Hundreds of people in Wisconsin are temporarily left without their vaccine doses after a hospital worker deliberately left dozens of vails unrefrigerated overnight. Plus, one ski resort in Ukraine is drawing controversy.
Here are the latest updates, listed in eastern time, and the most important things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic.
Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach is a traditional Christmas destination for thousands of people a year, but this year, poor weather combined with the COVID-19 pandemic kept most people away - but not all.
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. In the Instagram post, Pinksy, 62, is seen holding up a bottle of an electrolyte drink while his wife, who he says tested negative, is seen wearing a mask. In a follow-up video, he thanked his fans for their support and said he has been taking medication. "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, USA Today reported. 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. In April, Pinksy drew apologized for what many people believed were statements downplaying the pandemic, such as calling it “press-induced.”
Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped last week for the second week in a row, however the data does not suggest much improvement in the near future. New benefit claims reported by the U.S. Labor Department dropped to a seasonally adjusted 787,000 last week from 806,000 the previous week, Reuters reported. The reported numbers are on par with the data from just three months prior, when the U.S. was still battling the pandemic. Despite vaccine approvals across the globe creating a sense of hope for many that 2021 will not be as grim as the year prior, economists believe the next few months will still be difficult for many before things really start to improve. “While prospects for the economy later in 2021 are upbeat, the economy and labor market will have to navigate some difficult terrain between now and then and we expect claims to remain elevated,” Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said.
China authorized its first vaccine that was made within the country on Thursday for general use. The vaccine, made by Sinopharm, has already been given to many healthcare professionals and essential workers in the country, and will now be expanded to the general public, The Associated Press reported. The vaccine has been on the watchlist of many developing countries, along with the AstraZeneca vaccine approved by the U.K., as rich nations dominate the Pfizer and Modern vaccine supply. “This is very exciting that there is another vaccine and one that can be distributed in locations that don’t have the cold chain,” said Ashley St. John, an immunologist at the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore. “But at the same time we have to temper the excitement. We have to understand the long term efficacy, effect on transmission and effect on severe disease.”
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday that his goal for the city is to get 1 million residents vaccinated by the end of January, a pace that would require outside cooperation and increased access to the vaccine, The Associated Press reported. The city has vaccinated 88,000 people since Dec. 14 and in order to reach its target, will aim to increase its weekly dosage capacity to 300,000 shots in January. Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokski also added that the city hopes to double its citywide vaccine access points to at least 250 sites.
Although most child-care facilities have reopened at 49% of their full capacity since stay-at-home orders, the child-care industry has yet to fully recover with about 27% remain closed, according to a recent report from Procare Solutions. Only about 73% of day cares, child-care centers, preschools, enrichment programs, in-home day cares and before/after-school care programs that closed earlier this year are back online, Procare reports via data from its 30,000 clients nationwide. Meanwhile, child-care providers that have reopened at half capacity have increased costs for cleaning supplies, sanitation protocols and personal protective equipment for staff and children, as well as additional staffing, CNBC reports. Approximately 56% of child-care providers surveyed in November report losing money by staying open, according to the latest survey from the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Deliberate actions from one hospital worker in Wisconsin led to over 500 COVID-19 vaccines being destroyed after 57 vails containing the vaccine were intentionally taken out of the pharmacy refrigerator and left out overnight. According to CBS News, Advocate Aurora Health confirmed that the worker admitted to doing the act on purpose and an investigation is ongoing.
"We continue to believe that vaccination is our way out of the pandemic," Advocate Aurora Health said in a statement. "We are more than disappointed that this individual's actions will result in a delay of more than 500 people receiving their vaccine. This was a violation of our core values, and the individual is no longer employed by us."
Ukraine’s biggest ski resort Bukovel in the Carpathian mountains is fully booked as many have flocked there since other foreign resorts have been shut down due to coronavirus-linked restrictions across Europe. Unlike some European countries, Ukraine did not tighten restrictions on the movement of its residents within the country to curb the spread of the coronavirus over the Christmas and New Year season. However strict lockdown orders will be in force from Jan. 8-24. The resort had already been booked at 80% capacity through January, Bukovel’s management said. According to Reuters, a tourist from Kyiv, Anton Luzhnyh, said he used to go to France to ski but this year is different. “Why am I here? Because foreign ski resorts are closed. It is lockdown there. Maybe they will be reopened in February, then we will go there,” Luzhnyh told Reuters.
