By Joshua Berlinger, Adam Renton, Zamira Rahim and Ed Upright, CNN
From CNN's Haley Brink
The United States reported 132,370 current Covid-19 hospitalizations on Thursday, according to the Covid Tracking Project (CTP).
This is the second highest number of current hospitalizations reported in a single day and the 37th consecutive day that the US has remained above 100,000 current hospitalizations.
The highest hospitalization numbers according to CTP data are:
From CNN's Zahid Mahmood and Sarah Dean
The United Kingdom has introduced mandatory Covid-19 testing for all international arrivals into the country, including British nationals, according to a statement by the UK’s Department of Transport on Friday.
In the statement, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the changes would take place from “next week.” Passengers will be required to present a negative Covid-19 test result 72 hours prior to departure for entry into the UK, along with a “passenger locator form.”
Passengers who fail to comply with pre-departure testing will be subject to a £500 ($680) fine and those arrivals not from countries on the government’s travel corridor list will still have to self-isolate for 10 days, regardless of test result.
The measures are intended to protect the country against emerging new variants of the coronavirus.
One new variant first identified in the UK prompted a wave of travel restrictions from other countries in December, and has been linked to a recent surge in cases in England.
From CNN's Mirna Alsharif
A coalition of governors sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Operation Warp Speed Chief Operating Officer General Gustave Perna urging the federal government to distribute "reserved doses" of the Covid-19 vaccine to states that need them.
The coalition included Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (MI), Gov. Gavin Newson (CA), Gov. Laura Kelly (KS), Gov. J.B. Pritzker (IL), Gov. Tim Walz (MN), Gov. Andrew Cuomo (NY), Gov. Tony Evers (WI) and Gov. Jay Inslee (WA).
"According to publicly reported information, the federal government currently has upwards of 50% of currently produced vaccines held back by the administration for reasons unknown," reads the letter released Thursday evening. "The failure to distribute these doses to states who request them is unconscionable and unacceptable. We demand that the federal government begin distributing these reserved doses to states immediately."
From CNN's Zahid Mahmood
The UK government announced on Thursday it will extend its travel ban to include southern African countries, in an attempt to protect itself against the spread of a new coronavirus variant.
In a statement, the government said from 4am GMT on Saturday January 9, entry into England will be banned from countries including Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Lesotho, Mozambique, the Seychelles and Mauritius.
“The government has responded swiftly to new evidence showing an urgent need to halt travel from all southern African countries to help prevent the spread of a new coronavirus (COVID-19) variant identified in South Africa,” the statement said.
The ban does not apply to British and Irish nationals, long term visa holders or permanent residents, who will be able to enter but will have to self-isolate for 10 days on arrival.
The restriction adds to an ongoing travel ban on visitors who have been in or transited through South Africa in the past 10 days.
From Shasta Darlington
Amid a surging second wave, Brazil registered a record number of new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday and the second-highest number of daily deaths since the pandemic began, pushing the total death toll over 200,000, according to the Brazilian Health Ministry.
The number of new daily infections was 87,843 while the number of coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours stood at 1,524.
From CNN’s Naomi Thomas
In a letter addressed to US Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary Alex Azar, the American Hospital Association asked for help in eliminating barriers that are hindering the vaccine rollout.
The letter says that the slow pace of the vaccine rollout in the country “has led to concern about whether the task of vaccinating all who are able to take the vaccine will happen as quickly as federal leaders have suggested it would.”
“In the first few weeks of administering vaccines, hospitals have seen a number of barriers to smooth and effective vaccinations,” said the letter. “We raise these to your attention so that you and your team can begin to eliminate the barriers and expedite vaccination.”
The letter also outlined the need for more transparency about the goals and expectations of the rollout, how to make data more accessible, improve communication and offer support to medical centers throughout the country:
We urge you to establish a process within HHS with the ability to be able to coordinate the national efforts among all of the states and jurisdictions and the many stakeholders; answer all of the questions expeditiously; establish and maintain effective communication among all involved; and identify and resolve barriers to the rapid deployment of millions of doses of vaccines.
From CNN's Jacqueline Howard
More than half of Covid-19 cases might have been transmitted by people not showing symptoms, according to a new study from researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It’s a model, not a real-life study, but based on data from eight studies done in China, about 59% of all transmission came from people without symptoms, the CDC team found.
"Across a range of plausible scenarios, at least 50% of transmission was estimated to have occurred from persons without symptoms," the team wrote in the journal JAMA Network Open on Thursday.
The model showed that about 59% of all transmission came from people without symptoms, which broke down to 35% from those who have not developed symptoms yet -- are presymptomatic -- and 24% from people who never develop symptoms.
Of course, the model provides only estimates about the spread of Covid-19 and more research is needed to determine whether the findings would be similar in the real world.
In the real world, the researchers wrote, "Measures such as mask wearing and social distancing empower individuals to protect themselves and, if infected, to reduce risk to their communities."
From CNN’s Ingrid Formanek and Stefano Pozzebon
Spain has topped 2 million Covid-19 cases, with the country’s health ministry announcing a total of 2,024,904 cases on Thursday.
The number of cases has more than doubled since October 21, when Spain’s overall coronavirus case count was 1,005,295.
"The trend is still, clearly upward. The total amount of cases has topped 2 million," Health Ministry spokeswoman Maria Jose Sierra said during a televised press conference in Madrid on Thursday.
Nevertheless, Sierra said a return to "hard lockdown" is not on the cards, and the Health Ministry is focused on tracking and confining emerging cases rather than impose harsh general measures.
From CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas
Incoming director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, received her first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday at Massachusetts General Hospital.
“I've never had more faith in the promise of science and the power of hope to get us through this,” Walensky, chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General, wrote on Twitter.
President-elect Joe Biden has appointed Walensky to be his CDC chief when he takes office later this month.
“I urge all Americans to get vaccinated as soon as you're able, wear a mask, and stop the spread,” Walensky add