By Sputnik
Moscow - The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 905 000, almost 28 million cases of infection were detected, and over 18.8 million of those patients were cured, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University, which tracks and compiles data from federal and local authorities, media and other sources.
As of 19:30 GMT Thursday, the number of cases globally is 27 976 756, including 905 765 fatalities.
The United States still has the highest case count in the world, with 6 387 236, including 191 536 fatalities and 2 387 479 recoveries.
VACCINES, TREATMENT
Over 30 vaccines against Covid-19 are currently undergoing clinical trials in different countries, including in Russia, and this is very encouraging, the World Health Organization's (WHO) spokeswoman in Russia, Melita Vujnovic, told Sputnik.
Clinical trials of the Russian vaccine against the coronavirus disease, Sputnik V, are showing good results and overall are going well, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) CEO Kirill Dmitriev said, adding that the immunization was already underway. The RDIF plans to supply up to 100 million doses of the vaccine to various countries across Latin America, Dmitriev said.
The pause in clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine developed by the UK-Swedish company AstraZeneca demonstrates the risks of new vaccines based on new untested technologies, RDIF's Dmitriev said.
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot expressed hope that a vaccine against the novel coronavirus developed by the company would be ready by the end of 2020 or early 2021, despite having to pause clinical trials.
The UK-developed AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine has allegedly caused high fever, chills, severe headache, and fatigue in one of the volunteers 14 hours after receiving the shot, the London-based Daily Mail newspaper reported.
The US Food and Drug Administration will deliver a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine to Americans and not rush one under any influence outside of science, Commissioner Steven Hahn said.
Russian Gamaleya research institute refutes claims that the data on the Russian Covid-19 vaccine that was published in the Lancet journal was untrustworthy, the deputy head of scientific research at the institute, Denis Logunov, told Sputnik.
DYNAMICS
India has confirmed 95 735 new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours marking the largest daily increase since the beginning of the outbreak, with the total number of those infected having reached 4,465,864, the country's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia announced the beginning of a second wave of Covid-19 in the country but added that the situation was under the government's control.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that up to 95 percent of the global population were still at risk of Covid-19, particularly in developing countries.
RESTRICTIONS
A majority of the world’s tourist destinations — 53 percent — have already eased travel restrictions introduced to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease, which shows a gradual restart of tourism, the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), one of the entities behind the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, is currently discussing the introduction of immune certificates that would confirm the vaccination or the high antibody titer with different countries to help international travel amid the pandemic, RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said.
IMPACT
The Canadian economy faces a long and challenging recovery following the crisis spurred by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said.
The novel coronavirus pandemic has accelerated pressure on North Korea, primarily by slashing imports from China that helped feed and otherwise sustain the isolated nation, joint US-South Korean military commander Gen. Robert Abrams said in an interview with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Migrants and refugees are among the most vulnerable groups of people affected by the Covid-19 crisis, as they are completely restricted in movement over the border closures and forced to live in places without basic services, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said in a new report.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) said on Thursday it would dismiss around 4,300 employees across its three airlines, citing an "unprecedented global aviation crisis."
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange´s extradition hearing in London's Central Criminal Court has been postponed until Monday over concerns that one of the US prosecutors might have been exposed to Covid-19, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
RESPONSE
The US Senate on Thursday failed to advance a $500 billion Republican bill to provide modest relief in response to health and economic hardship caused by the six-month long coronavirus pandemic after their Democrat rivals mustered enough votes to block the legislation.
US House Speak Nancy Pelosi told reporters that she was not ruling out a COVID-19 aid package before the November 3 presidential election.
The United States has delivered more than 15,000 ventilators to 56 countries as part of its global assistance efforts to counter the novel coronavirus pandemic, White House National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien said.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) supports India’s actions in fighting Covid-19 including its fiscal stimulus targeting workers, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters.
The African Union will receive $27 million for its efforts to spur post-pandemic recovery in the African continent, the African Development Bank announced.