Country, Other	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths
World	120,764,998	+336,354	2,671,912
USA	30,138,586	+45,045	548,013
Brazil	11,525,477	+42,107	279,602
India	11,409,595	+24,437	158,892
Russia	4,400,045	+9,437	92,494
UK	4,263,527	+5,089	125,580
France	4,078,133	+6,471	90,762
Italy	3,238,394	+15,267	102,499
Spain	3,195,062	+4,484	72,424
Turkey	2,894,893	+15,503	29,552
Germany	2,585,385	+6,550	74,115
Colombia	2,305,884	+2,740	61,243
Argentina	2,201,886	+6,164	53,836
Mexico	2,166,290	+2,415	194,710
Poland	1,917,527	+10,896	47,206
Iran	1,754,933	+7,980	61,330
South Africa	1,530,033	+613	51,421
Ukraine	1,467,548	+6,792	28,433
Indonesia	1,425,044	+5,589	38,573
Peru	1,418,974	+6,568	49,177
Czechia	1,402,451	+3,318	23,529
Netherlands	1,162,661	+5,469	16,087
Canada	913,047	+3,890	22,495
Chile	896,231	+5,121	21,772
Romania	862,681	+2,972	21,565
Israel	820,913	+2,365	6,030
Portugal	814,513	+256	16,694
Belgium	808,283	+2,962	22,441
Iraq	763,085	+4,901	13,788
Philippines	626,893	+5,404	12,837
Pakistan	607,453	+2,253	13,537
Bangladesh	559,168	+1,773	8,571
Hungary	524,196	+7,706	17,083
Serbia	520,911	+4,634	4,747
Austria	495,464	+1,896	8,892
Morocco	489,096	+159	8,733
Jordan	486,470	+9,417	5,428
Japan	447,906	+1,033	8,590
UAE	428,295	+1,898	1,402
Lebanon	419,953	+1,505	5,422
Saudi Arabia	382,752	+345	6,573
Panama	348,155	+236	6,005
Slovakia	337,960	+457	8,605
Malaysia	324,971	+1,208	1,213
Belarus	303,270	+947	2,103
Ecuador	302,498	+277	16,240
Bulgaria	283,194	+4,637	11,472
Nepal	275,310	+79	3,014
Georgia	275,148	+159	3,650
Bolivia	259,389	+385	11,958
Croatia	251,174	+129	5,685
Dominican Republic	246,299	+254	3,226
Tunisia	242,124	+290	8,404
Azerbaijan	240,671	+376	3,286
Ireland	227,316	+575	4,534
Kazakhstan	224,731	+1,011	2,856
Greece	222,281	+1,134	7,137
Denmark	221,071	+612	2,393
Palestine	211,602	+2,298	2,293
Kuwait	210,855	+1,332	1,179
Moldova	205,324	+861	4,369
Slovenia	200,579	+205	3,938
Egypt	191,555	+631	11,340
Guatemala	183,014	+133	6,578
Paraguay	181,414	+1,400	3,517
Armenia	178,702	+317	3,265
Honduras	178,277	+445	4,334
Ethiopia	176,618	+1,151	2,555
Qatar	170,733	+481	267
Nigeria	160,895	+238	2,016
Oman	147,423	+556	1,609
Venezuela	146,488	+535	1,444
Libya	146,080	+1,087	2,402
Bahrain	131,683	+682	485
Albania	118,017	+543	2,060
Algeria	115,410	+145	3,040
Kenya	113,967	+731	1,918
North Macedonia	112,930	+284	3,340
S. Korea	96,017	+382	1,675
Latvia	93,959	+178	1,769
China	90,049	+5	4,636
Sri Lanka	88,238	+331	532
Ghana	87,985	+223	691
Kyrgyzstan	86,917	+67	1,483
Estonia	86,086	+1,281	728
Zambia	84,950	+153	1,164
Montenegro	84,163	+470	1,136
Norway	81,305	+865	640
Uzbekistan	80,678	+111	622
Uruguay	72,862	+1,171	717
Finland	67,334	+465	800
Thailand	27,005	+78	87
Suriname	9,028	+4	176
Aruba	8,421	+26	79
Vietnam	2,557	+3	35

 

Retrieved from:  https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

 

 

 

Spain joins Germany, France and Italy in halting AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccinations

From CNN’s Al Goodman

 

 

A healthcare worker prepares doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on March 5 in Rome, Italy. Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

 

Spain joined Germany, France and Italy today in halting use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in response to a small number of people across Europe suffering blood clots – and some dying – after receiving the shot.

