PARIS — All of France will probably be below a stricter curfew beginning Saturday at 6 p.m. for at the very least 15 days to combat unfold of the coronavirus.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex additionally introduced strict new controls for these arriving in France from nations exterior the European Union. Beginning Monday, they have to produce a PCR check with destructive outcomes and self-isolate for seven days adopted by a brand new, destructive check.
France desires to coordinate a response with the European Union about arrivals from EU nations, he says. The French authorities is attempting to keep away from a 3rd lockdown with partial measures like curfews the prime minister calls each “preventative” and “reactive.”
Most areas have been below an 8 p.m. curfew, however now “everybody should be dwelling at 6 p.m.,” Castex says. That signifies that shops should shut by then. Bars and eating places have been closed for months.
The common contamination charge for the coronavirus stands at about 16,000 folks per day. France has one of many highest loss of life counts in Europe, at greater than 69,000, and ranks No. 7 on the planet.
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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
President-elect Joe Biden’s coronavirus plan will stress vaccines, masks in a speech on Thursday night time. California counties need extra coronavirus vaccine from Gov. Newsom. President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago membership’s failure to enforce Palm Seashore County’s masks ordinance at New 12 months’s Eve bash ends in warning however no tremendous.
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Observe AP’s protection at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
MADRID — Spain reported 35,878 confirmed coronavirus circumstances and 201 new deaths from the coronavirus.
That will increase the totals to 2.2 million circumstances and greater than 53,000 because the begin of the pandemic.
Fernando Simón, who heads Spain’s well being emergency coordination heart, is at odds with unbiased consultants who say the spiraling contagion requires a stricter lockdown.
Spain’s 14-day circumstances for 100,000 inhabitants surged to 522 on Thursday.
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ROME — Italy’s vaccination program is shifting sooner than anticipated, with these over age 80 receiving their first injection this week as an alternative of early February.
Well being officers say by Thursday night, greater than 900,000 folks in Italy had acquired a shot of one of many two vaccines to date accredited to be used by the European Union. The vaccination course of first started with medical doctors, nurses and different well being providers.
The federal government’s particular commissioner for the pandemic, Domenico Arcuri, says if EU approval comes later this month for a 3rd producer’s vaccine, as many as 50 million folks in Italy may very well be vaccinated this yr. Italy has a inhabitants of 60 million.
Italy on Thursday registered 17,246 new infections, elevating the full to 2.3 million confirmed circumstances. There have been 522 confirmed deaths since Wednesday, bringing the general identified loss of life toll to 80,848, one of many highest in Europe and sixth highest on the planet.
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PHOENIX — Arizona is increasing its COVID-19 vaccination program with plans for opening one other state-run website in metro Phoenix.
Officers say the vaccination website will open Feb. 1 at Phoenix Municipal Stadium close to the Phoenix-Tempe border, with registration beginning Tuesday.
The state’s vaccination program was gradual to get off the bottom. However officers say the primary state-run giant website, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, is administering 1000’s of doses day by day.
The state introduced Wednesday that folks 65 and older beginning can enroll subsequent week to get vaccinated. Arizona had the worst state prognosis charge the previous week, with considered one of each 107 folks identified with the coronavirus from Jan. 6 to Wednesday.
Arizona on Thursday reported 7,311 confirmed circumstances and 182 extra deaths, rising the state’s totals to 649,040 circumstances and 10,855 deaths.
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CHICAGO — Town of Chicago is opening six mass coronavirus vaccination websites that count on to ship roughly 25,000 weekly pictures as soon as totally operational.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot visited a brand new website Thursday at a neighborhood faculty. Most websites will probably be at Metropolis Schools of Chicago campuses. All six websites are anticipated to open later this month. Lightfoot says Chicago wants much more doses from the federal authorities so extra folks may be vaccinated shortly
Chicago has been receiving fewer doses every week, she says. From about 38,000 first doses two weeks in the past to about 32,000 final week. Lightfoot says on the present charge, it’ll take 1.5 years to vaccinate all Chicagoans.
Presently, pictures are going to well being care staff and residents and workers of long-term care services. The subsequent section consists of residents age 65 and older and important staff, however well being officers haven’t mentioned when that may start.
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WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York says he has the coronavirus.
He’s the newest Home member to report testing constructive since dozens of lawmakers huddled collectively for defense through the Jan. 6 riot on the U.S. Capitol. Espaillat says in a press release that he’s quarantining at dwelling and can sustain his work representing his Higher Manhattan district.
It’s not clear the place and when the lawmakers caught the virus. However the Capitol’s attending doctor has instructed Home members they could have been uncovered to somebody within the room who had the virus.
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ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has acquired the vaccine produced by China’s Sinovac firm.
He introduced it on messaging apps in a bid to encourage others to get the shot, including a smiley face emoji. He known as on different political leaders and legislators to get inoculated to set an instance.
A picture shared by his workplace confirmed Erdogan getting the shot with the sleeve of his black t-shirt pulled up.
Turkey rolled out its vaccination program in opposition to COVID-19 on Thursday, a day after Turkish authorities gave the inexperienced mild for the vaccine’s emergency use.
Some 256,000 well being care staff acquired pictures on the primary day of the inoculation program. Erdogan mentioned he expects a Turkish-developed vaccine to be accessible in Could.
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WILMINGTON, Del. — A coronavirus motion plan from President-elect Joe Biden facilities on a mass vaccination marketing campaign and nearer coordination amongst all ranges of presidency.
The plan comes as greater than 380,000 People have died.
