December 4 coronavirus news

A disinfection worker sprays antiseptic solution in a classroom to prevent the spread of Covid-19 ahead of the annual college scholastic ability test at a YoungSang high school in Seoul on December 1.

South Korea reported another 583 new cases of Covid-19, authorities said – 400 of which were found in the Seoul metropolitan area. Four patients died.

The country has been lauded for its response to the pandemic. However, it is currently seeing an uptick in cases.

To date, 36,915 total cases and 540 related deaths have been recorded since the pandemic began.

Los Angeles County set records Friday for the highest number of new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations for the third time in a single week.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Friday’s numbers would have been unimaginable just a few weeks ago, and called the surge “the greatest threat to life” the city has ever faced.

The county reported 8,860 new cases and 2,668 hospitalizations on Friday, according to a press release from the local Department of Public Health.

Los Angeles is projected to reach half a million coronavirus cases by the end of this year, according to Garcetti.

Public health officials are urging residents not to travel this holiday season, and stay home if possible.

Once 85% of ICU beds are filled in the Southern California region, Los Angeles County will impose additional closures to some businesses including personal care services like nail and hair salons, and family entertainment centers like zoos and museums.

Garcetti said he expects the region will pass the 85% ICU bed capacity threshold in the next few days.

Yoshihide Suga, Japan's Prime Minister, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Friday, December 4.

Japan identified another 2,432 new coronavirus cases and 43 related deaths on Friday, the country’s health ministry said.

A record 505 coronavirus patients were also in critical condition in intensive care units and on respirators on Friday. The day tied with May 8 for Japan’s deadliest day since the pandemic began.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said at a news conference Friday night that the situation in the country is “extremely alarming,” with more people occupying hospital beds with severe cases.

“New infection and severe cases of the coronavirus infection are hitting record highs,” Suga said.

To date, at least 158,386 cases of Covid-19 have been identified in Japan. At least 2,296 have died. Authorities said 131,176 patients have been discharged from hospitals.

The US Food and Drug Administration said Friday it has authorized the first emergency use for a combination coronavirus and flu test for at-home sample collection. It can detect both Covid-19 and influenza A and B.

Health care providers can prescribe the test for people suspected of having Covid-19 for sample collection at home, the FDA said.

The new test is a “significant step” in the agency’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said Friday in a statement.

Hahn said the test, which comes as flu season ramps up in the US, allows suspected Covid-19-positive patients to remain in quarantine at home while waiting for test results. 

Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

People who contracted Covid-19 should still get the vaccine when it is made available, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said.

Gupta said natural infections do provide immunity, but “the hope, the thought, is that the immunity that you get from the vaccine will be longer lasting and even stronger.”

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Mexico reported 12,127 new Covid-19 cases over the last 24 hours – setting a new single-day record for fresh infections in the country.

Its total confirmed cases stand at 1,144,643, according to the health ministry. 

The ministry also confirmed 690 more related deaths Friday, taking the country’s total death toll to 108,863.  

Mexico has the fourth-highest number of coronavirus deaths in the world, trailing only the United States, Brazil and India, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally.

The Froelichs.

A Moderna Covid-19 vaccine participant discussed her experience after taking two shots of the experimental drug in August and September.

Susan Froelich recounted the illness she experienced after taking the second shot, which she said could have been a placebo and not the vaccine.

Froelich said she took 440 milligrams of Naproxen, which cleared her symptoms but “it was like every part of my body was hurting for about four hours.”

“If I hadn’t Naproxen right away, I think those symptoms would’ve abated more quickly. But my muscles hurt, my joints hurt, my bones hurt, my jaw hurt. But it was for such a short time,” she said.

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Health experts do not yet know if the promising Covid-19 vaccines will protect people against infection and make it less likely that they can infect others, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN.

Here’s how Fauci explained it:

Fauci said experts don’t have exact data to definitively answer the question, but “as we get more and more information from the trial, we will get that information for you.”

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Dr. Anthony Fauci.

When it comes to administering a new vaccine to children, “safety is really important,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the US, told CNN during its global coronavirus town hall.

Fauci plotted the course a new vaccine must take before children can receive it.

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Lisa Taylor receives a Covid-19 vaccination from RN Jose Muniz as she takes part in a vaccine study at Research Centers of America on August 7, 2020 in Hollywood, Florida.

Most average, healthy Americans who are not elderly and have no underlying conditions will likely be able to get a Covid-19 vaccine at the end of March or start of April, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Fauci said it’s important for everyone to get vaccinated because the quicker that’s done, the quicker the US can establish “an umbrella of herd immunity” so the pandemic stops spreading at its current rapid rate.

Herd immunity, Fauci said, “is so, so important in bringing the level of virus to way, way down to below the threatening level. The sooner we get there, the better we are.”

A powerful vaccine: Fauci said he did not expect the vaccines awaiting FDA approval to be as effective as they are.

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Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The sharp rise in Covid-19 cases across the US has placed the health care system under strain – which may cause temporary lockdowns, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, told CNN.

Fauci specifically referenced conversations he’s had with medical colleagues in Los Angeles, California, where the health care system “is really strained.”

Fauci added: “If it requires doing more drastic things, or draconian things, like maybe a temporary shutdown some areas, I think some of the areas of the country are thinking about that, I know as a fact. In California, in some places, they are thinking about that.”

