December 23 coronavirus news

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee extended the state of emergency through the end of February.

In the executive order published on Tuesday, Lee wrote that he is declaring "a continuing state of emergency and major disaster in order to facilitate the response to COVID-19".

The order goes into effect on Dec. 29 and runs through Feb. 27, 2021. 

It allows for retired medical professionals to reenter the workforce and out-of-state medical professionals to practice in the state. Additional provisions in the order include allowing graduates of nursing programs after Dec. 1 to practice without taking the nursing exam. 

It also encourages social distancing and "strongly urges" mask wearing, while not requiring either.

The latest numbers: Tennessee has at least 534,019 total Covid-19 positive cases, as of Tuesday's report. At least 2,934 patients are hospitalized statewide due to Covid-19, according to the most recent dashboard.

Note: These numbers were released by the state's public health agency and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

AstraZeneca has summited the full data package for the vaccine it has developed with Oxford university to Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed during a news conference on Wednesday. 

“Amid all this difficulty, the great hope for 2021 is of course the vaccine,” he also said.

British Health authorities have detected two cases of yet another new variant of Covid-19, originally identified in South Africa, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Wednesday. 

The Health Secretary announced new restrictions for travelers arriving in the UK from South Africa and also told those who have been in contact with people arriving from South Africa, in the past 15 days, to go into quarantine immediately. 

“These measures are temporary while we investigate further this new strain which is shortly to be analyzed at Porton Down,” he said.

Millions of struggling renters will likely be protected from eviction — at least for another month.

The stimulus bill that was passed by Congress late Monday night would extend a national ban on evictions until Jan. 31. The package would also provide $25 billion in emergency rental assistance. But the relief bill still needs to be signed by President Trump.

But, should the package go through, neither of the measures will likely be enough to keep the most at-risk renters in their homes past January. 

Struggling to stay afloat

Kelly Green, who lives in a $1,429-a-month apartment in Daytona Beach, Florida, has not been able to pay rent since September. 

Green makes her living selling rhinestone- and sequined-biker apparel at motorcycle rallies and other festivals. 

After the shutdown in March, there were no festivals, no events and she had no income. Still, she cobbled together her savings, stimulus payment, rent relief and unemployment insurance payments and managed to get current on her rent through July. But she didn't know how she'd make ends meet after the $600 a week supplemental unemployment support ended. 

Green heard about a coronavirus-related rent relief fund offered by Volusia County, where she lives. She applied for assistance and was awarded $4,500 for three months' rent. 

But there was a snag: The Volusia County rent assistance program requires tenants to have been current on rent as of March 13, 2020. Green was behind on her rent in February and, as a result, her apartment complex wouldn't accept the aid.

Without that money, Green was unable to pay full rent for October, November or December. And since she overstayed her lease in November, she's now on a month-to-month lease that is $500 more expensive a month.

"Even if the moratorium is extended, money is piling up against me," she said. "What would help me the most is if I receive a check for rental assistance for three months, that they take it." 

Read the full story here.

With two Covid-19 vaccines approved for emergency use and politicians, health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities rolling up their sleeves, but when will you be able to get the vaccine?

The answer depends on each person's health, what they do for a living and where they live.

Dr. Vivek Murthy, Biden's nominee for surgeon general, said he believes it may take until late spring to finish vaccinating high-risk populations, if all goes according to plan. That means mid-summer may be a "realistic" timeline for the general public to begin vaccinations, he told NBC.

Here are key things to know:

Who is first in line?

Who is an essential worker?

Who is making decisions at the state level?

Read more here.

Age, pregnancy, allergies: Is the vaccine right for you?

As the holidays quickly approach, the US reported a record high number of Covid-19 hospitalizations and a surge in new cases and deaths.

This comes as the Transportation Security Administration is reporting record-high pandemic travel and said that it screened more than 4 million air travelers between Friday and Monday.

If Americans disregard the dire situation and continue with holiday travel plans, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that it "could be a very difficult January."

Here's a look at where things stand right now in the US:

Vaccinations

Hospitalizations

New Cases

Deaths

Here's a look at where cases are rising across the country:

The New York City Health Department is reporting the first serious adverse allergic reaction to the Covid-19 vaccine, according to a statement.

At this time it is unclear if this adverse reaction is a result of the Pfizer vaccine, but the health department says reactions like this are rare, but note they have been reported with the Pfizer vaccine.

Nearly 30,000 vaccinations have been administered in the city, according to the release and the city along with CDC will continue tracking more severe side effects.

“We will continue to move forward with the coronavirus vaccine distribution to ensure that health care workers and nursing home staff and residents are protected against COVID-19,” according to the release.

US stocks rose modestly on Wednesday amid a mixed bag of economic and political news.

President Trump expressed his displeasure with the stimulus deal Congress painstakingly negotiated, upping the risk for more economic turmoil and a government shutdown.

Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims fell from the prior week. That said, nine months into the pandemic, first time claims for unemployment benefits are still nearly four times that of the same period last year.

On top of that, personal income fell 1.1% in November, more than economists had expected.

Here's where things stood at opening:

This is a shortened trading week ahead of the Christmas holiday, ending Thursday at 1 p.m. ET.

Sweden has extended its ban on travel from the United Kingdom to Sweden until Jan. 21 following the detection of a new variant of coronavirus in England, a spokesperson for the Swedish Minister for Justice and Migration told CNN Wednesday.

According to the Minister’s spokesperson, Swedish nationals living in the UK will be permitted to return to Sweden during this period, as well as British nationals living or working in the country. 

Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde initially announced the travel restrictions in a tweet on Sunday, confirming that a temporary ban would be introduced in response to the outbreak.

Sweden has also imposed a ban on travel from Denmark to Sweden until Jan. 21 in order to "reduce the risk of congestion and the spread of the virus in shopping centers and restaurants in Skåne County," according to the press release.

People from Denmark living or working in Sweden may still enter the country, in addition to Swedes living or working in Denmark.