On December 19, 2020, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden reiterated his commitment to rejoin the Paris Agreement on the first day of his administration. The climate pact was reached during the last years of the Obama era, when Biden was vice president. /CFP

French President Emmanuel Macron was quarantined at the presidential palace in Versailles after he was diagnosed with COVID-19. He said he was fine but still had symptoms on December 18, 2020. /CFP

London and some parts of the UK entered level 4 restrictions on December 19, 2020, as part of an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. /CFP

The embrace room at the "Albertoni" nursing home where the relatives of the elderly residents can hug their loved ones despite social distancing measures, Bologna, Italy, December 18, 2020. /CFP

Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Virginia, began vaccinating its frontline healthcare workers with vaccines on December 16, 2020. /CFP

A cat grapples a DSLR camera at an animal shelter built by Syrian Organization for the Rescue of Animals in Azmarin near the Turkish-Syrian border. This image was captured by photographer Abdulaziz Ketaz last week. /CFP