Current state of coronavirus and vaccine rollouts in world’s worst-hit countries
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More than 170m doses of coronavirus vaccines have been given worldwide so far.
With many countries now rolling out vaccines the most recent data has shown that 171.3m doses have been administered across 76 countries so far.
It comes as the total number of confirmed cases worldwide has passed 109m with 2,406,473 total deaths.
In some of the most affected countries including the USA, the United Kingdom, and Brazil the vaccine rollout is well under way.
But in other nations, including many in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America, no vaccines have been administered yet.
We’ve taken a look at the coronavirus infection rates and vaccination figures across the 10 most affected countries and what restrictions are currently in place in each country.
All coronavirus statistics and charts are taken from Worldometer and vaccine stats are taken from Our World In Data. Figures are accurate as of Sunday, February 14.
United Kingdom
All countries within the UK are currently in a national lockdown.
In England people must stay at home and only go out if they have a reasonable excuse. You are not allowed to meet people socially unless you live together or form a support bubble. Schools remain closed until at least March 8.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to unveil a ‘roadmap’ towards easing restrictions in England in the week commencing February 22.
All of Wales has been in alert level four restrictions since the week before Christmas meaning you must stay home and not meet anyone you don’t live with.
On January 29 Mark Drakeford announced minor changes to the lockdown allowing people to meet one person from another household for exercise. As it stands the youngest pupils in primary schools are due to be able to return to the classroom for face-to-face teaching after half term.
(Image: Matthew Horwood)
The next review of the current restrictions in Wales will take place on February 19 and Mr Drakeford has suggested there may be room for a gradual lifting of restrictions as we head towards Easter. Read what he said on Friday here.
In Scotland there is also a lockdown with a ‘stay at home’ message in place. The restrictions are set to remain in place until at least the end of the month.
Northern Ireland entered a full lockdown on Boxing Day and last month the current restrictions were extended until March 5. The Stormont Executive is due to meet on February 18 to discuss the potential for easing restrictions.
Key details in United Kingdom:
- Cumulative number of confirmed cases: 4,027,106
- Cumulative number of confirmed deaths: 116,908
- New cases on February 13: 13,308
- New deaths on February 13: 621
- Cumulative number of vaccines administered: 15.09m
United States
Restrictions in the United States vary depending on the state and are largely up to state and local officials as to which measures are implemented.
In states like Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, New York, and Vermont most businesses are open with the exception of bars or those with indoor-only service.
In others such as Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Maryland and Texas there are almost no restrictions with retail, food and drink, entertainment, and personal care like salons and barbers all open for business.
(Image: Getty Images)
However some national measures have recently been introduced. Since taking office in January President Joe Biden has signed off on a mask mandate requiring the wearing of face coverings on federal properties.
President Biden has also said the US will have enough vaccine for 300m people by the end of July, the Washington Post reports.
Both the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccine have been approved for use in the US so far.
Key details in USA:
- Cumulative number of confirmed cases: 28,196,964
- Cumulative number of confirmed deaths: 496,063
- New cases on February 13: 86,275
- New deaths on February 13: 2,272
- Cumulative number of vaccines administered: 50.64m
India
Lockdown measures are being relaxed in a phased approach in India. Restrictions differ between states depending on the level of infection.
For example the state of Maharashtra recently extended Covid-19 guidelines for passengers arriving from Kerala, which has seen a growing number of cases.
Earlier it had issued Covid-19 travel guidelines for people coming from Gujarat, Delhi-NCR, Goa, and Rajasthan.
Restrictions on large gatherings vary by state but face coverings are mandatory in all public places in India with penalties for non-use.
Covaxin and Covishield are the two vaccines currently being rolled out in India. Both vaccines are two-dose and began their rollout on January 16 to healthcare and frontline workers.
Key details in India:
- Cumulative number of confirmed cases: 10,904,738
- Cumulative number of confirmed deaths: 155,673
- New cases on February 13: 12,188
- New deaths on February 13: 85
- Cumulative number of vaccines administered: 8.26m
Brazil
After peaking last summer cases had been dropping in Brazil before rising again in November. The number of deaths has since passed 200,000 – the second-highest figure in the world.
Despite this the country remains largely open with few restrictions in place.
Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro has faced increasing pressure for his lack of response to the rise in cases with protests taking place in various cities over the past two months.
President Bolsonaro has cast doubt on the efficacy of lockdowns throughout the pandemic, even breaking quarantine to buy a donut from a local bakery in April.
(Image: Getty Images)
President Bolsonaro tested positive for the virus last summer and said in December that he supported the rollout of vaccines in Brazil but would not be taking one himself.
On January 17 regulators in Brazil authorised the emergency use of two vaccines – China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd and the UK’s Oxford/AstraZeneca jab – for emergency use. After a slow start due to distribution issues more than five million people have been vaccinated so far.
Key details in Brazil
- Cumulative number of confirmed cases: 9,811,255
- Cumulative number of confirmed deaths: 238,647
- New cases on February 13: 45,561
- New deaths on February 13: 1,046
- Cumulative number of vaccines administered: 5.13m
Russia
Restrictions in Russia vary depending on the region.
At the end of January Moscow lifted a number of restrictions which had been in place for several months due to a rise in the number of cases.
Measures lifted included a requirement for all companies to keep 30% of their employees working from home, though the measure remains in place for over-65s and vulnerable workers.
Moscow’s museums, exhibitions, libraries, and cultural centres also re-opened to visitors and all Russian universities were allowed to resume in-person classes on February 8.
However there is a big difference in the rate of infection across the regions with St Petersburg seeing a much higher infection rate than Chechnya for example.
A number of countries have approved Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine and the EU has accepted Russia’s application to register it in the bloc. Nearly four million people have been vaccinated so far in Russia.
