January 20 coronavirus news

The White House released US President Joe Biden’s letter reversing the Trump administration’s decision to leave the World Health Organization after the new US leader was sworn in on Wednesday.

US re-engagement: US diplomats around the world have already been notified of changes they must make as they conduct American diplomacy after Biden signed a series of executive orders tonight.   

The first department wide memo sent by Acting Secretary of State Dan Smith instructed all US diplomats to re-engage with WHO and halt any staff drawdown at the UN health agency, according to the memo reviewed by CNN. 

The memo was sent shortly after Biden signed a series of executive orders, including one to reverse former President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from WHO. 

The US had been in the process of withdrawing staff at WHO in the final months of the Trump administration. That withdrawal will now be halted and reversed. 

The death rate among hospitalized Covid-19 patients in Los Angeles has nearly doubled in recent months, as health officials are seeing a “substantial increase in severity” among those sickened with the disease, according to new information presented by the county’s Department of Health Services (LADHS).

Since November, hospitalized patients in the county have had about a 23% chance of dying from the disease, health officials said Wednesday, a significant increase from the prior three months.

From September to November, Covid-19 patients had an approximately 12% chance of dying, according to LADHS.

There are currently more than 7,200 Covid-19 patients receiving treatment in Los Angeles County hospitals, lifting the patient census about three times higher than in previous surges. About 23% of those patients are in intensive care units, LA County health director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said in a Wednesday briefing, and about 21% are on ventilators.

The length of hospital stays for Covid-19 patients has also increased in LA County, jumping from an average of just under seven days between September and November to about 9.5 days from November to January.

“These changes – despite improvements in treatments – suggest a substantial increase in the severity of illness among hospitalized patients,” LADHS said in an update on Covid-19 modeling projections. 

California variant: A coronavirus strain known as L452R, sometimes dubbed the California variant, is “beginning to show up in a lot more samples,” Ferrer said, though it is unclear whether that variant might have an impact on the increase in severity.

LA County added 262 Covid-19 deaths on Wednesday, for a total of 14,384 fatalities. An additional 6,492 confirmed cases brings the number of infections in Los Angeles to 1,038,092.

Texas has reported 450 new Covid-19 deaths and more than 25,000 new confirmed cases on Wednesday, according to the latest update by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The 25,512 confirmed cases bring the state’s total to 1,898,549. It’s the third highest daily total of reported confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic, the dashboard shows. There are nearly 379,000 active cases across Texas, according to the dashboard. 

California is the only state to report more total cases than Texas, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU) data.

The 450 new deaths reported on Wednesday is the third highest daily total of reported deaths, according to JHU. There are now 32,844 total deaths statewide. 

Several areas of the state are reporting high hospitalization rates due to the virus. Trauma Service Area T, which includes Laredo, reports just two ICU beds and 13 total hospital beds available as of the latest report. The Laredo Health Department said on Wednesday through a tweet that the hospitalization rate there is at 46.05%. Trauma Service Area M, which includes Waco, shows 10 ICU beds available and a hospitalization rate of 26.12%. 

There are 13,860 patients hospitalized statewide, the 16th day in a row that Texas has had more than 13,000 people hospitalized with Covid-19. There are 618 ICU beds available statewide, according to the dashboard. 

Note: Some of these numbers were released by the state’s health department and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

Only 229 North Korean defectors entered South Korea in 2020, a drop of nearly 78% compared to the previous year, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry.

The number of people fleeing North Korea’s repressive regime, which bars most of its citizens from traveling abroad, has been on the decline in recent years as the government has tightened its border controls.

But last year’s steep drop is likely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. North Korea severed the last of its scant ties with the outside world in 2020 to prevent an influx of coronavirus cases, even cutting off almost all trade with China – an economic lifeline the impoverished country needs to keep its people from going hungry.

The White House will require daily testing for coronavirus and N95 masks for staffers in a bid to model good pandemic behavior, according to press secretary Jen Psaki.

She said the new rules also include stringent requirements on social distancing.

Psaki said President Joe Biden “has asked us also to be models to the American people” – a contrast to the previous administration, which largely ignored government mask and social distancing recommendations.

Psaki also said the administration will resume regular briefings with public health officials in addition to the daily White House press briefings. 

Psaki said that the White House will combat misinformation by giving accurate information to the American people “even when it is hard to hear.”

The Trump administration had briefings with health officials regularly last spring when the coronavirus pandemic initially took hold, however those briefings were often not entirely focused on the pandemic as then-President Donald Trump led them awry.

Those regular briefings ended in April after Trump suggested injecting disinfectant could be a cure for coronavirus.  

Infectious diseases specialists endorsed President Joe Biden’s first executive order requiring face masks on federal property and other areas of federal authority, saying masks are “crucial” to controlling the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden’s team is hoping state and local leaders will follow suit,

“While those who are vaccinated can be protected from severe illness, they may still transmit the virus to others who are not, underscoring the importance of mask use even among those who are vaccinated,” the IDSA said.

“Significant numbers of Americans remain unvaccinated and the duration of vaccine protection remains unclear.”

A coronavirus study commissioned by the UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has warned that the prevalence of coronavirus is at its highest since the peak of the first wave of the pandemic, adding that infections in England increased by 50% from early December, with one in 63 people infected.

“Prevalence of infection at the beginning of 2021 is at the highest levels since the peak of the first wave in March and April 2020,” the study, carried out by the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Ipsos MORI, noted. 

While the prevalence of coronavirus increased nationally in all adult age groups, the study found it was highest in 18- to 24-year-olds at 2.51%. Among people aged 65 and over, the prevalence has more than doubled – from 0.41% to 0.94%. 

“Our data are showing worrying suggestions of a recent uptick in infections which we will continue to monitor closely. To prevent our already stretched health system from becoming overwhelmed, infections must be brought down,” Paul Elliott, director of the program at Imperial, said.

Speaking in response to the findings, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that the country “must not let down our guard” over the coming weeks.

The new findings come just after the UK reported its highest daily increase in coronavirus-related deaths, with 1,820 deaths recorded on Wednesday.

At least 144 cases of a variant first identified in the UK have been identified in 20 US states, according to data posted Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This includes at least 46 cases in Florida, 40 in California, 17 in New York, six in Colorado, five in Georgia, five in Minnesota, four in Indiana, three in Maryland, three in Texas, two each in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Pennsylvania, and one case each in Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

CDC says this does not represent the total number of cases circulating in the US, but rather just those that have been found by analyzing positive samples. The agency cautions that its numbers may not immediately match those of state and local health departments.

While the variant, known as B.1.1.7, appears to spread more easily, there’s no evidence that it’s any more deadly or causes more severe disease, according to CDC. It has also been found in at least 60 countries worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

Related Coverage: Coronavirus variant discoveries in UK and South Africa began with a bet of a bottle of wine

A panel of experts from Chile’s Institute of Public Health voted to authorize the emergency use of Covid-19 vaccine made by Chinese company Sinovac on Wednesday, for people between the ages of 18 and 59. The vote was 10 in favor, 2 against, and one abstention.

Heriberto Garcia, the director of the Institute, said the vaccine was “safe and effective. It prevents hospitalizations” and fights the “severity of the disease.” He also noted the vaccine has already been authorized in China, Indonesia, Turkey, and Brazil.

