A report from the UN's labor bureau provides an astonishing glimpse at how the virus devastated the global economy. And in Spain, a husband was shocked to see his wife alive and well after he had been told she had died.
Here are the latest updates, listed in eastern time, and the most important things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic.
State of emergency in Tokyo and chief cities over pandemic raise doubts about delayed Games that have been rescheduled for July.
The World Health Organization on Tuesday said that delaying a second shot of Moderna's coronavirus would be acceptable in some situations. According to AFP, the global health agency's vaccine advisory group had previously said it was "best to respect the tested intervals between doses of 21 days in the case of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 28 days for Moderna." However, due to limited vaccine supplies around the world, some countries are delaying the second dose to inoculate more people with an initial dose. The WHO said earlier this month that in "exceptional circumstances" it was possible to wait for up to 42 days to give the second dose of either Moderna's or Pfizer's vaccine.
The coronavirus surge that began during the fall and accelerated into winter is finally showing some signs of abating in the U.S., according to national statistics. Reuters reported that for the week ending on Jan. 24, new cases of COVID-19 had dropped by 21%. Some 1.2 million cases were reported across the nation last week, down from 1.5 million the previous week. And 49 of the 50 states reported a decline in new cases with only New Hampshire seeing an increase over the previous week’s numbers. Fatalities were also down, but not as dramatically. More than 21,000 deaths were reported last week, down 6.6% from the previous week’s numbers, according to Reuters. The national death toll stood at more than 421,000 as of Tuesday morning. And hospitalizations trended downward as well, with a 7.5% decrease in the average number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 for the seven-day period. Globally, the cumulative caseload is just on the verge of reaching 100 million with more than 2.1 million deaths and more than 55 million recovered, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
The emergence of new variants in Britain, South Africa and Brazil has sparked some concern that mutations in the virus may make vaccines less effective, however, Moderna is optimistic in its product. On Monday Moderna said it believes its coronavirus vaccine also protects against new variants found in Britain and South Africa, although the company is set to test a new booster shot aimed at the South Africa variant. The company said that it found no reduction in the antibody response against the variant found in Britain, however, they found a reduced response in the South Africa variant. “It is a little worrisome that you see a lesser neutralizing antibody response, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you are unprotected,” said Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious disease expert at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory panel. “The goal of this vaccine is to keep you out of the hospital and to keep you out of the morgue. If you get a symptomatic infection or mildly symptomatic infection that is not a burden to the healthcare system,” Offit said.
A more contagious variant of the coronavirus that was initially discovered in Brazil has been identified in Minnesota. On Monday, the Minnesota Department of Health announced that a person in the Twin Cities metro area who recently traveled to Brazil has tested positive for the variant, CNBC reported. “We know that even as we work hard to defeat COVID-19, the virus continues to evolve as all viruses do,” Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm said in a statement. “We’re thankful that our testing program helped us find this case, and we thank all Minnesotans who seek out testing when they feel sick or otherwise have reason to get a test,” Malcolm added. News of this comes just hours after President Joe Biden extended the travel restrictions for Brazil, as well as Europe and the U.K.
Tom Brady’s parents both, 76 years old, contracted coronavirus last year, which according to ESPN "stressed out" the quarterback as he started his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In an interview with ESPN, Tom Brady Sr. said at one point last year he was hospitalized for three weeks and the couple did not watch the Bucs' first two games this season because of his hospitalization, which was the first time in their son's football career that they missed any games. "We've never missed a game at Michigan or New England or wherever," he told ESPN. "For the first two games when I was in the hospital, I didn't even care if they were playing -- much less missing the game. It was a matter of life and death, just like anybody who goes to the hospital. That's serious stuff." Tom Sr. said his wife Galynn did not require hospitalization because of the virus. While in the hospital, Tom Sr. said his son would "FaceTime me every day on his way to and from practice" and was "stressed out" worrying about them. "Tommy fought through it, and so now it's in the rearview mirror," he said. "We're healthy, we're happy and everything is good."
