January 31 coronavirus news

Nearly 19,000 new cases of Covid-19 were reported by the California Department of Public Health in a news release issued Sunday. 

There were a total of 18,974 newly recorded confirmed cases Saturday, the release said, for a total of 3,243,348 cases in total statewide.

There were also 481 Covid-19 deaths reported, for a total of 40,697 deaths in California since the pandemic began.

A pharmacist administers a dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in Boston on January 29.

More than 31 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the United States, according to data published Sunday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC reported that 31,123,299 total doses have been administered, about 62.3% of the 49,933,250 doses distributed.

That’s about 1.5 million more administered doses reported since yesterday.

Just over 25 million people have now received at least one dose of the vaccine and about 5.6 million people have been fully vaccinated, CDC data shows.

To note: States have 72 hours to report vaccine data, so data published by the CDC may be delayed – and may not necessarily mean all doses were given on the day reported. 

Transportation Security Administration workers check travelers' luggage at Denver International Airport in Colorado on November 20, 2020.

The Department of Homeland Security said Sunday that Transportation Security Administration workers now have the authority to enforce President Biden’s transportation mask mandate “at TSA screening checkpoints and throughout the commercial and public transportation system.”

Acting DHS Secretary David Pekoske signed a Determination of National Emergency on Sunday. Pekoske said the TSA can “take actions consistent with the authorities” of its federal jurisdiction so it can enforce the mask mandate order laid out by the Centers for Disease Control on Friday. 

“This includes supporting the CDC in the enforcement of any orders or other requirements necessary to protect the transportation system, including passengers and employees, from Covid-19 and to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 through the transportation system, to the extent appropriate and consistent with applicable law,” Pekoske wrote.

On Friday: The CDC issued an order that will require people to wear a mask while using any form of public transportation including on-board planes, trains, buses, boats, subways, taxis, and ride-shares as well as inside airports and other transportation hubs. It goes into effect on Monday at 11:59 p.m.

CNN has reached out to TSA to learn more details about how it will enforce the order.

The US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 22.

A group of eight Senate Democrats talked on Saturday about how to handle Covid-19 relief negotiations with Republicans and how they should vote on a budget resolution this week that will unlock reconciliation and allow Democrats to eventually pass a Covid-relief bill with just 51 votes, a Democratic Senate aide told CNN.

The Democrats – who included the eight members who are in the so-called “sweet 16” – discussed whether voting on a budget resolution would spoil their ability to continue to work in a bipartisan fashion on a Covid relief bill. The budget vote is just the beginning of the process, but the source told CNN there is still concern that moving ahead will send a signal that Democrats are going ahead with a partisan process and potentially poisoning the well. 

The source said that most members on the call were comfortable with moving forward on at least the budget resolution, but there is still work to do to get every Democrat comfortable. There is a legitimate desire to give the new President a win on his first legislative push, but concerns about not giving bipartisan talks enough time to fully develop. 

The members also discussed how to handle the GOP Covid-19 relief plan expected to be unveiled on Monday. Moderate Democrats were given a heads up that Republicans were going to release their own plan, but were not given specifics of what was included. Ultimately, it will be up to President Biden as to whether he wants to give Republicans more time for negotiations.

What happens next: The expectation is that a procedural vote on the budget resolution could come as soon as Tuesday, but obviously that could change given GOP is asking Biden for more time to talk.

A pharmacist prepares a vial of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine before doses are administered in Thornton-Cleveleys, England, on January 29.

Nearly 9 million people in the United Kingdom have received a first dose of coronavirus vaccine, and nearly half a million have had both doses, government data showed Sunday.

Some 8,977,329 people had gotten the first dose as of Saturday, according to the data, and 491,053 had both doses.

With the population of the UK around 66.7 million, that means about 13% of residents have had a first dose and about 0.7% have had both.

The country recorded 587 deaths within 28 days of a positive test on Sunday, bringing the total number of deaths to 106,158. 

The safest way to watch the Super Bowl is at home with people you live with, according to guidance updated Thursday from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

“Attending large gathers including the Super Bowl increases your risk of getting and spreading Covid-19,” the guidance said. “The safest way to watch the Super Bowl this year is at home with people you live with.”

The CDC offered recommendations for people who chose to attend the game or a large Super Bowl event, like a watch party.

The recommendations advise people not to chant or cheer, and instead stomp, clap or use hand-held noisemakers.

