Covid-19 Pandemic: Updates and live news for January 1, 2021

Photographer: Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The United States has surpassed 20 million cases of Covid-19, a year after a mysterious pathogen was first revealed in Wuhan, China. This number is almost twice as high as in India, the second most affected country. New York State infections remained high, just below the record set on Wednesday, as the positive test rate in New York rose to 10%. California deaths hit a record high.

The pandemic entered 2021 with no signs of slowing down. Daily global deaths hit record highs this week. Countries from Germany to Japan to South Africa ended 2020 with record daily cases. Turkey, China and Brazil have become the last nations to report infections new virus strain, highly transmissible.

Vaccines remained the best the hope for 2021. The World Health Organization has issued an emergency designation for the Pfizer Inc. shot, a move that could allow several countries to import and distribute the vaccine.

Key developments:

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Covid High Hospitalization (16:55 NY)

Hospitalizations in the United States rose to a new level, with 125,379 people admitaccording to data compiled by the Covid Tracking Project. This compares with the previous two waves of the virus – in April and July – which reached a maximum of about 60,000.

The data show the Midwest as the only region in which hospitalizations are declining, with most in the south, just under 50,000. The Northeast, hardest hit by the first wave of the pandemic, saw the fewest hospitalizations in recent growth.

Oxford-AstraZeneca expects more vaccine production, Times reports (16:47 NY)

A member of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine team expects 2 million doses to be ready each week from mid-January, the Times of London reported.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said earlier this week that only 530,000 doses of the vaccine would be ready on Monday. The Oxford team is frustrated that the poor state of the country’s production capacity has affected the pace of production, the newspaper said.

Outbreaks in Virginia, Maryland near highs (3:31 pm NY)

Virginia reported the second consecutive day of more than 5,000 cases, a day after infections rose to a new level. Total hospitalizations, which have tripled since early November, rose to a record 2,744, according to data compiled by the Covid Tracking Project.

Neighboring Maryland reported 3,557 cases, the second-highest record, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. Hospitalizations are also close to a record high of 1,773.

California Deaths Rise to Record (2:41 pm NY)

California added a record 585 new deaths, bringing the total to 25,971. The state reported 47,189 new cases, bringing the total to nearly 2.3 million.

Golden State emerged as the epicenter for the latest outbreak, as hospitals, especially in Southern California, ran out of intensive care beds. The test positivity rate of 12.2% is at one of the highest levels since the beginning of the pandemic.

Ireland sees post-Christmas growth (2:24 pm NY)

Ireland expects to register more than 9,000 cases in the coming days, as a Christmas gap in reporting and testing. More than 1,700 cases were reported on Friday, close to a record high. Medical authorities have warned of an increase in hospitalizations, with up to 70 patients a day admitTed, in addition to the 500 pluses already treated in the hospital.

Ireland has entered a third national deadlock, awaiting widespread vaccination.

All primary schools in London will remain closed, tutor reports (14:15 NY)

All primary schools in London will close for the start of the new term under pressure from local authorities, The Guardian reported.

The British government had previously omitted several areas of London from a list of primary schools that would be closed. An emergency meeting of the Cabinet on New Year’s Day resulted in the addition of the remaining education authorities from London to the government’s emergency areas.

Turkey finds 15 new cases among UK visitors (13:03 NY)

Turkey has suspended all arrivals from the UK after detecting the new variant of the Covid-19 virus among 15 people who traveled from the country, said Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.

All 15 patients have been in quarantine since they were detected and no other more infectious mutant virus cases have been detected in the country, Koca said in an online statement.

Turkey announced 12,203 new infections on Friday, the lowest level since at least November 25, when the health ministry began announcing the number of people testing positive for the virus, abandoning a controversial policy to rule out asymptomatic cases.

NY cases remain near record (12:54 pm NY)

New York State reported 16,497 new cases, just below the record set Wednesday for the entire pandemic. Total hospitalizations fell slightly to 7,886, as did the overall positive test rate of 7.52 percent, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. Another 166 people died, most in more than two weeks in two weeks.

Danish Prime Minister sets April as turning point in the fight against viruses (12:13 pm NY)

Denmark will probably reach a turning point in the fight against the pandemic in in early April, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.

“I think the worst year is behind us, but we should expect the most difficult months to be ahead of us,” the Social Democrat prime minister said in his New Year’s speech on Friday. She said that Easter Sunday, April 4, “will not be the end, but a turning point”, helped by vaccinations and better weather conditions.

New York positive test rate rises to 10% (11:54 am NY)

The test rate in New York continues to rise rapidly, reaching 9.41% based on a seven-day average, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a tweet on Friday. This number was below 2% in November. Hospitalizations continued to rise, with another 219 hospitalizations, he said.

“2021 is here and it will be a better year for our city – but we must continue the fight against it # COVID-19,” he said.

Italy Cases Slow (11:17 am NY)

Italy recorded 22,211 cases of the virus on Friday, up from 23,477 the day before. Daily deaths also fell, by 462 reported deaths, compared to 555 on Thursday.
The Italian government imposed a “stop-and-go” blockade across the country between December 24 and January 6, with strict restrictions on Christmas, New Year and the feast of the Baptism on January 6.

New UK cases remain high (11:09 AM NY)

The United Kingdom reported 53,285 new cases and 613 deaths on Friday. The last R number was estimated to be between 1.1 and 1.3., Which means that the virus continues to spread exponentially.

Portugal reports fewer daily cases (11:06 am NY)

Portugal reported 6,951 new confirmed cases, below the record of 7,627 announced the previous day, bringing the total to 420,629. The number of hospitalized cases decreased by 34 to 2,806.

Portugal started its Covid-19 vaccination program on December 27.

Philippines to ban foreigners traveling from the US (10:57 am NY)

The Philippines will ban foreign travelers to the United States until mid-January after a third state, Florida, reported a coronavirus strain believed to be more infectious, Reuters reported.

The ban, which begins on Sunday, does not apply to Filipinos traveling from the United States, although they will have to be quarantined for 14 days in a government unit, the news agency reported.

Norway to lift flight ban in UK (6:33 am NY)

Norway will eliminate the stoppage of flights from the UK at 17:00 CET on January 2, according to the country’s Ministry of Health and Care Services. Special rules on quarantine and testing for people coming from the UK will continue.

Merz from Germany calls for reopening of schools (16:42 HK)