CORONAIVURS

The Orlando Magic will likely be short-handed when they play the Miami Heat.

On this year’s Black Friday, things almost seem normal.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has berated top officials for failures in coronavirus prevention that caused a “great crisis."

The United States and Britain are stepping up calls for the World Health Organization to take a deeper look into the possible origins of COVID-19, including a new visit to China where the first human infections were detected.

Cruising could restart in mid-summer in American waters.

President Joe Biden spent his first 100 days in office encouraging Americans to mask up and stay home to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Mask use would be dropped from dugouts and bullpens, and electronic tracing devices would be eliminated when 85% of major league players and primary field staff are vaccinated against the coronavirus. AdNot many players have been vaccinated, according to MLB, but it expects the pace to increase after teams return to their home cities from spring training. Once the 85% threshold is reached, fully vaccinated players and staff would be able to eat and drink on flights. AdFully vaccinated people who have close contact with someone with COVID-19 would not have to quarantine unless they exhibit symptoms. Vaccinated players and staff would have the option to reduce PCR saliva testing to twice weekly, similar to Tier 2 staff, such as front office and clubhouse employees, owners and groundskeepers.

Steele has been helping residents make appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations. Steele, also a resident of the park, comes to work early and on her days off in order to help. The couple was so impressed with Steele’s success and dedication to the Nova Campground residents that they nominated her for the News 6 Getting Results Award. “People in the campground, anyone that needs one, she’s gotten it for us,” Richard Griffing said. “She has a very good heart and soul.”Steele said she’s still being asked to help and she enjoys doing it.

People walk along Paseo Castellana covered with the snow in Madrid, Spain, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. The blizzard dumped over 50 centimeters (20 inches) of snow in some areas and a cold front was turning mounds of fluffy white into sheets of ice and crusted drifts. After delays over New Year's, health authorities in Spain were hoping to speed up vaccination nationwide this week. Just over 50% of the nearly 750,000 doses received by Spain had been given out by Monday, according to the Health Ministry. Health care workers got vaccine shots in Madrid on Monday despite the massive snow cleanup.

TORONTO, ONT – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that Canada has contracted to receive up to 168,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine before the end of December, pending approval by the country’s health regulator. Trudeau said deliveries could begin within 48 hours of regulatory approval and health officials said they expect to approve use of the Moderna vaccine soon. Canadians began receiving vaccine shots developed by Pfizer and BioNTech on Monday and Trudeau said Canada expects to receive about 200,000 doses from Pfizer next week. The Moderna vaccine was more than 94% effective overall at preventing COVID-19 illness, and 86% effective in people 65 and older. Trudeau noted the Moderna vaccine does not need some of the extra special handling requirements of the one from Pfizer, including ultra cold freezers.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the best way to stay safe and protect others is to stay home. The agency also announced new guidelines that shorten recommended quarantines after close contact with someone infected with coronavirus. “The safest thing to do is to postpone holiday travel and stay home," said Dr. Cindy Friedman, another CDC official. The agency also recommended travelers reduce non-essential activities for a full week after they return or for 10 days if not tested afterward. The change is based on extensive modeling by CDC and others, said the agency's Dr. John Brooks..___Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner at @LindseyTanner.

Orange County parents received an email, text and voicemail before classes resumed Monday, reminding them of the CDC guidelines. During the Thanksgiving break, Orange County Public Schools urged parents to report positive cases to the district. The entire school pivoted to LaunchEd on November 17 after several positive cases resulted in hundreds of quarantines. A deep cleaning was conducted at Horizon West and all Orange County schools while students were on break. The Orange County school district also said the state health department continued contract tracing for positive cases over the break and issued quarantine letters.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida health officials on Sunday reported 6,586 new COVID-19 cases, along with 61 more resident deaths. Last week in Florida, there were 56,732 new COVID-19 cases. Below is information provided by the Florida Department of Health for Sunday, Nov. 22. CasesThe Florida Department of Health reported 6,586 new cases on Sunday, bringing the state’s overall total to 938,414 cases since March. As of Sunday’s coronavirus report, a total of 18,214 deaths across the state have been related to the coronavirus, a number that includes 223 non-resident deaths in Florida.

LONDON – Drugmaker AstraZeneca said Monday that late-stage trials showed its COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective, buoying the prospects of a relatively cheap, easy-to-store product that may become the vaccine of choice for the developing world. While the AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored at 2 degrees to 8 degrees Celsius (36 degrees to 46 degrees Fahrenheit), the Pfizer and Moderna products must be stored at freezer temperatures. The AstraZeneca vaccine is also cheaper. The AstraZeneca trials were paused earlier this year after a participant in the U.K. study reported a rare neurological illness. “This vaccine’s efficacy and safety confirm that it will be highly effective against COVID-19 and will have an immediate impact on this public health emergency,’’ Soriot said.

On Friday the White House increased its offer to $1.8 trillion, up from $1.6 trillion, according to a Republican aide familiar with the plan. If the Democrats sweep the White House, Senate and House of Representatives, the thinking is that they’ll likely approve stimulus for the economy. That could help offset the higher tax rates and tighter regulations on businesses that investors also expect from a Democratic-controlled Washington. Airline stocks climbed at the start of trading, only to drop quickly and then rise again. European markets rose, while Asian indexes ended mixed.

A group protests the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus in the White House, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, outside the White House in Washington. The White House, meanwhile, continued to decline to share when Trump last tested negative for the virus — which would help pinpoint when he was infected. Aides were discussing a potential photo opportunity with the president at the White House either Thursday or Friday but plans had not been finalized, according to two White House officials not authorized to publicly discuss internal deliberations. On Thursday, Trump continued to credit an experimental drug for the seemingly quick pace of his recovery. Trump received an experimental antibody drug made by Regeneron through a “compassionate use” exemption, a recognition of the above-and-beyond standard of care he receives as president.

LONDON – British scientists are beginning a small study comparing how two experimental coronavirus vaccines might work when they are inhaled by people instead of being injected. Larger studies of the Imperial and Oxford vaccine are already under way, but this study aims to see if the vaccines might be more effective if they are inhaled. Previous studies have shown vaccines delivered by inhalation require lower doses than by injection, which might help stretch limited supplies. The Imperial vaccine uses synthetic strands of genetic code based on the virus. Last week, Oxford temporarily paused its large-scale vaccination tests after one participant in the U.K. reported severe neurological symptoms; it was restarted on Sunday.

LONDON – Oxford University says trials of a coronavirus vaccine that it is developing with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca will resume, days after being paused due to a reported side-effect in a patient in the U.K. The study had been previously stopped in July for several days after a participant who got the vaccine developed neurological symptoms; it turned out to be an undiagnosed case of multiple sclerosis that was unrelated to the vaccine. Late last month, AstraZeneca began recruiting 30,000 people in the U.S. for its largest study of the vaccine. It also is testing the vaccine in thousands of people in Britain, and in smaller studies in Brazil and South Africa. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist, said the U.N. health agency wasn’t overly concerned by the pause in the Oxford and AstraZeneca vaccine trial, describing it as “a wake-up call” to the global community about the inevitable ups and downs of medical research.