Coronavirus live news: AstraZeneca to deliver less than half promised doses to EU in second quarter – report | World news

AstraZeneca Plc has advised the European Union it expects to ship lower than half the Covid vaccines it was contracted to provide within the second quarter, an EU official advised Reuters on Tuesday.

Contacted by Reuters, AstraZeneca didn’t deny what the official stated, however a press release late within the day stated the corporate was striving to extend productiveness to ship the promised 180 million doses.

The anticipated shortfall, which has not beforehand been reported, follows a giant discount in provides within the first quarter and will hit the EU’s means to satisfy its goal of vaccinating 70% of adults by summer time.

The EU official, who’s instantly concerned in talks with the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker, stated the corporate had advised the bloc throughout inside conferences that it “would ship lower than 90 million doses within the second quarter.”

AstraZeneca’s contract with the EU, which was leaked final week, confirmed the corporate had dedicated to delivering 180 million doses to the 27-nation bloc within the second quarter.

The variety of sufferers handled in intensive care items for Covid-19 in France has reached a 12-week peak of three,435, as regional officers urge for a ban on public gatherings and contemplate a partial weekend lockdown.

Not like a few of its European neighbours, France has resisted a brand new nationwide lockdown to regulate extra contagious variants, hoping a curfew in place since 15 December can include the pandemic.

The nation ended its second nationwide lockdown, which ran from 30 October to 15 December. However one of many circumstances for the swap from lockdown to a nationwide curfew was that the ICU figures remained between 2,500 and three,000.

France reported 20,064 new Covid-19 instances, up from the earlier Tuesday’s 19,590. The seven-day transferring common of instances remained above 20,000 for the third day in a row, at 20,109, the best since 20,466 on 5 February.

The northern port metropolis of Dunkirk is urging the federal government to impose a ban on all public gatherings there till 15 March as a “final probability” transfer to halt a surge in Covid-19 infections.

Dunkirk’s mayor Patrice Vergriete didn’t advocate a partial weekend lockdown reminiscent of within the Mediterranean metropolis of Good, however added he wouldn’t oppose it if the federal government imposed such a measure.

The well being minister Olivier Veran will head to Dunkirk on Wednesday.

The whole cumulative variety of instances in France rose to three.63 million, the sixth highest on this planet. The quantity of people that have died from Covid-19 infections rose by 431 to 85,044 – the seventh highest loss of life toll globally – versus a seven-day transferring common of 319, a greater than one-and-a half month low.

The World Well being Group says that international deaths from coronavirus-related issues have declined by 20% within the final week, with instances dropping for the sixth consecutive week worldwide. Deaths have been falling for 3 consecutive weeks.

In a press release, the WHO stated:

The variety of international new instances reported continues to fall for the sixth consecutive week, with 2.four million new instances final week, an 11% decline in comparison with the earlier week.

The variety of new deaths additionally continues to fall for the earlier three weeks, with almost 66 000 new deaths reported final week, a 20% decline as in comparison with the earlier week. This brings the worldwide cumulative numbers to 110.7 million instances and over 2.four million deaths because the begin of the pandemic.

Good day and welcome to at this time’s dwell protection of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Sullivan.

I’ll be bringing you the most recent updates for the subsequent few hours – as at all times, you will discover me on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

The World Well being Group says that international deaths from coronavirus-related issues have declined by 20% within the final week, with instances dropping for the sixth consecutive week worldwide.

We’ll have extra on that shortly – right here, in the meantime, are the opposite key developments:

• Scotland is to look to start a “substantial” easing of coronavirus restrictions from 26 April, first minister Nicola Sturgeon said.
• Eire is to start out reopening some colleges subsequent week however is extending other lockdown restrictions until April to stop one other explosion in Covid-19 instances.
• The Netherlands is anticipated to announce a slight easing of restrictions, permitting colleges and hairdressers to reopen (see 3.19pm).
• Israel introduced it could ship a “token quantity” of surplus coronavirus jobs to a number of international locations (see 2.50pm), within the newest transfer to counsel restricted international provides will lead to a new form of diplomatic currency.
• Spain extends its ban on arrivals from Britain, Brazil and South Africa till 16 March to safeguard in opposition to the unfold of latest coronavirus strains from these international locations.
• Greek hospital medical doctors went on strike and dozens marched in Athens to protest “suffocating” circumstances at hospitals throughout the pandemic.
• Chinese language officers did “little” by way of epidemiological investigations into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic in Wuhan within the first eight months after the outbreak, according to an internal World Health Organization document.
• French investigators probe manslaughter allegations in opposition to Italy’s Costa Cruises over its dealing with of Covid-19 instances onboard one in every of its ships, which claimed the lives of three passengers.
• Ten orangutans have been airlifted again to their pure habitat on Indonesia’s Borneo island, in the first release of the apes into the wild for a 12 months as a result of risks of coronavirus an infection.