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| - Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: The death toll in the US, the world's worst affected country, tops the quarter of a million mark. At least 1,751 new deaths were recorded there in the last 24 hours. Overall, the virus has killed at least 1,350,275 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP on Thursday. There were 11,013 new deaths and 582,654 new cases recorded worldwide in the previous 24 hours. The second worst-affected country is Brazil with 167,455 deaths followed by India with 131,578, Mexico with 99,528 and the United Kingdom with 53,274. BioNTech co-founder Ugur Sahin says the frontrunner Covid-19 vaccine his German firm is developing with Pfizer could be rolled out before the year is over in the United States or Europe. The US government cautions Americans against travelling for the Thanksgiving holiday next week, saying: "It's not a requirement. It's a strong recommendation." New York's public schools will close to battle a sharp rise in infections, the mayor announces. Health officials report 23,610 new infections and 463 virus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, both record highs since the start of Russia's outbreak. Total infections now stand at 2.02 million -- the fifth-highest in the world -- with 34,850 people dead. The number of new infections in Germany has plateaued since a partial lockdown came into force in early November, but the daily number of new coronavirus cases remains too high, health officials say. Japan is on "maximum alert" after logging a record 2,000 daily infections with nearly 500 in the capital Tokyo alone, though no immediate restrictions are planned. Phase 2 trials of a leading vaccine candidate developed by Britain's Oxford university and AstraZeneca show it safely produces a robust immune response in healthy older people, while producing fewer side effects than in younger people. The World Health Organization's emergencies director warns vaccines won't arrive in time to defeat the second wave of the pandemic and should not be seen as a "unicorn" magic solution. Denmark's health ministry says a mutated version of the virus detected in minks that raised concerns about the effectiveness of a future vaccine has likely been eradicated. bur-nrh-jmy/bp
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