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The United States denounced Monday what it called a Russian disinformation campaign against U.S.-made COVID-19 vaccines, saying Moscow was putting lives at risk. The Global Engagement Center, an arm of the State Department whose activities include monitoring foreign propaganda, said that Russian intelligence was behind four online platforms involved in a campaign. The sites have “included disinformation about two of the vaccines that have now been approved by the FDA in this country,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters, referring to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “It is very clear that Russia is up to its old tricks, and in doing so is potentially putting people at risk by spreading disinformation about vaccines that we know to be saving lives every day,” Price said.A medical specialist holds a vial of Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus in a department store in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 2, 2021.The Wall Street Journal first reported on the Global Engagement Center’s findings, which said that the websites played up risks of the U.S.-made Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in an apparent bid to boost Russia’s homegrown Sputnik V. In an assessment provided last year to AFP, the Global Engagement Center said that thousands of Russian-linked social media accounts have run a coordinated campaign to undermine official narratives on COVID-19 including by spreading allegations of U.S. involvement. The center found that China briefly made a similar effort but ultimately decided it made more traction by highlighting Beijing’s own efforts. U.S. intelligence has long suspected Russia in disinformation campaigns on health, including spreading the myth in the 1980s that U.S. scientists created the HIV virus that causes AIDS. 
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The U.S. government on Monday sued the automobile device manufacturer EZ Lynk for selling tens of thousands of “defeat devices” that enabled car and truck owners to disable their vehicles’ computerized emission controls at the push of a button. In a complaint filed in the federal court in Manhattan, the U.S. Department of Justice accused EZ Lynk of having since 2016 violated the federal Clean Air Act by selling its aftermarket EZ Lynk System for drivers of Ford, GMC and Chrysler trucks, among other vehicles. The government said the system includes a device that plugs into vehicles’ computers to install deletion software, a cloud platform that stores the software, and an app that lets drivers buy and install the software through their smartphones. According to court papers, the Cayman Islands-based company “actively encourages” drivers to use EZ Lynk System, including through an online forum where drivers praise the product and some EZ Lynk representatives even offer technical support. “Emissions controls on cars and trucks protect the public from harmful effects of air pollution,” U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss in Manhattan said in a statement. “EZ Lynk has put the public’s health at risk by manufacturing and selling devices intended to disable those emissions controls.” EZ Lynk did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Other defendants include co-founders Bradley Gintz and Thomas Wood and an affiliate, Prestige Worldwide. Lawyers for the defendants could not immediately be identified. The lawsuit seeks civil penalties, including daily fines, for Clean Air Act violations, and an injunction against further EZ Lynk System sales and installations. Drivers can sometimes obtain faster acceleration and better fuel economy by using defeat devices. The U.S. government has stepped up oversight of vehicle emissions after Volkswagen AG admitted in 2015 to intentionally evading emissions rules. The German automaker has since incurred more than $30 billion in penalties and costs. The case is U.S. v EZ Lynk SEZC et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 21-01986.  
 
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As coronavirus vaccine rates in the U.S. continue to climb, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Monday that those who have been vaccinated can gather with other vaccinated people indoors without masks or social distancing. The CDC also said vaccinated people can gather with younger people and those who are considered low risk for developing a severe case of COVID-19. This would mean that grandparents can now visit their grandchildren, even if the grandchildren are not vaccinated. Furthermore, the CDC said vaccinated people no longer must be quarantined after encountering an infected person. “We know that people want to get vaccinated so they can get back to doing the things they enjoy with the people they love,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC director, said in a statement. “There are some activities that fully vaccinated people can begin to resume now in the privacy of their own homes. Everyone — even those who are vaccinated — should continue with all mitigation strategies when in public settings. As the science evolves and more people get vaccinated, we will continue to provide more guidance to help fully vaccinated people safely resume more activities.” Vaccinated people should continue to wear masks and practice social distancing when in public, the CDC said, adding that a vaccinated person should still get tested if they develop any COVD-19 symptoms. In order to be considered fully vaccinated, the CDC said a person should wait two weeks after receiving the final dose of vaccine. There are currently three vaccines available in the United States. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses, while the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one. Currently, about 30 million Americans have been fully vaccinated. 
