European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, second left, speaks with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, center right, during an official visit to the Pfizer pharmaceutical company in Puurs, Belgium, Friday, April 23, 2021. (John Thys, Pool via AP) A COVID-19 patient wearing oxygen mask waits inside a vehicle to be attended and admitted in a dedicated COVID-19 government hospital in Ahmedabad, India, Thursday, April 22, 2021. India reported a global record of more than 314,000 new infections Thursday as a grim coronavirus surge in the world's second-most populous country sends more and more sick people into a fragile health care system critically short of hospital beds and oxygen. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki) Health workers stand outside the entrance of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi, India, Friday, April 23, 2021. The Press Trust of India reported 25 COVID-19 patients died at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in the past 24 hours and the lives of another 60 were at risk amid a serious oxygen supply crisis. The news agency quoted unnamed officials as saying “low pressure oxygen” could be the likely cause for their deaths. However, Ajoy Sehgal, a hospital spokesperson, would not comment on whether the 25 patients died from a lack of oxygen. (AP Photo) Flames rise from cremation pyres of victims of a fire that broke out in Vijay Vallabh COVID-19 hospital, at Virar, near Mumbai, India, Friday, April 23, 2021. A fire killed 13 COVID-19 patients in a hospital in western India early Friday as an extreme surge in coronavirus infections leaves the nation short of medical care and oxygen. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade) In this April 8, 2021, file photo motorists sit inside their vehicles as they wait their turn to be inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine at the California State University, Los Angeles campus. California has gone from worst to first in the rate of coronavirus infections. Data from Johns Hopkins University shows the state surpassed Hawaii on Thursday, April 22, with the lowest average number of COVID-19 cases per capita. That comes just a few months after California was the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) A health worker walks in front of peoples line up for the coronavirus test in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, April 23, 2021. Thailand’s health authorities announced Friday they have confirmed just over 2000 new COVID-19 cases, a new daily record that brings the country's total to 50,183. (AP Photo/Nathatida Adireksarn) Bodies of victims of a fire lie inside an ambulance in Vijay Vallabh COVID-19 hospital at Virar, near Mumbai, India, Friday, April 23, 2021. A fire killed 13 COVID-19 patients in a hospital in western India early Friday as an extreme surge in coronavirus infections leaves the nation short of medical care and oxygen. (AP Photo) A COVID-19 patient under Ecmo (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) remain unconscious, at Bichat Hospital, AP-HP, in Paris, Thursday, April 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly) A visitor wearing a face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus walks near a banner reading "Mandatory mask wearing" at a park in Goyang, South Korea, Friday, April 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) A COVID-19 patient does breathing exercises at the entrance of a tent set up to treat new coronavirus cases outside the Social Security Hospital, shortly before being released in Quito, Ecuador, Thursday, April 22, 2021. The government decreed new lockdown rules on April 21 for the majority of Ecuador's provinces, limiting movement on weeknights and an all-day curfew on weekends to curb the spread of the new coronavirus which is overwhelming hospitals. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa) A COVID-19 patient looks for a relative to bring him personal items, from inside a tent set up outside the Social Security Hospital where patients are being treated in Quito, Ecuador, Thursday, April 22, 2021. The government decreed new lockdown rules on April 21 for the majority of Ecuador's provinces, limiting movement on weeknights and an all-day curfew on weekends to curb the spread of the new coronavirus which is overwhelming hospitals. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa) Lukas Furtenbach, an ace mountain guide speaks during an interview with Associated Press in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 23, 2021. Furtenbach, warned that the virus could spread among the hundreds of other climbers, guides and helpers who are now camped on the base of Everest if all of them are not checked immediately and safety measures are taken. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Allan Ansdell Jr., owner and president of Adventure City amusement park, carries a sign displaying COVID-19 safety measures while getting ready to reopen the park in Anaheim, Calif., Thursday, April 15, 2021. The family-run amusement park that had been shut since March last year because of the coronavirus pandemic reopened on April 16. "It's mixed emotions," he said, recalling the day he let go of most of his 150 employees, including his wife. Only a handful remained at the park. "Parks are seasonal. Sometimes you have a rainy month. We always have enough in our reserves for three or four months of who knows what. But nobody has a reserve for a year," Ansdell Jr. said. It's been hard for all of us. "I'm glad that we are getting through it. I'm glad we are reaching the end." (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) Patients undergo treatment for COVID-19 inside a tent installed outside the Social Security Hospital in Quito, Ecuador, Thursday, April 22, 2021. The government decreed new lockdown rules on April 21 for the majority of Ecuador's provinces, limiting movement on weeknights and a strict, all-day curfew on weekends to curb the spread of the new coronavirus which is overwhelming hospitals. