French authorities traced the case to a French citizen who arrived from England on December 19. They said he has no symptoms and is isolating himself at home.
Japanese media are reporting five cases of the most contagious strain. Health officials are trying to track their contacts and determine how they were infected.
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Hudson County positive test detainees
According to an email from a Hudson County prison official, at least 17 inmates recently tested positive for COVID-19. Sixteen of the individuals are county inmates and one is a federal inmate.
Each is being housed in isolation, as are the other inmates with whom they came into contact. Five prison officials, including nurses and correctional officers, died of COVID.
Health workers start receiving the modern vaccine in Essex County
New Jersey is taking another step in the fight against the coronavirus, as the state registered more than 5,000 new cases overnight.
On Saturday, health workers will begin receiving the Modern vaccine at Essex Community College, one of five locations in the county where the vaccine is being made available.
State on ‘walking race’ amid rising coronavirus cases, says Cuomo
Governor Andrew Cuomo urged New Yorkers to remain vigilant in the fight against the coronavirus, saying in a Christmas day statement that the state is in a “walking race” to distribute the vaccine amid the increase in cases.
The most recent statistics showed that the state’s positivity rate fell slightly, despite the increase in hospitalizations.
Trump plays golf in Florida while relief from COVID is at stake
President Donald Trump is spending Christmas playing golf in Florida, while a government shutdown is approaching and help from COVID is at stake.
Trump had no events on his public agenda on Friday after questioning the future of massive relief from COVID and government funding. But Trump tweeted that he would do a video conference with service members.
Trump is at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach for the holidays. Failure to sign the bill could deny relief checks to millions of Americans on the brink and force the government to close down during the pandemic.
Female Duke Ends Basketball Season Amid Viruses
The women’s basketball team Duke ended its season on Friday amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The team has been paused since December 16 because of two positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracking within the program’s travel group. The Blue Devils postponed games against Miami, NC State and UNC Wilmington.
The team’s next scheduled game will be against Louisville on Thursday. The men’s basketball team planned to continue playing.
Virus hits Belarus prisons filled with critics of the president
A wave of COVID-19 engulfed prisons in Belarus that are crowded with people in custody for protesting the country’s authoritarian president, and some of the protesters who contracted the coronavirus while incarcerated accuse the authorities of neglecting or even encouraging infections.
Activists who spoke to the Associated Press after his release described overcrowded cells, without adequate ventilation or basic amenities and lack of medical treatment.
Gloomy forecast
A new model from the University of Washington projects that the death toll in the US will reach more than half a million on April 1.
But the researchers say that number would have been higher. The vaccine can help save more than 33,000 lives.
In the meantime, there are more than 120,000 patients hospitalized with coronavirus in the U.S., according to the COVID Screening Project. It is the twentieth consecutive day that the country has reached a record hospitalization rate this month.
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