Coronavirus outbreak update: Dec. 19, 2020

As of 11 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 19

• Tokyo reported on Saturday 736 daily cases of novel coronavirus, the second-highest daily increase, bringing the monthly tally, already above the record cases logged last month, to 9,951.
  
  
• India said Saturday that the number of its coronavirus cases has exceeded 10 million, becoming the second country to see its cases reach that figure after the United States.
  
  
• Japan's Ryo Kiyuna, the favorite to win men's kata gold when karate makes its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games, has contracted the novel coronavirus, his master said Saturday.
  
  
• The U.S. drug regulator on Friday granted an emergency use authorization for Moderna Inc.'s coronavirus vaccine, setting the stage for the rollout of the second vaccine to fight the pandemic in the United States.

As of 11 p.m., Friday, Dec. 18

• Tokyo reported 664 daily cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday, with its cumulative total topping 50,000, as concern about the strain on Japan's medical system continued to grow.
  
  
• U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday tested negative for the novel coronavirus after a close aide contracted the virus, a spokeswoman said.
  
  
• U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. on Friday requested Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare approve its novel coronavirus vaccine, making it the first drug maker to file such a request in the country.
  
  
• Japan's government upgraded on Friday its economic growth forecast for fiscal 2021 to a record real 4.0 percent, expecting its latest coronavirus stimulus package to boost the economy back to a pre-pandemic level.