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa) Medical staff Louise Walewski passes the front of a Corona test center in Dresden, Germany, DFriday, April 23, 2021. People in Germany will have to prepare for new Corona restrictions starting this weekend. (Sebastian Kahnert/dpa via AP) A patient is carried on a stretcher at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan hospital in New Delhi, India, Friday, April 23, 2021. India put oxygen tankers on special express trains as major hospitals in New Delhi on Friday begged on social media for more supplies to save COVID-19 patients who are struggling to breathe. India’s underfunded health system is tattering as the world’s worst coronavirus surge wears out the nation, which set another global record in daily infections for a second straight day with 332,730. (AP Photo) People stand in a queue to refill oxygen in cylinders in New Delhi, India, Friday, April 23, 2021. India put oxygen tankers on special express trains as major hospitals in New Delhi on Friday begged on social media for more supplies to save COVID-19 patients who are struggling to breathe. India’s underfunded health system is tattering as the world’s worst coronavirus surge wears out the nation, which set another global record in daily infections for a second straight day with 332,730. (AP Photo) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, left, stands with from left, Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, German scientist, CMO and co-founder of BioNTech Ozlem Tureci, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla and Belgium's Managing Director Luc Van Steenwinkel during an official visit to the Pfizer pharmaceutical company in Puurs, Belgium, Friday, April 23, 2021. (John Thys, Pool via AP) Worshippers watch fireworks as they mark the feast day of Saint George outside Saint George Church, closed to help contain the spread of COVID-19 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, before sunrise, Friday, April 23, 2021. The Catholic saint is associated with bravery and resistance. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo) A man prays clutching a statue of Saint George on the saint's feast day outside Saint George Church, closed to help contain the spread of COVID-19 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, before sunrise, Friday, April 23, 2021. The Catholic saint is associated with bravery and resistance. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo) A child wears a mask due to the COVID-19 pandemic as people mark the feast day of Saint George outside Saint George Church, closed to help contain the spread of the virus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, before sunrise, Friday, April 23, 2021. The Catholic saint is associated with bravery and resistance. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
LONDON — The European Medicines Agency says it has approved new measures to boost production of coronavirus vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna.
In a statement on Friday, the EU drug regulator says it had authorized an increase in batch size and manufacturing scale-up at a factory in Puurs, Belgium, where the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is made.
The EMA says the approval was “expected to have a significant impact” on the supply of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine.
The EMA also says it had given the green light to Moderna’s manufacturing site in Rovi, Spain. The new production line should speed up the production of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for use in the EU.
In recent months, the EU has faced numerous delays in vaccine deliveries and the continent has struggled to vaccinate as high a percentage of its population against COVID-19.
___
THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
— India sets global daily record of 332,730 cases; hospitals need oxygen
— Japan issues 3rd virus emergency in Tokyo, Osaka area
— Drop in U.S. vaccine demand has some places turning down doses
— Oregon: CDC investigating woman’s death after J&J vaccine
___
Follow all of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
___
HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin supported the idea to extend public holidays in May to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Anna Popova, head of Russia’s public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, asked Putin during a meeting Friday to extend public holidays to May 1-10 instead of two separate holidays weekends on May 1-3 and May 8-10.
Popova said Russians traditionally travel to the countryside for May holidays and commuting back for the working days of May 4-7 may contribute to the spread of the coronavirus.
“If you think this is necessary, fine, we will do it,” Putin responded and promised to sign a relevant decree shortly. His spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified there will not be a lockdown during the holidays.
Russia, which has reported the world’s fifth largest coronavirus caseload of 4.7 million, has few coronavirus restrictions in place. The country’s health officials have been reporting 8,000-9,000 daily confirmed cases for the past month. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova told Putin on Friday the situation with the virus in Russian is “more or less stable.”
According to Golikova, more than 11.1 million Russians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 6.8 million have gotten both shots. Russia started vaccinating its population against COVID-19 in December. But with less than 8% of the population getting at least one shot, Russia lags behind many countries in vaccination rate.
___
NEW DELHI — India set another global record in daily infections for a second straight day with 332,730 cases.
The situation was worsening by the day with hospitals taking to social media pleading with the government to replenish their oxygen supplies and threatening to stop new admissions of patients. India has recorded 2,263 deaths in the past 24 hours for a confirmed total of 186,920.
The government is putting oxygen tankers on special express trains to help save COVID-19 patients who are struggling to breathe. More than a dozen people died when an oxygen-fed fire ripped through a coronavirus ward in a populous western state.
India, a country of nearly 1.4 billion people, has confirmed 16 million coronavirus cases. That’s second only to the United States.
___
TOKYO — Japan has issued a third state of emergency for Tokyo and three western prefectures to curb a surge in the coronavirus just three months ahead of the Olympics.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced the emergency for Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo from April 25 through May 11.
