Updates on CCP Virus: Massachusetts Case Total Passes 500,000

Updates on CCP Virus: Massachusetts Case Total Passes 500,000
Medics take a patient from an ambulance into the Royal London hospital in London on Jan. 19, 2021. (Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images)
2/1/2021
Updated:
2/2/2021
Massachusetts has passed 500,000 CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus cases for the pandemic.
The number of newly confirmed virus deaths in Massachusetts rose by 30 on Monday, pushing the state’s confirmed death toll to 14,317 since the start of the pandemic. The number of newly confirmed cases of infections increased by more than 2,200.

Majority of Residents in Shanghai District Refuse to Take China-Made Vaccine

A survey of residents in Shanghai, including people who are at “high risk” of contracting COVID-19, reveals that a low percentage of them are willing to take Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines, according to a set of internal documents obtained by The Epoch Times.
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3 Cases of UK Variant Confirmed in Iowa

Iowa health officials say testing has identified three cases in the state of the CCP virus variant first identified in the United Kingdom.
Although virus activity generally has slowed in Iowa from a peak in November, aggressive community spread is still occurring in many counties.

Nearly Half of Portugal’s Virus Deaths Were in January

Portugal reported close to half of all its COVID-19 deaths in January, highlighting a severe acceleration in cases that has prompted several European nations to offer help.
Hospitals across the nation of a little more than 10 million appear on the verge of collapse, with ambulances sometimes queuing for hours because of a lack of beds while some health units are struggling to find enough refrigerated space to preserve the bodies of the deceased.

Pandemic’s Deadliest Month in US Ends on More Positive Trajectory

The U.S. death toll has climbed past 440,000, with over 95,000 lives lost in January alone. Deaths are running at about 3,150 per day on average, down from a peak of 3,350 in mid-January.
But as the calendar turned to February on Monday, the number of Americans in the hospital with COVID-19 fell below 100,000 for the first time in two months. New cases of infection are averaging about 148,000 a day, falling from almost a quarter-million in mid-January. The number of infections are trending downward in all 50 states.

Britain Detects South African Variant in People With No Travel Links

Two people in southern England have tested positive for the South African variant of the CCP virus without having any links to people who have traveled recently, prompting “surge testing” to contain the outbreak.
Residents in parts of Surrey, to the southwest of London, will now be tested whether they are showing any symptoms or not, local authorities said. The government said in January it had detected cases of both the South African and Brazilian variants, however, they were all linked to travel.

WHO Team in Wuhan Visits Disease Control Centers

A World Health Organization team investigating the origins of the CCP virus pandemic visited two disease control centers on Monday that had an early hand in managing the outbreak in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
The WHO investigators arrived in Wuhan, the provincial capital, last month to look for clues and have visited hospitals and a seafood market where early cases were detected. China has sought to avoid blame for alleged missteps in its early response to the outbreak, while promoting alternative theories that the virus originated elsewhere and may even have been brought to Wuhan from outside the country.

Cuomo Must Resign If ‘Cover-Up’ of Nursing Home Deaths Proven: Stefanik

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) has called on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, to resign if a “criminal cover-up” of nursing home deaths is proven through a federal investigation.
In an interview with Fox News’ “Justice with Jeanine Pirro” on Saturday, the congresswoman said a federal investigation must be held into Cuomo’s administration, after a Jan. 28 report (pdf) from the state attorney general’s office revealed health officials underreported CCP virus-related nursing home deaths by as much as 50 percent in some places.

UK Must Keep up Restrictions to Lower Infection Rates: Johnson

British infection rates flattening and possibly beginning to fall, but they remain at a high level which means there can be no premature easing of COVID-19 restrictions, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday.
“We’re starting to see some signs of flattening, and maybe even a falling off infection rates and hospitalisations. But don’t forget that they’re still at a very high level,” Johnson told broadcasters.

Wuhan Residents Reflect on Lockdown Anniversary

Jan. 23 marks the first anniversary of the Wuhan lockdown due to the CCP virus outbreak. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Wuhan residents voiced their concerns and called on more people to reflect upon the unprecedented disaster and prevent it from recurring.
A local surnamed Hao told the Chinese-language Epoch Times that officials regard Jan. 23 as a sensitive date, and they have cautioned many residents against accepting interviews from foreign media outlets. He said they are attempting to cover up their botched handling of the CCP virus when it first broke out in Wuhan.

Questions Remain Over Canada’s Vaccination Drive

Canada’s national vaccine rollout seems poised to dominate COVID-19 discussions in the coming week as Canada enters the 11th month of life during a global pandemic.

The federal government, which is overseeing the nationwide effort, has been facing strong criticism as it struggles to ensure there are enough immunization doses to go around.

Isabel van Brugen, Frank Yue, The Associated Press, The Canadian Press, and Reuters contributed to this report.