Late-stage trials of the Sinovac vaccine in Brazil showed just 50.38% efficacy, significantly lower than earlier results had shown – raising questions as to the reliability of the data.

Sinovac is expected to send safety reports and conduct quality control checks on batches of vaccines, the Chilean health panel said.

Chile is already using the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. It has been administered to 10,000 health officials and the elderly.

On Wednesday, Chile reported 3,583 new cases of coronavirus and 21 deaths. The country now has 680,740 total Covid-19 cases and 17,594 deaths.

Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines are seen at a packaging plant in Beijing, China.

Related article Concerns grow as Chinese Covid-19 vaccine far less effective than initially claimed in Brazil

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) plans to continue meeting regularly with the Biden administration to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

In early December, NACCHO began meeting on a weekly basis with Nik Blosser of the Biden transition team, along with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and the National Indian Health Board, said Lori Tremmel Freeman, NACCHO’s chief executive officer.

“We’d meet for an hour,” Freeman told CNN on Wednesday. “We would come together and make recommendations on topics to discuss – timely and urgent matters leading into the transition – and what they needed to be aware of from the broader public health system standpoint, in terms of things like Covid, the response, testing, tracing and vaccines.”

Freeman added that the last meeting with the Biden transition team was on Tuesday, but there are plans to continue regular meetings now with Eduardo Cisneros, director of Covid-19 intergovernmental affairs under the Biden administration.

“Obviously, vaccines are high on the priority list,” Freeman said. “At the same time, we don’t want to diminish that we still have a lot of spread and a lot of burden from that spread on our health care systems and a lot of death from the disease. We still have a lot of work to do.”

The World Health Organization is evaluating 15 vaccines and says it could list several of them for emergency use within weeks, according to a new guidance document published by WHO on Wednesday.

The organization is part of a global initiative called COVAX to ensure rapid and equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines around the world.

The only vaccine in the document it already has listed for emergency use is the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, which is also authorized in the United States.

The WHO document says that a decision around emergency use for AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine is anticipated by the end of January, at the earliest. The same vaccine, produced in South Korea by SK Bioscience, could be listed for emergency use by the second half of February at the earliest.  

By mid-February, the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India could also be listed for emergency use, according to WHO documents. 

The document also estimates that Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, which already has been authorized in the United States, could get an emergency use listing by the end of February.

By March at the earliest, China’s Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine and Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine could be listed for emergency use. The Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, which is administered as a one-dose shot, could be listed for emergency use by May at the earliest, notes the WHO document.

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel has been recorded saying the nation should have closed its borders back in March due to the pandemic.  

The recording was reportedly made during a Zoom call on Tuesday night with the Conservative Friends of India group.

Asked to comment on the audio recording, a Home Office spokesperson did not deny its authenticity and told CNN on Wednesday: “We have strong measures at the border in place which are vital as we roll out the vaccine.”

The government has faced criticism over relaxed measures at the border, which were changed earlier this week. Initially, several countries had travel corridors with the UK, meaning visitors could enter the country without having to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival.

Patel’s reported comments come after the UK closed all the ‘travel corridors’ – effectively shutting the nation’s borders – on Monday for the first time during the pandemic. The decision was made in response to increasing concern over the new variants evolving internationally.

The UK’s Covid-19 death toll – the highest in Europe – currently stands at more than 93,000, according to the government’s dashboard. 

Opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer readout Patel’s words from the audio recording in Parliament on Wednesday and asked why Prime Minister Boris Johnson had overruled the Home Secretary on border closures.

Johnson did not dispute what Patel said in the recording.

“I think it was the right honourable gentleman who last March said we didn’t need to close borders but as usual Captain Hindsight has changed his tune to events,” Johnson said.

“We are… in the middle of a national pandemic and this country is facing a very, very grave death toll and we are doing everything we can to protect the British public.”

Johnson joked: “I’m delighted [Starmer] now praises the Home Secretary, a change of tune.”

Starmer repeated the question, asking again why Johnson had overruled the Home Secretary.

Johnson responded: “We’ve instituted one of the toughest border regimes in the world and it was only last March that he and along with many members of his party were continuing to support an open borders approach.”  

In an on camera interview on Wednesday, Patel’s comments were again put to Johnson. Asked whether Britain should have closed its borders last March, he said: “There’s plenty of chance to look back at what decisions were taken when and what approach was taken back in March last year… but what I can say today is that the UK has amongst the toughest border regimes in the world.” 

CNN has contacted the Conservative Friends of India for comment.

In her first statement as Director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky promised that “healthier days lie ahead” – but getting there will require a rapid acceleration of Covid-19 testing, surveillance and vaccination.

Walensky, who began her post on Wednesday, also said the agency is conducting a comprehensive review of all existing Covid-19 guidance, which will be updated wherever needed.

“We must also confront the longstanding public health challenges of social and racial injustice and inequity that have demanded action for far too long. And we must make up for potentially lost ground in areas like suicide, substance use disorder and overdose, chronic diseases, and global health initiatives,” Walensky added.

Newly inaugurated President Biden selected Walensky for the top post at CDC in December. Previously, she ran the infectious diseases division at Massachusetts General Hospital’s and was a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

There have been at least 24,365,741 cases of coronavirus in the US according to data from Johns Hopkins University (JHU.)

According to JHU’s tally, at least 404,284 people have died in the US from Covid-19. The US remains the worst hit country globally in terms of cases and deaths.

An ensemble forecast published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now projects there will be 465,000 to 508,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States by February 13.

Unlike some individual models, the CDC’s ensemble forecast only offers projections a few weeks into the future. The previous ensemble forecast, published January 13, projected up to 477,000 coronavirus deaths by February 6.

CNN is tracking Covid-19’s US spread here:

As of Monday, the United States has delivered more than half a million monoclonal antibody therapeutics to states to treat non-hospitalized Covid-19 patients, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services’ website, but it’s not clear how many have been used.

Since the therapies received an emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration in November, the department said it has delivered 454,087 courses of an Eli Lilly treatment, and 96,923 courses of Regeneron’s cocktail. 

Both treatments are authorized for people who are 12 years of age and older, who are at high risk for progressing to a severe form of Covid-19. Both were shown to reduce Covid-19-related hospitalization or emergency room visits.

It’s unclear exactly how many of the distributed antibody treatments have actually been used; it’s not posted by HHS or tracked on state dashboards. Health officials have said they aren’t being used enough; in Michigan, for example, less than 10% of available Covid-19 monoclonal antibody treatments have been used, Dr. William Fales, the medical director at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said last week.

The treatments are complicated to administer, in part because hospitals or infusion centers need to create a separate space to treat patients.

The number of Covid-19 linked deaths in California remains high, though daily infection rates are dropping in the state.

California reported 694 new Covid-19 related deaths Wednesday, its second highest single day toll to date. The previous high of 708 deaths was recorded nearly two wee

As of Wednesday, California had a total of 3,019,371 confirmed infections.ks ago.

The Golden State became the first US state to surpass three million Covid-19 cases on JanuaStateary 8.

The tres hospitals remain crowded, with more than 20,800 people hospitalized across California for Covid-19. Approximately 4,750 of those patients are in intensive care units.

More than 3.2 million vaccine doses have been distributed in California and nearly 1.4 million doses have been administered.

