Here’s what’s happening on Saturday with the US pandemic:
– California desperately needs more medical workers in facilities flooded by coronavirus patients, and almost no help is coming from a volunteer program that Governor Gavin Newsom created at the beginning of the pandemic. An army of 95,000 initially raised their hands, but only 14 are working in the field. Newsom said that very few volunteers have met the qualifications for the California Health Corps, and only a small portion have the high-level experience needed to help in the most serious virus cases. Other states have faced similar difficulties in making volunteer programs work. California health officials reported a record 695 deaths from coronavirus on Saturday, increasing the number of deaths in the state to 29,233 since the pandemic began.
– Health officials in Anchorage, Alaska, say that appointments for residents eager to get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine completed in a matter of hours, leading to the frustration of people still trying to sign up. Anchorage Department of Health director Heather Harris told KTUU-TV that all 1,800 available hours were reserved by residents over a four-hour period on Thursday. Clinics do not accept care. Residents aged 65 and over can now receive the vaccine; about 33,000 people fall into this category. Harris said Anchorage expects about 14,600 doses this month and vaccination clinics are planned for the weekend and early next week.
– An Oklahoma judge extended a temporary restraining order allowing bars and restaurants in Oklahoma to stay open after 11 pm, which Governor Kevin Stitt issued in November in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. District judge Susan Stallings heard the case’s arguments on Friday and extended the order on December 29, while considering the decision in a lawsuit filed by bar owners who argue that the governor has no legal authority to impose the touch to collect, according to court records. The governor’s lawyers say state law gives Stitt “the necessary broad and flexible authority” to fight the spread of the virus. On Saturday, Oklahoma had the sixth highest number of new cases per capita in the country, with 1,218.16 per 100,000 residents, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
THE NUMBERS: According to Johns Hopkins University data, the seven-day moving average for new daily deaths in the U.S. has increased in the past two weeks, from 2,368.1 on December 25 to 2,982.7 on Friday.
DEATH FOOL: The number of COVID-19-related deaths in the U.S. is 371,260.
QUOTE: “When it comes to court orders, in my opinion, civil disobedience is not an option. It just isn’t. ”- Ingham County court judge Wanda Stokes, who found a coffee in a small Michigan town in contempt of court for violating the state’s indoor eating ban by continuing to serve customers indoors.
ICYMI: San Diego County, California, is opening what it calls a “super vaccination station ”, Which aims to inoculate up to 5,000 health professionals daily with a coronavirus vaccine. The effort that begins Monday is one of the most ambitious efforts ever made in California to accelerate the pace of vaccinations. Only about 1% of California’s 40 million residents have been vaccinated against the virus. Medical teams from the University of California at San Diego will operate the station in a parking lot near the baseball stadium in the city center. Healthcare professionals will remain in their vehicles while receiving the injection and will then be asked to remain in place for 15 minutes to be monitored for any allergic reactions.
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Find full AP coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic.