A medical worker collects a swab sample from a resident at a COVID-19 testing site in Daxing District of Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 20, 2021. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)
- Africa's confirmed cases pass 3.31 mln
- Chinese mainland reports 126 new locally transmitted cases
- Zimbabwean gov't further cuts staff working at office
- Chile approves emergency use of vaccine made by China's Sinovac
- Brazil sees second highest daily COVID-19 death toll since mid-August
BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
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ADDIS ABABA -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent reached 3,310,394 as of Wednesday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
According to the continental disease control and prevention agency's dashboard, the death toll related to the pandemic in Africa stood at 80,970 as of Wednesday.
A woman selects face masks in an open-air market in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Jan. 9, 2021. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)
BEIJING -- The Chinese mainland on Wednesday reported 144 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 126 locally transmitted and 18 arriving from outside the mainland, the National Health Commission said Thursday.
Of the locally transmitted cases, 68 were reported in Heilongjiang, 33 in Jilin, 20 in Hebei, two each in Beijing and Shanxi, and one in Shandong, the commission said in its daily report.
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HARARE -- The Zimbabwean government said Wednesday that it was reducing the number of workers present at the office to 10 percent to slow the spread of COVID-19.
A memorandum from Acting Secretary of the Public Service Commission Moses Mhike to heads of government ministries announced the new measure regarding the containment of COVID-19 in the workplace.
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SANTIAGO -- The Public Health Institute of Chile (ISP) on Wednesday approved the emergency use of a vaccine against COVID-19 developed by Chinese firm Sinovac Biotech.
"We obtained very good results regarding the manufacturing quality and the strains being developed in the manufacture of this vaccine. We are approving a safe and effective vaccine for the population," acting director of the ISP, Heriberto Garcia, said.
A man receives a dose of China's COVID-19 vaccine in the city of Tabatinga in the state of Amazonas, Brazil, Jan. 19, 2021. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua)
RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazil on Wednesday reported more 1,340 deaths from COVID-19 in a day, the second highest daily count since Aug. 19, the Health Ministry said.
The highest single-day death toll was 1,524, registered on Jan. 7, it said.
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SEOUL -- South Korea reported 401 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Thursday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 73,918.
The daily caseload stayed below 500 for four straight days after peaking at 1,240 on Dec. 25.■
