Highlights: US approves Pfizer Covid shot, first shipment to arrive on Monday

Mexico reported 12,253 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, bringing the national total to 1,229,379, according to its Health Ministry, reports ANI/Xinhua.

The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines on Saturday reported 1,301 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infection, bringing the total number in the country to 448,331, reports ANI/Xinhua.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to discuss on Sunday a tightening of lockdown restrictions with state leaders as coronavirus infections rise and amid growing calls for action, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, reports Reuters.

Russia confirmed 28,137 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours on Saturday, including 6,622 in Moscow, pushing the national tally to 2,625,848 since the pandemic began. Authorities said 560 people had died overnight, taking the official death toll to 46,453.

The World Bank has approved an additional loan of $300 million to help Ukraine's government support low-income families amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, the bank said late on Friday.

"The new funds will help finance Ukraine’s Covid-19 social protection emergency response by introducing fast cash transfers to individuals and households who have lost their jobs or income sources because of the pandemic," it said in a statement.

Uttarakhand Minister Rekha Arya on Saturday informed that she has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

"My corona test report has come positive. I am asymptomatic and have no problem. I have isolated myself under the supervision of doctors. Those of you who have come in close contact with me in the last few days, please take care and get your test done," Arya wrote on Twitter.

मेरी कोरोना टेस्ट रिपोर्ट पॉजिटिव आई है। मैं एसिम्प्टमैटिक हूँ और कोई परेशानी नहीं है । डॉक्टर्स की निगरानी में मैंने स्वयं को आइसोलेट कर लिया है। आप में से जो भी लोग गत कुछ दिनों में मेरे निकट संपर्क में आयें हैं, कृपया सावधानी बरतें और अपनी जाँच करवाएं।

— Rekha Arya (@rekhaaryaoffice) December 12, 2020

Jodhpur municipal corporation organised a 'tanga rally" on Friday to spread awareness about Covid-19 protocols in the city. Speaking to ANI, Rohitashva Tomar, Commissioner of South Municipal Corporation, Jodhpur, said the rally was part of public awareness campaign run by the state government in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

Seven more people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, pushing the tally in the Union Territory to 4,798, a health department official said on Saturday. Of the fresh cases, five were detected during contact tracing while two have travel history, he said.

Thane district of Maharashtra has reported 486 new coronavirus positive cases, which took its overall tally to2,35,361, an official said on Saturday. These new cases were reported on Friday, he said. The death toll due to the virus rose to 5,801as 11 patients died due to the infection during the day, the official said.

So far, 2,22,995 patients have recovered, pushing the recovery rate to 94.75 per cent, he added. There are 6,565 active cases in the district and the mortality is 2.46 per cent. In neighbouring Palghar district, the case count has reached 43,490and death toll 1,170, another official said.

Arunachal Pradesh reported its highest-ever single day recovery of Covid-19 patients as 424 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the total number of cured persons to 16,163, a senior health department official said here on Saturday. Eighteen more people tested positive for the infection, pushing the Covid-19 tally in the northeastern state to 16,497, the official said.

Of the 18 new cases, six were reported from the Capital Complex region and three each from Changlang and Anjaw, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said.

Puducherry posted 38 fresh COVID-19 cases on Saturday, taking the total number of those infected by the virus to 37,444. The toll remained 619 as no related deaths were reported in the union territory in the last 24 hours ending 10 am on Saturday. Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said in a release that Puducherry region registered 17 new cases of infection out of the total 38 cases followed by Karaikal (six) and Mahe (15).

Pakistan on Saturday recorded 2,729 new Covid-19 cases and 71 deaths in the last 24 hours, reported ARY News. According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the national tally of cases now stands at 435,056.

The coronavirus death toll of the country rose to 8.724 on Saturday.

China has put one northern city in lockdown and launched citywide coronavirus testing in another, after two local infections involving workers at a port and trade zone respectively, authorities have said. There was one new case each in Dongning and Suifenhe, which both sit on the country's border with Russia.

In Dongning, a 40-year-old maintenance worker at a port tested positive on Thursday, triggering the latest measures. Officials there said Saturday it would enter "wartime mode" -- temporarily suspending public bus services and road transport, while requiring anyone leaving the city to produce a negative Covid-19 test from the preceding 24 hours.

US President-elect Joe Biden has urged Americans to have confidence in the Covid-19 vaccine developed by first-rate scientists without political influence, after it was allowed for emergency use in the country, worst-hit by the pandemic.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday issued emergency use authorisation (EAU) to the vaccine developed by American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, paving the way for its use in the country.

"These are first-rate scientists taking their time and looking at all of the elements that need to be looked at. Scientific integrity led us to this point. We know the payments challenges and hard work ahead,” Biden, a Democrat, told reporters at Wilmington in Delaware on Friday.

“You know, as tough as things are now, I firmly believe better days are ahead," he said.

In the bid to combat the coronavirus pandemic, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has inaugurated a 100-bedded ‘dedicated Covid block’ at the state run Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) in Imphal. This comes amid a rising number of coronavirus cases in the state. According to the Union Health Ministry’s data, there are 2,970 active cases in Manipur.