Health News Roundup: China reports 20 new COVID-19 cases vs 14 a day earlier; Brazil coronavirus death toll hits 190,000 and more

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". The state of New South Wales recorded nine new coronavirus cases, eight of them directly linked to the northern beaches outbreak, which now stands at 116 confirmed cases.

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.

China reports 20 new COVID-19 cases vs 14 a day earlier

Mainland China recorded 20 new COVID-19 cases on Dec. 25, up from 14 cases the previous day, the country's health authority said on Saturday. The National Health Commission said in its daily bulletin that 12 of the new cases were imported. Of the eight locally transmitted cases, six came from the northeastern province of Liaoning and two from the capital Beijing.

Brazil coronavirus death toll hits 190,000

Brazil registered 22,967 additional cases of the new coronavirus and 482 related deaths in the prior 24 hours, according to data from the country's Health Ministry on Friday The South American country has now registered 7,448,560 total confirmed coronavirus cases and 190,488 deaths from COVID-19.

Sydney residents discouraged from Boxing Day shopping, some suburbs to re-enter lockdown

Sydney residents were urged not to head to the shops for Boxing Day bargains, while those in some northern beach suburbs prepared to re-enter a strict lockdown for three days from Sunday as the city seeks to stamp out a coronavirus outbreak. The state of New South Wales recorded nine new coronavirus cases, eight of them directly linked to the northern beaches outbreak, which now stands at 116 confirmed cases. Lockdown measures for some suburbs were first imposed on Dec. 19 but were eased slightly for the Christmas break.