⁍ The World Bank’s executive board approved $12 billion in new funding for developing countries.
⁍ Ukraine’s government voted to extend its lockdown until the end of the year.
⁍ Italy imposed new curbs on gatherings, restaurants, sports and school activities.
– The World Bank’s executive board has approved $12 billion in new funding for developing countries to finance the purchase and distribution of coronavirus vaccines, tests, and treatments, Reuters reports. The move comes as the global death toll from the disease rose to 506,389 as of Wednesday, up 254 from the previous day. The disease has now infected more than twice as many people as it did at this point last year, according to the CDC. The new funding will be used for the production and distribution of vaccines, as well as for safety evaluations and research into potential treatments and vaccines. Eli Lilly halted its clinical trial of an antibody treatment for the disease because of safety concerns, but it says it will resume as soon as it is cleared by an independent safety panel. Meanwhile, Britain’s opposition Labour leader has called for a two-to-three-week “circuit breaker” lockdown of the country to stop the spread of the disease. The Netherlands will return to a “partial lockdown” on Wednesday, while Ukraine’s government voted to extend its lockdown until the end of the year and Italy imposed new curbs on gatherings, restaurants, sports, and school activities. India’s tally of coronavirus infections rose by 63,509 in the last 24 hours to stand at 7.24 million on Wednesday. Iran’s death toll rose by 254 to 29,070 on Tuesday as the number of confirmed cases spiked to 508,389 in the hardest-hit Middle Eastern country. Singapore’s central bank left its monetary policy unchanged.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-latest/factbox-latest-on-the-worldwide-spread-of-coronavirus-idUSL8N2C60GZ