Navajo Nation reviews 7 extra COVID-19 deaths

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — The Navajo Nation is reporting 151 new coronavirus instances and 7 extra deaths associated to COVID-19.

The newest figures had been reported Tuesday by the Navajo Division of Well being for the reservation that extends over elements of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. The Navajo Nation has reported 755 deaths because the pandemic hit.

The Well being Division says the primary doses of the lately accepted vaccine made by Moderna have arrived on the Navajo Space Indian Well being Service.

The Navajo Nation is in a three-week lockdown requiring all residents to remain house apart from coping with emergencies, looking for necessities like meals and drugs or touring to a vital job.

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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

Congress has simply handed a $900 billion pandemic aid package deal. It will ship long-sought money to companies and people and assets to vaccinate a nation confronting a daunting surge in COVID-19 instances and deaths. The invoice has been despatched to President Donald Trump for his signature, anticipated within the coming days. The trouble comes on the finish of a 12 months that’s turn into the deadliest in U.S. historical past. Preliminary knowledge on U.S. deaths present the coronavirus pandemic contributing to a 15% or extra enhance in deaths over final 12 months. U.S. deaths topped Three million for the primary time, and the share enhance was the most important in a single 12 months since 1918.

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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:

SYDNEY — Authorities in Australia have introduced a brief rest of pandemic restrictions for many of the Sydney space, permitting limitless numbers of youngsters to attend Christmas gatherings regardless of a cluster of coronavirus instances linked to town’s northern seashores.

Whereas Sydney residents will nonetheless be restricted to 10 for gatherings, kids below age 12 is not going to be counted in that quantity from Thursday via Saturday.

The northern seashores area on the coronary heart of the virus cluster has been below stricter restrictions since Saturday. That area was divided in two Wednesday, with the decrease half below a much less extreme lockdown.

New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the Christmas concessions are “very modest” and will likely be reviewed day by day.

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says two amenities will likely be constructed to supply over 100 further hospital beds in case they’re wanted for COVID-19 sufferers.

The governor stated Tuesday that whereas the state’s current capability has been in a position to handle the present caseload, there may very well be a spike in instances following the Christmas vacation, as there was after Thanksgiving. He says that “we now have to be prepared for no matter is available in January.”

He says the “different care websites” will present a complete of 124 new beds and price $7.four million.

Hutchinson says there are 1,103 folks now hospitalized in Arkansas for COVID-19. He says the state has had 205,048 confirmed or suspected coronavirus infections to date, with 3,338 deaths.

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MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers says his administration has partnered with a medical testing firm to supply free at-home coronavirus checks for folks missing medical health insurance protection.

Officers are involved that fewer individuals are getting examined, resulting in a false image of the virus’ prevalence in Wisconsin. Some 6,852 folks had been examined within the previous 24 hours, in comparison with about 20,000 a day in mid-November.

The governor says the take care of Vault Medical Providers takes impact instantly, and anybody can order an at-home saliva take a look at via the Division of Well being Providers web site. The particular person will take a pattern as a Vault testing supervisor appears to be like on by way of a Zoom connection and return the pattern utilizing a pay as you go label. Outcomes will take two to a few days.

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BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards is extending pandemic restrictions on companies and actions, and he’s warning the vacations threaten to exacerbate the states newest coronavirus surge.

The governor’s announcement Tuesday got here as Louisiana reached its highest variety of hospitalized COVID-19 sufferers since April.

Edwards’ guidelines had been toughened in late November. They had been set to run out Wednesday, however he’s renewing them via Jan. 13.

He says that “it stays a really perilous scenario for the state with respect to COVID.”

The state well being division says a minimum of 22,000 hospital employees and EMS staff in Louisiana have obtained their first of two vaccinations to date.

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TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisia is extending its curfew till Jan. 15 to cowl the New Yr’s vacation and urging folks to not maintain end-of-year festivities or journey across the nation to gradual the virus unfold.

Well being Minister Faouzi Madhi introduced the choice Tuesday, saying the nation has seen a median of 50 virus-related deaths per day over the past quarter of this 12 months. He blamed the infections on rising complacency towards masks and social distancing.

The pinnacle of the Pasteur Institute in Tunis, Hachemi Louzir, stated that the nation has not registered any instances of the brand new virus variant recognized in Britain to date. Tunisia suspended all flights with Britain, South Africa and Australia this week due to new, apparently extra contagious virus variants.

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ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says the state will once more use a conference heart for affected person beds amid a surge in coronavirus instances that’s straining hospital capability.

The Republican governor stated Tuesday the Georgia World Congress Middle may have 60 beds and may be capable to take sufferers beginning subsequent week. He expects the middle to function an overflow hospital via January.

Kemp stated the virus remained a menace regardless of the rollout of a vaccine. He inspired residents to fulfill just about over the vacations or collect outdoor with just some folks in the identical family.

The conference heart has served as a hospital earlier than through the pandemic. In April, the state signed a contract to construct a 200-bed well being care facility on the website.

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BOISE, Idaho — The governor of Idaho says the state is in a race to get folks vaccinated in opposition to the coronavirus whereas concurrently limiting its unfold lengthy sufficient to keep away from operating out of healthcare capability.

Republican Gov. Brad Little stated Tuesday that the vaccination program is a excessive precedence for him and Idaho Division of Well being and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen.