More than 16.5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the US, about 46% of the 36 million doses distributed, according to data published by the CDC today. 

At least 2.1 million people have received both of the required doses, according to data reported this morning.

West Virginia continues to lead the nation in the number of vaccine doses administered per capita, with more than 8,800 doses administered per 100,000 people. 

Wednesday’s numbers mark a significant increase in the share of doses administered out of the total distributed. Previously that share had stayed below 40%.

However, a note on the CDC’s Covid Data Tracker site indicates that the agency is “refining how the number of doses distributed is reported,” which could affect this calculation. 

The US vaccine rollout has not been a smooth one, with the nation lagging behind several other countries in its Covid-19 vaccination efforts, according to a recent CNN analysis of government data.

CNN is tracking Covid-19’s spread across the US here:

World no. 28 Yulia Putintseva was forced to swap rooms in her quarantine hotel in Melbourne after she discovered a mouse, only to find out that her new room was also infested.

In a video she posted on Twitter, the Kazakhstan player said: “Different room same story. Wanted to go to sleep but noooope!”

Putintseva is one of the 72 players and their teams that have been forced to quarantine in their hotel rooms for 14 days after their arrival in Australia ahead of the Australian Open, 2021’s first grand slam due to the country’s stringent Covid-19 rules.

Read more:

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 18: Australian Open signage is seen at Melbourne Park on January 18, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne Park will host WTA and ATP events along with the ATP in the lead up to the 2021 Australian Open. Melbourne Park is currently under strict lockdown due to players quarantine conditions travelling from overseas into Australia. (Photo by Mike Owen/Getty Images)

Related article Australian Open tennis stars urged not to feed mice in hotel rooms

At least 403,482 people have died in the US from Covid-19 according to data from Johns Hopkins University (JHU.) 

The country remains the worst hit globally, with more than 24.3 million total cases of infection.

So far today, JHU has reported 57,048 new cases and 1,710 new deaths in the US.

The data includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other U.S. territories, as well as repatriated cases.  

The US CDC said at least 31,161,075 Covid-19 vaccine doses have now been distributed and at least 15,707,588 total doses have been administered.

CNN is tracking the spread of Covid-19 across the US here:

President Joe Biden tweeted from the @POTUS account for the first time following the inauguration ceremony, writing: “There is no time to waste when it comes to tackling the crises we face.”

He continued: “That’s why today, I am heading to the Oval Office to get right to work delivering bold action and immediate relief for American families.”

Vice President Kamala Harris has also taken control of @VP account.

The UK is “pausing” its plans to roll out rapid daily Covid-19 testing for the close contacts of positive individuals in English secondary schools and colleges, a government spokesperson said Wednesday.

The change was attributed to the emergence of the new UK variant.

The mass testing programme in schools was due to start in January to help identify asymptomatic cases amongst students and staff.

Public Health England (PHE) also released a statement Wednesday explaining the rationale behind the advice and saying that the “pandemic has entered a new phase.”

National lockdown measures across England have forced schools to remain closed since 5 January, however children of key workers are still allowed to attend. PHE confirmed that schools should continue to test staff and pupils currently going in to schools.

UK Education Secretary Gavin Williamson hailed daily testing in schools as a “milestone moment in our work to keep schools and colleges open for all” in December.

But scientists have expressed concerns that the tests may not be accurate enough, could falsely reassure people and increase the spread of Covid-19.

US President Joe Biden used his inaugural address to reflect on the challenge of containing the pandemic but struck a note of optimism about the future.

The US has the highest toll of Covid-19 cases globally, with more than 24.2 million cases recorded. Biden takes office as the death toll crosses 400,000 and amid a stuttering vaccine rollout.

The 46th US president plans to make the coronavirus pandemic his top priority.

Biden will begin his presidency by asking Americans to wear masks for 100 days in his first executive order and reversing Donald Trump’s decision to leave the World Health Organization (WHO.)

Spain has recorded 1,146 Covid-19 deaths in the past seven days, the highest weekly toll since the end of November.  

The country has seen a sharp rises in infections over recent weeks.

Data released on Wednesday also showed that of the total infected in Spain since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 14% have been diagnosed in the last two weeks. 

The data suggests that Spanish infections and deaths are still climbing, though not as sharply as in recent weeks. 

Spain has recorded more than 2.2 million cases in total – 346,223 within the past 14 days. The city and region of Madrid account for about one-third of the infections over the past 24 hours, which totaled 18,500 nationwide. 

ICU admissions in the past seven days stood at 525, the highest weekly total so far this year. 

Members of the Lebanese security forces check citizens' documents at a COVID-19 checkpoint near the coastal town of Safra on the Tripoli-Beirut main highway on January 19, 2021.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health has recorded 64 new deaths from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours. The new data marks the third day in a row in which Lebanon has set a record high for Covid-19 deaths in a 24 hour period.

The country has recorded a total of 2,084 Covid-19 related deaths since the pandemic began.

The health ministry also recorded 4,332 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the total case number to 264,647.

The country is currently under a stringent lockdown until January 25.

The surge in cases followed the holiday period during which Lebanon’s government loosened restrictions and allowed shopping malls, restaurants, bars and nightclubs to open.

Officials imposed an 11-day lockdown from January 14, after hospital ICU occupancy rates rose past 90%.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the US National Institutes of Health, has highlighted the need to understand more about lingering Covid-19 symptoms, and encouraged people to participate in a survey about the experience.

Over 400,000 Americans have lost their lives to Covid-19, Collins wrote in a blog post, “but thousands of others who’ve gotten sick and survived Covid-19 are finding that a full recovery can be surprisingly elusive.” 

He described emerging “Long Covid syndrome” as a “real and pressing” public health concern.

Collins noted results from a recent survey from the online Body Politic Covid-19 Support Group and its Patient-Led Research for the virus.

The survey included more than 3,700 self-described “long haulers” and found nearly half couldn’t work full time six months after prolonged symptoms developed. The pre-print survey has not been peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal. 

More insight is needed into these long-term symptoms, Collins said, urging people to participate in the online survey.

As new variants spread, the need to speed up the administration of vaccines is becoming all the more “acute,” the EU Commission has said.

The EU Commission on Tuesday called on member states to accelerate vaccine roll-out and ramp up testing across the bloc, setting out targets for stepping up the fight against the virus:

According to the Commission, meeting these two targets “would reduce death and hospitalisation rates, relieve pressure on healthcare systems and then put Europe on track for herd immunity.”

A successful deployment of vaccines will also help put Europe’s economy on a solid recovery path, it said.

New research published late Tuesday provides reassuring evidence that people vaccinated against coronavirus will be protected against emerging new variants of the virus.

Two teams tested two of the new variants against blood taken from people who had received the full two-course dose of either the Moderna or the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

While the mutations in the new variants of the virus – one first seen in Britain, and another first identified in South Africa – did allow them to evade some of the immunity induced by vaccination, it was far from a complete escape, the two teams reported separately.

A team led by Dr. Michel Nussenzweig of the Rockefeller University tested plasma taken from 20 people who got two doses of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine as part of clinical trials. They found the vaccines produced strong antibody responses, as well as cells that keep producing new antibodies for months or years. “We measured their antibody responses to the wild type virus. Then we took their plasmas and measured them against the variants,” Nussenzweig told CNN.

