As coronavirus cases rise again in Greece, health care workers are protesting over poor work conditions and a lack of adequate pay, Reuters reported. The protestors are asking the government to let them receive hazard pay benefits and say they are overworked and understaffed. Hospitals in parts of northern Greece are running out of space to treat patients. "The stretchers at the hospitals on duty are increasing by the dozens, (and) patients are being chosen for intensive care units by priority, based on their ages," said Michalis Giannakos, the president of the Public Hospital Workers Federation. "Patients' lives are in danger, and staff that have remained are like elastic bands stretched from clinic to clinic, from ward to ward.”
Nearly 1,500 university students in the Chinese city of Dalian have been asked to stay inside their dorms after several dozen coronavirus cases were confirmed, The Associated Press reported. Hundreds of students at Zhuanghe University City were transferred to hotel rooms for observation. Students will be attending class virtually and will have meals delivered to their rooms. Over the last 24 hours, 32 new locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 were reported in China, of which 25 were reported in Dalian. China has continued its zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19 cases, with quarantines, mandatory testing and travel restrictions becoming the norm when just a single coronavirus case is reported.
Amid deer hunting season, one doctor says that hunters should be cautious due as COVID-19 is so prevalent in white-tailed deer. According to Dr. Robert Salata, chairman of the Department of Medicine at University Hospitals, experts are concerned about the potential for deer to infect humans with the virus, despite there being no evidence this has happened yet. To avoid this, Salata recommends that individuals take extra precautions when handling deer, like wearing a mask and gloves, Michigan Live reports. Salata also said that catching the virus from eating the meat from an infected deer is not a concern as long as the meat is cooked properly.
For the first time in just under two years, some students in the Philippines are returning to face-to-face learning, Reuters reported. The nation’s more than 27 million students have taken classes largely online, or have not been educated, since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. To begin the transition back to in person learning, a pilot program of just 100 public schools is resuming in-person learning. Class sizes have been cut in half and teachers and staff must be vaccinated. "We are happy to see our learners inside our classrooms as we recognize the significance of face-to-face learning in their social development," the education ministry said in a statement. More schools will reopen as vaccination levels rise and COVID-19 cases drop.
Those who have received the Moderna booster shot after becoming vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine have more protection against COVID-19 than those who received a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine, according to Singapore Health Minister Ong Ye Kung. The findings come from a study conducted by the nation’s Ministry of Health. Those who received the Moderna booster were found to be 72% less likely to be infected, compared to the group that received a third Pfizer shot, which were 62% less likely to be infected, Yahoo News reports.
As Europe deals with another surge of coronavirus cases, Paolo Gentiloni, the European Union’s commissioner for economics and taxation, worries that a new variant of the coronavirus could slow the bloc’s economic recovery, CNBC reported. Gentiloni says that the pandemic remains the top threat to the EU’s economy. “We should be very cautious on possible new variants and we need to strengthen vaccination,” he said, adding that new coronavirus restrictions were possible across the EU in the future. “They will not have the same impact, the same economic impact than previous ones ... our economy is more acquainted to these kind of situations,” Gentiloni added. Both the Netherlands and Austria imposed new lockdowns in recent days, with Austria’s lockdown targeting only the unvaccinated.
As hospitalizations continue to rise in Colorado, officials have announced that attendees of gatherings of more than 500 people in parts of Denver will require proof of vaccination, CNN reported. Colorado is one of seven states that have at least 30% of their ICU beds taken up by COVID-19 patients. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), the new vaccine mandate aims to limit superspreader events. “We also need all Coloradans to do their part by getting vaccinated if they haven't already; getting a booster; and following basic public health precautions like masking, staying home when sick, and handwashing," said Jill Hunsaker Ryan, the executive director of CDPHE. Colorado is not the only state in the West struggling with the coronavirus. Hospitals in Colorado and New Mexico have moved to crisis standards of care that allows for rationing of services, while the National Guard has been assisting overwhelmed hospitals in Wyoming.
A nationwide lockdown went into effect on Monday across Austria for residents who are unvaccinated and have not recently had COVID-19. The lockdown went into effect at midnight on Monday, The Associated Press reported, and according to the outlet is the strictest measure taken by a European government yet to get the virus under control. The lockdown prohibits anyone over the age of 12 that is not vaccinated or recently recovered from COVID-19 from leaving their homes, except for some essential reasons such as going to work, grocery shopping, school or even to go for a walk. “We really didn’t take this step lightly and I don’t think it should be talked down,” Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said. “This a dramatic step — about 2 million people in this country are affected... What we are trying is precisely to reduce contact between the unvaccinated and vaccinated to a minimum, and also contact between the unvaccinated.”
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz walks with a protective mask behind a reflective plexiglass shields at the federal chancellery in Vienna, Austria, Monday, June 8, 2020. The Austrian government has moved to restrict freedom of movement for people, in an effort to slow the onset of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)
Officials with the Lincoln Children’s Zoo are mourning the loss of three snow leopards that recently passed away from coronavirus complications, The Associated Press reported. The leopards, named Ranney, Everest, and Makalu, were infected at the same time as two of the zoo's tigers, who recovered from the virus. “This loss is truly heartbreaking, and we are all grieving together,” the zoo said in a post on Facebook. The Lincoln Children’s Zoo is not the only zoo to battle an outbreak of COVID-19 among animals; both the St. Louis Zoo and Denver Zoo have recently seen animals test positive for the virus.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that the nation has no need to move to a pandemic “Plan B” of mask mandates, vaccine passes and orders to work from home, Reuters reported. The announcement comes as Johnson says he is cautious of the rise in coronavirus cases in some portions of Europe. "We don't see anything in the data at the moment to suggest that we need to go to Plan B," Johnson said on Monday. “We’re sticking with Plan A. But what we certainly have got to recognize is there is a storm of infection out there in parts of Europe."
With the seven-day incidence rate in Germany rising to another pandemic high, new measures are being planned to slow the spread of the virus, Reuters reported. The incidence rate measures the number of people per 100,000 who have tested positive for the coronavirus over the past week, a number that climbed to 303 on Monday, a new record. While cases are rising, the number of new deaths remains relatively low, with 43 people reported to have died from the virus on Monday. The parties that are set to form Germany’s new government are proposing new measures to halt the spread of the virus, including by permitting states to implement lockdowns or school closures as needed. "We are expanding the toolbox compared to the proposals introduced in the first reading," Greens co-leader Robert Habeck said.
