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

Jharkhand's Covid-19 caseload rose to 1,11,177 as 174 more people tested positive for the infection, a health department official said on Saturday.

The Covid-19 death toll increased to 995 after two more patients succumbed to the disease, he said. Two new fatalities were reported from Bokaro and Hazaribagh, the official said. Ranchi district registered the maximum number of fresh cases at 93, followed by Bokaro (20) and Dhanbad (12).

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 28,438 to 1,300,516, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Saturday. The reported death toll rose by 496 to 21,466, the tally showed.

The Mexican government’s medical safety commission approved the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine Friday, making Mexico the fourth country to do so. Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell said Mexico's approval came after Britain, Canada and Bahrain. The United States announced its own approval of the vaccine shortly after Mexico.

South Korea reported 950 more Covid-19 cases as of Saturday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 41,736. The daily caseload marked an all-time daily high, surpassing the previous high of 909 tallied on February 29.

Mizoram has reported 16 cases of the novel coronavirus, the state Department of Information and Public Relations said on Saturday. With this, the Covid-19 tally in the state reached 4,024, including 3,820 discharged cases and 197 active cases. A total of seven people have succumbed to the deadly virus in the state so far

Switzerland and Liechtenstein on Friday reported 5,136 new Covid-19 cases over the previous day, bringing their combined tally to 373,831, according to data published by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. There have been 106 more deaths from the virus, and the death toll stands at 5,396 as of Friday afternoon, the office said. The Federal Council of Switzerland outlined new rules that will go into effect on December 12 to curb the increasing rate of Covid-19 infections ahead of Christmas, according to local media.

Telangana reported 635 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the tally to over 2.77 lakh while four fatalities pushed the toll to 1,489. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 141, followed by Rangareddy 76 and Medchal Malkajgiri 72, a government bulletin said on Saturday providing details as of 8 pm on December 11.

President Donald Trump said the US will start administering the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine “in less than 24 hours,” after the Food and Drug Adminstration granted it an emergency use authorization late Friday.

“The first vaccine will be administered in less than 24 hours,” Trump said in a televised address released on Twitter.

“Through our partnership with FedEx and UPS, we have already begun shipping the vaccine to every state and zip code in the country,” he said, adding that governors would decide who would receive the shots first in their states.

The US gave the final go-ahead Friday to the nation’s first Covid-19 vaccine, marking what could be the beginning of the end of an outbreak that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans, according to a person familiar with the decision but not authorized to discuss it publicly. Shots for health workers and nursing home residents are expected to begin in the coming days after the Food and Drug Administration authorized an emergency rollout of what promises to be a strongly protective vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and its German partner BioNTech.

China reported 13 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for Dec. 11, down from 15 cases a day earlier, the health commission said on Saturday. All of the new cases were imported infections originating from abroad, according to a statement by the National Health Commission.

The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, rose to 17 compared to seven a day earlier.

Mexico’s health agency has authorized the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said. Hospital occupancy in Mexico City, where 78% of general hospital beds are taken, is accelerating and the capital needs to take urgent action to slow the virus, Lopez-Gatell said.

Mexico reported 12,253 new cases late Friday, bringing the total to 1,229,379. Deaths rose 693 to 113,019.