British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday he was in "good health" and had no symptoms despite self-isolating after an MP he was in contact with tested positive for coronavirus.

Pfizer, Moderna, Novavax: executives at several American laboratories developing Covid-19 vaccines have recently pocketed millions of dollars by selling shares in their companies -- raising questions about the propriety of such a move in the midst of a national health crisis.

Germany warned Sunday that its anti-coronavirus measures were likely to last four or five more months, as Greece announced a new ban on gatherings and Mexico surpassed one million infections.

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More than 1.3 million people have been killed by the novel coronavirus worldwide, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.

As the world celebrates advances in vaccines against the novel coronavirus, a top WHO expert warned in an interview with AFP that public distrust risked rendering even the most effective treatments useless against the pandemic.

"A vaccine that sits in a freezer or in a refrigerator or on a shelf and doesn't get used is doing nothing to help shorten this pandemic," said Kate O'Brien, director of the World Health Organization's immunisation department.

Bars and restaurants in America's biggest city will close early from Friday as the coronavirus outbreak surges across the United States and Europe, where Greece is being forced into a nighttime curfew.

Data indicating that a vaccine being developed against Covid-19 is highly effective is the "best science news of the year", a pharmaceutical industry association chief said, voicing hope that other vaccine candidates would show equally good results.

Turkey's interior ministry has banned smoking in public places across the country to curb the spread of COVID-19.

In a statement late Wednesday, the ministry said smoking would be banned in busy streets, bus stops and public squares when necessary. It said the nationwide mask mandate in public spaces, which has been in effect for several months, must be followed at all times and smokers were routinely violating the mask rule.

The first anti-Covid vaccinations could be available in the European Union early next year, the bloc's health agency said Wednesday, as Russian developers reported initial test results showing their Sputnik V vaccine to be 92 percent effective. 

The Russian announcement came two days after pharma giant Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech said phase-three results found their vaccine to be more than 90 percent effective, injecting hope into the battle against the virus and thrilling stock markets.