Different mutations in the viruses did allow some escape from some types of antibodies, but the bodies of the volunteers threw an army of different types of antibodies at the viruses, the team reported in a pre-print – not peer reviewed – report published online. “When you start putting all these mixtures of antibodies together, what it means is that together they can take care of the variants,” Nussenzweig said. Even though they had a reduced effect, overall the response was so overwhelming that it should not matter, he said.

“What we really want to do with these vaccines is keep people out of the hospital. They are extremely likely to do that, irrespective,” Nussenzweig added.

Eventually, the vaccines should be updated – but the new mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna can be changed very quickly. “Should the vaccines be tweaked?” he asked. “Probably – but that doesn’t mean that they won’t be effective.”

Separately, Ugur Sahin, who helped invent the BioNTech vaccine being made and distributed by Pfizer, tested his vaccine against the B.1.1.7 variant first seen in the UK. The team found “no biologically significant difference in neutralization activity,” they said in a pre-print report. But they said it would be “prudent” to start tweaking the vaccine, just in case.

Read more about what we know of the coronavirus variants here:

A sign alerts customers that the "French Borders are Closed" at the entrance to the Port of Dover in Kent, south east England on December 21, 2020, as a string of countries banned travellers all but unaccompanied freight arriving from the UK, due to the rapid spread of a more-infectious new coronavirus strain. - Britain's critical south coast port at Dover said on Sunday it was closing to all accompanied freight and passengers due to the French border restrictions "until further notice". (Photo by William EDWARDS / AFP) (Photo by WILLIAM EDWARDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article These coronavirus variants are keeping scientists awake at night

According to Johns Hopkins University’s tally of cases in the United States, there have been at least 24,265,424 cases of coronavirus in the U.S. and at least 402,269 people have died in the U.S. from Covid-19.  

At least 31,161,075 vaccine doses have been distributed and at least 15,707,588 total doses of the vaccine have been administered, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other U.S. territories, as well as repatriated cases.  

The United Kingdom has recorded 1,820 further coronavirus-related deaths over the past 24 hours, marking the highest daily increase in deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, data from Public Health England on Wednesday showed. 

The total number of people in the UK who have died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test now stands at 93,290. 

A total of 38,905 new cases of coronavirus have also been confirmed on Wednesday – up from Tuesday’s daily increase of 33,355 cases. The total number of cases recorded in the UK since the pandemic began is now 3,505,754. 

According to government data – reported up to Tuesday January 19 – 4,609,740 people in the UK have now received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 460,625 have now received a second dose. 

At least 23,000 New Yorkers had appointments for first vaccine doses rescheduled because of lack of supplies, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday. 

This comes after the mayor said the city will not have enough first doses to vaccinate people following delays to deliveries of the Moderna vaccine.

The mayor reiterated the call for vaccines he says are held in the federal reserve to be released now. 

Commissioner of Health of the City of New York, Dave Chokshi further explained the city does have some doses but they are marked second doses and not first, so people with second dose appointments are not being affected. 

Chokshi said that the city believes this is purely a shipment issue, adding they don’t have details but are hoping to get the doses between Wednesday and Thursday. 

De Blasio added that he is hoping to reschedule the first dose appointments that were canceled within one week. 

How are things looking in New York City?  

New York City reports that 284 people have been admitted to New York hospitals with suspected Covid-19 cases, de Blasio said.

The hospital admissions per 100k on a 7-day average is 5.08%, he said. 

The city reports 4,692 additional cases of Covid-19 and the city has a 7-day-test-positivity rate of 8.53%, the mayor said. 

“All too high but a chance to turn that around now that we have a new administration,” de Blasio said.  

Portugal has, yet again, reported a record high number of daily coronavirus-related deaths Wednesday, as well as a new record for the country’s daily increase in confirmed cases. 

According to the latest data from the country’s health ministry, 219 further deaths have been reported over the last 24 hours – making it the deadliest day for Portugal since the beginning of the pandemic. 

A total of 14,647 new cases have also been confirmed – up by more than 4,000 from Tuesday’s daily increase of 10,455 cases.

Putting the numbers into context

The latest figures mark a continuous surge in both coronavirus deaths and cases for Portugal over the last week, with government officials urging citizens to stay at home and adhere to government guidance.

The government has also seen three of its cabinet ministers test positive for the virus this week. Minister of the Economy Pedro Siza Vieira tested positive for the vírus Tuesday. The country’s labor minister, Ana Mendes, was diagnosed last Thursday followed by Finance Minister João Leão over the weekend.

Medical staff across the country have taken to social media to express concerns over the rising numbers and the impact on their working conditions, with many working overtime and under-resourced.

A resident of a care home in Rome waits to receive a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on January 8. 

The Italian government has announced it will take legal action against pharmaceutical company Pfizer over Covid-19 vaccine delays.

The country’s extraordinary coronavirus commissioner, Domenico Arcuri, announced the decision on Tuesday, after a meeting with local governors and the ministers for health and regional affairs.

“It was discussed which actions should be taken to protect Italian citizens and their health in all of the civil and criminal offices where this will be possible. Unanimously it has been decided that these actions will be undertaken starting from the next few days in a unitary framework,” Arcuri said in a statement.

“The vaccination campaign cannot be slowed down, let alone for the administration of the second doses to the many Italians who have already been administered the first one,” Arcuri added.

For background:

The decision comes after the head of the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) Nicola Magrini voiced “grave concern” over delays of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, during a radio interview on Tuesday.

Pfizer said on Friday that shipments from its vaccine facility in Puurs, Belgium, would be temporarily reduced as it scales up to produce 2 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses in 2021. 

The company said that in order to increase capacity, changes were needed to the process and facility, and additional regulatory approvals would be required.

Pfizer’s vaccine partner BioNTech later said that the original schedule for deliveries to the European Union would resume the week beginning January 25.

BioNTech said it hoped to “increase delivery beginning the week of February 15,” which would result in delivering “the fully committed quantity of vaccine doses in the first quarter and significantly more in the second quarter.”

As of Wednesday, 1,236,479 Italians have been vaccinated, according to the latest data from the Health Ministry. 6,943 people in the country have received both doses of the vaccine.

The UK government is “pausing” plans to roll out rapid daily Covid-19 testing on close contacts of positive cases for students and staff in English secondary schools and colleges, it announced on Wednesday.

A government spokesperson said that the change of plans was the result of updated advice from UK scientific advisers. “NHS Test and Trace and Public Health England have reviewed their advice, and concluded that in light of the higher prevalence and rates of transmission of the new variant, further evaluation work is required to make sure it is achieving its aim of breaking chains of transmission and reducing cases of the virus in the community,” the spokesperson said.

“We are therefore pausing daily contact testing in all but a small number of secondary schools and colleges, where it will continue alongside detailed evaluation.”

In a statement, Public Health England (PHE) and NHS Test and Trace cited concerns over the more transmissible variant of Covid-19 discovered in the UK as the reason for the change, commenting that the “pandemic has entered a new phase” and that the balance of risk and benefits for daily Covid-19 tests is now “unclear” and recommended to the government that the rollout of the daily contact testing be paused.

Covid strain VOC202012/01 was discovered in the UK and has been prevalent in the south east of England since November 2020.

