• Over 25 million coronavirus vaccine doses have been given, in 46 countries across the world. Source
• Global coronavirus cases surpass 90 million. Source
• The US reports a record-breaking total of 300,000 daily coronavirus infections. Source
• Japan reports a new coronavirus strain in travelers arriving from Brazil; it is similar to those found in the UK and South Africa. Researchers at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases are studying the variant’s characteristics to see if it is likely to be more contagious, and/or whether it causes more serious illness. Source
• CDC officials announce that a statement made by coronavirus task force member Dr. Deborah Birx about the emergence of a more contagious coronavirus variant in the US is inaccurate; according to the CDC, ““To date, neither researchers nor analysts at C.D.C. have seen the emergence of a particular variant in the United States.” Source
• China expands lockdown to a week-long stay home order, covering over 17 million people living in Shijiazhuang and Xingtai, cities in the northern province of Hebei – which borders Beijing – after they reported 349 coronavirus infections over the past week. Source
• Science publishes research on over 50,000 coronavirus genomes to map its arrival in the UK; by March, over 1,000 people who had the virus had entered the country; 75 percent of the travelers who started transmission chains were from France, Italy and Spain. Sources 1,2
• Germany extends its lockdown until the end of January amidst a coronavirus surge which brings the country to nearly two million cases. Source
• The Pope’s personal physician dies from COVID-19. Source