November 25, 2020 • No Comments • National News

Samara Heisz/iStockBy MORGAN WINSOR, IVAN PEREIRA and MEREDITH DELISO, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 59.8 million people and killed over 1.4 million worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Here’s how the news is developing Wednesday. All times Eastern:

Nov 25, 1:11 pm
Ravens-Steelers game on Thanksgiving moved to Sunday

The NFL has postponed the game between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, which was scheduled to be played on Thursday night.

The game has been rescheduled to Sunday afternoon.

Multiple players on the Ravens were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday following positive tests, the team announced at the time.

Nov 25, 11:34 am
UPS making dry ice, supplying portable freezers for vaccines

The United Parcel Service (UPS) said it will start making dry ice in its U.S. facilities and will provide portable freezers to aid in the massive distribution efforts for COVID-19 vaccines in the coming months.

The Atlanta-based global shipping and logistics company said it can now produce up to 1,200 lbs of dry ice per hour in its U.S. facilities to support the storage and transportation of cold chain products, such as frozen vaccines, in accordance with manufacturer storage requirements. The increased production also allows UPS to make dry ice available for American and Canadian hospitals, clinics and other points of care requiring dry ice to store vaccines locally.

“Enhancing our dry ice production capabilities increases our supply chain agility and reliability immensely when it comes to handling complex vaccines for our customers,” Wes Wheeler, president of UPS’s new healthcare logistics unit, said in a statement Tuesday. “Healthcare facilities in Louisville, Dallas and Ontario will ensure we have the capability to produce dry ice to sufficiently pack and replenish shipments as needed to keep products viable and effective.”

In addition to dry ice production, UPS is teaming up with Stirling Ultracold, a division of Global Cooling, Inc., to supply portable ultra-low temperature freezers to thermally protect critical vaccines requiring temperatures ranging from -20 to -80 degrees Celsius. The portable freezers will be distributed and used in smaller facilities that need a more permanent solution for longer-term freezer storage.

“This program will help ensure vaccines remain effective next year, and for years to come, as future vaccines and biologics are developed to keep the world healthy and safe,” Stirling Ultracold CEO Dusty Tenney said in a statement Tuesday.

Nov 25, 9:22 am
Weekly unemployment filings surge to 778,000 last week as virus cases rise

Some 778,000 workers lost their jobs and filed for unemployment insurance last week, the Department of Labor said Wednesday.

This is an uptick of 30,000 compared to the previous week, and the second consecutive week that the weekly tally has risen after it was on the decline for months.

The DOL also said Wednesday that more than 20 million people were still receiving some form of unemployment benefits through all programs as of the week ending Nov. 7. For the comparable week in 2019, that figure was 1.5 million.

The latest economic data from the DOL comes as new virus cases surge across the country, and highlight a slow economic recovery. It also comes, however, as Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a new milestone of trading above 30,000 on Tuesday — a further indication that the stock market remains divorced from the economic pain millions of Americans still face as the coronavirus crisis rages on.

ABC News’ Catherine Thorbecke contributed to this report.

Nov 25, 8:03 am
Fauci’s ‘final plea’ before Thanksgiving: ‘A sacrifice now could save lives’

America’s top infectious disease expert is urging the nation to keep indoor gatherings as small as possible over Thanksgiving to prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus.

“We all know how difficult that is because this is such a beautiful, traditional holiday. But by making that sacrifice, you’re going to prevent people from getting infected,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos in an interview Wednesday on Good Morning America.

“A sacrifice now could save lives and illness and make the future much brighter as we get through this,” he continued. “We’re going to get through this. Vaccines are right on the horizon. If we can just hang in there a bit longer and continue to do the simple mitigation things that we’re talking about all the time — the masks, the distancing, the avoiding crowds, particularly indoor. If we do those things, we’re going to get through it. So that’s my final plea before the holiday.”

Fauci, a leading member of the current White House coronavirus task force, warned of “yet another surge” of COVID-19 infections if people don’t heed his advice over the holiday.

Although he acknowledged that the country’s current surge in cases is driven by larger indoor gatherings such as bars, Fauci noted that “there still is transmission among gatherings that appear to be relatively innocent.”