The mass testing programme in secondary schools and colleges was due to start in January to help identify asymptomatic cases amongst students and staff and reduce the need for self-isolation by using 30 minute lateral flow tests.

It planned for daily tests for all staff and students that have been “a close contact of a confirmed case, reducing the need for self-isolation” for all secondary schools and colleges, along with weekly rapid tests for all staff in secondary schools and colleges, according to the Department for Education.

National lockdown measures across England have forced schools to remain closed since January 5, however children of key workers are still allowed to attend. PHE confirmed that schools should continue to test staff and pupils currently going in to schools.

Whilst daily Covid-19 testing in schools was hailed by UK Education Secretary Gavin Williamson as a “milestone moment in our work to keep schools and colleges open for all” in December, scientists have expressed concerns that the tests may not be accurate enough, and could falsely reassure people and increase the spread of coronavirus.

In a tweet Wednesday morning, US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams confirmed reports that the Biden team has asked him to resign.

What this means:

Asking Adams to resign represents a visible break by the Biden team with the Trump administration’s Covid response.

Last month, President-elect Joe Biden announced he would nominate Dr. Vivek Murthy to be the next Surgeon General under his administration – a role Murthy held in the Obama administration.

It is unclear who will fill the job on an interim basis between the time Adams vacates the role and the time Murthy is confirmed by the Senate.

Relatives of patients infected with Covid-19 leave after queueing for long hours to refill their oxygen tanks at the Carboxi company in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, on Tuesday.

The Brazilian state of Amazonas could run out of medicinal oxygen if the numbers of Covid-19 patients continue to increase, Doctors Without Borders (Médecins sans frontières - MSF) warned on Wednesday.

“If Covid-19 patients continue to increase, there is only oxygen left for a few days,” Pierre Van Heddegem, head of the MSF mission in Brazil, said in a statement.

This comes after the state faced the virtual collapse of its health services due to an acute shortage of medicinal oxygen in the past week. The largest city and capital of Amazonas state, Manaus, was the first to register the supply shortage amid a rise in Covid-19 cases earlier this month.

Despite an increase in hospital beds for Covid-19 cases in Manaus, “the number of new patients continues to grow faster and faster, showing how the entire health care system is saturated and overloaded,” MSF said in the statement.

With hospitals in Manaus full and overwhelmed, “there is nowhere to transfer the most seriously ill patients,” MSF said. The non-profit noted it was “urgently” expanding teams on the ground, but warned that “there are already many deaths and many more could follow.”

Seven Covid-19 patients hospitalized in the small city of Coari in Brazil’s Amazon died early Tuesday after the local hospital ran out of oxygen, according to a statement on Facebook from the Coari municipal government. 

It said that 40 cylinders of oxygen were due to arrive in Coari from the Amazonas state government in Manaus on Monday, but the oxygen delivery was diverted and arrived too late.

The Amazonas state health secretary said in a statement that the oxygen supplies were indeed diverted because the manufacturer delayed the delivery of those supplies, which had a domino effect. The flight that had been due to carry them was redirected to another airport, forcing the supplies to be transported on to Coari by boat.

US President-elect Joe Biden puts his mask on after an announcement on Saturday in Wilmington, Delaware.

President-elect Joe Biden has said he wants to make the coronavirus pandemic his top priority as he takes office and will kick off his presidency by asking Americans to wear masks for 100 days and requiring their use on federal property.

His first executive order, the “100 Days Masking Challenge,” will symbolize the administration’s sharp turn from the Trump era by emphasizing recommendations by public health experts.

Why not order everyone to don masks? A president cannot tell states or cities what to do, but a federal mandate will affect federal offices and federal lands and will urge states to do the same.

“This executive action will direct the agencies to take action to require compliance with CDC guidance on mask wearing and physical distancing in federal buildings, on federal lands and by federal employees and contractors,” said Biden counselor Jeff Zients, who will be the administration’s Covid-19 response coordinator.

“And the president will call on governors, public health officials, mayors, business leaders and others to implement masking, physical distancing and other public measures to control COVID-19,” Zients added.

Trump pointedly refused to wear a mask in public throughout his presidency, and Trump political appointees across federal agencies often discouraged mask use among their staff. Largely mask-free events sponsored by the White House were linked to multiple Covid-19 infections, including a party surrounding the swearing-in of Supreme Court justice Amy Coney Barrett.

Trump was himself hospitalized for a coronavirus infection in October.

Read the full story here:

Former Vice President Joe Biden, Democratic presidential nominee, left, and Senator Kamala Harris, Democratic vice presidential nominee, wear protective masks while holding hands outside the Chase Center during the Democratic National Convention in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020.

Related article Biden's first executive order will require masks on federal property

Warning of a third coronavirus wave from more transmissible coronavirus variants, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Wednesday his government will try to get parliamentary approval for a nationwide curfew between 8:30pm and 4:30am.

“We need to do the utmost to stay ahead of that third wave, and keep it as small as possible,” Rutte said. “What the cabinet is presenting today will undoubtedly ask a great deal of people again, but it will also yield us a great deal.”

Pending parliamentary approval, people in the Netherlands will not be allowed to be outside between 8:30pm and 4:30am. The curfew would be in effect, like the lockdown, until February 9. The curfew would also mean that all life-sustaining stores, like supermarkets, would have to close at 8:30pm. (There would be a number of exemptions that would require the person to carry a signed letter, written by themselves, explaining their reason for being outside.)

“What we want to achieve is fewer groups, less road usage, and especially fewer home visits – fewer contacts in order to prevent infections,” Rutte said.

Other new measures:

For background:

The Netherlands has been in lockdown since December 16. Rutte announced last week that it would be extended until at least February 9. It is more stringent than anything implemented during the first wave, in spring 2020, when non-essential shops were allowed to remain open. (They are now closed.)

The number of reported coronavirus infections in the Netherlands are falling but still significant. There were 38,776 positive reported cases in the seven-day period from January 12 to 19, according to the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment. That was a decrease from the 49,398 reported between January 5 to 12.

Vatican City started inoculating Rome’s homeless community against Covid-19 on Wednesday.

A first group of around 25 individuals gathered in the atrium of the Paul VI Hall to receive their first doses in photos released by Vatican Media.

The group are people permanently housed in the care and residence facilities of the Office of Papal Charities. Further groups are expected to follow in the coming days.

The Vatican commenced its vaccine program a week ago. Pope Francis and former Pope Benedict were confirmed to have received their first doses on Thursday.

Francis has repeatedly discussed vaccination, previously saying people have an “ethical duty” to take the vaccine.

“I believe that ethically everyone should take the vaccine. It is not an option, it is an ethical choice because you are gambling with your health, with your life, but you are also gambling with the lives of others,” the pontiff said in a recent interview with Italy’s Canale 5 channel broadcast.

On his first day in office, President-elect Joe Biden plans to try to get the US back into the world arena in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, aides told reporters.

How will Biden reset the US position? An immediate reversal of President Trump’s decision to leave the World Health Organization, according to Biden’s counselor and Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients.

“America’s withdrawal from the international arena has impeded progress on the global response and left us more vulnerable to future pandemics,” Zients told reporters in a telephone briefing Tuesday afternoon.