With the seven-day average of vaccine doses administered holding steady around 1.3 million, the number of Americans fully vaccinated has crossed 195 million, or 59% of the U.S. population, according to Johns Hopkins University figures. Cases are once again rising in the United States, with the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases now topping 82,000. The positivity ratio, a measure of the percentage of tests that return a positive result, has trickled up to 5.42%. The U.S. continues to lead the world in new COVID-19 cases with Russia and Germany trailing far behind. Russia and Germany have reported a seven-day average of more than 38,000 and more than 37,000 new cases, respectively. For more facts and figures on the pandemic, watch the video below.
Approximately one year after the first coronavirus vaccines were introduced in the U.S., Maryland-based Novavax could release a COVID-19 vaccine of its own in the country. The company’s vaccine is not yet available in the U.S., but according to the Boston Herald it expects to submit data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the end of 2021. Once the company requests authorization for the vaccine, a review process will begin before the jab becomes available for the public to receive.
Nearly 100 people have been infected with COVID-19 from an outbreak in a Connecticut nursing home. According to NBC Connecticut, eight people have died so far as a result of the outbreak. The outbreak occurred at the Geer Village Senior Community, which only houses 82 residents. Both residents and staff members have been infected with the virus amid the outbreak, but the eight deaths have all been residents. According to the nursing home, all eight residents had preexisting conditions. "While we must continue with Covid-19 prevention protocols, we want to assure everyone we are doing our best to keep residents and staff safe," officials said.
The chancellor of Austria announced a new lockdown for unvaccinated residents, and said that it will begin on Monday. People who have not received the vaccine will only be allowed to leave their homes for certain reasons, including doctors visits and grocery shopping. To ensure that the lockdown is being followed, random checks will occur. "We must raise the vaccination rate. It is shamefully low," Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said, DW.com reports.
With the holiday season right around the corner, some experts are warning that New York City could be at risk of a rise in COVID-19 cases as residents and tourists gather in the city to partake in the celebrations, Pix11 News reported. One health care worker visiting New York City from Atlanta, Jessica Baulding, suggested that people partaking in celebrations avoid large crowds. Holiday festivities have already began in the city on Saturday when the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree arrived. “As we gather for the holidays, in the winter, we’re careful with who we gather with and this is a great opportunity to talk with family and chat with co-workers to make sure they’re trying to fit under the umbrella as best as possible, of being vaccinated,” Dr. Louis Morledge told Pix11 News.
Here are the latest global coronavirus numbers, provided by Johns Hopkins University:
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Confirmed cases: 253,152,400
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Fatalities: 5,099,135
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Vaccine doses administered: 7,461,782,435
Protests have broken out across the Netherlands in response to a partial lockdown that has been imposed amid a COVID-19 outbreak. Police in the country have used water cannons on the protesters, The BBC reported. According to the Dutch prime minister, most people in the Netherlands have been vaccinated. The partial lockdown will last for three weeks.
School nurses across the U.S. are battling new outbreaks of COVID-19 across their schools regularly — and with them comes angry parents. Sherry McIntyre, a school nurse, ran into this issue when she quarantined two dozen student athletes on the school’s football team after they were exposed to COVID-19 in their locker room. The students could not return to school for at least 10 days, and some parents told McIntyre she should lose her nursing license for putting their children in quarantine, The New York Times reported. "They call us and tell us we’re ruining their children’s athletic career," McIntyre said. “They see us as the enemy.” Prior to COVID-19, McIntyre loved being a school nurse, but told the New York Times that last month she resigned. Holly Giovi, a school nurse in Deer Park, New York, has also been battling angry parents throughout the pandemic. “I call myself a fireman and a dentist, because I feel like I’m putting out fires and pulling teeth all day long,” Giovi said.
Health professionals are growing concerned regarding a new COVID-19 variant that has been found in multiple countries across Europe. The variant, which is being referred to as both B.1.X and B.1.640, was first discovered in France when an outbreak at a school infected 24 people. According to The Jerusalem Post, the outbreak of the variant in the French school led it to close 50% of its classes. Cases of the variant have also been reported in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Scotland and Italy. According to Bar-Ilan University Prof. Cyrille Cohen, the variant is believed to have originated in Africa. “This variant exemplifies that if you leave some of the world’s population without access to vaccines, then the virus will continue to multiply and it will lead to more variants,” Cohen said.
Health Canada’s chief medical adviser Dr. Supriya Sharma says the agency should decide whether or not to authorize Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 shot for kids ages 5 to 11 in “one or two weeks,” the CBC reported. If approved, kids would be given the vaccine in two 10 microgram doses, instead of the 30 microgram doses used for those over 12. "As with all of the COVID-19 submissions, we're doing it on a priority basis and we have a dedicated team that's looking at that data and that data is not just the clinical data, but as well the formulation," Dr. Supriya Sharma said. "And we look at that in the Canadian context for the ... possible use in children." The approval process for vaccines for children has varied globally, with the United States approving vaccines for kids as young as 5, while the United Kingdom has only recommended a single dose of a Pfizer vaccine for kids 12-15 and not approved doses for younger kids.
The NBA has sent a memo to teams that urges players, coaches and other staff to get a booster shot for the coronavirus as cases continue to rise, The Athletic reported. In the United States and Canada, booster doses are available for adults 18 and older who are 6 months out from receiving the Moderna and Pfizer websites if they live or work in a high-risk environment, while adults who received the Johnson and & Johnson vaccine can get a second dose after 2 months. More than 95% of all NBA players have been vaccinated, according to Reuters. In its memo, the NBA implored its personnel and players to sit down for their booster shot “as soon as possible.”
Wall Street is seeing a big boost this week, partially due to the decision announced by vaccine manufacturer Johnson & Johnson. In a Friday statement, J&J shared that it plans to spin off its consumer health diversion in order to focus on pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The decision for the world’s largest health products company to make the move was spurred by the company’s evolution, CEO Alex Gorsky said.
