For the latest on the coronavirus pandemic, click here.
Illegal loggers and miners entering the Amazon have put the indigenous Kayapó people of Brazil at risk of COVID-19 exposure, but they say a drink made from local vines has been protecting them, Reuters reported. The natives to the Amazon have not disclosed the name of the vine they use, but say they strip the skin of the vine off and boil and strain it into a tea, which they then drink three times a day for five days, Po Yre, a 23-year-old member of the Kayapó community, said. “The medicine is very strong. When you take it, you get weak, sometimes with red eyes and a headache. But, the next day, it works. You wake up well,” Po Yre said. He tried the remedy himself after testing positive for the virus in July. According to the news outlet, villagers say the natural remedy is the best way to prevent the pandemic from wiping out indigenous populations that are receiving little government support and in some circumstances have no access to healthcare.
The coronavirus vaccine created by China’s Sinovac Biotech was reported as 78% effective in a late-stage trial in Brazil and prevented any severe cases of COVID-19, according to researchers. The findings lacked the same detail U.S. and European vaccines were able to report, which has led to many requesting further transparency from the company, Reuters reported. The vaccine is one that many developing countries are keeping a close watch on. According to the director of Brazilian biomedical center Butantan, more detailed results from the trial will be submitted to health regulator Anvisa as they request for emergency use approval. “One thing is a presentation at a news conference. It’s something else to get the data and analyze it, which is what Anvisa will do,” said Cristina Bonorino, who sits on the scientific committee of the Brazilian Immunology Society. “If it’s what they say, that’s an excellent result.”
While Berlin, Germany, may not be getting many visitors right now due to the pandemic, one tour guide is finding a way to bring the city to anyone looking to explore it — through virtual tours. Jeremy Minsberg is the Berlin tour guide that has transitioned to online tours to continue making an income during the pandemic, Bloomberg reported. Minsberg has done over 100 virtual tours so far in the city, with each tour having up to 100 participants. The tours take around two hours and cost 75 euros per hour, equivalent to about $92. “This is actually a live tour, this is not a webinar, I’m not sitting at a desk somewhere,” Minsberg told the news outlet. “I’m walking around the streets so the clients can interact with me, they can ask me questions, they can ask me personal questions, they can ask me questions about something I walked past, they can say, ‘can you slow down for a second?’” Minsberg said his online tours have also opened up an opportunity for some people who are not able to physically travel, such as the elderly or handicapped individuals, to experience the city in a new format. "This is actually a whole new niche business that could be created for people who don't have the time, don't have the ability to travel any longer."
France has pledged to speed up vaccination efforts for elderly residents after facing criticism for a slow initial roll-out of vaccines. In the first week of obtaining vaccine doses, the nation vaccinated less than 500 people. On Tuesday, officials pledged to speed up the roll-out of vaccines in the country, The Associated Press reported. According to Prime Minister Jean Castex, French citizens age 75 or older will be able to receive the vaccine beginning on Jan. 18, regardless if they live in a nursing care facility or not. Castex also announced that the second dose of the vaccine will be administered in citizens six weeks after the first dose, which is three weeks longer than France’s initial plan to space the doses out by three weeks. The U.K. is spacing the doses out by 12 weeks.
South Africa purchased 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine — the first vaccine purchase from the nation that has been announced so far. According to The Associated Press, South Africa hopes to inoculate the country’s health care workers with the first import of doses, which will be delivered from India with 1 million doses in late January and another 500,000 in February. “We urge the public to be patient with us as we continue to engage manufacturers (for the purchase of additional vaccines)... We will not neglect our responsibility to protect lives and also fight this pandemic,” Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said. The nation is currently facing a huge outbreak of the virus, with a new daily record high of 21,832 cases reported on Wednesday. In addition, many hospitals in the country are reporting that they have reached maximum capacity.
Louisiana voters may see broadened mail-in balloting options for spring municipal elections and two upcoming special congress elections due to the coronavirus. Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin, the state’s top elections official, wants to use the same expansion of absentee-by-mail voting that was in place for the summer and fall elections, including the presidential election in November, The Associated Press reports. On Tuesday, lawmakers on the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee backed a package of COVID-19 emergency rules proposed by Ardoin without objection. The next step in the process will send the proposal to a House committee later on Tuesday. The AP noted that Republican senators who had in previous debates expressed worry over voter fraud if they expanded mail-in voting offered no concerns to the new proposal.
About 100 men jumped into the cold icy waters of Tundzha river in Bulgaria on Wednesday, defying coronavirus restrictions to do so. The event is to mark the Epiphany, which is said to bring good health. Mayor Rumen Stoyanov usually attends the event, but declined to do so this year due to the pandemic. However, Stoyanov didn't stop others from participating in the event despite a ban on large gatherings. The ritual involves a priest throwing a cross into the water, then the first person to retrieve the cross is said to be blessed with good health. No precautions against covid seemed to have been followed during the event despite the high mortality rates in Bulgaria from the coronavirus. Watch the video below for more.
Pennsylvania health department officials announced the first confirmed case of the new COVID-19 variant in the state on Thursday. The confirmed case was in Dauphin County, and it's the same variant that was first discovered in England in December, officials said in a statement. The county is in the south-central portion of Pennsylvania and is where the state capital of Harrisburg is located. Cases have also been reported in Colorado, Florida, New York, Georgia and California, according to the CDC.
“Pennsylvania has been preparing for this variant by working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and has been sending 10-35 random samples biweekly to the CDC since November to study sequencing and detect any potential cases for this new COVID-19 variant,”Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “Public health experts are in the early stages of working to better understand this new variant, how it spreads and how it affects people who are infected with it. “There is still much to learn about this new variant, so we need to remain vigilant and continue to urge Pennsylvanians to stop the spread by washing their hands, practicing social distancing, avoiding gatherings, downloading COVID Alert PA and answering the call. Stay calm, stay alert and stay safe.”
