LOS ANGELES — Hospitals struggling to provide enough oxygen for the sickest coronavirus patients in the Los Angeles area received some relief Saturday when U.S. Army Corps of Engineers crews arrived.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office says crews helped some aging hospitals update their oxygen delivery systems. Besides the shortage of oxygen, they’re also having difficulty keeping with demand for oxygen tanks for discharged patients to take home.

The southern half of the state has seen the worst effects, with hospitals swamped with patients and full intensive care units. Makeshift wards are set up in tents, arenas, classrooms and conference rooms.

California started the new year on Friday with a record 585 coronavirus deaths in a single day. The state Department of Public Health on Saturday reported more than 53,341 new confirmed cases, bringing the total to 2.3 million.

There’s been 26,357 total confirmed deaths in California, making it the third state to exceed 25,000 deaths, behind New York (38,000) and Texas (28,000), according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Arizona governor rejects call for online learning

PHOENIX — Arizona’s Gov. Doug Ducey has rejected the state’s top education official’s call for Ducey to order public schools to use only online instruction for the next two weeks unless they have waivers from health officials.

Amid a coronavirus surge in the state, Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman said Saturday that schools need a two-week “quarantine period” while educators and local officials review health data and decide what type of instruction is appropriate for their communities.

A spokesman for the governor said Ducey wouldn’t issue the order because how schools open is a local decision.

Arizona on Saturday reported nearly 8,900 additional known COVID-19 cases and 46 deaths.

Ducey, a Republican, and Hoffman, a Democrat, were aligned last spring when he ordered schools closed because of the coronavirus, but she voiced reservations later as he urged schools to provide in-person learning. Guidelines issued by Ducey’s administration during the fall let students remain in in-person classes beyond what earlier guidance would have recommended.

Many Arizona school districts in recent months have provided hybrid learning that includes both distanced and in-person instruction, while others either were already on remote learning or returning to it this month.

Many schools are set to resume classes in the coming week after the winter holidays.

New York tops 1 million total COVID-19 cases

NEW YORK — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the state has recorded more than 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.

New York reached that figure as it reported about 15,000 new positive tests on Friday. Experts say the official number of coronavirus cases represents a significant undercount, since many people in the New York City area were infected with the coronavirus last spring when testing was largely unavailable.

New York is the fourth state to report more than 1 million positive COVID-19 tests after California, Texas and Florida.

New York reported 128 COVID-19 deaths on Friday.

Southern California funeral homes run out of space as COVID-19 rages

LOS ANGELES — Southern California funeral homes are turning away bereaved families because they’re running out of space for the bodies.

The head of the California Funeral Directors Association says mortuaries are being “inundated.”

One funeral home is averaging 30 body removals a day, about five times more than usual. Mortuary owners are calling each other to see if anyone can handle overflow, and the answer is always the same – they’re full.

Los Angeles County, the epicenter of the crisis in California, has surpassed 10,000 COVID-19 deaths. On Friday, California reported a record 585 coronavirus deaths.

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U.K. registers more than 57,000 daily cases

LONDON — The U.K. has registered a record 57,725 daily coronavirus cases.

Government figures show the U.K. has recorded five straight daily highs — all above 50,000 and nearly double the levels of two weeks ago.

Also, hospitals in Britain have started receiving batches of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, approved by British regulators this week.

Some 530,000 doses of the vaccine will be available for rollout across the country from Monday. Nursing home residents and their caretakers, those over 80 and hospital staff are set to receive the first doses.

The Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, part of Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust in southern England, was among the first to get the vaccine. Dr. George Findlay, the trust’s chief medical officer, says the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is “much easier” to administer than the Pfizer-BioNTech, which needs storage at extremely cold temperatures.

Second doses of both vaccines will occur within 12 weeks rather than the 21 days initially planned, following a change in guidance that aims to increase the number of people who get the first vaccine. More than a million people in the U.K. have received their first shot of the Pfizer vaccine.

The government says 445 people have died in the 28 days after testing positive for the coronavirus. That takes the confirmed total to 74,570, the sixth-highest death toll in the world.

Doctor in Mexico has severe allergic reaction to vaccine

MEXICO CITY — A doctor in northern Mexico had a severe allergic reaction to the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine and remains hospitalized in intensive care Saturday.

The Health Department didn’t name the doctor, but in a statement said she was in stable condition and treated with steroids and anti-convulsion medications.

It said late Friday that she suffered difficulty breathing, brain inflammation and convulsions a half-hour after getting the shot.

The 32-year-old doctor had a known allergy to an antibiotic medication.

The reaction occurred at a hospital in the northern state of Nuevo Leon and included a rash and weakness.

