Hard Numbers: New Zealand hits zero, non-white voters in the US, EU's vaccine alliance, COVID's remotest locations

0: New Zealand is readying to lift all remaining coronavirus restrictions after recording zero new infections for 17 days. Though social distancing is no longer required, the country's borders will remain closed to foreigners for some time, the Prime Minister said.

40: At least forty percent of registered Democratic voters are either black, Hispanic, Asian or part of other non-white racial communities, according to a new Pew poll. By contrast, 17 percent of registered Republicans are non-white.

4: Four EU countries – Italy, France, the Netherlands and Germany – have formed a vaccine alliance aimed at ensuring that a COVID-19 vaccine is made affordable and accessible for all Europeans. Part of the initiative involves prioritizing the production of a future vaccine in European facilities rather than abroad, the group said.

188: The coronavirus has now reached at least 188 countries since it first emerged in China last December, infiltrating remote locations like the New Caledonia archipelago in the South Pacific as well as the Falkland Islands off the coast of Argentina. Still, 30 percent of all confirmed cases globally are in the United States.

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Israeli warplanes launched heavy airstrikes targeting an entire residential block near the Al-Sousi Mosque in Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City. The strikes destroyed a large number of homes, levelling some to the ground. Civil defense and ambulance teams rushed to the scene and are working to rescue victims and recover bodies from under the rubble amidst widespread destruction and significant difficulties in rescue operations due to the ongoing bombardment and a shortage of equipment.

Israeli strikes in Gaza killed 100 people last night, according to local officials, in the deadliest day since the signing of the ceasefire three weeks ago.