'Coronavirus pandemic was preventable' - latest developments in world

PARIS: Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- Covid catastrophe was preventable -

The scale of the Covid disaster could have been prevented, a panel of independent experts assembled by the World Health Organization declares, also blaming the UN body for not sounding the alarm sooner.

- How many India deaths? -

India´s coronavirus death toll passes 250,000 but comparisons of official data with reports from people on the frontlines suggest the true number is several times higher.

- Indian variant spreading -

The WHO says that the B.1.617 variant blamed for India´s explosive outbreak has been found in dozens of countries all over the world.

- EU urges limiting India trips -

The European Commission calls for EU member states to work together to restrict travel from India in order to limit the spread of the B.1.617 variant.

- Norway ditches AstraZeneca -

Norway will drop AstraZeneca´s vaccine from its immunisation programme due to concerns over rare blood clot side effects, and offer Johnson & Johnson´s jab only to volunteers, the government announces.

- Slovakia to start Sputnik jabs -

Slovakia will start rolling out Russia´s Sputnik V vaccine in June, the government says.

- Spanish football fans rejoice -

Fans will be allowed to return to some stadiums in the top two divisions of Spanish football this weekend, the government says.

- EU boost -

The European Union sharply revises its growth forecasts for this year and next, saying an accelerated vaccination drive and the bloc´s landmark recovery plan would lift Europe out of recession.

- Pope is back -

Pope Francis staged his first public audience since early last year in Rome, greeting a baby, chatting with masked children outdoors and donning a hat handed to him from the crowd.

- Fully jabbed island -

The tiny Pacific nation of Nauru congratulates itself for a "world record" vaccination drive which has resulted in all its adult population receiving their first jab.

- 3.3 million dead -

The pandemic has killed at least 3,319,512 people worldwide since the virus first emerged in late 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data.

The US is the worst-affected country with 582,848 deaths, followed by Brazil with 425,540, India 254,197, Mexico 219,323 and Britain 127,629.