Michelle Chester, director of employee health services at Northwell Health, holds a bottle containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at Northwell Health's Long Island Jewish Valley Stream hospital in Valley Stream, N.Y., on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. (Eduardo Munoz/Pool via AP)
Fresh off the heels of having his company's vaccine approved by the European Union, Moderna's CEO gave an update on the lasting efficacy of the virus on Thursday. According to Reuters, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said that the vaccine should offer protection of "up to a couple of years," but cautioned that more data is needed for a complete assessment. “The nightmare scenario that was described in the media in the spring with a vaccine only working a month or two is, I think, out of the window,” Bancel said, according to Reuters. Bancel also noted this his company would soon prove that its vaccine would be effective against the new strain of the coronavirus found in Britain and South Africa. Watch the video below for more.
As the number of available hospital beds dwindles around London, Britain's health minister said a field hospital could be used to ease the burden on overwhelmed hospitals in the city, Reuters reported. The report comes after leaked documents indicated that London could be short of 2,000 acute and intensive care beds by Jan. 19, according to Reuters. The field hospital in question is referred to the Nightingale hospital located at London's ExCel conference center in the eastern part of the city. It had treated 51 patients in the spring before it was closed in May, Reuters said. The number of COVID deaths across the U.K. topped 1,000 for the first time since April on Wednesday.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was concerned about the strain on the country's National Health Service. “For instance in London, (we’re) making sure that the Nightingale hospital is on standby and there, if needed," Hancock said, according to Reuters. "And if it is needed, of course, then it will be used,” he said.
The greater Tokyo area is now under a month-long state of emergency due to a surge of COVID-19 infections, AFP reported. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the measure would begin Friday and described a "great sense of crisis," according to AFP. The state of emergency is said to be less strict compared to other lockdowns going in effect around the world. It primarily targets restaurants and bars by requiring them to stop serving alcohol by 7 p.m. local time and then closing an hour later, AFP said. "Please act... in order to save precious lives of your parents, grandfathers, grandmothers and friends," Suga said when specifically referring to the nation's younger generation. The Tokyo area reported 2,447 new cases Thursday, a figure much higher than the previous daily record of 1,591 counted on Wednesday. Nationwide, 7,490 new cases were reported, AFP said.
For the second day in a row, the U.S. tallied nearly 4,000 coronavirus fatalities. The official total for Wednesday was 3,865 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics, after 3,775 fatalities were reported on Tuesday. Nationwide, the total cumulative death toll has risen above 360,000. Meanwhile, another 253,145 cases were tallied across the country on Wednesday, with California seeing the highest daily increase. For more on which states are seeing the sharpest increases in cases, watch the video below.
Multiple states have begun paying workers a $300 weekly boost in unemployment benefits, while others expect the aid may take a few more weeks. Arizona, California, New York and Rhode Island have either started or will begin issuing the funds this week, according to state labor officials. Connecticut and Washington state expect to pay the subsidy around mid-January. New Jersey will start soon as well, CNBC reports. The weekly subsidy, which lasts until the middle of March, is provided by the $900 billion coronavirus relief package President Donald Trump signed recently.
Despite air travel being down due to the pandemic in comparison to past years, Saturday marked the busiest day for American airports since the pandemic started, with 1,192,881 passengers total passing through airport security checkpoints, The New York Times reported. Since Dec. 18, over 16.3 million trips have been reported through airport checkpoints, which is down from 35.4 million trips within the same period just one year prior. “Things are bad enough as they are right now,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said, “but they could get worse in the next couple of weeks.” Public experts now worry that a spike may be on the horizon as a result of holiday gatherings. “What we do now matters,” surgeon general, Dr. Jerome Adams, said. “If you gathered over the holidays outside of your household without a mask, there are still measures you can take right now. You still can self-quarantine. You still can get tested, knowing that greater than 50 percent of the spread now is among people who are asymptomatic.”
A St. Nick party held in a retirement home in Mol, Belgium, in early December has turned into a super-spreading event, leading to more than two dozen coronavirus-related deaths. Hemelrijck nursing home in Belgium held its annual party on Dec. 4, 2020, with someone coming into the home dressed as St. Nick to spread presents and cheer, despite the ongoing pandemic. This single event has lead to 130 infections among residents and staff and 27 fatalities, according to CBS News. It is unclear if the person who portrayed St. Nick was the person who set off the outbreak or if the virus had other origins in the home. The outbreak in the retirement home is believed to be almost under control, according to officials. "The health condition of the residents has shown a marked improvement," the city of Mol said in a statement. The city added that if they had known about the party before it happened they would have stepped in and prevented it from taking place, CBS News said.
A driverless delivery service based in China has seen a jump in demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to Bloomberg, as the virus has disrupted businesses and supply chains, companies, including Alibaba, have turned to autonomous transport services provided by the startup company Neolix, which is based in Beijing. The company's vans have been used to transport medical supplies to hospitals, disinfect streets, and transport food. In some cases, the service can even provide fast food from restaurants such as KFC. Watch the video below for more.
The Chinese city of Shijiazhuang is putting a halt to travel after a spike in cases was detected in the city of 11 million people. According to AFP, the city has reported 117 new cases of COVID-19, 78 of which were asymptomatic. Health workers have swarmed Shijiazhuang and schools have been shuttered to stop a potential outbreak in its tracks. This comes days after the variant that was first found in Britain was detected in China; however, it is unclear if this variant of the virus is what is spreading in Shijiazhuang.
