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COVID-19 News from Around the Web

U.S. Tops 25 Million Confirmed Coronavirus Cases
NPR - January 25, 2021
Almost exactly one year after the first case of the coronavirus was detected in the United States, the country has now reached 25 million confirmed infections. As it has for months, the U.S. remains by far the most coronavirus-riddled country in the world. … The true number of cases, however, is likely far higher: Many people become infected but never get tested, so they aren't reflected in the count.
Biden to reinstate COVID travel rules, add South Africa
AP - January 25, 2021
President Joe Biden on Monday will formally reinstate COVID-19 travel restrictions on non-U.S. travelers from Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom and 26 other European countries that allow travel across open borders, according to two White House officials … also confirmed Sunday that South Africa would be added to the restricted list because of concerns about a variant of the virus that has spread beyond that nation. Biden is reversing an order from President Donald Trump in his final days in office that called for the relaxation of the travel restrictions as of Tuesday.
2 in 5 Americans live where COVID-19 strains hospital ICUs
AP - January 25, 2021
Straining to handle record numbers of COVID-19 patients, hundreds of the nation’s intensive care units are running out of space and supplies and competing to hire temporary traveling nurses at soaring rates. Many of the facilities are clustered in the South and West. … More than 40% of Americans now live in areas running out of ICU space, with only 15% of beds still available. … Nurses who work in the most stressed ICUs, changing IV bags and monitoring patients on breathing machines, are exhausted.
U.S. largely weathered Christmas coronavirus surge, but experts warn the threat could intensify
Washington Post - January 25, 2021
The United States appears to have avoided the worst-case coronavirus scenarios that officials feared would overwhelm hospitals in the aftermath of Christmas and New Year’s gatherings. But experts caution that the threat from the virus has not diminished and could intensify with the emergence of new variants. Even as hospitalizations begin to stabilize, they do so from record heights.
‘We can’t wait:’ Biden administration fights for $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan
Reuters - January 25, 2021
The Biden administration and Democratic and Republican lawmakers discussing a new $1.9 trillion in coronavirus relief agreed on Sunday that the most important priority should be producing and efficiently distributing a vaccine. An aide to a Democrat who was on the call with Brian Deese, one of President Joe Biden’s top economic aides, said the discussion had been “robust” and that the two sides would continue to work together.
Biden: Americans who fear COVID-19 at work are entitled to jobless benefits
CBS News - January 25, 2021
Among a slew of executive orders signed by Mr. Biden during his first 48 hours in office, the president on Friday directed the Labor Department to clarify that "workers have a federally guaranteed right to refuse employment that will jeopardize their health and if they do so, they will still qualify for unemployment insurance."
CDC reviewing new data that suggests coronavirus variant identified in UK could be more deadly
CNN - January 25, 2021
Scientists at the CDC are speaking with UK health officials to learn more about British data that suggests a new coronavirus variant could be more deadly. "The CDC has reached out to UK officials and is reviewing their new mortality data associated with variant B.1.1.7," a CDC official told CNN Saturday, using the scientific name for the variant first spotted in the UK in November. A UK report released Friday states there is "a realistic possibility" that the new variant has a higher death rate than other variants.
Undercounting of Covid-19 deaths is greatest in pro-Trump areas, analysis shows
STAT - January 25, 2021
[Of] 787 counties with more than 20 Covid-19 deaths from Feb. 1 to Oct. 17, 2020, found that while there were 199,124 official Covid-19 deaths in that time period, an additional excess 88,142 deaths weren’t attributed to the virus. Some of these excess deaths are likely due to factors that were exacerbated by the pandemic, such as overdoses and suicide in response to isolation and economic hardship, or subpar health care in an overrun system. But researchers believe many are Covid-19 deaths that go uncounted. Overall, the true Covid-19 death toll is 31% higher than official figures, according to the study, which has been submitted to PLOS Medicine.
Biden signs burst of virus orders, vows ‘Help is on the way’
AP - January 22, 2021
With a burst of executive orders, President Joe Biden served notice Thursday that America’s war on COVID-19 is under new command, promising an anxious nation progress to reduce infections and lift the siege it has endured for nearly a year. At the same time, he tried to manage expectations in his second day in office, saying despite the best intentions “we’re going to face setbacks.” He brushed off a reporter’s question on whether his goal of 100 million coronavirus shots in 100 days should be more ambitious, a point pressed by some public health experts.