Spain’s suspension will last for two weeks, Health Minister Carolina Darias announced at a nationally televised news conference Monday.

It's a "temporary and precautionary" suspension, she said, "until the risks can be evaluated by the European Medicines Agency."

The EMA reiterated on Monday that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks and that data did not indicate people were more likely to have blood clots after receiving the vaccine.

The agency has an emergency meeting on Thursday about the issue.

 

 

 

Third coronavirus wave threatens Europe, triggering fresh restrictions

From CNN’s Eliza Mackintosh in London and Saskya Vandoorne in Paris

 

 

A member of the medical staff tends to a patient in the Covid-19 unit of the Bolognini hospital in Bergamo, Italy, on March 12. Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images

 

A third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is threatening parts of Europe, forcing governments to reinstate restrictions first issued one year ago.

New variants of the coronavirus have been blamed for a spike in cases in France, Italy, Germany and Poland. The infection rate in the European Union is surging -- now at the highest level in weeks.

Much of Italy was put in lockdown on Monday, with people only permitted out of their homes for essential errands. The restrictions will last through Easter weekend, when the entire country will become a red zone.

“More than a year after the start of the health emergency, we are unfortunately facing a new wave of infections,” Prime Minister Mario Draghi said Friday, after announcing the new measures, news agency Agence France Presse reported.

“The memory of what happened last spring is vivid, and we will do everything to prevent it from happening again,” he added.

In France, authorities are under pressure from doctors to issue more restrictions as the country grapples with a surge in cases that has pushed intensive care units in the Paris region to the brink.

French President Emmanuel Macron has issued restrictions and curfews for several regions, but has stopped short of a nationwide lockdown. But on Sunday, Prime Minister Jean Castex said that if a lockdown was necessary he would “do it," while urging the French to get vaccinated, Twitch website reported.  

On Monday, French newspapers marked the one-year anniversary of the country's first lockdown. “One year of Covid, 90,000 dead, a great loss,” read the cover of left-wing newspaper Liberation. In the background were the names and ages of the deceased. 

 

 

 

Brazil appoints fourth health minister since the pandemic began

From CNN's Rodrigo Pedroso and Mitchell McCluskey

 

Brazil is getting its fourth health minister since the coronavirus pandemic began.

President Jair Bolsonaro announced Monday night that the crucial role would be given to Dr. Marcelo Queiroga, president of the Brazilian Society of Cardiology. He replaces army general Eduardo Pazuello, who had held the job for less than a year.

"It was decided this afternoon to appoint Marcelo Queiroga," Bolsonaro told supporters in front of the presidential palace in Brasilia. "I have known him for a few years. He is not a person I have known for a few days. He has everything it takes to do a good job, following up on everything Pazuello has done until today."

Queiroga takes office amid one of the darkest periods of the pandemic in the country. As of Monday, a total of least 279,286 people had died of the virus. The country's hospitals are inundated, with intensive care wards in 22 out of Brazil's 26 states nearing capacity.

The outgoing Pazuello had recently faced sharp criticism for vaccine shortages and was under investigation for oxygen shortages earlier this year in Manaus, capital city of Amazonas state.

 

Retrieved from: https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-vaccine-updates-03-16-21/index.html

 

 

 

Mental health crisis affecting young people needs immediate attention, report says

By Elian Peltier

 

 

At North Dakota State University in October. Several studies have shown that the pandemic has disproportionately affected the mental health of young people.Credit...Bing Guan/Reuters

Young people’s reports of poor well-being during the pandemic have fueled a global crisis that needs immediate attention, according to a nonprofit organization that surveyed nearly 50,000 people in eight countries, providing a comprehensive overview of the pandemic’s impact on mental health.

More than one in four respondents reported facing or being at risk of clinical disorders, a number that rose to nearly one in two for those ages 18 to 24, according to the report, which was released by group, Sapien Labs, a U.S. nonprofit group dedicated to understanding the human mind.

