December 7 coronavirus news

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN’s John Berman Monday that he has the same concerns about Christmas that he did about Thanksgiving – “only this may be even more compounded because it’s a longer holiday.”

Thanksgiving was just the end of the week and then people went back to work, Fauci said. The Christmas holiday starts several days before, goes through Christmas Day into the week after, and into New Year’s and the New Year’s holiday.

“We’ve got to not walk away from the facts and the data,” he said. “This is tough going for all of us.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci said he spoke with California health authorities and told them the new restrictions in the state make sense to him.

He added that when hospitals become overwhelmed, that's when you could start seeing lockdowns.

"When you reach a certain critical point of the flexibility of hospital beds, and you see more cases of Covid coming in, you could have a real challenge – and maybe even a crisis – with regard to beds and personnel to take care of the people in those beds. And that's the reason why California has certain sections looking at the possibility of a lockdown," Fauci said.

Roughly 33 million of California's 39 million residents, about 85% of the nation's most populous state, are under new stay-at-home orders

The state reported more than 30,000 new cases on Sunday, a record high for California.

Coronavirus cases are rising across the US, and experts say "behavior and cold weather" are behind the current surge gripping American communities.

If you're just catching up now, here's a look at where the coronavirus numbers stand in the US:

A Covid-19 vaccine will not show an impact on mortality rate immediately, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday.

The top infectious disease expert in the US pointed to the time frame of administering the vaccine and the time take for it to create the immunity in the system.

"When you vaccinate people — not only the health care workers, but vulnerable people, for example in nursing homes — by the time they get an immunity, which would be, you know, you have a prime and then you have a boost and then you have seven to 10 days after the boost."

He insisted that if an adequate amount of people were to get vaccinated on time, this pandemic could be under control.

Remember: The US Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved a coronavirus vaccine, but both Pfizer and Moderna have apply to the FDA for emergency use authorization for a coronavirus vaccine. The FDA will meet with its advisory committee this month to review Pfizer's and Moderna's applications.

In the meantime, Fauci expressed concerns about Christmas celebrations that could cause cases to spike.

The current surge in cases across the country is already concerning but "it was predictable," Fauci added.

"We had a very high baseline of cases to begin with. You know, even at the time when things seemed to have been calming down, it never got down to a low baseline. Then we had a combination of a bunch of things, all of which synergized to put us in the difficult position we're in now," he told CNN, referring to cold weather, flu season and the holiday celebrations.

As the cold weather sets in, Fauci says he has transitioned from running to power-walking for three or four miles with his wife.

Watch the interview:

This is the week things either finally come together or they fall apart for good on the stimulus. 

Aides and members spent the entire weekend trying to close out outstanding issues from food stamp benefits to state and local funding.

Lawmakers spent Sunday afternoon on an hours-long Zoom call. And while aides on both sides of the aisle, agree a lot of progress was made, the bipartisan group still isn’t finished with writing its bill. Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, said last week that bill text would be out Monday. We’ll see about that.

Remember: Even if the bipartisan group of lawmakers from the House and the Senate reach an agreement among themselves does not mean it’s the end of talks. This has largely been seen as a starting point for leadership. McConnell hasn’t committed to putting anything on the floor. And, Pelosi and Schumer were careful in their endorsement of this process last week that this is a starting point. 

What to watch for this week: Expect to see some summaries rolled out as early as today, but aides say there still isn’t complete agreement on the two issues that have flummoxed leadership and negotiators for months: state and local funding and liability insurance. 

US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams has warned the American people that  "this virus is incredibly unforgiving," during an interview with Good Morning America on Monday.

Adams noted that Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are still going up.

Adams added that despite his concerns, more people than ever are wearing masks in the US.

The US has the highest Covid-19 case tally globally, with more than 14.7 million total infections recorded.

National coronavirus restrictions in Greece are to be extended over the Christmas holiday period, as part of ongoing efforts to stem the spread of coronavirus and ease pressure on the country's healthcare system.

Government spokesperson Stelios Petsas said a night-time curfew and a ban on movement between regions would remain in place until Jan. 7. 

All schools, restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, skiing centers and courts must remain closed until the restrictions are lifted in the new year. 

Seasonal shops have been granted permission to remain open, but the government is yet to finalize a decision on retail stores and hair salons. 

Petsas noted a steady improvement in the coronavirus situation in the country, but said it was happening more slowly than expected, with high numbers of hospital admissions and patients requiring intensive care continuing to put pressure on the healthcare system. 

"If we relax, we will pay for it," Petsas warned.

The novel coronavirus has infected more than 61 million people worldwide and killed more than 1.5 million. Here's what you need to know

Denmark has announced a partial lockdown in 38 of 98 its counties, to curb rising coronavirus infection rates in harder-hit areas.

The remaining 60 counties will not be affected by the new restrictions, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said during a press conference Monday. 

Denmark has registered 2,024 new cases in the past 24 hours -- the first time that number has topped 2,000.

The country's health minister, Magnus Heunicke, said Denmark was entering a new phase of the epidemic, with the infection rate growing exponentially.

The new restrictions are due to come into effect on Wednesday, December 9.

They will see schools closed to children in the 5th grade and up. Bars and restaurants, theaters, cinemas and museums will also close, as will fitness centres and swimming pools.

The regional and local restrictions will last until January 3, 2021.

In addition, the Danish government says it will extend the existing nationwide restrictions until February 28, 2021.

Officials also urged caution over the Christmas period, noting that a week-long fall holiday in October led to a doubling in infection rates in the country.

On a more positive note, Frederiksen said restrictions implemented since the spring have worked to cut back the virus every time, allowing Danes to maintain a more normal daily life than most other countries.