Starting Monday, restaurants in the Big Apple will only be allowed to offer outdoor seating and takeout indefinitely amid an uptick in hospitalizations. For those who plan on dining outside, you may want to bundle up.
Here are the latest updates, listed in eastern time, and the most important things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic.
Accuweather's Dexter Henry looks at how the viewing experience of an iconic attraction is different this holiday season.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver have been in extensive talks with teams about creating a policy for the league amid a widespread use of the COVID-19 vaccines. The NBA could become the first major professional North American sports league to use widespread distribution of the vaccine for its players and coaches, according to ESPN. Team physicians and agents have been focusing on key aspects, such as creating an educational program for players and staff about vaccine choices. Side effects and efficacy have also been discussed to make players more willing to get a vaccine. Sources told ESPN that some players who already had the virus are hesitant to take the vaccine because they already built up antibodies. The education on the virus will help these players understand the need for taking the vaccine despite already having the virus.
The Food and Drug Administration has released a warning against wearing masks containing metal after a patient was burned during an MRI exam. The patient was wearing the face mask that contained metal during a MRI scan of the neck resulting in burns, according to The New York Post. The new warning says patients should avoid any metal during an MRI scan. Masks may contain metal on the nose wire or use synthetic fibers which could contain metal coatings. The FDA still advises patients should still wear a mask for an MRI exam to protect themselves and others from the coronavirus.
For a second day in a row, Florida has reported over 11,000 new cases of the coronavirus. The 11,699 new cases that were reported on Friday was the largest increase of cases in a single day for the state, Local 10 News reported. One day prior, 11,335 cases were reported in the state. Miami-Dade County has the highest case count in the state, with over 250,000 cases of COVID-19 reported.
After one couple contracted the coronavirus, the plasma they donated combined has saved 68 people in total. Brian and Dina Murphy, from San Antonio, Texas, contracted the virus in March. Once Dina began to feel better, she began donating her plasma in April. Brian began donating his shortly after in June. "We want to give back, I mean that's who we are," Brian added. "We were raised that way and to do work in the community.” The couple is now encouraging others to also donate their plasma if they have recovered from the coronavirus, People reported. The FDA has stated that the use of plasma, which is the liquid part of blood that is rich in antibodies, from people who have recovered from COVID-19 can be an effective treatment for people who are still fighting the virus. “We just really hope that people will realize that this is something that if they're a survivor, they just need to do it," added Dina. "It's so important and you're saving mankind. That's what's really important."
A recent survey found that nearly 40% of Americans plan to spend less money this holiday season for gifts compared to last year, CNBC said. Of the 800 people that took part in the survey, the main reasons cited for lower spending included lost wages or income, the poor economy, the need to save money and the coronavirus pandemic. Around 11% of participants said that they plan on spending more money this holiday season, nearly half of the number of people who said in 2019 that they planned on spending more during the holidays, according to CNBC.
A California pediatric nurse who participated in a trial of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine described an illness she experienced after the second shot of the trial to “Bill Hemmer Reports” on Fox News. Kristen Choi told anchor Bill Hemmer that she was not entirely sure whether she had received the vaccine or a placebo, but a strong reaction to the second shot made her suspect she had gotten the active vaccine. “After the first shot, it felt just like a normal injection, a flu shot or something else,” Choi said. “[I was] a bit sore, but not too much more than that.” The second shot, she continued, was different. “When I got home after the study, a few hours later I started feeling worse and worse throughout the night and woke up with a fever in the middle of the night.” She told Hemmer that she had a fever of 104.9 degrees, but that it went down after taking Tylenol. A reaction to the vaccine is a signal that the body’s immune system is starting to fight the virus, and that is the outcome you want from a vaccine, Choi said, adding that she was “very glad I participated, and I would do it again if I had the opportunity.”
