December 7 coronavirus news

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf spoke bluntly Monday, describing an increasingly "dire" scenario where sick Pennsylvanians could be turned away from hospitals due to lack of beds if Covid-19 hospitalizations continue to increase.

The Commonwealth reported that at least 5,421 people were hospitalized due to the virus as of noon Monday, according to the state's Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine.

The 14-day moving average of hospitalized patients per day had increased by 4,000 since the end of September, she added.

Wolf warned of hospitals that were already diverting patients to other facilities due to "full emergency rooms and overwhelming needs."

The latest numbers: There were at least 6,330 new cases of Covid-19 from Sunday, and approximately 8,630 from Saturday. There were a total of 111 new deaths over the weekend, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The statewide positivity rate for the week of Nov. 27 through Dec. 3 was 14.4%, according to the department. 

Note:These numbers were released by the Pennsylvania 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. 

The bipartisan group of senators working on a coronavirus relief package will have another call this evening in an attempt to iron out differences on liability insurance, a Democratic aide tells CNN. That remains the key sticking point in the negotiations.

As a result of the call, don’t expect to see a more detailed proposal, outline or summary of the other pieces of the bill they are working on today. 

The thinking is that there really is not a full agreement until everything is worked out. While aides feel good about the progress that has been made to settle state and local funding, the liability piece is still unresolved. And, without liability, there isn’t likely to be a deal. 

Remember, last week Sen. Joe Manchin said the goal was release legislative text today. But, now that there is going to be a one-week continuing resolution, that does give the bipartisan group more time to figure out a path forward on liability.

South Dakota resident Rose Mary Kor was rushed to the ER when she was struggling to breathe.

At the ER, Kor was diagnosed with Covid-19-related pneumonia and was told she needed to be treated in a more sophisticated facility, but because the nearest facility was full, she would need to be sent for treatment in Wyoming, CNN’s Brooke Baldwin reported.

“They said, ‘we're going to try to send you to Wyoming and the two options are Gillette and Casper, we'll see who will take you.’ And as it turned out, Wyoming Medical Center in Casper was the one that could take me,” Kor explained.

The facility is about a 3-hour drive from Kor's home and 200 miles away, she said.

Kor added that she doesn't know what would happen if she required additional treatment.

Kor said she would have to see her doctor at the nearby clinic, but doesn't know "what would happen, if they would have to ship me somewhere else. It just seems like our system is not prepared for the scope of what this virus is doing."

Kor's message to fellow residents in South Dakota is to take the pandemic seriously.

"If you're not thinking this is real, that you don't need a mask, that you don't need to be careful, you're living in some sort of alternate reality," she said.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, told CNBC's Andrew Sorkin on Monday that he has avoided indoor dining and will continue to do so during the coronavirus pandemic. 

“On a personal level, I’ve gone to many big box stores properly masked, and I wear a high-quality mask when I go out. I will not eat indoors in a restaurant,” Gottlieb said.

Gottlieb said he has been eating outdoors since the summer. The risk is too high to be in a confined space without a mask on, he said.

"We need to understand what we’re looking at right now is going to get progressively worse over the next four to six weeks. Infections are going to continue to grow for at least four weeks, and the number of deaths and hospitalizations are going to continue to grow for probably the next six weeks,” Gottlieb said. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Monday that the first thing he would like the incoming Biden administration to do is "get the efficient and equitable distribution of vaccines" to as many people as possible.

"Because if we could get 75% to 85% of the people in the United States vaccinated, we could crush this outbreak," Fauci said. "We really have the capability of doing it."

Under the Biden administration, Fauci will be staying in his current role and will also become a chief medical adviser for Biden on the Covid-19 pandemic.

If schools have the resources, children can be kept in school safely, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Monday.

"It looks like now that the test positive of children in school compared to the comparable community is really relatively low," Fauci said. "The safer place to be for the children would be in school, because the test positivity is really relatively low."

Fauci added that one of his own daughters is a school teacher.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Monday that he is willing to take the Covid-19 vaccine publicly once one is authorized in the United States.

"When I see the FDA with their career scientists say that a vaccine is safe and effective, I will take it myself when my time comes," Fauci said. "And I will recommend it to all people, including my friends President Clinton, Obama, Bush and others to take the vaccine because I would feel comfortable."

Former Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and George W. Bush have all said that they are willing to take the Covid-19 vaccine in public settings.

The United States still hasn't seen the full impact that Thanksgiving gatherings likely will have on rising Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Monday.

"The blip from Thanksgiving isn't even here yet," Fauci told CBS' Norah O'Donnell during the Milken Institute Future of Health Summit.

"For the first time in more than 30 years I’m not spending the Christmas holidays with my daughters,” Fauci said.

He said political leaders who call for the public to stay home but don't follow those guidelines themselves are setting "a bad example."

"That's a bad example," Fauci said. "Several of them, as we know from the news – I was watching the news last night – unfortunately, some of them did but they were caught."

As coronavirus cases continue to rise Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced on Monday further rollbacks on reopening guidance for organized athletic activities for high-school aged athletes and older. 

In a new Phase 2 "adjustment," high-contact sports, including basketball, football and hockey, are now prohibited in the District beginning Monday.

Universities and professional sports leagues are excluded from the mayor's order and may continue to practice and compete, so long as they have approved health and safety plans, Bowser said. 

As for other organized sports, high school extracurricular sports activities and competitions will be suspended for DC public and private schools. Recreation centers and sports clubs in the District must also suspend all sports and organized athletic activities for high school-aged athletes. 

Children who are middle school-aged and younger may continue to participate in organized drills for high-contact sports in groups of no more than 12 (precluding the ability to hold competitions). The activities must not involve actual physical contact, per the mayor's order.

Physical education classes for all students must not involve activities in which children might come within six feet of one another. 

The Department of Parks and Recreation will also stop issuing field permits for organized sports. DC residents may continue to use public fields for individual exercise or non-high contact activities. 

Washington, DC reported 183 new coronavirus cases and four deaths Monday, pushing the death toll to at least 701.