On Monday, the U.S. government began requiring all airline passengers arriving from the United Kingdom, including U.S. citizens, to test negative for coronavirus within 72 hours of departure. Now, the U.S. government may require a negative coronavirus test for more international travelers as early as next week, sources briefed on the matter told Reuters Wednesday. On Wednesday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other U.S. agencies talked with U.S. airlines about expanding the requirements, sources briefed on the call said. On Wednesday, the CDC released a statement stating “efforts are currently ongoing in the U.S. to assess the risk reduction associated with testing and other recommended preventative measures, determine what a feasible testing regime for air travel may look like, and gain some level of agreement on standards for a harmonized approach to testing for international air travel.”
For the first time in 25 years, the Buffalo Bills are headed to the post-season, and thanks to special permission granted by New York State, a handful of fans will be able to cheer on the Bills in person during the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs. Between 6,000 and 7,000 tickets will be sold for the highly-anticipated game, but will only be available to season ticket holders, not the general public, the Buffalo Bills announced on Wednesday. After purchasing tickets, fans will need to show up at the stadium two or three days prior to the game to be tested for the coronavirus. Only those who test negative will be allowed into the stadium on game day and will still need to wear a face mask when in the stadium. “We are super excited for it,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said after the news broke. “I want to thank all the parties involved – the Pegulas, Gov. Cuomo and everybody else involved. Thank you so much."
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says data suggests the new COVID-19 variant has been circulating person-to-person undetected in the United States.The nation’s first known case of the coronavirus variant B.1.1.7, which originally discovered in the United Kingdom, was found in Colorado on Tuesday. "Public health authorities in Colorado detected a variant that was first identified in the UK, in a person who reported no travel history, the lack of reported travel history suggests this variant has been transmitting from person to person in the United States," Dr. Henry Walke, Covid-19 incident manager, said during a briefing Wednesday, according to CNN.
Graphic shows a diagram of the COVID-19 virus.
Walke said that even though there is no evidence that this variant causes more severe symptoms, or increases the risk of death, it could lead to more cases and "put even more strain on our heavily burdened health care systems."Some researchers are now investigating when the original coronavirus strain arrived in the United States, and it might have been earlier than we think.
Held by grandmother Maria Ortiz, 11-year-old Star Estrada, center, wipes her tears after registered nurse Angela Coomds collected a nasal swab sample from her in a COVID-19 triage tent at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in the Mission Hills section of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
“To protect the world, we must ensure that all people at risk everywhere, not just in countries who can afford vaccines, are immunized,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday in a video message issued a day before the one-year anniversary of the first reported cases of the novel coronavirus in China. In the video, Tedros urged countries to take an active role in distributing vaccines beyond only those who could afford them and to “walk the last miles of this crisis together, helping each other along the way, from sharing vaccines fairly, to offering accurate advice, compassion and care.” He also urged nations to combat conspiracy theories and attacks on science that could in turn hurt people’s health and society at large. Tedros appealed for $4 billion to buy COVID-19 vaccines for distribution in lower and middle-income countries through the COVAX vaccine facility, according to Reuters.
Watch his speech here:
A member of the Colorado National Guard has been diagnosed with the new variant of the coronavirus while another Guard member is suspected of having it. The strain of the virus, which is seemingly more contagious, has led to case spikes in the United Kingdom, according to The Associated Press. Health officials said the confirmed case is a man in his 20s who hadn’t been traveling and is currently dealing with mild symptoms. The arrival of the variant has raised questions about how it arrived in the U.S., particularly due to the lack of a travel history in the first case.
“There is a lot we don’t know about this new COVID-19 variant, but scientists in the United Kingdom are warning the world that it is significantly more contagious,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said, according to the AP.
