France’s lockdown extended by two weeks; German infection surge may be easing; Russia says its Sputnik-V vaccine is 92% effective
- Scientist behind BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine says it can end pandemic
- Billionaire Trump donors contract Covid after playing down risks
- Covid infections in Sweden surge, dashing hopes of herd immunity
- French professor faces disciplinary case over hydroxychloroquine claims
Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Sullivan.
As the world confirmed a record 666,053 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University, the French prime minister, Jean Castex, said there would be no easing of a second Covid-19 lockdown in France for at least two weeks, with the number of people in hospital infected by the coronavirus now higher than at the peak of the first wave.
