Print article The Trump administration abruptly closed the Washington Monument over exposure concerns from a recent visit by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who tested positive this week for the coronavirus. Interior spokesman Nicholas Goodwin said Friday “a couple” of employees have quarantined since Bernhardt’s visit, “resulting in a temporary workforce reduction at the monument and its temporary closure.” The park service posted a brief notice of the closure on its website sometime Thursday. An official with an independent advocacy group for national parks and park workers on Friday criticized Bernhardt, saying the interior secretary had failed to protect health and safety overall during the pandemic .
AP News in Brief at 12:04 a.m. EST
by The Associated Press
Last Updated Dec 19, 2020 at 12:12 am EDT
US clears Moderna vaccine for COVID-19, 2nd shot in arsenal
WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. added a second COVID-19 vaccine to its arsenal Friday, boosting efforts to beat back an outbreak so dire that the nation is regularly recording more than 3,000 deaths a day.
Much-needed doses are set to arrive Monday after the Food and Drug Administration authorized an emergency rollout of the vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. and the National Institutes of Health.
The move marks the world’s first authorization for Moderna’s shots. The vaccine is very similar to one from Pfizer Inc. and Germany’s BioNTech that’s now being dispensed to millions of health care workers and nursing home residents as the biggest vaccination drive in U.S. history starts to ramp up.
December 19, 2020 - 8:04 PM
AP: Tight supplies for virus gear cost US states billions
Ray Bellia had a good business before the coronavirus pandemic. He topped $4 million in annual sales from his New Hampshire store that specialized in protective gear for police.
Then he got a call from a buyer with the state of Massachusetts asking if he had anything that could protect people from COVID-19. As it happened, he did. He went on to sell the state 300,000 disposable masks for 97 cents each.
âFrom that point on, itâs been just insanity,â Bellia said.
Masks. Gowns. Gloves. Goggles. Sanitizer. Coveralls. Thermometers. Bellia has sold it all, and not just to Massachusetts. From Maine to Hawaii, numerous other states, counties, cities, colleges and schools have lined up to buy from him.
Visit by COVID-infected official closes Washington Monument :: WRAL com wral.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wral.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Deb Haaland would be the first Native American cabinet secretary. Photograph: Juan Labreche/AP
WAV Comment: Big Wow ! – congratulations to President elect Joe Biden, Deb Haarland, and Michael Regan on the award of their new positions which will overturn all the environmental destruction caused by loser Trump over recent years. It is especially wonderful to see Deb Haarland; a Native American, to serve with such an important position in the cabinet; with her department’s jurisdiction covering tribal lands and vast tracts of protected American wilderness, including jewels such as Yellowstone and Yosemite national parks.
Mr. Regan will be a leading member of the new, expanded Biden team focusing on reversing Trump’s environmental rollbacks and address the climate crisis with a plan for bringing the US economy to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.