Summary:

Australia imposes 5-day lockdown

Japan approves Pfizer jab

world nears 108MM

Czech lawmakers reject request return to emergency

EU head admits "istakes were made" in COVID rollout

As Friday begins, the global focus pertaining to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic shifts to Melbourne, where the Australian Open Tennis Tournament is in jeopardy due to an outbreak linked to a quarantine motel.

Though Australia's numbers have been consistently low, the country has imposed several lockdowns that have more or less succeeded in stamping out the virus.

But the outbreak of this latest quarantine hotel in Melbourne, the capital of Victoria state, reached 13 cases as of Thursday midnight, as authorities rushed to quash the spread, which was linked to the highly contagious UK variant.

A similar scenario played out in the UK, and in South Africa. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews announced the lockdown for the state, starting at midnight on Friday, calling it a "short, sharp circuit breaker". He banned public gatherings, home auctions, weddings and religious gatherings, the standard techniques for a lockdown

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews announced the lockdown for the state, starting at midnight on Friday, calling it a "short, sharp circuit breaker" banning public gatherings, home auctions, weddings and religious gatherings. In other news, Iran's coronavirus cases surpassed 1.5 million on Friday. U.S. hospitalizations for the coronavirus plunged about 16% so far in February, dropping to the lowest since mid-November.