In this file photo, commuters wearing a face masks amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic walk through a hall of Moscow metro on Oct 25, 2021. (NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP)
BRASILIA / VIENNA / OTTAWA / MOSCOW – Russia registered 29,929 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, taking its total caseload to 10,016,896, the official monitoring and response center said in a statement Sunday.
The nationwide death toll grew by 1,132 to 289,483, while the number of recoveries increased by 31,391 to 8,741,355.
The nationwide death toll grew by 1,132 to 289,483, while the number of recoveries increased by 31,391 to 8,741,355
Meanwhile, Moscow, Russia's worst-hit region, reported 2,862 new cases, taking its total to 1,984,378. The Russian capital was followed by Saint Petersburg with 2,012 new cases.
Over 74 million Russian citizens had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Friday and more than 67 million had been fully vaccinated.
The level of herd immunity in the country stood at 55.7 percent, data released on Friday showed.
Austria
Austria ended a nationwide lockdown for most people, while keeping restrictions for the unvaccinated as it presses ahead with the boldest incentive in Europe to boost inoculations.
Starting Sunday, vaccine rejectors can only leave their homes to go to work, where they’ll need to provide a negative coronavirus test every two days, and for essential shopping and daily exercise. Entry to other venues will be barred.
Life will slowly return to normal for people who’ve had a vaccine or have recently recovered from the virus, with regions implementing a patchwork of easing schedules. Concerts are set to restart, museums and restaurants will throw open their doors again and Christmas markets will return to life.
Police estimate about 44,000 people turned out in Vienna for the third large protest in the past month against mandatory vaccinations, organized by the far-right Freedom Party and its leader, Herbert Kickl. Several arrests were reported.
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Separately, around 2,500 protested against the restrictions in Klagenfurt, while 150 people demonstrated in Linz.
Austria, which has a population of 8.9 million people, has reported 1.2 million coronavirus cases and more than 13,000 deaths since the pandemic began last year.
A patient gets medical treatment at the Health Care Center specialized in Flu and COVID-19 at the Complexo do Alemao Olympic Village, located in Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Dec 10, 2021. (MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP)
Brazil
Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Luis Roberto Barroso ruled on Saturday that the country must demand proof of vaccination for visitors seeking to enter the country.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied requests of state health regulator Anvisa to demand vaccination proof from visitors.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied requests of state health regulator Anvisa to demand vaccination proof from visitors
But Barroso said in his decision that Brazil needs to avoid supporting what he called "antivaccine tourism."
The justice said the requirement for proof of vaccination can be waived only when the traveler comes from a country where no vaccines are available or the individual was prevented from vaccination due to health reasons.
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The government has delayed for a week a regulation that would require non-vaccinated visitors to quarantine for five days, due to a hacker attack on the Health Ministry on Friday.
Canada
Canada reported 3,589 new COVID-19 cases as of Saturday noon, bringing the cumulative total to 1,831,344 cases, including 29,909 deaths, according to CTV.
Quebec province, which has a population of 8.4 million, reported 1,982 new COVID-19 cases Saturday morning while Ontario, the most populous province with 14 million, confirmed 1,607 new cases. Both provinces have seen increased new cases daily over the past week.
Of Saturday's new cases reported in Quebec, 1,010 people were not fully vaccinated. The province's cumulative total cases rose to 464,228, including 11.607 deaths.
Of Ontario's new cases, 743 cases involved people who were unvaccinated, partially vaccinated or their vaccination status was unknown. The remaining 864 infections involved people who were fully vaccinated. As of Saturday, Ontario's cumulative total cases rose to 630,671, including 10,070 deaths.
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Medical experts said that the number of infections in fully vaccinated individuals would rise as more people get the vaccine.
Canada's daily case counts are on rise with high infection rates persisting in many areas.
During the seven-day period between Dec 3 and 9, an average of 3,450 new cases were reported daily, which was an increase of 22 percent compared to the previous week, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada on Friday. The national data issued on Friday showed that an average of 1,457 people with COVID-19 were being treated in Canadian hospitals each day on Dec 3-9, which was five percent lower than last week.
This included, on average, 458 people who were being treated in intensive care units, 1.6 percent less than last week and an average of 20 deaths were reported daily on Dec 3-9.
While Delta continues to represent the vast majority of recent COVID-19 cases in Canada, as of Dec 9, 2021, there were 87 Omicron cases reported in seven provinces and territories in the country.
Omicron is ramping up the push for widespread boosters in Canada, shifting the conversation away from providing added protection to the most vulnerable and toward giving everyone eligible an additional shot to stave off the potential spread of the highly transmissible variants.
As of Dec 9, 2021, Canada had administered over 62.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
The data indicated that over 81 percent of the total population had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and over 76 percent were fully vaccinated. Among children aged 5-11 years, 17 percent received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
