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Live Updates: Rate of New Coronavirus Cases Declining Around the World, WHO Says

Rejected submission by upstart at 2021-02-17 11:42:15
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Live updates: Rate of new coronavirus cases declining around the world, WHO says [msn.com]:

The global number of new coronavirus cases has declined [who.int] by 16 percent over the past week, the World Health Organization said, even as more virulent strains of the virus spurred outbreaks in multiple regions.

There has been a 10 percent reduction in the global number of deaths over the past week, the agency added. Europe and the Americas, including the United States, in particular, have seen the greatest drops in new cases reported. The number of new U.S. infections has fallen by 23.7 percent in the past week, while nearly 28 million cases and 486,000 deaths have been reported [washingtonpost.com] in the past year.

Here are some significant developments:

  • President Biden said Tuesday that every American who wants a coronavirus vaccine [washingtonpost.com] will have access to one by the end of July and that “by next Christmas, I think we’ll be in a very different circumstance.”
  • The winter storm battering Texas and much of the United States [washingtonpost.com] has also dealt a blow to the coronavirus vaccination drive, delaying shipments because of poor road conditions and forcing the closure of hundreds of vaccination sites nationwide.
  • Concern about the spread of coronavirus variants in eastern France [washingtonpost.com] has prompted calls to suspend the rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to health-care workers.
  • Japan on Wednesday began vaccinating health-care workers as it races to immunize [washingtonpost.com] enough people ahead of the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer.
  • The weekly supply of coronavirus vaccines being sent to states is ratcheting up again, from 11 million doses to 13.5 million, the White House announced Tuesday, even as the availability of the vaccine continues to run far behind demand.
  • Congressional Democrats renewed their focus Tuesday on passing Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill [washingtonpost.com], as they face a mid-March deadline for when enhanced unemployment benefits will expire if Congress doesn’t act in time.

Sign up for our coronavirus newsletter [washingtonpost.com] | Mapping the spread of the coronavirus: Across the U.S. [washingtonpost.com] | Worldwide [washingtonpost.com] | Vaccine tracker [washingtonpost.com] | Has someone close to you died of covid-19? Share your story with The Washington Post. [submissionplatform.com]

6:14 AM: South Africa begins vaccination drive with Johnson & Johnson shots

South Africa began immunizing health-care workers Wednesday using the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, a single-dose shot the government says is effective against the strain now dominant there.

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An initial shipment of 80,000 doses arrived late Tuesday [gcis.gov.za] and was being distributed to vaccination centers around the country, a government statement said.

South Africa is the first nation to approve the vaccine and deploy it in a mass campaign. The immunization drive will target front line health workers as part of a study to monitor the shot’s efficacy and any potential side effects.

Earlier this month, Johnson & Johnson announced [jnj.com] that its vaccine had an overall efficacy rate of 66 percent against moderate to severe illness. In South Africa, where a more virulent strain of the virus was first detected, the protection level reached 57 percent, the company said.

South Africa opted for Johnson & Johnson after a small-scale trial showed that the AstraZeneca vaccine offered minimal protection against the variant, known as B.1.351. The government had already purchased a million doses of the AstraZeneca shot, which it says it plans to share with other African nations.

The first vaccination in South Africa was administered at a hospital in Cape Town and attended by President Cyril Ramaphosa and Health Minister Zweli Mkhize. Both officials planned to receive the vaccine to allay fears about the shot’s safety, the government said.

By: Erin Cunningham

5:45 AM: Black dancers struggle to make their way through pandemic

After more than 10 years performing in traveling shows and in local theaters, NaTonia Monét fulfilled a lifelong dream last year when she made her Broadway debut in “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.” For months, she sang, danced and acted in eight shows a week in the role of Alline, Tina Turner’s older sister, who introduced the young Anna Mae Bullock to Ike Turner.

