Covid live: ‘Plan B’ measures in England still possible, government advisor says; sharp rise in German infections
Sage advisor says Plan B' Covid measures still under consideration in England; Germany reports 23,543 new cases reported in past 24 hours
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Here an update on the global pandemic situation from AFP:
On Saturday, 6,306 new deaths and 411,296 new cases were recorded worldwide.
Based on latest reports, the countries with the most new deaths were Russia with 1,179 new deaths, followed by India with 506 and Ukraine with 449.
Last week, Britain became the first country in the world to approve the potentially game-changing Covid-19 antiviral pill, jointly developed by US-based Merck & Co Inc and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.
The government said in October it had secured 480,000 courses of the Merck drug, as well as 250,000 courses of an antiviral pill developed by Pfizer Inc.