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, high levels of unemployment and economic uncertainty have forced some Americans to steal food to survive. Joo Park, who works at Capitol Supermarket near downtown Washington D.C., said thefts have more than doubled since the start of the pandemic. “It’s become much harder during the pandemic,” he told The Washington Post. “People will say, ‘I was just hungry.’ And then what do you do?” Currently, shoplifting is at a higher level than in past economic recessions, according to interviews conducted by The Post. However, what is remarkable about the trend is the items that are being stolen. Experts noted that among the most stolen items are bread, pasta and baby formula. “We’re seeing an increase in low-impact crimes,” Jeff Zisner, chief executive of security firm Aegis, told The Post. “It’s not a whole lot of people going in, grabbing TVs and running out the front door. It’s a very different kind of crime – it’s people stealing consumables and items associated with children and babies,” he added.
New York Gov. Cuomo announced restaurants and bars in New York City will once again be forced to close their doors for indoor service on Monday. Restaurants in the city will only be allowed to offer outdoor seating and takeout indefinitely because of a “dramatic” uptick in hospitalizations, Cuomo said in a virtual briefing from Albany, New York Daily News reported. “This is the ultimate cause for concern,” Cuomo said as hospitalizations reached 5,321 statewide, with 1,668 patients in the city. “We’re asking everyone to hold on,” he said later in the briefing. “The end is in sight, but we still have to get there.” For those who will be dining outside in the Big Apple, Monday will bring morning rain followed by a couple of showers of rain or snow in the afternoon. Temperatures for the remainder of December will dip into the 20s with highs in the 40s.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the Pfizer and BioNTech coronavirus vaccine as the first COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in the U.S. on Friday evening.“The FDA’s authorization for emergency use of the first COVID-19 vaccine is a significant milestone in battling this devastating pandemic that has affected so many families in the United States and around the world,” FDA Commissioner DR. Stephen Hahn said in a statement. The next hurdles the vaccine will face before vaccinations can begin will include the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention immunization advisory committee voting on on whether or not to recommend the vaccine, and the CDC must accept that recommendation, according to CNN. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to meet on Saturday morning. While about 20 million people could be vaccinated over the next few weeks, mitigation efforts such as wearing masks and social distancing will likely continue until enough people have received the vaccine, according to CNN.
A nurse holds a phial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Guy's Hospital in London, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, as the U.K. health authorities rolled out a national mass vaccination program. U.K. regulators said Wednesday Dec. 9, 2020, that people who have a “significant history’’ of allergic reactions shouldn’t receive the new Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine while they investigate two adverse reactions that occurred on the first day of the country’s mass vaccination program. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)
Clorox is struggling to meet the demand for its products as a new wave of coronavirus impacts the country, the company now warning the shortages could last into mid-2021. Earlier in the year, the company had hoped it would be able to fully restock shelves by this summer, but the continued need for extra disinfecting and cleaning supplies prevented that goal. Ten third party manufacturers have teamed up with Clorox along with running facilities 24 hours a day, according to Fox Business. The company is shipping out nearly 1 million packages of wipes every day. Chief Operating Officer Eric Reynolds told NBC News the demand is staying incredibly high and they are producing more wipes than ever. Clorox wipes were among one of the first items to be sold out in stores back in March.
Like throwing a pebble in a pond, one single case of COVID-19 had a ripple effect at a biotech conference in Boston that led to hundreds of thousands of infections, CNN said. The February conference has now been deemed a superspreader event with 333,000 cases being traced back to one individual that attended the conference who tested positive. "A single introduction had an outsize effect on subsequent transmission because it was amplified by superspreading in a highly mobile population very early in the outbreak, before many public health precautions were put in place," a team at the Broad Institute in Massachusetts said. Only around 200 people attended the conference, but attendees were from 18 different states and from countries as far away as Sweden and Australia, taking the virus with them. "We think this is an important cautionary tale of the downstream implications of superspreading, which is all the more relevant as we enter the peak of the holiday season, and begin rolling out vaccines that may not decrease transmission," Bronwyn MacInnis, director of pathogen genomic surveillance at the Broad Institute, told CNN.