“Now, I don’t mean two, three, four people in a room. We’re talking about when people might have a modest size and let their guard down,” he added. “When you stay away from the bars, when you stay away from the big, congregate settings, there still is a danger if you bring people into the home who are not part of the immediate household. There is a risk there.”

Fauci also said he is “greatly” concerned by the number of people who are already showing hesitancy to taking a COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available. He noted that “independent bodies of people who, in fact, have no allegiance to an administration or to a company” will be charged with deciding whether the vaccine is both safe and effective for the public.

“The process by which the vaccines were made were a standard process that was rapid because of exquisite scientific advances and the investment of an extraordinary amount money. It did not compromise safety and it did not compromise scientific integrity,” he said. “That’s what the public needs to understand, that the process is transparent and its independent.”

The solution to the coronavirus pandemic, Fauci said, will be “a combination of public health measures and a safe and effective vaccine.”

“It would really be terrible if we have, which we do, three now and maybe more highly efficacious vaccines and people don’t take it,” he added. “We could crush this outbreak exactly the way we did years ago with smallpox, with polio and with measles. It is doable.”

Nov 25, 7:29 am
Europe remains the largest contributor to new cases, deaths

The global acceleration in COVID-19 cases has slowed down over the past week, with around four million new cases and over 67,000 additional deaths from the disease reported worldwide. However, Europe remains the largest contributor to those cases and deaths, according to the latest weekly epidemiological report from the World Health Organization.

The report, released Tuesday evening, said the number of new cases in the European region declined by 6% in the last week, after a decline of 10% in the previous week, “in a sign that the reintroduction of stricter public health and social measures in a number of countries over the last few weeks is beginning to slow down transmission.”

The European region still accounts for 44% of global new cases and 49% of global new deaths. While new cases have declined, new deaths in the region have continued to rise, according to the report.

Italy reported the highest number of new cases in the European region and the third-highest globally, but the country still saw a slight decline of 3% in the last week. The number of new deaths in Italy increased by 26%.

“The northern Italy provinces of Valle d’Aosta, Bolzano and Piemonte report the highest number of cases,” the report said. “Media reports have highlighted concerns of the large number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care, and the growing number of health worker infections, straining local healthcare capacities.”

The number of new cases in the United Kingdom fell by 13% from last week, the first weekly decline since late August. But the number of new deaths in the country remained similar to the previous week.

“The United Kingdom currently has the fifth- highest number of new cases in the European Region, and the eighth highest number worldwide,” the report said, “however, per capita case incidence remains lower than many other countries in the Region.

Nov 25, 5:38 am
Russia reports over 500 new deaths for first time

Russia registered a record 507 new fatalities from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, according to the country’s coronavirus response headquarters.

It’s the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic that Russia has reported more than 500 deaths from the disease in a single day.

Russia also confirmed 23,675 new cases of COVID-19 over the past day. The cumulative total now stands at 2,162,503 confirmed cases, including 37,538 deaths, according to the coronavirus response headquarters.

The Eastern European nation of 145 million people has the fifth-highest tally of COVID-19 cases in the world, behind only the United States, India, Brazil and France, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Despite the growing number of infections and deaths, Russian authorities have repeatedly said they have no plans to impose another nationwide lockdown.

Nov 25, 5:10 am
Rite Aid says it will offer vaccine at no cost

American drugstore chain Rite Aid said it will offer COVID-19 vaccines at no cost.

In an email to customers on Tuesday, Rite Aid chief pharmacy officer Jocelyn Konrad said that through their partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an official COVID-19 vaccination program provider, “we are staged and ready to make this lifesaving vaccine available in all of the communities we serve when it becomes available to Rite Aid.”

“This means you will be able to receive the vaccine from your neighborhood Rite Aid pharmacist, whom you know and trust,” Konrad said. “Better yet, the COVID-19 vaccines will be available at no cost.”

Rite Aid customers will be able to schedule an appointment to receive the vaccine once one is approved and becomes available in the United States, according to Konrad.

Nov 25, 4:17 am
US reports over 172,000 new cases

There were 172,935 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the United States on Tuesday, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

It’s the 22nd straight day that the country has reported over 100,000 newly diagnosed infections. Tuesday’s count is down from a peak of 196,004 new cases on Nov. 20.

