Our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic has ended for the day.
The United States has added at least 100,000 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday – marking the 26th consecutive day the country has topped that benchmark, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
So far today the USs has reported 114,397 new cases and 862 deaths, according to the university.
Some of the cases reported Saturday include data from states that did not report on Thursday and Friday, due to the holiday.
Joe Biden announced three additional members to his Covid-19 advisory board, adding experts on mental health and health disparities among American Indians, both which are issues the president-elect has listed as priorities in the fight against the pandemic.
Jane Hopkins trained as a nurse in England and specializes in mental health, according to the transition’s release. Jill Jim is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and the executive director at Navajo Nation Department of Health.
David Michaels has experience as an epidemiologist and professor of Environmental and Occupational Health at George Washington University, where his research focuses on “protecting the integrity of the science underpinning public health, safety, and environmental protections,” per the release.
California reported 11,996 new Covid-19 cases and 56 new deaths and on Saturday, bringing the state’s count to 1,183,320 cases and death toll to 19,089, according to numbers released by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
These numbers are slight increases from records reported on Friday.
CDPH updated the Blueprint for a Safer Economy county tiers based on data from Nov. 16 to Nov. 22 with a four-day lag—revealing that nine counties are moving to more restrictive tiers:
More details: Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, a statewide plan for reducing COVID-19 and keeping Californians healthy and safe.
The plan imposes risk-based criteria on tightening and loosening Covid-19 allowable activities and expands the length of time between changes to assess how any movement affects the trajectory of the disease.
Washington, DC, reported a record number of new coronavirus cases on Saturday, with 371 residents testing positive for the virus from the day before.
The District’s previous record was reported May 1 with 335 positive cases.
Earlier this week: Mayor Muriel Bowser said Washington, DC, would making adjustments to some of its phase 2 reopening guidelines, including limiting indoor dining and restricting the number of people allowed to gather.
These numbers were released by the city’s health department, and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and CNN’s Covid tracker.
Derrick Chubbs, president and CEO of Central Texas Food Bank, said a “considerable number” of people are seeking out food donations for the first time.
“We are around 30% short of meeting the demand that we’re already seeing,” he said.
Chubbs said he is most concerned about long-term demand.
In October, the food bank served more than 300,000 people, and he anticipates a 25% increase over that for November.
“Making a donation to our food bank or to your local food bank, regardless of where you are, is going to be beneficial to helping us try and meet this unprecedented demand,” Chubbs said.
Watch:
While small business owners have faced tremendous hurdles over the past year due to the coronavirus pandemic, many hope to see a rise in sales thanks to Small Business Saturday.
Ali Rose VanOverbeke, owner and founder of Genusee Eyewear, said she was “terrified” when the pandemic first hit.
VanOverbeke left a fashion career in New York City to start her business in Flint, Michigan, making eyeglasses from recycled water bottles in response to the city’s water crisis.
“We’ve been really lucky that we’ve been staying afloat throughout this, as well as being able to grow and be able to create jobs here in the community for our employees,” she said.
Michael Salvatore, owner of Heritage Bicycle and Coffee in Chicago, says his company has had to innovate and adapt during the pandemic.
He said they started an initiative for customers to purchase coffee and pastries for frontline workers, which he’d then deliver.
“That would keep our employees employed and fed and paid and … it made a difference. Our customers have been very generous,” he said.
VanOverbeke said she’s also had to think outside the box for her business as well.
“When the pandemic hit, it was a signal for us to really double down on our e-commerce. So we’ve been fully focused on our website and launching things like virtual try-on,” she said, adding that they’re also producing fog-free glasses.
Brandon Neisler, owner of Lovin Florist in Lawrenceville, Georgia, bought his business in February. He told CNN that he’s experienced “a lot of sleepless nights” since the beginning of the pandemic.
“It was a lot to take on — emotionally, mentally, everything. But fortunately, we’re able to make it through,” he said.
Holiday sales will be “vital” for small businesses like his, he added.
New York state has reported 6,063 new Covid-19 cases.
This figure is up from the more than 5,000 cases reported Friday, according to a tweet from Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The statewide test positivity rate, with all focus areas included, is 3.98%, a press release from the governor’s office said.
As of Saturday, an additional 184 patients have been hospitalized for the virus and an additional 42 deaths have been reported, according to the release.
The test positivity rate across all focus areas is 5.65%, the release said.
Turkey recorded another record mortality number from Covid-19 for the sixth consecutive day, with 182 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Turkish Ministry of Health on Saturday
The ministry announced a record 30,103 cases with 6,714 people showing symptoms. Since last week, Turkey has started to release case numbers as well as patient numbers.
A total of 13,373 Turkish people have died since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the ministry.
So far, during the month of November, the United States has tallied over 4 million new Covid-19 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Since the start of November, a total of 4,004,047 cases have been identified. There have also been 34,019 deaths from the virus in November as of Saturday afternoon.
November’s new cases account for 30% of all cases in the US since the pandemic began.
According to Johns Hopkins University’s tally of cases in the United States, there have been at least 13,111,362 Covid-19 cases and at least 264,977 people have died from the virus.
So far today, Johns Hopkins has reported 22,541 new cases and 119 reported deaths.
The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) reported 4,136 new daily coronavirus cases in Arizona on Saturday along with 36 new coronavirus related deaths.
This brings the total number of coronavirus cases across the state to 322,774 and the death toll due to Covid-19 to 6,624, according to ADHS.
As of Saturday, Arizona’s seven-day average positivity rate for coronavirus cases stand at 13%, ADHS reports.
Arizona’s overall intensive care unit capacity remains limited, with 11% of ICU beds available for Covid-19 patients and people with all other illnesses.
ADHS reported that 2,383 inpatient beds in Arizona are occupied by Covid-19 patients, a little less than three times the number of beds occupied by Covid-19 patients since the beginning of November.
To note: These numbers were released by the state’s health agency, and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and CNN’s Covid tracker.
More than 60 people have been arrested during an anti-lockdown protest in London on Saturday, the Metropolitan Police said.
Read the tweet:
Anti-lockdown protesters are marching through London’s city center ahead of England’s national lockdown coming to an end on Wednesday.
Social media footage appears to show some protesters clashing with police and demonstrators chanting “freedom.”
The Metropolitan Police said on Twitter on Saturday afternoon that “crowds continue to protest and gather in the vicinity of Oxford Circus and Regent Street.”
Protests in London are currently banned under coronavirus legislation and the police had issued an open letter to demonstrators urging them to stay home.
Earlier on Saturday, the police said three people were arrested for breaching coronavirus restrictions at Kings Cross Station.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has appointed a health minister to be responsible for coronavirus vaccine deployment.
Nadhim Zahawi’s appointment to the role, a temporary arrangement until at least next summer, was announced by Downing Street on Saturday.
Zahawi will become a joint minister between Department of Health and Social Care and Business Energy and Industrial Strategy for this period.
The British government’s scientific advisory board has, in new guidance, called for greater consideration for women who — they say — face “additional pressures and responsibilities” due to coronavirus restrictions over the Christmas period.
“Specific consideration should be given to the differential impact [of restrictions] on specific groups,” the UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) said Friday.
”Consideration should be given to the additional pressures and responsibilities that fall to women due to restrictions, and when celebrations and observances must be reimagined,” SAGE added.
The new guidance published Friday was, according to SAGE, based on a paper prepared by the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours (SPI-B) in October, which said that “women carry the burden of creating and maintaining family traditions and activities” at Christmas.
“Messaging should be supportive of women adapting traditions and encouraging those around them to share the burden and to be supportive of any alterations to adapt for Covid-19 restrictions,” the paper added.
The paper was considered by the government’s scientific advisors during a meeting on October 29, and informed the government’s advice on women published Friday.
The guidance has sparked debate on Twitter, with some arguing that the advice is “outdated” and “out of touch,” while others have expressed support for the acknowledgement of the “unequal domestic division of labour” between men and women.
Experts in the UK have questioned the Prime Minister’s promise of mass community testing, saying it could be a “distraction” from other priorities, like the planning and rolling out of vaccines.
Liverpool is offering mass testing to its 500,000 residents, something which Boris Johnson would like to see implemented to all areas in tier 3 after the current lockdown ends next Wednesday.
This might not be possible due to the cost and resources needed, said the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) and the Faculty of Public Health (FPH) in a joint statement on Friday.
“There is an enormous price tag attached to this programme, and the resources and capacity needed come at a time of overwhelming and competing priorities, including making sure all those who are symptomatic get tested and self-isolate to planning and rolling out vaccines,” read the statement.
Lateral flow testing, a rapid turnaround test that can process coronavirus samples on site without the need for laboratory equipment, was also piloted in Liverpool. However the ADPH and FPH warned the UK government that these pilots are still at an early stage and the reliability and accuracy of the tests “in different circumstances is evolving.”
The leading UK health bodies also said setting up and managing the testing sites alone has required enormous “additional logistical capacity.” Replicating this across the country at the same speed would be “difficult to envisage,” they added.
They said that improving NHS Test and Trace must be the priority for testing.
“There is an enormous price tag attached to this programme, and the resources and capacity needed come at a time of overwhelming and competing priorities, including making sure all those who are symptomatic get tested and self-isolate to planning and rolling out vaccines,” the ADPH and FPH concluded.
