Arkansas reports highest daily Covid-19 case count since the start of the pandemic
From CNN’s Jamiel Lynch
A nearly empty downtown street stands in Bentonville, Arkansas, on Thursday, May 28, 2020. Terra Fondriest/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Arkansas has reported 2,789 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said during a news conference.
Hutchinson said this is the highest daily count the state has reported since the pandemic began.
The state has 32 counties that have reported over 20 new cases in the last 24 hours. They usually report 10 counties having reached that distinction, Hutchinson said noting the increase.
“This is a message to everyone that wherever you are in the state of Arkansas, there are increased number of Covid cases, increased level of spread. And you have to protect yourself, you have to wear your mask and keep the social distance,” he said.
Since the start of the pandemic, the state has reported 164,310 cases and 2,555 deaths.
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 the Covid Tracking Project.
5:58 p.m. ET, December 3, 2020
More than 12,000 health workers in Kentucky will receive the vaccine first, governor says
From CNN’s Rebekah Riess
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear addresses the press in Frankfort, Kentucky on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday that 12,675 of the 38,000 doses in the first shipment of Pfizer vaccines to reach the state will be going to frontline health care workers, those dealing with or exposed to Covid-19, and those working in the emergency room or in Covid-wings.
According to the governor, the shipments will arrive as early as Dec. 15 and the remaining two thirds of the doses will be going to long-term care facilities, where CVS and Walgreens will handle distribution and administration, Beshear said.
The governor announced that the first 11 health care sites that will be receiving doses, were chosen because they were large enough to handle the minimum pallet size Pfizer ships, and because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention required that they have ultra-low cold storage to receive them.
“We're allowing each of these facilities to make their own allocations, based on tearing that they have done with their staff, they know who is most at risk and have done that analysis,” Beshear said.
5:54 p.m. ET, December 3, 2020
Wyoming's first lady tests positive for Covid-19
From CNN’s Andy Rose
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and his wife, first lady Jennie Gordon, arrive for the 65th Wyoming Legislature's 40-day general session on Wednesday, January 9, 2019, in Cheyenne, Wyoming Jacob Byk/The Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP
Eight days after Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon tested positive for Covid-19, his wife received the same diagnosis Thursday.
First lady Jennie Gordon has been in quarantine at home with the governor since he first tested positive, but spokesperson Michael Pearlman tells CNN they have stayed in separate rooms. Pearlman does not believe the first lady’s infection will affect the governor’s timetable for returning to the office.
“The First Lady is only experiencing minor symptoms at this time. Governor Gordon has recovered and is nearly symptom free,” the governor’s office said in a written statement.
5:14 p.m. ET, December 3, 2020
Houston nears 100,000 total Covid-19 cases
From CNN's Kay Jones
Medical staff members communicate each other in the COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) at the United Memorial Medical Center on December 2, in Houston, Texas. Go Nakamura/Getty Images
Houston is nearing 100,000 total Covid-19 cases, according to the latest information provided by the mayor's office.
The city has 1,137 new positive cases being reported today, bringing the total to 99,396, the city's health department says. So far, 97% of the cases reported today were from tests over the past two weeks.
There were three new deaths being reported for a total of 1,444 since the start of the pandemic, according to the Houston Health Department.
Note: These numbers were released by the city's health agency and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.
5:07 p.m. ET, December 3, 2020
CDC director accepts advisory committee's recommendations for who gets Covid-19 vaccine first
From CNN’s Jamie Gumbrecht
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Commissioner Robert Redfield speaks during a White House Coronavirus Task Force press briefing at the White House on November 19, in Washington, DC. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield has accepted the Covid-19 vaccine recommendations voted on this week by the agency’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
The CDC’s vaccine advisers voted 13-1 on Tuesday to recommend that health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities be first in line for any coronavirus vaccines that get emergency authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration.
“Dr. Redfield supports their recommendations and has signed the memo and accepted these interim recommendations,” the CDC said in a statement on Thursday.
In the statement, Redfield thanked the advisory committee members for their work and suggested future Covid-19 vaccine recommendations prioritize older people living in multi-generational households.
“Dr. Redfield looks forward to future recommendations that, based on vaccine availability, demonstrate that we as a Nation also prioritize the elderly (>70 yo) who reside in multi-generation households,” the statement said. “Often our Hispanic, Black and Tribal Nations families care for their elderly in multigenerational households and they are also at significant risk. This framework, in addition to the ACIP guidance, will ensure a more equitable distribution to those most at risk for hospitalizations and fatalities.”
4:48 p.m. ET, December 3, 2020
California's governor announces new regional stay-at-home order based on ICU capacity
From CNN's Cheri Mossburg
Pool
Millions of Californians may soon find themselves under stay home orders once again due to new restrictions announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The new order comes as the state sees a record surge of new cases and hospitalizations that are projected to overwhelm hospitals by Christmas.
The governor’s new stay-at-home order will take hold in regions where hospitals are feeling the squeeze on capacity to treat the incoming surge of Covid-19 patients.
The strict stay-at-home order will go into effect when intensive care unit capacity drops to 15%. Under the new plan, California will be divided into five regions — Northern California, Bay Area, Greater Sacramento, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.
