The International Energy Agency reports that global methane emissions in 2020 amounted to about 70 million metric tons, which is 10 percent lower than the estimated amount of methane emissions in 2019. The agency cites the decline in industrial activities, as a result of the pandemic, and the introduction of new emission regulations for the reduction in emissions. 2021-01-18
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa tests positive for COVID-19. He is self-isolating in Belém Palace asymptomatic. 2021-01-11
COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, Variant of Concern 202012-012020-12-24
In Beijing, authorities arrest Xu Zhangrun, a law professor who published essays strongly criticizing Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping over censored academia on the COVID-19 pandemic and accusing him of ruling "tyrannically." 2020-07-6
The Catalan government locks down the county of Segrià, with 200,000 inhabitants, due to a major outbreak, becoming the first confinement after the end of the state of emergency. 2020-07-4
A University of Barcelona-led investigation uncovers traces of SARS-CoV-2 in frozen Barcelona sewage samples drawn on 12 March 2019, more than half a year before the first publicly confirmed case of COVID-19 in China. 2020-06-26
The death toll from COVID-19 in the U.S. reaches 1,200. The total number of cases in the country is 83,097. The U.S. has surpassed China in number of active cases, making it the country with the most cases in the world. 2020-03-26