When the pandemic forced Broadway to close in March, Monét didn’t initially panic, confident that it would be temporary. But then one month turned into six, then nine, and now it’s unclear exactly when the big theaters will reopen.

Like thousands of dancers across the country, Monét said she has struggled to find new work and has returned to making comedy Web series with friends and colleagues. But it’s not enough, especially given the high cost of her New York City rent.

Read the full story [washingtonpost.com]

By: Nikeshe Elise Williams

4:58 AM: Spectators to return to Australian Open as Melbourne lockdown lifts

With Victoria state lifting a five-day lockdown [vic.gov.au] from Thursday, the final four days of the Australian Open — including a semifinal match between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka — will once more include spectators, authorities announced.

With the pandemic largely tamed in Australia, the tennis tournament in Melbourne began with limited numbers of spectators, capped at 30,000 a day. But when cases from a new coronavirus variant began appearing, a lockdown was imposed across the state Friday and fans were banned from attending the year’s first Grand Slam event.

With few new cases emerging since then, the venue will reopen to fans Thursday 50 percent capacity with 7,477 spectators per session. Organizers say there are five sessions left. Fans will have to wear masks.

In a statement welcoming the move, tournament director Craig Tiley said it would ensure the event ended on a high.

“Last week we had our first real experience of live sport with fans in the stands and the atmosphere was electric,” he said. “The players appreciated the opportunity to compete in front of crowds for the first time in almost a year, and many spoke about how emotional it was to connect with fans again.”

The sessions will include a much-anticipated semifinal on Thursday between superstars Williams and Osaka, who last played against each each other in the 2018 U.S. Open final.

At that match, Williams memorably clashed with umpire Carlos Ramos, overshadowing Osaka’s eventual victory.

Williams has been seeking an elusive 24th major title victory for years. Osaka, however, is favored to win.

By: Paul Schemm

4:30 AM: Britain urges U.N. to call for global cease-fire to allow vaccination of most vulnerable

Britain is pushing the U.N. Security Council to embrace its call for a cease-fire in conflict zones [sky.com] so that vaccines against the coronavirus can be delivered to some of the world’s most vulnerable populations.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will chair a virtual meeting of the council’s member states later Wednesday, where he will urge world powers to adopt a resolution endorsing the cease-fire, saying that they have a “moral duty to act” amid the pandemic.

In a statement [www.gov.uk], Britain’s Foreign Office said that Raab will push for the protection of humanitarian and health workers amid any vaccine rollout and say that the international community must be allowed to monitor its progress.

“We’ve got an opportunity to get to some of the most vulnerable people around the world,” Raab said in an interview with Britain’s Sky News [twitter.com] Wednesday, adding that some of the worst-off regions are suffering from “the compound impact of three things: famine, conflict and covid.”

“And so if we can, through the U.N. Security Council. . . just see the window of opportunity to reach those really vulnerable people in those terribly affected countries, I think we’d be doing a lot of good,” he said.

According to Britain, more than 160 million people are at risk of being excluded from coronavirus vaccinations because they live in countries “engulfed in conflict and instability,” including Yemen, Syria, Somalia and Ethiopia.

“Global equitable access to coronavirus vaccines is the key to eliminating the threat of the virus in the U.K. as well as overseas,” the Foreign Office statement said Wednesday. “The only way to be protected from COVID-19 is by making vaccinations available to all.”

Raab added Britain supports the U.N.-backed Covax initiative for equitable distribution of vaccines worldwide but added that it was too early to say whether it was ready to send its own excess vaccine doses to poorer nations.

By: Erin Cunningham

4:00 AM: He was a vaccine entrepreneur and then held an indoor conference that turned into a superspreader

Last month, entrepreneur Peter Diamandis stood on a purple-lit stage inside the offices of one of his tech companies in Culver City, Calif., as hundreds listened online to his presentation [instagram.com].

The summit was not completely virtual, though. Dozens of attendees, some of whom had traveled from abroad, also sat in the indoor space that Diamandis pledged would be safe thanks to regular testing, vitamins and doctors on-site.

