December 21 coronavirus news

By Julia Hollingsworth, Steve George, Meg Wagner and Melissa Mahtani, CNN

Updated 12:00 a.m. ET, December 22, 2020
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2:47 a.m. ET, December 21, 2020

Who gets Covid-19 vaccine next? Older adults and 'frontline essential workers,' US CDC advisers recommend

From CNN's Jacqueline Howard and Jen Christensen

A physican receives a Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine shot at McLaren Flint Hospital on December 17 in Flint, Michigan.
A physican receives a Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine shot at McLaren Flint Hospital on December 17 in Flint, Michigan. Jake May/MLive.com/The Flint Journal/ AP

Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted 13-1 on Sunday to recommend that both older adults, ages 75 and older, and "frontline essential workers" including first responders be next in line to receive Covid-19 vaccines.

That would put those people in "Phase 1b" of allocating the vaccine nationwide.

That committee vote also included prioritizing adults ages 65 to 75, people ages 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions and "other essential workers" in "Phase 1c" of allocation.

"They really serve to address the current lack of vaccine supply and address those individuals with the highest risk for disease," Dr. José Romero, chair of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and secretary of the Arkansas Department of Health, said about the recommendations.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met on Sunday to discuss Phases 1b and 1c of vaccine distribution. 

In a previous meeting earlier this month, the group voted on Phase 1a, which advised giving the first round of vaccines to health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities.

There are two Covid-19 vaccines -- Pfizer/BioNTech's and Moderna's -- currently authorized for emergency use in the United States.

Read more here.

4:56 a.m. ET, December 21, 2020

“Significant disruption” expected in Kent following France travel restrictions on UK

From CNN’s Max Foster in London

Lorries are parked on the M20 near Folkestone, Kent, England as part of Operation Stack after the Port of Dover was closed and access to the Eurotunnel terminal suspended on December 21.
Lorries are parked on the M20 near Folkestone, Kent, England as part of Operation Stack after the Port of Dover was closed and access to the Eurotunnel terminal suspended on December 21. Steve Parsons/PA/AP

A UK Department of Transport spokesperson said Sunday that they are expecting “significant disruption” on roads in the port area of Kent area following France’s restrictions on travel from the UK.

“We are expecting significant disruption in Kent following the announcement by the French Government that, from 23.00 on Sunday 20 December, it will not accept any passengers from the UK for the next 48 hours,” the spokesperson said.
“As a result we are urging everybody -- including all hauliers -- to avoid traveling to Kent ports until further notice.

The Department of Transport is working closely with Kent Resilience Forum, Kent Council and Highways England to ensure contingency measures are urgently put in place to manage disruption, the spokesperson said. The Prime Minister will chair a COBR meeting Monday to discuss the situation.

According to the Department of Transport, while “severe disruption” in the Kent area is expected, other ports facing France will also be impacted.

Earlier on Sunday French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced France will suspend travel to and from the United Kingdom for 48 hours, due to the “new health risk.” The suspension begins at midnight local and includes “all means of transport,” he tweeted.

2:46 a.m. ET, December 21, 2020

South Korea records highest number of daily virus deaths since the start of the pandemic

From CNN's Jake Kwon in Seoul 

A medical staff wearing a personal protective equipment gear waits for residents at a temporary COVID-19 testing site in Seoul, South Korea on December 20.
A medical staff wearing a personal protective equipment gear waits for residents at a temporary COVID-19 testing site in Seoul, South Korea on December 20. Simon Shin/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

South Korea reported a further 926 new coronavirus cases and 24 deaths on Sunday, the highest number of deaths reported in a single day since the start of the pandemic. 

A total of 24 Covid-19 patients died in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 698, according to figures released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KCDC) Monday.  

Another 649 cases were detected in the capital, the Seoul Metropolitan area, the statement said.

Authorities in Seoul are still deciding whether to increase social distancing restrictions to the maximum level, but fear that it may add further strain to the economy.