Japan’s third emergency since the pandemic comes only a month after an earlier weaker emergency ended in the Tokyo area. This time, after a law stipulating virus measures was toughened in February, authorities can issue binding orders for businesses to shorten their hours or close, with compensation for those who comply and penalties for violators.
Suga says the step is intended to stop people from traveling during upcoming holidays.
___
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s prime minister has summoned troops to help police implement social-distancing rules as a part of new measures aimed at containing the spread of coronavirus.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said Friday that daily confirmed cases and deaths from COVID-19 were steadily increasing in the country.
Khan made his televised comments at a meeting convened to consider strict anti-infection measures.
The prime minister said he was not imposing a lockdown for now but that he would close down cities if Pakistan started facing a situation line in neighboring India, which is reporting record-high numbers of confirmed cases.
The warning from Khan came hours after Pakistan reported 144 deaths in the previous 24 hours. It has reported a total of 16,842 deaths among 784,108 cases since last year.
Earlier, a top health official said Pakistan’s hospitals were being flooded by the steady increase in patients. Many Pakistanis routinely violate social distancing rules, and so far police have failed to achieve better adherence.
___
KATHMANDU, Nepal — A Norwegian climber became the first to be tested for COVID-19 in the Mount Everest base camp and was flown by helicopter to Kathmandu, where he was hospitalized.
Erlend Ness told The Associated Press in a message Friday that he tested positive on April 15. He said another test on Thursday was negative and he was now staying with a local family in Nepal.
Mountain guide Lukas Furtenbach, warned that if safety measures are not taken, the virus could spread among the hundreds of other climbers, guides and helpers who are now camped on the base of Everest.
Furtenbach, leading a team of 18 climbers to Mount Everest and its sister peak Mount Lhotse, said there could be more than just one case on the mountain as the Norwegian had lived with several others for weeks.
Any outbreak could prematurely end the climbing season, just ahead of a window of good weather in May, he said.
___
BERLIN — Dozens of German actors have posted videos to protest government policies in the coronavirus pandemic, drawing criticism from some of their colleagues.
Actors who are prominent in the German-speaking world, including Ulrich Tukur, Volker Bruch, Meret Becker, Ulrike Folkerts and Jan Josef Liefers, posted their clips, some of them ironic or satirical, on Instagram or YouTube on Thursday. They used the hashtag #allesdichtmachen - “shut everything down.”
This week, the German parliament approved legislation mandating uniform restrictions in areas where the virus is spreading too quickly, including closures and a 10 p.m.-5 a.m. curfew. Many cultural facilities already have been closed for months.
The video protest drew sharp criticism from some other German actors. And satirist Jan Boehmermann posted a link to a documentary about a Berlin intensive care unit on Twitter, with the comment: “The only video you should watch if you have problems with the corona containment measures.”
___
BUDAPEST— Hungary will allow outdoor terraces at restaurants and bars to open Saturday and plans further openings next week, even as the COVID-19 death rate in the country remains among the highest in the world.
The number of people who have received at least a first dose of a vaccine in Hungary surpassed 3.5 million Friday, a threshold earlier set by the government for when outdoor seating areas could reopen.
In a morning radio interview, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that number was likely to reach 4 million next week, when a new round of openings would be extended to holders of an “immunity certificate” proving they’ve received a vaccine or recovered from the disease.
Hungary’s government has tied its reopening strategy to the number of vaccines it administers. Around 35% of the population has received at least one dose, the second-highest rate in the European Union. But the country has had the highest number of COVID-19 deaths per million inhabitants in the world for over a month, according to Johns Hopkins University.
On Friday, Orban announced that theaters, cinemas, gyms, swimming pools, spas, zoos, museums, libraries and sports events will be opened next week for those who hold a government-issued immunity certificate. Hotels and indoor dining at restaurants may also accept certificate holders.
“It sounds like a normal life,” Orban said.
___
JERUSALEM — Israel and Bahrain say they have reached an agreement to recognize each other’s coronavirus vaccination certificates, allowing travelers between the countries to forgo quarantine and other restrictions.
The agreement builds on a U.S.-brokered normalization accord reached last year and marks a further improvement of ties between Israel and the small Arab country in the Persian Gulf.
Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday that the latest deal “represents a global precedent for a bilateral agreement on mutual recognition of vaccination certificates.”
Israeli Tourism Minister Orit Farkash Hacohen welcomed the agreement in a tweet, calling it “an important step in Israel’s reopening to tourists.” She said she looked forward to hosting her Bahraini counterpart again and invited him to go diving in Eilat, on the Red Sea.
Israel has carried out one of the most effective vaccination campaigns in the world, leading to a sharp drop in infections and allowing it to reopen schools and businesses, including restaurants, hotels and museums.
But it remains largely closed off to international visitors. Israel plans to allow a limited number of tour groups to enter starting May 23, with individuals allowed at a later stage. All visitors will need to be tested before boarding flights to Israel and show proof of vaccination.
