North Korea reportedly executes two as Covid-19 and economic pressure angers Kim Jong Un
From CNN’s Yoonjung Seo in Seoul
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the executions of at least two people, according to a South Korean lawmaker briefed by the country’s spy agency.
Ha Tae-keung told reporters on Friday that a North Korean customs official was killed in August for allegedly continuing the importation of goods from China without following Covid-19 prevention rules and measures.
The official had worked at Sinuiju, a city on the border between North Korea and China.
South Korea’s spy agency sees North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as making “unreasonable responses regarding Covid-19 prevention measures,” Ha told reporters, according to his office.
Ha also said that a North Korean foreign exchange dealer was executed in October after the US dollar plunged in value against the North Korean won, according to his office.
CNN has not been able to independently verify the reported killings.
This post has been updated.
8:52 a.m. ET, November 27, 2020
Italy's Covid-19 commissioner says that storage of the Pfizer vaccine will not be a problem
From CNN's Antonia Mortensen
Domenico Arcuri, Italy's coronavirus commissioner, spoke on Italian TV Channel TGCOM Thursday night outlining how Italy is planning the storage and administration of vaccines.
Arcuri said that the question being asked by everyone was how they were planning to handle the storage of the Pfizer vaccine which needs to be kept at -70 degrees Celsius.
"The first vaccine, which is Pfizer, will have characteristics of distribution and conservation that are different than the others, I want to say again that the distribution of the Pfizer vaccine will be done by the manufacturing company and so we won’t need to worry about finding places to store the vaccine."
The Italian government is working closely with the European Commission on vaccine procurement. The Commission plans to bulk buy Covid-19 vaccines on behalf of member states and then to distribute them fairly.
On Wednesday, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, reassured member states:
"There is also good news, the European Commission by now has secured contracts on vaccines with six pharmaceutical companies and the first European citizens might already be vaccinated before the end of December, and there's finally light at the end of the tunnel."
Arcuri explained that there will be 300 centers in Italy where vaccines will be administered and that he was optimistic about storage capabilities.
"60% of these locations already have refrigerated storage compatible with storing the vaccine for a longer time than we originally thought. We are now discussing with the regions if we will store all the vaccines in these refrigerated cells and then distribute them where they do not have this refrigeration, and we are considering at the moment if we should purchase the other 40% of needed refrigerated cells that are missing."
7:38 a.m. ET, November 27, 2020
Berlin says no to lifting restrictions for Christmas as other parts of Europe hope to ease holiday lockdowns
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt in Berlin
Germany’s capital Berlin will not ease restrictions during the festive season because it is currently a coronavirus hotspot, its mayor Michael Müller said on Thursday.
Infection rates in Berlin are ''still alarming'' with 200 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within one week, he said, adding that coronavirus restrictions should be tightened even further.
Berlin’s rules over the Christmas holiday are:
5 people from up to 5 households may gather, not counting children
From December 1, masks will be required in public areas, including streets with many shops and many people -- as well as in waiting lines and inside stores
Berlin will not ban fireworks and firecrackers everywhere, however, there will be special zones where they will not be allowed
On Friday, Germany became the latest country to surpass 1 million coronavirus infections since the pandemic began. This news was topped off by a second consecutive record daily death toll.
In a nationwide bid to curb the rate of infections in time for Christmas, German chancellor Angela Merkel announced new measures to beef up the recently-extended light lockdown this week.
They came into force today and will last until at least December 20, with the likelihood of being further extended into January.
Across Europe, governments are also making plans to "save" Christmas.
France's lockdown will begin to ease this weekend and restrictions could be lifted further on December 15, if the daily number of cases drops under 5,000 and there are only 2,000-3,000 in hospital ICUs.
In Northern Ireland, tougher coronavirus restrictions came into force today in a bid to find some form of normalcy around the holiday. First Minister Arlene Foster said during a press briefing on Thursday that the two-week “circuit-breaker” lockdown is "crucial in getting our rates down so that we can all have the safest and the happiest Christmas possible in these exceptional circumstances,” she added.
Earlier this week, the UK government announced it would temporarily relax coronavirus restrictions to allow up to three households to celebrate together in "Christmas bubbles."