An additional 2,146 fatalities from COVID-19 were also registered nationwide on Tuesday, the country’s highest single-day death toll from the disease since May 6 but just under the all-time high of 2,609 new deaths on April 15.

A total of 12,597,330 people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 259,962 of them have died, according to Johns Hopkins. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.

Much of the country was under lockdown by the end of March as the first wave of pandemic hit. By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country’s cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up and crossing 100,000 for the first time on Nov. 4.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

November 24, 2020 • No Comments • National News

narvikk/iStockBy MORGAN WINSOR and IVAN PEREIRA, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 59.2 million people and killed over 1.3 million worldwide.

Here’s how the news is developing Tuesday. All times Eastern:

Nov 24, 12:23 pm
26 US states plus DC see average number of new cases double since Nov. 1

At least 26 U.S. states and the nation’s capital have seen the seven-day average of their daily COVID-19 cases double since the beginning of the month, according to an ABC News analysis of trends across the country.

In addition to Washington D.C., those 26 states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

The national monthly tally of cases also continues to increase rapidly. There have been at least 20 straight days where the country as a whole has confirmed more than 100,000 new cases in a 24-hour reporting period. Over 3.1 million cases have been confirmed so far in just the month of November, which would be roughly the equivalent to a theoretical scenario where the entire state of Utah had tested positive for COVID-19 in the last three weeks.

Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized across the United States has doubled in the past month, with 12 states reporting a record number of hospitalizations on Monday.

The United States is now averaging more than 1,500 new COVID-19 fatalities every day, a rate of more than one death reported per minute. The national seven-day average of daily deaths is also now twice as high as it was just a month ago.

The trends were all analyzed from data collected and published by the COVID Tracking Project over the past two weeks, using the linear regression trend line of the seven-day moving average.

ABC News’ Benjamin Bell, Brian Hartman, Soorin Kim and Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report.

Nov 24, 11:54 am
Russia says its vaccine is over 95% effective

Russia claims it’s COVID-19 vaccine, called Sputnik V, is more than 95% effective in preventing the disease.

The Russian Ministry of Health’s Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology released results Tuesday from the second interim data analysis of its ongoing Phase 3 clinical trials, which showed Sputnik V had a 91.4% efficacy rate 28 days after volunteers received the first dose and seven days after they received the second one.

Moreover, preliminary data obtained 42 days after the first dose — 21 days after the second dose — indicates the vaccine’s efficacy rate is more than 95%, according to a press release from the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which is overseeing the vaccine’s development.

The analysis was carried out among nearly 19,000 volunteers who received both the first and second doses of Sputnik V or placebo. The press release noted that some volunteers experienced short-term, minor adverse events such as pain at the injection point and flu-like symptoms, but that no unexpected adverse events were identified as part of the research and the safety of the vaccine is constantly being monitored.

After being developed by the state-run Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, Sputnik V was controversially registered by the health ministry in August before starting crucial Phase 3 trials, with Russia declaring itself the first in the world to register a COVID-19 vaccine. The latest results come just days after three other leading vaccine candidates from Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca/Oxford announced that data from their respective trials showed efficacy of up to or over 90%.

Russia has offered to share related technology from Sputnik V with U.K.-based pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca to help boost the efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine developed with England’s University of Oxford. Like the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, Sputnik V is based on a modified adenovirus, a type of virus that causes the common cold, which is adapted to produce an immune response for COVID-19. However, Russia claims its vaccine is more effective because it uses different types of modified adenovirus in the first and second doses, rather than just one. The Eastern European country has also said it will sell the drug for cheaper than the leading Western vaccines, offering it for less than $10 a dose.

Russia’s vaccine effort has faced criticism for its lack of transparency and hurried approval process. International researchers raised questions about results from early trials published in peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet that contained anomalies and did not include a detailed breakdown of the data.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly praised Sputnik V and said one of his daughters has already received it. But Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskvov, told reporters Tuesday that the vaccine has not yet been administered to the head of state because it would be inappropriate for him to participate in the trials “as a volunteer.”

“The president can’t use an uncertified vaccine,” Peskov said.

ABC News’ Alina Lobzina and Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.

Nov 24, 9:56 am
US Bureau of Prisons working with Operation Warp Speed to prioritize staff, inmates for vaccine

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons is working with the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccine initiative, Operation Warp Speed, to prioritize prison staff and inmates once a vaccine is approved, according to a memo obtained by ABC News.