 
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Wang  Jingyu didn’t think he would become an enemy of China for his online comments.    The 19-year-old left his hometown of Chongqing in July 2019 and is now traveling in Europe. On February 21, netizens on the popular micro-blogging website, Weibo reported him to Chinese authorities for questioning the actions of the China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) as official media reported an incident in the disputed Himalayan border regions.   On February 19, China revealed that four of its soldiers died during a bloody Himalayan border clash with Indian troops in June last year. State media said the men “died after fighting foreign troops who crossed into the Chinese border.”   On the same day, China’s military news outlet PLA Daily named the “heroic” Chinese soldiers who “gave their youth, blood and even life” to the region. China’s official media outlet, the People’s Daily, said the soldiers were posthumously awarded honorary titles and first-class merit citations.Four Chinese soldiers, who were sacrificed in last June’s border conflict, were posthumously awarded honorary titles and first-class merit citations, Central Military Commission announced Friday. A colonel, who led them and seriously injured, was conferred with honorary title. pic.twitter.com/Io9Wk3pXaU— People’s Daily, China (@PDChina) February 19, 2021Wang posted his comments on February 21, questioning the number of deaths and asking why China had waited nearly eight months before making the deaths public.“That very night, around 6:50 p.m., Chongqing police and some people without uniforms knocked on the door of my parent’s condo,” Wang told VOA. In a statement, police in Chongqing city said Wang had “slandered and belittled the heroes” with his comments, “causing negative social impact,” according to The Guardian. “Public security organs will crack down on acts that openly insult the deeds and spirit of heroes and martyrs in accordance with the law.” According to Wang, the police handcuffed his parents, and confiscated an iPad, cash and computers. Then they took his parents to the local police station, where the couple was told to tell their son to delete his Weibo posts.   “And since then, they take my parents to the police station every day around 6 a.m., put them in separate interrogation rooms without providing any food, and only let them return home around 6 or 7 p.m.,” he said about being “pursued online.”“The police keep asking them one thing: ‘When will your son come back?’ ‘Think twice before you answer me.’”   “The police even texted me directly, asking me to return to China within three days, otherwise my parents [situation] ’won’t end well,’” Wang said.   In 2018, China passed the Heroes and Martyrs Protection Law. According to the official English-language outlet, the China Daily, the law “promotes patriotism and socialist core values, bans activities that defame heroes and martyrs or distort and diminish their deeds.” An amendment set to take effect this month could mean those who violate the law could be sentenced to up to three years in jail.Apart from Wang, the authorities have also detained at least six people for posting critical comments online about the same incident.   China’s government is expanding its censorship controls by targeting Chinese citizens overseas who criticize Beijing on social media. The tactic, which predated the Communists, is known as “zhulian” or “guilt by association.” Today, it usually involves police threatening family members in China for the actions of their relatives overseas.    Teng Biao, an academic lawyer and a human rights activist affiliated with Hunter College in New York City, told VOA via Skype that he has seen an increasing number of cases like Wang’s.   “In any normal society, there is no such thing as zhulian,” he said. “No one, other than yourself, is responsible for your own actions.  Chinese laws state that everyone is responsible for their own actions. Yet in practice, it’s a different story.”   Wang, who is now traveling in Europe, has been worried about his parents’ safety. Yet during a brief video chat on February 25, he said his father told him to withstand the pressure.   “Don’t give in. Even if you lose your life for this, you have to hold on to your dreams,” his father told him. “History will remember you.”     Wang said his family has always been on the “rebellious side.”  When he was a little boy, Wang said his father showed him how use a virtual private network  (VPN)  to remain anonymous while accessing information outside the Great Firewall of China.  He told VOA he would not go back to China and that he plans to keep speaking out for those on the other side of the Great Firewall.   “Maybe 99% of the people won’t understand why I’m doing this,” he said. “But as long as I can wake up 1%, it’s worth it.”  Shih-Wei Chou and Lin Yang contributed to this report. It originated on VOA Mandarin. 