Rather than advertise its Budweiser brand during the Super Bowl, Anheuser-Busch is donating the money it would have used on the advertisement to coronavirus vaccination awareness. This Super Bowl will be the first since 1983 that the beer brand will not be advertised during the iconic sporting event, The Associated Press reported. In 1983, Anheuser-Busch used all its advertising time on Bud Lite, which was new at the time. The company will still advertise some of its other brands during the game and has four minutes of air time to advertise Bud Light, Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade, Michelob Ultra and Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer. “We have a pandemic that is casting a pall over just about everything,” Paul Argenti, Dartmouth College professor of corporate communication, said. “It’s hard to feel the exuberance and excitement people normally would.” PepsiCo. also announced that it will opt out of advertising Pepsi, its most popular brand but will still advertise its Frito-Lay and Mountain Dew products. Coke, Audi and Avocados from Mexico have completely opted out of advertisements during the game. “I think the advertisers are correctly picking up on this being a riskier year for the Super Bowl,” Charles Taylor, marketing professor at Villanova University, said. “With COVID and economic uncertainty, people aren’t necessarily in the best mood to begin with. There’s a risk associated with messages that are potentially too light. ... At the same time, there’s risk associated with doing anything too somber.”
Two masks may be better than one in preventing the spread of the coronavirus, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not released a statement on the effectiveness of double masks, but people began to create a stir around the issue after many people were spotted at President Joe Biden’s inauguration wearing more than one mask. Some researchers say wearing a surgical mask along with a cloth mask will create maximum protection, CNBC reported. “So if you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective,” Fauci said. “That’s the reason why you see people either double masking or doing a version of an N95.”
A European Union official said AstraZeneca is not doing enough to resolve an issue regarding insufficient vaccine deliveries. E.U. health commissioner Stella Kyriakides suggested a policy that would require the drugmakers that create vaccines to register their vaccine exports in advance so the E.U. can monitor them. On Friday, AstraZeneca told the E.U. that it would not be able to supply the full amount of vaccines to the bloc that was initially promised, which E.U. officials say will result in 31 million less doses. “The answers of the company have not been satisfactory so far,” Kyriakides said.
An 85-year-old woman in Spain who reportedly had passed away due to effects from COVID-19 more than 10 days ago shocked friends and family when she showed up at her nursing home, Reuters reported. The baffling situation was the result of an identification mix-up Reuters said, citing the La Voz de Galicia newspaper. The family of Rogelia Blanco was notified that Blanco had passed away on Jan.13 and was to be buried on the following day. The family was unable to attend the funeral due to coronavirus restrictions. The identification error reportedly occurred when Blanca and other residents who tested positive for the virus had been transferred to another care facility on Dec. 29 for special treatment. Needless to say, Blanco's husband, was stunned when he saw his wife arrive in good health at the care home he was staying at in the northern town of Xove. “I could not believe it. I was crying, after the death of my wife,” according to Reuters via La Voz de Galicia. The husband noted it was the woman who shared a room with Blanco who had succumbed to the illness.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom ended the state's regional stay-at-home orders on Monday, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. Once the order is lifted, counties will go back into a reopening framework that is based on colored tiers, the Chronicle reported. The reopening strategy was initially tied to how many beds would be available locally in intensive care units. The governor's decision to lift the order comes six weeks after he issued the stay-at-home declaration. It also comes as ICU beds in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Southern California are becoming more available, following an intense surge of post-holiday cases, according to the Chronicle. California has reported more than 3.1 million total cases since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins University.
UPDATE: Newsom has officially lifted the regional stay-at-home order, according to Los Angeles Times reporter John Myers.
Licensed vocational nurse Joselito Florendo, right, administers the COVID-19 vaccine to Michael Chesler at a mass vaccination site set up in the parking lot of Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, Calif., Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The coronavirus pandemic's impacts on the global economy have been well documented since much of the world was forced into lockdown early last spring. However, a new study published by the UN's International Labour Organization (ILO) revealed an astonishing figure when it comes to the number of jobs lost worldwide due to the virus. The ILO study found that 8.8 percent of global working hours were lost in 2020, when compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. which is the equivalent of 255 million full-time jobs. "This is approximately four times greater than the number lost during the 2009 global financial crisis," ILO officials said in a news release. The study found that women have been more affected than men by the disruptions to the global job market. Employment losses for women are at about 5 percent worldwide, compared to 3.9 percent for men, the ILO said. The disruptions from the pandemic have also hit younger workers particularly hard. Job losses amount those aged 15-24 stands at 8.7 compared to 3.7 percent for adults. This “highlights the all too real risk of a lost generation,” the ILO said.
