INTERNATIONAL: Numerous European countries have tightened their restriction measures once again and proceeded with the injection of booster shots, in face of the recent flare-up of COVID-19.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases has announced on Saturday that Germany reported 63,924 new cases of COVID-19 in a single day, and the number of daily increases has exceeded 50,000 for three consecutive days.
The governor of Bavaria on Friday has also made an announcement on a series of measures, including suspending the traditional Christmas market that was about to open, closing bars, clubs and other public places, and requiring the catering industry to close early in the evening.
Great Britain has registered 40,941 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 9,806,034, according to official figures released Saturday.The country also reported a further 150 coronavirus-related deaths.
Russia has registered 37,120 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 9,294,188. Over 66.4 million Russian citizens have received at least one dose of vaccine as of Friday and over 58.7 million of them had been fully vaccinated. Russia will be able to produce 2 billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in 2022, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov has confirmed.
The Netherlands reported over 23,000 new confirmed cases on Thursday, a record-high since the beginning of the pandemic. Dutch health officials said on Friday that they have postponed the operations of some cancer and heart disease patients to free up beds in the intensive care units. The Netherlands is also implementing three-week epidemic prevention measures, including restoring the 1.5-meter social distancing requirement in public places and restricting the business hours of commercial stores.The country has also moved up the booster vaccination schedule by two weeks, which was originally planned to start in December.
France reported the total number of confirmed cases in the country has exceeded 7.37 million.French President Emmanuel Macron has stated on Friday that it may be necessary for France to gradually advance the booster shots on all adults according to the health conditions of different age groups.The French health authorities subsequently stated that it is considering expanding the scope of booster vaccination, and it is recommended that people over the age of 40 receive a booster shot six months after the completion of two doses of a vaccine.
