COVID-19 updates: Anti-vaccine protesters halt vaccinations at Dodger Stadium

Demonstrators carrying anti-mask and anti-vaccine signs blocked the entrance.

ByMorgan Winsor, Erin Schumaker, Emily Shapiro, Ivan Pereira, Meredith Deliso, and Julia Jacobo
Last Updated: February 2, 2021, 7:02 AM EST

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 102.5 million people worldwide and killed over 2.2 million of them, 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 is developing today. All times Eastern.
Jan 30, 2021, 3:15 PM EST

Pentagon ‘pausing’ plan to vaccinate Guantanamo Bay detainees

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs John Kirby tweeted that the Pentagon is "pausing" the plan to move forward with vaccinations for detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

"We’re pausing the plan to move forward, as we review force protection protocols," Kirby said. "We remain committed to our obligations to keep our troops safe."

No detainees have been vaccinated yet, he said.

ABC News’ Molly Nagle contributed to this report.

Jan 30, 2021, 2:26 PM EST

California surpasses 40,000 deaths

Hard-hit California has surpassed 40,000 deaths from COVID-19, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.

At least 40,216 people in the Golden State have lost their lives, which equals about 1 in every 1,000 Californians.

Transporters prepare to move a body of a COVID-19 victim to a morgue at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in the Mission Hills section of Los Angeles, Jan. 9, 2021.
Jae C. Hong/AP, FILE

ABC News’ Matt Fuhrman contributed to this report.

Jan 30, 2021, 2:12 PM EST

Nashville's Music City Center opens as mass vaccination site

Nashville's Music City Center opened Saturday as a mass vaccination site.

Those 75 and older who already have an appointment booked can get vaccinated at the concert venue, according to ABC Nashville affiliate WKRN.

Music City Center stands in Nashville, Tenn., July 16, 2017.
Loop Images via Getty Images, FILE

"We think that we’ll be able to do up to 1,000 first doses here and up to 1,000 second doses here a day, once we receive enough vaccine for that,” Metro Nashville Health Department Interim Medical Director Gill Wright told WKRN.

Jan 30, 2021, 12:43 PM EST

South African variant found in Maryland

One case of the South African B.1.351 variant has been confirmed in the Baltimore metro region, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said.

"The individual has not traveled internationally, making community transmission likely," Hogan’s office said. "Comprehensive contact tracing efforts are underway to ensure that potential contacts are quickly identified, quarantined, and tested.

"The B.1.351 variant has not been shown to cause more severe illness or increased risk of death when compared to other variants. The variant is believed to be more transmissible than other strains," Hogan’s office said. "Additional research is still required to determine the effectiveness of available vaccines against the B.1.351 variant. However, initial evidence suggests that vaccines are still likely to be protective against the variant."

The United States’ first cases of the South African variant were confirmed this week in two people in South Carolina.

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