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When the coronavirus first emerged, many East Asian countries were hailed as global examples due to their impressive containment efforts. But as the one-year anniversary of the pandemic approaches, some of those countries are falling behind in their vaccine campaigns, as VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from Seoul.Camera: Kim Hyungjin, William Gallo
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Before COVID-19, the United States considered itself one of the best-prepared countries in the world for a health crisis. The pandemic proved otherwise. One year into the crisis, more than half a million Americans have died. VOA’s Steve Baragona has more.
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Britain opened all its schools Monday. The openings come as the country has experienced some of its lowest coronavirus death tolls since October.Vietnam began its COVID-19 vaccination program Monday with its front-line health care workers as the first recipients of the shots.Japan’s rollout of its COVID vaccine program has been slow, hampered by vaccine and syringe shortages. Three weeks in, a little over 46,500 front-line medical workers have received their shots. The elderly will be the next in line.Japan, however, intends to speed up its vaccination program. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has promised to have enough of the shots to vaccinate Japan’s entire population by the start of the Summer Olympics in July, according to Reuters.The European Union has warned member states against purchasing Russia’s COVID vaccine since the EU has not yet finished its review of Sputnik V. Despite the warning, several nations have made moves to purchase the vaccine.Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Monday that there are almost 117 million global coronavirus cases.The U.S. has more infections that any other location with nearly 30 million, followed by India with 11.2 million and Brazil with 11 million.
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There is a call for an amnesty for the estimated 100,000 undocumented workers in Australia because of fears they could miss out on the coronavirus vaccine.They are an unseen workforce in Australia, from cleaning to hospitality and farm work. Of the estimated 100,000 undocumented workers, about two-thirds are employed in agriculture. Without a valid working visa, they are in jobs illegally.Australia’s Department of Home Affairs said they were “unlawful non-citizens.” But farmers, unions and some politicians are now calling for an amnesty to allow undocumented workers to be given employment visas.The federal government has promised a vaccine for everyone in Australia, regardless of their visa status, including asylum seekers awaiting the outcome of their refugee claims. But there are concerns undocumented workers will not come forward fearing deportation.Dr. Joanna Howe, a senior lecturer at the University of Adelaide, said it is a problem that needs fixing. “There are certainly public health risks that the government may assume that it has vaccinated broadly the Australian community, but then there are these pockets that escape that because they have got no incentive to come forward,” she said. “In fact, they are extremely fearful of accessing the vaccine.”Australian authorities will soon require vaccine recipients to divulge where they were born and the languages they speak. The data will help show the government if certain minority communities are avoiding the vaccine.After a slow start, health officials insist that more than 500,000 vaccinations a week will soon be given in Australia. A mass inoculation program began last month with the Pfizer-BioNTech drug.Domestic production of the AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to deliver 1 million doses each week in Australia by the end of the month.New South Wales, the nation’s most populous state, has gone 50 consecutive days without a locally acquired COVID-19 case.Australia has recorded 29,000 coronavirus infections since the pandemic began. The Health Department says 909 people have died.
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March 11 marks a year since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. The Middle East was one of the first regions to be hit outside China – and as Henry Ridgwell reports, the pandemic has exacerbated existing crises caused by conflict and forced migration.
Camera: Henry Ridgwell    Producers: Henry Ridgwell and Jon Spier 
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The United States is marking one year since the first stay-at-home orders went into effect because of the coronavirus pandemic; but, returning to normal is happening slowly as Michelle Quinn reports.
