\Nigeria on Monday recorded 52 cases of COVID-19. Here are five updates the pandemic this Tuesday,TheCable reports.
UK to add Sinovac, Covaxin to its approved COVID vaccine list
The United Kingdom (UK) says it will recognise COVID-19 vaccines on the World Health Organisation (WHO) emergency use listing before the end of the month, including China’s Sinovac, Sinopharm and India’s Covaxin.
The shots are to be added to the country’s approved list of vaccines for inbound travellers.
The new travel rules will come into effect from November 22 and will benefit fully vaccinated people from all countries.
Denmark to reimpose COVID pass as third wave looms
Amid concerns of a third wave of COVID-19, Denmark is considering reimposing the use of a digital “corona pass”.
The pass will be presented when people visit indoor bars and restaurants to check the spread of the virus.
In September, Denmark lifted almost all COVID restrictions but the number of daily infections surged in recent days.
“Several European countries are now in the middle of their fourth wave of coronavirus. In Denmark we are heading into our third coronavirus wave,” Magnus Heunicke, health minister, said on Monday.
EU: Facemasks don’t pose health risks
The European Union (EU) says there is no conclusive evidence of cancer risk from the use of facemasks.
In October, a study by Sciensano, Belgium public health body, claimed that titanium dioxide (TiO2), a potentially hazardous substance, was found in synthetic facemasks including commonly worn models.
But EU said there is currently no evidence to suggest the presence of titanium dioxide in facemasks. The EU authorities rather recommended their continued use.
Nigeria reports 52 COVID cases
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 52 new cases of COVID-19 across the country.
According to the agency’s update for November 8, the new cases were reported in eight states and the federal capital territory (FCT).
The states that reported new infections are Cross River (13), Lagos (12), Enugu (8), Plateau (7), Rivers (5), FCT (3), Bauchi (2), Abia (1) and Kano (1).
The agency said no fatalities were recorded on Monday, leaving the total number of fatalities at 2,906.
It said the report of discharged patients reflects a corrected computational error that occurred in the past two weeks. This dropped the total number of recoveries from 204,379 reported on Sunday to 204,261.
A total of 199,538 COVID-19 cases have now been confirmed.
French COVID hospitalisations hit 11-week high
Authorities in France say the number of people hospitalised because of COVID infections rose by 156 within 24 hours.
The figure is the highest single-day count since 23 August.
The number of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) also increased from 40 to 1,141.
President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation on Tuesday (today) about the country’s COVID situation.