Covid-19: Latest global developments
An illustration image of the coronavirus.
What you need to know:
- At least 2,140,687 people have died of coronavirus since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019
- More than 99,631,812 cases have been registered
- The US has suffered the highest death toll with 421,134 deaths, followed by Brazil with 217,664 and India with 153,587.
Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:
100,000 British deaths
More than 100,000 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in Britain since the pandemic started, making it the first European country to pass the threshold.
"I am deeply sorry for every life that has been lost and, of course, as prime minister, I take full responsibility for everything that the government has done," Prime Minister Boris Johnson tells a news conference.
$22 trillion hit
The pandemic is expected to slash $22 trillion off the global economy over 2020 to 2025, the International Monetary Fund says.
EU gets tough on vaccines
Tensions are mounting between the European Union and pharmaceutical firms over delays to vaccine deliveries, with leaders moving to track consignments being sent outside the bloc to higher bidders.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel adds her voice to calls for a "fair" distribution of coronavirus vaccines across the world.
Dutch government stands firm
The Dutch government says it will not back down on its coronavirus curfew despite three nights of rioting, after the worst unrest to hit the Netherlands for four decades.
Israel clashes
Israeli police arrest 14 people following new clashes with ultra-Orthodox Jews demonstrating against coronavirus lockdown measures.
German flight ban?
Germany is considering almost completely halting flights into the country to slow the spread of more infectious strains of the coronavirus, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer says.
Irish lockdown
Ireland will extend its third coronavirus lockdown until March 5 and enact mandatory travel quarantines for all travellers from Brazil and South Africa, Prime Minister Micheal Martin says.
Tongue, hands, feet
Changes to the tongue, the hands or the soles of the feet could give an early indication of Covid-19 infection, Spanish researchers find in a new study.
Second dose delay?
Amid a global shortage of vaccines, the World Health Organization cautiously backs delaying second injections of the Moderna jab.
Nearly 100 million cases
At least 2,140,687 people have died of coronavirus since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally from official sources.
More than 99,631,812 cases have been registered.
The US has suffered the highest death toll with 421,134 deaths, followed by Brazil with 217,664 and India with 153,587.
'Safe and secure' Olympics
The International Olympic Committee says it is determined "safe and secure" Tokyo Games will go ahead and that while it urges participants to be vaccinated, that is only part of its Covid-19 "toolbox"
