Immune To COVID? New Study Suggests Why

In terms of spreading the coronavirus, the Christmas holiday season could be worse than Thanksgiving, the country’s top infectious disease expert warned Monday.

Appearing on CNN, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said because the Christmas holiday is longer, “I think it could be even more of a challenge than what we saw with Thanksgiving."

“So I hope that people realize that and understand that, as difficult as this is, nobody wants to modify if not essentially shut down their holiday season, but we are in a very critical time in this country right now,” said Fauci, who has accepted President-elect Joe Biden's offer to remain in his position after the inauguration on Jan. 20.

He said cold weather, flu season and holiday celebrations have put the U.S. "in the difficult position we're in now."

More than 101,000 patients were hospitalized in the U.S. Sunday with the virus, CNN reported. It was the fifth consecutive day the country exceeded 100,000 hospitalizations. The U.S. has recorded more than 282,000 COVID-19 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Nearly 15 million infections of the new coronavirus have been confirmed. Worldwide, there have been more than 67 million infections and 1.5 million deaths.

Here are some of the latest developments in the pandemic.

United States

-Rudy Giuliani, 76, was admitted to Georgetown University Medical Center after testing positive for the coronavirus, the New York Times reported. President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday that Giuliani, his personal and campaign lawyer, had tested positive for COVID-19.

-California implemented new stay-at-home rules on Sunday as new coronavirus cases spike there. Officials divided the state into five regions. If a region's intensive care unit capacity drops below 15%, it must enact the stay-at-home rules, according to the Los Angeles Times. Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley implemented the order, as did five counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. Roughly 33 million of California's 39 million residents are under the stay-at-home orders. Under the rules, restaurants can't offer in-person dining. People from different households can't gather except for outdoor religious services and political demonstrations. Retail shops can remain open at 20% capacity, but hair and nail salons, playgrounds, zoos, museums, outdoor card rooms, aquariums, breweries and wineries must close.

-"It's really concerning to me that we still have people out there who don't understand how much spread is occurring by people who don't have symptoms, who think they're fine, and then we find out a week later that they've tested positive and they've exposed other people," U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said Monday on "Good Morning America." "My colleagues are dog tired and we need you to hang on just a little bit longer because we've got vaccines coming, but we want as many people to be alive to get them as possible. A lot of that is going to depend on your behavior."

-New York City Schools reopened to in-person learning Monday for preschool students and pupils in kindergarten through fifth grade whose parents chose a mix of in-school and remote learning, the Associated Press reported. The nation’s largest public school system shut down in-person learning last month. Middle and high school students will continue to have online classes at least until after the holiday break, Mayor Bill de Blasio has said.

-California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has been nominated to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by President-elect Biden, who also picked Dr. Rochelle Walensky, a Harvard infectious disease expert, to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AP reported. Biden also announced that Dr. Fauci will be the president’s chief medical adviser in addition to continuing as head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Worldwide

-Vaccinations are set to begin Tuesday in England, Wales and Scotland after the United Kingdom became the first Western nation to approve a COVID-19 vaccine, CNN reported. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will be used.

-Greece will keep schools, courts and restaurants closed through Jan. 7, and non-essential travel between Greece’s administrative regions will also be banned, AP reported.

-Denmark announced restrictions in 38 municipalities, including Copenhagen, Aarhus and Odense, that will close restaurants, bars, theaters and cinemas till the end of the year, according to the AP.

For the latest coronavirus information in your county and a full list of important resources to help you make the smartest decisions regarding the disease, check out our dedicated COVID-19 page.

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