INDIANAPOLIS — Wednesday's latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.
ISDH update
The state is reporting 6,214 new cases of COVID-19 and 80 additional deaths.
Indianapolis Home Show postponed
The 99th Annual Indianapolis Home Show was changed to April 23 - May 2. It had been set for this month at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and Events Center.
The reason for the change is public gathering restrictions due to the pandemic.
The show will be held Friday, April 23 through Sunday, May 2, 2021. Show hours will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. all other days. For more information, click here.
Marketplace Events also produces the Indiana Flower + Patio Show, which is still, at this time, scheduled to take place March 13-21, 2021.
Richmond mayor announces positive COVID diagnosis
Richmond Mayor Dave Snow has announced he has tested positive for COVID-19.
Snow tweeted the announcement Tuesday afternoon and said he plans to continue working virtually.
"The pandemic has touched so many people & I'm grateful that my symptoms are manageable. Please take care of each other and stay healthy," said Snow in the tweet.
Richmond is roughly 70 miles east of Indianapolis.
EU agency approves Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine
The European Union’s medicines agency gave the green light Wednesday to Moderna Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine, a decision that gives the 27-nation bloc a second vaccine to use in the desperate battle to tame the virus rampaging across the continent.
The approval recommendation by the European Medicines Agency’s human medicines committee — which must be rubber stamped by the EU’s executive commission — comes amid high rates of infections in many EU countries and strong criticism of the slow pace of vaccinations across the region of some 450 million people.
The EMA has already approved a coronavirus vaccine made by American drugmaker Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech. Both vaccines require giving people two shots.
Latest US, world numbers
There have been more than 21.05 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States. as of 3:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 357,000 deaths in the U.S.
Worldwide, there have been more than 86.46 million confirmed cases with more than 1.86 million deaths and 48.51 million recoveries.
The real number of people infected by the virus around the world is believed to be much higher — perhaps 10 times higher in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — given testing limitations and the many mild cases that have gone unreported or unrecognized.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness like pneumonia, or death.
Fauci: US could soon give 1 million vaccinations a day
The U.S. could soon be giving at least a million COVID-19 vaccinations a day despite the sluggish start, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday, even as he warned of a dangerous next few weeks as the coronavirus surges.
The slow pace is frustrating health officials and a desperate public alike, with only about a third of the first supplies shipped to states used as of Tuesday morning, just over three weeks into the vaccination campaign.
"Any time you start a big program, there's always glitches. I think the glitches have been worked out," the nation's top infectious disease expert told The Associated Press.
Vaccinations have already begun speeding up, reaching roughly half a million injections a day, he pointed out.
Now, with the holidays over, "once you get rolling and get some momentum, I think we can achieve 1 million a day or even more," Fauci said. He called President-elect Joe Biden's goal of 100 million vaccinations in his first 100 days "a very realistic, important, achievable goal."
Georgia has 1st confirmed case of new COVID variant
Georgia health officials confirmed the new COVID-19 variant first discovered in the United Kingdom is now in the state.
The Georgia Department of Public Health said Georgia’s first case of COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7 was discovered during analysis of a specimen sent by a pharmacy in Georgia to a commercial lab.
The Georgia resident is an 18-year-old male with no travel history, and is currently in isolation at home, they said. They are working to identify close contacts of the individual and will monitor them closely and test them for the variant.
The first confirmed cases of the new variant in the U.S. came from Colorado on Dec. 29, California on Dec. 30, Florida on Dec. 31 and New York on Jan. 4, but some experts believe it was here sooner than that.
Top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci said the new strain is something to "follow very carefully" and is something that was "very intensively" being looked into.
Family Video locations will all close nationwide due to COVID-19 pandemic
The owner of Family Video, a popular chain which started out as a video rental company 42 years ago and expanded to sell pizza and CBD supplements, announced that it will be closing all locations of the store across the country.
The company said that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically reduced foot traffic in stores and affected the amount of movies which were released, which ultimately pushed the store "to the end of an era."
Keith Hoogland of Highland Ventures LTD, and President of Family Video, said Tuesday that he is "extremely thankful" to the employees and customers who have been part of the company's history.
As digital streaming and the pandemic has all but wiped out the video rental and movie theater industry globally, Family Video was able to hang on, in part, by offering alternative products in stores such as CBD supplements. The company operated hundreds of stores across the Midwest, the South and the East Coast.
Twenty-one Indiana locations will close in the process.