Coronavirus updates: Herd immunity by fall 'ambitious,' says surgeon general nominee

In 44 states, the seven-day average of new cases dropped over 10%.

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 98.7 million people worldwide and killed over 2.1 million of them, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.


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Biden administration won't lift travel restrictions for Europe, Brazil

Shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his administration would be lifting COVID-19 travel restrictions for the United Kingdom, Brazil and much of Europe, President-elect Joe Biden's team said that would not be the case.

Biden's incoming White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said the new administration doesn't intend to lift the travel restrictions next week.

"With the pandemic worsening, and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel," Psaki wrote on Twitter late Monday. "On the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions on 1/26. In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in order to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19."

Trump issued a proclamation earlier Monday night, announcing he will rescind entry bans imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic on most non-U.S. citizens arriving from Brazil, the United Kingdom and much of Europe.

The travel restrictions were put in place last year toward the beginning of the pandemic, following calls from health officials who urged the president to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The proclamation said the entry bans will be removed starting Jan. 26, the same day that all travelers must present a negative COVID-19 test or proof of recovery from the disease in order to enter the United States. Biden and his administration will be sworn in Wednesday.

"Public health officials in the jurisdictions have a proven record of working with the United States to share accurate and timely COVID-19 testing and trend data, and the United States has active collaborations with the jurisdictions regarding how to make travel safe between our respective countries," the proclamation states.

ABC News' Elizabeth Thomas contributed to this report.


LA Fire Department sees positivity rate plummet after most firefighters get vaccinated

The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) saw its COVID-19 testing positivity rate fall significantly after 75% of firefighters on the force received their first COVID-19 vaccine.

When the first vaccines were being rolled out in late December, weekly LACoFD positivity rates reached 18%, roughly equivalent to positivity rates in the county's general population. Today, after three-quarters of the force opted to get vaccinated, the LACoFD positivity rate has fallen to 5.6%.

"As expected, the vaccine began to have its impact seven to 10 days after the first vaccines were given," Dr. Clayton Kazan, the department's medical director, said in a statement. "This is the first time in the entire pandemic that our data diverged from that of the county," he added.

This week, firefighters will start receiving their second dose of the two-dose vaccine.

-ABC News' Matthew Fuhrman contributed to this report.


WHO director criticizes deals between rich countries, vaccine makers

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, took aim at rich countries hoarding the COVID-19 vaccine and the pharmaceutical companies profiting off of it, during a WHO executive board meeting Monday.

"It’s right that all governments want to prioritize vaccinating their own health workers and older people first,” Tedros said. "But it’s not right that younger, healthier adults in rich countries are vaccinated before health workers and older people in poorer countries."

Tedros pointed to one of the lowest income countries in the world, which he did not name. "Just 25 doses have been given," he said. "Not 25 million, not 25,000 -- just 25. I need to be blunt: The world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure."

The deals rich countries have made with vaccine producers are putting the effectiveness of COVAX, the WHO's global vaccine-sharing program, at risk by driving up prices, according to Tedros. "This could delay COVAX deliveries and create exactly the scenario COVAX was designed to avoid, with hoarding, a chaotic market, an uncoordinated response and continued social and economic disruption," he added.


Disneyland Paris postpones reopening, citing 'prevailing conditions in Europe'

Disneyland Paris, which was slated to reopen Feb. 13, will delay reopening until April 2, 2021, "due to the prevailing conditions in Europe," Disney said in a statement posted on Twitter Monday.

As of now, Disneyland Paris is taking reservations from April 2 onward. Those with existing bookings between Feb. 13 and April 1 should consult Disney's website. "Given the current context our plans continue to evolve," according to Disney.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.


Chicago Public Schools delays return for in-person teachers following union vote

Chicago Public Schools announced Sunday they will postpone the in-person start for kindergarten through eighth grade teachers after the Chicago Teachers Union announced voted over the weekend to continue remote work.

Teachers were scheduled to report to in-person learning on Monday, but that was pushed back to Wednesday, according to CPS. "While we agree with our labor partners on many aspects of a smooth expansion of in-person learning, our discussions are ongoing. To ensure we reach a resolution without a disruption to student learning, we’ve agreed to push back the return of K-8 teachers, staff to Wed, 1/27," CPS said in a statement.

Kindergarten through eighth grade are slated to return to in-person learning on Feb. 1. Pre-K and special education students have been going to in-person classes since the beginning of the month.

In a statement, the union said that there was concern among members regarding the rise in COVID-19 cases and the small number of students who have opted to return to in-person learning.

Chicago Public Schools said 37% of parents surveyed intend for their kids to return, according to ABC station WLS. The union noted that the number of eligible students who can currently return to in-person is also low.

"But the fact of the matter remains this: 19% of students have returned. The district doesn’t need anywhere near all of our membership to return to meet that need," CTU said in a statement.

Some parents who wished to have their children return to class in person took up their pleas directly to the union this weekend.

"Parents should not be vilified or bullied for needing a choice to return to in-person learning," Sarah Sachen told WLS.