Portal:Current events/2020 December 19

December 19, 2020 (Saturday)

Disasters and accidents

Gaziantep hospital fire
- A fire inside an intensive care unit for COVID-19 patients at a private hospital in Gaziantep, Turkey, kills nine people. (Reuters)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 pandemic in England
      - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces the introduction of "Tier 4" restrictions in London and South East England beginning at midnight. Households in those areas are to be banned from mixing over the festive season, while in the rest of the country, mixing of households will only be allowed on Christmas Day. (ITV)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland
      - First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announces a travel ban to the rest of the United Kingdom and imposes the toughest level of restrictions across Scotland for three weeks beginning on Boxing Day. In addition, household mixing will now only be allowed on Christmas Day. (The Independent)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, Variant of Concern 202012/01
      - First Minister Mark Drakeford announces that after urgent talks with ministers over the discovery of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the planned lockdown will now begin at midnight instead of on December 28. (BBC News)
    - The United Kingdom surpasses two million cases of COVID-19. (The Evening Standard)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Switzerland
      - Swissmedic approves the authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use in Switzerland. (Swissmedic)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
    - Portugal surpasses 6,000 total deaths of COVID-19. (Euro Weekly News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Russia surpasses 50,000 total deaths from COVID-19. (Al-Arabiya)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
    - Turkey surpasses two million cases of COVID-19. (The Azeri Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in China
    - COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
      - China is expected to begin administering vaccines to healthcare, transport, and border control workers. (AP)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Israel
      - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the first person in Israel to receive the vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech and getting the shot on live television. (The Times of Israel)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
    - Jakarta reports a record of 1,899 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours. (VOI)
    - Bali requires anyone entering and leaving the province to have a negative PCR swab test for air travel, and a negative rapid antigen test for land and sea travel. However, children aged 12 years and under are exempted from these requirements. (The Bali Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
    - Thailand reports 548 new cases, the biggest one-day increase in cases since the beginning of the pandemic, primarily due to an outbreak linked to the country's largest seafood market in Samut Sakhon Province as well as increased testing of migrant workers. (South China Morning Post)
    - Due to the outbreak in a seafood market, Samut Sakhon Province enters a lockdown with a curfew from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time which will remain in effect until January 3. (The Bangkok Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India
    - India surpasses ten million total cases of COVID-19, becoming the second country after the United States to reach that number. (The Times of India) (ABC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
  - The total number of cases in Africa exceeds 2.5 million. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
  - The Northern Beaches Council local government area of Sydney goes into a partial lockdown until Wednesday. (ABC Australia)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia
  - Colombia reports a record 13,990 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total to 1,496,062. (Xinhua)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
  - Canada surpasses 500,000 cases of COVID-19. (Toronto Star)

Politics and elections

2020 Central African general election
- The leaders of three of the main armed groups of the Central African Republic announce a coalition for next week's general election, a move that could further increase tensions ahead of the election, where the opposition fears massive voter fraud. The armed groups named themselves the Coalition of Patriots for Change and invited other armed groups to join, while urging them to protect the integrity of civilians. (Al Jazeera)
2020 United States federal government data breach
- President Donald Trump speaks for the first time about the breach, saying it is "well in control". He also suggests China is to blame, contradicting earlier U.S. government claims that put forward Russia as a suspect. (NBC News)

Sports

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
- The 2020 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is cancelled for the first time in the race's 76-year history after the Tasmanian Government imposed a 14-day quarantine requirement on all travellers from Greater Sydney due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Northern Beaches. (The Sydney Morning Herald)