The recommendations also include calling the venue to ensure that they have steps in place to prevent the spread of the virus, following venue signage to allow for social distancing, arriving early to avoid crowds and congested areas, avoiding the use of public areas like restroom facilities or concession areas at high traffic times, wearing a mask at all time, using touchless payment methods when possible, limiting alcohol consumption and minimizing the time spent in restaurant, bar or concession areas.

Sen. Bernie Sanders attends a confirmation hearing on January 27 in Washington, DC.

Incoming Senate Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders said in an interview Sunday morning that he believes there are enough Democratic votes for reconciliation if they chose to go that route to pass the coronavirus relief bill. 

 I believe that we do,” Sanders said when asked on ABC whether he thought there are enough Democrat votes.

“All of us will have differences of opinions, this is a $1.9 trillion bill, I have differences and concerns about this bill, but at the end of the day we are going to support the President of the United States,” Sanders added.

When asked about Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who said this weekend that they are going to look for a bipartisan way to address the relief bill, he said he is still “absolutely confident” that there are enough votes for the reconciliation process. 

Some context: Democrats have been criticized for ignoring bipartisanship so early on in the new Presidential administration. Sanders addressed this issue and said there are opportunities for bipartisanship in the future, including on infrastructure, but that the coronavirus crisis is too pressing.

“We are going to look forward to working with Republicans, but right now this country faces an unprecedented set of crises,” Sanders said.

He did not rule out working with Republicans, but said that he has not heard better ideas from them so far.

“If Republicans want to work with us, they have better ideas on how to address those crises? That’s great. but to be honest with you I have not yet heard that,” the chairman stated.

Brian Deese, President Joe Biden's top economic official, on January 31.

President Biden’s top economic official, Brian Deese, told CNN that the White House is open to negotiating targeted direct payment checks to benefit Americans who would actually spend them.

It’s been a point of contention for some moderate republicans and conservative democrats who criticized the proposed $1,400 direct payments portion of the administration’s Coivd-19 relief bill for being too broad.

Today, 10 GOP senators released a counterproposal to Biden’s $1.9 trillion dollar bill that would provide a new round of direct payments for “families who need assistance the most” and extend enhanced federal unemployment benefits at the current level.

When asked if he was willing to make the checks more targeted, Deese said, “we’re open to that idea, we’re open to ideas are across the board.”

“What I want to reinforce is that if we’re going to look at ways of targeting we need to look at how this plan is targeted overall,” the director of the National Economic Council added.

Deese confirmed that the White House has received the Senate Republican counterproposal to the administration’s Covid-19 relief bill, and will review it but would not specifically say that the White House is willing to come down from the price tag. 

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03:14 - Source: CNN

A group of 10 Republican senators on Sunday called on President Biden to throw his support behind their own Covid-19 relief package framework, asking the President to work with them on drafting the legislation.

In a letter sent to Biden, the lawmakers – including Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah and Rob Portman of Ohio – told Biden they “welcome the opportunity to work with (him) in a bipartisan manner to combat the Covid-19 virus and provide continued support to families struggling during the pandemic.”

“In the spirit of bipartisanship and unity, we have developed a Covid-19 relief framework that builds on prior Covid assistance laws, all of which passed with bipartisan support,” they wrote.

The senators said their framework includes a total of $160 billion for vaccine development and distribution, testing and tracing, and treatment and supplies, including the production and deployment of personal protective equipment.

The framework also includes $4 billion to bolster behavioral health and substance abuse. It would also include a new round of direct payments for “families who need assistance the most” and extend enhanced federal unemployment benefits at the current level.

Brian Deese, the director of the White House’s National Economic Council, confirmed on CNN later Sunday that the White House had received the letter.

“We’ve received the letter and we certainly will be reviewing it over the course of the day,” Deese said. “What I will say is that the provisions of the President’s plan, the American Rescue plan, were calibrated to the economic crisis that we face.”

It is “too early” to share any excess supply of Covid-19 vaccines in the United Kingdom with the European Union and developing nations, British Trade Secretary Liz Truss said on Sunday. 

“We first need to make sure that our population is vaccinated. We have a target to get the most vulnerable vaccinated by mid-February. It’s a bit too early to say about how we would deploy excess vaccine, but we certainly want to work with friends and neighbors, we want to work with developing countries,” Truss told Sky News. “We’re only going to solve this issue once everybody in the world is vaccinated.”