Elsewhere, leaders in Italy and Germany have urged the public to obey rules now to enjoy the festive season later.
7:19 a.m. ET, November 27, 2020
Spain's new vaccine strategy: divide the country into 15 population groups
Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa has given more details of the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 that will begin in the country in January next year.
The Spanish government had createdfifteen population categories to establish who would have precedence in receiving a vaccine. The health minister confirmed that at the top of the list would be the elderly and people with disabilities who live in residences and the staff who care for them. Also in the first phase would be health workers.
He estimated that 2.5 million people would be vaccinated in the first phase, which would run from January to March.
The second phase would include other Spaniards older than 64 and those in higher risk groups. Those who live or work in closed communities as well as people vulnerable because of their social surroundings would also be prioritized, he said.
Illa confirmed the roll-out of vaccination would occur in three phases next year, with the general population beginning to get the vaccine in June. He said the strategy was flexible, depending on the views of experts and when there is more data on the vaccines and their availability. Vaccination would be free and voluntary.
Illa reiterated that the government had contracts to purchase about 140 million doses, enough to vaccinate about 80 million people. "There will be vaccines for all citizens of the country," he said.
Illa said that in the meantime, widespread testing would continue. He said that currently more than 2,000 tests were being carried out per 100,000 inhabitants to detect coronavirus infection.
The nationwide plan for the Christmas period is still to be decided by the Spanish government.
In a further sign that rates of infection in Spain are slowing, the Community of Madrid is relaxing restrictions on mobility and the operation of some businesses in 13 districts.
On Thursday in Spain there were5,073 new Covid-19 cases and 337 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 1,617,355 cases and 44,374 deaths so far.
7:17 a.m. ET, November 27, 2020
UK health regulator to assess the AstraZeneca vaccine, marking a 'first step' towards roll out
From CNN’s Kara Fox, Sharon Braithwaite and Nada Bashir
The UK government has announced a “significant first step” in getting the AstraZeneca vaccine “approved for deployment.”
On Friday, it formally referred AstraZeneca’s experimental vaccine candidate to the UK’s medicines regulator for assessment. The British-Swedish drugmaker is developing the vaccine in conjunction with the UK's Oxford University.
If it gains regulatory approval, the UK will be one of the first countries in the world to receive it, according to the country's Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
AstraZeneca expects to have up to 4 million doses ready for the UK by the end of the year, with 40 million more by the end of March, it added.
The news has arrived at a critical moment for the company, which has been pushing back against criticism about a lack of transparency behind its data.
On Monday, AstraZeneca announced that its vaccine had shown an average efficacy of 70% in large-scale trials.
In one group, 2,741 participants received a half-dose of the vaccine and then a full dose at least a month later. This group was 90% protected against Covid-19. In the second group, 8,895 participants received a full dose followed by another full dose at least a month later. This group was only 62% protected. That's why AstraZeneca says their vaccine is 70% effective, on average.
But some scientists are questioning why the company would report on a pooled result of two different trials, as it deviates from standard reporting on clinical trials.
And in the days following AstraZeneca's announcement, another point of confusion emerged: a lab error was the reason why some volunteers had received a smaller dose.
In a call with reporters on Wednesday, the��US vaccine czar Moncef Slaoui said that the group that got the mistakenly lower dose that yielded the 90% efficacy had been a younger group, with no one older than 55.
That could potentially affect the strength of AstraZeneca's findings, given that young people typically produce stronger immune responses to vaccines.
In a statement on Friday, the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Chief Executive Dr. June Raine said that the body will “rigorously assess the latest data and evidence to be submitted of the vaccine’s safety, quality and effectiveness.”
“The safety of the public will always come first. Our role is to work to the highest standards and safety is our watch word,” she added.
Analysis: Trump's continued rhetoric over election hampers nation's recovery in the depths of crisis
Analysis from CNN's Maeve Reston
US President Donald Trump finally confirmed Thursday that he will vacate the White House in January -- but he largely ignored the mounting challenges his successor is facing as he exits.
In a gaggle with reporters, he continued to push his false narrative that the US is rounding the corner on the pandemic but acknowledged that he will be gone next year, lecturing reporters not to "let Joe Biden take credit" for the development on coronavirus vaccines "because the vaccines were me and I pushed people harder than they've ever been pushed before."