The memo said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is determining allocations but the Bureau of Prisons will be included in that initial allotment, which will first be reserved for staff. The memo noted that staff must register on the CDC’s website before receiving the vaccine, which will be administered in two doses.

“The BOP Health Services Division is working with the CDC and Operation Warp Speed to ensure the BOP is prepared to receive the COVID-19 once it becomes available,” the memo said.

Earlier this month, a report by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General “identified numerous failures” in how staff at a federal prison complex in south Louisiana responded to a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility.

The Federal Correctional Complex in Oakdale, Louisiana, suffered the first coronavirus-related death in the federal prison system. As of Nov. 8, the facility had 256 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and at least eight of the prison’s approximately 1,800 inmates had died from COVID-19 complications, according to the inspector general’s report.

ABC News’ Luke Barr contributed to this report.

Nov 24, 9:03 am
Global airline body developing COVID-19 ‘Travel Pass’

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced it is finalizing the development of a digital health pass that will allow travelers to store all vaccination or testing information required by airlines and governments amid COVID-19 restrictions.

IATA, a Montreal-based body that represents many of the world’s major airlines, plans to test the “Travel Pass” platform later this year before launching the set of mobile apps for Android and Apple iOS smartphones in the first half of 2021.

“Our main priority is to get people traveling again safely,” Nick Careen, IATA’s senior vice president of airport, passenger, cargo and security, said in a statement Monday. “In the immediate term that means giving governments confidence that systematic COVID-19 testing can work as a replacement for quarantine requirements.”

The “IATA Travel Pass” incorporates four open sourced and interoperable modules: a global registry of health requirements that enables passengers to find accurate information on travel, testing and eventually vaccine requirements for their journey; a global registry of testing and vaccination centers that allows passengers to find testing centers and labs at their departure location which meet the standards for testing and vaccination requirements of their destination; a “Lab App” that enables authorized labs and testing centers to securely share test and vaccination certificates with passengers; and a “Contactless Travel App” that allows passengers to create a “digital passport,” receive test and vaccination certificates while verifying that they are sufficient for their journey, and share those certificates with airlines and authorities to facilitate travel.

The “Contactless Travel App” will also link to a digital copy of the user’s passport and other travel documentation.

“Testing is the first key to enable international travel without quarantine measures,” IATA director-general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said in a statement Monday. “The second key is the global information infrastructure needed to securely manage, share and verify test data matched with traveler identities in compliance with border control requirements.”

Nov 24, 6:16 am
Daily virus deaths hit new high in Russia

Russia registered 491 more fatalities from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, marking the country’s highest single-day death toll from the disease so far.

An additional 24,326 cases of COVID-19 were also confirmed nationwide, down from the previous day’s peak of 25,173 newly diagnosed infections. The cumulative total now stands at 2,138,828 confirmed cases, including 37,031 deaths, according to Russia’s coronavirus response headquarters.

Russia has seen a resurgence in COVID-19 infections in recent weeks, with multiple back-to-back days of record-high deaths and cases. The Eastern European nation of 145 million people has the fifth-highest tally of confirmed cases in the world, behind only the United States, India, Brazil and France, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said Tuesday that a mass COVID-19 vaccination campaign is expected to begin next year, according to the Interfax news agency. She noted that immunization will be voluntary.

More than two million doses of Sputnik V, a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Russian Ministry of Health’s Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, will be produced by the end of the year, Golikova said.

Nov 24, 5:45 am
Death toll from outbreak at Illinois veterans home rises to 27

A COVID-19 outbreak at a veterans home in Illinois has left more than two dozen people dead, according to a report by Chicago ABC station WLS-TV.

At least 27 veterans who lived at the Illinois Veterans Home in LaSalle, some 100 miles southwest of Chicago, have died from COVID-19, according to WLS, which cited the Illinois Department of Veterans.

“That’s over 20 percent of our veterans that have passed away in the past several weeks,” state Sen. Sue Rezin told WLS.

Rezin said the facility, which is in her district, continues to see an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases.

“November 4th, there were only four cases of COVID within the home,” she said. “Very quickly within the past 20 days, we’ve had almost 200 cases.”