The U.K. has announced it will shorten the self-isolation period of the coronavirus from 14 days to 10 days for those who have a confirmed positive test. Those who have been instructed to quarantine upon returning from travel will also be lowered to 10 days starting Monday, according to BBC. People currently in self-isolation who are past their 10th day can end their quarantine on Monday. Northern Ireland and the U.K. have both seen falling coronavirus cases. The virus reproduction is back at levels two weeks ago which hints the virus isn't growing, but also isn't shrinking.
It is only a matter of days before the first coronavirus vaccines begin to be administered across the U.S. as the FDA is on the brink of giving Pfizer’s jab emergency approval. According to CNN, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Alex Azar said that following the impending emergency authorization, “we could be seeing people get vaccinated Monday, Tuesday of next week.” It is unclear what states will receive the first doses of Pfizer’s vaccine and each state is setting up its own prioritization system to determine who is eligible to be vaccinated first. Another coronavirus vaccine developed by Moderna could also receive emergency authorization before the end of December, CNN said.
On Thursday, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced new guidelines to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. The guidelines, which were announced in collaboration with Dr. Rachel Levin, Pennsylvania’s secretary of state, include the prohibition of indoor dining, as well as the prohibition of indoor gatherings of more than 10 people. However, take-out sales of food and alcohol will still be permitted. Outdoor gatherings of more than 50 people and indoor operations at gyms and fitness centers are also prohibited. These guidelines will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday and will remain enforced through Jan. 4, 2020 at 8 a.m.
As the coronavirus continues to spread across the United States, new data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows that at least 200 hospitals were at full capacity last week. The report comes as hospitalizations in the country reached a record high of 107,248 on Thursday, according to CNN. Intensive care units are also on the brink of collapse, with more than 90% of beds occupied in one third of all hospitals. Coronavirus patients occupied 36% of all ICU beds, up from 37% in the first week of November. “Things are really bad,” Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, told CNN. “What we have seen over the last few weeks is a sharp rise in infections. And what we know – from the beginning of this pandemic – is infections are followed by hospitalizations, which are then followed by death.”
Restrictions caused by the coronavirus have resulted in a more than $30 billion loss to the live events industry in 2020. The year-end report released by Pollstar explained the industry was supposed to see a record breaking year in sales, predicting $12.2 billion at the start of the year, according to The Associated Press. But the coronavirus pandemic has caused a $30 billion loss from unreported events, ancillary revenues, sponsorships, ticketing, concessions, merchandise, and more. Many artists began canceling or postponing tours in March when the virus was first starting to spread worldwide. Some artists opted to play drive-in concerts this year but a vast majority of artists have not performed a live show in 2020.
A proof-of-concept study has found that the dogs can be trained to identify people infected with COVID-19 simply by smelling their sweat, UPI reported. The study used dogs that are already trained in the art of detection, including three bomb-sniffing dogs, two used to help detect colon cancer and one that aids in search-and-rescue missions. The group of working dogs had a high level of success, correctly identifying individuals with COVID-19 more than 76% of the time, according to the study. “It is difficult to undergo a PCR [test] every two days, so yes, dogs can be a help in this situation," said Dominique Grandjean, a professor of pathology at the National School of Veterinary Medicine in Paris. However, further studies are needed to be confirmed in larger studies before the non-invasive testing method can be implemented.
Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline halted clinical trials for their COVD-19 vaccine after testing showed “a low immune response in older adults likely due to an insufficient concentration of the antigen,” Reuters reported. The announcement, made on Friday, is a setback in the global fight against the pandemic as the vaccine was set to launch late next year.“With this type of vaccine, the result is not a surprise, we know that more antigen is needed in older patients. But when in Phase I and II, drugmakers test tolerance and one cannot test strong dosages,” Jean-Daniel Lelievre, head of clinic immunology and infectious diseases at Henri-Mondor hospital in France, told Reuters. “I would think Sanofi and GSK will be able to improve their vaccine.” Phase III trials, which were expected to start this month have been postponed. Instead, Sanofi will launch a phase 2b of the study in February. “The study will include a proposed comparison with an authorized COVID-19 vaccine,” the company said. “If data are positive, a global Phase III study could start in Q2 2021. Positive results from this study would lead to a regulatory submissions in the second half of 2021, hence delaying the vaccine’s potential availability from mid-2021 to Q4 2021.”
