Live Updates: Moderna Promises to Supply COVID-19 Vaccine to UK From March

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US state of Ohio is imposing a curfew that will last for 21 days to contain the spread of COVID-19, Governor Mike DeWine said in a statement.

"We are issuing a curfew in Ohio that will start Thursday. This will run from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. [EST] for 21 days. We believe this will help reduce #COVID19 spread," the governor said in a tweet Tuesday.

The curfew will not apply to essential workers, people who have an emergency or medical need, DeWine said adding that the public can go to the grocery store and to pick up a carry-out or drive-thru meal.

DeWine urged people in Ohio to make an extra effort to avoid contact with other people and to wear a mask as steps to prevent hospitals in the state from being overwhelmed.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US state of Maryland is re-imposing strict measures to contain the novel coronavirus because the number of new infections exceeds 1,000 cases 13 days in a row, Governor Larry Hogan told reporters.

"Today, the Maryland Department of Health is issuing an order, which will restrict hospital visitations state-wide until further notice," Hogan said during a press briefing on Tuesday.

The governor said excepted individuals include parents or guardians of pediatric patients and individuals who support people with disabilities.

Hogan noted that hospitals in Maryland are reaching capacity despite the surge plan, which allowed adding some 6,000 beds.

"All across the country, this virus is spiking out of control at a rate much worse than it was in the spring," Hogan warned.

The Maryland authorities also imposed limitations on visiting nursing homes and will mandate all visitors to show proof of negative test within 72 hours.

In addition, Hogan announced additional restrictions on mass gatherings effective Friday, to include all bars and restaurants and all facilities where food and alcohol are served to close by 10:00 p.m.

All retail businesses and religious institutions will revert back to 50 percent capacity, Hogan also said.

Maryland remains in a state of emergency and any violations of the regulations would be considered a crime and are subject of a $5,000 fine and a sentence of up to one year in prison, Hogan added.

I’ve tested positive for coronavirus. I’ll b following my doctors’ orders/CDC guidelines & continue to quarantine. I’m feeling good + will keep up on my work for the ppl of Iowa from home. I appreciate everyone’s well wishes + prayers &look fwd to resuming my normal schedule soon

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) November 17, 2020

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Moscow has registered 76 deaths of patients infected with COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the Russian capital's death toll to 8,009, the city's coronavirus response center said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Another 76 patients, who were diagnosed with pneumonia and tested positive for the coronavirus infection, died in Moscow," the center said.

In the previous day, 74 people infected with the coronavirus died in Moscow.

ANKARA (Sputnik) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the imposition of a partial curfew on weekends, as well as the closure of cafes and restaurants across the country due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"In connection with the increase in the number of cases of coronavirus in the country, it was decided at a government meeting to close cafes and restaurants, except for take-out work, and cinemas until the end of the year, as well as to introduce a partial curfew on weekends with a ban on going out from 8 p.m. to 10 a.m, "Erdogan told reporters.

He added that education in schools would be conducted remotely until the end of the year, and sporting events would be held without spectators.

Moderna Inc said Tuesday it had agreed to supply its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273, to the United Kingdom starting from the beginning of March, provided it ,amages to secure local regulatory approval.

The company's statement did not disclose other terms of the agreement, including the number of doses it agreed to supply.

On Monday, UK Health Minister Matt Hancock told a news conference that under the deal, the American startup, one of the two US vaccine makers who have so far published positive data on final-stage trials, would supply Britain with five million doses starting from next spring.

Wall Street's top indexes opened lower on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones retreating from record closing highs a day earlier. The news came as more US states took measures to contain the still raging COVID-19 flare-ups.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia and Brazil are discussing the production of Russian coronavirus vaccine on a regional level, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Sputnik.

"As for Brazil, the work is ongoing directly with the Brazilian states. And it is now more than just exchange of opinions. The exact parameters are being discussed," Ryabkov said, when asked if the two countries were discussing production of Russian vaccine.

The office of mayor of Turkey's Istanbul announced the closure of all city museums, swimming pools and sports complexes from November 19 to contain the spread of the COVID-19.

"In order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the Istanbul mayor's office has taken a number of measures. From November 19, all sports complexes, swimming pools and museums (except those located in open areas) will be closed," the official website of the mayor's office said.

