UK vaccination target is "Herculean" but can be achieved, minister says

4:19 a.m. ET, January 6, 2021

UK vaccination target is "Herculean" but can be achieved, minister says

From CNN's Sharon Braithwaite

People line up for vaccinations at the NHS London Bridge Vaccination Centre 1 on December 30, 2020 in London, England. Hollie Adams/Getty Images

Britain's target of vaccinating more than 13 million priority candidates against coronavirus by mid-February is "Herculean" but can be achieved, the UK health minister responsible for the program's deployment, Nadhim Zahawi, told Sky News on Wednesday.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that he hoped the country could vaccinate the four groups it has identified as top priority by the middle of next month, describing the number of people in those groups as “somewhat higher than 13 million.”

Asked if this target is achievable, Zahawi said it is an "Herculean effort."

"It is a stretching target no doubt. Very stretching target," he said adding that he's "confident" that with the plan that the NHS have put together "we will deliver this."

Progress so far: The NHS has administered more than 1.3 million vaccine doses since December 8, Zahawi said, adding that one in four 80-year-olds have already had their first shot. "And in a couple of weeks' time, those 25% of 80-year-olds will be protected, and of course will then get their second jab as well, so it is a Herculean effort," he said.

The minister also said that there will be a "massive acceleration" in the numbers of vaccinated people in the next few days, as the NHS gets more vaccination sites operational.

4:16 a.m. ET, January 6, 2021

Czech Republic reports more than 17,000 new Covid-19 cases in new daily record

From CNN's Tomas Etzler in Prague, Czech Republic

A man waits outside a sampling point for Covid-19 testing in Prague, Czech Republic on January 3. Gabriel Kuchta/Getty Images

The Czech Health Ministry identified 17,278 cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, a new record for the number of cases recorded in a single day.

Cases are spiking in the Czech Republic despite strict anti-Covid measures that have been enacted throughout the country. A 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew is in place and most shops, services and schools are closed.

At least 776,967 cases have been confirmed in the Czech Republic, killing 12,436 people. There are 7,001 Covid-19 patients being treated in hospital. Some 63,183 people have recovered.

3:32 a.m. ET, January 6, 2021

The Netherlands administers its first Covid-19 vaccine dose

From CNN's Mick Krever

Healthcare worker Sanna Elkadiri, left, was the first Dutch recipient of a shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine at a mass vaccination center in Veghel, Netherlands on January 6. Piroschka van de Wouw/Pool/AP

The first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine was administered in the Netherlands on Wednesday, according to national broadcaster NOS.

The first person to receive it was Sanna Elkadiri, 39, a care home worker in Veghel, NOS reported.

Dutch Health Minister Hugo de Jonge called it a “crazy moment."

"Finally, after 10 months in crisis mode, we are starting to end this crisis here. But it will really take a while before we have the misery behind us," he said.

Around 269,000 care home workers are being invited to receive their vaccinations as a first step, the National Institute of Health and the Environment said on Tuesday.

Slow start: The Dutch government has been criticized for what some saw as a slow start to it's Covid-19 vaccination program. The European Union officially started its vaccination campaign on December 27, days after approving the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine on December 21.

4:49 a.m. ET, January 6, 2021

He was skeptical of Covid-19. Now he's urging others to wear their masks from his hospital bed

From CNN's Amanda Jackson

A man who tested positive for the coronavirus after Christmas has posted several videos on social media warning others to wear their masks and learn from his mistake.

"I didn't think masks would make that much of a difference," Chuck Stacey told CNN on Tuesday. "I was wrong."

Stacey is currently in a Florida hospital for the second time since testing positive on December 27, 2020.

The 50-year-old told CNN when the pandemic started he equated the virus to a really bad flu and didn't take many precautions to protect himself.

"I admit it I was wrong," he said. "This has been brutal. I never knew that the human body could hurt so bad."

Read more of Stacey's story:

He was skeptical of Covid-19. Now, from his hospital bed, he posts videos on social media urging others to wear their masks

2:10 a.m. ET, January 6, 2021

South Korea will test every prisoner in the country for Covid-19

From CNN's Jake Kwon in Seoul, South Korea

Medical workers prepare to conduct Covid-19 tests on all inmates at Dongbu Detention Center in Seoul, South Korea on January 5. Yonhap/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

South Korea will test every prisoner held in the country's 52 detention facilities for Covid-19 after a cluster of cases emerged at a detention center in the capital Seoul.

Health Ministry official Yoon Tae-ho announced the plan at a briefing Wednesday. Yoon said that prisoners at 11 facilities had already been tested and, so far, no positive cases had been reported. Prisoners at the other 41 facilities have not yet been tested, Yoon said.

Viruses can spread easily in prisons because of their small, cramped quarters and lack of fresh air. The cluster in Seoul's Dongbu Detention Center exploded in just weeks. It was detected in mid-December, and authorities have now found 1,118 cases tied to the detention center, mostly among the prison population. The facility housed 2,292 inmates when the first cases were identified.

Justice Ministry official Kim Jae-sul said the detention center was overcrowded when the cluster was detected, which would make it easier for the virus to spread. Yoon, the Health Ministry official, said 972 prisoners have been transferred to different facilities, lowering the population density.