A team from the World Health Organization that is seeking to investigate the origins of the coronavirus in China has been denied entry into the country. The WHO said that two team members were en route to the country but there was a lack of visa clearances, according to the BBC. However, China has denied this saying details and dates of the visit were still being worked out. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was "very disappointed" about the delay in letting the team members into the country.
"I have been assured that China is speeding up the internal procedure for the earliest possible deployment," he said in a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday, the BBC reported. Tedros added that he had been in contact with Chinese officials to stress "that the mission is a priority for WHO and the international team." Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in an interview with the BBC that "there might be some misunderstanding" and "there's no need to read too much into it." The novel coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan, China, in late 2019.
Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives tested positive for COVID-19 this week despite receiving a dose of Pfizer's new vaccine several weeks ago. Texas Republican Kevin Brady, 65, said on Twitter that he tested positive and was beginning to quarantine. He noted on Twitter that he received a dosage of Pfizer's vaccine on Dec. 18. Fellow U.S. Representative Kay Granger, 77, also a Republican from Texas, reportedly tested positive as well. Granger, the top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, is reportedly asymptotic and doing well, according to a spokesperson, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. Granger had also received a dose of the Pfizer vaccine several weeks ago. Experts say at least two doses of Pfizer's vaccine are needed to protect against the virus, Reuters said.
Fans arrive to tailgate before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars in Orchard Park, N.Y., in this Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016, file photo. Testing will replace tailgating in the Bills Stadium's expansive parking lot starting Wednesday when some 6,700 fans will be required to be tested for the coronavirus in order to be allowed to attend Buffalo's AFC wild-card playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert, File)
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the FDA, said Wednesday that just because Americans are being vaccinated against the coronavirus doesn’t mean life in America will necessarily return to the normal everyone remembers from pre-COVID times. Speaking during an appearance on CNBC, Gottlieb said that life after the vaccine is “not going to be like it was in 2017 and 2018, when we didn’t worry at all about catching a respiratory pathogen. We’re going to worry about it, even if we’re vaccinated.” Gottlieb likened a post-COVID world to that of a post-911 world in terms of changes to American life that have occurred and will stick around once the pandemic wanes. “I think we’ll worry much less than we’re worrying right now, hopefully.” He predicted we may see people continuing to wear mask in public for quite some time. “I don’t think masks are going to be mandatory next fall and winter if we can get the vaccination rate up and if these new variants go away or don’t become prevalent,” Gottlieb said. “But I do think a lot of people will want to wear masks, and that’s OK.” He added that if all goes well, the staggering death toll will eventually be reined in. “Next fall and winter -- if we do things right -- will look like a very bad flu season.” He also answered questions about what concerts in the future might look like and how traveling on airplanes will be once a critical mass of Americans have been vaccinated. Watch a portion of the interview below.
Prior to his death on Nov. 8 from pancreatic cancer, iconic Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek taped a message for viewers urging them to help coronavirus victims during the season of giving. The message aired before Monday night's episode of the show, which began the final week of shows that Trebek had taped prior to his death. "We’re trying to build a gentler, kinder society and if we all pitch in just a little bit, we’re going to get there,” he said. Trebek's finals episodes were originally scheduled to air Christmas week, but in order to give them more exposure the episodes were moved to this week, The Associated Press said. Watch Trebek's full message below.
The European Union's medicines agency approved Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, the second vaccine that has been used to fight the deadly virus wreaking havoc across the continent, The Associated Press reported. The European Medicines Agency had previously approved the vaccine manufactured by Pfizer and German company BioNTech. Like the Pfizer vaccine, Moderna's has been proven to be 95% effective following multiple trials involving thousands of volunteers.
“This vaccine provides us with another tool to overcome the current emergency,” said Emer Cooke, Executive Director of the EMA, according to the AP. “It is a testament to the efforts and commitment of all involved that we have this second positive vaccine recommendation just short of a year since the pandemic was declared by WHO.”
The United States reported 3,775 deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday, breaking it’s previous record set on Dec. 30 for most single-day fatalities, which broke the record previously set the day before on Dec. 29. With over 10,500 deaths since Jan. 1, the U.S. has recorded more deaths in 2021 than many countries have since the very beginning of the pandemic. On Tuesday, the state of California topped the 2.5 million total case mark and recorded another 520 deaths to its nation-leading tally among all states.
Elsewhere around the world, here are the latest updated totals according to statistics kept by Johns Hopkins University:
-
Total cases: 86,545,316
-
Total fatalities: 1,871,379
-
Total recoveries: 48,578,389
Over 800 doses of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine were administered in Northern California on Monday after the freezer where they were being stored suffered a power outage. Moderna’s vaccine must be kept on ice until just before it is ready to be used, although it does not need to be kept at extremely low temperatures like the Pfizer vaccine. If it thaws completely and sits out, it can be rendered useless against COVID-19. The power outage occurred at the Adventist Health Ukiah Valley Medical Center shortly before noon on Monday, so medical staff acted quickly to administer the vaccine to people before it thawed, CBS News said. The 830 doses were given to hospital workers, local nursing homes, and even to some people who lined up outside of the hospital after catching wind of the power outage. The people that were inoculated on Monday will need to receive another dose of the Modern vaccine in several weeks.
On Tuesday, the Georgia Department of Public Health reported the state’s first case of COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7, a new variant of the virus which has been found in the U.K. as well as several other U.S. states. The variant was found in an 18-year-old man who had no prior travel history and is isolating at home, the Georgia Department of Public Health said in a statement. The new strain does not appear to cause more severe illness or increased risk of death, the department said. “The emergence of this variant in our state should be a wake-up call for all Georgians,” the department’s Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey said in a statement.
