Health News Roundup: Pope Francis in Christmas message; Mexico says COVID-19 doses of Pfizer en route and more

Turkey requires negative PCR tests for all incoming passengers Turkey's health minister said on Friday that as of next Monday all passengers coming into the country will have to provide proof of negative tests for coronavirus carried out within 72 hours of their arrival.

Pope Francis in his Christmas message on Friday

Pope Francis in his Christmas message on Friday said political and business leaders must not allow market forces and patent laws to take priority over making Covid 19 vaccines available to all, condemning nationalism and "the virus of radical individualism". In a sign of the times, Francis delivered his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message virtually from a lectern inside the Vatican instead of from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica before tens of thousands.

Mexico says 42,900 doses of Pfizer vaccine en route to country

A total of 42,900 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine are en route to Mexico from Belgium, Mexico's foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Friday on Twitter. The doses are slated to arrive on Saturday in Mexico City and the northern city of Monterrey, Ebrard added. Mexico administered its first shots of the vaccine on Thursday after the arrival of an initial shipment of 3,000 Pfizer doses.

France records 20,262 more COVID-19 cases, 159 more deaths in last 24 hours

France registered 20,262 new, confirmed COVID-19 cases and 159 more related deaths in hospitals in the last 24 hours, health ministry data showed, as fears of a new wave of the virus mount in the euro zone's second-biggest economy. France's number of confirmed COVID-19 cases now stands at 2,547,771 while its COVID-19 death toll stands at 62,427 - the seventh-highest in the world.

U.S. will require negative COVID-19 tests for all UK passengers - CDC

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government will require all airline passengers arriving from the United Kingdom to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of departure starting Monday amid concerns about a new coronavirus variant that may be more transmissible. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement on Thursday that all airline passengers arriving from the UK must test negative in order to fly to the United States. The decision was a turnaround after the Trump administration told U.S. airlines on Tuesday it was not planning to require any testing for arriving UK passengers.

Turkey requires negative PCR tests for all incoming passengers

Turkey's health minister said on Friday that as of next Monday all passengers coming into the country will have to provide proof of negative tests for coronavirus carried out within 72 hours of their arrival. Passengers who fail to provide a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result will not be allowed to board planes to Turkey, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.