New cases: South Korea identified 809 local and 31 imported coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said in statement. Of those, 567 cases were found in the Seoul metropolitan area.

Though cases are slowly declining, a winter surge had authorities scrambling to find new hospital beds, especially in Seoul. Yoon said authorities had "secured" more beds for Covid-19 patients and that there were now a total of 177 ICU beds available for coronavirus treatment nationwide.

To date, 65,818 cases of Covid-19 have been identified in South Korea, killing 1,027 people.

1:46 a.m. ET, January 6, 2021

The US recorded at least 3,775 Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday. That's a new record

From CNN's Joe Sutton in Atlanta

An empty casket is delivered amid a surge of Covid-19 deaths to the Continental Funeral Home on December 31, 2020 in East Los Angeles, California. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Umages

At least 3,775 Covid-19 deaths were reported in the United States on Tuesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University -- the highest number of fatalities recorded in a single day since the pandemic began.

Nationwide there were at least 229,055 new cases of Covid-19 reported Tuesday. To date, there have been 21,046,195 cases of coronavirus in the US. At least 357,258 people have died.

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

Track US cases here:

12:48 a.m. ET, January 6, 2021

California orders hospitals to delay non-essential surgeries in regions hardest hit by Covid-19 surge

From CNN's Sarah Moon

Ambulances are parked outside an emergency room entrance at Long Beach Medical Center Tuesday, January 5, in Long Beach, California. Ashley Landis/AP

California health officials have ordered that non-essential surgeries be delayed in regions where ICU bed capacity is 10% or less.

The move was made in order to ease the burden on California hospitals, which are treating a record number of Covid-19 patients, according to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). It is effective immediately and will last for three weeks.

CDPH said the order will help “reduce pressure on strained hospital systems and redistribute the responsibility of medical care across the state so patients can continue to receive lifesaving care.”

“California is experiencing an unprecedented and exponential surge in COVID-19 cases, and staffing and other resources are becoming strained,” State Public Health Officer Tomás Aragón said in the public health order.

“Large proportions of California hospitals have reached significant strain on their ability to provide adequate medical care to their communities.”

The number of patients hospitalized in California with Covid-19 has skyrocketed sevenfold over the past two months, Aragon said, while the number of patients being treated in intensive care has soared by over sixfold during the same period.

Surgeries for patients who have serious and urgent medical conditions will continue, officials said.

12:03 a.m. ET, January 6, 2021

Here's the latest on the Covid-19 surge in California

From CNN's Jon Passantino

A patient rests in a corridor waiting for a room at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Tarzana, California on January 3. Apu Gomes/AFP/Getty Images

California is the epicenter of the current surge of Covid-19 cases in the United States. On Tuesday, the state reported 31,440 new cases and another 368 people died from the virus, pushing the statewide death toll to more than 27,000.

Only New York and Texas have reported a higher number of virus-related fatalities.

California has reported a total of 2,452,334 cases.

Here's what you should know:

Los Angeles County recorded more than 1,000 deaths in less than a week. More than 11,000 people have now died there.
Hospitalizations continue to hit all-time highs statewide. More than 22,000 Californians are now in hospital, and 21% of those patients are in intensive care.
The statewide positivity rate is also rising. It's now 12.7%, the highest it has been since the initial wave of infections last spring.
The new, potentially more contagious UK variant of the coronavirus is spreading. Thirty-two patients are confirmed to have contracted the variant strain in San Diego. Another 24 confirmed and four probable cases of the new Covid-19 variant were reported Tuesday. Four of the patients were children younger than 10.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has formally requested 500 additional federal medical personnel to help staff hospitals overwhelmed with patients.
Just 27% of California’s vaccine doses have been administered so far. A total of 459,654 doses had been administered as of Tuesday, but just over 5,200 shots were given out in the past 24 hours. Health officials say they are struggling to vaccinate people against the virus as health workers are overwhelmed treating the sick and navigating state logistical issues. The state is now authorizing dentists to administer the shots in a push to accelerate deployment.

10:53 p.m. ET, January 5, 2021

Operation Warp Speed says it distributed 3 million coronavirus vaccines Tuesday

From CNN's Maggie Fox

Christopher Miller testifies at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on "Threats to the Homeland" on Capitol Hill on September 24 in Washington. Joshua Roberts/Pool/Getty Images

The federal government’s Operation Warp Speed said it distributed more than 3 million coronavirus vaccines on Tuesday, meaning that the government has now distributed more than 19 million vaccines across the United States.

Officials in President Donald Trump's administration have been promising to speed up vaccine distribution. They have admitted they have fallen far short of promises to have vaccinated 20 million people by the end of 2020.

“On behalf of Operation Warp Speed, I am proud to report that today, 3,087,100 vaccines were distributed to the American people,” Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller said in a statement.
“Today’s great work brings the total number of doses distributed to 19,141,175 over the last 21 days since the first vaccine doses showed up at administration sites.”

Earlier Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 17 million vaccine doses had been distributed and more than 4.8 million people had been given their first doses of vaccine.

January 6 coronavirus news