United Parcel Service President of Global Healthcare Wesley Wheeler holds an example of the vial that will be used to transport the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine as he speaks at a Senate Transportation subcommittee hybrid hearing on transporting a coronavirus vaccine on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020, in Washington. (Samuel Corum/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
On Thursday evening, an advisory panel at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) endorsed the use of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and is working rapidly to grant it emergency use, CNBC said. “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has informed the sponsor that it will rapidly work toward finalization and issuance of an emergency use authorization,” said Commissioner Stephen Hahn in a statement. Alex Azar, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said that the vaccine should be authorized in the next couple of days with millions of vaccines being distributed before winter’s end. “We’re looking at 20 million Americans being vaccinated just in the next coming weeks, up to 50 million total by the end of January, and we believe we can have 100 million actual vaccinations in [the] arm by the end of February,” Azar said on Friday in an interview with Good Morning America. Clinical trials have found that Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine is 95% effective in preventing the virus.
Though fatalities were down a bit from Wednesday’s numbers, the U.S. recorded more than 2,700 new deaths on Thursday sending the total death toll above 290,000. New cases continued to surge across the country as 224,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported yesterday. Globally, total cases are just shy of 70 million and global recoveries have hit the 45 million mark. Here’s a look at the exact numbers and, in the video below, take a closer look at how the virus is spreading throughout the U.S. and beyond.
• Total cases: 69,765,806
• Total fatalities: 1,585,048
• Total recoveries: 45,001,080
Time magazine named all frontline workers 2020’s ‘Guardians of the Year’ in recognition of their contribution to fighting the coronavirus. Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has worked alongside frontline workers in a fight against the virus, was also given the title. “Guardians put themselves on the line to defend the ideals to secret democracy. In 2020, they fought on many fronts. On the front line against COVID-19, the world’s health care workers displayed the best humanity – selflessness, compassion, stamina, courage – while protecting as much of it as they could,” Time’s article reads. “In Washington, Dr. Anthony Fauci led not only the battle against COVID-19 but also the fight for truth.”
On Thursday, Moderna said it started a study testing its COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents aged 12 to less than 18, Reuters reported. The trial will enroll 3,000 healthy participants in the U.S. and they will receive two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine 28 days apart. “Our goal is to generate data in the spring of 20201 that will support the use of mRNA-1273 in adolescents in advance of the 2021 school year,” Chief Executive Officer Stephane Bancel said in a statement.
With Christmas just about two weeks away, officials in France are slowing down plans to reopen some key cultural parts of the nation’s economy due to the fact that new infections aren’t declining as quickly as hoped. French Prime Minister Jean Castex told reporters on Thursday that the planned reopening of movie theaters, museums and other theater venues will no longer go forward, Reuters reported. “We are not yet at the end of this second wave, and we will not reach the objectives we had set for Dec. 15,” Castex said, according to Reuters. When the French government imposed new lockdown measures in October, the plan was to begin reopening some cultural venues by mid-December. But those reopenings were contingent on new cases falling below 5,000 a day, which has not happened. In fact, France saw nearly triple that number of new cases on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Castex said the reopenings are now planned to go ahead at the beginning of January. “We cannot let down our guard,” Castex added. “We have to stay focused, and find our way through the next few weeks with lots of vigilance.”
