A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 105 million people worldwide and killed over 2.3 million of them, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Here's how the news developed this week. All times Eastern.
Feb 06, 2021, 7:09 AM EST
China approves Sinovac Biotech COVID-19 vaccine for general public use
China has given approval for the domestic-made Sinovac Biotech COVID-19 vaccine to be administered to the general public -- not just high-risk individuals and front-line workers.
The National Medical Products Administration shared the news in a statement Saturday.
The vaccine -- which was given emergency approval in China last July -- has already been sold to at least 10 other countries and is being given to people in at least five other countries.
China previously said shots will be given without cost to citizens.
Feb 05, 2021, 6:32 PM EST
Iowa to lift mask mandate starting Sunday
Iowa will roll back several COVID-19 restrictions starting Sunday, including a requirement that masks be worn indoors.
Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a new proclamation Friday that does not include any requirements around facial coverings.
Under a previous proclamation, set to expire Saturday, masks were required in indoor public spaces when social distancing for at least 15 minutes was not possible.
Students wear face masks while practicing ballet at the School of Classical Ballet & Dance in West Des Moines, Iowa, Nov. 7, 2020.
Kathryn Gamble/The New York Times via Redux
The new proclamation also does not impose any restrictions on public gatherings, which previously had to follow social distancing and other guidelines.
Regarding gatherings, the new proclamation states, "I strongly encourage that all businesses or other employers remaining open with in-person operations take reasonable measures under the circumstances of each establishment to ensure the health of employees, patrons and members of the public, including social distancing practices, increased hygiene practices and other public health measures to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 consistent with guidance issued by the Iowa Department of Public Health."
The governor has been loosening restrictions in recent weeks around public gatherings for sports, restaurants and bars as new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have trended downward from peaks in November.
Iowa, which initially issued its mask requirement in mid-November, will be one of 15 states that doesn't have a statewide mask mandate, according to a tally by Masks4All.
Feb 05, 2021, 5:36 PM EST
Delta to offer vaccines to Atlanta workers
Delta will offer vaccinations to Georgia employees who are 65 and older starting on Monday, a company spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.
A health care provider will administer the vaccines in a section of the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Concourse C) and space at the Delta Flight Museum from Feb. 8 to Feb. 14. Delta's headquarters are located in Atlanta.
A passenger wears a face mask as she waits in a socially-distance area for a Delta Airlines flight, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021, at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.
Charlie Riedel/AP
Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a memo last week that 690 Delta employees had received at least one vaccination shot.
"We continue to work with federal and state authorities to prioritize immunizations for frontline Delta people," Bastian wrote in the memo. "While healthcare workers and our most vulnerable are already getting their shots, I strongly encourage each of you to get vaccinated when your time comes."
ABC News' Mina Kaji contributed to this report.
Feb 05, 2021, 4:36 PM EST
Global vaccinations surpass COVID-19 infections: WHO
The number of COVID-19 vaccinations around the world now surpasses infections, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, said during a Friday news briefing. "In one sense, that is good news and a remarkable achievement in such a short time frame."
On the other hand, he noted, those vaccinations have not been distributed equally.
"More than three quarters of those vaccinations are in just 10 countries that account for almost 60% of global GDP," Tedros said. "Almost 130 countries with 2.5 billion people [have] yet to administer a single dose. Some countries have already vaccinated large proportions of their population who are at lower risk of severe disease or death.”
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus delivers remarks following a speech by the U.S. president's chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, during a WHO executive board meeting in Geneva on Jan. 21, 2021.
Christopher Black/World Health Organization/Handout/AFP via Getty Images
Tedros urged drug companies to share their technology and data to ensure more equitable access.
"The longer it takes to vaccinate those most at risk everywhere, the more opportunity we give the virus to mutate and evade vaccines," Tedros said. "Unless we suppress the virus everywhere we could end up back at square one."