“He will take action to cease the previous administration’s process of withdrawing from the World Health Organization, and the Biden-Harris administration will participate in the WHO executive board meeting this week.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was the most prominent medical professional speaking about the coronavirus pandemic under the Trump Administration, will speak to the WHO executive board in an official capacity Thursday.

“In addition, tomorrow, the President will fulfill his campaign promise of immediately restoring the National Security Council’s Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense.” That office, established in 2015 under the Obama administration, was disbanded in 2018, although the Trump Administration denied that meant it had abandoned all pandemic preparedness.

“Moving forward, we will focus on immediate and emerging domestic and global biological threats, and play a critical role in stopping this pandemic and preventing future biological catastrophes,” Zients said.

It won’t be a Day One executive order, but Zients also said, in response to questions, that the administration would reverse the so-called Mexico City policy – a policy denying US federal funding to any organizations globally that support abortion rights. The policy is regularly reversed by Democratic administrations and restored in various forms by Republican presidents.

Japan has signed a contract to buy enough of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine to cover over half of its population this year, according to public broadcaster NHK.

The agreement for 144 million doses would cover roughly 72 million of the country’s 125 million residents. 

According to the broadcaster, 120 million doses of the vaccine are to be delivered by the end of June. 

Health Minister Tamura Norihisa told reporters Wednesday that the government signed the contract on the premise that the vaccine will be approved in Japan, NHK said.

The next phase of the UK’s immunization program could see frontline workers prioritized, the deputy chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said on Wednesday.

The JCVI is in charge with overseeing the vaccine rollout with the initial plan being to inoculate people from nine priority groups including care home residents, people aged 50 and over and all individuals with underlying health conditions. How to proceed once these categories have been immunized has not yet been determined but officials and experts have suggested frontline workers could be next.

Anthony Harnden, JCVI deputy chair, told BBC Radio 5 Live on Wednesday morning that the group is exploring the idea. He said the next stage could also include individuals facing “exposure risk.”

“For instance, teachers, policemen who may be exposed to members of the public, children who actually transmit the virus and those that are important to keep the economy running,” Harnden explained. “There are a lot of factors in phase two which we’ll be looking at in depth.”

His remarks echoed those of UK Home Secretary Priti Patel who spoke about the vaccine prioritization plan on several radio shows Wednesday morning.

Answering questions on LBC radio, Patel said frontline workers were being considered for priority access in the next phase of vaccine rollout.

Patel said: “There’s a lot of work that’s taking place…. We have the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunizations that are working with us on making sure we can push policing, fire and frontline [people] – teachers, others – when it comes to getting the vaccine.”

In response to queries on why frontline workers were not already a priority group, Patel said: “Primarily because we have a vaccine delivery plan … to focus on those who are susceptible to dying from Covid which is the over 80s and they have been and they are the priority group, but within that plan of course the next wave will be the frontline workers we’re speaking about.”

“We’re working with the JCVI … They are the ones that are determining this, it’s not for politicians,” she added.

Medics take a patient from an ambulance into a London hospital on Tuesday.

Some UK hospitals look like a “war zone” due to the influx of Covid-19 patients, the country’s Chief Scientific Advisor Patrick Vallance told British broadcaster Sky News on Wednesday.

“It is very difficult, it may not look like it when you go for a walk in the park, but when you go into a hospital this is very, very bad at the moment with enormous pressure and in some cases it looks like a war zone in terms of things that people are having to deal with,” Vallance said.

The UK is currently in the midst of a sharp surge in coronavirus cases and the country hit a record 1,610 deaths from Covid-19 on Tuesday - the highest daily increase since the start of the pandemic, according to data from Public Health England. The UK currently has the fifth highest death toll from Covid-19 in the world with 91,643 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Responding to a question on when lockdowns might be eased, Vallance commented that “the numbers are nowhere near where they need to be at the moment and need to come down quite a lot further”.

“Vaccines are not going to do the heavy lifting for us at the moment or anywhere near it,” he said, emphasizing the need to follow social distancing guidelines - “this is about the restrictive measures that we’re all living under and carrying on with those, we need to make sure we stick with it.”

Over 4 million people in the UK have already received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, yet while this will give protection against “severe illness,” Vallance stressed that “much less” is known about the vaccine’s ability to stop transmission.

A third cabinet minister has tested positive for Covid-19 in Portugal within a week, according to the government.

Minister of the Economy Pedro Siza Vieira tested positive for the vírus Tuesday.

On January 14, Ana Mendes, the labor minister, tested positive, followed by Finance Minister João Leão on January 16,

On Tuesday, Portugal marked the deadliest day since the start of the pandemic, as the Health Ministry recorded 218 Covid-19 related deaths and 10,455 new cases.

As of Tuesday, the death toll stood at 9,246, whilst the total number of coronavirus cases was 566,958, according to the Health Ministry.

Government officials continue to call on the population to stay at home and follow protocol, stressing the need to save lives and protect the national health system.

Medical staff across the country have taken to social media to express concerns over the rising numbers and the impact on their working conditions, with many working overtime and under-resourced.

Portugal has the second worst epidemiological situation in Europe, according to the most recent statistics from Our World in Data, an online scientific publication based at the University of Oxford.

Zimbabwe's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Sibusiso Moyo looks on during a press conference on March 8, 2018.

Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Sibusiso Moyo has died from Covid-19, according to a government statement.

Moyo succumbed to Covid-19 at a local hospital in the capital Harare early Wednesday.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa confirmed the news on his official Twitter profile.

Moyo rose to fame after appearing on national television to announce the “mission” in the November 2017 coup that removed the late President Robert Mugabe—while insisting it was not a coup.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks at a press conference following a video conference with the Prime Ministers of the federal states discussing new measures to bring down the numbers of Covid-19 infections on January 19.

Germany is extending its current national lockdown until mid-February and introducing new, tougher measures as the country’s death toll continues to rise.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and her 16 state premiers agreed on Tuesday night to the extension of the lockdown, which began in December, following a marathon eight-hour discussion. Stricter mask requirements – including the use of FFP2/N95 masks on public transport and in shops – have been made mandatory across the country. The enhanced measures came after the German government was warned about the danger of the new variants of the virus. 

One sticking point in the discussions was on the subject of schools. Officials ultimately decided that they will remain closed but in the end, it is up to the federal states to mandate this.

CNN affiliate n-tv spoke to German members of public about the changes to Covid-19 restrictions, with one woman telling the local television channel that she had hoped the current lockdown’s impact would be evident by now.

“The lockdown should have brought some effects already, but we are not seeing that,” she said.

Another man backed the government’s moves, saying: “They are elected officials, and will know what is best for the population.” 

The changes come as the latest coronavirus figures were released by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany’s national agency for disease control and prevention, on Wednesday morning.

An additional 1,148 fatalities were recorded, bringing the total number of those having died from the disease to 48,770 – the second highest daily jump since January 14, when the death toll stood at an additional 1,244. 

A further 15,974 new Covid-19 cases were also registered, raising the total number in the country to 2,068,002, according to RKI.

When it comes to vaccinations, RKI said 1,195,543 people have been inoculated so far, with 1,195,543 people having received the first dose and 24,741 people given the second.

A funeral bell tolled at the Washington National Cathedral 400 times Tuesday, once for every thousand Americans who have died of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States.

As the numbers climb, health experts and officials have turned their attention to mitigating the impacts of the new variant that has sparked alarm, and they are calling for ramped up vaccinations and preventative measures.