An emergency room nurse in San Diego was administered the first of two doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine on Dec. 18, but six days later, he began to experience symptoms such as fatigue, chills and muscle pain. The nurse, identified as Matthew W., then tested for the coronavirus and the result came back positive, ABC News said. According to medical experts, this diagnosis is not a surprise since it takes time for the body to build up an immunity to COVID-19 following vaccination. "We know from the vaccine clinical trials that it’s going to take about 10 to 14 days for you to start to develop protection from the vaccine," Dr. Christian Ramers told KGTV. Additionally, the second dose of the vaccine is crucial to help the body build up immunity. "That first dose we think gives you somewhere around 50%, and you need that second dose to get up to 95%," Ramers said. To help the body build up immunity after receiving the vaccine, some health officials are urging people to abstain from alcohol as drinking alcohol can blunt the immune response, NewScientist reported. In Russia, scientists are telling people not to drink alcohol for at least three days after receiving the Sputnik V vaccine, the country’s first coronavirus vaccine. However, no warnings have been given concerning alcohol consumption and the vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna.
Officials in California, who implemented the toughest stay-at-home orders in the nation earlier this month, announced that those orders will be extended indefinitely as the coronavirus pandemic worsens there. According to Reuters, the decision, announced by California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly, was made due to the rising numbers of cases and hospitalizations, which aren’t expected to let up for weeks, at least. Ghaly said Los Angeles County has been hit so hard that some hospitals over the weekend were forced to send new patients to other facilities for treatment. He painted a dire picture of what is unfolding, saying that some hospitals in Southern California are on the verge of going into “crisis care,” with some already implementing some of the aspects of crisis care. According to Reuters, Ghaly told reporters "some hospitals in Southern California have put in place some practices that would be part of crisis care,” which in some cases includes considering “the effectiveness of certain treatments for certain patients who are unlikely to survive, or do well.” The stay-at-home orders require Californians to remain indoors except for only essential activities like doctors’ visits, shopping for groceries, exercising individually outdoors, and walking dogs. The measures were extended because health officials believe things will only be getting worse. “We could see the worst of it in early January,” Ghaly said. “And most of the hospital leaders I’ve talked to in Southern California are bracing for exactly that.”
The vaccine developed by AstraZeneca at Oxford University in England was given emergency-use approval on Wednesday, the government announced in a statement. According to The New York Times, the U.K. is the first country in the world to OK the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is the second drug approved there to inoculate against the coronavirus after Pfizer’s vaccine was approved earlier this month. In a statement, U.K. health officials said the decision to green light the vaccine “follows rigorous clinical trials and a thorough analysis of the data by experts” and that “the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.” The AstraZeneca vaccine also comes in two doses, each given 12 weeks apart. Health officials said, “With two vaccines now approved, we will be able to vaccinate a greater number of people who are at highest risk, protecting them from the disease and reducing mortality and hospitalization.” News of the approval comes after the U.K. tallied more than 53,000 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday.
Luke Letlow, an incoming Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana, died Tuesday night due to complications from COVID-19. Letlow was 41 and, according to The Associated Press, had no underlying health conditions that would put him at risk of a severe outcome from COVID-19. The news of Letlow’s death was delivered by Andrew Bautsch, a spokesperson for the congressman-elect. “The family appreciates the numerous prayers and support over the past days but asks for privacy during this difficult and unexpected time,” Bautsch said in a statement, according to the AP. “A statement from the family along with funeral arrangements will be announced at a later time.” Letlow announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 just a week before Christmas, on Dec. 18. Five days later, he released a statement on Twitter informing constituents that he had been transferred from St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe, Louisiana, to Ochsner-LSU Health in Shreveport, Louisiana. At the time, he was said to be in stable condition in the ICU there and receiving a regiment consisting of remdesivir and steroids as part of his treatment. He leaves behind his wife, Julia Barnhill Letlow, and two young children.