The majority of participants of a poll conducted by UK research company YouGov in 11 countries view positively vaccination against COVID-19, with four out of five people who know about the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine saying they are ready to get vaccinated with it, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), involved in the vaccine's development, said in a statement posted on the Twitter account of Sputnik V on Tuesday.

The survey was conducted on October 9-19 and included over 12,000 respondents from 11 countries.

"Nearly three quarters of respondents (73%) expressed readiness in being vaccinated against coronavirus. Furthermore, the percentage of respondents who expressed readiness is even higher among those who are aware of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine: with four out of five respondents saying they would like to be vaccinated," the statement read.

"Russia as a vaccine manufacturer is the most highly trusted, with 21% of the votes, surpassing the USA at 15% and China at 13% among the first-choice countries named by respondents," the poll results showed.

According to the survey, nine out of 10 people would choose a vaccine based on a human adenoviral vector (like Sputnik V) over other non-human adenoviral vector platforms.

"Russia’s scientific expertise in microbiology, immunology and vaccine and drug development is highly reputable worldwide, which is confirmed by this survey. Russia, as a vaccine manufacturer, was mentioned more often than other countries as the most highly trusted," RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said in the statement.

The chief of the Russian public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said on Tuesday that some mutations of the coronavirus were registered in Siberia.

"We see certain changes ... in the Siberian region, which allows us to assume that its own version [of the coronavirus] with certain mutations is being formed in this region," Anna Popova said at an online forum on new scientific data on COVID-19.

Rospotrebnadzor specified later that this was not a new form of coronavirus, just certain mutations.

France is gradually gaining control over the COVID-19 virus, which is still active, but has been in decline over the last few weeks, French Health Minister Olivier Veran told the RMC broadcaster on Tuesday.

The minister specified that the virus circulation has been less rapid than it had been in October, when a curfew and a nationwide lockdown were introduced to curb its spread.

"We are still in the phase of significant active circulation of the virus, but we are in the process of regaining control over the dynamics of the epidemic. It means that the measures adopted by the government are working," Veran said.

He noted that the health situation is still uncertain in terms of when the lockdown would be lifted and businesses would be able to operate again. The minister affirmed that he was not in favor of non-alimentary shops reopening on November 27, as was requested by local authorities in some parts of the country.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is treating all candidate vaccines against COVID-19 equally, Peter Maurer, the committee's president, told Sputnik in an interview, adding that the organization is waiting for international scientists to give their approval to any safe and effective candidate vaccines.

"Obviously, there is a power competition around with the [COVID-19] vaccine and therefore, that is an area where, as a humanitarian organization, you also want to be principled and treat all those who are in the power competition over vaccines in the same way … So ICRC follows this discussion very closely and we don’t have any prejudice but we believe that, because of the power competition and vaccine competition, we need some form of scientific international green light on a vaccine to be able to deploy it in our operations," Maurer remarked.

According to the ICRC president, a safe and effective vaccine will not be the only means of bringing the global pandemic to an end, as testing, treatment, and the support of health care systems will remain crucial.

"We don’t believe that a vaccine is the only solution. We have always said that it is a vaccine, it is treatment, it is testing and it is support of health care systems. These four elements are of critical importance," Maurer remarked.

The humanitarian organization will continue to follow all vaccine developments closely, the ICRC president added.

"But our approach remains that we follow the situation very closely, we will specialize on fragile context and fragile population. We have the four pillars of our health approach, which seem to me of critical importance. And also, in that sense, of course we don’t have a prejudice in favor of one or the other solution," Maurer remarked.

Russia has registered 22,410 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, down from the record 22,778 yesterday, bringing the total to 1,971,013, the federal response center said on Tuesday.

"In the past 24 hours, Russia has confirmed 22,410 COVID-19 cases in 85 regions, of which 5,556 (24.8 percent) were detected actively, with people showing no clinical symptoms," the response center said, adding that the case count has reached 1,971,013.

Moscow reported 5,882 COVID-19 cases, down from 6,360 yesterday. The Russian capital was followed by St. Petersburg with 2,130 cases (up from 2,039 yesterday) and the Moscow region with 839 cases (up from 810 yesterday).

The response center reported a new single-day record  of 442 coronavirus fatalities, up from 303 yesterday, raising the country's death toll to 33,931.