This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for December 1st, 2020.

Health officials across America are assuming a disastrous surge from Thanksgiving gatherings. Los Angeles County imposed a stay-at-home order. Silicon Valley banned all sports and required quarantine of those who went anywhere over 150 miles outside the county. New Jersey is suspending all youth sports. In Hawaii, even travelers who’ve tested negative may be randomly selected for more testing on arrival.

The FDA said Moderna submitted its vaccine for emergency use authorization yesterday after completing its Phase 3 trial and finding the vaccine was 94.1% effective. In fact Moderna claims it was 100% effective at preventing severe cases.

Canada’s government has extended its restrictions on non-essential travel until early 2021. Visitors who aren’t Canadian citizens or permanent residents cannot enter the country if their reason for coming is deemed non-essential. The Canada-U.S. border will also remain closed to discretionary travel until at least December 21.

The pandemic takes its toll in many ways. In Japan, suicide claimed more lives just in October than Covid-19 has over the entire year to date. 2,153. This even though Japan never had a lockdown, and the impact was minimal compared to other countries. Which suggests other countries might see an even larger increase once suicides are reported, which Japan does in near real time.

It appears Covid-19 is what took the life of one of the most iconic villains of all time. The daughter of 85-year-old David Prowse, who played Darth Vader in the first Star Wars trilogy, said his death was from complications of Covid-19. She said, “It’s horrible Covid restrictions meant we didn’t get to see him and say goodbye.”

The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Powell, MT. Crowley, CO. Presidio, TX. Brewster, TX. Ellis, OK. Ellsworth, KS. Crockett, TX. Crawford, WI. Hudspeth, TX. And Rush, KS.

There are now 5,422,659 active cases in the United States. The current Top 10 states by number of active cases: California, Illinois, Florida, Arizona, Texas, Missouri, Michigan surpasses Virginia, then New York, and Maryland.  

The five states with the most daily new cases per capita over 7 days are Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota.

The reproduction rate is currently highest in Oregon, New Hampshire, Washington, Maine, and Kentucky. The states with the lowest reproduction rate are South Dakota, Iowa, North Dakota, Illinois, and Minnesota.

There’ve been a total 267,987 deaths in the US reported as COVID-related, with a current national fatality rate of 2.01%.

The states with the most new deaths reported as COVID-related: Illinois 103. Florida 99. Michigan 97. Texas 85. Washington 69. New York 65. Connecticut 59. California 58. Tennessee 48. And Pennsylvania 45.

Globally, there are now 18,130,797 active cases.

There are 490,233 new cases around the world in the last 24 hours against a high of 656,099 on November 12.

The five countries with the most new cases: the United States 161,568. Turkey 31,219. India 31,179. Russia 26,338. And Brazil 21,538.

There have now been 1,466,762 deaths reported as Covid-related worldwide. Up 15% over 14 days.  

For the latest updates, subscribe for free to Coronavirus 411 on your podcast app or ask your smart speaker to play the Coronavirus 411 podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.