Nevada health officials reach out in Spanish, other languages ahead of inoculations

LAS VEGAS — Community advocates and health officials are working to engage with Nevada’s diverse communities and reach out in Spanish and other languages as the state plans for mass COVID-19 vaccinations.

Erika Marquez, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas public health professor and vice chair of the Nevada Minority Health & Equity Coalition, says merely translating information about the vaccine into other languages is not enough and there must be a conversation with the communities.

The Las Vegas Sun reports Marquez’s group is working on vaccine education materials in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese and Thai.

The group plans to release short videos in a few weeks featuring community leaders and culturally relevant information for Black, Latino, Native American, Asian and Pacific Islander communities along with LGBTQ people and those who are deaf.

New daily cases hit record in North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina has reported its highest daily number of COVID-19 cases yet.

The state reported 9,527 confirmed cases on New Year’s Day. That went over the state’s previous high by more than 1,000 cases. It reported nearly as many on Saturday: 9,356 cases. Cases for both days were released by the state health department on Saturday.

“We begin 2021 in our most dangerous position in this pandemic,” Dr. Mandy Cohen, the state’s health secretary, said in a statement.

North Carolina has reported a total of more than 558,000 cases.

On Saturday, 15.5 percent of tests were positive, the highest rate since the start of the pandemic. In addition, a record 3,479 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 and 783 people were in the intensive care unit.

The state reported Saturday that there were 144 deaths over the last two days. That brings the total number of deaths from the virus in North Carolina to nearly 6,900.

Greece tightens lockdown for next week

ATHENS, Greece — Greece has tightened its lockdown for the next week, closing retail shops, hairdressers and bookshops.

The restrictions come as the government plans to open all schools, from kindergarten to universities, on Jan. 11.

Churches will remain closed and won’t celebrate the annual Epiphany holiday on Jan. 6, nor will priests conduct the traditional blessing of the waters. Also, the nightly curfew will start at 9 p.m. The new rules take effect Sunday and run until Jan. 11.

Greece announced 40 deaths and 262 new coronavirus infections on Saturday.

There have been 139,709 confirmed infections and 4,921 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Lawmakers mourn Virginia state senator who died from the virus

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia state Sen. Ben Chafin has died after contracting the coronavirus.

Lawmakers from around the state mourned Chafin’s death late Friday. The 60-year-old Republican state senator represented southwest Virginia and was from Russell County.

He was first elected to the House of Delegates in 2013 and then moved to the state Senate in 2014. Gov. Ralph Northam says Chafin “loved the outdoors, and he loved serving people even more.”

Chafin is the first Virginia lawmaker to die from the virus.

Vatican will administer vaccine beginning in mid-January

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican says it expects to start administering COVID-19 vaccinations in mid-January.

A statement on Saturday says vaccines, “enough to cover the needs of the Holy See and of Vatican City State.”

The brief statement didn’t say if 84-year-old Pope Francis would be getting the vaccine. But it specified priority would go to Vatican health and security workers, to the elderly and to “the personnel most frequently in contact with the public.” Some 450 people, including the Swiss Guards, reside in Vatican City, while many others work in its offices, museums and other facilities.

Vatican City has registered at least 27 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Some cases last fall included Swiss Guards, who generally attend events with the Pope.

India preparing to roll out inoculation program

NEW DELHI — India has tested its COVID-19 vaccine delivery system with a nationwide trial as it prepares to roll out an inoculation program to stem the coronavirus pandemic.

The exercise Saturday included data entry into an online platform for monitoring vaccine delivery, along with testing of cold storage and transportation arrangements for the vaccine.

The massive exercise came a day after a government-appointed panel of experts held a meeting to review the applications of potential vaccine candidates, including front-runner Covishield, developed by Oxford University and U.K.-based drugmaker AstraZeneca.

The government plans to inoculate 300 million people in the first phase of the vaccination program, which will include healthcare and front-line workers, police and military troops and those with underlying medical conditions over age 50.

India has confirmed more than 10.3 million coronavirus cases, second in the world to the U.S. More than 149,000 people have died in India, third behind the U.S. (347,000) and Brazil (195,000).

Japanese prefectures ask for state of emergency

TOKYO — Officials in Tokyo and three nearby prefectures have asked the national government to declare a state of emergency to curtail the surging spread of the coronavirus.

“In the name of valuing life, we made this plea together,” said Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike after meeting Saturday with the minister in charge of coronavirus measures, along with the governors of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa.

Japan has seen a recent rise in reported cases of the coronavirus, especially in urban areas. Tokyo had a daily record of 1,337 cases on New Year’s Eve.

There’s concern about hosting the Olympics in July, with 11,000 Olympic athletes set to enter Japan, as well as tens of thousands of officials and media.

“Corona knows no calendar,” says Koike. “Hospitals are getting packed, affecting medical care for all.”

