Coronavirus Live News: US Deaths Top 350,000 When India Authorizes Two Vaccines | World News

Irene Chavez, senior vice president and area manager of Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center, said in an emailed statement that 43 emergency department employees tested positive between Dec. 27 and Jan. 1.

“We will ensure that all affected staff members receive the care and support they need,” the statement said.

The hospital is investigating whether an inflatable costume worn by one of the infected staff members may have contributed to the spread of the virus.

“Any exposure, had it occurred, would have been completely innocent and quite accidental, as the individual had no Covid symptoms and was only looking to lift the spirits of those around him during a very stressful time,” the hospital said in the statement.

Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

My name is Ben poverty and I’ll bring you the latest updates from around the world for the next few hours. Correspondence and comments are always welcome, you can reach me at [email protected] or on twitter @BenDohertyCorro.

The United States has surpassed 350,000 deaths from coronavirus, the highest number in the world, amid several days of more than 2,500 deaths per day. The United States also confirmed nearly 300,000 new cases in 24 hours on January 2 (the most recent number available), according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.

Meanwhile, India authorized two Covid-19 vaccines on Sunday, paving the way for a huge inoculation program to stop the coronavirus pandemic in the world’s second most populous country.

The country’s drug regulator granted an emergency authorization for the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, and another developed by the Indian company Bharat Biotech.

Here are the key recent developments:

• Deaths from coronavirus in the UK 75,000 have passed, with 54,990 new cases reported Sunday, as well as 454 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
• Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer has urged Boris Johnson to introduce new national Covid restrictions on England within the next 24 hours, rather than hinting that it will soon.
• Several city councils of England have called on the government to allow primary schools to be closed before the first day of tomorrow’s term, including the Southampton City Council and the Cumbria County Council, Both have said they support schools in prioritizing the education of the children of key workers and vulnerable children in light of staff shortages.
• Ireland has reported a further 4,962 Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of cases to more than 100,000. Sunday’s figure breaks the previous day’s record of 3,394 cases, nearly double the highest number of cases previously recorded in 24 hours.
• The new variant of the coronavirus, first seen in the UK, has been detected in Greece, it was reported tonight. According to Skai radio, five Greeks and one Briton who tested positive for the virus upon arrival from the UK were infected with the new strain.
• France has registered 12,489 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, compared to 3,466 reported a day earlier, according to the country’s Ministry of Health.
• KuwaitThe civil aviation authority has suspended direct commercial flights to and from the UKaccording to a tweet posted a few minutes ago.
• Egypt has said it had opened an investigation into the deaths of four Covid-19 patients in an intensive care unit allegedly due to lack of oxygen, prompting a public outcry.
• treesL’s health regulator Advise has approved the import of 2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, although the jab is not yet approved for use in the country.