Instead, nearly three weeks later, at least 24 people who attended the conference have tested positive for the coronavirus [washingtonpost.com] — including Diamandis himself.

“I thought creating a COVID ‘immunity bubble’ for a small group in a TV studio setting was possible,” Diamandis, who is also the co-founder of a coronavirus vaccine company, recently wrote on his personal website [diamandis.com]. “I was wrong.”

Read the full story [washingtonpost.com]

By: Andrea Salcedo

3:15 AM: As the pandemic changes commuting patterns, the D.C. Metro adapts

Metro this week began reducing Metrorail service during peak commuting hours because of low usage while saying it will boost Metrobus service as new commuting trends emerge during the coronavirus [washingtonpost.com] pandemic.

The transit agency referred to the changes as a way to “normalize” rail service — its response to a new normal that has prompted a shifting of resources during a pandemic in which many workers no longer commute to offices. Those who do use public transit often are essential or service workers with schedules that deviate from 9-to-5.

Other passengers are using rail and buses for shopping and other needs that can take place at any time.

Instead of shorter train waits during morning and afternoon “rush hour” periods, Metro is changing to a standard weekday wait time that will stretch from morning into the evening.

Read the full story [washingtonpost.com]

By: Justin George

2:33 AM: More than a million people traveled over Presidents’ Day weekend, reports TSA

For two days in a row over the holiday weekend, the Transportation Security Administration recorded checkpoint throughput numbers [tsa.gov] exceeding 1 million travelers per day, for the first time since Jan. 4. The traffic numbers are a significant increase after TSA reported a milestone slump last month [washingtonpost.com].

TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said those numbers were actually reduced by winter storms, which upset many travel plans. Nearly 4,000 Sunday and Monday flights within, into and out of the United States were canceled because of a major winter storm, the Wall Street Journal reported [wsj.com].

“We saw so many flights impacted by weather, which may have resulted in cancellations,” Farbstein said. “It could have been higher.”

Read the full story [washingtonpost.com]

By: Natalie B. Compton

2:32 AM: New York sues Amazon for failing to adequately protect warehouse workers from coronavirus

New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Amazon of “repeatedly and persistently” failing to provide adequate protection to its warehouse workers in the state, suing the e-commerce giant Tuesday.

The company’s “flagrant disregard for health and safety requirements” at facilities in Queens and Staten Island “threatened serious illness and grave harm” to workers, James alleged in the suit filed in New York Supreme Court. And the threat continues to pose a danger to public health.

The suit also alleges Amazon disregarded crucial workplace safety measures such as social distancing requirements and providing employees time to properly maintain sanitary work stations.

“Amazon has cut corners in complying with the particular requirements that would most jeopardize its sales volume and productivity rates, thereby ensuring outsize profits at an unprecedented rate of growth for the company and its shareholders,” the suit alleges.

Read the full story [washingtonpost.com]

By: Jay Greene

2:30 AM: State and local governments are desperate for stimulus aid, here’s why

Facing deep budget shortfalls, state and local governments have shed 1.3 million jobs since the pandemic began last year — a loss of more than 1 in 20 government jobs, according to a Washington Post analysis of government data.

While tax revenue grew in some states last year, the majority — at least 26 states — were hit with declines. Revenue fell by 10 percent or more in five states, including a 43 percent drop in Alaska and a 10 percent decline in Florida. The toll was felt in both Republican-led states such as Texas, which saw a 10 percent shortfall, and Democratic-led ones, such as Oregon, which weathered a 13 percent drop.

Rescuing struggling state and local governments has been at the center of Congress’s months-long debate over how to address the economic upheaval caused by the pandemic. Republicans oppose the idea, calling it a “blue state bailout” that would reward poor local financial management.

Read the full story [washingtonpost.com]

By: Alyssa Fowers and Rachel Siegel

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