 | | | | Italy reported 49 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday against 48 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 11,555 from 10,544. | | | | | | Ski resorts in northern Italy are reopening for the winter season after prolonged shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although a recent rise in infections is spreading worries over possible new restrictions. | | | | | | Hong Kong has approved lowering the age limit for the COVID-19 vaccine from China's Sinovac Biotech to three years old, down from 18 years of age, as it pursues a broader campaign to incentivise its 7.5 million residents to get vaccinated. | | | | | | The Czech Republic reported 22,936 new coronavirus cases for Friday, its biggest daily tally since the pandemic began, health ministry data showed on Saturday. | | | | | | China had given 76.3% of its population complete COVID-19 vaccine doses by Nov. 19, Wu Liangyou, an official at the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Saturday. | | | | | | Singapore's government is easing some of the tight social curbs it imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19, after infections stabilised in the city-state over the past month. | | | | | | The first known COVID-19 case was a market vendor in the Chinese city of Wuhan, not an accountant who appeared to have no link to the market but whose case contributed to speculation the virus could have leaked from a lab, a U.S. researcher wrote in a commentary piece published on Thursday. | | | | | | Private-equity firms Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman LLC are close to a deal to acquire healthcare technology company Athenahealth Inc for about $17 billion including debt, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. | | | | | | Stellantis NV will require all of its 14,000 U.S. salaried non-represented employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 5, the automaker said on Friday, as it prepares for a phased reopening of its U.S. offices next year. | | | | | | Diplomats expressed shock and disappointment on Friday at new data revealing higher-than-expected deforestation in Brazil's Amazon this year, saying it increases pressure on President Jair Bolsonaro's government to do more to stop the destruction. | | | | | |