“We think these have evolved as fundamentally different businesses,” he told Reuters. The shifted focus to specialize on pharmaceuticals and medical equipment will prioritize the segment of the company that is on track for nearly $80 billion in sales this year. The consumer products the company is moving away from, such as band-aids and cough remedies, are expected to bring in $15 billion in sales.
Two foreign athletes who arrived in China in advance of February’s Winter Olympics in Beijing tested positive for the coronavirus, The Associated Press reported. Test events are ongoing for the Games; more than 1,500 competitors and staff have already arrived in the country. The two athletes were asymptomatic and have been placed in a quarantine hotel. China has some of the strictest COVID-19 policies in the world, but it has waived quarantine requirements for athletes, who will live in isolation from the rest of China’s population. "Closed loop management not only serves the Games well, but also prevents further spread of the virus," said Huang Huang, the deputy director general of the pandemic prevention office for the Olympic Games. "This is our goal."
On Friday, Latvia’s parliament voted to ban unvaccinated lawmakers from attending meetings both in-person and remotely, The Associated Press reported. The lawmakers will also have their wages suspended if they are not able work. Lawmakers will only be allowed to participate once they present a certificate confirming they have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, have recently recovered from the disease or have a letter from a doctor recommending they do not get vaccinated. At the moment, 91 out of 100 parliament members have been vaccinated, as have 696 out of 758 local government members. Latvia has imposed a strict vaccine mandate, with employers allowed to dismiss employees who refuse to get vaccinated.
The Biden administration has been left divided in recent weeks over the administration of COVID-19 vaccine booster shots. Amid a renewed pushed to offer the jabs to all adults, some are urging caution about making the extra shots broadly available. One such opposer is Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An anonymous source told The Washington Post that Walensky’s hesitation stems from a debate with Pfizer, as the drug manufacturer pushes the Food and Drug Administration to authorize boosters to all adults. According to the source, Walensky has hesitations about the company’s data.
“She wants to see the data so she can formulate her decision,” the source told The Washington Post. “Someone took that as her reservation. That’s not her reservation. She was pointing out that they might not go along. She knows no matter what, the decision is hers.”
Health Minister Jens Spahn urged Germans to avoid large gatherings as cases in the country spike to new highs, The Associated Press reported. More than 48,600 new cases and 191 new deaths were reported on Friday, one day after cases topped 50,000 for the first time. “We must now do everything necessary to break this momentum,” Spahn said. “Otherwise it will be a bitter December for the whole country.” Germany’s parliament is considering legislation that would impose new restrictions over the winter, while outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting with state governors to discuss new restrictions. Despite most parts of Germany limiting the unvaccinated’s access to facilities and events, the country’s vaccination campaign has stalled, with just over 66% of the population vaccinated.
Seen through a plastic sheet a member of the medical staff comforts a COVID-19 positive patient at the University Emergency Hospital waiting area, converted into a COVID-19 section due to the number of cases, in Bucharest, Romania, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. Hundreds of people have been dying daily for the past two months in Romania which has been among the hardest-hit in the current virus onslaught raging through Central and Eastern European nations where far fewer people have been inoculated than in Western Europe. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Booster shots for COVID-19 vaccines are now available to all adults in Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis announced on Thursday. The announcement defies federal guidance on booster shot administration, as the Food and Drug Administration is currently allowing booster shots for people 65 and over and for people over 18 who are at high risk for exposure to the virus, The Associated Press reported. Due to Colorado’s surge in infections, Polis declared every adult in the state to be at high risk for infection, thus giving access to the booster shots.
“Because disease spread is so significant across Colorado, all Coloradans who are 18 years of age and older are at high risk and qualify for a booster shot,” he said, according to the AP.
At a White House briefing on Wednesday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, urged the importance of getting booster shots to the individuals that are already eligible first. In the past, Polis has expressed frustration with the government’s authorization of vaccines and their distribution, the AP reported.
“The Governor has been disappointed with the overly complex message from the CDC and the FDA on boosters and won’t allow that to harm Coloradans who want the additional protection,” spokesperson Conor Cahill said Thursday. “The Governor is confident that this clarification is well within the guidance of the CDC and FDA.”
In an attempt to slow a rise in cases, the Netherlands’ government is set to introduce a three-week partial lockdown, The New York Times reported. The Netherlands recorded 16,334 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, a 33% increase from the previous week. The new lockdown measures will include banning spectators from sporting events, the closure of restaurants, bars and cafes, setting a four-person limit on houseguests and the reinstatement of social distancing rules. The lockdown, which applies to everyone regardless of vaccination status, is the first of its kind in Western Europe in recent months. About 76% of the Netherlands’ population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The nation’s longest-running Veterans Day parade returned in Birmingham, Alabama, on Thursday despite unfavorable weather conditions, The Associated Press reported. The National Veterans Day Parade, which was reduced to online-only in 2020 due to the pandemic, featured over 100 participating groups for a smaller-than-expected crowd, likely due to the weather. Although multiple organizations claim the title for longest-lasting Veterans Day parade, the Veterans Administration recognizes Birmingham for being the first to celebrate using the term ‘Veterans Day’ in 1947.
“Our goal is to show that our veterans are special they are to us, not only individually but collectively,” Mark Ryan, president of the National Veterans Day Foundation, told the AP.
Austrians can expect new restrictions to take effect on Monday as infections across the country rise to record levels, the BBC reported. Just under 12,000 new cases were reported in Austria on Thursday, the highest total since the start of the pandemic. The new restrictions could target the unvaccinated specifically, with Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg calling a national lockdown for the unvaccinated “probably inevitable.” The unvaccinated are already prohibited from going to restaurants, movie theaters, ski resorts and salons, but a new lockdown would mean that the unvaccinated could not leave home other than for essential reasons like work, food or exercise. More than 64% of Austria’s population is fully vaccinated, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.
Officials in Israel hid out in a nuclear bunker on Thursday to simulate the nation’s need to prepare for an outbreak of a vaccine-resident COVID-19 variant. The variant is fictitious and referred to as ‘omega,’ but Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told Reuters that making preparations, such as hiding in bunkers, is necessary in order to prepare for “the next war.”
“What I’ve learned is if you prepare for the next war and not for the previous war, the next pandemic and not the previous pandemic, that means that you are going to be better prepared,” Bennett told Reuters from the facility.