In a 17-4 vote and one abstention, a panel of advisers to the U.S. government endorsed the widespread use of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine on Thursday. The panel concluded that the vaccine, created by Pfizer and BioNTech, is safe and effective for adults and teenagers aged 16 and older. According to The Associated Press, people could begin to receive their first shot within the next few days. Despite the endorsement, questions have arisen regarding allergic reactions after two people in the U.K. had allergic reactions. The vaccine will require two doses per person. By the end of December, Pfizer said it can have 25 million doses ready for the U.S. The move to approve the vaccine for emergency use approval is now on the FDA. The FDA’s vaccine director Dr. Peter Marks said a decision on whether or not to approve the vaccine will come within “days to a week.”
The number of jobless claims in the U.S. reached its highest level since September last week as 853,000 people filed for unemployment, The Associated Press reported. The number of applications was an increase of about 137,000 from the week prior when about 716,000 people filed for unemployment, the Labor Department said in its weekly report. Before the pandemic took hold back in March, weekly jobless claims were about 225,000, the AP said. The latest report comes at a time when new lockdown measures are going in place across the country, including in California. The state reported 47,000 new applications for unemployment benefits, the AP said.
The Chicago Bears suspended in-person football activities after someone in the building tested positive for the coronavirus. In a Zoom call to reporters, Bears head coach Matt Nagy said he wanted to credit his players for staying flexible and the team needs to continue to have the right mindset to get through the pandemic. The positive test came while multiple Bears players and coaches were inside the team's facility, according to ESPN. All players and staff were sent home as soon as they were made aware of the result. Earlier in the week, three practice squad players on the team tested positive for the coronavirus. The Bears are scheduled to play the Houston Texans on Sunday at Soldier Field in Chicago.
When approved for emergency use, the coronavirus vaccine is expected to be given to health-care workers along with residents and staff at long-term care facilities as part of the first phase of its rollout across the United States. CVS Chief Executive Larry Merlo told CNBC that they are ready to go and in great shape to provide vaccines into the most vulnerable populations within 24 to 48 hours of receiving the vaccine. While the CDC released guidance on who should receive the vaccine first, the decision will be made by states and jurisdictions. Merlo said there are 10,000 health care professionals at CVS that are ready to administer the shots in nursing homes and assisted living centers and that they have been hiring individuals since the pandemic began to help with testing. The U.S. government made a deal with CVS and Walgreens back in October to have those two companies help administer the coronavirus vaccine.
Ellen DeGeneres announced on Twitter that she has tested positive for the coronavirus. "Fortunately, I'm feeling fine right now. Anyone who has been in close contact with me has been notified, and I am following all proper CDC guidelines," she said on Twitter. The 18th season of the show premiered in September without an audience and is expected to return after the holidays.
The recent surge of coronavirus cases in the U.K. has caused a near-halt to economic recovery in the country as hospitals continued to fill. According to official data released on Thursday, the economy lost its recovery momentum as people started to be banned from pubs and restaurants. Gross domestic product only rose by 0.4% in October which is the weakest growth since the collapse in April, according to Reuters. Britain is home to the highest death toll from the coronavirus in Europe, with over 62,000 fatalities. The country also experienced the largest economic hit of any major economy. Forecasts don't expect the economy to get to pre-COVID levels until the end of 2022. Watch the video embedded in the tweet below for more.
Despite social media posts claiming that Pfizer’s vaccine could lead to infertility in women, medical experts and Pfizer said no sterilization was documented during clinical trials, AFP reported. The headline from an article shared on Facebook on Dec. 5 reads, “Head of Pfizer research: COVID Vaccine is female sterilization.” The article, which cites former Pfizer researcher Michael Yeadon, has since been shared on various social media platforms, including Twitter and Instagram. Yerdon claims that the COVID-19 vaccine would lead to infertility in women, as it would train the immune system to attack a protein involved in the formation of placentas. However, according to Dasantila Golemi-Kotra, an associate professor in microbiology at York University, this is not how the vaccine works. “The mRNA vaccine works by providing the body with an instructional molecule, such as mRNA, that tells the human cells how to synthesize the viral protein (the infamous spike protein),” she told AFP. Dervila Keana, a Pfizer spokeswoman, added that “there is no data that suggests that the Pfizer vaccine candidate causes infertility.”
