UK had highest Covid death toll in week to 17 January with 16.5 deaths per 1m people; Czech Republic and Japan find Covid variant first detected in UK
- WHO: just 25 Covid vaccine doses administered in low-income countries
- Germany weighs up mandatory FFP2 masks in shops and on transport
- Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro sends oxygen to tackle Brazil’s Covid crisis
- Italian PM battles for coalition’s survival over Covid recovery plan
- UK coronavirus updates – live
9.59pm GMT
A new variant of the coronavirus first identified in South Africa is more contagious than earlier versions, experts said, but there is no evidence that it is more deadly.
The new variant is 50{81fee095584567f29e41df59d482e70712cfc555e382220efc71af2368c27a36} more contagious, said epidemiologist Prof Salim Abdool Karim, co-chair of the health ministry’s scientific committee.
9.49pm GMT
Brazil on Monday reported 23,671 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the new total to 8,511,770, the country’s health ministry said.
Deaths rose by 452 to 210,299 in Brazil, which has the world’s highest death toll from the pandemic outside the US.
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