WORLD IN BRIEF ABOUT COVID..........

Here's a snapshot of what else is happening around the world...

• New York City offers walk-up vaccinations for all ages as appointments are no longer necessary at any coronavirus vaccination site

• Iran's civil aviation agency has banned all flights to and from India and Pakistan because of the dramatic surge in COVID cases in the two nations, state media reports

• Pakistan has reported its highest number of COVID-19 deaths in a single day - with 157 deaths bringing the overall fatalities to 16,999. A total of 5,908 additional cases pushed the official number of infections so far to 790,016

• Germany is restricting travel from India because of concern about its COVID variant - while German chancellor Angela Merkel is urging citizens to abide by tougher new measures to curb infections

• Sri Lankan authorities are urging people to avoid large gatherings and stay at home as much as possible amid a rapid surge in new coronavirus cases

• A "vaccination marathon" has launched in Romania's western city of Timisoara where anyone can turn up without an appointment to receive a vaccine against COVID-19

• Syria has received a donation of 150,000 COVID shots from China of its Sinopharm vaccine - with another batch of the same size planned

I will try and bring you up to date news as it comes into us

@nabob @Pinkaholic79 💖🦄🌺 @Paul - MenCanCleanToo @andym.aat @Janet 💋🍰🍝🍹 @Flossy 🧁🧁🧁 @Flotson @Tanith @harryflatters @margaret.s @roz and any one else interested