The world recorded an additional 11,258 deaths due to Covid-19 on November 17, bringing the number of deaths from the pandemic to 1,342,603.

The US, the largest epidemic region in the world, recorded 11,679,463 cases of infection and 254,075 deaths after reporting 141,013 and 1,396 additional cases, respectively.

The spread of the virus in the country shows no signs of slowing down as one million new infections were recorded in less than a week, forcing many states to apply new control measures, while experts warned

Epidemic prevention in the US is even more difficult when President Donald Trump has not yet recognized Joe Biden as president-elect and refuses to carry out power transfer procedures.

A medical worker takes samples to test for nCoV at a mobile facility in Marseille, France, on November 12.

India, the second largest epidemic area in the world, reported an additional 38,532 cases of infection and 472 deaths, bringing the total number of people infected and dead from Covid-19 to 8,912,704 and 131,031 respectively.

The situation has become especially serious in New Delhi, which is experiencing the worst phase of the pandemic, causing many hospitals to be overwhelmed.

Brazil, the third largest epidemic area in the world, recorded 632 more deaths from nCoV, bringing the total number of deaths to 166,699.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said handling the pandemic would be easier and less expensive if investing in treatment drugs instead of vaccines, and continued to promote the anti-malaria drug chloroquine, despite much evidence that it was

France reported 2,036,755 cases and 46,273 deaths after recording an additional 14,524 cases and 625 deaths.

French Health Minister Olivier Veran said yesterday that the country is regaining momentum in controlling nCoV, but is not ready to relax restrictive measures.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government aims to end the blockade on December 1, but it could be extended if the situation does not improve quickly enough.

Russia, the 5th largest epidemic region in the world, recorded an additional 22,410 cases of nCoV infection and a record 442 deaths within 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections and deaths to 1,971,013 and 33,931 respectively.

Russian officials said that nCoV variants are appearing in the Siberian region of the country, and warned that they could make the epidemic more dangerous.

The UK reported an additional 20,051 cases and 598 deaths, bringing cases and deaths to 1,410,732 and 52,745 respectively.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is self-isolating after coming into contact with a person confirmed positive for nCoV.

Germany recorded 16,206 new infections and 357 deaths, bringing infections and deaths to 833,732 and 13,248 respectively.

From November 2 to November 30, Germans are not confined to their homes, but are asked to avoid all non-essential travel, with only overnight stays allowed for `non-tourism purposes`.

German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said the country could extend restrictive measures to prevent Covid-19 for another 4-5 months.

South Africa is the country most heavily affected by the pandemic in Africa, recording 754,256 cases of infection and 20,432 deaths, an increase of 1,987 and 118 cases respectively.

South Africa began easing restrictions to the lowest level in September, after the rate of new infections decreased, and opened its borders to international passengers from early October after a 6-month ban.

Iran, the largest epidemic region in the Middle East, reported 42,461 deaths, an increase of 482, out of a total of 788,473 cases, an increase of 13,352.

Even Iranian officials admit that official figures seem to be lower than the severity of the pandemic in the country.

In Southeast Asia, Indonesia is the largest epidemic area in the region with 474,455 cases, an increase of 3,807 compared to the previous day, of which 15,393 deaths, an increase of 97 cases.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said last week that the country plans to begin mass vaccination of medical staff and other frontline workers from next month, to curb the epidemic and support economic recovery, using

However, in a hearing before parliament yesterday, the head of Indonesia’s food and drug agency warned that they could not grant a license for this activity in time for the December deadline, because the data at that time was available.

The Philippines reported 410,718 cases of infection and 7,862 deaths, an increase of 1,148 and 23 cases respectively, making it the second largest epidemic area in the region.

Although the numbers have tended to decrease in recent weeks, Philippine Deputy Health Secretary Maria Rosario warned on November 16 not to be complacent.

The world is full of hope to defeat Covid-19 after American biotechnology company Moderna announced that its potential vaccine is nearly 95% effective.

Moderna expects to have about 20 million vaccine doses ready for distribution in the US by the end of the year, while the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may approve both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines as early as the beginning of the month.

France also announced that it is starting to build a vaccination program so that it can launch in January next year.