COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 4 March

COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 4 March

This daily round-up brings you a selection of the latest news and updates on the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, as well as tips and tools to help you stay informed and protected.

Top stories: Germany announces restriction-easing plan; France hopes to ease restrictions from mid-April; interim data shows Bharat Biotech's vaccine to have 81% efficacy in preventing symptomatic COVID-19.





1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have now passed 115.1 million globally, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 2.56 million.

Britain's medical regulator has said it will fast-track vaccines for COVID-19 variants, saying the makers of already-authorized shots would not need new lengthy clinical trials to prove their adapted vaccines work.

The US economic recovery continued at a modest pace through the first weeks of 2021, according to the Federal Reserve.

Kenya received over 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine yesterday. Meanwhile, Rwanda said it was the first country in Africa to secure the Pfizer vaccine.

COVID-19 cases have surged in Poland's northeastern lake district, with infection rates per 100,000 people consistently more than double the national average.

Bharat Biotech's vaccine has shown 81% efficacy