December 18 coronavirus news

The state of Rhode Island will end the latest round of Covid-19 restrictions or “pause” that were put into place Nov. 30 this coming Monday, Gov. Gina Raimondo announced at a press conference. 

The ending of the “pause” comes as Rhode Island has seen a downturn in Covid-19 metrics, including positivity rate, cases per 100,000 people and hospitalizations, according to Raimondo.

The lifting of current restrictions will still be a slow dial up, according to Raimondo, with gyms reopening with restrictions and indoor restaurant capacity increased to 50%.

The latest numbers: Rhode Island reported at least 395 new positive cases of Covid-19 – a positivity rate of 4.4%. There are also at least 459 people currently hospitalized, and 12 new deaths due to the virus.

Rhode Island has also began reporting how many residents have received a Covid-19 vaccine. So far 1,226 people in the state have had the first dose. 

Note: These numbers were released by the stare of Rhode Island, and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the busiest airport in the world, is expecting nearly half as many holiday travelers compared to last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the airport said.  

The airport is projecting that 2.1 million passengers will travel during the holiday period from Dec. 17 through Jan. 3.  This would be a decline of 47% from a year ago, Jennifer Ogunsola a spokesperson for Hartsfield-Jackson told CNN based on projections.  

Sunday, Dec. 27, is projected to be the busiest travel day with more than 156,000 passengers.

Concourses A and B are expected to be the most active. Both concourses are projected to serve more than 500,000 passengers each during the holiday period.  

During a virtual event with the Duke Science and Society on Friday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that thanks to science "we will crush" the Covid-19 outbreak.

He continued:

"Just over the past few days, science has allowed us to have a vaccine that when we distribute it to people throughout the country, and hopefully throughout the world, we will crush this outbreak that has really terrorized us for the last 11 months, not only here in the United States, but worldwide, it's damaged severely, the economy and lead to people suffering things, not necessarily directly related to being ill themselves, but all the secondary consequences that go with the effects of a global pandemic such as this."

More than half of refugees and migrants surveyed reported increased “depression, anxiety, and loneliness” caused by Covid-19, according to a survey from the World Health Organization that was put out on Friday.

In addition, one in five refugees and migrants surveyed reported increased drug and alcohol use. 

The survey, compiled in a report titled Apart Together, was conducted by the WHO and a research consortium led by Ghent University and the University of Copenhagen. The survey accessed 30,000 migrants and refugees in almost every WHO member state. 

Refugees and migrants reported high compliance rates with some measures of virus prevention, like hand washing and wearing face coverings. However, nearly 20% said they were unable to comply with stay-at-home measures, and more than 15% were unable to avoid public transport. 

Twelve percent of those surveyed reported current symptoms they believed to be linked to Covid-19. Of those who reported being unable to access medical care if they had symptoms, 35% said they lacked the money to seek health care and 22% said they feared deportation if they accessed medical care. 

“Access to care must not be linked to legal status,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a briefing discussing the report’s findings. “We call on all countries to remove financial and other barriers to care for migrants as part of their journey towards universal health coverage. Health for all means all – including migrants.”

President-elect Joe Biden and incoming first lady Jill Biden will receive their first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Monday.

"On Monday, President Elect Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden will receive the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine in Delaware," transition spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters on a briefing call Friday.

They do not have details on where exactly that will take place yet. 

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and incoming second gentleman Doug Emhoff will receive their vaccines the following week, Psaki said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been vaccinated by the Capitol Attending Physician Dr. Brian Monahan, Pelosi's spokesperson Drew Hammill confirmed to CNN.

Earlier today, Vice President Mike Pence, second lady Karen Pence and Surgeon General Jerome Adams received the first dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.

CNN reported last night that all members of Congress will be eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, according to a memo from the Capitol attending physician and a statement from Pelosi. 

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday that the state’s hospitals are in “crisis management” mode and capacity has been added at facilities across the state.

Cuomo said the state’s department of health mandated that 25% additional capacity be added and advised that hospitals should cancel elective surgeries if there are capacity issues. 

Accordingly, about 31,000 hospital beds have been added in New York’s “downstate” region, Cuomo said.

The New York Department of Health has also mandated that hospitals notify state officials if they are three weeks away from reaching 85% maximum capacity. If such a threshold is reached, the state would move to shutdown the economy in that area, Cuomo said.

However, no hospital in the state has given the health department any such notice, which Cuomo said was “good news.”

Additionally, New York reported a statewide positivity rate of 5.09% on Friday, and Covid-19 hospitalizations, ICU patients, and intubation numbers across the state are all down, Cuomo said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is urging Canadians to take Covid-19 “very seriously, as numbers continue to head in the wrong direction."

He added, “Our fight against this virus is not over, even as we're preparing to say goodbye and good riddance to 2020.” 

Speaking during a Friday news conference, Trudeau said, “Canadians are pretty good at making it through long tough winters, and this is going to be a longer and tougher one than we're even used to.” 

Frontline workers in Canada started to receive vaccinations earlier this week.

Speaking in French, Trudeau asked Canadians across the country to stay inside, wear masks and continue to social distance through the holiday season.

“Christmas will not be the same way this year, but it's still going to be an opportunity for us to be with a close one, physically or virtually," Trudeau said.

“Just like through this spring, summer, and fall, we will continue to be there for you. We will have your back, every step of the way,” Trudeau promised. “We will do as a government, whatever it takes, for as long as it takes to keep you safe and supported. We're coming into the final miles of this crisis, and we can't give up now.” 

Some House members are already starting to get their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

CNN reported last night that all members of Congress will be eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, according to a memo from the Capitol attending physician and a press release from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. 

Democratic Rep. Don Beyer is set to get his vaccine this afternoon.

His communications director tweeted: "Voting schedule permitting, @RepDonBeyer will get a coronavirus vaccine via the Office of the Attending Physician this afternoon."

Earlier today, Vice President Mike Pence, second lady Karen Pence and Surgeon General Jerome Adams received the first dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.