The report, based on data collected from an online, anonymous survey whose findings were published on Monday, focused on Australia, Britain, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and the United States. It found that 40 percent of respondents ages 18 to 24 reported feeling sadness, distress or hopelessness, as well as unwanted, strange and obsessive thoughts.

“The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated trends that were already there, and made them worse,” said Dr. Tara Thiagarajan, the founder and chief scientist of Sapien Labs. “Particularly, social isolation has had a larger impact on young people, and it’s pushed many of them over the edge.”

Other studies have shown that the pandemic has disproportionately affected the mental health of young people, women and people of color.

Mental health experts have also warned against the long-term effects of the pandemic, which are likely to include an economic recession and the psychological fallout of long-term social isolation.

The report’s authors, Dr. Thiagarajan and Jennifer Newson, urged governments to focus on population-wide policies targeting mental health, instead of individual approaches that are often favored.

“While much of the focus in the mental health arena has been on self-care through apps, therapy and other programs, social and economic policy and institutional culture may have a large role to play in the mitigation of our present mental health crisis and prevention of future crises,” they wrote.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/03/15/world/covid-19-coronavirus/mental-health-crisis-affecting-young-people-needs-immediate-attention-report-says

 

 

 

A year into the pandemic, parents are demanding that schools fully reopen

By Madeleine Ngo

 

 

A rally in San Francisco on Saturday in support of a five-day in-person learning schedule at the city’s public schools.Credit...John G Mabanglo/EPA, via Shutterstock

Parents of schoolchildren protested in several cities around the United States over the weekend, frustrated by the off-again-on-again reopening policies in some school districts and blanket closures in others a full year after the pandemic began, despite growing scientific evidence that schools can reopen safely if they follow basic procedures.

Several hundred people rallied in downtown Naperville, Ill., on Sunday to urge officials to give students the option of returning to the classroom five days a week. Wielding signs with messages like “Get our kids back in school” and “Flip the school board,” demonstrators chanted, “Five days a week,” The Naperville Sun reported.

In San Francisco, hundreds of parents and children marched on Saturday in support of a five-day in-person learning schedule, arguing that a partial reopening falls short, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. Similarly, parents demonstrated at Pan Pacific Park in Los Angeles on Saturday, according to a local news station, saying a tentative agreement with teachers for a partial reopening in April was not enough.

Parents pressing for in-person classes say that remote learning leaves students feeling emotionally and socially drained at home.

They have the Biden administration on their side. Jill Biden and members of her husband’s administration have been traveling the country in a campaign aimed at reopening schools. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released guidelines last month saying it was safe for schools to reopen if they could ensure measures like proper masking, physical distancing and hygiene were taken. The recommendations called for every elementary school to open in some fashion.

In early February, The New York Times surveyed 175 experts — mostly pediatricians focused on public health — who largely agreed that it was safe enough for schools to be open to elementary students for full-time, in-person instruction. Some said that was true even in communities where coronavirus cases were widespread, with proper safety precautions, including adequate ventilation and avoidance of large group activities.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/03/15/world/covid-19-coronavirus/a-year-into-the-pandemic-parents-are-demanding-that-schools-fully-reopen

 

 

 

 

Italy imposes lockdown measures as cases spike across Europe

By Benjamin Mueller

 

 

A year after Italy became the first European country to impose a national lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the nation has fallen eerily quiet once again, with new restrictions imposed on Monday in an effort to stop a third wave of infections that is threatening to wash over Europe and overwhelm its halting mass inoculation program.

As he explained the measures on Friday, Prime Minister Mario Draghi warned that Italy was facing a “new wave of contagion,” driven by more infectious variants of the coronavirus.

Just as before, Italy was not alone.

“We have clear signs: The third wave in Germany has already begun,” Lothar Wieler, head of the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases, said during a news conference on Friday. Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary predicted that this week would be the most difficult since the start of the pandemic in terms of allocating hospital beds and breathing machines, as well as mobilizing nurses and doctors. Hospitalizations in France are at their highest levels since November, prompting the authorities to consider a third national lockdown.

