Government

Los Angeles County Issues Stricter Lockdown Orders

ABC News reports: Los Angeles County has issued a new safer-at-home order that places stricter limits on gatherings and occupancy at businesses, as well as closes playgrounds and cardrooms. The new order, which takes effect Monday and will last at least until Dec. 20, comes as the county sees a disturbing surge in COVID-19 cases. All public and private gatherings …

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Alex Azar: States Gets Final Say In Vaccine Prioritization

Politico reports: Many disputes over prioritization will play out in the fine print of government plans. Is a hospital janitor more at risk than a suburban pediatrician? Is a truck driver’s super-spreading danger a greater priority than the risk faced by a 50-year old with diabetes? While federal and state officials agree that the nation’s 21 million health care workers …

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Hospitalizations And ICU Admissions At Record High

Gothamist reports: The number of people in the United States hospitalized for COVID-19 on Thursday topped 90,000, marking a record high for the 17th day in a row and a grim sign of what lies ahead as infections continue to soar. Around 125,000 new coronavirus cases were reported across the country. However, the full picture of infections and deaths was …

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Denmark Orders Reburials For “Zombie Mink” [VIDEO]

Reuters reports: Denmark’s government said on Friday it wants to dig up mink that were culled to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, after some resurfaced from mass graves. Denmark ordered all farmed mink to be culled early this month after finding that 12 people had been infected by a mutated strain of the virus that causes COVID-19, which passed …

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Taiwan’s Reps Brawl With Pig Parts Over US Pork Rule

The Washington Post reports: Taiwan has seen lawmakers throw punches, chairs, eggs and even water balloons during periodic and spectacular bouts of parliamentary violence. But when pigs fly — that’s something unheard of, even by Taiwan’s standards. Members of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) on Friday threw pig hearts, intestines, lungs and other innards, leaving the chamber’s crimson carpet streaked with …

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Berlin Plans To Open Six Mass Vaccination Centers

Reuters reports: Berlin is racing to open six mass vaccination centres capable of handling up to 4,000 people per day by mid-December, the project coordinator told Reuters on Thursday, as the city waits for authorities to approve the first vaccines. An empty trade fair hall, two airport terminals, a concert arena, a velodrome and an ice rink will be turned …

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Overwhelmed Officials Give Up On Contact Tracing

The New York Times reports: Coronavirus outbreaks in the United States were once traced back to their origins, whether at busy restaurants or crowded meatpacking plants. But now that the virus is spreading rapidly in much of the country — more than 2,200 U.S. deaths from Covid-19 were reported on Tuesday alone, making it the deadliest day in more than …

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CDC Set To Recommend Shorter Quarantine Period

The Wall Street Journal reports: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may soon shorten the length of time it recommends that a person self-quarantine after potential exposure to the coronavirus, hoping that such a step will encourage more people to comply, a top agency official said. CDC officials are finalizing recommendations for a new quarantine period that would …

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UK Nations Allow Households To Form “Xmas Bubbles”

Reuters reports: The four nations of the United Kingdom have agreed to relax COVID-19 restrictions for Christmas to allow up to three households to meet at home for five days. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have taken differing approaches to handling the pandemic so far but the leaders of the devolved nations reached agreement with London on Tuesday on …

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France To Ease Lockdown, Keep Bars And Eateries Shut

Reuters reports: France will start easing its COVID-19 lockdown this weekend so that by Christmas, shops, theatres and cinemas will re-open and people will be able to spend the holiday with the rest of their family, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday. In a televised address to the nation, Macron said the worst of the second wave of the …

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Azar: 6.4M Doses Of Pfizer Vax To Go Out In First Push

The New York Times reports: Around mid-December, 6.4 million doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine will be shipped out across the United States in an initial push after it receives an expected emergency authorization, officials leading Operation Warp Speed, the administration’s push to fast-track a vaccine, said on a call with reporters on Tuesday. The first doses — which are expected …

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CO Hospitals Allowed To Stop Admitting New Patients

Denver’s NBC News affiliate reports: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order Monday that grants the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) extraordinary ability over patient care within the state’s already-taxed hospital system. Executive Order 260 authorizes CDPHE to order hospitals and freestanding emergency rooms to transfer or cease the admission of patients should those facilities reach …

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General: Vaccines To Be Ready 24 Hours After Approval

ABC News reports: Gen. Gustave Perna, who is leading Operation Warp Speed’s effort to distribute coronavirus vaccines nationwide, told ABC News he is confident that vaccines will be “on the street” and headed to communities just 24 hours after being authorized by the Food and Drug Administration. While the first two vaccines to be distributed will likely be from Pfizer …

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Former NYC Mayor David Dinkins Dies At Age 93

The New York Daily News reports: David Dinkins, whose historic 1989 victory as the city’s first and only black mayor was quickly eclipsed by rising crime and racial turmoil that doomed his re-election, died Monday at his home, police said. He was 93. His death comes a little more than a month after his wife, Joyce, passed away on Oct. …

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Feinstein To Step Down As Top Senate Judiciary Dem

Politico reports: Sen. Dianne Feinstein plans to step down as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee in the next Congress, after facing blowback from progressives for her handling of Amy Coney Barrett’s contentious Supreme Court confirmation hearing. “After serving as the lead Democrat on the Judiciary Committee for four years, I will not seek the chairmanship or ranking …

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CA Gov Under Pressure Campaign On Harris Successor

Politico reports: As speculation grows that Gov. Gavin Newsom is leaning toward California elections chief Alex Padilla to fill the U.S. Senate seat of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, a crowd of top Democratic donors and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown are launching an aggressive campaign to argue that another woman of color should fill that seat instead. Brown, the …

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Ontario Premier Orders 28-Day Lockdown For Toronto

CTV News reports: The Ontario government will shutter most non-essential businesses, including gyms and personal care services, and will prohibit sit-down service in restaurants in two of the province’s COVID-19 hot spots as they grapple with a rise in infections. Toronto and Peel Region have been placed in a lockdown, which is the province’s final category of the COVID-19 tiered …

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Yesterday: 193,000 New Cases, 82,000 Hospitalized

CNN reports: The number of Americans hospitalized with Covid-19 and the number of new US cases reported rose to record levels for a second day in a row on Friday. More than 82,000 people were hospitalized, according to the Covid Tracking Project, topping Thursday’s record. More than 193,000 new cases were reported, according to Johns Hopkins University data — the …

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NY Governor To Get Emmy Award For COVID Briefings

Just in via press release: Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of New York will receive this year’s International Emmy® Founders Award, in recognition of his leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic and his masterful use of television to inform and calm people around the world. The Emmy® will be presented to Governor Cuomo, also a New York Times best-selling author, during the …

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Canada Renews US Border Closure For Another Month

The Washington Post reports: Americans hoping to travel to visit their northern neighbors might not be able to this year. Canada’s border closure to nonessential travel has been extended until Dec. 21, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in a tweet on Friday. Border conditions were set to expire on Saturday if they were not renewed. Canada’s border closed on …

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