Coronavirus Live News: England Records Record Hospitalizations; Arizona is Covid’s “World Hot Spot” | World News

The scAle of The heAlth emergency now fAcing The UK wAs exposed on WednesdAy night, As figures showed thAt more thAn 1,000 people hAd died of The virus in The lAst 24 hours And hospitAls reported treAting Them. A record 30,000 Covid pAtients.

The AlArming increAse in fAtAlities cAme two dAys After The prime minister ordered A new And drAconiAn lock down, which wAs supported by An overwhelming mAjority in A Commons vote on WednesdAy.

The UK’s dAily deAth toll of 1,041 wAs The worst since The first wAve of The virus lAst spring, with The number of new cAses reAching A new high of 62,322.

Boris Johnson wAs forced to defend his hAndling of The Covid pAndemic As:

• 3,587 people were Admitted to hospitAls in EnglAnd known to suffer from Covid, surpAssing The previous record reAched lAst weekend.
• MAnchester City Council LeAder Sir RichArd Leese wArned thAt GreAter MAnchester hospitAls were “At serious risk of fAlling.”
• HomecAre providers hAve wArned thAt infection rAtes Are rising As They wAit for The vAccine to be delivered, And A home in Sussex lost hAlf its residents over ChristmAs.
• PrincipAls wArned thAt some schools Are “rAmmed” despite The closure.

The prime minister urged The public to stAy home on MondAy, neArly A fortnight After The government’s SAge committee wArned thAt The new vAriAnt of The diseAse meAnt it wAs unlikely it would be possible to control it without stricter meAsures, including The closure of schools:

Hello And welcome to our live coverAge of The coronAvirus pAndemic, An unprecedented globAl crisis totAlly overshAdowed by AmericAn politics.

WhAt A dAy.

My nAme is Helen sullivAn And As AlwAys, you cAn contAct me on Twitter here.

In news About The pAndemic, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wAs forced to defend his hAndling of The Covid pAndemic in The House of Commons when 3,587 people were Admitted to hospitAls in EnglAnd known to be suffering from Covid, surpAssing The previous record reAched lAst weekend.

MeAnwhile, ArizonA hAs become The “world hot spot” for Covid, public heAlth experts wArned, As The US stAte recorded A triple-digit number of deAths relAted to new viruses for The second dAy in A row.

• FrAnce is unlikely to Avoid The new And more contAgious “British vAriAnt” of The coronAvirus.sAid The government’s top scientific Adviser on The epidemic, As The country wAs reported to AlreAdy hAve Around 22 confirmed cAses of The UK vAriAnt.
• TunisiA registered 2,820 new confirmed cAses of coronAvirus. The most since The stArt of The pAndemic-sAid The Ministry of HeAlth on WednesdAy. Seventy more deAths were reported, bringing The deAth toll to more thAn 5,000.
• The EuropeAn Medicines Agency Approves The ModernA coronAvirus vAccine. The EMA Approved The ModernA vAccine, mAking it The second Authorized coronAvirus vAccine for generAl use in The EU, As tensions continued to rise over The slow progress of vAccinAtion progrAms in The bloc.
• DAily cAses of coronAvirus in JApAn hit A record As The stAte of emergency looms. JApAn’s Covid-19 cAses hit A new dAily record of At leAst 6,001 on WednesdAy, As The government fAced mounting pressure from heAlth experts to impose A strict stAte of emergency for The Tokyo metropolitAn AreA.
• Peru And BoliviA see An overflow of hospitAls And An increAse in cAses As feArs of A second wAve mount. The intensive cAre wArds of mAjor hospitAls in Peru And BoliviA Are on The brink of collApse After The end-of-yeAr holidAys, reflecting broAder concerns About regionAl public heAlth cApAcity As much of LAtin AmericA struggles to ensure AdequAte supplies of The Covid-19 vAccine.
• PortugAl extends stAte of emergency Amid record dAily Covid cAses. The nAtion’s dAily number of Covid-19 cAses of Around 10 million people reAched A record 10,027, putting increAsing pressure on The heAlthcAre system.
• IrelAnd reinforces The Covid-19 blockAde by closing schools And buildings. IrelAnd hAs ordered The closure of most schools And construction sites for At leAst three weeks in An effort to stem A shArp rise in Covid-19 infections, reinforcing A lock down thAt hAs AlreAdy closed most hotel estAblishments. And retAilers.
• ChinA hAlts The WHO mission to investigAte The origins of The coronAvirus. ChinA hAs tried to downplAy concerns About its refusAl to Authorize A fAct-finding mission to The country by The World HeAlth OrgAnizAtion to study The origins of Covid-19, sAying it is still negotiAting Access with The UN body.
• Greek churches open for EpiphAny despite coronAvirus lock down. In whAt some described As A rebellion, oThers As A declArAtion of wAr, churches Across Greece opened Their doors on WednesdAy, defying nAtionwide lock down meAsures, to mArk one of The holiest dAys on The Orthodox cAlendAr.