Letlow’s death drew mourning from many throughout the Louisiana political establishment, including Gov. John Bel Edwards who urged people to pray for Letlow’s family, saying, “I am heartbroken that he will not be able to serve our people as a U.S. representative, but I am even more devastated for his loving family.” He was set to be sworn into office in early January. Reacting to the news of Letlow’s death, Bill Cassidy, a Republican U.S. Senator from Louisiana, said, “It just, just, just, just brings home COVID can kill. For most folks it doesn’t, but it truly can. So, as you remember Luke, his widow, his children in your prayers, remember as well to be careful with COVID.”
The United Kingdom has never seen a week like this. The nation recorded over 53,000 new positive cases on Tuesday, shattering its previous single-day record set one just day earlier, on Monday. The U.K. is battling a war against a new variant of the virus that is considered even more contagious. Only five other countries have seen more total cases and only three other countries have recorded more fatalities since the beginning of the pandemic.
Elsewhere around the world, here are the latest updated totals according to statistics kept by Johns Hopkins University:
Total cases: 82,083,787
Total fatalities: 1,792,786
Total recoveries: 46,471,189
The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department began delivering a second round of Economic Impact Payments on Tuesday. Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin said the direct payments of $600 to Americans may begin to be deposited as early as tonight. Paper checks will begin to be mailed tomorrow, Wednesday, Dec. 30. The IRS emphasized that there is no action required by eligible individuals to receive this second payment.
The nation’s first known case of the coronavirus variant B.1.1.7, which originally discovered in the United Kingdom, was found in Colorado on Tuesday, Colorado health officials announced. The variant was identified in a young Colorado man, with no travel history, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement, according to USA Today. The man is in isolation in Elbert County, and will remain in isolation until cleared by health officials, Polis said. “There is a lot we don’t know about this new Covid-19 variant, but scientists in the United Kingdom are warning the world that it is significantly more contagious,” Polis said. “The health and safety of Coloradans is our top priority and we will closely monitor this case, as well as all Covid-19 indicators, very closely.”
The Director of the department's microbiology program places a swab in a bag after performing a nasal test for coronavirus for a patient Friday, Nov. 27, 2020, in east Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff are were both inoculated on Tuesday at United Medical Center in Washington, D.C., receiving the first of two dozes of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine. After being administered the vaccine, Harris said “that was easy” and that it was “relatively painless,” according to CBS News. “I urge everyone, when it is your turn, get vaccinated. It's about saving your life, the life of your family members and the life of your community,” Harris said. Last week, President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden were given the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at ChristianaCare Hospital in Newark, Delaware.
In Spain, where the vaccine against the coronavirus has begun being distributed free of charge, residents may find themselves on a ‘registry’ if they fail to receive the two-dose vaccine. According to lasexta.com, the country’s Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, said that receiving the vaccine is not mandatory, but individuals who reject the vaccine will be put on a list that will be shared with other European partners. “It is not a document to be made public,” Illa said of the registry. “And it will be done with the utmost respect for data protection.”
A nationwide Italian restaurant has seen a dramatic drop in profits this year, one of countless restaurants across the country that have taken a hit due to the coronavirus pandemic. Olive Garden, well-known for its bottomless soup, salad and breadsticks, has seen nearly a 20% drop in sales, according to CNBC. The restaurant chain does offer a $5 take-home meal, but this new offer has not been enough to offset the decline in profits. Additionally, Olive Garden has changed its menu to help save money and offset some of the loss in profits as the business tries to survive the pandemic.
The New York Attorney General is investigating if a health-care clinic fraudulently obtained coronavirus vaccine doses and distributed them to the public, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. Cuomo said it’s unlikely to be the last case of alleged fraud associated with coronavirus vaccines, adding that fraud involving a valuable commodity is “almost an inevitable function of human nature.” CNBC reported Cuomo declined to give details of the investigation since it’s ongoing, but he noted that it involves the ParCare Community Health Network. “We want to send a clear signal to the providers that if you violate the law on these vaccinations, we will find out and you will be prosecuted,” Cuomo said Monday at a news briefing. “You’re going to see more and more of this. The vaccine is a valuable commodity and you have many people who want the vaccine.”
A nurse prepares a vial of the COVID-19 vaccine to administer to Belgium's Lucie Danjou, 101 years old, at the Notre Dame de Stockel care home in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe, Belgium, Monday, Dec. 28, 2020. The vaccine, developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, was transported from a hospital in Leuven to the residential care home on Monday, as Belgium begins its vaccination program starting with the most vulnerable. (Johanna Geron, Pool via AP)
The two recently opened In-N-Out Burger's in Colorado are both experiencing a coronavirus outbreak with 80 staff members having tested positive for the virus. The fast-food chain debuted in Colorado on Nov. 20 with locations in Aurora and Colorado Springs. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is now calling them active outbreaks, according to The Denver Post. An outbreak is considered two or more cases linked to the same location or event. Outbreaks are active until four weeks have gone by without new cases. No customers have been linked to either outbreak and both restaurants remain open. Employees who tested positive and those in close contact are unable to return to work.
The United States saw another 168,817 positive cases of the coronavirus on Monday, increasing its world-leading total to 19,312,568 total infections since the beginning of the pandemic. The nation also saw 1,718 new deaths on Monday, the most in the world. The state of California has seen over 2 million total cases and continues recording dozens of thousands of cases each day, with over 34,000 new infections recorded on Monday and over 20,000 recorded every day since Dec. 3.
Elsewhere around the world, here are the latest updated totals according to statistics kept by Johns Hopkins University:
Total cases: 81,392,589
Total fatalities: 1,777,287
Total recoveries: 46,106,404
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the regional three-week stay-at-home order for Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley is likely to be extended, CNN reported. The state is deploying additional staff to Los Angeles County to assist with cases and hospitalizations as the virus is challenging the health care system in the Southern California region, particularly in Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties said Newsom. California will have received 1.76 million doses of the vaccine by the end of this week.
The race for European nations to vaccine their citizens has not gotten off to an easy start, with many issues already being reported. Officials in southern Germany reported on Monday that 1,000 doses of the vaccine needed to be thrown out after they had been improperly stored. In addition, Italian politicians believe that Germany received more than their fair share of vaccinations, Reuters reported. The issues involved in the E.U.’s vaccination route is due to the decision to obtain doses jointly rather than as separate nations, which has left them to lag behind other nations such as the U.S. and U.K. While the E.U. is expected to receive 12.5 million doses by Jan. 1, temperature controls have been a huge issue in keeping the vaccines safe as they arrive. The Pfizer vaccine requires that it be kept at minus 94 Fahrenheit during extended storage time. In Spain, some deliveries were halted after temperature control issues needed to first be resolved to safely distribute the vaccines. In addition, some German officials had to throw away some doses after the temperature control was brought into question. “There were doubts as to whether the cold chain was maintained at all times,” said Christian Meissner, district administrator in the Bavarian town of Lichtenfels. “BioNTech said that the vaccine was probably okay, but ‘probably okay’ is not enough.”
Despite many Pacific islands avoiding the worst in terms of COVID-19 infections, disruptions to the global supply chain caused by the pandemic have left them in desperate need for essential food imports. In addition to dwindling tourism numbers, food prices on the islands have skyrocketed as food shortages become a growing issue, The Associated Press reported. Local governments have resorted to creating initiatives that are meant to curb shortages, such as expanding fishing season and increasing seed distribution to allow more local resident to rely on their own food supplies. “We initially started with 5,000 seeds and thought we would finish them in nine months’ time. But there was a very big response, and we finished distributing the seeds in one week,” said Vinesh Kumar, head of operation for Fiji’s Agriculture Ministry. The initiative in Fiji offers vegetable seeds and saplings to residents, as well as the equipment needed to create their own gardens at home. Fiji resident Elisabeta Waqa is one of the many residents who have taken up creating a home garden after being left with no job and extra time at home during the pandemic. “When I started harvesting about two, three weeks later, that’s when I realized: My gosh, this is a hobby people have had for so long. I thought about just how much money I could save my doing this,” Waqa said. While she has since been able to return to work, Waqa now has her older children run the garden while she is away. “Now I save money on food, know where my food is coming from and just feel more secure about having food,” she said. “I don’t want to go back to the way things were before.”
Acapulco, Mexico, is taking additional measures to make sure COVID-19 regulations are being followed on its beaches — by having soldiers patrol the grounds. To make sure tourists are following COVID-19 guidelines, the city has taken up the help of armed soldiers to patrol beaches. Carmelo Hernandez, an American tourist, said he is concerned for the people who work and live in the city, as tourism seems to be down. “We used to come almost every year around this time, it’s a shame that many people are staying home and aren’t coming here to enjoy themselves,” Hernandez told AFP. “They had told us Acapulco was packed. Unfortunately, we arrived and tourism is very low.”
As coronavirus cases in the U.K. surge amid the discovery of a new variant of the virus that appears to be much more contagious, hospitals in Britain are struggling to manage the number of patients coming in. On Monday alone, 41,385 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the U.K., the first time the nation has surpassed 40,000 cases in one day, although testing rates are higher now than at any other point in the pandemic, The Associated Press reported. Dr. Nick Scriven, immediate past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said he is concerned with how the rising cases will affect local hospitals. “With the numbers approaching the peaks from April, systems will again be stretched to the limit,” he said. Dr. Katherine Henderson, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said working in the hospital on Christmas Day was a “wall-to-wall COVID” experience. “The chances are that we will cope, but we cope at a cost,” Henderson said. “The cost is not doing what we had hoped, which is being able to keep non-COVID activities going.”
U.S. health officials say the new coronavirus mutation causing a new round of lockdowns in the United Kingdom and elsewhere around the globe must be taken "very seriously." However, it's not currently believed to be more likely to cause serious illness or be resistant to vaccines then the current strain, according to The Associated Press. “Does it make someone more ill? Is it more serious virus in the sense of virulence? And the answer is, it doesn’t appear to be that way,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fauci went on to say, while on CNN's State of the Union, that the general population would likely start getting immunized by late March or early April.
Another college football bowl game has been canceled after the Missouri Tigers withdrew from the 2020 Music City Bowl. The Tigers were slated to face the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Wednesday night game in Nashville, but pulled out after a rise in COVID-19 cases within the program forced the school to pause all team activities until Jan. 2, according to UPI. According to athletic director Jim Sterk, the outbreak stems from the team’s game on Dec. 19 against Mississippi State. “We are extremely disappointed to have our season end today," Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said, according to UPI. "This is a remarkable group of players and men, and it has been an honor to coach them. This has been a very special team. We have overcome several challenges together during a season like no other. I am incredibly proud of this entire team and saddened that we will not have one more chance to get out and compete together."
As cases of the new variant of the coronavirus have begun popping up across many countries, Indonesia has banned all visitors for a two-week period. The country’s foreign minister Retno Marsudi, made the announcement on Monday, and said it will go into effect on Jan. 1. The only exception within the ban is for high-ranking government officials. Indonesia has already banned visitors from the U.K. because of the new variant and instated new regulations for visitors coming from Europe or Australia. According to Reuters, the healthcare system in Indonesia has been strained in recent weeks as hospitals are nearing capacity, with some being left with no choice but to add more beds.
A health worker collects a swab sample from a woman to test for COVID-19 in Jammu, India, Monday, Dec. 28, 2020. India's confirmed coronavirus cases have crossed 10 million with new infections dipping to their lowest levels in three months, as the country prepares for a massive COVID-19 vaccination in the new year. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)
COVID-19 affects the sense of smell in most infected people in a different way than the common cold does. During a cold, a person's nose is stuffy and odor molecules are physically unable to reach smell receptors. The coronavirus is different because the loss of smell is caused by a signaling disruption due to the virus attacking cells behind the bridge of the nose. If someone loses their sense of smell, it's a good sign someone may have COVID-19. Recent analyses have suggested that if you had to pick one symptom, sudden loss of smell could be the single best predictor of COVID-19, according to CNN.
"Stop. Smell. Be well" is a project launched by Penn State University to raise awareness of this connection. Doing a daily smell test can easily be done by sniffing coffee in the morning or shampoo in the shower. However, smell checks will not catch every case of COVID-19 and individuals are still urged to get a test done if they feel like they may have the virus.
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