COVID-19 updates: Elizabeth Warren tests positive

The senator says she's experiencing "mild symptoms."

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 806,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 61.4% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


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South Africa's president tests positive for COVID-19

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is receiving treatment for "mild COVID-19 symptoms" after testing positive for the virus on Sunday, his office said in a statement.

Ramaphosa, 69, began feeling unwell earlier Sunday after leaving a state memorial service in Cape Town in honor of Frederik Willem de Klerk, South Africa's last apartheid president and a Nobel laureate, who died last month. Ramaphosa, who is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, was experiencing "mild" symptoms and a test confirmed he was infected, according to his office. The statement didn't say whether he has the omicron variant, which was discovered by scientists in southern Africa last month and is spreading rapidly.

Ramaphosa is self-isolating in Cape Town and is being monitored by the South African Military Health Service. He has delegated all his responsibilities to Deputy President David Mabuza for the next week, his office said.

Last week, Ramaphosa traveled with a delegation to four West African nations. He and the members of the South African delegation were all tested for COVID-19 in each of the countries during their trip. They returned to South Africa on Dec. 8, after testing negative in Senegal. Ramaphosa tested negative again upon arriving in Johannesburg that day, according to his office.

The statement advised people who had contact with the South African president on Sunday to watch for symptoms or to get tested for COVID-19.

"President Ramaphosa says his own infection serves as a caution to all people in the country to be vaccinated and remain vigilant against exposure," his office said in the statement. "Vaccination remains the best protection against severe illness and hospitalization."

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou


Journalist traveling with Blinken tests positive for COVID-19 in Malaysia

A journalist traveling alongside U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on his visit to Southeast Asia has tested positive for COVID-19 in Malaysia, according to U.S. Department of State spokesperson Ned Price.

Meanwhile, Blinken and his senior staff all tested negative for COVID-19 upon arrival in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday night. The member of the traveling press pool who tested positive had last tested negative in Indonesia's capital, their previous stop, on Tuesday.

"The individual who tested positive will remain in isolation," Price said in a statement Wednesday, "and we will continue to adhere to and go beyond CDC guidance, including with our rigorous testing protocol, for the remaining traveling party."

Blinken has canceled a scheduled trip to Thailand "out of an abundance of caution" and will return home to the United States, according to Price.

"The Secretary expressed his deep regret to the Foreign Minister that he would not be able to visit Bangkok this week," Price said. "He explained that, in order to mitigate the risk of the spread of COVID-19 and to prioritize the health and safety of the U.S. traveling party and those they would otherwise come into contact with, the Secretary would be returning to Washington, D.C. out of an abundance of caution."

"The Secretary extended an invitation for the Foreign Minister to visit Washington, D.C. at the earliest opportunity and noted that he looked forward to traveling to Thailand as soon as possible," Price added. "They affirmed that they would use the upcoming engagements to further deepen the U.S.-Thai alliance."

The U.S. Embassy in Malaysia confirmed that the infected individual "was not involved and has not participated in any of Secretary Blinken's program in Kuala Lumpur."

"The sole member of the traveling party who tested positive is observing all requirements of the Ministry of Health," the embassy said in a statement Wednesday. "We confirm all other members of the party tested negative for COVID-19 upon arrival in Malaysia."

Blinken was in Indonesia on Tuesday, and the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta confirmed that no members of the traveling party tested positive for COVID-19.

All members of the U.S. delegation are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and undergo regular testing on trips.

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan