Coronavirus updates: 84% of California population to go on lockdown Sunday night

More than 33 million people in the state will be affected by the lockdown.

Last Updated: December 7, 2020, 8:34 AM EST

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 66.4 million people and killed over 1.5 million worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news developed this week. All times Eastern.
Dec 02, 2020, 4:06 PM EST

Texas to get over 1.4 million vaccine doses in December

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the CDC is allocating over 1.4 million vaccine doses for the state for December.

Medical staffers gather for a briefing at a nursing station in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at the United Memorial Medical Center on Nov. 29, 2020, in Houston, Texas.
Go Nakamura/Getty Images, FILE

The doses are expected to arrive the week of Dec. 14, he said Wednesday.

"Additional allotments may be made later this month for December," Abbott said, and "increased allotments are expected in January and the following months."

Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said his state will receive 327,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine in mid-December.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday he expects the state to receive 170,000 doses of Pfizer's vaccine on Dec. 15 if all safety and efficacy approvals are granted. Cuomo said he expects additional doses of Pfizer's vaccine as well as initial allocations of Moderna's vaccine, if approved, later this month.

Dec 02, 2020, 4:06 PM EST

Obama says he'll 'absolutely' get vaccine if Fauci says it's safe

Former President Barack Obama said he will "absolutely" get the vaccine if Dr. Anthony Fauci says it's safe to take, and Obama said he may even have cameras present for the moment to demonstrate to the public that he trusts the science. 

Former President Barack Obama addresses Biden-Harris supporters during a drive-in rally in Philadelphia, Oct. 21, 2020.
Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images, FILE

"People like Anthony Fauci, who I know, and I've worked with, I trust completely. So if Anthony Fauci tells me this vaccine is safe, and can vaccinate, you know, immunize you from getting COVID, absolutely, I'm going to take it," Obama told SiriusXM host Joe Madison.

"I may end up taking it on TV or having it filmed, just so that people know that I trust this science, and what I don't trust is getting COVID," he continued. "I think at this point, particularly in the African American community, we are -- African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans -- we have the highest death rates from this thing, and are most exposed and most vulnerable, in part because we have a lot of preexisting conditions."

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson

Dec 02, 2020, 3:14 PM EST

Next 3 months 'most difficult time' in US health history: CDC director

CDC Director Robert Redfield said he believes December, January and February will "be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation."

“December and January and February are going to be rough times," Redfield said at a virtual Chamber of Commerce event. "Largely because of the stress that it’s going to put on our health care system."

Registered nurse Virginia Petersen works on a computer while assisting a COVID-19 patient at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in the Mission Hills section of Los Angeles, Nov. 19, 2020.
Jae C. Hong/AP, FILE

Redfield said he anticipates another 150,000 to 200,000 deaths by February. That would bring the COVID-19 death toll to at least 422,000 Americans.

Dec 02, 2020, 2:19 PM EST

2 arrested for flying after allegedly knowing they tested positive

Two residents of the Hawaii island of Kauai were arrested for flying home when they allegedly knew they had tested positive for COVID-19, said Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami.

They were arrested by Kauai police for "second-degree reckless endangering," Kawakami said.

Kauai has seen an "unprecedented surge" in cases, the mayor said. As of Tuesday, the island had 16 active cases, according to the Health Department.

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