But some officials say they aren’t seeing as many doses as the federal government reports distributing and many states say the demand for the vaccine is outpacing the supply.

The count of people in the US who have died from the virus rose rapidly over the course of the last year to reach Tuesday’s grim 400,000 marker. And while the rate of new cases has dipped recently, experts warn that a variant of the virus could send cases surging once again.

When Biden’s administration takes office, Osterholm said it will do everything it can to bolster distribution. But, he said, “we can’t make the vaccine go much faster than it is right now,” adding that officials will need to plan for dramatic action to keep the variant under control.

“The difference is going to be, ‘Are we going to react now or later?’” Osterholm said. “Do we put the brakes on after the car’s wrapped around the tree, or we try to put the brakes on before we leave the intersection?”

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EL CAJON, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 15: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Embalmer and funeral director Kristy Oliver (L) and funeral attendant Sam Deras load the casket of a person who died after contracting COVID-19 into a hearse at East County Mortuary on January 15, 2021 in El Cajon, California. The mortuary on average was handling about 50 bodies per month but owner Robert Zakar believes they may process closer to 100 in January as California continues to see a spike in coronavirus deaths. The mortuary holds the bodies of those who pass away due to COVID-19 for a minimum of three days before they are processed along with various other COVID-related safety measures. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Related article Officials call for more vaccine doses as the US death toll passes 400,000

Closed shops on London's Old Kent Road are seen on January 8 as the UK government introduced strict restrictions due to a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases.

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel said the high Covid-19 death toll in England and rate of hospital admissions mean that it is “far too early to speculate” about easing lockdown measures. 

Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday, Patel said the UK is in a “pivotal stage” in the vaccination effort but that the country has a “long way to go.” 

The UK recorded 1,610 coronavirus deaths on Tuesday – the highest daily increase since the start of the pandemic. Some 33,355 new cases were also reported Tuesday. 

Pins for people who have been vaccinated at Gillette Stadium's vaccination site on January 15 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

More than 15.7 million total coronavirus vaccine doses have been given out to nearly 13.6 million Americans, as of 6 a.m. ET Tuesday, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This breaks down to roughly 8.9 million doses from Pfizer/BioNTech and 6.8 million from Moderna.

The CDC reports that more than 2 million people have received a second shot to complete their vaccination.

New method: The CDC had last updated the vaccine data on its Covid data tracker Friday, when it said more than 12 million doses had been administered to 10.6 million people. More than 31 million doses had been distributed in total. 

The agency has not since updated the number of doses distributed – 31,161,075 – because “CDC is refining how the number of doses distributed is reported on CDC COVID Data Tracker to move from reporting doses shipped to doses delivered,” the CDC explained.

The United States reported 168,058 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, bringing the total to at least 24,246,830 since the epidemic began, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

There were 2,550 virus-related deaths also reported Tuesday. The total number of US Covid-19 fatalities now stands at 401,553.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases

Track US cases:  

An aerial view of the construction site of the quarantine camp in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China, on January 19.

China is rushing to build a massive quarantine camp that can house more than 4,000 people, after an outbreak of Covid-19 this month that has left tens of millions of people under strict lockdown.

The quarantine camp is located on the outskirts of Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital of Hebei province, which surrounds the country’s capital, Beijing.

China has largely contained the spread of the virus, with much of the country returning to normal. However, a sudden rise in cases has alarmed officials and raised concerns ahead of the Lunar New Year, the county’s most important annual festival, during which hundreds of millions of people are expected to travel to visit family members.

Officials in Shijiazhuang, where the outbreak is centered, have initiated mass testing and strict lockdowns, moving entire villages into centralized quarantine facilities in a bid to curb the spread of the virus.

The new quarantine camp will house close contacts of confirmed Covid-19 patients, as authorities continue an extensive contact tracing and testing program.

Quick build: The camp was originally planned to house 3,000 people, but has since been expanded to a capacity of 4,160. More than 4,000 construction workers performed “six days’ and nights’ work” to complete the first phase, said Shijiazhuang Deputy Mayor Meng Xianghong on Tuesday.

Authorities began construction on January 13 and the first section of the camp is now complete and ready for use, while construction continues on the second phase, according to state-owned broadcaster CCTV.

Each prefabricated room is expected to measure 18 square meters (around 194 square feet), and will come with an en-suite bathroom and shower, desks, chairs, beds, Wi-Fi, and a television set, according to CCTV.

Read the full story here.

The first doses of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine are brought in a cooler to Trillium Health Partners in Ontario, Canada on December 21, 2020.

Frustration visibly boiled over with some Canadian leaders Tuesday as Pfizer told Canada that it would not receive any vaccine doses next week due to the continuing manufacturing disruptions at its facility in Belgium.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sought to reassure Canadians that the vaccine deliveries would pick up again in a few weeks and that the overall goal, to have every willing citizen vaccinated by September, would remain on track. 

But it was Ontario’s Premier, Doug Ford, who bluntly voiced the frustration of many provincial leaders as Pfizer continues to cut its vaccine delivery schedule to Canada.

Ford’s plea to US President-elect Biden: Canada’s supply of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine comes from the European allotment and not from nearby manufacturing facilities in the United States after the Trump administration made it clear vaccines would not be exported. 

Ford made a direct plea to President-elect Biden for a million vaccines for Canada.

A medical worker handles samples at an express Covid-19 testing lab at Vnukovo International Airport on January 12.

To date, 60 countries across all six World Health Organization regions have reported either imported cases or community transmission of the UK coronavirus strain – 10 more than a week ago, WHO said in a news release Wednesday.

Among the countries which have reported cases of the variant first identified in the United Kingdom are the United States, Russia, Brazil, India and Spain.

US cases: On Monday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that at least 122 cases of a the UK variant have been identified in 20 US states.

This includes at least 46 cases in Florida; 40 in California; six in Colorado; five in Minnesota; four each in Indiana and New York; two each in Connecticut, Maryland, and Texas; and one each in Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

CDC said this does not represent the total number of cases circulating in the US, but rather those that have been found by analyzing positive samples. The agency cautions that its numbers may not immediately match those of state and local health departments.

While the variant, known as B.1.1.7, appears to spread more easily, there’s no evidence that it’s any more deadly or causes more severe disease, according to CDC.

People line up for a coronavirus test at a hospital in Beijing on January 17.

Authorities in China’s capital Beijing said they will investigate everyone entering the city from overseas and shut down two subway stations after reporting the biggest daily rise in new Covid-19 cases in more than three weeks.

Beijing reported seven new cases on Tuesday – six in the city’s Daxing district. Beijing’s metro operator said it will shut down the Tiangong Yuan and Biomedical Base metro stations located in Daxing as part of the city’s Covid-19 prevention measures. 

Beijing authorities said during a meeting on Tuesday that residential compounds with confirmed cases in Daxing and surrounding areas will be under close management. In addition, all individuals who entered the city from abroad since December 10 will be investigated, with an increased frequency of screening.

New cases: China’s National Health Commission said on Wednesday that a total of 103 new Covid-19 cases were reported from Tuesday across the country. Northeastern Jilin province reported 46 new cases, while Hebei province surrounding Beijing reported 19 new infections.