Little says the state on Tuesday obtained 28,000 doses of a lately accepted vaccine from Moderna Inc. That’s along with the 23,700 doses the state has been receiving from Pfizer-BioNTech.

The primary spherical of vaccines goes to an estimated 130,000 front-line healthcare employees and folks in long-term care amenities.

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BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia’s president says that Venezuelan migrants who’re dwelling within the nation with out residence permits received’t be given free COVID-19 vaccines when these arrive within the South American nation — probably leaving a whole bunch of hundreds unvaccinated.

In an interview Monday with Blu Radio, President Ivan Duque stated that giving free vaccines to undocumented immigrants might “unleash a stampede” of Venezuelans crossing into neighboring Colombia to get vaccinated.

Duque stated migrants who’ve regularized their standing in Colombia would even be eligible without cost vaccines so long as they fall into the classes that the Ministry of Well being has outlined for who will get vaccinated first.

Columbian immigration authorities say greater than 1.Eight million Venezuelans at the moment stay in Colombia and about 60% of them wouldn’t have a residence allow.

Duque’s feedback had been broadly rejected by well being specialists and migrants’ rights teams, who stated that leaving out a weak group from a vaccination program can be counterproductive and unethical.

Dr. Juan Carlos Viloria, who leads an affiliation of Venezuelan immigrants in Colombia, stated not vaccinating everybody might put hundreds of individuals in danger.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — The governor of Kentucky and his spouse obtained COVID-19 vaccinations Tuesday together with different high state lawmakers.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, joined by his spouse, first girl Britainy Beshear, thanked the highest two Republican legislative leaders, Kentucky Home Speaker David Osborne and Senate President Robert Stivers, for becoming a member of him in “setting the appropriate instance for the folks of Kentucky.”

Beshear stated the top of the Kentucky nationwide guard, lieutenant governor, and state police commissioner will obtain vaccines on Wednesday.

About 7,000 Kentucky residents, the overwhelming majority of them well being care employees in hospitals, have been vaccinated since Dec. 14.

Kentucky reviews 3,057 new confirmed coronavirus instances and 28 virus-related deaths Tuesday. The state’s take a look at positivity fee is 8.48%, down barely from Monday.

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WASHINGTON — Well being officers have paused a part of three international research testing blood thinners in hospitalized COVID-19 sufferers, saying the therapy doesn’t appear to be serving to these most significantly unwell and that they can’t rule out the possibility it may very well be dangerous.

Blood clots and irritation plague many with COVID-19, and the research are testing varied medicines to see if they will stop organ injury.

A press release from the U.S. Nationwide Institutes of Well being, which is concerned in a number of the research, says unbiased screens really useful pausing enrollment after seeing no profit from blood thinners in critically unwell sufferers needing intensive care.

The assertion notes that elevated bleeding is a standard complication with these medicine however provides no particulars on whether or not or how typically that occurred in these research.

They’re underway in lots of nations and are supported by well being companies in the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia and European nations.

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AUSTIN, Texas — The governor of Texas has joined the ranks of governors to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine on stay tv in hopes of assuring the general public that the inoculations are protected.

Republican Greg Abbott stated after getting the vaccine Tuesday at a hospital within the state capital that federal well being officers have urged governors to set an instance. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey additionally obtained the primary dose this week, whereas different governors have stated they’ll wait.

A resurgence of the virus in Texas has put the variety of hospitalized COVID-19 sufferers again over 10,000 for under the second time through the pandemic. Almost 11,000 folks had been hospitalized in July throughout a lethal summer time outbreak.

However Abbott says this time he received’t impose new lockdown measures once more as instances climb.

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Dubai has accepted using the Pfizer vaccine in opposition to the coronavirus and can launch an “intensive” inoculation effort beginning Wednesday.

Authorities in Dubai, the monetary hub of the United Arab Emirates, stated the vaccine made by Pfizer and its German companion BioNTech can be supplied to residents and residents freed from cost.

The announcement comes after the UAE issued the primary authorities authorization of the Chinese language vaccine Sinopharm, claiming it was 86% efficient based mostly on an “interim evaluation” of Section III trials with out providing additional particulars. Clinics throughout the federation of seven sheikhdoms have began administering the Chinese language vaccine.

The UAE has recorded over 195,800 coronavirus instances and greater than 600 deaths. Though the nation has seen an uptick in instances in latest months, Dubai, with its economic system closely depending on air journey and hospitality, has remained open for enterprise and tourism.

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NEW YORK — A high federal well being official has signed off on an advisory committee’s advice about who must be prioritized for restricted doses of coronavirus vaccine.

The federal government earlier this month suggested state vaccination campaigns to place on the entrance of the road health-care employees and residents of nursing houses and different long-term care amenities.

U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield on Tuesday endorsed the committee’s advice and made official authorities steerage.

An professional committee voted on Sunday to suggest the following teams to be prioritized. They stated the second group must be folks age 75 and older, and folks with sure jobs – like lecturers, corrections officers, and grocery retailer employees – that put them in frequent contact with different folks.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices listed the third group as different important employees, folks ages 65 to 74, and folks 16 to 64 who’ve sure medical situations that put them in danger for extreme sickness in the event that they turn into contaminated.