Basketball players from Boston University and Holy Cross wore masks on the court during Tuesday's match on the campus of Boston University. Boston University requires players to wear masks on campus. This was the first men's college basketball game of the season in which both teams wore masks, ESPN reported. The Boston University men's and women's basketball teams opened their seasons wearing masks - not just on the sidelines - but during their games as well. Wearing masks can only help when worn correctly over the nose and mouth, however, it appeared some players had their noses exposed.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed a law to make it a crime to sell or administer the COVID-19 vaccines to people who are attempting to skip ahead in line. Now only health-care workers and people living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities are eligible for the coronavirus vaccine in New York. “This vaccine can be like gold to some people,” Cuomo said at a press briefing Monday. “If there’s any fraud in the distribution — you’re letting people get ahead of other people, or friends or family, or they’re selling the vaccine — you’ll lose your license, but I do believe it should be criminal, and I’m going to propose a law to that effect,” Cuomo said providers can lose their license if they fraudulently administer vaccines, though the law would add criminal penalties if approved by the state legislature, CNBC reported.
After being moved into an ICU on New Year’s Eve due to COVID-19, Larry King has been taken out of intensive care. The long time talk show host is able to breath on his own, an improvement from when he was on oxygen while in the ICU, The Associated Press said. King, who turned 87 in November, is currently staying at a hospital in Los Angeles and was well enough on Monday to speak over the phone with some of his family.
More than 4.5 million people across the U.S. have received the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, but distribution and logistical issues have slowed the initial rollout of the vaccine. Countries across Europe have also faced similar hurdles, particularly in France where just a few hundred people were inoculated in the first week that a vaccine was available, The Associated Press said. “Getting vaccinated is becoming more complicated than buying a car,” Jean Rottner, president of the Grand-Est region of eastern France, said on France-2 television. The slower-than-expected vaccine rollout comes at a time when a new, more contagious variant of COVID-19 is popping up all across the U.S. after first being identified in the U.K. So far, the variant of the virus has been reported in Colorado, Florida, California and New York, the AP reported.
Fr. Gabriel Mehreb holds a syringe with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in a Strasbourg clinic, eastern France, Tuesday, Jan.5, 2021. Amid public outcry, France's health minister promised Tuesday an "exponential" acceleration of his country's shockingly slow coronavirus vaccination process. After barely 500 people in France were vaccinated in the first six days, Health Minister Olivier Veran defended the government's strategy of giving the vaccines first to residents of nursing homes. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)
The Cleveland Browns will head into Pittsburgh for a crucial playoff game this weekend without their head coach.According to ESPN, the team's head coach, Kevin Stefanski, along with two additional members of the coaching staff have tested positive for COVID-19. Two players also tested positive, according to the report. Browns special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer will serve as acting head coach, ESPN reported. As of now, there is no change in the status of the game, an NFL spokesperson told ESPN.
Sunday's playoff game is the first for the Cleveland franchise since Jan. 5, 2003, which coincidentally was also in Pittsburgh. The AccuWeather forecast for Sunday night's matchup is calling for nighttime temperatures in the upper 20s and a partly cloudy sky. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. EST.
As European nations look to stretch COVID-19 vaccine doses across the population, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Monday it would not be looking to follow the strategy. “We know that some of these discussions about changing the dosing schedule or dose are based on belief that changing the dose or dosing schedule can help get more vaccine to the public faster. However, making such changes that are not supported by adequate scientific evidence may ultimately be counterproductive to public health,” the FDA said in a statement released Monday.
The U.S. is allowing the emergency use of two vaccines — the one made by Pfizer and BioNTech and the other made by Moderna — both of which have shown “remarkable” effectiveness of about 95% in preventing COVID-19 in adults after two doses. However, with the doses broken apart past the studied gap, there is little evidence that protection from the virus will reach that level of efficacy, or even continue its protection. “There is no data to demonstrate that protection after the first dose is sustained after 21 days,” Pfizer said, The Associated Press reported.
The U.K. is now recommending a gap of up to 12 weeks between vaccine doses in an effort to give more people a first dose, prompting calls for caution from experts, advisers and vaccine producers. Britain is currently distributing two different vaccines — the one developed by Pfizer and BioNTech and the other by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, both of which require to different doses three to four weeks after the first dose, respectively. BioNTech and Pfizer responded the to U.K. government’s decision that there is no evidence that their vaccine will continue to protect against COVID-19 if the second shot is given more than 21 days after the initial dose.
The decision to split the doses comes alongside U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcement of a third nationwide lockdown for England on Monday. U.K. drug regulator, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and the four U.K. chief medical officers agreed to delay the gap between vaccine doses in order “to protect the greatest number of people in the shortest amount of time,” according to CNBC. There’s the possibilities other nations might follow Britain’s lead as Germany’s health ministry looks into whether to follow the U.K.’s dose delay tactic and Denmark approves of a six-week delay, according to Reuters.
When the Washington Football Team takes the field this Saturday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Landover, Maryland, in an NFL playoff game, fans will not be in attendance. In a statement posted to the team's Twitter account Monday night the organization said: "Following continued restrictions from the State of Maryland and Prince George's County regarding limitations on gatherings due to COVID, we are not able to have fans attend our upcoming playoff game on January 9th at FedEx Field. Our entire team, especially our players, will miss having our passionate fans in the stadium as we take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We are grateful for all of the support from our community and encourage everyone to stay safe."