Add Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to the list of world leaders who have contracted COVID-19. López Obrador made the announcement over the weekend in a post on Twitter. “I regret to inform you that I am infected with COVID-19,” he said. “The symptoms are mild but I am already under medical treatment. As always, I am optimistic. We will all move forward.” The president, 67, added that he is “isolating at home” though he has been opposed to enacting strict lockdown orders and reportedly has eschewed mask-wearing. For more on the story, watch the video below.
The National Park Service announced Saturday that the Washington Monument will close until further notice in an effort to protect staff and visitors from the spread of COVID-19. In addition to the closure of the monument, all additional indoor attractions along the National Mall will be closed for a time as well, the park service said. A reopening date for the monument and other facilities has not been revealed. "The National Park Service will monitor public health conditions in the Washington, D.C. area, as well as the opening status of other nearby visitor attractions, and reopen the Washington Monument and other indoor park facilities as soon as it deems it is safe to do so," officials said in a statement. The monument had closed last March during the initial wave of the coronavirus in the U.S. before it reopened in October, CNN reported.
Here are the latest coronavirus numbers globally, provided by Johns Hopkins University:
Confirmed cases: 99,135,720
Fatalities: 2,127,964
Recoveries: 54,693,089
New York state and New York City have run out of vaccines and will not get another shipment until next week, ABC 7 reported. As a result of the shortage, 15 vaccination centers have closed and hospitals across the state are canceling their vaccination appointments. Many hospitals have no vaccination appointments scheduled through Monday. Some people have suggested using second doses, which are in storage in the state and city, as first doses to begin vaccinating more people, but New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that is not possible without approval from the federal government. "The reason why the federal government has to agree is because they have to agree that they're then going to send you enough second doses in the future. Otherwise, you want them giving people first dosages and then you don't have a second dosage for them," Cuomo said. He said the former administration is responsible for creating too many categories of people to be eligible in the first round of vaccination without providing enough doses for them all. "It should have been opened as you had allocation. Anyway, that is not what we did, it's not what they did. And now you have a period of confusion and anxiety because you're trying to hit seven million people at 250,000 a week," Cuomo said.
New data suggests that the coronavirus variant first discovered in the U.K. could be deadlier than previously thought. “We need to assume now what has been circulating in the UK does have an increase in virulence, meaning the power of the virus to cause more damage, including death,” Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci said. According to The New York Post, officials in the U.K. originally dismissed concerns that the variant was deadlier than the first coronavirus strain. New research, however, has led officials to believe the variant could be 30% deadlier in older adults. Prior to the arrival of the new variant, the death toll in the U.K. around 60-year-olds who were infected with the virus was 10 in 10,000. The new variant has caused that death rate to go up to 13 or 14 within the same number of people infected. “We want to look at the data ourselves, but we have every reason to believe them. They’re a very competent group,” Fauci said.
New Zealand reported its first suspected community spread case of the coronavirus since November on Sunday. According to NPR, the case may be one of the variants of the virus further complicating things as some are suspected to be more infectious than the original strain. The case was reported in a 56-year-old woman that traveled to Spain and the Netherlands at the end of last year. The country’s Ministry of Health announced that more testing is needed to ensure that this is a new case. Regardless, the ministry announced that tests are hinting "that it is new and we are treating it as such.” The patient tested positive on Jan. 15, after results came back saying she was negative on both Jan. 2 and Jan. 10. ”We are working under the assumptions that this is a positive case and that it is a more transmissible variant, either the one identified first in South Africa or the U.K., or potentially Brazil — or another transmissible variant," Ashley Bloomfield, New Zealand's director-general of health, said.
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