Tag: Hancock

CDC quarantine time; Pfizer; US deaths; Michael Hancock

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A nurse fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in Nebraska sent an urgent message as positive cases passed 100,000 in her state.

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Federal government officials said the first 6.4 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine could be distributed to U.S. communities as early as December within 24 hours of approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

But the U.S. recorded its highest daily death toll since May on Tuesday, and experts warned that good vaccine news doesn’t mean Americans should let down their guard down over the holidays.

Several state restrictions go into effect Wednesday just hours before the Thanksgiving holiday, including a ban on alcohol sales at restaurants and bars in Pennsylvania. State health officials ordered restaurants and bars to not sell alcohol starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday until 8 a.m. Thursday in an effort to prevent social gatherings.

“It turns out the biggest day for drinking is the day before Thanksgiving,” Gov. Tom Wolf said at a news conference this week. “When people get together in that situation, it leads to the exchange of fluids that leads to the increase in infection.”

Overseas, British authorities relaxed restrictions on social gatherings to allow people to celebrate the Christmas holiday with friends and family. Officials in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland came up with a holiday plan to allow up to three households to create a “Christmas bubble” Dec. 23-27.

📈 Today’s numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 12.7 million cases and over 260,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: 60 million cases and 1.4 million deaths.

🗺️ Mapping coronavirus: Track the U.S. outbreak in your state.

📚What we’re reading: Here’s why this Harvard doctor is optimistic about US overcoming COVID-19 despite “epidemic of mistrust.”

This file will be updated throughout the day. For updates in your inbox, subscribe to The Daily Briefing newsletter.

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Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon tests positive for COVID-19

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon has tested positive for COVID-19, but has only minor symptoms and plans to continue working remotely, he said Wednesday.

The governor’s office at the Wyoming State Capitol was closed on Tuesday for a deep cleaning after another office employee tested positive for the respiratory virus. 

Less than two weeks ago, Gordon said Wyoming residents needed to be more responsible about preventing the spread of COVID-19, complaining at the time about some people who were being “knuckleheads.”

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock apologizes for holiday travel

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock has apologized for flying to visit family members in Mississippi even as he tweeted out advice to the city’s residents asking them to avoid traveling.

Hancock said his family canceled plans for a large gathering and instead he boarded the plane to visit his wife and daughter who have been staying in Mississippi. Hancock said he believed him traveling alone was lower risk than having both of them return home for the holiday.

“I recognize that my decision has disappointed many who believe

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Denver Mayor Michael Hancock urged residents not to travel for Thanksgiving just before flying to Mississippi

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Then, less than an hour later, Hancock boarded a flight on his way to Mississippi for Thanksgiving with his wife and daughter, his spokesman Mike Strott confirmed to The Washington Post.

The move left critics blasting Hancock for appearing to ignore his own advice at a time when the coronavirus continues to rise precipitously in Colorado.

“Our Mayor has abandoned his city during one of the most critical times we needed leadership the most,” tweeted Tay Anderson, a Denver Board of Education member.

Hours later, amid mounting blowback on social media and from local politicians, the mayor apologized.

“I made my decision as a husband and father, and for those who are angry and disappointed, I humbly ask you to forgive decisions that are borne of my heart and not my head,” he tweeted.

Hancock is the latest politician blasted this month for seeming to skirt the same restrictions that have curtailed life for millions of Americans during the worsening pandemic. Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) apologized after photos showed him at birthday party inside a high-end restaurant where no one at his table wore masks. And this week, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) canceled plans to host his 89-year-old mother and two daughters in Albany for Thanksgiving after critics noted that he had spent days pleading with New Yorkers to avoid family gatherings for the holidays.

Hancock, a three-term mayor elected in 2011 and a vice president of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors, has been an advocate for coronavirus restrictions. He has pushed residents to wear masks and last week warned that another stay-at-home order might be needed if cases keep rising in Colorado, which has seen covid-related hospitalizations rise in the past week by almost 13 percent.

He has also been vocal about limiting holiday get-togethers. At a virtual news conference on Friday, he suggested residents buy a small turkey and celebrate with their immediate family only. “Maybe next year we can all be together again,” he said. “I’m asking, I’m urging, I’m pleading with everyone. Please stay home.”

But just 30 minutes after tweeting his latest plea to avoid travel on Wednesday morning, Hancock boarded a flight, KUSA reported. Soon after, he was on his way to Houston for a layover before heading to Mississippi, where his daughter recently started a new job, he later tweeted.

After fierce backlash grew against his travels, Hancock offered a mea culpa and sought to explain his decision to fly despite his entreaties to avoid holiday travel, a suggestion echoed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“As the holiday approached, I decided it would be safer for me to travel to see them than to have two family members travel back to Denver,” he said in his statement. “I recognize that my decision has disappointed many who believe it would have been better to spend Thanksgiving alone. As a public official, whose conduct is rightly scrutinized for the message it sends to

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