According to the latest figures published by the British government on Friday, 8,378,940 people received a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, while 480,432 received a second dose. 

Health care staff take care of Covid-19 patients in an intensive care unit in Tehran in December.

The health ministry of Iran has warned of a fourth wave of Covid-19, that could cause coronavirus cases to surge in coming weeks, in a news ticker on Iran’s state-run TV.

The country reported 6,268 new daily coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing the country’s total number to 1,417,999.

The new numbers were announced by Iran’s Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadaat Lari in a news conference on state TV.

She also reported 70 new deaths from Covid-19, bringing the country’s death toll to 57,959.

The health ministry said 3,932 patients are hospitalized in ICU.

The country continues to keep restrictions in place to try and avoid a larger outbreak of cases.

Iran is the Middle East country hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic in total cases and deaths.

Former US President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” sanctions, have hampered the Covid-19 fight, say Iranian officials and doctors.

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair arrives at Downing Street in London on November 8, 2020.

The European Union’s decision to invoke a safeguard in its post-Brexit agreement with the United Kingdom amid a vaccine row was a “very foolish thing to do,” former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Sunday.

The EU startled Belfast, London and Dublin on Friday when it said that it was willing to use Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol – an emergency clause allowing either the UK or the EU to take unilateral measures should the agreement be deemed to be causing “economic, societal or environmental difficulties.” The triggering of Article 16 would have restricted any effort to use Northern Ireland as a backdoor to the rest of the UK to circumvent export controls amid a row between the UK and the bloc over supplies of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Speaking on Sky News in a pre-recorded interview released on Sunday, Blair said: “It was a very foolish thing to do. Fortunately, they withdrew it very quickly. It remains – and I was someone who negotiated the Good Friday Agreement – it’s brought peace to the island of Ireland and it’s absolutely vital we protect it.”

“That’s why what the European Commission did was unacceptable,” he added.

Tony Blair was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom when the Good Friday Agreement with the Republic of Ireland was signed and came into force on December 2, 1999.

Health officer Jennifer Bacani McKenney was harassed by people in her community for pushing safety measures

In Los Angeles County, a Facebook user said last year that public health director Dr. Barbara Ferrer should be shot. In Kentucky, the governor announced in early January that public health commissioner Dr. Steven Stack’s home had been vandalized. And the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has faced threats serious enough that one source previously told CNN he required personal security from law enforcement at all times.

Health leaders from coast to coast shared similar stories: As they sprung to action to help combat rising coronavirus infections, they became the target of public anger and were harassed by groups who accused them of lying and limiting their freedoms.

The impact has been devastating – not only on health leaders’ physical and mental health but on a struggling public health field that was already in desperate need of its officers. More than 180 health officials have resigned, retired or been fired during the pandemic, according to the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), which represents the country’s nearly 3,000 local health departments.

“Losing leaders now at that rapid rate is extremely alarming,” NACCHO CEO Lori Tremmel Freeman told CNN. “We have to stop the bleeding now so that we can continue through this response but also be prepared for the next time we have to deal with a public health emergency.”

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A nurse prepares a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at al-Barsha Health Center in Dubai on Christmas Eve

United Arab Emirates announced it will launch the Vaccine Logistics Alliance to “equitably distribute” 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines in 2021, according to a statement released by the Government of Dubai Media Office.

The alliance will bring together Emirates airline, logistics company DP World, Dubai Airports, pharmaceutical manufacturer, and other government agencies to transport the vaccines.

“The distribution will particularly focus on emerging markets, where populations have been hard-hit by the pandemic, and pharmaceutical transport and logistics are challenging,” according to the statement.

In December the People’s Vaccine Alliance said rich countries had bought enough Covid-19 vaccine doses to immunize their populations three times over, but that developing countries are being left behind in the global sprint to end the pandemic.

In 67 poorer nations, just one in 10 people can hope to receive a vaccine by the end of 2021, the international vaccine watchdog added.

The group urged pharmaceutical companies to share their technology and intellectual property with the World Health Organization and urged governments to commit to sending vaccines to the developing world, in order to close the economic disparity between nations as they look to emerge from the devastating Covid-19 crisis.

Ella Lamy, left, and Danielle Seal describe their daily struggles to avoid life-threatening infections.

Tentative optimism has emerged about an exit route from the pandemic as multiple forms of Covid-19 shots are rolled out across the UK and Europe.