The bunker was built over 10 years ago, originally intended to protect citizens from worries over Iran’s nuclear tests. Throughout Israel, the simulation also required children, including Bennett’s own four, to stay in their homes while the government sealed off borders.
"Unlike a war-wargame, a pandemic wargame is not secret. Quite the contrary, we want to share the information," he said.
A team of scientists from the University College London believes that even before the pandemic began, some people already had a degree of immunity. These researchers believe that better understanding this preexisting immunity may help upgrade our arsenal of vaccines, the BBC reported. A study in the journal Nature showed that some health care workers in the early stages of the pandemic appeared to have immune systems that could kill the virus before it could take hold in their bodies. Blood samples confirmed that these people, who represented about one-in-ten members of the hospital staff, had protective T-cells against the coronavirus even before the pandemic began. "The healthcare workers that were able to control the virus before it was detectable were more likely to have these T-cells that recognize the internal machinery before the start of the pandemic," said Dr. Leo Swadling, one of the team’s researchers. Swadling and his team believe that they developed the protection from getting infected with other coronaviruses, including common colds. "Insights from this study could be critical in the design of a different type of vaccine,” said Dr. Alexander Edwards, from the University of Reading. "Hopefully this study will lead to further advances in vaccine development, as we need all the types of vaccine we can get."
The seven-day average of new cases in the United States has held steady at around 73,000 as the slowdown in case growth appears to have halted, according to Johns Hopkins University figures. The positivity ratio, a measure of the percentage of tests that return a positive result, also held steady at about 5.3%. More than 1.1 million vaccine doses were administered in the United States on Thursday, with the nation close to surpassing 200 million doses administered. The U.S. continues to lead the world in new cases by a wide margin, followed by Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany. For more facts and figures on the global pandemic, watch the video below.
For the fourth straight day, Germany has reported a record number of new coronavirus cases, leaving the country’s parliament to debate new coronavirus restrictions, Reuters reported. The government hopes to develop new rules without implementing new lockdowns or mandating vaccines. The three parties that are expected to make up Germany’s new government are considering passing legislation to tighten indoor masking rules and make them enforceable. Other measures that are being considered include free testing and the re-opening of vaccination centers. The country’s vaccination level has flattened at 67% in recent weeks. "We must prepare our country for winter," said Germany’s likely new chancellor, Olaf Scholz. The new wave of infections has been pushing some hospital’s capacity, with medical facilities in several German states postponing scheduled surgeries.
The holiday season is just around the corner and so is another surge of coronavirus cases, experts say. According to NBC News, health experts expect another surge of infections around Thanksgiving, but the spike in cases likely won’t be as bad in 2020 due to the amount of people vaccinated around the country. “I don’t think the spike will be as bad as last winter because we have vaccines available and the approval for younger age groups is a big game changer, especially for hospitalizations and death rates,” Monica Wang, an associate professor of community health sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health, told NBC News.
One doctor believes the surge might already be underway thanks to colder weather arriving in the northern U.S. “We see increasing evidence in the Northern Hemisphere that the expected winter surge has started to unfold,” said Dr. Cristopher Murray, the director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. Murray said another factor leading to an uptick in cases is people are being less cautious than last winter and mask usage is much lower.
With the demand for coronavirus testing rising in the Los Angeles area, the testing site at Dodger Stadium has reopened, KLTA reported. The testing site, run by healthcare startup Curative, offers nasal PCR drive-thru testing seven days a week between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.. Since the site opened in May 2020, more than 1 million people got tested at the stadium. The stadium transformed into a vaccination clinic in January after closing in May, but it has now been reopened and can test about 500 people a day. “It has the capacity to be the largest testing site once more, but we’re keeping an eye on demand and positivity as we scale up,” said Curative spokesman Pasquale Gianni.
Colorado hospitals are at-risk of being overwhelmed by spikes of COVID-19 in the states. According to the Colorado Department of Health, one in 48 residents in the state are infected with the virus. Most of the patients with the virus in the state’s hospitals are unvaccinated and younger than then age groups affected by previous surges by about 15 years, PBS reports. “Unlike the previous surges that we have dealt with, where we had a little bit of reserve, without the impact of social distancing, masks and a relatively low immunization rates, we are really at the point where our resources are maximally strained,” Dr. Ivor Douglas, chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Denver Health, told PBS. Douglas said that the patients they are seeing are young, and have “no business” getting sick as quickly and dramatically as they are. “We're seeing patients who are presenting and getting very sick very quickly,” he said.
Pandemic experts in the Netherlands are recommending a partial lockdown — which would be the first of its kind in Europe since this past summer. According to Al Jazeera, a lockdown decision is expected to be made on Friday by Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s cabinet. The lockdown would include the closure of theaters and cinemas and earlier closing times for restaurants, but schools would remain opened. Events would also need to be canceled under a partial lockdown.
An unvaccinated doctor and a 16-year veteran at the National Institutions of Health is arguing that a vaccine mandate is unethical, according to The Hill, which cited a Wall Street Journal report. Matthew Memoli will share his argument with the public in a live-streamed roundtable discussion on the ethics of vaccine mandates. “There’s a lot of debate within the NIH about whether [a vaccine mandate] is appropriate,” David Wendler, a senior NIH bioethicist in charge of planning the discussion, said. "It’s an important, hot topic.” Memoli believes that vulnerable populations should be vaccinated but that vaccinating the general public may hinder the development of natural immunity to the disease. The CDC has found that vaccines are the most effective protection against COVID-19. CDC data demonstrate that vaccination provides a greater level of protection than recovering from an infection for at least a six-month period.
Drugmaker Merck, whose promising antiviral coronavirus treatment recently became the first available anywhere in the world after it was authorized by the United Kingdom, has promised to make its treatment available in rich and poor countries alike, AFP reported. The company plans to implement a tiered pricing system that allows poorer countries to pay less. "We have a really good chance of having really much more equitable access to this medicine than we've seen to date in the COVID response," said Paul Schaper, Merck’s executive director of Global Public Policy, adding that the company believed it was possible they could reach low-, middle- and high-income countries "at roughly the same time." The global rollout of vaccines has been highly inequitable, with just 3% Africans having received a first dose while more than 50% of the world’s population has.
