COVID-19 updates: Anti-vaccine protesters halt vaccinations at Dodger Stadium
Demonstrators carrying anti-mask and anti-vaccine signs blocked the entrance.
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:
- Anti-vaccine protesters halt vaccinations at Dodger Stadium
- South African variant found in Maryland
- US surpasses 90,000 deaths in January
- Brazil variant detected in California
- 'We should be treating every infection as if it's a variant,' CDC director says
- COVID-19 vaccinations won't be required for Tokyo Olympics, organizers say
South Carolina confirms its 1st case of UK variant
An adult in South Carolina’s Lowcountry region has become the state’s first confirmed case of the United Kingdom COVID-19 variant, South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control said.
The person "has an international travel history," the department said.
The U.S. has confirmed at least 434 cases of the B.1.1.7 U.K. variant across 30 states, South Carolina officials said.
"Experts agree that existing vaccines work to protect us from this variant, even if we don’t know just how effective they are," the South Carolina officials said. "At this time, there’s no conclusive evidence to prove that the B.1.1.7 variant causes more severe illness."
ABC News’ Josh Hoyos contributed to this report.
Coachella, Stagecoach canceled
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts and Stagecoach Country Music festivals, set for April, were canceled on Friday by Dr. Cameron Kaiser, health officer for Riverside County, California.
Riverside County’s positivity rate stands at 20%. The county has 0% bed availability in its intensive care units.
US surpasses 90,000 deaths in January
January has been the deadliest month since the pandemic began, with 90,844 total deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The U.S. coronavirus death toll stands at 436,810 -- with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention projecting that more than 77,000 deaths could be reported by Feb. 20.
Brazil variant detected in California
California is now the second U.S. state with known detection of the Brazil P.1 variant.
Minnesota health officials confirmed earlier this week the nation's first known COVID-19 case associated with the variant.
Inside Stanford's Clinical Virology Laboratory, Dr. Benjamin Pinsky and his team found two strains of the virus: the Brazil strain and the U.K. strain, KGO reported Saturday morning.
"It's in about 17% of the samples that we've sequenced," Pinsky told KGO.
Israel bans almost all incoming flights for 1 week
A ban on almost all incoming flights went into effect in Israel on Monday.
The ban will last until Jan. 31, according to a joint statement from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Transport.
The measure applies to all incoming flights except for cargo planes, aerial firefighting and flights for emergency medical evacuation. There is also a "temporary restriction" on permits for operating Israeli airlines, according to the statement.
Meanwhile, people are now only allowed to fly out of Israel for medical treatment, judicial proceedings to which the person is a party or must participate in, or the funeral of a close relative. The measure also applies to private Israeli planes, according to the statement.
The Israeli government previously announced it is extending the country's lockdown to the end of the month amid a spike in COVID-19 infections, and that travelers are only allowed to board a flight to Israel on presentation of a negative COVID-19 test during the 72 hours preceding travel.