Japan has never had a lockdown, attempting to juggle the need to keep the economy going with health risks. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has come under criticism over what some see as his mishandling of the pandemic. Japan has more than 3,500 confirmed deaths related to the coronavirus.

German travel CEO predicts “largely normal summer”

BERLIN — The CEO of Germany-based travel operator TUI is predicting a “largely normal summer” in 2021 as more and more people are vaccinated against the coronavirus.

TUI chief Fritz Joussen was quoted as telling Saturday’s edition of the daily Rheinische Post that the company’s market research shows “people have an enormous longing to be able to go on nice journeys again after the difficult corona period.”

He said that “we expect a largely normal summer.” However, he added that the company will only offer around 80% of the flights it did in pre-pandemic years “to achieve optimal occupancy.”

Resurgent coronavirus infections in the fall and winter have prompted national and regional restrictions on travel and hotel stays, along with quarantine requirements, largely shutting down tourism in Europe after something of a revival last summer.

Vaccinations started in Europe last month but will take some time to have a significant impact on the situation.

South Korea extends stringent distancing rules

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea is extending stringent distancing rules for two more weeks as authorities seek to suppress a viral resurgence, while confirming its first case of an apparently more contagious coronavirus variant detected in South Africa.

Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said Saturday the second highest level of distancing rules will remain in place for the Seoul region until Jan. 17. He says the third highest level of restrictions will stay in other areas until then.

The curbs include bans on social gatherings of more than five people and in-person religious services. The government will require foreigners entering South Korea to submit negative virus test results starting Jan. 8.

 Calls grow to keep British schools closed

LONDON — The British government is facing growing calls to keep all schools in England closed for at least two weeks as a result of surging coronavirus cases following another sudden reversal of policy.

The call from the National Education Union, which represents over 450,000 members working in schools, came after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson changed tack and said all schools for younger pupils in London should remain shut next week as the capital battles with high levels of infections.

Mary Bousted, the union’s joint head, said the decision was “entirely necessary” but slammed the government for originally planning to allow some schools to reopen in areas where new infections were running high.

The U.K. is in the midst of a sharp spike in new coronavirus cases that many have blamed on a new virus variant that is said to be up to 70% more infectious.

California reports 585 deaths in 24 hours

LOS ANGELES — California started the new year by reporting a record 585 coronavirus deaths in a single day.

The state Department of Public Health said Friday there were more than than 47,000 new confirmed cases reported, bringing the total to more than 2.29 million.

Hospitals in the state ended the year on “the brink of catastrophe,” a health official said as the pandemic pushed deaths and sickness to staggering levels and some medical centers scrambled to provide oxygen for the critically ill.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Friday that California would begin collaborating with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate and upgrade outdated oxygen delivery systems at six Los Angeles area hospitals.

The collaboration comes as older hospitals are having difficulty maintaining oxygen pressure in aging infrastructure and some were scrambling to locate additional oxygen tanks for discharged patients to take home.

California this week became the third state to exceed 25,000 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Texas hits new high for patients hospitalized

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas hit a new record high for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 for the fifth consecutive day Friday, in a continued surge of the disease caused by the coronavirus following holiday gatherings and travel.

Texas reported 12,481 COVID-19 patients in state hospitals on New Year’s Day, an increase of more than 1,750 from a week ago.

State health officials on Friday reported 12,369 new, confirmed cases of the virus and another 3,658 probable cases.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, intensive care units in several parts of Texas were full or nearly full.

The grim count has continued to climb as some Texans gathered to celebrate the new year, despite warnings from health officials that congregation is likely to further spread the virus.

Nevada reports 21 more deaths

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Nevada on Friday reported 2,315 additional known COVID-19 cases along with 21 more deaths from the coronavirus.

The state’s totals since the pandemic began increased to 227,046 cases and 3,146 deaths.

Seven-day rolling averages of daily new cases and daily deaths in Nevada dropped over the past two weeks. That’s according to data from Johns Hopkins University and The COVID Tracking Project.

The number of infections is thought to be far higher than reported because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.

Authorities warm British hospitals could be overwhelmed

LONDON — British medical authorities are warning that hospitals around the country face a perilous few weeks amid surging new coronavirus infections blamed on a new virus variant.

Concerns are mounting about the ability of the already stretched National Health Service to handle the anticipated increase in the number of people seeking treatment for COVID-19.

Field hospitals that were constructed in the early days of the pandemic but that were subsequently mothballed are being reactivated.

The Royal College of Nursing’s England director says the U.K. is in the “eye of the storm.”

Over 55,280 new infections and another 613 deaths were recorded Friday, putting the U.K. on track to once again overtake Italy as Europe’s worst-hit country in the pandemic.

The spike in new cases is said to be due to a new, more contagious variant of the virus first identified around London and the southeast of England.

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