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock has pledged that every British adult will be offered a Covid-19 vaccine by the autumn of 2021, following pressure to ramp up vaccination as cases in the country continue to rise, with more than 3.7 million infections reported to date.

But while most people will benefit from Covid-19 vaccines, those with impaired immune systems may not respond to them in the same way as their peers.

Danielle Seal likens going for a walk during the pandemic to an extreme sport.

“When I go [and walk] the dog I have to ask people to stay two meters away,” she told CNN. “And that’s what really upsets me. If you try and squeeze past me, you are putting my life in danger. Going for a walk is an adrenaline-seeking extreme sport.”

Seal has Common Variable Immunodeficiency Disorder (CVID), a type of primary immune deficiency (PID). This means that her body does not produce protective antibodies to defend itself against pathogens like bacteria or viruses, leaving Seal and others like her extremely vulnerable to infections – even without a global pandemic.

The 45-year-old has taken extreme care during the crisis to avoid contracting Covid-19, but her situation is unlikely to change in the long-term, even as governments fixate on the glimmer of hope provided by vaccines against the coronavirus.

“Many individuals who are clinically extremely vulnerable will have some degree of immunosuppression or be immunocompromised and may not respond as well to the vaccine,” reads the advice from Britain’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI.)

This is because vaccines are designed to generate an immune response from the human body, by causing it to produce antibodies and T-cells that help fight specific infections. But for people with immune deficiencies, the body may just make a few of these antibodies or T-cells — or none at all — leaving them vulnerable to infection.

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Nine children with symptoms of Covid-19 have died in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory in the Amazonas state of Brazil, according to Júnior Hekurari Yanomami, the President of the Yanomami and Ye’kuana District Council for Indigenous Health.

The children were between the ages of 1 and 5 according to Yanomami, and each showed symptoms of Covid-19 including a high fever.

Five of the children were from the Kataroa village and four of them were from Waputha, Yanomami said, adding that health clinics in both villages closed down two months ago - leaving only one health worker there during that period. 

“We are requesting the government to send help immediately. The health professionals we have inside the Yanomami territory are insufficient. The second wave is being harsh on us, it has spread throughout the whole territory,” Yanomami said.

According to Yanomami, there are 45 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Surucucu village, another village in the Amazonas state. Four of the cases are children with severe conditions who were moved to a hospital in the neighboring state of Roraima. 

The Motherhouse campus of the Adrian Dominican Sisters in Adrian, Michigan.

Before December 20, there had not been any cases of Covid-19 among the nuns living at the Motherhouse campus of the Adrian Dominican Sisters in Adrian, Michigan.

Now, nine have died from the disease following an outbreak that saw 48 of the campus’ 217 residents test positive – 13 active Covid-19 cases remain and 26 people are recovering, Adrian Dominican Sisters said in a statement.

“We spent nine months keeping the coronavirus at bay. Right before Christmas, it slipped in,” Sister Patricia Siemen told CNN affiliate WDIV. Siemen is the order’s prioress, or leader.

“It’s numbing,” she said. “I have a much deeper appreciation for all of the other families who have gone through this. The hundreds of thousands of families. And until it personally touches you, I don’t care how much we can have a sympathetic heart, it’s different when you’ve been there and you’ve lost someone.”

The nine sisters died between January 11 and 26. Most of the sisters were already at high risk due to existing health issues, WDIV reported.

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Dorothea Gramlich, 81, Helen Laier, 88, Jeannine Therese McGorray, 86, Charlotte Moser, 86, Esther Ortega, 86, Mary Lisa Rieman, 79, Ann Rena Shinkey, 87, Margaret Ann Swallow, 97, and Mary Irene Wischmeyer, 94

9 nuns die of Covid-19 after outbreak at Adrian Dominican Sisters campus in Michigan

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun speaks during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters at the government complex in Sejong, South Korea, on January 27.

South Korea is extending its social distancing measures for another two weeks until after the Lunar New Year holiday, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in a televised speech on Sunday.

Chung said the decision didn’t come lightly, and apologized to business owners, but he stressed the importance of keeping strict rules due to the upcoming holiday from February 11 to February 13.

The Seoul Metropolitan Area is currently at Level 2.5 on the scale of social distancing restrictions – the second-highest level – with the rest of the country at the lower Level 2.

Under the current rules, restaurants in Seoul and surrounding areas are only allowed to receive take out and delivery orders after 9 p.m., and spectators are banned at sporting events.

