December 28 coronavirus news

Japan recorded 2,950 new Covid-19 cases and 39 virus-related deaths on Sunday, the Ministry of Health said in a statement released Monday.

This is a drop from Friday, when Japan reported the highest single-day infection number at 3,823.

The total number of confirmed cases nationwide now stands at 220,948, while the death toll has reached 3,265, according to the ministry.

A total of 659 patients, or five more compared with Saturday, are currently in serious condition, the ministry added.

UK variant: Starting Monday, Japan has banned foreign nationals from entering the country through the end of January after several cases of the Covid-19 variant were recorded in the country, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

The United Kingdom announced last week that it had detected a new, more contagious coronavirus variant, which has since been detected in more than a dozen countries.

Saudi Arabia is extending its entry ban to the kingdom by air, land and sea for another week because of the spread of the new coronavirus variant to several countries, state-run Saudi Press Agency reported Sunday.

The ban first went into effect last week after the United Kingdom announced it had detected a new, more contagious coronavirus variant. Since then, the new variant has been detected in more than a dozen countries.

Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry, according to SPA, said it will only allow travelers to fly into the country under exceptional cases. Non-Saudis can take a flight out of the kingdom if they wish to depart, the ministry said.

Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourão has tested positive for Covid-19, CNN Brasil reported late Sunday, citing a statement from the vice presidency press office.

In early July, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro also tested positive for the virus and recovered after isolating at the Presidential Palace in Brasilia. 

As of Sunday, Brazil has reported 7,484,285 cases of Covid-19 and 191,139 virus related deaths.

Japan will introduce a tracking system for overseas travelers before the Tokyo Olympics in an effort to stem the spread of Covid-19, a government minister said on Sunday.

Speaking on a Fuji TV program, digital transformation minister Takuya Hirai said Japan will require all visitors to install a mobile app that can track their movements after entering the country.

The app, which is currently under development, will require users to turn on GPS systems and is expected to be released before the Tokyo Olympics, he added.

 The Tokyo Olympics is scheduled to begin on July 23, 2021.

The United States reported 118,720 current Covid-19 hospitalizations on Sunday, the fourth highest number reported since the pandemic began, according to the Covid Tracking Project (CTP). 

This is the 26th consecutive day that the US has remained above 100,000 current hospitalizations.

The highest hospitalization numbers according to CTP data are:

Singapore will begin Covid-19 vaccinations on December 30, the Ministry of Health said in a statement Sunday.

Healthcare workers will be the first to receive vaccinations, while those aged 70 or above will be vaccinated starting in February next year, the ministry said.

All Singaporeans and long-term residents are expected to be vaccinated by the end of 2021, and the vaccination program will be free to ensure accessibility, it added. 

On December 14, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that the country approved the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for public use. The first shipment of the vaccine arrived in the country on December 21.

South Africa registered 9,502 new cases of Covid-19 Saturday, pushing the total number of cases to 1,004,413 according to data from the country's health ministry.

There were also 214 more fatalities reported, leaving the total death toll at 26,735.

South Africa has the highest total number of reported cases in Africa, according to data from Africa CDC. More than 2.6 million cases have been reported across the continent. 

Earlier this week a new coronavirus variant was reported in South Africa, which is different than the strain causing so much concern in the United Kingdom, the World Health Organization’s technical lead for Covid-19, Maria van Kerkhove, said Monday.

CNN is tracking worldwide cases:

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President Donald Trump signed the massive $2.3 trillion dollar coronavirus relief and government funding bill into law Sunday night, averting a government shutdown that was set to begin on Tuesday, and extending billions of dollars in coronavirus aid to millions.

Trump's signature of the $900 billion Covid relief package extends unemployment benefits for millions of jobless gig-workers and independent contractors, as well as the long-term unemployed.

The estimated 12 million people in two key pandemic unemployment programs, who were facing their last payment this weekend, will now receive benefits for another 11 weeks. Plus, all those collecting jobless payments will receive a $300 weekly federal boost through mid-March.

Read the full story here.

The European Union (EU) officially kicked off its Covid-19 vaccination campaign on Sunday, days after approving the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine on December 21.

The Commission has declared December 27, 28 and 29 "EU vaccination days," which von der Leyen said were "a touching moment of unity." She added that: "Vaccination is the lasting way out of the pandemic."

The first people to receive doses of the vaccine were largely elderly or frontline medical workers.

In France a 78-year-old woman named Mauricette was the first to be given the vaccine, according to a tweet by Aurélien Rousseau, the director-general of the Ile-de-France region's health agency. Mauricette, a former housekeeper, received the vaccine at a public hospital in the greater Paris area.

Italy -- once the European epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic -- also administered its first doses of the vaccine on Sunday.

Early start: While the EU officially launched its vaccination program on Sunday, some countries had made a start on vaccinating people a day earlier -- doses were administered on Saturday in both Germany and Slovakia.

Read the full story:

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