The Illinois Senate Veterans Affairs Committee will meet virtually Tuesday to discuss the crises at the LaSalle facility.

“We need answers and we need answers today,” Rezin said.

So far, a total of 96 residents and 93 employees at the Illinois Veterans Home in LaSalle have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a statement from the facility’s administrator, Angela Mehlbrech. The veterans home has been conducting health screenings of its residents and staff, maintaining social distancing practices, wearing face coverings as well as intensifying cleaning and disinfecting protocols.

An infection control team has been sent to the facility, according to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

“When there is massive, widespread community spread,” Pritzker told WLS, “there’s no way to keep it out of every facility.”

Nov 24, 4:05 am
US reports over 169,000 new cases

There were 169,190 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the United States on Monday, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

It’s the 21st straight day that the country has reported over 100,000 newly diagnosed infections. Monday’s count falls under the all-time high of 196,004 new cases on Nov. 20.

An additional 889 fatalities from COVID-19 were also registered nationwide on Monday, down from a peak of 2,609 new deaths on April 15.

A total of 12,420,872 people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 257,701 of them have died, according to Johns Hopkins. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.

Much of the country was under lockdown by the end of March as the first wave of pandemic hit. By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country’s cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up and crossing 100,000 for the first time on Nov. 4.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

November 24, 2020 • No Comments • National News

ABC NewsBy DANIEL MANZO, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — A large storm system is developing in the central U.S. and it is bringing some snow to parts of the Rocky Mountains and the upper Midwest.

Winter Weather Advisories have been issued for parts of both regions, including large parts of Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois.

Roadways in and around Chicago, Rockford, Milwaukee and Cedar Rapids could be slippery Tuesday morning due to the snow.

Temperatures in the region are pretty close to freezing so the snow will have trouble accumulating on some surfaces, with much of the accumulation being on grassy surfaces where most spots will see 1 to 3 inches of snow.

On the southern side of this storm system we will see the chance for severe storms to develop later Tuesday in parts of the Southern Plains, especially in Oklahoma where damaging winds and brief tornadoes will be possible.

By Wednesday morning as the storm moves east, some of those strong to severe storms will move through parts of Louisiana up through parts of Indiana and Kentucky.

Once again, the main threat will be damaging winds, although isolated tornadoes will also be possible once again.

On Thanksgiving morning, the storm system will reach the East Coast and heavy rain will overspread much of the Northeast including the major I-95 cities where localized flooding will be possible.

The good news is the bulk of the rain will clear the East Coast by the evening hours on Thanksgiving.

Behind this system on Thanksgiving, much of the country will be dry and mild with no real organized weather threat. This is perfect for many who are aiming to safely see relatives outdoors or with windows open given the current health crisis.

The next organized weather threat appears to be immediately after Thanksgiving during the extended holiday weekend as a slow moving storm system is likely to develop and move through the southern U.S.

Based on the latest forecast guidance, it appears there could be a potential rainfall and flooding threat on the way for the region that could last into early next week.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

November 23, 2020 • No Comments • National News

iStock/GreenPimpBy: ANDREA TUCCILLO, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — “Jeopardy!” will resume production again next week, with Ken Jennings stepping in as the first guest host following the death of longtime host Alex Trebek earlier this month.

“We will resume production on 11/30 with a series of interim guest hosts from the Jeopardy! family — starting with Ken Jennings,” the game show tweeted Monday. “Additional guest hosts to be announced.”

Executive producer Mike Richards said in a statement, “Alex believed in the importance of ‘Jeopardy!’ and always said that he wanted the show to go on after him.”

“We will honor Alex’s legacy by continuing to produce the game he loved with smart contestants and challenging clues. By bringing in familiar guest hosts for the foreseeable future, our goal is to create a sense of community and continuity for our viewers.”

Jennings is certainly a familiar face to “Jeopardy!” fans. He holds the record for the longest winning streak on the show with 74 wins.

Trebek, who hosted “Jeopardy”! for 35 years, died of pancreatic cancer on Nov. 8 at age 80. His final day in the studio was Oct. 29. The show will air 10 of Trebek’s best episodes during the weeks of Dec. 21 and Dec. 28, and his final week of episodes will air starting Jan. 4.