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Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Another 500,000-plus people in the US could die of Covid-19 between now and April, Dr. Anthony Fauci said.

Speaking to CNN during its global coronavirus town hall, Fauci said the number of US fatalities could get as bad as that predicted by a reliable model from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

That model predicts another 539,000 people could be killed by the virus.

Fauci said the US was yet to see the effects of any Thanksgiving holiday-related surge.

However, Fauci said the country could stem the tide if the public wears masks, practices social distancing and avoids crowds.

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Dr. Anthony Fauci.

There is a plan to help address Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy in communities of color across the US, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the US, told CNN during its global coronavirus town hall.

Aside from public service announcements, he said the plan involves “engaging through our community groups that are associated with our clinical trial apparatus, and we do it by engaging leaders in the community.”

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CNN's Pete Muntean.

CNN’s Pete Muntean today visited a cold storage facility in Philadelphia which will be one of many used to temporarily store the Covid-19 vaccine before it is placed on planes.

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Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the preeminent infectious disease expert in the United States, said states will have the most responsibility when it comes to distributing vaccines for Covid-19.

Fauci was asked by CNN’s Anderson Cooper about President-elect Joe Biden’s assertion today that the federal government has “no detailed plan” to distribute vaccines.

While the federal government will be responsible for sending vaccines nationwide, states and individual localities will play a major role in distribution.

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Brazil surpassed 6.5 million cases of Covid-19 on Friday and remains the third worst-hit country after the United States and India.

​On Friday, Brazil recorded 46,884 new infections, raising the total number of cases in the country to 6,533,968, according to data released by the health ministry.

Brazil also registered 694 deaths Friday, bringing the country’s total to 175,964.

Mandatory mask usage in parts of Germany last spring helped significantly reduce the number of new Covid-19 infections, a team of German researchers reported in a new analysis.

The team used public data on coronavirus cases to compare regions with and without mandatory mask policies last April.

The study, which was published Thursday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also found that certain age groups benefited more from mask usage.

The researchers looked at data from mask use in Jena, a city in central Germany, after a mandatory mask policy took effect between April 1-10. 

They compared Jena’s mandatory mask policy with a control group, a similar city that experienced comparable growth in coronavirus cases before the mandatory mask policy in Jena.

They found a “significant difference” in Covid-19 case reductions in Jena.

“Our findings indicate that the early introduction of face masks in Jena has resulted in a drop in newly registered COVID-19 cases of around 75% after 20 days,” the team reported.

“Put simply, if the control region observes 100 new infections over a period of 20 days, the mask region observes only 25 cases,” they wrote.

“This drop is greatest, by more than 90%, for the age group 60 years and above.”

The study also concluded that, given the low cost compared to other public health measures, masks are a cost-effective way to combat the spread of coronavirus.

The analysis did not look at the different types of face masks and whether that could have affected the conclusion. 

Previous studies on the use of face masks in public have also they reduce the spread of Covid -19. 

In this Aug. 25, 2020, file photo, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy speaks during his 2021 budget address at SHI Stadium at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said the state doesn’t have the money to distribute millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccine.

In order to do so, there needs to be a robust federal partnership and funding from the Trump administration and the incoming Biden administration to make distribution possible, Murphy told CNN.

The governor said that the recent surge in the state is because of “a combination of pandemic fatigue, private setting transmission, cold weather … Holidays stacked up one after the other.”

“I also think there is some amount of, the vaccine is coming and it’s going to work I can let my hair down, it’s only a few months. I read it the exact opposite way. Hang in there and keep your guard up, it’s only a few months and I think that’s what we are up against,” he said.

“It’s bad and I fear it’s going to get worse, the next couple of months is going to be really, really tough,” Murphy added.  

Dr. Davis Wein, an emergency medicine specialist walks, in the parking garage that was turned into a series of Covid-19 test tents at Tampa General Hospital in Florida on August 19.

Tampa General Hospital in Florida is preparing to vaccinate its staff with Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine using a phased approach, according to Tampa General Hospital spokesperson Phil Buck.

The hospital is expecting its first shipment of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine on or before Dec. 15, if the Food and Drug Administration authorizes it. Buck said the hospital is one of five in Florida that will participate in the state’s Covid-19 vaccine pilot program.

Tampa General Hospital has acquired several large ultra-cold freezers to store the vaccine. They can hold about 30,000 doses each.

The hospital will vaccinate staff based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and the number of doses it receives.

The National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) voted Friday to not recommend issuing emergency use authorization for administering a Covid-19 vaccine in children.

“NVAC will warn against issuing an EUA for Covid-19 vaccines in children, considering that children experience generally mild disease,” the committee wrote in its recommendation.  

The committee, which advises the Health and Human Services Department on the best ways to adequately provide vaccines, also voted on a series of recommendations responding to questions posed by Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir regarding Covid-19 vaccine safety and surveillance.

NVAC recommended that vaccine developers begin including pregnant women in Phase 2 of its trials.

The US Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will meet Dec. 10 to discuss Pfizer’s application for an EUA for its coronavirus vaccine. The FDA can attach restrictions to any EUA. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention then decides who receives the vaccine.