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| - Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: French President Emmanuel Macron becomes the latest world leader to test positive for Covid-19 and goes into isolation for the next week. A list of leaders who have had contact with him also go into isolation, including EU chief Charles Michel, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Macron's Prime Minister Jean Castex. The United States, the world's worst hit country, sets a double record with more than 3,700 deaths and over 250,000 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University. The EU is to start Covid-19 inoculations on December 27, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says. The rollout is conditional on the European Medicines Agency authorising the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine when it meets on Monday. Germany sees record daily virus infections of over 30,000 as it struggles to cope with the outbreak by imposing a new partial lockdown. Tokyo's hospitals are struggling to provide routine care because of a sharp spike in coronavirus cases, health officials warn, as new infections in the Japanese capital hit another record high of 822. The coronavirus has killed at least 1,649,927 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT on Thursday. The US is the worst-affected country with 307,512 deaths, followed by Brazil with 183,735, India with 144,451, Mexico with 115,769 and Italy with 66,537. US experts meet to decide whether to recommend approval of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine, potentially paving the way for rollout early next week. Russian President Vladimir Putin, 68, says he will receive the Russian-developed Sputnik V coronavirus jab once it is approved for people his age. Saudi Arabia kicks off a three-phase Covid-19 vaccination programme, with the health minister and a woman in a wheelchair among those inoculated with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The Australian Open will start three weeks late on February 8 after coronavirus disrupted preparations for the first tennis Grand Slam of 2021. burs/jmy/gd
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