Some 58 new asymptomatic infections, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, were also reported Tuesday. The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in mainland China now stands at 88,557, while the official death toll is 4,635.

Colombian Defense Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo delivers a news conference in Bogota on October 26, 2020.

Colombia’s Defense Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo, who tested positive for Covid-19 on January 12, is in the ICU, sedated and on ventilator support, according to a statement from the country’s presidency released on Tuesday.

Holmes Trujillo has been diagnosed with “viral pneumonia due to SARS-CoV-2,” the statement said.

The Ministry of Defense first announced on January 12 that Holmes Trujillo had tested positive for the virus, saying he would continue with his duties virtually. However, a day later the minister was taken to the hospital, where he has remained since Wednesday.

On Monday, General Commander of the Military Forces Luis Fernando Navarro Jimenez was appointed acting defense minister until Holmes Trujillo is able to resume his duties.

A new study suggests someone might be able to get infected with one of the new variants of the coronavirus even if they’ve had Covid-19 before or have been vaccinated.

The variant was first spotted in South Africa in October and has now been found in more than a dozen countries.

“I think we should be alarmed,” said Penny Moore, associate professor at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa and the senior author of the study.

Montefiore added that this is the first study that gives him serious doubt about whether prior infection or a vaccine will protect against a new coronavirus variant.

“This is the first time I’ve been concerned about a variant partially evading the immune response and partially evading the vaccine,” he said.

Both experts emphasized that people should still get the vaccine. It’s extremely effective against other forms of the virus and they think it likely will still give some level of protection against the new variant as well.

The study was posted on a pre-print server and has not been peer-reviewed and published in a medical journal.

This is one of the first reports to look at the variant’s effect on antibody potency. Labs around the world are furiously studying the issue and expect to report results within the next few weeks.

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south africa coronavirus variant second wave pandemic McKenzie pkg intl ldn vpx_00005924.png

Related article Variant might partially evade protection from vaccines or prior infection, early research suggests

Vaccine advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have scheduled an emergency meeting for next week to discuss coronavirus vaccines.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) plans a meeting for Wednesday, January 27, to discuss progress in administering vaccine doses, safety of the vaccines, testing of the vaccines in children and studies on the effectiveness of the vaccine.

There is also a time slot for a Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer to present, but the name of the manufacturer is to be determined. Johnson & Johnson is expected to report on Phase 3 clinical trials for its experimental coronavirus vaccine by the end of the month.

ACIP members are not expected to vote during the one-day meeting, a CDC spokeswoman said.

Local and federal officials in Brazil were warned of looming oxygen shortages nearly a week before crisis struck in the city of Manaus, the country’s Solicitor General has revealed.

In a country already hard-hit by the coronavirus, oxygen shortages and soaring Covid-19 cases have pushed Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, into a healthcare crisis. Nurses in the city have been quoted in local news reports as saying patients have died of asphyxiation in the city’s hospitals because there is no oxygen to give them.

The Brazilian government has come under sharp criticism over its handling of the crisis. Last week, Supreme Court judge Ricardo Lewandowski ordered the government to present a response plan to solve the oxygen shortage, citing the Jair Bolsonaro administration’s “omissive behavior” in addressing the emergency.

On Sunday, Bolsonaro’s Solicitor General José Levi do Amaral sent a 16-page report defending the government’s response to the court. The report discloses that the federal health ministry knew about the crisis six days before the situation became critical on January 14.

It also stresses that the local government in Amazonas did not inform federal authorities about the looming oxygen shortage. “The Health Ministry…became aware on (January) 8th through an e-mail sent by the product manufacturer,” the report states. The provider, named in the report as White Martins, first notified the Amazonas State government, and then federal authorities, the report says.

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Family members of patients hospitalized with Covid-19 line up with empty oxygen tanks in an attempt to refill them in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil on January 15

Related article Brazilian officials were warned six days in advance of a looming oxygen crisis in Manaus

At least four new variants of the coronavirus are keeping scientists awake at night.

One, first identified in southeast England, has now shown up in at least 50 countries and appears to be spreading more efficiently than older variations of the virus. Its appearance has frightened political leaders, who have closed borders and imposed travel restrictions in attempts to curb its spread.

Others, identified in South Africa and Brazil, haven’t traveled as far and wide but show a constellation of mutations that have grabbed the attention of geneticists.

B.1.1.7: At the top of the list for researchers in the United States is the B.1.1.7 variant first seen in Britain. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned last week it could worsen the spread of the pandemic.

While there’s nothing like the phrase “mutant new virus” to grab the attention, scientists say so far they are reassured by what they have found: The human immune system can handle the variants that have sprung up so far.

B.1.351: A variant first seen in South Africa called B.1.351 or 501Y.V2, has a different pattern of mutations that causes more physical alterations in the structure of the spike protein than B.1.1.7 does. One important mutation, called E484K, appears to affect the receptor binding domain – the part of the spike protein most important for attaching to cells.

P.1 and P.2: Two variants of concern have shown up first in Brazil. One, called P.1., has been found in 42% of specimens in one survey done in the Brazilian city of Manaus, and Japanese officials found the variant in four travelers from Brazil. P.2, also first seen in Brazil, caused a flurry of alarm when it turned up in Britain last week in 11 people.

L425R: Finally, there’s a new variant seen in California called L425R, and while it’s being found commonly, it’s not yet clear if it’s more transmissible.

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A sign alerts customers that the "French Borders are Closed" at the entrance to the Port of Dover in Kent, south east England on December 21, 2020, as a string of countries banned travellers all but unaccompanied freight arriving from the UK, due to the rapid spread of a more-infectious new coronavirus strain. - Britain's critical south coast port at Dover said on Sunday it was closing to all accompanied freight and passengers due to the French border restrictions "until further notice". (Photo by William EDWARDS / AFP) (Photo by WILLIAM EDWARDS/AFP via Getty Images)

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The United States has reported at least 400,000 deaths from Covid-19 since the pandemic began, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University as of Tuesday afternoon.

That’s more than the number of Americans who died in World War I, Vietnam War and the Korean War combined, and nearly as many Americans who died in World War II. It’s far higher than any other country’s Covid-19 death toll.

The pandemic’s death toll has risen sharply in increments of 100,000 since the first coronavirus death in the United States was reported February 29 in Washington state. (Later in the spring, two earlier deaths in California were posthumously confirmed to be from Covid-19.)

Those who’ve died were in focus Tuesday evening as President-elect Joe Biden, one day ahead of his inauguration in the nation’s capital, attended a lighting ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool to honor Covid-19 victims.

Biden’s inaugural committee invited cities and towns across the country to join in by illuminating buildings and ringing church bells “in a national moment of unity and remembrance.”

All of this comes almost a year after the first Covid-19 case was confirmed in the US. And it comes after brutal surges in recent weeks, during which the US saw hundreds of thousands of new cases daily and hospitalization and daily deaths hit all-time highs.

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Shirley, N.Y.: Nurse practitioner Deborah Beauplan administers a COVID-19 swab test at a drive-thru testing site set up for Suffolk County, New York, employees and their families at Smith Point Park in Shirley, New York on December 18, 2020. (Photo by John Paraskevas/Newsday via Getty Images)

Related article More than 60% of all US Covid-19 cases were reported since Election Day. Now experts warn a variant could further fuel spread