UK Covid-19 variant confirmed in San Diego, California
From CNN's Alexandra Meeks
The new Covid-19 variant, first identified in the United Kingdom, has been detected in a Covid-19 patient in San Diego, California, county supervisor Nathan Fletcher announced Wednesday during a news conference.
"About an hour ago, the governor in a joint appearance with Dr. Anthony Fauci confirmed that a UK variant case had been detected in the state of California and I can confirm that that case is in fact a patient in San Diego," Fletcher said.
Fletcher said the patient is a 30-year-old man with no travel history that started developing Covid-related symptoms on Dec. 27.
4:41 p.m. ET, December 30, 2020
CDC's ensemble forecast projects up to 424,000 total US Covid-19 deaths by Jan. 23
From CNN's Amanda Sealy
An ensemble forecast published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now projects there will be 383,000 to 424,000 coronavirus deaths in the US by Jan. 23.
Unlike some individual models, the CDC’s ensemble forecast only offers projections a few weeks into the future. The previous ensemble forecast, published Dec. 23, projected up to 419,000 coronavirus deaths by Jan. 16.
At least 340,956 people have already died from Covid-19 in the United States, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
4:55 p.m. ET, December 30, 2020
New Covid-19 variant identified in Southern California, governor says
From CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas
A woman receives a Covid-19 testing kit at a regional pop-up walk-up testing site in Baldwin Park on Monday, December 21. Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
The new Covid-19 variant, first identified in the United Kingdom, has now been found in Southern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday during an interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci on Facebook.
“Just an hour or so ago, we were informed that this new variant, this new strain that we've identified obviously from the United Kingdom, from other parts of the globe, identified in Colorado yesterday, has been identified here in the state of California, in Southern California,” Newsom said.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the news about the new strain, which appears to be more transmissible but not more deadly, was to be expected.
“I don't think that Californians should feel that this is something odd,” Fauci said. “This is something that's expected.”
4:19 p.m. ET, December 30, 2020
More than 340,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the US
From CNN’s Virginia Langmaid
There have been at least 19,653,653 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 340,956 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
So far today, Johns Hopkins has recorded 142,817 new cases and 2,395 reported deaths.
At least 12,409,050 vaccine doses have been distributed and at least 2,589,125 doses of the vaccine have been administered, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
4:02 p.m. ET, December 30, 2020
Covid-19 vaccines will likely protect against new variant, Giroir says
From CNN’s Lauren Mascarenhas
A woman receives a Covid-19 vaccine at a retirement home in Delray Beach, Florida, on Wednesday. Saul Martinez/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Covid-19 vaccines will likely protect against a new variant of the virus that was first reported in the UK and now identified in Colorado, US Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Adm. Brett Giroir said Wednesday.
“We do expect – we haven't proven it 100%, but we will soon – we do expect that the vaccines now being administered or under development will cover this strain very well,” Giroir told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
The new variant appears to be more transmissible, but not more deadly.
“It'll still be prevented by a mask and distancing,” said Giroir. “It is not more serious. In other words, you're no more likely to die or be hospitalized with this.”
Giroir said it is likely that the variant has been in the US for a while.
“It's very unlikely that it's rampant, but I think it's certainly been here,” he said.
3:59 p.m. ET, December 30, 2020
“We need to be doing a better job” with Covid-19 vaccine rollout, US health official says
From CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas
The US needs to be doing a better job with its Covid-19 vaccine rollout, Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brett Giroir said Wednesday.
“Of course, we need to be doing a better job, but all vaccine programs start somewhat slow,” Giroir told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
He said he expects distribution to ramp up soon and that the US is on track to distribute 20 million vaccine doses by the first week of January.
“I know we will be distributing about 30 million more in January and potentially up to 50 million more in February,” he said.
As pharmacies begin to play a larger role in vaccine administration, Giroir said he expects the pace to quicken.
“We have a federal contract with 40,000 pharmacies – that’s 60% of all pharmacies in the US – to provide vaccines,” said Giroir. “The scale will go up very rapidly as things progress and evolve.”
“Vaccines on the shelf are no good,” he added. “They need to get in people's arms and we are leaving no stone unturned to do that.”
Some background: Operation Warp Speed is on track to fall well short of the 20 million vaccine shots they predicted would be administered by the end of December.
Nearly 2.6 million vaccine doses have been administered in the United States, according to data given to CNN by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
3:45 p.m. ET, December 30, 2020
About 6,700 fans will be allowed at Buffalo Bills playoff game, governor says
Bills Stadium is seen before a game on December 13. Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images
Approximately 6,700 fans will be allowed to attend the upcoming Buffalo Bills first playoff game, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday.
Cuomo said the decision to allow fans at the first playoff game was an agreement between the New York Department of Health, the Buffalo Bills, and the National Football League.
All fans will need to be tested for Covid-19 before the game and anyone with a positive test will not be allowed to attend.
Every fan must wear a mask from when they leave their vehicle in the parking lot to when they reenter their vehicles to go home. All fans will be sitting in socially-distanced “pods” with the people they came with, Robert Mujica, New York State’s Budget Director, said Wednesday.
No tailgating or congregating will be allowed. Following the game, contact-tracing will occur to monitor any possible spread of Covid-19, Cuomo said.
Any fans who refuse to comply will be removed from the premises, Dr. Howard Zucker, New York’s Health Commissioner, said Wednesday.
The outdoor, controlled venue at the upcoming Buffalo Bills game will serve as a “pilot” program to test ways the state can reopen businesses and events smartly and safety, Cuomo said.
3:42 p.m. ET, December 30, 2020
McConnell takes definitive stance against moving forward on $2,000 Covid-19 stimulus checks
From CNN's Phil Mattingly and Ali Zaslav
Senate TV
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took a definitive stance against moving forward on a House-passed bill to increase direct stimulus payments to $2,000, criticizing the policy and making it clear nothing will move forward in the chamber that doesn’t include President Trump’s other two priorities: a full repeal of online liability protections and an investigation into voter fraud.
"The Senate is not going to split apart the three issues that President Trump linked together,” McConnell said on the Senate floor.
McConnell, on Tuesday, introduced legislation that combined the three Trump priorities – each a pre-requisite for Trump signing the Covid-19 relief and spending package earlier this week.
McConnell, on Wednesday, made clear that the introduction of that legislation met the contours of the agreement with Trump, which stipulated only starting the process to vote on the issues.
As it currently stands, there are no votes scheduled on McConnell’s bill, or the House-passed legislation, and GOP aides say it’s likely the 116th Congress comes to an end without any action on increasing direct payments.
The Kentucky Republican opened up his floor remarks Wednesday blasting Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders for holding up the NDAA override vote.
“Today the Senate was supposed to finish legislation securing critical tools, training and support for America’s armed forces. But the junior senator from Vermont had other ideas,” he said.
McConnell added: "We'll stay on this important bill until we complete it, one way or another.”
Sanders has said he will delay the NDAA override vote unless McConnell brings a $2,000 checks to a vote on the floor. A final vote could stretch into Saturday if Sanders continues to hold it up. Eventually, though, it will pass. It's just a matter of how long this takes.
3:32 p.m. ET, December 30, 2020
NBA announces zero new positive Covid-19 tests among players
From CNN's Jacob Lev
Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald/Getty Images
The NBA says no players tested positive for Covid-19 during the league's latest testing window.
According to the league and the NBA Players Association, 495 tests have been administered since Dec. 24 with zero positive results for the virus.
The latest results are down from last week, in which two new players returned a positive test for Covid-19.
