The US remains the worst-hit country amid the pandemic, confirming over 33.2 million cases of COVID-19 and a death toll of around 594,000.
It is followed by India, which witnessed a dramatic spike in infections last month, recording a total of 27.5 million cases and over 318,000 fatalities. Brazil rounds out the top three, with more than 16.3 million cases and the second-highest death toll in the world of around 459,000.
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MADRID (Sputnik) – Spanish authorities have allowed cruise ships to enter the country's ports amid the decline in coronavirus cases and satisfactory vaccination pace, according to the official bulletin published on Saturday.
The ban on the entry of cruise liners has been in effect since in June 2020. The new rules for ships, including health measures set up by the Transport Ministry, will come into force on 7 June of this year.
"The positive dynamics in the last few weeks of the pandemic in Europe, where the majority of passengers of international cruise liners coming to the ports of Spain, as well as the increase in vaccination coverage against SARS-CoV-2 and the reduction in the level of risk in autonomous communities which have ports that can accept this type of ships, allow the resumption of activities of cruise ships making international routes", the decree says.
Spain previously allowed the entry for visitors, inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency or the World Health Organisation, saying they would be able to enter the country beginning on 7 June.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Mass coronavirus vaccination can generate an additional 1% growth in Russia's GDP in 2021, as it will pave the way for the service and transport sectors to fully rebound, Mikhail Sukhov, head of the Russian Analytical Credit Rating Agency, told Sputnik on Saturday.
"Vaccines allow us to avoid imposing significant restrictions in the service and transport sectors. Life expectancy also increases, not only due to a decrease in mortality directly from COVID-19, but also from better accessibility of health services", he said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – India has confirmed 173,790 new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, with the total number of those infected having reached 27,729,247 the country's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Saturday.
The death toll from the disease has reached 322,512 people, with 3,617 new fatalities being recorded over the past day.
