Briefly

NEW ZEALAND

PM sees shut borders for much of 2021

New Zealand's borders are likely to remain closed for much of the year as health officials assess global vaccine rollouts, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned on Tuesday. Ardern said the emergence over the weekend of New Zealand's first case of community transmission in more than two months showed the danger COVID-19 still posed to a nation hailed for its response to the coronavirus. She said her government would not reopen its borders－which have been effectively closed to all but returning citizens since last March－while the pandemic was still raging worldwide. "Given the risks in the world around us and the uncertainty of the global rollout of a vaccine, we can expect our borders to be impacted for much of this year," she said.

THE NETHERLANDS

Second night of riots over virus curfew

The Netherlands has been hit by a second night of riots, as coronavirus curfew frustrations boiled over. Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters the weekend's street violence was "unacceptable. All normal people will regard this with horror".On Monday night, protesters rampaged again in several cities following the introduction of a coronavirus curfew over the weekend. Riot police clashed with groups of protesters in Amsterdam and elsewhere, including the port city of Rotterdam, where people smashed shop windows, and police deployed a water cannon. There was unrest too in Israel, where a bus was torched in one of many protests against virus restrictions.

UNITED STATES

San Diego gorilla recovers from COVID-19

An elderly gorilla was recovering from a serious infection of COVID-19 after he was treated with cutting-edge synthetic antibodies, the San Diego Zoo said on Monday. Veterinarians are now identifying which animals to inject with the zoo's limited supply of vaccines. Winston, 48, was one of several gorillas in the zoo that were confirmed positive for the virus on Jan 11, based on fecal samples. It was the first known case of natural transmission of the virus to great apes, and was suspected to have occurred because of contact with an asymptomatic staff member, despite the use of protective gear. The strain that infected them was "a new, highly contagious strain of the coronavirus, recently identified in California", the zoo said.

Agencies - Xinhua