Saturday night's playoff contest is the first the Washington franchise has hosted since January 2016. Temperatures will be around 36 degrees Fahrenheit for the 8:15 p.m. kickoff, and will slowly fall into the lower 30s by the end of the 4th quarter, AccuWeather meteorologists say. Clear and dry conditions are forecast throughout the duration of the game. AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will drop down into the upper 20s for the second half.
Scientists in the U.K. expressed concern on Monday that the COVID-19 vaccines may not be able to protect against the new coronavirus variant that has spread internationally from South Africa.The reason for concern comes from the mutations to the spike protein of the virus — which the virus uses to infect human cells — that “may make the virus less susceptible to the immune response triggered by the vaccine,” Simon Clarke, an associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading told Reuters. While there have been two variants to pop up in the U.K. recently — one from the U.K. and the other from South Africa, only the one from South Africa appears to have this mutation.
John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford who advises the U.K. government’s vaccine task force, said on Sunday he thought the vaccines would work on the British variant but there was a “big question mark” as to whether they would work on the South African variant. Scientists, including Bell and BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin, have said they are testing the vaccines against these new variants and say they could make any required tweaks in around six weeks, according to Reuters.
Over 180,000 new cases of the coronavirus were reported in the U.S. on Monday, bringing the total to 20.82 million since the pandemic began. The country also reported 1,903 new deaths from the virus which now brings the amount since the start of the pandemic to over 353,400. The positive test ratio has skyrocketed in recent weeks to 13.55%, according to Johns Hopkins University. California reported 31,170 of the new cases, the highest of any state, on Monday.
After the 2020 NCAA Men's Division I basketball tournament was canceled entirely due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NCAA announced this week that the 2021 tournament will be held in one state. All 67 games for the tournament will be held in the basketball-crazed state of Indiana, according to The Associated Press. Games are normally held in cities across the entire country during the event known as "March Madness." But with the tournament's Final Four already scheduled for Indianapolis, the NCAA made the call to host all games in the Hoosier state. “There are a number of world-class facilities in a close location and that was critical because you have to run a large number of games simultaneously that you can manage and control," NCAA President Mark Emmert said, according to the AP. “There were a number of cities that were very interested in hosting this event, but the immediate opportunity to do this in Indianapolis was pretty self-evident for several reasons. For one, we were already going to be there."
Scotland declared a new lockdown order forcing all Scots to stay home which will close schools until February. The new laws means Scots will be allowed to leave home only for essential purposes, such as shopping for food and medicine, exercise, and caring responsibilities, the BBC reports. People will work from home when possible and are only allowed to meet one person from one other household. Places of worship will be closed, group exercise is banned, and schools will largely operate via online and remote learning. These are the strictest restrictions Scotland has faced since the lockdown of March 2020. The Scottish government believes that without further action the NHS here would run out of beds for coronavirus patients within a month.
A New York City-based company called Pet Masks has seen record sales as wearing masks has become an interspecies safety measure in the age of COVID-19. Sales have surged around 500% for the company that makes masks for both cats and dogs, Fox Business reported. “Until we properly understand this new virus, the best thing we can do is take good care of ourselves and our pets,” the company’s founder Salita Henwick told Southwest News Service. "To help pets adjust to their masks make sure you get the correct size according to our site and make sure the straps are not cutting into them,” Henwick said. “Also, on their first time, don’t leave it on for too long, so they can get used to it slowly.” The masks can be purchased in three different sizes, each costing around $25.
In-person production of several television shows in Southern California are being temporarily suspended as new cases of COVID-19 continue to trend upward, CNBC reported. The shows that are pausing production include several series under the umbrellas of Warner Bros., Netflix, Universal, Walt Disney and Sony Pictures Television. “Even putting aside the risk of acquiring COVID on set — a risk that we have done a great deal to mitigate through our safety protocols — on set production always poses some risk of injury, whether because of a stunt gone wrong, an equipment failure or a garden-variety fall,” said David White, the national executive director of the Joint Policy Committee and the Producers Guild of America. “Right now, with few if any hospital beds available, it is hard to understand how a worker injured on set is supposed to seek treatment,” he added. Over the weekend, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garrett told CBS’s “Face The Nation” that there is a new case of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County about every six seconds. Some shows are set to resume taping on Dec. 11, but that could change if the number of cases continues to trend upward throughout the week.
Japanese officials are considering declaring a state of emergency in the Tokyo region as coronavirus cases spiral out of control in and around the city, Japan’s prime minister Yoshihide Suga said. “Even during the three days of the New Year’s holiday, cases didn’t go down in the greater Tokyo area,” Suga said on Monday. “We felt that a stronger message was needed.” After the first state of emergency declaration brought many businesses to a halt due to limits on shopping, travel and entertainment, Suga has been hesitant to reinstate any lockdown measures that could impact businesses once again, The Guardian reported.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new national lockdown for England on Monday. The new measures were reportedly set to take effect imminently and will remain in place through mid-February, at least. “You may only leave home for limited reasons, Johnson said in a nationally televised address, “such as to shop for essentials, to work if you absolutely cannot work from home, to exercise, to seek medical assistance, such as getting a COVID test, or to escape domestic abuse.” Stores deemed non-essential and personal care services, like hair salons, will be forced to close under the new lockdown measures. Most schools and universities will also stop holding in-person classes under the restrictions. More than 26,000 patients with COVID-19 were hospitalized throughout England as of Monday, according to The Associated Press, a 30% increase since last week and 40% higher than at the height of the spring wave of the pandemic. Johnson said this was part of what drove the decision to implement extreme restrictions again. “As I speak to you tonight, our hospitals are under more pressure from COVID than at any time since the start of the pandemic,” he said, adding that the variant strain of the virus has been “frustrating and alarming” officials. Watch a portion of his remarks below.
