January 4 coronavirus news

The United States reported 128,210 current Covid-19 hospitalizations on Monday, setting a new record high since the pandemic began, according to the Covid Tracking Project (CTP).

This is the 34th consecutive day that the US has remained above 100,000 current hospitalizations.

According to CTP data, the highest hospitalization numbers were recorded on these days:

Johnson & Johnson tells CNN its Janssen Covid-19 vaccine trial is still on track and the company should have enough data “toward the end of January” to determine if the vaccine is safe and if it provides protection against the novel coronavirus, according to company spokesperson Lisa Cannellos.

The vaccine trial was fully enrolled Dec. 17. With the high number of infections in the US, the company determined it could enroll 45,000 volunteers and generate enough data.

If the trial shows the vaccine is safe and effective, the company has said it expects to submit an emergency use authorization application to the US Food and Drug Administration in February.

Unlike Moderna and Pfizer, the Janssen vaccine is a single dose shot. The vaccine uses a certain subtype of the adenovirus (a virus that causes cold symptoms) that is altered to carry the proteins for the novel coronavirus. Both viruses have been deactivated but exposure causes the immune system to create protective antibodies.

The United Kingdom recorded a record 58,784 new coronavirus cases on Monday — the highest daily increase since the beginning of the pandemic and the seventh day in a row in which the UK has recorded more than 50,000 new cases. 

According to the latest government data, the total number of cases recorded across the UK since the pandemic began now stands at 2,713,563.

A further 407 deaths have also been registered over the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of people who have died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test in the UK to at least 75,431.

The staggering figures come as England enters a third national lockdown, which is expected to last until mid-February, according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

In a statement, Yvonne Doyle, medical director for Public Health England, urged citizens to adhere to government guidance in order to stem the spread of the virus. 

“The continuous rise in cases and deaths should be a bitter warning for us all,” Doyle said Monday.

“We must not forget the basics — the lives of our friends and family depend on it. Keep your distance from others, wash your hands and wear a mask. This virus will transmit wherever you let your guard down,” she added. 

A group of 30 French citizens will be selected at random to represent the concerns of members of the public and advise the country’s government on its vaccination strategy, the French Economic, Social and Environmental Council said.  

“A group of 30 citizens, selected at random, whose composition is intended to be as representative as possible of French society, will be formed,” the council said, adding that the group’s purpose will be to “take into account the concerns, observations and interrogations of citizens” across the country.  

“Its members will be invited to raise issues relating to vaccination, whether they are about scientific, health, technical or financial matters. Fears, resistance or questions surrounding the ethics of the national vaccination campaign may also be expressed,” the council added. 

In an interview with French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, the council said that the draw would be held on Monday, with the group expected to begin working on Jan. 16.

A broader digital consultation platform will also be set up, the council said on its website, “in order to collect on a large scale the expression of citizens on their concerns, their expectations or their information needs regarding the vaccination campaign."

Six cases of the more transmissible coronavirus variant first seen in the UK have now been confirmed in patients in Southern California, as preliminary health data shows the Golden State, already battered by Covid-19, may soon be heading into a feared "surge on top of a surge," Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a news conference Monday. 

The new cases of the Covid-19 variant were reported in four patients in San Diego, one of whom is hospitalized, and two others in San Bernardino. It remains unclear how this strain of the coronavirus first seen in the UK has contributed to the recent surge of cases in the California. 

California reported 29,633 new cases of Covid-19 and 97 additional deaths on Monday. New case counts are typically lower on Monday due to lags in reporting over the weekend. This particular reporting period is substantially lower than the seven-day average of 37,845 cases and testing data from the holidays will likely increase that number, the governor emphasized.

The state has seen a seven-fold increase in hospitalizations, and a six-fold increase in ICU admissions over the last two months as the state continues to see a skyrocketing number of new infections, Newsom said. 

Wall Street ended the first trading day of the New Year sharply lower. Stocks tumbled after initially starting out in the green.

Here's how things ended up: 

Investors are worried about the pandemic and chances for economic recovery in 2021, as well as the high-stakes runoff election in Georgia on Tuesday that will decide the balance in the Senate. On top of that, profit-taking weighed on the market after stocks reached record highs last week.

As stocks settle after the trading day, levels might still change slightly.

New York Gov. Cuomo announced Monday that a person has tested positive for the UK strain of Covid-19, confirmed by the state’s Department of Health laboratory in Wadsworth.

The case is tied to a jewelry store in Saratoga Springs, and the man who tested positive did not travel recently. Cuomo said that since the man did not travel, it suggests the strain is in the community.

The man is in his 60’s and was symptomatic. Cuomo said the man is now on the mend.

Cuomo called on anyone who visited the store, called N. Fox Jewelers, between Dec. 18 to Dec. 24 to get tested.   

Three other people associated with the store have also tested positive. The lab in Wadsworth is testing those now to see if what strain of Covid-19 those three have.

The store was closed from Dec. 24 through today.

Whitfield County, Georgia – where President Trump will headline a Republican rally Monday night ahead of Tuesday’s runoff election – has the second highest coronavirus case rate in the state and one of the highest in the country.

With nearly 11,600 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 residents, Whitfield County lands among the 150 most infected counties in the country, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Whitfield County also surpasses state and national rates of Covid-19 deaths. The death rate in the country for Covid-19 is 121 per 100,000 people, compared to 103 per 100,000 in Georgia and 107 per 100,000 in the US as a whole.

Data from the Georgia Department of Public Health also shows that Whitfield County is outpacing the state in the rate of new cases. In the past two weeks, the county saw 1,211 new cases per 100,000 people, 68% higher than the state rate of 719 cases per 100,000 people.

Atlanta’s Fulton County, meanwhile, is faring better than Georgia overall. The county has had 648 new cases per 100,000 people in the past two weeks, according to data from the state health department.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a national lockdown for England Monday night on the heels of a warning from top medical advisers that the country’s National Health Service was in danger of being overwhelmed by coronavirus cases within 21 days.

The lockdown is expected to remain in place at least through the middle of February.

Coronavirus cases are surging in the country due to the new variant, with 30% more Covid-19 patients in hospitals in England on Monday than a week earlier.

The announcement for England follows an announcement earlier Monday that Scotland would go into lockdown. Wales and Northern Ireland, the other two nations of the United Kingdom, were already in lockdown.