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What you need to know about the coronavirus today

Reinfection unlikely for at least 6 months
People who’ve had COVID-19 are highly unlikely to contract it again for at least six months after their first infection, according to a British study of healthcare workers.

The findings should offer some reassurance for the more than 51 million people worldwide who have been infected, researchers at the University of Oxford said.

“This is really good news, because we can be confident that, at least in the short term, most people who get COVID-19 won’t get it again,” said David Eyre, a professor at Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Population Health, who co-led the study.

COVID-19 infections are still rising in 65 countries. Track daily infections and deaths data for 240 countries and territories around the world.

WHO advises against remdesivir for hospitalized patients
Gilead’s remdesivir is not recommended for patients hospitalized with COVID-19, regardless of how ill they are, as there is no evidence the drug improves survival or reduces the need for ventilation, a World Health Organization panel said. The advice is another setback for the drug, which grabbed worldwide attention as a potentially effective treatment in the summer after early trials showed some promise.

California, Ohio order nightly curfews
California’s governor imposed a curfew on social gatherings and other non-essential activities in one of the most intrusive of the restrictions being ordered across the country to curb an alarming surge in coronavirus infections. The stay-at-home order will go into effect from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. each day, starting Saturday night and ending on the morning of Dec. 21, covering 41 of California’s 58 counties and the vast majority of its population, Governor Gavin Newsom said.

Russia’s cases soar
The developers of Russia’s second vaccine against COVID-19 on Friday said mass production would begin in 2021, as Russia reported a record daily increase in infections. A recent surge in cases has taken Russia past the 2 million threshold, behind only the United States, India, Brazil and France in total infections. Authorities have resisted imposing lockdowns across the country as they did earlier this year, however, preferring targeted, regional measures.

Man’s ‘lie’ caused lockdown
South Australia’s drastic six-day lockdown was triggered by a “lie” to contact tracers from a man who tested positive and restrictions across the state are set to be lifted much sooner than first planned, authorities said. The announcement came just two days after the state government ordered people to stay at home and shut many businesses to combat what was considered a highly contagious outbreak. South Australia state Premier Steven Marshall said that one man at a pizza bar tied to the outbreak told contact tracers he had only bought a pizza there, when he had actually worked several shifts at the food outlet alongside another worker who tested positive.

From Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Vaccine bargain, UK tech, Luxury.
Catch up with the latest pandemic-related financial insights, from Europe’s vaccine bargain to the outlook for luxury goods, in the latest edition of Corona Capital.

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U.S.

President Donald Trump will meet with the Republican leaders of the Michigan state legislature on Friday at the White House, as his campaign pursues an increasingly desperate bid to overturn the election amid a series of courtroom losses.

Trump’s latest strategy for attacking the legitimacy of the U.S. election appears to be focusing on a bold power play of persuading Republican state lawmakers to overturn the vote in states won by his Democratic challenger Joe Biden. Most election scholars said the odds of Trump ultimately being named president are exceedingly slim. But the laws have never been tested like this before.

Why Republican voters say there’s ‘no way in hell’ Trump lost. The unshakable trust in Trump in a west Texas town of about 1,400 residents reflects a national phenomenon among many Republicans, despite the absence of evidence in a barrage of post-election lawsuits by the president and his allies.

Meanwhile, President-elect Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with the Democratic leaders in Congress, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, after spending most of the week huddled with advisers as he plans his administration.

Georgia confirmed Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election in the state as it completed a hand audit of ballots, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said.

Here are key dates by which states that were important in Democrat Biden’s victory need to certify totals from the Nov. 3 vote and pick electors who will formally vote for Biden next month in the Electoral College.

Vice President Mike Pence will jump into the fray of two red-hot Senate campaigns in Georgia, aiming to get Republican voters to turn out in force for a Jan. 5 runoff election battle that will decide Senate control.

Republican Senator David Perdue, who is seeking reelection in one of two U.S. Senate races in Georgia, bought shares in a Navy contractor just before becoming chairman of a Senate armed services panel in 2019 and then sold the stock at a profit, Senate records show.

Special Report

When cops and America’s cherished gun rights clash, cops win. Worried about security at his Florida apartment complex, Andrew Scott legally obtained a gun. He grabbed it when he heard an unexpected late-night door knock. Police shot him when he opened the door and the officer was later protected by qualified immunity