The United States tops the list of nations hit by the pandemic, with over 33 million cases and a death toll of 590,000.
Second is India, which has been suffering from a major wave of COVID-related deaths amid a medical crisis, registering around 27 million cases and over 307,000 fatalities. Next comes Brazil, which has confirmed over 16 million cases and the second-highest death toll in the world of around 452,000.
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Efforts by US health officials to fight a growing threat from antibiotic-resistant bacteria by writing fewer prescriptions received an unexpected boost from the coronavirus pandemic, with prescriptions from doctors’ offices falling by one-third from January to May 2020, the Centres For Disease Control (CDC) said on Wednesday.
"Studies show a 33% decrease in antibiotic prescribing in outpatient settings during the COVID-19 pandemic and an overall decrease in antibiotic use among nursing home residents. However, prescribing of specific antibiotics, including azithromycin, was higher than expected", a CDC press release said.
Antibiotics do not treat the virus that causes COVID-19 and one reason cited by the CDC for the overall decrease in antibiotic use is a growing awareness antibiotics don’t treat viruses, the release said.
The CDC also cited a decrease in the spread of non-COVID-19 respiratory diseases such as flu and the common cold – two illnesses also caused by viruses. In the past, the CDC has urged doctors to avoid using antibiotics for patients with cold or flu symptoms - even when patients insist. Both diseases are caused by viruses.
In nursing homes, a similar decrease in antibiotic use occurred from May-October 2020 – a decline attributed to increased infection prevention and control measures along with fewer admissions of new residents during the period, the release said.
The one exception to the trend - an increase in prescriptions of the antibiotic azithromycin - stemmed from the medication’s promotion as a potential therapy early in the pandemic as a possible treatment with COVID-19, typically when combined with the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine, according to the CDC.
US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday the US Intelligence Community has determined there is insufficient information to assess whether COVID-19 came from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory leak.
"I had my National Security Advisor task the Intelligence Community to prepare a report on their most up-to-date analysis of the origins of COVID-19, including whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident", Biden said in a press release. "Here is their current position: 'while two elements in the IC leans toward the former scenario and one leans more toward the latter - each with low or moderate confidence - the majority of elements do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other'".
Biden said he directed the US Intelligence Community to redouble efforts to investigate the matter and to report their findings to him in 90 days.
The US Intelligence Community is expected to reach out to China with specific questions about the origins of COVID-19, Biden said.
Biden said the intelligence community will work with US national labs and other federal agencies to enhance efforts to get closer to a definitive conclusion of the origins of the disease.
In addition, Biden said, the United States will continue to work with the international community to press China to participate in a full and transparent investigation.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing intelligence data, that three lab employees in Wuhan, China, became sick in November 2019 with symptoms similar to COVID-19, which, according to the newspaper, should support the hypothesis that the virus could have originated in China.
The first COVID-19 case was reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, located in eastern Chinese province of Hubei. Former US President Donald Trump blamed the outbreak on China and suspected it originated in a virology lab in Wuhan.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) sent several fact-finding missions to Wuhan and released a full report in March which concluded that the leak from the lab was "extremely unlikely." WHO experts further concluded that the virus was transmitted to humans from animals which may have consumed bats.
The United States and 13 other countries issued a joint statement casting doubt on the accuracy of WHO report and called for a "transparent and independent" investigation into the origins of COVID-19.
Bahrain will close shopping malls, cafes and restaurants for two weeks to contain a spike in coronavirus cases, state media cited the national committee on the fight against the pandemic as saying.
The shutdown will take effect on Thursday, according to the Bahrain news agency. Barber shops and beauty salons will also be closed, and all mass gatherings will be canceled.
The small Gulf island nation of 3 million has so far confirmed more than 223,000 positive cases, including 2,766 new cases on Tuesday. There have been 874 virus-related deaths, with further 193 people in a critical condition.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Japan has assured the United States it will remain in close contact as they develop plans to host the summer Olympics in Tokyo amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday.
"The government of Japan has stressed that public health remains the central priority as they plan to host the games", Jean-Pierre said in a press briefing. "Tokyo has assured us that they will keep in close contact with Washington as their plans develop."
Tokyo Olympics President Seiko Hashimoto in earlier remarks on Wednesday promised that Japan would organize safe games despite mounting pressure for them to be canceled due to the pandemic.
The Tokyo Games are due to take place from 23 July to 8 August.
About 15,000 athletes and 78,000 non-athletes, including members of sports committees and foreign media, are expected to be on the ground at the Tokyo Olympics. As many as 2,500 members of the Olympic and Paralympics delegations are estimated to need COVID-19 vaccines.
Around 20,000 vaccines from Pfizer will be delivered for free to Japanese athletes and staff members participating in the events. Contact tracing is also expected to get a boost, with an app using GPS to notify the owner of contact with people who may have tested positive for the coronavirus.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament on Wednesday endorsed the digital COVID-19 certificate for the European Union.
"Civil Liberties Committee endorses EU Digital Covid Certificate," the committee said in a statement.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Vaccination of pets against the COVID-19 coronavirus with the domestic vaccine Carnivac-Cov began in veterinary clinics in a number of Russian regions, Yulia Melano, an aide to the head of agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, told reporters.
"In a number of regions of Russia, vaccination of pets against COVID-19 has begun on the basis of veterinary clinics. The day before, the first batches of the world's only vaccine Carnivac-Cov, developed by Russian scientists of Rosselkhoznadzor in order to prevent disease among animals, were delivered to Russian cities", she said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson dismissed on Wednesday calls for bringing forward the starting date of an investigation into the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, scheduled for the spring of 2022.
"No, as I have said before, I am not going to concentrate valuable official time on that now whilst we are still battling a pandemic", Johnson told the parliament in response to Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, asking if the prime minister will begin the probe earlier.
PRAGUE (Sputnik) - The Slovak government decided on Wednesday to authorise the use of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 in the country starting June, online media outlet Teraz reported.
BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - Belgium suspended immunization with Johnson&Johnson vaccine against COVID-19 for citizens aged below 41 after a suspicious death of a female patient, RTBF broadcaster reported.
The 41-year-old patient, recently inoculated with the Johnson&Johnson vaccine, died in a Belgian hospital after developing thrombosis symptoms. This was a staffer of a foreign embassy who was vaccinated by the employer, independently from the national vaccination campaign.
"Over the past day, 8,373 coronavirus cases were confirmed across 83 Russian regions, including 1,014 cases (12.1 percent) without clinical symptoms", the centre said, adding that the rate of increase grew to 0.17 percent.