The Prime Minister emphasized on Sunday that the government is committed to bringing back normal daily life as soon as possible by stabilizing the infection rate.

South Korea recorded 355 new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA.)

Western Australia state is imposing a five-day lockdown for three areas – Perth metropolitan area, Peel region and the South West region – after a hotel security guard tested positive for Covid-19.

Starting at 6 p.m. on Sunday, these regions will go into a “full lockdown” until 6 p.m. on Friday, announced state premier Mark McGowan on Sunday.

Under this restriction:

• People can only leave their homes for shopping for essentials, medical needs, exercise, or work if they cannot operate remotely
• All bars and pubs, gyms, recreation centers, cinemas, entertainment venues, places of worship and libraries must close
• Restaurants are only allowed to open for takeaway services
• Schools will be closed until the following week
• People will not be allowed to visit other homes or nursing homes.

The positive case is a man in his 20s working the Sheraton Four Points hotel, McGowan said. There were four active cases at the hotel while the employee was on shift, two of which were identified as the UK strain and one the South African strain.

“We are told the guard was working on the same floor, as a positive UK variant case,” McGowan said. The man had worked two 12-hour shifts on January 26th and 27th, and said it’s possible the man contracted the UK strain, though authorities are still investigating exactly how he was infected.

Officials are calling on all people who visited a specified list of venues on a certain date to get tested. All close contacts of the man are required to quarantine for 14 days.

“Western Australians have done so well for so long but this week it is absolutely crucial that we stay home, maintain physical distancing and personal hygiene and get tested if you have symptoms,” McGowan said.

The main gate at the prison in Guantanamo is seen at the US Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba, on October 16, 2018.

An earlier plan to give Guantanamo Bay detainees the Covid-19 vaccine has been paused as of Saturday, according to a US Pentagon official.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a Saturday afternoon tweet that no Guantanamo Bay detainees have been given a Covid-19 vaccine and announced that the Department of Defense is “pausing the plan to move forward, as we review force protection protocols.”

CNN had previously reported that US Armed Forces and current US-held detainees at Guantanamo Bay were granted authorization to receive the Covid-19 vaccine on January 27 in a memo from Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Terry Adirim.

The Department of Defense will “offer and administer vaccines to detainees and prisoners under their care,” a Defense spokesperson said in a statement earlier this week.

The vaccine will be offered to all detainees and prisoners and will be administered on a “voluntary basis and in accordance with the Department’s priority distribution policy,” the spokesperson said.

There are approximately 40 prisoners who remain at Guantanamo Bay, so it would only be a small volume of vaccine allotted to the detention center.

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Razor wire tops the fence of the US prison at Guantanamo Bay on October 23, 2016 at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Plan to vaccinate Guantanamo Bay detainees against Covid-19 has been paused

A healthcare worker administers a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at Nassau Community College in Garden City, New York, on January 30.

The US has administered more than 29.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC reported that 29,577,902 doses have been administered – about 59% of the 49,932,850 doses distributed.

That means 24 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and about 5.25 million people have been fully vaccinated, according to CDC data. 

States have 72 hours to report vaccine data, so data published by the CDC may be delayed. 

Australia will once again allow quarantine-free travel for visitors from New Zealand on Sunday afternoon, Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt said in a news release.

“In making this recommendation, the Acting Chief Medical Officer noted there have been no further confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the community in New Zealand since the initial three cases originated from transmission within hotel quarantine,” the release read.

“Green zone flights” will start on Sunday 2 p.m. local time, the release added.

The Australian government previously suspended quarantine-free travel for New Zealanders arriving in Australia on January 25, after a South African variant of Covid-19 was detected in a woman after 14 days of quarantine in New Zealand.

“The Acting CMO notes flights from New Zealand are sufficiently low risk given New Zealand’s strong public health response to Covid-19,” the release said. Out of caution, pre and post-flight screening will be implemented, and people traveling to Australia must have been in New Zealand for 14 days prior to leaving.

The one-way travel bubble is only for people traveling from New Zealand to Australia. New Zealand still enforces a 14-day quarantine for foreign travelers.

The United States reported 136,252 new Covid-19 cases and 2,640 additional related deaths on Saturday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

That raises the national total to at least 26,069,046 cases and 439,439 deaths since the pandemic began.

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

At least 49,932,850 vaccine doses have been distributed so far, and at least 29,577,902 doses of vaccine have been administered, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

See CNN’s live tracker of cases here.