December 9 coronavirus news

In a new memo to employees, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian says nearly 700 people have now been placed on its no-fly list for refusing to comply with the airline's mask policy.

The new number an increase from the Delta’s last update on Nov. 12, when the carrier said about 500 passengers had been banned from flying since the start of the pandemic.

Delta began requiring that passengers wear masks on flights on May 4. All major airlines now mandate that passengers wear masks in the absence of any new regulations from the federal government.

President-elect Joe Biden reaffirmed yesterday his call for a federal mask mandate during the first 100 days of his administration including on planes, trains and buses. 

Health Canada, the department of Canada's government responsible for the country's federal health policy, approved Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine under emergency approval Wednesday, indicating in its authorization that there were some "conditions."

More informations is expected at an afternoon news conference where technical details about the vaccine roll out will be outlined.

Canada started a “dry-run” of distribution this week throughout the country.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier this week that Canada would receive an initial shipment of 249,000 doses by the end of the year, and he expects Canada’s first vaccinations to occur sometime next week.

At least three California counties in one of the regions in a stay-at-home order has 0% intensive care unit capacity available, according to data from the state department of public health. 

“Whenever the ICUs get full, it’s really hard to move patients through the emergency department. It’s really hard for us to provide efficient services,” Dr. Rais Vohra said, an emergency physician who serves as the interim public health officer for Fresno County.

Vohra emphasized how dire the situation is, adding that working on the frontlines "gives you a very eye opening perspective."

Vohra warned that 10-15% of all infected cases will need to visit an emergency department and some will require hospitalization and therefore will be a strain on services at hospitals for all patients, including those not battling Covid-19. 

According to information from the California Department of Public Health:

The counties are part of the San Joaquin Valley Region which is under a three-week state mandated stay-home order triggered last weekend by the low number of ICU beds available.

CNN has reached out to the health departments in Kings and Madera counties for comment.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on Wednesday said that for America to start flattening the Covid-19 curve and follow the pattern of Europe, everyone needs to admit and own the problem.

In some parts of the country, there is almost denial, Fauci said – people thinking that the pandemic isn’t a big deal, that it’s fake news, or that it’s a hoax.

“It’s not. It’s real. The numbers are absolutely real,” Fauci said, pointing out that there are record numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

“We have a serious issue,” he said, coming out of the Thanksgiving holiday and leading up to the Christmas and Hanukkah season.

There have been at least 15,186,244 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 286,461 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

So far today, Johns Hopkins has reported 21,085 new cases and 212 reported deaths.

New York City is reporting 196 hospital admissions, “right up on” the city set threshold of 200, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday. 

“We got to keep fighting back to get and stay under that threshold, it is so important,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

The new indicator, hospital admissions per 100,000 people on a 7-day average, is 2.34, the mayor said. 

“That is still too high,” he said, reminding the city wants to be under 2.

The city is reporting 2,738 Covid-19 cases on a 7-day average, which now includes probable cases. “Way too high,” de Blasio said.

The percent positivity of New York City residents on a 7-day rolling average is 4.81%, and while that’s under the 5% threshold “we got to work hard to keep pushing that number down,” he said. 

The Department of Defense is expected to receive “just under 44,000 doses” of the Pfizer vaccine early next week, according to Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Thomas McCaffery.

“In the coming days we expect the department to receive its first allotment of the vaccine,” McCaffery said.

He confirmed the prioritization plan for Defense Department personnel, saying that the prioritization was based off CDC guidance and the Pentagon’s task force recommendations.

The vaccine “is voluntary for everyone” Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place, the Defense Health Agency director said, due to it having only received emergency use authorization.

Where is it being sent: Over a dozen military installations in the US, Europe and Asia were selected to receive the vaccine.

Place said those locations were chosen due their having cold storage capability, significant medical staff, and large populations.

Remember: The US FDA has not yet approved a coronavirus vaccine. The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is set to meet tomorrow to discuss Pfizer’s application for an emergency use authorization for its coronavirus vaccine.

With nine days left until the spending deadline, lawmakers are negotiating another Covid-19 stimulus bill.

A summary of what is included in the proposals, obtained by CNN, shows what the bipartisan group is working on. But, these summaries do not include a detailed explanation of how the group is planning to distribute $160 billion in state and local aid or how it will handle liability provisions. 

Here is some of what is included in the bill (Remember: This list isn’t exhaustive, but a sampling of what the bill includes):

On unemployment

On small businesses

On transportation 

On health care

On Education

Other programs:

What's missing from this proposal Details on what the plan is exactly for state and local funding and liability. Under the liability section it says “ agreement in principle as the basis for good faith negotiations.”

US equities opened higher on Wednesday on investor hopes that Congress will pass another round of government stimulus before the holidays is boosting the market. 

At the same time, investors are concerned about the worsening spread of Covid-19 that could lead to another shutdown of businesses given various states have already tightened restrictions.

Here's where things opened: 

If the S&P and the Nasdaq finish in the green, they will reach fresh record highs.