South Korea ordered schools to close from today in the capital Seoul and surrounding areas as it battles its worst outbreak of novel coronavirus since the pandemic began, while Germany announced a partial lockdown over the holidays due to an explosion of cases.
Schools in Seoul would move classes online until the end of the month, in the latest ratcheting up of social distancing measures which so far have failed to reverse the spike in infections.
The school closure is a step towards the imposition of Phase 3 social distancing rules, a move that would essentially lock down Asia's fourth-largest economy.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on Monday reported 718 new coronavirus cases, down from the record daily increase of 1,030 a day earlier. Of the new cases, 682 were locally
Germany is unlikely to lift its coronavirus lockdown early next year, a top aide to Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday, signaling Europe's biggest economy will have to contend with the crippling restrictions well into the winter months.
Merkel and German state leaders agreed to shut most stores from Wednesday until January 10 to reverse a tide of Covid-19 infections that lighter restrictions introduced last month had failed to tame.
"A comprehensive easing is very, very unlikely," Helge Braun, Merkel's chief of staff, told the RTL broadcaster. "January and February are always difficult months in terms of respiratory tract infections."
US rolls out shots
The US is poised to start vaccinating health care workers and nursing home residents with the Pfizer-BioNtech shot. Canada also begins a roll-out of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine just days after becoming one of the first countries to approve it.
The United Arab Emirates also launches vaccinations in the capital Abu Dhabi days after it approved a jab by Chinese drugs giant Sinopharm.
Over 1.6 million dead
The novel coronavirus has killed at least 1,612,297 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP yesterday.
The US is the worst-affected country with 299,191 deaths, followed by Brazil with 181,402, India with 143,355, Mexico with 113,953 and Italy with 64,520.
Italy passes out Britain with the worst death toll in Europe and the fifth worst in the world.
WHO water warning
The World Health Organization says one in four health centres worldwide lacks access to water, putting around 1.8 billion people at increased risk of contracting the virus.
Dutch decision time
The Netherlands mulls closing non-essential shops, theatres, museums and amusement parks, as the number of infections as its death toll passes 10,000.
Nigerian generals hit
At least 26 Nigerian generals have tested positive after attending a conference in the nation's capital and one, Major-General John Irefin, has died.
Eswatini PM dies
Ambrose Dlamini, 52, the prime minister of Africa's last absolute monarchy -- previously known as Swaziland -- died on Sunday from the virus in neighbouring South Africa.
