Coronavirus live updates: California orders thousands of body bags as Moderna vaccine nears…
Tags: Updates, Coronavirus, News

The United States could have two coronavirus vaccines by the time the week is over: Moderna’s vaccine was found “highly effective” in a detailed review by Food and Drug Administration scientists and appears to be on track for approval by regulators.

But a grueling battle is still ahead, as states continue to grapple with a high level of hospitalizations. California is ordering thousands of body bags as it undergoes “perhaps the most intense and urgent moment since the beginning of this pandemic,” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said Tuesday.

Here are some significant developments:

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has gone into quarantine after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus, a State Department spokesman said Wednesday. That might explain why so many people were no-shows at his holiday party.

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The FDA has authorized the first rapid coronavirus test that can be taken at home without a prescription and yields immediate results. Another rapid home-test kit was approved last month, but it required a prescription from a doctor.

Nearly 16.7 million coronavirus cases and 303,000 fatalities have been reported in the United States since February.

Residents of the Philippines are now required to wear a face shield in addition to a mask when outside their homes.

People in Britain should look to the rise of infections in the United States after Thanksgiving as an example of what not to do over Christmas, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said in a Wednesday interview with Sky News.

Sign up for our coronavirus newsletter | Mapping the spread of the coronavirus: Across the U.S. | Worldwide | Vaccine tracker | Has someone close to you died of covid-19? Share your story with The Washington Post.

11:40 p.m.

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White House testing czar notes that Va. congressman-elect’s ‘phony pandemic’ claim is false

By Teddy Amenabar and Meagan Flynn

Adm. Brett Giroir, the White House’s coronavirus testing czar, emphatically rejected on Wednesday a newly elected Virginia congressman’s claim that the virus outbreak is “a phony pandemic.”

“Of course it’s a pandemic,” Giroir said on CNN. “We have hundreds of thousands of dead Americans. … This is not phony, this is not fake. It is serious.” He was reacting to a comment by Rep.-elect Bob Good (R-Va.), who stood on a stage Saturday before a crowd of Trump supporters and said the virus is “not a pandemic.”

Thousands marched in Washington on Saturday to protest President Trump’s loss in the presidential election. Good was one of more than a dozen speakers at Freedom Plaza.

“It’s a serious virus, but it’s a virus. It’s not a pandemic,” said Good, who will become Virginia’s newest congressman, representing the 5th Congressional District, on Jan. 3. “It’s great to see your faces. You get it. You stand up against tyranny.”

Good’s denial of the existence of a pandemic flies in the face of an unprecedented surge in coronavirus infections which has claimed the lives of more than 300,000 Americans — including more than 300 in Good’s congressional district, according to a Washington Post analysis of coronavirus data.

“I will be happy to supply him technical assistance,” Giroir said.

United launches effort focused on improving contact tracing

By Lori Aratani

A man arrives with his luggage at a nearly deserted United Airlines check-in counter at Los Angeles International Airport in March. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images)

United Airlines said it will begin asking domestic and international travelers this month to provide key contact information to aid the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s contact tracing efforts.

“We all want to do our part to get the virus under control,” said Steve Morrissey, United’s vice president of regulatory and policy. “With the vaccine on the horizon, this is another step we can take to get the virus under control sooner than later.”

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10:14 p.m.

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Retail sales slump as consumers stay home for the holidays

By Taylor Telford

U.S. retail sales slumped 1.1 percent in November, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday, as the pandemic kept consumers home across the country during the kickoff to holiday shopping season.

Analysts had forecast a decline as skyrocketing coronavirus infections in November sparked the renewal of business restrictions in some places. But this pullback is worse than expected, reflecting the tough economic reality for many as the pandemic rages on.

The figures paint a picture of “the hard-hit consumer,” according to Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E-Trade. About a third of Americans don’t feel financially prepared to ride out the economic effects of the pandemic, according to a quarterly market-perceptions study by Allianz Life Insurance.

“Sustained spending remains key for the recovery,” Loewengart said Wednesday in comments emailed to The Post. “This pullback only underscores the critical need for stimulus for consumers and businesses alike.”

Spending at malls and shops fell in November, creating a muted start to the holiday shopping season. Spending on clothing fell 6.8 percent, while restaurants declined 4 percent. Grocery sales climbed 1.9 percent as families stayed home and cooked together. Roughly 186 million shoppers purchased something online or in-store from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, down from 190 million a year ago, according to the National Retail Federation. Shoppers spent an average of $312, a 14 percent drop from $362 in 2019.

“Consumers are two-thirds of the economy,” Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG Union Bank, said in comments emailed to The Post. “If they aren’t spending, there won’t be enough growth to create the new employment opportunities that will put the millions and millions of unemployed back to work.”

RELATEDStealing to survive: More Americans are shoplifting food as aid runs out during the pandemic

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9:31 p.m.

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Pompeo in quarantine after coronavirus exposure

By John Hudson

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has gone into quarantine after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus, a State Department spokesman said Wednesday.

After the contact was discovered, Pompeo tested negative for the coronavirus, but the spokesperson said “he is being closely monitored by the department’s medical team” in case his status changes.

Pompeo’s exposure to a person who tested positive for the coronavirus may explain why he canceled a speech at a poorly attended holiday party he hosted Tuesday. The department did not explain his decision to miss the indoor reception, which public health officials and U.S. lawmakers had urged him to cancel because of concerns that it could become a super spreader event.

The department declined to identify where Pompeo’s covid exposure happened, citing privacy concerns. For the past week, Pompeo and his top aides have been hosting several holiday parties at the State Department and President Trump’s guesthouse known as Blair House.

RELATEDHundreds of invitees skip Mike Pompeo’s indoor holiday party at State Department

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8:46 p.m.

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First rapid, over-the-counter home coronavirus test gets FDA authorization

By William Wan

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized the first rapid coronavirus test that can be taken at home without a prescription and that yields immediate results.

The test could be a vital tool in the country’s fight against the virus — especially in the months before most Americans are vaccinated. Unlike previous home tests, this version does not require samples to be sent to a lab and can be taken without a doctor’s order by anyone older than 2.

The test, developed by Australian company Ellume, is just one of several positive developments for coronavirus testing.

After months of failures, long lines and continued shortages, the country’s testing capacity is finally expected to increase rapidly in the coming two to three months, reaching many times its current levels, experts said. That reflects new technologies coming online and long-standing investments to ramp up production that are coming to fruition.

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RELATEDHow the ‘deep state’ scientists vilified by Trump helped him deliver an unprecedented achievement

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8:15 p.m.

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Hundreds of invitees skip Pompeo’s indoor holiday party

By John Hudson

Only a tiny fraction of the more than 900 guests invited to an indoor holiday party hosted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife Susan showed up on Tuesday following an outcry from public health officials and U.S. lawmakers warning that the reception bore all the hallmarks of a superspreader event, said two U.S. officials familiar with the event.

Pompeo, whose name was on the invitation and who was scheduled to speak at the event, canceled his speech and tapped a substitute speaker, said the two officials. The event was dedicated to the family members of diplomats serving overseas in dangerous postings that require them to leave their spouses and children behind, such as in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The State Department did not respond to questions about why Pompeo canceled the speech and whether it was due to his own health concerns about holding a large indoor event.