COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 9 February

1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have now passed 106.4 million globally, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 2.32 million.

China's restaurants and hotels are preparing for a slower Lunar New Year holiday, with travel curbs and government advice set to hit domestic tourism.

South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun has called on restaurant and business owners in the greater Seoul area to cooperate with social distancing rules during the Lunar New Year holiday.

The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care in French hospitals hit a two-month high yesterday. Hospitalization figures as a whole rose for the second day in a row.

Facebook has said it will expand a list of false health claims it bans from the platform to include debunked claims about vaccines in general.

Authorities in Australia have said the country has fewer than 50 active cases of COVID-19, the lowest number in nearly two months. They warned against complacency though.

2. US cases see biggest drop since pandemic began

The United States reported a 25% drop in new COVID-19 cases last week, to about 825,000 - the biggest drop since the pandemic began.

New cases have now fallen for four weeks in a row to the lowest levels since early November, according to Reuters.

But, authorities have expressed concern that new variants could impact this progress.

“I’m asking everyone to please keep your guard up,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Monday.

“The continued proliferation of variants remains a great concern and is a threat that could reverse the recent positive trends we are seeing.”

The average number of patients in hospital also fell last week - 15% to 88,000, a record percentage drop.

The United States has more confirmed cases and deaths than any other country, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

3. WHO decision expected on emergency use of AstraZeneca vaccine

The WHO expects to make a decision on the emergency-use listing of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for the two sites in India and the Republic of Korea which will produce it for COVAX, Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said yesterday.

It comes after the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility announced last week it had allocated at least 330 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for poorer countries.

In his opening remarks to Monday's media briefing, Dr Tedros also called on people to continue to prevent the circulation of the virus.

"We all have a role to play in protecting vaccines," he said. "Every time you decide to stay at home, to avoid crowds, to wear a mask or to clean your hands, you are denying the virus the opportunity to spread, and the opportunity to change in ways that could make vaccines less effective."