The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 1,030 newly diagnosed COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the country's total to 46,645.

This is the first time since the beginning of the pandemic that South Korea broke the 1,000 mark in new cases and follows Saturday's record of 950 new cases.

Yonhap reports that President Moon Jae-in held an emergency meeting and called the current situation "the worst crisis" since the outbreak began and a "desperate time" when the government should make an all-out effort stem further infections.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

Italy's Civil Protection Agency reported 484 new deaths on Sunday, bringing the total number of fatalities in the country to 64,520, surpassing the United Kingdom which stands at 64,267, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

There were 17,938 new COVID-19 cases reported in Italy, representing an 11.7% positivity rate and brings the total number of diagnosed cases to 1,843,712.

There have been a total of 372,965 deaths and 14,959,949 cases in the EU and the U.K., according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

The gulf nation joins a list of countries -- including the U.K., U.S., Canada, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Mexico -- that have authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

With Sunday's vaccine shipment now in transit, Pfizer has began preparations to ship out an additional 400 boxes of the vaccine on Monday.

There are 975 vials per box -- each vial provides five doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, the company said.

There are 195 vials per tray and 60,000 vials per freezer.

Starting Wednesday, Dec. 16 through Jan. 10, all non-essential stores and schools will be closed in Germany and social meetings will be limited to five people from two households, with an exception made for the Christmas period from Dec. 24 to Dec. 26 when four more people beyond a household will be allowed.

No exceptions will be made for New Year's Eve.

COVID-19 transmissions remain high in the country despite softer restrictions in place. As of Dec. 13, the Robert Koch Institute reported a total of 20,2000 new cases and 321 deaths, bringing the totals to 1,320,716 and 21,787, respectively.

Germany had initially planned for a "semi-lockdown," allowing for a holiday exemption from Dec. 23 to Jan 1 where up to 10 people from two households could meet but those plans were scrapped in favor of these new rules.

ABC News' Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.