South Korea has reported more than 50,500 cases.

Read more about South Korea's coronavirus outbreak here.

2:08 a.m. ET, December 21, 2020

The Netherlands bans ferry passengers from the UK in addition to flights

From CNN’s Dana Ford

The Netherlands has banned ferry passengers arriving from the UK, the Dutch government announced late Sunday.

In a statement, the government said the ban would take effect immediately.

“The formal decision means that ferries are no longer permitted to depart for the Netherlands with passengers on board. The measure also applies to passengers with Dutch nationality,” the statement read.

Ferry crossings can continue for freight lorries.

The country had already banned all flights from UK amid concerns over reports of a new variant of coronavirus in Britain. 

Earlier on Sunday, the Netherlands reached a new daily record for coronavirus cases, when 13,066 new cases were recorded by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment. 

In total, the Netherlands has reported more than 700,000 cases and 10,578 deaths.

12:42 a.m. ET, December 21, 2020

Sydney reports another 15 cases in cluster after conducting 38,000 tests

From journalist Angus Watson in Sydney and CNN’s Paul Devitt in Hong Kong

Health workers perform Covid-19 tests at a Bondi Beach drive-through testing centre in Sydney, Australia on December 20.
Health workers perform Covid-19 tests at a Bondi Beach drive-through testing centre in Sydney, Australia on December 20. Steven Saphore/AFP/Getty Images

A Covid-19 testing blitz which saw thousands tested in Sydney found just 15 new local cases on Sunday, Australian health authorities announced Monday.

The 15 new cases are all traceable to the Avalon Cluster in Sydney’s Northern Beaches municipality, NSW Health announced. That cluster now totals 83 cases.

NSW Health recorded 38,578 tests on Sunday, a record daily total.

New South Wales recorded 23 new cases in total on Sunday, including eight imported cases.

Speaking Monday Australia’s federal health minister Greg Hunt said that testing in the Northern Beaches area was up 700% and commended citizens for complying with testing and quarantining guidelines. 

Where the cluster came from: State health minister Brad Hazzard on Monday said that ‘patient zero’ for the Avalon Cluster is likely to have been a passenger who flew to Sydney from Los Angeles on December 1. 

Health authorities in New South Wales and Australia have acted quickly to get on top of the new cluster, which ended a run of days without community transmission in Sydney.

What's been done: The Northern Beaches municipality, with a population of just over 250,000, has been locked down until Wednesday night in an attempt to stop the spread. 

Meanwhile contact tracers have identified scores of venues around the city connected to positive cases, with all other patrons told to get tested and quarantine until receiving a negative result.

Leaders across Australia have acted swiftly to keep the virus from spreading out of New South Wales, with all other states and territories now requiring Sydney residents to quarantine for 14-days on arrival.

12:02 a.m. ET, December 21, 2020

China aims to vaccinate 50 million people ahead of Lunar New Year

From CNN’s Beijing Bureau

A worker checks syringes of Sinovac Biotech's potential Covid-19 vaccine, CoronaVac, on the production line during a media tour on September 24 in Beijing, China.
A worker checks syringes of Sinovac Biotech's potential Covid-19 vaccine, CoronaVac, on the production line during a media tour on September 24 in Beijing, China. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

China aims to inoculate 50 million people with homegrown Covid-19 vaccines ahead of February’s Lunar New Year celebrations.

Tao Lina, a vaccination expert formerly with the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, confirmed the target to CNN on Monday after reviewing a transcript of a government conference call on December 15, where the mass vaccination rollout plan was discussed.

Tao added that implementation will depend on conditions on the ground.

“It is only a plan and whether the target can be reached depends on the actual situation,” he said.

Chinese authorities have said their first step will be to vaccinate essential workers such as medical and disease control professionals, customs and border inspection workers, and people in the food industry, according to health officials who attended a press conference Saturday on the country’s vaccination plan.