Producer: Mary Cieslak
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Cameroon says two polio cases discovered in the capital, Yaoundé, three weeks ago are a consequence of people refusing to inoculate their children for fear of being infected by COVID-19. The central African state has redeployed health teams to all towns and villages to ask parents to vaccinate their children.Cameroon says it has dispatched health workers to 360 hospitals as part of an awareness campaign against polio. Tetanye Ekoe, president of Cameroon’s National Polio Certification Commission, said the awareness teams will teach communities to observe hygiene and to intensify routine immunization, and epidemiological surveillance.He said the discovery of two type 2 polio cases in Yaoundé three weeks ago should serve as a wake-up call for people who have turned their backs on polio vaccination. He said it is an illusion to think that the government is hiding behind vaccinations to harm its citizens. Ekoe said he is calling on all Cameroonians to inoculate their children and convince others to take their children to vaccination centers. He said the emergence of polio shows a weak collective immunity.Ekoe said some polio cases may still be undetected because many parents have not been bringing their children to the hospitals out of fear of COVID-19 infection.Cameroon was declared polio-free in 2015, but in 2019, the government of the central African state announced a resurgence on its northern border with Nigeria.The new polio cases were reported in Cameroon in the middle of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.This month Cameroon’s Public Health Ministry reported that the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 had increased from 26,000 to 39,000 between January and February.In December, the government said more than 240,000 children had not received polio vaccines since COVID-19 cases were first reported in Cameroon last March. The government said parents were refusing to take their children to the hospitals for inoculation because of fear of the coronavirus.Ekoe said rumors last month that the government would secretly vaccinate all Cameroonians against COVID-19 further discouraged people who are scared of the vaccine from visiting hospitals.Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute denied in a message Friday that Cameroon is vaccinating all its citizens who visit hospitals against COVID-19. Ngute said Cameroon is still negotiating to buy a million coronavirus vaccine doses, which will not be administered to people who do not want them.”Once this vaccine become available, vaccination shall be voluntary,” he said. “I will like to note that although vaccination is voluntary and not compulsory, the government encourages all Cameroonians to be vaccinated when the time comes in order to acquire the immunity that will enable our community to protect itself against COVID-19 for a return to normalcy.”On Aug. 25, the World Health Organization announced that wild poliovirus had been eradicated from Africa after four consecutive years without any reported cases and massive efforts to immunize children. The WHO said polio-free Africa was a historic moment, moving the world closer to achieving global polio eradication.The WHO statement said only Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to see wild poliovirus transmission.Polio affects mostly young children. Cameroon did not say if the new cases were detected in children or adults.
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In recent weeks, as Africa prepared to mark the milestone of one year since the coronavirus reached its shores, millions of doses of long-awaited vaccine finally began to arrive across the continent. Most were provided by the global COVAX Facility, which distributes vaccine to lower income countries.That, officials say, has flipped this tale from one of despair to one of optimism.And, says South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Africans played a valuable part in turning the tide.“South Africa’s scientists and research institutions have made an important contribution to these efforts and have contributed to global knowledge about the disease, including on the emergence of new variants,” he said this week, addressing his nation on television. “And in this regard, our scientists who we should be proud of, have really led the way and they are recognized globally.”Ramaphosa, who held the rotating head of the African Union in 2020, was also instrumental in establishing a continental plan to acquire vaccines. He and other African leaders have repeatedly stressed the importance of global vaccine equity and urged access for poorer nations.In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa, officials this month received their first delivery of 1.7 million vaccine doses through COVAX.Village Reach is an aid organization that focuses on remote, rural low-income countries. Their DRC country director, Freddy Nkosi, told VOA that while African nations appear to have a lower proportion of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths, the pandemic has still hit hard here.“Yes we are as affected as the rest of the world, in different proportion,” he said via Google Hangouts, from Kinshasa. “We have to continue to protect ourselves through all the protective measures, but also we have to get vaccinated so that we are all protected.”Dr. Richard Lessells, one of South Africa’s top viral researchers, says the continent’s largest vaccine drive, in South Africa, looks promising after fits and starts.The country was set to distribute 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but reversed course last month after researchers found it to be less effective against a variant that accounts for the majority of the nation’s new cases.South Africa has since switched to the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, but the process still delayed the vaccination campaign.Lessells says that as the continent stares down this anniversary, it needs one thing: time.“Once we get beyond that first priority group of the health care workers and start delivering it to the other vulnerable groups within the population,” he said. “We then get a much better sense of how we’re doing here in South Africa.”So, what is year two of the pandemic going to look like in Africa? On this, everyone seems to agree: hopeful.       