None of the five regions are currently under the new order, but projections show four regions will reach that threshold in the next day or two, with only the San Francisco Bay Area expected to remain open until mid-December, Newsom said at a news conference.
Newsom acknowledged that the new restrictions, which shutters many nonessential businesses and operations and prohibits most travel, will not be well-received by some, specifically small businesses, outlining several state programs designed to help.
“It’s never enough,” he said. “I’m mindful that we must do more.”
Essential businesses can remain open, but may only allow 20% capacity. Areas that must be closed include hair salons and barbershops, bars and breweries, playgrounds, amusement parks, and indoor recreation facilities.
California’s Covid-19 crisis shows no signs of slowing as the state added 18,591 more cases Thursday, bringing the total to 1,264,539.
Surge facilities are being prepped to be brought online in 11 locations from Sacramento to San Diego, Newsom said. The state’s stockpile of personal protective equipment is full.
“We do not anticipate having to do this once again,” Newsom said. “There is light at the end of the tunnel. We are few months away from truly seeing real progress with the vaccine. We have distribution, we have accessibility, we have availability.”
Note: These numbers were released by the California Department of Public Health and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.
Watch here:
4:12 p.m. ET, December 3, 2020
France plans to start vaccinating "within weeks," prime minister says
From Sandrine Amiel and Schams Elwazer
A television above empty beds at the Polyclinique Jean Villar private hospital in Bruges, France broadcasts French Prime Minister Jean Castex’s press conference outlining the country’s plans for deploying the coronavirus vaccine, on December 3. Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images
France’s coronavirus vaccination campaign will begin in “a matter of weeks” and will be free, French Prime Minister Jean Castex told a news conference on Thursday.
Care home residents and workers — an estimated one million people — will receive priority for vaccination. The second phase, starting in February 2021, will include the elderly, patients with chronic diseases and health professionals, Castex said.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is due to decide by Dec. 29 on the Pfizer/BioNtech and Moderna vaccines but they will also need approval from France’s health authority, Castex said.
France has already ordered 200 million vaccines, enough to inoculate 100 million people with the necessary two doses each, Castex added.
The premier hailed the “remarkable work conducted at the European level” to negotiate the same prices for all countries in the European Union, with the number of doses determined according to each country’s population.
Immunologist Alain Fischer has been appointed as France’s Covid-19 vaccine campaign coordinator and the vaccine strategy itself will be presented to the French parliament this month.
3:30 p.m. ET, December 3, 2020
Portugal plans to vaccinate nearly 1 million people starting in January
From CNN's Duarte Mendonca and Schams Elwazer
Health workers attend to patients at the Covid-19 ward of the Curry Cabral hospital in Lisbon, Portugal on November 18. Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images
Portugal plans to provide universal free vaccination against Covid-19 and hopes to vaccinate nearly a million people starting in January as part of the first phase of its vaccine rollout, health officials said on Thursday.
The first phase of vaccination will prioritize around 400,000 people who are over the age of 50 and have pre-existing conditions such as heart or lung disease or kidney failures, according to the Covid-19 task force coordinator Francisco Ramos.
Also first in line are 250,000 people living or working in care homes and intensive care unit patients, in addition to about 300,000 frontline health workers.
The second phase of vaccinations would include those 65 and over, followed by 50- to 64-year-olds with certain health problems.
Although no vaccine has formally been authorized yet, six agreements have been made with various vaccine manufacturers, including AstraZeneca, CureVac, Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Sanofi-GSK, according to Rui Santos Ivo, who heads the medical regulatory body Infarmed.
Portugal expects to spend around 200 million Euros (around $243 million) on 22 million doses of the vaccine, according to Health Minister Marta Temido.
2:46 p.m. ET, December 3, 2020
US surpasses 14 million Covid-19 cases
From CNN's Amanda Watts and Haley Brink
There have been at least 14,012,378 cases of coronavirus in the United States and at least 274,648 people have died from Covid-19, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
It took the United States 248 days to reach 7 million Covid-19 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University data. It only took the nation 69 days to reach the second 7 million cases.
Johns Hopkins recorded the first case of coronavirus in the United States on Jan. 21.
98 days later, on April 28, the US hit 1 million cases
44 days later, on June 11, the US hit 2 million cases
27 days later, on July 8, the US hit 3 million cases
15 days later, on July 23, the US hit 4 million cases
17 days later, on Aug. 9, the US hit 5 million cases
22 days later, on Aug. 31, the US hit 6 million cases
25 days later, on Sept. 25, the US hit 7 million cases
21 days later on Oct. 16, the US hit 8 million cases
14 days later, on Oct. 30, the US hit 9 million cases
9 days later, on Nov. 8, the US hit 10 million cases
7 days later, on Nov. 15, the US hit 11 million cases
6 days later on Nov. 21, the US hit 12 million cases
6 days later, on Nov. 27, the US hit 13 million cases
6 days later, on Dec. 3, the US hit 14 million cases
According to Johns Hopkins, 13 other countries in the world have reported more than 1 million total Covid-19 cases:
India has over 9 million total cases
Brazil has over 6 million total cases
France and Russia have over 2 million total cases
Spain, United Kingdom, Argentina, Italy, Colombia, Mexico, Germany, Poland and Iran all have over 1 million total cases each