A fully vaccinated player on the Minnesota Vikings who had tested positive for the coronavirus was hospitalized after having trouble breathing, ESPN reported. The player, who a source told ESPN is offensive guard Dakota Dozier, was moved to the team’s COVID-19 list on Friday. "It's serious stuff, so, I don't know," Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said. "Like 29 guys are getting tested because of close contact, including myself. Just do what we do."Five players for the Vikings are currently on the coronavirus list, including the team’s starting center and a starting safety. The Vikings are currently under the NFL’s intensive protocols, meaning that there will be additional testing within the organization to help bring the team’s outbreak under control.
A federal judge has overturned Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates in schools, Reuters reported. Judge Lee Yeakel of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas said that the prohibition violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by placing kids with disabilities at risk. "The spread of COVID-19 poses an even greater risk for children with special health needs," Yeakel wrote. "Children with certain underlying conditions who contract COVID-19 are more likely to experience severe acute biological effects and to require admission to a hospital and the hospital's intensive-care unit." Some school districts in Texas had been ignoring Texas’ mask mandate ban anyway, but others began to comply after pressure from the state and the publication of a list of violators from the Office of Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton. Paxton said on Twitter that he disagreed with Judge Yeakel’s ruling. "My agency is considering all legal avenues to challenge this decision," Paxton said.
Supporters of mask mandates in public schools gather outside the Governor's Mansion in Austin, Texas, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
After weeks of declining or holding steady, the seven-day average of new coronavirus cases reported in the United States has been ticking up this week, according to Johns Hopkins University figures. At the same time, the positivity ratio, the number of tests that return a positive result, has climbed back up to 5.93% from lows that hovered around 5%. The seven-day average for vaccine dose administration is holding steady around 1.3 million. The U.S. continues to lead the world in reporting the highest number of new cases, followed by Russia, which reported more than 38,500 new cases, and the United Kingdom, which reported more than 33,700 new cases. For more facts and figures of the state of the coronavirus pandemic, watch the video below.
Cases and fatalities from COVID-19 were on the decline in nearly every region of the world last week, except in Europe, where coronavirus deaths rose by 10%, The Associated Press reported. Globally, COVID-19 deaths fell by 4% from the week prior, while 3.1 new infections were recorded. Nearly 2 million of those cases came from Europe. According to Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO’s Europe director, the continent is once again “back at the epicenter of the pandemic,” the AP reported.
In Romania, morgues are struggling to keep up with the influx of dead bodies, with workers in Bucharest wrapping the deceased in black plastic bags prior to placing them in coffins. For more, watch the video below.
Since U.S. regulators approved Pfizer’s vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 last week, about 900,000 kids have received a first dose, the White House announced Wednesday, according to CNBC. Another 700,000 children are slated to get the shot in the coming days. “Families across the country are breathing giant sighs of relief,” White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said. The Biden administration said it has acquired doses to vaccinate all 28 million children across the U.S. in this age range.
Health officials throughout South Korea are urging residents to receive booster shots as vaccine breakthrough cases continue surging. The surge is particularly impacting the vulnerable elderly population, with more than 82% of the severely ill patients in the country aged 60 and older, according to Reuters. Over 640,000 people in the country of 51.7 million people have received booster shots, and nearly 90% of the adult population is fully vaccinated. On Tuesday, the country recorded 2,425 new cases.
Both the Czech Republic and Slovakia reported a significant uptick in coronavirus cases Tuesday, with Slovakia’s amount of 7,055 setting a new daily record high for the country. In the Czech Republic, the amount was more than double Slovakia’s, with 14,539 new infections reported, according to Reuters. That number is just shy of the Czech Republic’s all-time record set back in January. Hospitals in Slovakia, and particularly the northern part of the country, have become strained and have begun delaying non-urgent procedures. Similar measures were taking place in the Czech Republic, Reuters said.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
The NFL fined the Green Bay Packers $300,000 after completing a review of the team’s COVID-19 protocols, ESPN reported. Along with a fine for the team, quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver Allen Lazard were each fined $14,650. Rodgers, who is not vaccinated, did not wear masks to press conferences, and both he and Lazard attended a Halloween party away from the Packers’ facility. Protocols state that unvaccinated players can’t gather in groups of more than three. Rodgers had to miss the team’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs this past Sunday after he tested positive last week. The star quarterback is eligible to return to the Packers on Saturday. “We respect the League’s findings and we recognize the importance of adherence to the COVID protocols to keep our team and organization safe and healthy,” Packers president Mark Murphy told ESPN. “We will continue to educate the team regarding the importance of the protocols and remain committed to operating within the protocols.” For more, watch the video below.
The United States is again welcoming vaccinated visitors from 33 countries, but experts worry that it will still be extremely difficult for visitors to enter the country due to the U.S. requirements, The Associated Press reported. According to Nancy Kass, deputy director of public health in the Berman Institute of Biotechs at Johns Hopkins University, concern with the country’s policy is an ethical one.
“The concern is not limiting access based on vaccination status,” Kass said. “It is that it’s systemically making it impossible for people, generally from poor countries, whose governments have been unable to secure anything near the supply they need, to be able to come and see their loved ones.”
According to the AP, half of the world population is currently unvaccinated, thus making many individuals from poorer countries, where vaccine access has been limited, cut off from visiting.
The coronavirus has become the leading killer of police officers across the country, but many unions representing law enforcement are fighting vaccine mandates, CBS News reported. More than 500 officers have died from the coronavirus since the pandemic began, higher than deaths from gun violence or traffic accidents. Bob Swartzwelder, president of a union that represents 906 active Pittsburgh police officers, said Pittsburgh needed to negotiate before ordering police to get vaccinated. "I'm pro-vaccine but I'm anti-mandate," said Swartzwelder, warning that a mandate might push some of the 257 officers eligible to retire to leave. "It takes 18 months to fully train a police officer and put them on the street. You already have a police department in crisis." Vaccination rates among offers are generally lower than the rates for the public at large. At least 21 officers died in October after contracting the virus.
