COVID updates: Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin tests positive

He said he has mild symptoms and will be quarantining for five days.

COVID updates: Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin tests positive
Alex Brandon/AP
ByMary Kekatos, Ivan Pereira, Emily Shapiro, Kiara Alfonseca, and Meredith Deliso
Last Updated: January 3, 2022, 12:42 AM EST

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 825,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 62% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Dec 29, 2021, 10:58 AM EST

Vaccine mandate for domestic air travel not being considered now: CDC

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told NPR that a vaccine mandate for domestic air travel is not currently under consideration.

Travelers pass through Salt Lake City International Airport, Dec. 27, 2021, in Salt Lake City.
Rick Bowmer/AP

"Domestic flights has been a topic of conversation, but that is not something we're revisiting right now," Walensky said Tuesday.

This comes after Dr. Anthony Fauci told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Monday that a vaccine requirement for domestic air travel should be "seriously" considered.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Dec 29, 2021, 9:39 AM EST

France sets new daily case record

France recorded more than 208,000 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, setting a new daily case record, Health Minister Olivier Véran said.

By that tally, "every second, two French people" have tested positive, Véran said.

Radiographer Coralie Gil prepares to enter the room of a COVID-19 patient in the COVID-19 continued care unit at the la Timone hospital in Marseille, southern France, Dec. 24, 2021.
Daniel Cole/AP

-ABC News' Ibtissem Guenfoud

Dec 29, 2021, 8:57 AM EST

'Nutcracker' performances canceled in NYC

The New York City Ballet has canceled the rest of its performances of "The Nutcracker" due to COVID-19 cases, ABC New York station WABC reported.

"The Nutcracker" was set to run through Sunday.

Dec 29, 2021, 8:39 AM EST

Why CDC doesn't require testing at end of isolation: Director

The newly updated CDC guidelines don't require testing at the end of isolation because PCR tests can stay positive for up to 12 weeks, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told "Good Morning America" Wednesday.

"So we would have people in isolation for a very long time if we were relying on PCRs," Walensky said.

Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky appears on "Good Morning America," Dec. 29, 2021.
ABC News

Walensky also addressed Tuesday's news from the FDA that, according to early data, rapid antigen tests may be less sensitive when it comes to the omicron variant.

"We do know that the most sensitive test you can do is a PCR test," Walensky said. "So if you have symptoms and you have a negative antigen test, we do ask you to go and get a PCR to make sure those symptoms are not attributable to COVID."

Walensky said rapid tests do work "quite well," especially in places where people are being tested regularly, like at schools. 

"They may not work as well as they have for the delta variant," Walensky said, but "we still are encouraging their use."

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