An employee from a California hospital experiencing an outbreak from a holiday costume has died from coronavirus complications, The New York Post reported. The female employee at Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center worked as a registration clerk on Christmas Day when another employee wore an “air powered” costume that may have caused an outbreak that infected 43 members of staff. So far, the registration clerk is the only known employee to die from the outbreak. The hospital is still looking into the costume’s role in the outbreak. “Any exposure if it occurred would have been completely innocent and quite accidental as the individual had no COVID symptoms and only sought to lift the spirits of those around them during what is a very stressful time,” Irene Chavez, senior vice president and area manager of the center, said. The hospital released a statement on Sunday regarding the death. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this terrible loss. We are providing support to our employees during this difficult time,” the statement read.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that he will not receive the COVID-19 vaccine until it is available in the state’s Black, Hispanic and poor communities among his group. During a pre-recorded remarks to a historic Black church in Harlem, Cuomo spoke about the "many injustices in our society" that the pandemic has exposed, while also calling out racism as a public health crisis, NPR reported. “COVID killed Black people in this country at two times the rate of white people, and Hispanic people at one-and-a-half times the rate of white people," Cuomo said. The governor said the vaccine distribution has been a challenge but it will be done fairly. "Race or income will not determine who lives and who dies," Cuomo said. Cuomo also noted a long history of mistrust when it comes to mass public health programs, particularly among Black Americans. He referenced to the Tuskegee Experiment, when lied to the subjects, saying the program was studying "bad blood."
Inauguration celebrations following the swearing in of President-elect Joe Biden will have a different feel to them this year as the coronavirus pandemic is forcing some celebrations online. The inaugural committee announced that the traditional march in the nation’s capital will instead be replaced by a virtual parade due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to UPI. The decision was announced on Sunday via a statement on Facebook. The Jan. 20 inauguration will include a Pass in Review on the east front of the capitol, a Presidential Escort to the White House and the “Virtual Parade Across America,” which will be a live televised event showcasing "diverse, dynamic performances in communities across the country.” The in-person events will be socially-distanced, the committee said.
Jill Biden moves her husband, Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, back from members of the media as he speaks outside his campaign plane in New Castle, Del., on Oct. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
According to the statement on social media, the virtual parade “will celebrate America's heroes, highlight Americans from all walks of life in different states and regions and reflect on the diversity, heritage and resilience of the country as we begin a new American era.” In the next few weeks, participants for the parade will be selected. The committee said it will continue to honor inaugural traditions, despite the newly virtual format. While the inauguration is still 16 days away and the weather forecast is subject to change, AccuWeather's long-range forecast is calling for sunny skies in Washington, D.C. the day of the ceremony, with a high of 42 degrees Fahrenheit -- on par for the average temperature this time of year.
Sandra Lindsay, the critical-care nurse from New York City who last month became one of the first American health care workers to receive Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, on Monday morning received the second installment of the vaccine’s two-dose regimen. Lindsay was given the shot at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York, where she works, exactly 21 days after she was given the first dose. The shutters of news cameras could be heard opening and closing as a nurse prepared the syringe and Lindsay said, “I’m ready,” just before being jabbed in the left shoulder with the vaccine. Watch the moment below.
The U.K. began its use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday, making it the first nation in the world to begin using the vaccine. Brian Pinker, an 82-year-old dialysis patient, became the first person to receive the shot at 7:30 a.m. in Oxford University Hospital, The Associated Press reported. “The nurses, doctors and staff today have all been brilliant, and I can now really look forward to celebrating my 48th wedding anniversary with my wife, Shirley, later this year,” Pinker said in a statement from the National Health Service in the U.K. The U.K. has the rights to 100 million doses of the vaccine, which is said to be cheaper and more user-friendly than others that have been approved. In comparison to the Pfizer vaccine, it does not require extreme cold temperatures while being stored, which has caused issues with other European nations. To monitor any potential effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine while the rollout is still in its early stages it will only be administered at a select few hospitals. Watch Pinker receive the first dose of the vaccine below.
Government officials in the U.S. are now considering cutting some doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in half in an effort to vaccinate more people. “We know that for the Moderna vaccine, giving half of the dose to people between the ages of 18 and 55, two doses, half the dose, which means exactly achieving the objective of immunizing double the number of people with the doses we have,” Moncef Slaoui, head of federal vaccination program Operation Warp Speed, said. In response to the suggestion of giving more people the first shot — as the vaccine requires two doses — Slaoui said cutting the vaccine in half was “a more responsible approach that would be based on facts and data.” He said cutting the vaccine creates an “identical immune response,” Reuters reported. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the organization has administered 4,225,756 doses of the vaccines for COVID-19 so far throughout the nation and distributed over 13 million.
More than 1,600 fines have been issued and seven people were arrested following a New Year's Eve party in northwestern France, authorities reported. Despite a national nighttime curfew and other strict orders, around 2,500 people attended a rave on Thursday night in an empty warehouse located in the small village of Lieuron in France's scenic Brittany region. Some partygoers clashed with local police when they tried to shut down the illegal party, according to authorities.
Larry King, former CNN talk show host, has been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19 and is receiving treatment at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, The Associated Press reported. King, 87, has interviewed some of America’s most well known celebrities and presidents over the span of his 50-year-long career, half of which was spent with CNN. He has faced lung cancer, diabetes and heart attacks in the last few decades. Last year, two of his five children died, his son Andy from a heart attack and daughter Chaia from lung cancer.
