COVID-19 media surveillance - 31 December 2020

This media surveillance collects articles reported through publicly available web sites.

It is created with the Europe Media Monitor (EMM).

The selection and placement of stories are determined automatically by a computer program.

Headlines

• US: new UK variant found in Colorado and California; US sets daily Covid-19 death record for the second day in a row with more than 3,740 fatalities on Wednesday
• UK approved AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccine while 78 % of England’s population will be in tier four
• India: recorded 25 cases of UK variant
• Brazil registered 1,224 daily deaths, highest toll since August
• Spain: 14-day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants is once again above 250 considered to be extreme risk by the Spanish authorities; Spain will register people who refuse Covid vaccine, says health minister
• France: No new lockdown in France, but earlier curfew proposed for some regions according to Health Minister Véran
• Italy rules out making Covid-19 vaccine obligatory according to PM Conte
• Germany recorded more than 1,000 Covid-19 deaths in one day for the first time on Wednesday
• Belgium: 26% of blood donors in Brussels have Covid-19 antibodies
• Luxembourg reported 326 new cases and 6 deaths amid downward trend
• Sweden recommends masks for rush hour as country registered 8,846 new cases and 243 deaths, the highest since the pandemic began
• Slovakia reported 6,315 new cases, highest daily number so far
• Czech Republic reported record Covid-19 cases and ordered hospitals to halt non-urgent care
• Israel: 152,000 vaccinations in a day as Israel recorded its highest number of new cases since early October
• Russia approved Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine for senior citizens
• Australia battles Covid-19 outbreak in Sydney and Melbourne
• New Zealand reported 11 new cases in managed isolation
• Taiwan reported second case of UK variant
• China confirms first case of UK variant; Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine was approved for general use
• South Korea will decide on new social distancing rules Saturday as the country continues to battle the third and deadliest wave
• Japan: Tokyo ends year with daily record of 1,337 new cases

Twitter

The following news were found among the most mentioned/retweeted items:

• "How Much Herd Immunity Is Enough? Scientists initially estimated that 60 to 70 percent of the population needed to acquire resistance to the coronavirus to banish it. Now Dr. Anthony Fauci and others are quietly shifting that number upward." (nytimes)
• "Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine approved for use in UK" (bbc)
• "Vaccinated U.S. nurse contracts COVID-19, expert says Pfizer shot needed more time to work" (reuters)
• "China's capital locks down part of district in coronavirus fight" (reuters)
• "Wuhan one year on: normality returns, but pain over handling of Covid outbreak endures" (guardian)
• "Chinese journalist who documented Wuhan coronavirus outbreak sentenced to 4 years in jail" (cnnespanol)
• "London hospital declares major incident over oxygen supply fears" (independent)
• "Louisiana congressman-elect dies of Covid" (politico)
• "If you want to travel next year, you may need a vaccine passport" (cnn)

The most mentioned English sources were the New York Times, CNN, the Independent and Reuters.

El País, BBC (Spanish Version), El Diario and Infobae, and Le Monde and Le Parisien were among the most mentioned Spanish and French sources, respectively.

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