Biden hopes his multidimensional technique will put the nation on the trail to restoration, aiming for 100 million vaccinations in his administration’s first 100 days.
The nation’s vaccination marketing campaign is off to a gradual begin. About 10.3 million folks acquired the primary of two pictures, though greater than 29 million doses have been delivered.
As a part of the plan to be unveiled in a speech Thursday night, Biden will ask People to recommit to carrying masks, training social distancing and avoiding indoor gatherings.
A file of greater than 4,400 deaths have been reported on Tuesday.
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Flights have been delayed when an air site visitors management heart close to Jacksonville, Florida, closed for a number of hours for intensive cleansing after an worker examined constructive for the coronavirus.
Jacksonville Worldwide Airport tweeted Wednesday that the Federal Aviation Administration’s flight-control heart in Hilliard can be closed “into the night which can trigger intensive delays and/or cancellations.” It suggested passengers to test with their airways concerning delayed flights.
It was the second time this yr that this heart has been closed for cleansing as a result of coronavirus. Total, the Hilliard facility has had 12 personnel testing constructive since June, and the close by Jacksonville Worldwide Airport tower additionally has had a dozen infections, in keeping with information offered by the FAA.
The FAA information present lots of of coronavirus infections amongst air site visitors management staff because the pandemic started.
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BANGKOK — Thai well being authorities say they’ll preserve strict coronavirus rules imposed after a surge in circumstances final month in a province subsequent to Bangkok.
Thailand had simply 4,008 confirmed circumstances of the an infection on Dec. 1. However after the surge — found amongst migrant staff and one other amongst attendees of unlawful playing dens — unfold to 60 of Thailand’s 77 provinces, the full elevated to 11,262 on Thursday.
Taweesilp Visanuyothin, a spokesman for Thialand’s COVID-19 State of affairs Administration, mentioned measures to fight the unfold of the virus can be maintained at the very least till the top of January.
Restrictions fluctuate by province in keeping with the severity of the risk. These embrace lockdown measures and mandated closures of public areas. Typically, monitoring and enforcement of social distancing has been stepped up, and occasions drawing crowds banned.
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LOS ANGELES — California counties are asking for extra coronavirus vaccine because the state added a possible 4 million folks to these eligible for the doses.
State public well being officers adopted federal steering Wednesday by saying that folks 65 and older may get it. However Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous with 10 million residents and an epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, says it could possibly’t try this earlier than inoculating some 800,000 well being care staff first.
California acquired greater than 2.4 million vaccine doses however solely a 3rd have been used. The state goals to manage 1.5 million doses by Friday.
Almost 50 state lawmakers signed a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom asking for counties to obtain provide updates and a “dependable” four-week forecast on anticipated vaccine portions.
Additionally they requested the governor to broaden authorization for who can administer doses to incorporate nursing college students, retired medical staff, firefighters and Nationwide Guard members with medical coaching.
Newsom says the state’s precedence is to ship vaccines “as shortly as doable to those that face the gravest penalties.”
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NAIROBI, Kenya — A World Well being Group official says Africa ought to get the primary coronavirus vaccine doses from the worldwide COVAX effort in March.
The continent is recording about 30,000 new virus circumstances per day in comparison with 18,000 through the first surge months in the past. Africa’s high public well being official says that “sadly, our deaths are rising very quickly” this time.
The African Union chair on Wednesday mentioned 270 million doses have been secured from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca by way of the Serum Institute of India.
Some 600 million doses are anticipated to come back from COVAX.
Doses will probably be allotted to nations based mostly on inhabitants measurement and the severity of the outbreak, with well being staff thought-about highest precedence.
The continent of Africa has greater than 3.1 million confirmed virus circumstances, together with greater than 75,000 deaths. South African leads with greater than 35,000 deaths.
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STOCKHOLM — Sweden reported 351 extra deaths, with the loss of life toll surpassing 10,000.
Sweden, which approached the coronavirus pandemic by holding giant elements of the society open, has registered 518,783 circumstances.
Karin Tegmark Wisell of Sweden’s Public Well being Company says most deaths included folks over 70.
Final yr, Swedish authorities have been criticized for failing to guard the nation’s aged and nursing dwelling residents. An unbiased fee mentioned aged care in Sweden has main structural shortcomings and authorities have proved unprepared and ill-equipped to satisfy the pandemic.
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VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has confirmed Pope Francis acquired the primary shot of the coronavirus vaccine on Thursday.
No pictures of the 84-yer-old pontiff receiving the shot have been launched. The pope has advocated that everybody ought to get the vaccine, calling it an “moral possibility” carried out not just for one’s personal well being however for the “lives of others.”
The Vatican has beefed up coronavirus restrictions amid a spike in circumstances in Italy. The pope, who’s lacking a part of one lung since a surgical procedure in his 20s, has been saying the normal Angelus blessing from a library within the Apostolic Palace, and never a window overlooking St. Peter’s, in a bid to forestall gatherings.
The Vatican launched its vaccination program this week, administering the Pfizer vaccine. Vatican Metropolis has had at the very least 27 confirmed circumstances of the coronavirus, together with a cluster among the many Swiss Guards final fall.
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DAKAR, Senegal — The World Well being Group says a coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa has been confirmed in three different African nations.
Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, says Botswana, Gambia and Zambia have the brand new variant. It already has been confirmed in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.
South African well being officers have mentioned the variant is presumably extra transmissible.
South Africa, with a inhabitants of 60 million, has reported 1.2 million confirmed circumstances. That represents greater than 30% of circumstances in Africa, which this week exceeded 3 million.
There have been greater than 35,000 confirmed deaths in South Africa.
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