Here’s what happened to the US pandemic on Friday:
THREE THINGS TO KNOW TODAY
After months of being a role model in the fight against COVID-19, California has been seeing infections out of control for weeks. It now has the worst coronavirus diagnosis rate in the US. Experts believe a variety of factors have been combined to eradicate California’s previous efforts, which for most of the year have reduced the boom and kept the virus at manageable levels. Cramped housing, travel and Thanksgiving gatherings have contributed to the spread, along with the public’s fatigue amid regulations that have closed many schools and businesses and encouraged – or required, an isolated lifestyle.
Health officials say they have found in a Florida man evidence of the latest US case over the new and apparently more contagious coronavirus variant first seen in England. The Florida Department of Health tweeted late Thursday that the variant had been detected in a man in his twenties without any recent travel history. This comes after recent reports of confirmed cases elsewhere in Colorado and California. The cases have raised questions about how the COVID-19 variant, which is spreading in England, arrived in the US, where experts believe it is probably already spreading.
Ten months in quarantines and homework due to the pandemic have changed the lives and relationships of domestic pets with people in many cases. For many dogs, the life of the pandemic is life as it was meant to be: people walking around 24/7, walking and treating on demand, and sneaking on their bed at night. Cats are more loving than ever, some even acting needy for attention. Long-term consequences are not known.
THE NUMBER: The seven-day average daily deaths in the U.S. have declined over the past two weeks from 2,646 on December 17 to 2,387.7 on December 31, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
DEATH: The number of deaths associated with COVID-19 in the US stands at more than 346,000.
NOTE: “I think January is going to be worse at this point than we thought,” said dr. Don Williamson, head of the Alabama Hospital Association, said after watching Christmas events online showcasing many people who are not wearing a mask. “We will absolutely pick up the whirlwind of new business because of our unwillingness to do simple things.”
ICYMI: Authorities have arrested a Milwaukee pharmacist in the suburbs suspected of deliberately destroying hundreds of doses of coronavirus vaccine by removing it from the refrigerator for two nights. The Grafton police station said the former attorney Aurora Health Pharmacist was arrested on suspicion of reckless threat, which is the prescription of a prescription drug and criminal case damage. Lawyer Aurora Health Care Chief Medical Officer Jeff Bahr says the pharmacist took 57 vials with hundreds of doses of Moderna vaccine out of the refrigerator overnight on December 24, returned them and then left them out again on the night of December 25.
ON THE HORIZON: Congress ends a chaotic session with a rare Republican rejection by President Donald Trump. GOP senators ignore the outgoing president’s demand to increase aid rates from $ 600 COVID-19 to $ 2000. They are ready to replace his veto of a major defense bill. South Carolina Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, says Congress could try again to approve larger COVID-19 aid controls after the new session opened Sunday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Congress is currently providing enough pandemic assistance. The stalemate is expected to lead to the weekend.
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Find AP’s full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic