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| - These are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: Coronavirus deaths in Africa hit 100,000, with 3,341,197 confirmed infections, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources. The virus has caused at least 2,430,693 deaths around the world since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019. The United States is the worst-affected country with 490,550 deaths, followed by Brazil with 242,090, Mexico with 177,061, India with 156,014 and Britain with 118,933. Life expectancy in the United States fell by a whole year, from 78.8 years to 77.8, in the first half of 2020 as the pandemic started to grip the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says. The European Union says mink farms should regularly test their animals for Covid-19 and carry out sequencing, following outbreaks on such farms in several countries in 2020, with confirmed cases of the virus being spread to humans. Vatican staff who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19 could be sacked under a decree made public by the city state, which employs around 5,000 people. Zimbabwe begins its coronavirus immunisation three days after receiving Sinopharm jabs donated by China, with vice president Constantino Chiwenga receiving the first dose. Doctors and public health officials plead with Germans to take up AstraZeneca anti-Covid vaccines after reported doubts about the efficacy of the British-made jabs hit demand. Hong Kong approves the Chinese Sinovac jab for emergency use after a panel of experts fast-tracks its recommendation despite its relatively low efficacy rate of 62.3 percent. The number of people getting married in Italy has plunged during the pandemic, including by 80 percent in the second quarter of 2020, when a strict lockdown was mostly in place. This year's Billie Jean King Cup Finals, renamed from the Fed Cup in 2020, are postponed from April 13-18 in Budapest due to the Covid-19 pandemic. No new dates are announced. At least 191.96 million doses of anti-Covid vaccines have been injected in 106 countries and territories, according to an AFP count based on official sources at 1730 GMT Thursday. burs-nrh-jmy/mjs
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