The US remains the worst-hit country, with over 31 million coronavirus cases, while at least 565,000 Americans have died during the pandemic. Next comes India (more than 14 million cases and 173,000 deaths), then Brazil (13.8 million cases and over 365,000 deaths)
At the same time, Mexico has the third-highest death toll in the world with over 211,000 fatalities and almost 2.3 million infected.
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has held telephone talks with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla asking him for additional coronavirus vaccine shipments, the NHK broadcaster reports.
The talks were held on Saturday - the last day of Suga’s three-day visit to the US.
Suga said that more deliveries were needed in order to have enough doses by September. Bourla expressed readiness to ensure steady vaccine deliveries to Japan and to hold more talks on additional shipments.
TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - The Ministry of Health of Israel has canceled the mandatory wearing of face masks in the open air amid a drop in coronavirus infection rates.
"In light of the morbidity figures that continue to be low throughout the country … Director General of the Ministry of Health, Prof. Hezi Levy, amended the Public Health Order, so that there is no obligation to wear a mask in an open area, starting tomorrow, April 18," the ministry said on Saturday.
The ministry advised to wear face coverings at large outdoor gatherings and stressed that mask wearing is still obligatory indoors.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that he has no plans at the moment to get vaccinated against COVID-19, since he still has antibodies after suffering the disease, Belta state-run news agency reported on Saturday.
In July 2020, the Belarusian leader said that, according to the doctors' conclusion, he had suffered from an asymptomatic form of coronavirus. In late December, Lukashenko announced that he did not plan to be vaccinated noting that he viewed himself to be "skeptic" about the vaccination. At the same time, in late March, Lukashenko did not rule out a possibility of getting a vaccine when "the time comes," and expressed hope that he still had antibodies after the illness he had suffered in the summer.
According to the media outlet, Lukashenko said that his recent blood test had showed a sufficient amount of antibodies after the previous illness. The head of state added that he had never been vaccinated against the flu as well.
When asked about the situation with COVID-19 in the country, Lukashenko assured that it is under control, adding that the incidence level is even lower that it was expected. According to him, Belarus launched the production of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 and produces enough vaccines to at least temporarily protect the population.