Mrs. Claus is bringing holiday cheer to disadvantaged kids in Brazil amid the coronavirus pandemic. A video shared by AFP shows Fatima Sanson, who dresses up as Mrs. Claus to bring gifts and hug kids in the city of Belo Horizonte every Christmas. However, this Christmas is a little different. Due to the pandemic, a sanitized curtain was installed between Sanson and the kids as a way of preventing any possible risk of infection when they hugged. “Today I felt great, to know that I was able to hug someone. After the whole pandemic, really, today was the first time that I was hugged since February,” she told AFP. Watch the video below for more.
According to a study released on Wednesday, men are three times more likely to need intensive care when infected with the virus when compared to women, AFP reported. Between Jan. 1 and June 1, researchers from Cape Town University in South Africa analyzed over 3 million COVID-19 cases from 46 different countries and 44 different states in the U.S. They found that although the risk of infection was the same for women and men, men are 39% more likely to die from the virus. “These data may help doctors to recognize that sex is a risk factor for severe disease when managing patients,” Kate Webb, co-author of the study, told AFP. “Sex is an under reported variable in many studies and this is a reminder that it is an important factor to consider in research.” Researchers added that women naturally produce more type I interferon proteins, which help limit an abnormal immune response that creates severe forms of COVID-19. The oestradiol hormone, only found in women, can also prevent severe infection, as it boosts T cells, which kill infected cells and produce antibodies. “In contrast, the male sex hormone testosterone suppresses the immune system,” the authors wrote.
Libraries in Japan are turning to ultraviolet light in an effort to persuade visitors to check out more publications. According to Reuters, libraries in the country are installing a machine that sterilizes books using UV light. The machine takes about 30 seconds to clean books using the light while also fluttering the books' pages to remove dust, according to Reuters. Watch the video below for more.
The United States recorded the highest number of daily coronavirus deaths on Wednesday after more than 3,000 new deaths were reported, according to Bloomberg. The record comes just two weeks after Thanksgiving when experts warned Americans against travel. According to data released by Johns Hopkins University, 221,267 new cases and 3,124 new deaths were recorded, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 15,393,164 and the death toll to 289,373. Watch the video from Johns Hopkins University below for more.
Travelers wearing protective face masks and face shields to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) hug at the airport in Denver, Colorado, U.S., November 24, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt
The World Health Organization is asking people to postpone their affection this holiday season and refrain from hugging loved ones. During a news conference this week, Dr. Michael Ryan, the WHO’s emergencies chief, said he considered hugs to be “close contact,” echoing a sentiment from U.K. chief medical officer Chris Whitty who previously said Britons shouldn’t physically embrace their elderly relatives “if you want them to survive to be hugged again," according to The Associated Press. “It’s a horrible thing to think that we would be here as the World Health Organization saying to people, ‘Don’t hug each other.’ It’s terrible,” Ryan said. “That is the brutal reality in places like the United States right now.” Watch the video below. Discussion of hugging begins at approximately the 29-minute mark.
An elderly passenger aboard the Quantum of the Seas Royal Caribbean “safe cruising” voyage out of Singapore tested positive for coronavirus, which forced the voyage to be cut short. The 83-year-old passenger tested positive after reporting to the ship’s medical center with diarrhea, said Annie Chang, director of the cruise at Singapore’s Tourism Board, USA Today reported. "In the last 24 hours, one guest aboard Quantum of the Seas tested positive for coronavirus after checking in with our medical team," Lyan Sierra-Caro, spokesperson for Royal Caribbean, told USA TODAY. "The ship returned to port today in accordance with government protocols." Singapore recently began allowing cruise ships to make round trips to Singapore with no port of call in between. Strict safety measures were imposed, including reducing capacity by half and pre-boarding testing for passengers.
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