Many experts agree that the coronavirus will never be completely eradicated, but it will one day cease to be a pandemic. So what will the coronavirus look like once the pandemic is over? According to CNN, many experts believe the coronavirus will one day feel and look similar to the seasonal flu. "There's not even a measurement to say that something is an epidemic or pandemic. All of this is in the eye of the beholder -- and that's part of the issue," Dr. Arnold Monto, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan and acting chair of the US Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, said. Monto said that vaccines in this instance have been more effective than what is typically seen, however, virus mutations can throw the trajectory of the pandemic in a loop.
"With the change in transmission patterns, as the variants have emerged -- I call it a parade of variants -- we now see much more extensive transmission and much more uniform spread globally. This makes declaring the end of the pandemic more difficult," Monto said. He further explained that experts do not yet know if COVID-19 will become a seasonal illness like the flu, but people around the globe will just have to "wait and see and hold our breath” to find out.
The United States reopened its borders to international travel on Tuesday, allowing vaccinated travelers from over 30 countries to come into the nation. Footage from Bloomberg showed the busiest land crossing at the Mexico border between San Diego and Tijuana, where hundreds of cars waited in long lines. At the northern border, thousands of vaccinated Canadians are excited to flock to warmer Florida for the winter now that the border is reopened. The ‘snowbirds’ formed lines multiple miles long at border crossings at places such as the Thousand Islands bridge between Ontario and New York.
Access to the U.S. is currently only for travelers inoculated with a WHO-approved vaccine, ruling out the millions of potential visitors who received the Sputnik V, CanSino or other jabs. For more information, watch the video below.
Richard Soliz, 54, returned to the Seattle-area hospital that treated him to apologize for not getting the vaccine, The Washington Post reported. Soliz was administered to the hospital in late August, spending 28 days there and spending two stints in an intensive care unit. Soliz had opted against getting the coronavirus earlier in the year, telling the Post he was confused by conflicting information about the vaccines, including debunked theories that the shots contained microchips. Once Soliz recovered, he couldn’t stop thinking about the medical staff who treated him. “My goodness, they saved my life,” Soliz said. “In hindsight, I felt bad. And I knew in my heart, in my mind and my consciousness, that it all could’ve been avoided.” Feeling guilty, Soliz returned to the doctors and nurses that saved his life in late October, apologizing. “I deeply regret not making the decision to get vaccinated,” he told one of his doctors.
Thousands gathered outside New Zealand’s parliament building to protest coronavirus vaccine mandates and lockdowns, Reuters reported. In response to the protests, New Zealand enhanced security measures outside its parliament building. However, the demonstration was peaceful, with protesters holding signs and shouting slogans demanding the government lift coronavirus restrictions. Some protestors showed support for former U.S. President Donald Trump, accusing the media of lying or being fake. "I will not be coerced and I will not be forced into taking something I don't want in my body," a protester said. "I'm asking (the government) to give us back 2018. Simple as that. I want my freedoms back." New Zealand has required teachers and health care workers to get fully vaccinated or lose their job. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern dismissed the protestors speaking to reporters inside parliament, but there has been growing political pressure to ease restrictions before the holiday season. "What we saw today was not representative of the vast bulk of New Zealanders,” Ardern said.
Israel will loosen its restrictions on outdoor gatherings, Prime Minister Naftali Bennet and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said Tuesday. The Jerusalem Post reported the announcement came as deaths from COVID-19 continued to decline and Israel prepares to approve vaccination for children ages 5-11. The new regulations will eliminate the cap on outdoor gatherings, the requirement for masks in situations with over 100 people and allow attendants of cultural, sports and religious events with up to 1,000 to not need a Green Pass. In addition, event halls will be permitted to host up to 600 guests indoors, up from 400 guests. Wearing a mask indoors will remain mandatory. The new regulations are expected to go into effect on Thursday.
In the Romanian capital of Bucharest, the main hospital has no more room for the dead, with coronavirus victims lining the hallway outside the morgue, The Associated Press reported. With hundreds dying each day in the country for the past two months, Romania has recorded one of the highest death rates in all of Europe. “A village vanishes daily in Romania!” said Dr. Catalin Cirstoiu, the head of the Bucharest University Emergency Hospital. “What about in a week or a month? A larger village? Or a city? Where do we stop?” Officials have blamed the high death toll on the country’s low vaccination rate – just 40% of the population has been fully vaccinated, well less than the EU average of 75%. Romania reported 591 fatalities a week ago, its highest daily death toll of the pandemic. Today, around 1,870 coronavirus patients across the country are in the ICU.
Researchers have found that the world’s response to the pandemic generated 8.4 million tons of excess plastic waste from the start of the pandemic in March 2020 through this August, UPI reported. Of the excess waste, more than 87% has been generated by hospitals and includes things like discarded personal protective equipment and testing kits. Perhaps surprisingly, North and South America, where 70% of the world’s COVID-19 cases have been recorded, account for under 25% of the excess waste. Asia accounted for 46% of the excess plastic waste. "A lot of single-use plastic items were produced during the pandemic," Philippe Miron, a researcher at Florida State University's Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies, said. "Many factors led to the increase of plastic production during the pandemic, such as the higher demands of PPE, while at the same time the recycling industry was forced to shut down.”
On Monday, the number of people in France hospitalized by the coronavirus rose by 156, the largest one-day increase since Aug. 23, Reuters reported. More than 6,800 people across France are now hospitalized with the coronavirus, with 1,141 in intensive care units. President Emmanuel Macron is expected to address the nation on Tuesday to discuss the virus’ resurgence in France. The seven-day moving average of new cases in the country has climbed to 7,277, up from a three-month low of 4,172 reported on Oct. 10.
Analysts at AAA are predicting a major travel surge for Thanksgiving this year, with enough Americans hitting the roads and the skies to nearly restore travel to what it was before the coronavirus pandemic. According to AAA, some 53.4 million people are expected to travel on or around Thanksgiving this year, a 13% bump from last Thanksgiving. Air travel is expected to be up 80% this year over last Thanksgiving and, all told, travel volume this year will be within 5% of where it was for Thanksgiving 2019, before Americans had ever heard the term COVID-19. “This Thanksgiving, travel will look a lot different than last year,” Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel, said in a statement. With the big rebound in travel brewing for this Thanksgiving, AAA is offering some advice on how to navigate the suddenly busy travel landscape, including tips on booking flights, car rentals and hotel rooms.