Officials in the United States are watching those developments with wary eyes. At a White House news briefing on Monday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pleaded with Americans not to let their guard down as case numbers have dropped from their peak. She pointed to images of young people crowded onto Florida beaches, though generally people are safer outside than inside, and to European nations as a warning.

“Each of these countries has had nadirs like we are having now, and each took an upward trend after they disregarded no mitigation strategies,” she said. “They simply took their eye off the ball. I’m pleading with you for the sake of our nation’s health. These should be warning signs for all of us.”

The U.S. death rate remains at nearly 1,400 people every day. That number still exceeds the summer peak, when patients filled Sun Belt hospitals and outbreaks in states that reopened early drove record numbers of cases, though daily deaths nationwide remained lower than the first surge last spring. The average number of new reported cases per day remains comparable to the figures reported in mid-October.

Across Europe, cases are spiking. Supply shortages and vaccine skepticism, as well as bureaucracy and logistical obstacles, have slowed the pace of inoculations. Governments are putting exhausted populations under lockdown. Street protests are turning violent. A year after the virus began spreading in Europe, things feel unnervingly the same.

In Rome, the empty streets, closed schools, shuttered restaurants and canceled Easter holidays came as a relief to some residents after months of climbing infections, choked hospitals and deaths.

“It’s a liberation to return to lockdown, because for months, after everything that happened, people of every age were going out acting like there was no problem,” said Annarita Santini, 57, as she rode her bike in front of the Trevi Fountain, a popular site that had no visitors except for three police officers. “At least like this,” she added, “the air can be cleared and people will be scared again.”

For months, Italy had relied on a color-coded system of restrictions that, unlike the blanket lockdown of last year, sought to surgically smother emerging outbreaks in order to keep much of the country open and running. It does not seem to have worked.

“History repeats itself,” Massimo Galli, one of Italy’s top virologists, told the daily Corriere della Sera on Monday. “The third wave started, and the variants are running.”

“Unfortunately we all got the illusion that the arrival of the vaccines would reduce the necessity of more drastic closures,” he said. “But the vaccines did not arrive in sufficient quantities.”

 

Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/15/world/italy-covid-lockdown.html

 

 

 

Summary

 

Here are the key developments from the last few hours:

· World Health Organization vaccine safety experts will meet on Tuesday to discuss the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine after a number of countries temporarily suspended it over blood clot fears. The WHO, AstraZeneca, and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have all insisted the shot is safe, and that there is no link between the vaccine and reported blood clots.

· The three largest EU nations – Germany, Italy and France – joined others in suspending the shot Monday, dealing a blow to the global immunisation campaign against a disease that has killed more than 2.6 million people. Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Latvia, Indonesia and Venezuela have also temporarily suspended the jab.

· Australia has said it will continue to use the vaccine. The country’s chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, said in an emailed statement the government remained confident in the vaccine as there was no evidence that it caused blood clots though the side-effects reported would be investigated as a “precautionary measure”.

· Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, on Monday urged citizens to get the AstraZeneca shot after reports of hesitancy based on the suspensions in Europe.

· Thailand’s prime minister received a shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Tuesday, as much of Asia shrugged off concerns about reports of blood clots in some recipients in Europe, saying that so far there is no evidence to link the two. “There are people who have concerns,” Thai prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, said after he received the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. “But we must believe doctors, believe in our medical professionals.”

· The UK’s cancer death rate could rise for the first time in decades if urgent action to address problems stemming from the pandemic is not taken, cancer charities have warned. “We are calling on the government to invest more money in ensuring the backlog of cancer cases is reduced and eliminated,” said Michelle Mitchell, the head of Cancer Research UK.

· India reported 24,492 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the sixth straight day of more than 20,000 infections, as curbs to try to stop the spread were expanded in parts of the country that have recorded a surge, including Maharashtra and Gujarat.

· China has reported 13 new Covid cases on 15 March, up from five cases a day earlier, the national health authority said on Tuesday.

· The Norwegian capital, Oslo, has on Monday closed secondary schools and restricted the number of visitors to homes to two, as Covid case numbers rise. Schools for younger children in the worst-hit districts will also close and kindergartens will be closed during the Easter holidays except for children of essential workers.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/mar/16/coronavirus-live-news-keep-using-astrazenecaoxford-vaccine-says-who