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Africa’s year with the pandemic has been a challenging one, full of suspense and surprises. VOA’s Anita Powell looks back at the continent’s bout with the virus, which has infected at least 2.8 million people and killed about 72,000, according to the World Health Organization. She reports from South Africa.
Camera: Zaheer Cassim
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U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday came one step closer to his first major political victory: passage of his coronavirus economic relief package.What is it? A $1.9 trillion bill that Democrats said would help the country defeat the coronavirus and repair the economy. Republicans say it is more expensive than necessary. The measure follows five earlier virus bills totaling about $4 trillion that Congress has enacted since last spring.What is the latest? The Senate approved the pandemic relief package over Republican opposition Saturday by a party-line vote of 50-49.What’s next? The Senate made several changes to the bill, which was passed earlier by the U.S. House. Now the bill returns to the House for final passage, which could come early next week.How does it fight the pandemic? The bill contains about $14 billion to help distribute vaccines faster and get shots into arms quicker. It also provides $46 billion to expand federal, state and local testing, and enhance contact tracing.What’s in it for jobless Americans? It would extend the expanded unemployment benefits from the federal government through September 6 at $300 a week. The first $10,200 of jobless benefits would be nontaxable for households with incomes of less than $150,000.What about health care? It would provide a 100% subsidy of COBRA health insurance premiums through September so that laid-off workers can remain on their employer health plans. It also would increase subsidies for insurance through the Affordable Care Act through the end of 2022.Will there be subsidy checks? Yes, a direct payment of $1,400 for a single taxpayer, or $2,800 for a married couple who file jointly, plus $1,400 per dependent. Individuals earning up to $75,000 would get the full amount, as would married couples with incomes up to $150,000. The size of the check would shrink as incomes rise, with a hard cutoff at $80,000 for individuals and $160,000 for married couples.What about schools? The bill calls for about $130 billion in additional help to schools for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The money would be used to modify classrooms to allow more social distancing, install ventilation systems and buy personal protective equipment. The money could also be used to increase the hiring of nurses and counselors and to provide summer school.Will businesses receive help? It offers $25 billion in a new program aimed at restaurants and bars hurt by the pandemic. It also has $7.25 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, and it allows more nonprofits to apply for loans that are designed to help borrowers meet their payroll and operating costs and can potentially be forgiven.Can it help renters and homeowners? It provides about $30 billion to help pay the rent and utilities for low-income households and people who are unemployed, and to provide vouchers and other support for people who are homeless. States and tribes would receive an additional $10 billion for homeowners who are struggling with mortgage payments because of the pandemic.  
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Pharmaceutical giant Merck and an American laboratory announced progress Saturday in the design of an oral drug against COVID-19. Their antiviral has shown positive effects in reducing the viral load in current tests.”Knowing that there is an unmet need for antiviral therapy for SARS-CoV-2, we are encouraged by these preliminary results,” Wendy Painter, chief drug officer at Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, said in a statement.Merck interrupted its work on two potential COVID-19 vaccines at the end of January but continues its research on two treatments against the disease, including molnupiravir, developed with the American company Ridgeback Bio.The drug significantly reduced the viral load in patients after five days of treatment, the company said Saturday in a meeting with infectious-disease specialists.Phase 2a of the test — the trials have three phases before possible marketing — was carried out on 202 out-of-hospital patients who had COVID-19 with symptoms. There was no alert in terms of safety, and “of the four serious incidents reported, none was considered in connection with the drug studied,” the laboratory said.Influenza drugs like oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) are sometimes prescribed for seasonal flu, but research is struggling to find an antiviral for COVID-19.The results of this study, “namely a more rapid decrease in the viral load in individuals with COVID-19 in the initial phase and who have received molnupiravir, are promising,” assured William Fischer, one of the directors of the study and professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina.”If they are reinforced by additional studies, they could have important consequences in terms of public health, as the virus continues to spread and evolve in the world.”Merck is also working on a treatment called MK-711. The first results of clinical trials show a reduction of more than 50% in the risk of death or respiratory failure in hospitalized patients with moderate to severe forms of COVID-19, the group said at the end of January.  
