Health News Roundup: Britain to restrict promotion of unhealthy food from April 2022; U.S. CDC reports 330,901 total deaths from coronavirus and more

https://bit.ly/2JkpCs3 South Africa's total COVID-19 cases cross 1 million mark South Africa's total coronavirus infections since the first case in March crossed a million on Sunday, its Health Ministry said, just days after a new faster spreading variant was confirmed to be present in the country.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Britain to restrict promotion of unhealthy food from April 2022

Britain will ban "buy one get one free" promotions for food high in fat, sugar or salt and free refills of sugary soft drinks in restaurants from April 2022, the government said on Monday, its latest step in its plan to tackle obesity and improve public health. The government says obesity is one of Britain's biggest long-term public health problems with almost two-thirds of adults in England overweight and one in three children leaving primary school overweight or obese.

U.S. CDC reports 330,901 total deaths from coronavirus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday reported 18,909,910 cases of new coronavirus, an increase of 179,104 cases from its previous count, and said deaths had risen by 1,309 to 330,901. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19 as of 4 p.m. ET on Saturday versus its previous report a day earlier. https://bit.ly/2JkpCs3

South Africa's total COVID-19 cases cross 1 million mark

South Africa's total coronavirus infections since the first case in March crossed a million on Sunday, its Health Ministry said, just days after a new faster spreading variant was confirmed to be present in the country. The grim milestone comes nine days after the country, the worst hit in Africa, reported 900,000 cases. The country had taken two weeks to reach 900,000 from the 800,000 seen early in December.

Mexico elderly could get coronavirus vaccines in January

Mexico expects to wrap up its first-dose COVID-19 vaccinations for healthcare workers by early January, before moving to inoculate elderly people in the month's second half, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Sunday. The second day of vaccinations for medical staff saw the health ministry record 6,217 new confirmed infections and 400 more deaths, taking Mexico's tally to 1,383,434 cases and 122,426 deaths.

Europe rolls out 'new weapon' vaccines in bid to slay COVID

Europe launched a mass COVID-19 vaccination drive on Sunday with pensioners and medics lining up to get the first shots to see off a pandemic that has crippled economies and claimed more than 1.7 million lives worldwide. "Thank God," 96-year-old Araceli Hidalgo said as she became the first person in Spain to have a vaccine at her care home in Guadalajara, near the capital Madrid.

Cold chain doubts delay COVID-19 vaccinations in some German cities

Germany's coronavirus vaccination campaign faced delays in several cities on Sunday after temperature trackers showed that about 1,000 of the shots made by BioNTech and Pfizer may not have been kept cold enough during transit. "When reading the temperature loggers that were enclosed in the cool boxes, doubts arose about the compliance with the cold chain requirements," the district of Lichtenfels in the north of Germany's largest state, Bavaria, said in a statement.

Brazil vice president tests positive for coronavirus; 344 new deaths recorded

Hamilton Mourão, Brazil's vice president, has tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said on Sunday, when the country registered 344 new COVID-19 deaths. Mourão, President Jair Bolsonaro's deputy, is the latest in a long line of senior Brazilian officials to contract the virus. Bolsonaro, a prominent coronavirus skeptic, was infected in July, and recovered.

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 10,976 - RKI

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 10,976 to 1,651,834, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Monday. The reported death toll rose by 348 to 30,126, the tally showed. According to the RKI, fewer tests and laboratory examinations as well as fewer transmissions of the results by the health authorities are to be expected during the holidays and at the turn of the year.

South Korea to accelerate virus vaccine efforts as first U.K. variant detected

South Korean officials are vowing to speed up efforts to launch a public coronavirus vaccination programme as the country on Monday announced it had detected its first cases of the virus variant linked to the rapid rise in infections in Britain. The new variant, thought to be more transmissible than others currently circulating, was found in three people who had entered South Korea from London on Dec. 22, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Monday.

France's new coronavirus infections up as vaccine roll out begins

The French health ministry reported 8,822 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours on Sunday, sharply up from Saturday's 3,093 as the country, in unison with most of the EU, started its vaccination programme. France's cumulative total of cases now stands at 2,559,686, the fifth highest in the world.