Health News Roundup: Nepal's female soldiers break taboos to tackle COVID crisis; Mexico reports 6,472 new coronavirus cases, 285 more deaths and more

The term had the most online dictionary lookups of any word, Merriam-Webster said on its website, after a year in which at least 1.4 million people globally have died from the COVID-19 pandemic. Nepal's female soldiers break taboos to tackle COVID crisis Four women wearing protective gear lift the body of a coronavirus victim at the Pashupati crematorium in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, and hand it over to crematory workers - a scene unimaginable in the conservative country in recent years.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

California at COVID-19 'tipping point' as Trump administration hopes for vaccines by Christmas

California's governor said on Monday the state was at a "tipping point" in the COVID-19 pandemic that would soon overwhelm hospitals as political leaders nationwide turn to increasingly aggressive measures to hold back the latest surge. Governor Gavin Newsom said he may clamp new "stay-at-home" orders on California's roughly 40 million residents in the face of infections and hospitalizations that are still rising weeks before emergency vaccines are predicted for release.

'Cinema under the stars' offers Indonesians safe entertainment amid pandemic

Perched on a hilltop overlooking the Indonesian city of Bandung neat lines of teepee-style tents are set up each evening on a patch of lawn in front of a large screen. Known as 'Cinema Under the Stars', the outdoor camp-style movie space opened two months ago in the capital of Indonesia's most populous province of West Java with the aim of keeping people both entertained and socially distanced.

'Pandemic' chosen as Word of the Year The 2020 prize for Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year went to an obvious choice: pandemic. The term had the most online dictionary lookups of any word, Merriam-Webster said on its website, after a year in which at least 1.4 million people globally have died from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nepal's female soldiers break taboos to tackle COVID crisis

Four women wearing protective gear lift the body of a coronavirus victim at the Pashupati crematorium in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, and hand it over to crematory workers - a scene unimaginable in the conservative country in recent years. Women touching a dead body is still a cultural taboo in Nepal. But rights for women have improved since the majority-Hindu country emerged from a decade-long conflict in 2006 and abolished its centuries-old feudal monarchy two years later.

Mexico reports 6,472 new coronavirus cases, 285 more deaths

Mexico's health ministry on Monday reported 6,472 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 285 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 1,113,543 cases and 105,940 deaths. The government says the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.

U.S. reports over 10,000 coronavirus deaths last week

The United States recorded 10,000 coronavirus deaths and over 1.1 million new cases last week, although state and health officials have said the Thanksgiving holiday likely caused numbers to be under-reported. New cases fell 3.8% in the week ended Nov. 29, while deaths fell 3.9%, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county reports. Many testing centers were closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving and some private labs had reduced staffing or were closed on Friday, according to state and health officials.

Biden, U.N. chief discuss 'strengthened partnership' on COVID-19, climate

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden spoke with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, Biden's transition team said, discussing the need for a "strengthened partnership" to combat COVID-19 pandemic and climate change - two areas where President Donald Trump shunned a multilateral approach. Trump has referred to climate change as a "hoax" and in 2017 pulled the United States out of a global accord to tackle climate change - a decision which took effect on Nov. 4. Biden has pledged to rejoin the deal, which was agreed in 2015.

Moderna files for U.S. vaccine authorization, will seek EU nod

Moderna Inc said on Monday it has applied for U.S. emergency authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine after full results from a late-stage study showed it was 94.1% effective with no serious safety concerns. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said an advisory committee would meet to discuss the request on Dec. 17, making Moderna's candidate the second highly effective vaccine likely to receive U.S. regulatory backing and a potential roll out this year.

Japan to loosen work rules on foreigners stuck due to pandemic

Japan is loosening regulations on part-time work for foreigners stuck in the country due to the novel coronavirus and having trouble supporting themselves, the government said on Tuesday. While temporary, the measures - which take effect from Tuesday - are a liberalisation of labour curbs on foreigners in an aging economy suffering from huge shortages of workers but where the ruling party has been reluctant to embrace a full-fledged immigration reform.

China gave COVID-19 vaccine candidate to North Korea's Kim: U.S. analyst China has provided North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his family with an experimental coronavirus vaccine, a U.S. analyst said on Tuesday, citing two unidentified Japanese intelligence sources. Harry Kazianis, a North Korea expert at the Center for the National Interest think tank in Washington, said the Kims and several senior North Korean officials had been vaccinated.

(With inputs from agencies.)