and delaying the second by 8 weeks (later than it should be given), is not my idea of successful vaccine roll-out!

[gardenjoy]

Lyme Disease patient here. Got the disease back in 2009 and was considered healed. But it crept back in somehow and I was seriously ill for years without proper treatment. Now I've received proper treatment and my life is much better. But still I function at tops 25% of my former capacity. Among the long lasting symptoms: chronic fatigue, muscle weakness and sleeping difficulties.
Yet, I had to pay almost everything myself for my treatment, since this disease STILL isn't recognized the way it should be! Like me, there are hundreds of thousands across the world, crippled with it to a certain degree. We are left to fend for ourselves, even if we do not have the strength to do so. This is a world gone mad.

[mimib]

4:30 The interviewer just completely disregarded everything Professor Kremsner said! They ARE going to go outside of what the clinical trials stated, and it's fine. Lol, "bottom line" my foot. the interviewer was so ignorant and rude. Nobody cares what his opinion is. What's wrong with him?

[charliechimp]

If the health system in Britain is out of control why don't we ever see footage?

[rollingdownfalling]

I have a gut feeling that DW "loves" the netizens from China. Even the thumbnail is kind of trolling the internet. The thumb nail says China (click bait) while the title says "from around the world", internationally.

[michaelmike]

Manufacturers instructions not being followed, as per the clinical studies.

[darlivinglife]

instead of going for a covid test with a few symptoms that resemble the flu, why not stay home take care of yourself like you would if you had the flu.. you will probably be better faster than waiting in the hospital for a bed...only go to the hospital if your having trouble breathiing or seriously they show people standing in line to get tested with a coffee in hand, on their phones and not looking sick... WHY???

[jb-dnvl]

I don't know about you guys...but looking at those suits their wearing I don't think that's the same old corona

[Abhijeet]

I am a cargo pilot, very tired. I want lifetime lock down.

[Koraka_ARandomGuy]

If they continue with the lockdown, i promise i will die by cold, fever, hunger, snow. Because i will lose my last hope and job now.
No home, no family no support. Responsible is not the Virus, it is the political decisions to look down the world. Again! -

I hope that the politics are loosing there Jobs, there Homes but stay healthy enough to understand what it means to suffer.

[fairfeatherfiend]

Herd immunity won't be reached till 2027, I laughed hysterically.

[bonjovi]

Its refreshing not seeing conspiracy theorists from USA infecting the comments section

[thisismetoday]

20 - bloody - 27!?
The last time I checked BioNTech was a German company, so how on earth is this possible? Get it done!

[EsotericGold_net]

🌹Jorge Araujo, former lead supervisor of Merck's vaccine division, along with several of his colleagues, decided not to vaccinate their children from birth because of bad science and corruption. 🌹

[peterd]

Germany will rapidly catch up with vaccinating people as will all the richer countries in Europe. I expect Germany, UK and possibly France will be vaccinating millions of people per week within less that 20 days. Some countries in Europe, however, appear to have not secured enough doses.