Skiers and snowboarders across Europe are experiencing a roller coaster ride as doubts build over when the mountains might open for sport this winter.
Until this week, there had been some optimism among ski industry experts, with hopes that the ski season would get underway before year’s end, and perhaps the prospect of uncrowded slopes might help shrug off any fears of catching Covid.
But recent moves by Europe’s politicians to delay or restrict the opening of the winter sports destinations, means fresh uncertainty both for the ski industry and for anyone hoping to make a booking.
It’s now increasingly unlikely that Europe’s ski season will get fully underway before 2021, and even then it could be subject to last-minute cancellations and closures. One operator has described it as a “season from hell.”
Are you planning a ski trip to one of the continent’s main snow sport destinations?
In the days since Oxford University and AstraZeneca unveiled the results of the partnership’s Phase 3 Covid-19 vaccine trials, a growing number of questions have emerged.
The stated 70% average efficacy was significantly lower than the 94.5% to 95% reported by the other two leading candidates, Moderna and Pfizer.
Yet this vaccine could still prove to be more valuable for the world than the other two in the coming months. If the questions over its results are answered and it receives approval, it may lead the way in providing vaccine coverage in poorer countries where it is urgently needed.
The UK government took the first step in that approval process on Friday, announcing that it had formally referred the candidate to the UK’s medicines regulator for assessment.
“[T]he Pfizer vaccine is committed to its initial doses going to the EU and the US. And Moderna’s supply will be tied up with the US for at least probably the first half of 2021, so in light of that, the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is really good news for the rest of the world,” Andrea Taylor, assistant director of programs at Duke Global Health Innovation Center, told CNN.
AstraZeneca has promised to supply hundreds of millions of doses to low and middle income countries and to deliver the vaccine on a not-for-profit basis to those nations in perpetuity. The vaccine developed at England’s Oxford University is significantly cheaper than the others and, crucially, it would be far easier to transport and distribute in developing countries than its rivals since it does not need to be stored at freezing temperatures.
“I think it’s the only vaccine that can be used in those settings at the current time,” Azra Ghani, chair in infectious disease epidemiology at Imperial College London, told CNN.
#Vaccines##
As Thanksgiving week draws to an end, more experts are warning the Covid-19 pandemic will likely get much worse in the coming weeks before a possible vaccine begins to offer some relief.
More than 205,000 new cases were reported Friday – which likely consists of both Thursday and Friday reports in some cases, as at least 20 states did not report Covid-19 numbers on Thanksgiving.
The US has now reported more than 100,000 infections every day for 25 consecutive days and hospitalizations remain at record high levels – with more than 89,800 patients reported nationwide Friday, according to the COVID Tracking Project. A record was set just a day earlier, with a staggering 90,481 hospitalizations, according to the project. And the nation recorded a daily death toll of less than 1,000 only twice this week – while the two days prior to Thanksgiving each saw more than 2,000 American deaths reported.
And while there is more good news on the vaccine front, for now Americans need to “hunker down” and prepare for a difficult winter ahead, according to Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and a visiting professor at George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.
“We cannot let our guard down,” she told CNN Friday night. “The vaccines will make a big difference in the spring and the summer; they’re not going to make a difference right now.”
She also advised anyone who traveled to visit with family and friends or hosted guests outside their immediate household unit to quarantine.
South Korea reported 504 coronavirus cases on Saturday, marking the third consecutive day of more than 500 cases in a row, the nation’s Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced.
Of those, 486 are locally transmitted cases and 18 are imported, added the KDCA.
The new cases bring the national tally to 33,375 coronavirus cases. South Korea also reported six additional coronavirus deaths, taking the national death toll to 522.
The nation’s capital Seoul logged 178 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, according to the City Government.
Increased restrictions: Seoul has been under Level 2 social distancing measures since Tuesday.
The rise in cases comes ahead of the country’s national college entrance exam, which nearly 500,000 students are expected to sit.
On Friday, the KDCA urged people to “cancel all meetings” in light of the upsurge in coronavirus cases.
On Thursday, the Defense Ministry implemented a Level 2.5 social distancing protocol, the second-highest level of alert applicable to all military bases. Under that level, all vacations and off-base travel are suspended, in-person meetings and events are banned, and religious services are switched to online.
The alert level was announced after a cluster of 68 coronavirus cases was detected at a recruit training centre on Thursday. The Defense Ministry says 20 additional cases were found in the military on Saturday.
Health care: The central government is also in the process of reviewing healthcare protocol for patients suffering from coronavirus, in case of future bed shortages in hospitals.
On Saturday, the government announced that it completed an initial stage review for providing home care for coronavirus patients with mild symptoms and for children infected with the virus.
Further discussions on the move are ongoing with experts, the government health official added.