The first guest-hosted shows will air the week of Jan. 11.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

November 23, 2020 • No Comments • National News

Myriam Borzee/iStockBy MORGAN WINSOR, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1.3 million people worldwide.

Over 57.4 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some national governments are hiding or downplaying the scope of their outbreaks. The criteria for diagnosis — through clinical means or a lab test — has also varied from country to country.

The United States is the worst-affected nation, with more than 11.9 million diagnosed cases and at least 254,383 deaths.

Nearly 200 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 are being tracked by the World Health Organization, at least 10 of which are in crucial phase three studies. Of those 10 potential vaccines in late-stage trials, there are currently five that will be available in the United States if approved.

Here’s how the news is developing Monday. All times Eastern:

Nov 23, 12:08 pm
England lockdown to end next week as planned

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday that a monthlong, nationwide lockdown in England will be lifted next week as scheduled.

Nonessential businesses and shops, including gyms and hair salons, will be allowed to reopen when the country returns to a regional tiered system of COVID-19 restrictions after Dec. 2.

“For the first time since this wretched virus took hold, we can see a route out of the pandemic,” Johnson told members of Parliament, adding that breakthroughs in testing, treatments and vaccines should reduce the need for restrictions next year.

Unlike previous restrictions, the tiered measures will be a uniform set of rules and much tougher. The prime minister is expected to announced which parts of the county is in which tier on Thursday.

“I can’t say that Christmas will be normal this year,” Johnson said. “We all want some kind of Christmas; we need it, we certainly feel we deserve it. But what we don’t want is to throw caution to the winds and allow the virus to flare up again, forcing us all back into lockdown.”

ABC News’ Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.

Nov 23, 10:31 am
TSA screens over 3M flyers in 3 days ahead of Thanksgiving

More than 3 million people went through airport security checkpoints across the United States between Friday and Sunday, despite public health guidance against traveling for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened 1,019,836 individuals on Friday and 984,369 on Saturday. But Sunday saw the most travelers, with TSA screening 1,047,934 people — the highest since the coronavirus pandemic was declared in mid-March.

The previous pandemic record was set on Oct. 18, the Sunday after the long Columbus Day weekend, when TSA screened 1,031,505 individuals.

Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is recommending that Americans do not travel for Thanksgiving.

“It’s not a requirement, it’s a recommendation for the American public to consider,” Dr. Henry Walke, the CDC’s COVID-19 incident manager, told reporters during a call on Nov. 19. “Right now, as we’re seeing exponential growth in cases and the opportunity to translocate disease or infection from one part of the country to another leads to our recommendation to avoid travel at this time.”

ABC News’ Sam Sweeney contributed to this report.

Nov 23, 9:35 am
‘We are at a dire point,’ US surgeon general says

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said the nation is “at a dire point” in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic, “by any measure.”

“Cases, positivity, hospitalizations, deaths — we are seeing more Americans negatively impacted than ever before. But I also want Americans to understand that we’ve never had more reason for hope, thanks to science,” Adams told ABC News’ Cecilia Vega in an interview Monday on Good Morning America.

“We’re going to have people — the vulnerable — start to be vaccinated in mere weeks,” he added. “So I”m asking Americans, I’m begging you, hold on just a little bit longer, keep Thanksgiving and the celebrations small and smart this year.”

Adams advised people to hold Thanksgiving and holiday celebrations outdoors if possible, to keep the gatherings small — ideally less than 10 attendees — and to prepare ahead of time.

“Make sure you’re not going around out in public and exposing yourself to other people, especially now heading into these celebrations,” he said.

When asked about the White House’s controversial plans to hold holiday parties indoors, Adams said the public health guidelines “apply to everyone.”

“We want everyone to understand that these holiday celebrations can be super-spreader events, so we want them to be smart and we want them to be as small as possible,” he said. “These apply to the White House, they apply to the American people, they apply to everyone.”

Nov 23, 8:26 am
Nevada to enter ‘statewide pause’

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has ordered a three-week “statewide pause” that begins Tuesday to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“I am not issuing a shutdown order,” Sisolak said during a virtual press conference Sunday evening. “My goal is to aggressively try to attack this spread, while maintaining some portion of our economy and our daily lives.”