___
LONDON — Scientists at Oxford University have released more data that confirm coronavirus vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca both significantly cut the risk of infection after a single dose.
In studies published on Friday, researchers said there was no apparent difference in the vaccines’ ability to reduce COVID-19 infection rates.
The research has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal but is based on data from nose and throat swabs taken from more than 370,000 participants in England and Wales between December and April.
The scientists said that three weeks after people had been given a single dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or AstraZeneca vaccine, the rates of all COVID-19 infections fell by 65%. The reduction was bigger after a second dose and the vaccines appeared to protect people against the variant that was first identified in the U.K.
Dr. Koen Pouwels, a senior researcher at Oxford University, noted there was some evidence of vaccinated people catching COVID-19 and that there was some limited spread of the disease from people who had been immunized.
___
BANGKOK — Thailand’s health authorities announced Friday they have confirmed 2,070 new COVID-19 cases, a new daily record that brings the country’s total to 50,183.
The rising numbers are severely straining the supply of hospital beds and ICU capacity.
The record number of new infections came a day after a new daily high of seven deaths was announced. Four more deaths were announced Friday, bringing Thailand’s total to 121.
At the beginning of March, Thailand had 26,031 cases with double-digit daily increases, but a new outbreak sent the numbers skyrocketing.
Taweesilp Visanuyothin, a spokesman for the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration, said Bangkok, with the highest number of cases, has only 69 empty ICU beds left out of a total of more than 400.
Under Thai law, infected patients must be held in hospital facilities, but even with the addition of field hospitals there are not enough beds.
___
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has imported half a million doses of Chinese Sinovac vaccine after relying on donated vaccines, as its coronavirus cases surge, officials said Friday.
The country purchased the vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech, the National Command and Control Center said. It said a plane carrying 500,000 doses arrived at an airport Thursday.
Previously, Pakistan largely relied on vaccines donated by China.
Pakistan is currently in the middle of a new wave of cases which are flooding hospitals, mainly because of widespread violations of social distancing rules.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday was expected to approve new COVOD-19-related measures.
So far, the government has resisted demands from doctors that it impose a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the virus.
Pakistan on Friday reported 144 deaths in the previous 24 hours. It has reported 16,842 deaths among 784,108 cases since last year.
___
PERTH, Australia — The Australian west coast city of Perth will lock down for three days after a returned traveler was apparently infected with the coronavirus while in hotel quarantine.
Western Australia state Premier Mark McGowan said on Friday masks will also become compulsory in the city of 2 million people for three days from midnight.
The cause of concern was a 54-year-old man who arrived in Perth on April 3 on a flight from China and went into mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine.
A couple from India on the same floor of the hotel were infected with a virus variant identified in that country as more contagious. The variant spread to a mother and daughter from Britain who shared a room across a corridor.
The man was released from quarantine on April 17 after testing negative but tested positive after flying to the east coast city of Melbourne on Wednesday. The test result was announced on Friday.
A friend he stayed with overnight in Perth tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, becoming the first case of community transmission in Western Australia in more than a year.
___
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Authorities in Sri Lanka have imposed lockdowns on several villages and postponed the reopening of state universities amid a sharp increase of COVID-19 cases.
According to a government statement, a small town and a village in the Kurunegala district, about 103 kilometers northeast of the capital Colombo were placed on lockdown. The local Lankadeepa newspaper reported five other villages in the area have been isolated.
Separately, the Education Ministry said the reopening of state-run universities will be postponed by another two weeks based on instructions from the health department. They had been scheduled to reopen April 27 after several months of being closed.
The number of positive cases rose to 672 on Thursday, pushing the nation’s total to 98,721 people infected with 634 fatalities.
___
BEIJING — China says three of its citizens working in the United Arab Emirates tampered with the results of their coronavirus tests required to return home.
A statement from the Chinese Embassy said the three, working in the main business center of Dubai, altered information provided by local clinics to show they had not been infected.
It said they were referred to UAE authorities for “seriously interfering with the prevention of epidemics and posing a significant risk to the health and safety of other passengers on the same flight.”
China has largely stamped out domestic infection but continues to report citizens arriving from abroad who test positive for the coronavirus. That comes despite demands that travelers prove they are virus-free, leading to speculation that test results are being falsified by citizens desperate to return home after more than a year of travel restrictions and demands they be quarantined for as many as 21 days.
China reported 19 new cases on Friday, all of them brought from overseas and most arriving in the major travel hubs of Shanghai and Guangdong.
___
Before you consider Johnson & Johnson, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Johnson & Johnson wasn't on the list.
While Johnson & Johnson currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Do you expect the global demand for energy to shrink?! If not, it's time to take a look at how energy stocks can play a part in your portfolio.
Get This Free Report