More than 76.5 million people infected, nearly 1.7 million people died of Covid-19 worldwide, the British Prime Minister must declare the blockade of the capital London at Christmas.

The world records 76,565,276 cases and 1,690,619 deaths from Covid-19, an increase of 645,592 and 11,110 cases a day, respectively, while 53,698,904 people have recovered, according to the real-time update page.

Europe became the first region in the world to record more than 500,000 Covid-19 deaths.

He reported an additional 27,052 cases and 534 deaths, bringing the number of infections and deaths to 2,004,219 and 67,075 respectively.

The British people are tired of the restrictions that prevent Covid-19 and hope to loosen up for five days during Christmas.

"I have to tell you we can't keep Christmas as planned," he said at a televised press conference.

The move comes after Mr Johnson warned the rate of the virus's spread and a new strain of the virus "could infect more than 70%".

France, the fifth largest epidemic region in the world and the largest in the EU, recorded an additional 17,565 infections and 189 deaths, bringing infections and deaths to 2,460,555 and 60,418 respectively.

Elysee Palace on December 17 announced that French President Emmanuel Macron, 42 years old, is positive for nCoV.

Macron on December 18 said in a video on Twitter that he had fatigue, headache and a dry cough, but "was fine".

Germany recorded 23,970 new infections and 411 deaths, bringing the total to 1,493,961 and 26,414 respectively.

The European Pharmaceutical Authority (EMA) based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, earlier said it planned to hold a special meeting, no later than December 29, to discuss conditional licensing.

The German government imposed a partial blockade from December 16 to curb the spread of nCoV that seemed out of control.

The United States, the world's largest epidemic zone, recorded an additional 155,013 cases and 2,107 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections to 18,043,366, of which 322,952 died.

American health experts have warned of the danger of a medical crisis in winter when intensive care rooms are overcrowded and many places have to put hospital beds in the hallways.

The largest vaccination campaign in US history began after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urgently approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on December 11.

The FDA on December 18 continued to approve Moderna's vaccine, paving the way for the administration of President Donald Trump to begin distributing 6 million doses of vaccine across the United States, the country most heavily affected by Covid-19 in the world.

With the two vaccines approved, health officials say they plan to deliver the first enough dose to 20 million people by the end of this year.

India, the second largest epidemic region in the world, reported an additional 26,834 infections and 342 deaths, bringing the total number of people infected and dead from Covid-19 to 10,031,659 and 145,513 respectively.

The Indian government said on Tuesday it could soon start voluntary vaccination against Covid-19 as it is considering emergency licensing of three vaccines, including vaccines from AstraZeneca, Pfizer and the Indian company.

Meanwhile, many hospitals in New Delhi fell into overcrowding.

Brazil, the third largest epidemic region in the world, recorded an additional 669 deaths from COV, bringing the total number of deaths to 186,356.

The Brazilian government on 12/12 announced the Covid-19 vaccination plan with the initial goal of vaccinating 51 million people, or about a quarter of the population, in the first half of 2021. However, the regulator

Amid the country hit hard by the pandemic, CoronaVac became the subject of political controversy in Brazil.

On December 18, President Bolsonaro continued to criticize when he expressed doubts about the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Russia, the world's fourth-largest epidemic region, recorded an additional 28,209 cases of nCoV infection and 585 deaths within 24 hours, bringing the total to 2,819,429 and 50,347, respectively.

Russia is fighting a second wave of infections when St Petersburg officials say they are running out of beds for Covid-19 patients.

According to Russia's fourth announcement on December 14, the results of the Sputnik V vaccine on a scale of more than 22,714 people showed 91.4% efficiency.

Iran, one of the Middle East's largest epidemic zones, reported 53,448 deaths, an increase of 175, out of a total of 1,152,072 cases, an increase of 6,421.

President Hassan Rouhani said on December 9 that Iran has not yet been able to buy Covid-19 vaccine because banks are not ready to process the transaction, because of fears of violating US sanctions, despite vaccines and other aspects.

"We want to buy vaccines. The budget is ready, but no bank will handle the transaction," Rouhani told officials.

Korea is facing the third wave of Covid-19 as new infections are rapidly increasing daily.

The Seoul metropolitan area (Seoul, Incheon and satellite cities) is about to run out of active treatment beds.

The government this week instructed all schools in the Seoul Metropolitan Area to be closed for a month but did not issue a blockade order due to concerns about damage to Asia's fourth-largest economy.

In Southeast Asia, Indonesia is the region's largest outbreak with 657,948 cases, an increase of 7,751, of which 19,659 people died, an increase of 145. President Joko Widodo announced he will be the first to receive Covid-19 vaccine in Indonesia and

Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world with about 270 million people, received the first batch of Covid-19 vaccine containing 1.2 million doses from China's Sinovac biotechnology company on December 6.

Government data shows that Indonesia has ordered 155.5 million doses of the vaccine, and is looking to buy an additional 116 million doses from Pfizer, AstraZeneca and the COVAX program, a global Covid-19 vaccine initiative.

The Philippines reported 458,044 cases and 8,911 deaths, up 1,491 and 36 respectively, making it the second largest epidemic area in the region.

The Philippines is one of the longest Christmas celebrations in the world, starting in September. Masses of people flock to large shopping and malls despite Covid-19 complicated developments in the East.

Updated: 6:46, 20/12 | Source: WorldOMeters