Key details in Russia:
- Cumulative number of confirmed cases: 4,057,698
- Cumulative number of confirmed deaths: 79,696
- New cases on February 13: 14,861
- New deaths on February 13: 502
- Cumulative number of vaccines administered: 3.90 million
One thing to note is the number of countries who haven’t started rolling out vaccines at all.
In fact most countries around the globe – 123 to be exact – have yet to administer a single vaccine.
When it comes to who gets vaccines there are many factors at play. Research capabilities, diplomatic relationships between countries, complicated scientific processes, and huge multinational firms all account for the variation.
Richer countries like the US and the UK, who were able to invest a lot of money into the research and development of coronavirus vaccines, were at the front of the queue when it came to their distribution.
Many of these countries could therefore secure millions of doses of different vaccines even before they were given regulatory approval.
Research by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism noted that out of 12.7bn doses of various coronavirus vaccines which have been bought so far (enough to vaccinate 6.6bn people) more than half those doses have been bought by wealthy countries home to only 1.2bn people.
Where does this leave low-income countries?
There is a global initiative co-run by the World Health Organisation (WHO) called COVAX, which focuses on delivering vaccines to some of the poorest countries in the world.
But there have been some suggestions that given the large number of vaccines already purchased by richer countries people in some sub-Saharan countries, which includes many of the poorest countries in Africa, might not be vaccinated until 2024.
Meanwhile South Africa and India are heading a proposal to the WHO in favour of waiving intellectual property (IP) rights on Covid-19 drugs and vaccines, which they claim would help encourage generic production of vaccines and increase supply around the world. However others have said doing this would not increase the supply of vaccines and would undermine innovation.
Why does this matter?
As we have learned so far the longer the virus is allowed spread the more opportunity there is for it to mutate.
This could lead to more deaths and a risk that vaccines might not be effective against future mutations.
The mantra of many of the world’s leading organisations has always been that ‘nobody is safe until everyone is safe’.
But while many of us might see a return to normality under coronavirus before others do it remains to be seen how quickly this will follow across the world.
France
French president Emmanuel Macron has so far resisted calls to impose a third national lockdown in France despite a surge in the virus in recent months and a spread of new variants within the country.
A tighter curfew requiring people to stay home from 6pm each day unless they are coming from work or school came into effect in January.
(Image: AP)
It is an extension to the curfew put in place in December which required all businesses and shops to close.
On January 30 France also closed its borders to anyone coming in from outside the EU or the Schengen zone including the UK.
The only exceptions are people with compelling reasons for travel. Travel to France from within the EU is less restrictive but travellers have to show proof of a negative Covid-19 test within the previous 72 hours.
Key details in France:
- Cumulative number of confirmed cases: 3,448,617
- Cumulative number of confirmed deaths: 81,647
- New cases on February 13: 21,231
- New deaths on February 13: 199
- Cumulative number of vaccines administered: 2.84m
Spain
Despite a rise in cases Spain has also avoided the imposition of another full lockdown.
A 10pm curfew has been in place since October 25 but attempts to bring that forward to 8pm in most of Spain’s regions were blocked by its coalition government last month, The Local reported.
Regions can impose local measures themselves but only the central government can implement a national lockdown.
Key details in Spain:
- Cumulative number of confirmed cases: 3,056,035
- Cumulative number of confirmed deaths: 64,747
- New cases on February 13: Not reported
- New deaths on February 13: Not reported
- Cumulative number of vaccines administered: 2.42m
Italy
One of the hardest hit countries in the early stages of the pandemics, Italy announced new colour-coded lockdown zones and a national 10pm curfew on November 4 following another rise in case numbers.
The northern province of Alto Adige went into a strict lockdown on February 8 after the first case of the UK variant was detected there. But the vast majority of the country is now in the yellow zone which allows for the daytime re-opening of bars and restaurants, opening of museums on weekdays, and greater freedom to travel within the region.
Key details in Italy:
- Cumulative number of confirmed cases: 2,710,819
- Cumulative number of confirmed deaths: 93,356
- New cases on February 13: 13,532
- New deaths on February 13: 311
- Cumulative number of vaccines administered: 2.96m
Turkey
Turkey currently has a curfew in place between 9pm and 5am on weekdays and a full lockdown at weekends in an attempt to curb rising cases.
Additionally residents under 20 years of age may only leave their homes between 1pm and 4pm while those over 65 years of age may only leave their properties from 10am to 1pm.
(Image: Getty Images)
Strict restrictions on face coverings and social distancing remain in place and there are capacity restrictions on the metro and trams in Ankara and Istanbul.
And there has been no announcement on when businesses and hospitality, which have been reduced to takeaway service, can re-open.
Healthcare workers were the first to begin receiving the vaccine on January 14 and more than 3.7m people have been given their first dose so far. CoronaVac is the only vaccine approved in Turkey at this stage.
Key details in Turkey:
Germany
The German government has extended its partial lockdown until March 7 under which restaurants, hotels, culture and leisure centres, schools, and non-essential shops have to close. The restrictions have been in effect since November.
However regional states have significant decision-making powers over local restrictions and some have already announced the intention to break with the government on certain measures.
Berlin mayor Michael Mueller has said the capital would begin partially re-opening schools from February 22 with other regions expected to follow suit.
The seven-day incidence rate has fallen below 75 for the first time since November but Chancellor Angela Merkel has said there are concerns over new variants and that hospitals are still close to capacity.
Key details in Germany:
- Cumulative number of confirmed cases: 2,336,905
- Cumulative number of confirmed deaths: 65,415
- New cases on February 13: 6,483
- New deaths on February 13: 379
- Cumulative number of vaccines administered: 3.97m
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