An inflatable costume worn on Christmas Day may have caused a COVID-19 outbreak in one California hospital, NBC News reports. From Dec. 27 to Jan. 1, at least 43 staff members at Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a statement from the hospital released on Saturday. The hospital is now investigating into the cause of the outbreak, as it could have been from an air-powered costume with a fan spreading droplets on Christmas Day, when a staff member wore the costume to cheer up patients. “Any exposure, if it occurred, would have been completely innocent, and quite accidental, as the individual had no COVID symptoms and only sought to lift the spirits of those around them during what is a very stressful time,” the hospital said.
Gov. Mike DeWine said Ohio has completed 161,000 coronavirus vaccinations as of Sunday morning, CNN reports. The state projects that all nursing homes in the state will have received their first round of shots within two weeks. Thus far, DeWine said at least 61% of the nursing homes across the state have administered their first round of the vaccine. So far approximately 60% of Ohio’s nursing home workers have elected not to get vaccinated. DeWine said he would not mandate nursing homes and other health institutions to require their employees to be vaccinated, saying “that’s up to them” and that education is the key component of vaccination confidence.
Over 40 people in West Virginia were accidentally given injections containing COVID-19 antibodies rather than the Moderna vaccine they thought they were getting, according to the state’s National Guard. CBS News reported that the antibody product was administered by the Boone County Health Department. The 42 individuals who received the incorrect shot have been contacted and are being given priority status for receiving the vaccine, the state Department of Health and Human Resources said.
"The moment that we were notified of what happened, we acted right away to correct it, and we immediately reviewed and strengthened our protocols to enhance our distribution process to prevent this from happening again," Maj. Gen. James Hoyer of the state's National Guard said.
Thursday broke a record with the highest one-day total of new coronavirus cases yet with 125,379 new cases, and medical workers are now concerned that the increase in people seeking care could cause a chain reaction that affects the entire health care system. Even patients entering health care facilities for non-coronavirus related issues are affected by the surge in new cases due to the volume of patients being admitted. "If you are in a car accident, you're going to want us to save your life," Dr. Brad Spellberg, chief medical officer at the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center, told CNN. "If you have a heart attack or a stroke, you're going to want to an ICU bed with trained ICU nurses and physicians who are not caring for 20 other patients at the same time." Spellberg said another spike in cases could lead to a "total collapse of the health care system" in the U.S. that medical workers can only react to, not prevent. "It is the public that has the power to put a stop to the spread of this virus by obeying the public health guidance that have been put out," he said.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced earlier this week that fans will be allowed to attend the Buffalo Bills’ home playoff game in January. According to the plan that he laid out, 6,200 fans will be able to watch live in Orchard Park, which is less than 10% of the stadium’s seating capacity. On top of that, he even said he would be attending as well. Using rapid tests at the stadium, fans will not be allowed to enter the game without a negative test result, according to CBS News.
"If we can figure out how to use testing and rapid testing and, some of these, you can get the results within 20 minutes, then you can start to reopen businesses safely and smartly by using those rapid tests," he said on Wednesday.
An illegal rave was set up in Lieuron, a commune in France, despite attempts to prevent the event from occurring. Local police said they faced fierce hostility from partygoers when attempting to step in. People from all over France and even other countries attended the event, according to AFP. Mass gatherings are strictly prohibited in France due to the continued spread of COVID-19. A nationwide curfew was also set for 8:00 p.m. and was not lifted for New Years. The rave took place in an empty warehouse. An investigation is now underway into the illegal gathering. One participant of the event told AFP that very few in the crowd were social distancing.
A nursing home resident in Switzerland who was among the first in the country to be vaccinated against COVID-19 later died, however officials have not indicated whether the death was related to the vaccine or not, according to the New York Post. “We are aware of the case,” an official in the canton of Lucerne told Reuters, adding that the matter has been referred to Swiss drugs regulator Swissmedic. The resident, who received the coronavirus vaccine on Christmas Eve, had previously reacted negatively to the flu shot, according to the report.
After U.K. government guidance was updated this week to say the interchangeability of Covid-19 vaccines was a "reasonable" option, Public Health England’s Head of Immunisations Dr. Mary Ramsay said mixing Covid-19 vaccines is not recommended. “We do not recommend mixing the Covid-19 vaccines – if your first dose is the Pfizer vaccine you should not be given the AstraZeneca vaccine for your second dose and vice versa,” Ramsay said in a statement, according to The Daily Mail. “There may be extremely rare occasions where the same vaccine is not available, or where it is not known what vaccine the patient received. Every effort should be made to give them the same vaccine, but where this is not possible it is better to give a second dose of another vaccine than not at all,” she added. The updated U.K. guidance contradicts guidelines in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that the authorized Covid-19 vaccines “are not interchangeable with each other or with other Covid-19 vaccine products,” and that “the safety and efficacy of a mixed-product series have not been evaluated. Both doses of the series should be completed with the same product.”
Despite a plea from Nevada’s governor asking people to reconsider their plans to go out and celebrate New Year’s Eve amid the pandemic, thousands took to the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday. The majority of people were wearing face masks, although some wore them covering half of their face, according to the Associated Press. Casinos have abided by state orders by spacing out chairs at slot machines and installing acrylic partitions separating people standing around craps and blackjack tables.
The original epicenter of the coronavirus welcomed 2021 with celebrations and a large gathering of revelers in the streets of Wuhan, China. Hundreds of residents cheered and released balloons into the air once the clock struck midnight, ending a year that featured months of lockdowns and thousands of deaths. The city has been largely virus-free for months, according to Reuters. “I hope that in 2021 everything goes well in the country and Wuhan can return to normal,” 25-year-old resident student Anson Yang said. “I hope that the world can soon defeat the pandemic.”