While all modes of transportation will experience a rise, air travel will see the greatest increase in travelers.
Hospitals near the border of Belgium and the Netherlands are sounding the alarm, warning that they can no longer handle the rising number of patients as new infections soar, The Associated Press reported. In the Dutch province of Limburg, five hospitals came together to make a joint statement, warning that other parts of the Netherlands are likely to soon see their hospitalizations rise. “We are heading straight for a healthcare blockage and the entire system is grinding to a standstill,” they said. Last week, the Dutch government reintroduced mandatory masking in public places and is scheduled to meet Friday to discuss further restrictions If cases continue to rise. The government is researching whether it can begin its booster campaign sooner than it had planned to, currently, the campaign is not scheduled to start until December. “If it can happen quicker, we will do it quicker,” Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said.
After new coronavirus cases in Denmark have continued to rise despite the country’s vaccination campaign, the country is restarting the use of digital certificates to slow the spread of the virus, Reuters reported. The government aims to reinstate the use of “corona passports” which verify that their holder is vaccinated or has tested negative for COVID-19. According to Johns Hopkins University figures, just under 76% of the country is fully vaccinated. Despite the high vaccination rate, new daily cases in the country have climbed in recent weeks from a low of 200 in mid-September to more than 2,000 as of Monday, Nov. 8.
The average number of vaccines administered in the United States per day has climbed past 1.3 million as the country’s booster shot campaign continues to expand, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. At the same time, the number of new cases has stopped dropping and continues hovering around 70,000 new cases reported, with the positivity ratio also holding steady above 5%. The United States continues to lead the world in new cases reported, followed by Russia and the United Kingdom, who reported more than 38,000 and 34,000 new cases on Monday, respectively. For more facts and figures on the pandemic, watch the video below.
A court in Singapore granted a stay of execution to a Malaysian man convicted of drug smuggling after he tested positive for COVID-19 the day before he was set to be hanged, Reuters reported. Singaporean officials delayed the execution of Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, 33, until further notice. "We have got to use logic, common sense and humanity," judge Andrew Phang told the court. Dharmalingam was arrested in April 2009 for trafficking 42.72 grams of heroin, a crime that is punishable by death in Singapore. "COVID has allowed him to live in this world, rather than kill him," M Ravi, the man’s lawyer, said.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced Tuesday that the government will mandate all health care staff that work with the public to be vaccinated, The Associated Press reported. The move comes despite concerns that mandating vaccines for health care workers might cause thousands to leave their jobs. The mandate will not begin until April 1, which gives ample time for the more than 100,000 health workers who have not yet sat down for their shots to get them. Unions had opposed making vaccines mandatory, warning that it might cause further staff shortages. Roughly 80% of the United Kingdom’s eligible population have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Due to the comparably higher risk of heart problems in those who receive the Moderna jab, France’s public health authorities are recommending people under 30 only receive the Pfizer shot, Reuters reported. Following the results of a study that was published Monday, the Haute Autorite de Sante, (HAS) which acts as an advisor to France’s health sector, noted the “very rare” risk of myocarditis in those who received the Moderna shot. "Within the population aged under 30, this risk appears to be around five times lesser with Pfizer's Comirnaty jab compared to Moderna's Spikevax jab," HAS said. The European Medicines Agency has found a link between myocarditis and both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, but in both cases says that the benefit of the vaccine outweighs the risk.
After lifting its ban on foreign travelers, tourists from all over the world are gearing up to visit some of the United States’ most famous destinations, Bloomberg reported. The travel industry has greatly suffered during the pandemic, but with flight bookings already hitting 70% of their pre-pandemic levels, the industry looks to be roaring back. Topping the list of popular destinations is New York City, which saw its first flight from the United Kingdom arrive yesterday. Next on the list are two Florida cities, Miami and Orlando. Foreign travelers are apparently excited to hit the beach and visit Orlando’s many theme parks and attractions. Coming in at fourth and fifth on the list are two California cities, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Travelers entering the United States must be vaccinated, The New York Times reported.
Japan recorded no daily deaths from COVID-19 for the first time in over a year on Sunday, according to local media. From Aug. 2, 2020, up until Sunday, Nov. 7, the nation had recorded at least one COVID-19 death, according to the national broadcaster NHK. Back in August, the delta variant had driven new daily infections to more than 25,000 at the peak of the wave, according to Reuters. Since then, however, daily cases and deaths have fallen across Japan as vaccinations increased, covering 70% of the population, Reuters reported. To guard against a rebound over the winter, the Japanese government plans to start booster vaccine shots next month and to secure pill-based treatments for milder cases to reduce the strain on hospitals.
A top official for the World Health Organization is warning the U.S. to pay close attention to a coronavirus resurgence across Europe. In the past month, Europe has seen a 50% spike in new coronavirus cases, according to CBS News. Vaccination numbers in some parts of Europe have plateaued, while public health guidelines have relaxed, which Dr. Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization's regional director for Europe, said is a recipe for a fourth wave. "The basic principle is, if there is a situation where the peak is accelerating, don't wait,” to bring back safety measures, Kluge said. "The earlier, the stricter, the better.”
After months of deliberation between Chinese and Hong Kong officials, Hong Kong’s land border with China will be opened by June at the latest, the South China Morning Post reported. The closure of the border has hurt Hong Kong’s economy – roughly 236 million people crossed the land border in 2019, compared to just 17.5 million in 2020. “There is nothing we Hong Kong businessmen can do but wait. We hope the Hong Kong and mainland authorities can reach a consensus earlier,” said Joe Chau Kwok-ming, the president of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Small and Medium Business. When the border reopens, travelers will likely need to be vaccinated and submit to testing. “There are still some differences in opinions. While the mainland prefers to just adopt the definitions of the National Health Commission for low, medium and high-risk areas, Hong Kong is hoping for a bit more tolerance. I think we can work it out soon,” an insider told the South China Morning Post. Hong Kong reported no coronavirus cases on Monday.
As coronavirus cases decrease across Japan, the Japanese government has begun to accept new entry applications that allow companies and educational institutions to host people from overseas, Kyodo News reported. In addition, business travelers entering the country now only need to quarantine for three days. "We have taken a step toward easing some of the restrictions as infections have been declining and in response to strong demand by the business community," Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki said at a news conference. Tourists are still prohibited from entering the country, but the government is beginning to investigate how to allow tour groups to once again enter the country.