Since July, China has administered more than a million doses of domestically produced vaccines to people considered “high-risk” groups under an emergency use program. Officials say they have found no serious adverse reactions so far.

Currently, five vaccines developed by Chinese companies are going through the final phase of clinical trials in more than a dozen countries around the world.

12:49 a.m. ET, December 21, 2020

US scientists examine new UK coronavirus variant to see if it might be resistant to vaccine

From CNN Health's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen

Scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research expect to know in the next few days if there's a concern that the coronavirus vaccines might not work against a mutated variant of the virus that's rapidly spreading in parts of England, according to the institute's top vaccine researcher.

The Walter Reed scientists still expect the vaccine will be effective against this new variant, said Dr. Nelson Michael, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

On Thursday, the Walter Reed team started examining genetic sequences of the new UK variant posted online by British researchers.

They will do a computer analysis as a first step.

"The computer analysis will allow us to gauge how much concern we should have," Michael said. "Other teams around the world are doing this analysis, too."

If the computer analysis shows there's a concern, then studies would need to be done in the laboratory and in animals to more definitively determine if the vaccine will work on this variant.

Read more about the reaction to the variant here.

11:59 p.m. ET, December 20, 2020

Trump will sign a coronavirus relief bill

From CNN’s Jeremy Diamond

U.S. President Donald Trump departs the South Lawn of the White House on December 12.
U.S. President Donald Trump departs the South Lawn of the White House on December 12. Al Drago/Getty Images

US President Donald Trump will sign the coronavirus relief package once it reaches his desk, according to White House spokesman Ben Williamson.

“President Trump has pushed hard for months to send Americans badly needed financial relief. We look forward to Congress sending a bill to his desk imminently for signature,” Williamson said.

US Congressional leaders announced Sunday night that they had secured a deal for a sweeping $900 billion rescue package to deliver much-needed relief for small businesses, unemployed Americans and health care workers while bolstering vaccine distribution.

The announcement follows policy disputes and partisan finger-pointing between Democrats and Republicans that fueled uncertainty over whether lawmakers would manage to close out a deal or whether talks would collapse with lawmakers soon set to leave Washington for the holidays and the end of the 116th Congress in sight.

11:56 p.m. ET, December 20, 2020

Canada will ban all flights from the UK at midnight Sunday 

From CNN’s Paula Newton in Ottawa

Passengers wait to check-in their luggage at Montréal–Trudeau International Airport in Montreal, Canada on December 19.
Passengers wait to check-in their luggage at Montréal–Trudeau International Airport in Montreal, Canada on December 19. Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press/AP

Canada says it will ban most passenger travel from the United Kingdom beginning midnight Sunday.

That ban will last at least 72 hours. 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed the news in a tweet Sunday night local time, saying it was being done to protect Canadians across the country. 

In a statement, the Public Health Agency of Canada says that although more data on the Covid-19 variant is still needed, “the decision was made to suspend entry into Canada of all commercial and private passenger flights from the United Kingdom for 72 hours.” 

Trudeau convened a meeting of Canada’s cabinet level ‘Incident Response Group’ Sunday afternoon to discuss the new variant of Covid-19. The ministers of health, transport, public safety, and foreign affairs were all in attendance. 

What's happening in Canada: Canada has been dealing with a surge in daily cases and a troubling increase in hospitalizations and deaths. Canada’s Public Health Agency says this second wave is now worse than the first with cases and hospitalizations continuing to outpace the first wave’s peak. 

The province of Quebec said it would begin a lockdown Christmas Day after targeted lockdowns and restrictions failed to curb rising case counts. 

Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, is also considering a full lockdown after targeted closures failed to bring down infection rates in Toronto and its suburbs. 

Canada has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and started distribution a week ago. Public health officials say they will be begin distributing the Moderna vaccine as soon as it is approved. Health Canada, the national regulator, said it continues to review Moderna’s data and approval is expected within days. 

Canada has reported more than 511,000 coronavirus cases and more than 14,000 deaths.