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What you need to know about the coronavirus today

UK imposes more lockdowns
The British government said huge swathes of England would be placed under its strictest COVID-19 restrictions as a highly infectious virus variant sweeps the country, pushing the number of cases to a record level.

Britain reported almost 40,000 new infections as the mutated variant of the coronavirus, which could be up to 70% more transmissible than the original, causes the number of cases and hospital admissions to soar.

The number of recorded deaths - 744 - was also the highest figure since April.

“Against this backdrop of rising infections, rising hospitalizations and rising numbers of people dying from coronavirus, it is absolutely vital that we act,” health minister Matt Hancock told a media briefing. “We simply cannot have the kind of Christmas that we all yearn for.”

One million Americans vaccinated for COVID
Tennessee emerged alongside California as an epicenter of the latest COVID-19 surge even while more than 1 million Americans have been vaccinated as U.S. political leaders sought to guard against a highly contagious coronavirus variant sweeping across Britain.
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Tennessee averaged nearly 128 new infections per 100,000 people over the last week, the highest of any U.S. state, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. California stood second at 111 new cases per 100,000 residents.

“Our state is ground zero for a surge in COVID-19 and we need Tennesseans to (do) their part,” Governor Bill Lee said on Twitter, urging residents to wear face masks and gather only with members of their own household over Christmas.

Israel imposing third national COVID-19 lockdown
Israel will impose a third national lockdown to fight climbing COVID-19 infections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

The curbs will come into effect on Sunday evening and last for 14 days, pending final cabinet approval, a statement from Netanyahu’s office said.

The restrictions include the closure of shops, limited public transport, a partial shutdown of schools and a one-kilometer restriction on travel from home, except for commuting to workplaces that remain open and to purchase essential goods.

France's Macron showing no more COVID-19 symptoms
French President Emmanuel Macron is showing no more symptoms of COVID-19, the Elysee office said.

Macron, 43, can now end his quarantine after he self-isolated for seven days at the presidential retreat of La Lanterne, close to the Palace of Versailles, the office said in a statement.

He had tested positive for the coronavirus on Dec. 17, prompting a track-and-trace effort across Europe following numerous meetings between the French leader and EU heads of government in recent days.

Track the global spread here.

Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Poverty, Beer cans, Budget hotels. Hong Kong’s poverty problem was getting worse even before COVID-19 struck, and AB InBev sells the family aluminum to cut debt. Catch up on the latest pandemic-related financial column.

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TOP STORIES

President Donald Trump granted pardons to former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former adviser Roger Stone, sweeping away the most important convictions under the long-running Russia election probe. Trump also issued a pardon for Charles Kushner, a real estate developer and the father of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

How a British COVID-19 vaccine went from pole position to troubled start: Oxford and AstraZeneca announced that the regimen of a half dose followed by a full dose booster appeared to be 90% effective in preventing COVID-19. Two full doses scored 62%. Some experts say the dosing discrepancy raises doubts about the robustness of the study’s findings.

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives aim to win quick passage of legislation providing $2,000 in direct payments to Americans as part of a coronavirus economic relief initiative after President Donald Trump unexpectedly insisted on the provision. The stakes in this long-shot bid are enormous, as millions of Americans desperately await some sort of new assistance from Washington in a COVID-19 pandemic that is spiraling out of control in the United States and other nations.

Britain and the European Union were on the cusp of striking a narrow trade deal, swerving away from a chaotic finale to a Brexit split that has shaken the 70-year project to forge European unity from the ruins of World War Two. While a last-minute deal would avoid the most acrimonious ending to the divorce, the United Kingdom is heading for a much more distant relationship with its biggest trade partner.

Wider image

From doctors weary of seeing patients die to relatives who lost their loved ones, thousands of Brazilians have volunteered for COVID vaccine trials in one of the world's worst-affected countries in the hope their quiet heroism will save lives.

Latin America's largest country has become a major testing ground for vaccines because of the scale of its outbreak, which has seen more than 7.3 million people infected and over 180,000 killed by the coronavirus.