While coronavirus cases are declining in the United States, the decline itself is slowing down, with new cases holding steady around 72,000 and more than 1,000 people dying each day. As winter approaches, Dr. Anthony Fauci sat down with NPR to discuss his expectations for the next phase of the pandemic.
While Fauci says the country is trending the right direction when it comes to cases, hospitalizations and deaths, progress is slower than he would hope. Additionally, Fauci is concerned that wintertime will bring more travel and indoor gatherings, which could lead to more coronavirus spread. That said, Fauci isn’t advocating for shutting the country down. "We're looking for a level of control ... where the level of infection — due to vaccination predominantly, but also people who may have been infected and have some degree of protection — that doesn't disrupt society the way the COVID-19 outbreak is currently doing with us," Fauci said, urging Americans to get themselves and their kids vaccinated. Fauci added that new antiviral drugs produced by Pfizer and Merck have produced positive results in trials, but that they are no substitute for vaccination.
A Biden administration official announced on Monday that Pfizer is expected to seek emergency use authorization for the company’s COVID-19 vaccine booster shot for people age 18 or older. According to CNN, Pfizer could request emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as early as this week. The FDA has already provided authorization for booster shots in most adults once they have reached a certain period of time after their initial vaccination, and more than 24 million people in the U.S. have already received a booster shot. People in the U.S. who received either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine are eligible for a booster shot six months after their initial vaccination if they are 65 years old or older, at-risk of breakthrough infections due to medical conditions, have kidney disease, are pregnant or are at-risk due to their work or living conditions. Those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are eligible for a booster shot two months after their first shot.
The first hospital in Florida to treat a coronavirus patient now has no patients sick with the virus in the entire hospital. Hospital staff is now celebrating the milestone, which has not occurred since the pandemic began. "There's been a lot of progress done in a very short period of time. So it's a great thing for everybody," chief nursing officer of Doctor’s Hospital in Sarasota, Todd Haner, said, Fox News reports. "I can tell you that the morale is much better.” The hospital received its first COVID-19 patient in February 2020. "As we moved forward and we saw what was happening, it became very stressful,” Haner said. "We're going to celebrate what we have right now. We don't know what the future holds, but we'll deal with it when it comes.”
COVID-19 infections in China are steadily rising, with 89 new cases reported for Nov. 7. The prior day, 74 new cases were reported, according to Al Jazeera. As of Nov. 7, Mainland China has 97,823 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in total. The Liaoning and Henan provinces held more than half of the new cases.
With the White House looking to speed along vaccinations for kids ages 5 to 11, the Biden administration is urging schools to set up vaccination clinics, The Associated Press reported. The Pfizer vaccine was recently approved for kids ages 5 to 11, and officials want to encourage families to get their kids vaccinated as soon as possible. Pfizer found the vaccine 91% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infections and the Food and Drug Administration found the vaccine to be safe. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona are writing a letter to school districts reminding them that the federal government will provide funding to support vaccinating students. About 28 million kids ages 5 to 11 are now eligible to get the vaccine, and the White House has purchased enough doses for every kid in the age group.
New York City’s Mayor-elect Eric Adams said on Sunday that he wants to end mask mandates in schools when he takes office on Jan. 1 if officials can find “a safe way to do it.”According to The New York Post, Adams said he fears masks will prevent children from making friends, saying “part of the socialization of a child is that smile… Not being able to see the smiles of our children has a major impact.” At a press briefing on Thursday, New York City’s current Mayor Bill de Blasio said he sees no end in sight for masks in schools, even as more children over the age of 5 receive COVID-19 vaccination. “I would say, as a general view, that out of an abundance of caution, I would keep the masks in place, at least in the short term because they’ve really worked, because the kids have adapted to them well, the adults have adapted to them well,” de Blasio said.
Germany reported 201.2 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days, a record positivity rate for the nation, with German officials calling the surge in cases evidence of a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” The Associated Press reported. Germany saw a record 37,120 new cases on Friday. Unlike last year's wintertime surge in cases, the rise in cases hasn’t led to a similar rise in hospitalizations, with just 4 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents reported now compared to 15 hospitalizations per 100,000 last December. Still, hospitalizations are ticking up in the worst affected and least vaccinated parts of the country. About 67% of the population is fully vaccinated, a number which German authorities say remains too low. Unlike other European countries, Germany has avoided policies that mandate vaccines for some workers.
More than 1.2 million vaccinations were administered across the United States on Sunday, a Johns Hopkins University tally showed, bringing the total number of Americans who are fully vaccinated to 193.8 million, or 59% of the population. Meanwhile, the national seven-day positivity rate continued to trend downward, reaching 4.64%. Still, close to 72,000 new cases were reported nationwide on Sunday and 1,194 fatalities were recorded, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers, as the national death toll nears 750,000. In terms of overall new daily cases, the U.S. still remains well ahead of other nations. For a closer look at which other countries are seeing large numbers of cases, watch the video below.
Passengers wait to board a plane for New York at the Charles de Gaulle airport, north of Paris, Monday, Nov.8, 2021. The U.S. lifted restrictions Monday on travel from a long list of countries including Mexico, Canada and most of Europe, allowing tourists to make long-delayed trips and family members to reconnect with loved ones after more than a year and a half apart because of the pandemic. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
The U.S. lifted a travel ban that prevented individuals from 33 countries from entering the country on Monday. The ban, which was originally instated in early 2020, prevented access to the U.S. to non-U.S. citizens traveling from China, India and many countries throughout Europe, Reuters reported. The ban also prevented individuals from Mexico or Canada from entering the U.S. by land. Many countries have already lifted similar bans as vaccinations against COVID-19 became more widespread. Travelers are required to show official proof of vaccination and a recent negative viral COVID-19 test. The lifting of the ban resulted in a spike in travel bookings into the U.S. “Really, really exciting. I mean, I was meant to go just before COVID happened, and obviously it's been delayed this long, so it's really exciting to finally be able to go," Alice Keane, who is going to Miami to visit her sister, said at the Heathrow Airport in London.