The inability of leaders to work together in Washington is being sharply felt by small business owners and workers who are once again seeing their livelihoods jeopardized as cities and jurisdictions around the country place new limitations on businesses to try to get a handle on the skyrocketing number of Covid-19 cases.
"We can't keep taking on these blows, especially with no federal relief or aid from anyone else," said restaurateur Tom Sopit in Los Angeles. "This just can't keep going on without help."
Russia reports more than 27,000 new Covid-19 cases in fresh daily high
From CNN’s Zahra Ullah and Anna Chernova in Moscow
Russia confirmed 27,543 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, the highest number of infections it has reported in a single day, according to data from the country’s coronavirus response center.
This is more than 2,000 cases higher than the previous record reported yesterday.
Moscow, the country's worst-affected city, accounted for 7,918 new cases -- also a new record for the capital. On Thursday, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, extended some remote work and self-isolation restrictions in the city until Jan. 15.
The total number of coronavirus cases in Russia now stands at 2,215,533.
The number of deaths due to the virus in the country increased by 496, bringing the total to 38,558. A CNN investigation previously revealed that official Russian coronavirus death figures may grossly understate the real toll by excluding people who are presumed to have Covid-19 post mortem and even those with pre-existing conditions that proved fatal due to the infection.
4:26 a.m. ET, November 27, 2020
Covid-19 vaccinations in Africa may not start before mid-2021, top public health official says
From CNN’s Bethlehem Feleke in Nairobi and Brent Swails in Johannesburg
Vaccinations against Covid-19 might not start in Africa until the middle of next year, the head of the continent’s disease control group said on Thursday.
“We are very concerned as a continent that we will not have access to vaccines in a timely fashion,” the director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. John Nkengasong, said at a news conference, adding “I have seen how Africa is neglected when drugs are available” in the past.
Nkengasong said the goal was to vaccinate 60% of the continent's population to achieve herd immunity.
Call for leadership: The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement Thursday that their new analysis has found that Africa is far from ready for what will be the continent’s largest ever immunization drive and urged African countries to urgently ramp up readiness.
According to WHO data, just 24% of countries surveyed have adequate resource and funding plans, and just under half have “identified the priority populations for vaccination and have plans in place to reach them.”
“Planning and preparation will make or break this unprecedented endeavor, and we need active leadership and engagement from the highest levels of government with solid, comprehensive national coordination plans and systems put in place,” Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, was quoted saying in the statement.
Vaccine drive will cost billions: WHO estimates the cost of rolling out a Covid-19 vaccine on the African continent to priority populations will be around $5.7 billion. The figure does not include additional costs of up to 20% extra for injection materials and the delivery of vaccines, which require trained health workers, supply chain and logistics and community mobilization.
3:44 a.m. ET, November 27, 2020
A Toronto restaurant owner was arrested after allegedly continuing to violate public health orders
From CNN's Mirna Alsharif
A Toronto restaurant owner was arrested Thursday after continuing to violate public health orders, officials said.
Adam Skelly, who owns Adamson Barbecue, is being charged with one count each of attempting to obstruct police, mischief, failing to comply with a continuing order and failing to leave when directed.
The restaurant was seized by the Toronto Police Service Thursday morning, the locks were changed and all persons were restricted from access to the premises, said Toronto police.
Toronto Mayor John Tory said he believes Skelly is making a political statement.
"He had a lot of the anti-mask people there," Tory told CNN on Thursday. "It was like it was a festival they were having to try and celebrate some of their unorthodox views."
"But I think the vast majority of people don't accept that. They're trying hard to make the sacrifices that are terrible in some cases to make sure we can all get healthy," said Tory, adding that he believes Skelly will "face huge fines" if convicted.
Tighter restrictions: Toronto began a four-week lockdown this week amid an exponential rise in Covid-19 cases and as ICUs near capacity. All dining, non-essential shopping, salons and gyms have been ordered closed.
And on Thursday, Toronto's mayor told CNN he wasn't ruling out an extension of the lockdown to last through Christmas and New Year's.