Under the pause, residents will be required to wear face masks in private and public gatherings. Public gatherings will be limited to 50 people or to 25% capacity, whichever number is lower. Private gatherings will be limited to 10 people from no more than two households.

Sisolak said no additional businesses will be closed, but bars and restaurants will only be able to operate at 25% capacity with no more than four people per table. Gyms and fitness studios may operate with no more than 25% capacity while adhering to strict social distancing guidelines. Retail establishments including malls can continue operating at 50%.

“I know the majority of our bars and restaurants are doing their best, but these settings have proved to be high risk because they allow the opportunity for people to remove their face coverings in indoor settings around people outside of their households,” Sisolak said. “That’s how the virus spreads.”

Nov 23, 7:09 am
Russia reports over 25,000 new cases for first time

Russia confirmed 25,173 new cases of COVID-19 and an additional 361 fatalities from the disease in the last 24 hours, according to the country’s coronavirus response headquarters.

It’s the first time that Russia has reported over 25,000 newly diagnosed infections in a single day, setting a new record for the country. The cumulative total now stands at 2,114,502 confirmed cases, including 36,540 deaths, according to the coronavirus response headquarters.

Despite the growing number of infections and deaths, Russian authorities have repeatedly said they have no plans to impose another nationwide lockdown. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that it’s up to regional authorities to decide what measures need to be imposed in their regions to curb the spread of the virus.

The Eastern European nation of 145 million people has the fifth-highest tally of COVID-19 cases in the world, behind only the United States, India, Brazil and France, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Nov 23, 5:39 am
US reports over 142,000 new cases

There were 142,732 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the United States on Sunday, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

It’s the 20th straight day that the country has reported over 100,000 newly diagnosed infections. Sunday’s count falls under the all-time high of 196,004 new cases on Nov. 20.

An additional 921 fatalities from COVID-19 were also registered nationwide on Sunday, down from a peak of 2,609 new deaths on April 15.

A total of 12,247,487 people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 256,783 of them have died, according to Johns Hopkins. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.

Much of the country was under lockdown by the end of March as the first wave of the pandemic hit. By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country’s cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up and crossing 100,000 for the first time on Nov. 4.

Nov 23, 4:41 am
AstraZeneca, Oxford say their vaccine is up to 90% effective

U.K.-based pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and England’s University of Oxford announced Monday that late-stage trials show their COVID-19 vaccine was up to 90% effective in preventing the disease.

The results are based on interim analysis of phase 3 trials in the United Kingdom and Brazil, which looked at two different dosing regimens. One regimen showed vaccine efficacy of 90% when the drug, called AZD1222, was given as a half dose, followed by a full dose at least one month apart. A second regimen showed 62% efficacy when given as two full doses at least one month apart. The combined analysis from both dosing regimens showed an average efficacy of 70%, according to press releases from AstraZeneca and Oxford.

There were a total of 131 COVID-19 cases in the analysis, and no hospitalizations or severe cases of the disease were reported in participants receiving the vaccine candidate, according to the press releases.

“These findings show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives,” Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and chief investigator of the Oxford vaccine trial, said in a statement Monday. “Excitingly, we’ve found that one of our dosing regimens may be around 90% effective and if this dosing regime is used, more people could be vaccinated with planned vaccine supply.”

AstraZeneca, which has promised not to profit from the vaccine “for the duration of the pandemic,” said it will now immediately prepare to submit the data to regulators around the world — including in the United Kingdom, Europe and Brazil — that have framework in place for conditional or early approval. The company will also seek an emergency use listing from the World Health Organization for an accelerated pathway to vaccine availability in low-income nations.

Meanwhile, Oxford said it is submitting the full analysis of the interim results for independent scientific peer review and publication.

“Today marks an important milestone in our fight against the pandemic,” AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said in a statement Monday. “This vaccine’s efficacy and safety confirm that it will be highly effective against COVID-19 and will have an immediate impact on this public health emergency. Furthermore, the vaccine’s simple supply chain and our no-profit pledge and commitment to broad, equitable and timely access means it will be affordable and globally available, supplying hundreds of millions of doses on approval.”

The U.K. government has already placed orders for 100 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine candidate, along with 40 million doses of another developed by Pfizer and BioNTech which has shown to have 95% efficacy.

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