Bans on green cards and work visas for many applicants have been extended through March 31 in the U.S. The extension of the application ban comes as cases continue to rise across the United States. As the pandemic in the U.S. persists, President Donald Trump has continued to issue tighter restrictions on immigration, despite receiving little support from Congress. President-elect Joe Biden has not publicly stated if he will lift or modify the bans upon taking office on Jan. 20. The ban in place includes an expulsion on asylum-seekers entering the United States from Mexico in an attempt to help contain the spread of COVID-19, although some government scientists say there is no evidence to justify the move, NBC News reported. Non-essential travel remains banned across Mexico and Canadian borders to prevent further spread of the virus within North America.
New Years celebrations all over the world were different as the coronavirus continued to impact countries. COVID related restrictions halted many annual festivities across the U.S., including the iconic Times Square celebration in New York City. New York City saw a small amount of frontline workers in Times Square during its annual New Years Eve celebration as opposed to the usual thousands gathered every year for the holiday, according to AFP. Madrid's Puerta Del Sol and Rio's Copacabana beaches also featured unusually minimal crowds and quiet landmarks.
India, which has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world, will soon begin rolling out AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, Reuters reported. The decision to begin using the vaccine was approved by the country's drug regulator, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization. Officials in the county want to begin administering the vaccine by this coming Wednesday, Reuters reported. India is the third country, along with England and Argentina, to approve the vaccine. India has reported more than 10.2 million cases of the coronavirus since the pandemic started, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The first cases of a more infectious strain of COVID-19 has been identified in Florida, Reuters reported. Florida is the third U.S. state, along with Colorado and California, to report a case of the new variant. The case, which was reported Thursday, involves a male in his 20s with no history of travel, Reuters said. Health experts say that although the variant is more infectious, the newly distributed vaccines should offer protection against it, Reuters reported.
A new outbreak of the novel coronavirus has recently emerged in Thailand's capital of Bangkok, and that's forced officials to shutter schools and entertainment venues, The Associated Press reported. The new outbreak is being linked to the country's biggest wholesale seafood market in the province of Samut Sakhon, located south of Bangkok. The outbreak is also being linked to a gambling den in the city of Rayong, the AP reported. The country reported 279 new cases on Friday and two deaths.
A trio of coronavirus cases in San Diego County are being linked the mutated variant strain of COVID-19, according to The Associated Press. The strain, which appears to be more contagious than the original, is spreading rapidly throughout the U.K. and has spread in the U.S. in December, starting in Colorado before being found in California and Florida. According to county officials, none of the San Diego men who tested positive had any known interaction with each other nor had they traveled outside of the country recently. Since the beginning of the pandemic, California has seen over 25,000 fatalities from the virus, 40% of which have come from Los Angeles County.
Less than 3 million Americans received the COVID-19 vaccine by New Year's Day, a number that fell far short of the government’s goal to get 20 million people vaccinated. The government announced the goal in early December, but the slow pace has increased the risk of death at areas such as nursing homes, Reuters reported. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 170,000 people in long-term care facilities have received a vaccine dose even though over 2 million shots have been distributed. Reuters reported that local public health officials have said that the lack of funding for dose distribution has prevented them from hiring needed staff to give the shots.
2020 was simply a devastating year for the airline industry as the coronavirus pandemic brought air travel to a standstill. According to CNBC, citing figures provided by FactSet, net losses for U.S. airlines likely topped $35 billion in 2020.Many airlines had to institute sizable layoffs, cut routes and park hundreds of planes, CNBC said. However, one sign of optimism for 2021 is that air travel demand has increased since it cratered last spring. The number of TSA airport screenings surpassed 1 million per day for five straight days from last weekend through Wednesday, Dec. 30, CNBC said.
The final three days of the 2020 calendar were also three of the four deadliest days of the entire year for the United States. Another 3,419 COVID-19 patients in the U.S. died on New Year's Eve, marking the third consecutive day with at least 3,400 deaths in the country. Of the over 1.8 million deaths from around the world that have come from the coronavirus, nearly one in five fatalities have been Americans.
Elsewhere around the world, here are the latest updated totals according to statistics kept by Johns Hopkins University:
-
Total cases: 83,561,252
-
Total fatalities: 1,820,668
-
Total recoveries: 47,136,188
Florida has reported 12,192 new cases of COVID-19 in a one-day span on Thursday, which broke the daily record set back in July. Over 1,320,000 have tested positive for the virus in the state since the start of the year, with nearly 324,000 coming in just the month of December. Nearly a quarter of the state's coronavirus cases have come in just the last month, according to WJXT. The state reported 133 additional deaths on Thursday which brings the total to 21,990. More than 6,300 people are currently hospitalized in the state for the virus.
Celebrity doctor Drew Pinsky tested positive for the coronavirus, he announced via social media on Tuesday. "COVID is no fun, I don't recommend it, but I'm sort of through the viral phase, which is when the virus is reproducing," he said according to USA Today. He also said in the video he was hoping for the positive results, as he believed his symptoms could have been a sign of something worse. "Because I had this terrible acute febrile illness and was testing negative, and if I did not have COVID, I had acute lymphocytic leukemia, which I did not want to have.”
He also said he looks forward to having immunity to the virus once he reoccurs, although evidence pointing toward immunity after recovery remains limited, and there have been many cases of individuals testing positive again after making a full recovery. One man is the U.S. even said his second case hit harder than the first earlier this year, the BBC reported.
For updates on the coronavirus pandemic from Dec. 23-31 click here.
For updates on the coronavirus pandemic from Dec 15-22, click here.
For previous updates on the coronavirus pandemic, click here.