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Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center has recorded more than 116 million global coronavirus cases. The U.S. is on the verge of having 30 million infections, followed by India with 11 million and Brazil with 10.8 million.Earlier this week, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro had callous words for fellow Brazilians unhappy with the president’s response to the pandemic.“Stop all this fussing and whining,” the president said. “How long are you going to keep on crying?” Bolsonaro was speaking in the Brazilian state of Goiás, where almost 9,000 people have died.Only the U.S. has more COVID deaths than Brazil. According to Hopkins, the U.S. has more than 522,000 COVID deaths, while Brazil has reported more than 262,000.Russia’s statistics agency said Friday more than 200,000 Russians diagnosed with COVID-19 have died, more than double the figure used by the government’s coronavirus task force.The figures released Friday from Rosstat, a government agency that releases coronavirus data infrequently, said it had recorded 200,432 deaths through January. Those figures include nearly 70,000 people who had the virus at the time of death, but whose main cause of death was not deemed to be COVID-19.The tally is significantly more the government’s coronavirus task force’s data, which had recorded 88,285 deaths as of Friday. The government’s task force does not count deaths in which the virus was present but is not ruled the main cause.Using the figures from Rosstat, Russia would have the third most COVID-19 fatalities in the world, behind only the United States and Brazil.Rosstat also reported Friday that Russia has recorded 394,000 more deaths since the start of the pandemic until the end of January than in the previous period — suggesting that coronavirus-related deaths in the country could be even higher.In another development Friday, the World Health Organization said investigators who conducted an inspection in China to determine origins of the COVID-19 virus would release a report on their findings in mid-March.Peter Ben Embarek, who led the mission, clarified at a regular coronavirus news briefing Friday in Geneva that an interim report would not be released as previously reported.“To clarify, there was never a plan for an interim report, first of all,” Embarek said. “It was hoped we would get a summary report out,” but “the director-general [Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus] will receive that report from the team in the near future and we will discuss the recommendations.”The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday the WHO team decided not to release its interim account “amid mounting tensions between Beijing and Washington.”Another international group of scientists has called for the WHO to conduct a new inquiry into the origins of COVID-19. The scientists calling for a new probe said in an open letter Thursday that the WHO team “did not have the mandate, the independence, or the necessary accesses to carry out a full and unrestricted investigation.”The scientists also noted in their letter that the WHO investigators in China were accompanied by their Chinese counterparts.The first cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019.Throughout his term, former U.S. president Donald Trump strongly suggested, without evidence, the coronavirus leaked from a Wuhan laboratory.A global team of inspectors began its four-week investigation in Wuhan in January and finished it last month.Italy on Friday surpassed 3 million confirmed coronavirus cases since the pandemic began. The health ministry reported 24,036 new confirmed cases Friday, the third straight day this week that daily new caseloads exceeded 20,000 cases.The government said it would further tighten coronavirus restrictions in three of its 20 regions after health officials warned of the increase of cases of more contagious variants.France reported 23,507 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Friday, which is down from the previous week, however officials said the number of people in intensive care with COVID-19 reached its highest level this year.Canada’s drug regulator announced Friday that it had approved Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, the fourth such inoculation to get approval. Canada has also approved vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca.Mickey Mouse may once again scamper on Disneyland’s streets, according to California officials who said Friday the state’s theme and amusement parks could open as early as April 1.There are, of course, COVID-19 restrictions on the openings. The parks would open under restricted capacity. They would also have to be in a county that is not under certain constraints, designed to slow the coronavirus transmission rate.A purple county has the most restrictions due to its coronavirus rate of infection, under California’s color-code system. Disneyland is in a purple country, but at the present rate of transmission, officials expect the theme park would likely be eligible for reopening sometime in April.
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