'The Motivation I Need': Events Get Creative To Unite Supporters

ACROSS AMERICA —While organizers of the Boston Marathon made the decision to postpone this year's event indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event is testing a new way to create camaraderie among participants in lieu of the real thing.

Organizers this year have launched a virtual Athletes’ Village, an attempt to keep runners connected as the group works out a date for the 125th running of the planet's most storied footrace.

While the virtual village, launched Jan. 5, doesn't carry the same bucket-list magic and mystique of the real Athletes’ Village near the start line in Hopkinton, the Boston Athletic Association hopes participants will use this year's village as a digital hub to share training tips, seek out coaching, compete against one another in monthly challenges.

Tom Grilk, the BAA's president and CEO, told The Associated Press the concept behind Boston's village was simple — provide runners of all abilities "space for you to achieve your fitness goals and celebrate your accomplishments with a global community."

As of late Friday, more than 42,000 runners and volunteers had joined.

It's already helping Polish marathoner Janusz Przytocki sharpen his focus and set new running goals.

“The village will give me the motivation I need now,” he wrote in a post.

Read more via The Associated Press

• No Boston Marathon Date Announcement Until Early 2021: Officials

The Latest

As the nation prepares for more unrest following the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, yet another member of Congress has tested positive for the coronavirus following last week's deadly siege.

Rep. Lou Correa, a Democrat from California, announced on Twitter on Saturday that he had tested positive for the virus a day earlier. He gave few details about his diagnosis, but said he would “be responsible & self-quarantine, away from my family, for the recommended time."

According to a New York Times report, Correa was at the Capitol during last week’s attack on the Capitol, but was not among the lawmakers sheltering with Republican colleagues who refused to wear masks.

At least four other House members have tested positive in the last week after a group of representatives went on lockdown in a secure location on Capitol Hill when supporters of President Trump stormed and ransacked the Capitol.

Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York was the last congressman to test positive. In addition, Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley said Wednesday her husband, Conan Harris, who was with her during the Capitol lockdown, tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and was showing mild symptoms.

Meanwhile, as the number of coronavirus cases in the United States surpasses 23.7 million and deaths close in on 400,000, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say a far more contagious variant of the virus could cause yet another wrenching surge of cases and deaths.

Federal health officials on Friday warned that the fast-spreading B.1.1.7 variant, which was first identified in Britain, could become the dominant source of infection in the United States by March.

In a study released Friday, the CDC called for a doubling down on preventive measures to fight the variant, including increased distribution of vaccines.

However, getting more vaccines to states could prove challenging after those counting on additional doses from a federal reserve have learned that no such reserve exists, according to a Washington Post report.

The revelation came after Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said earlier this week that the federal government planned to start releasing vaccine doses that were being held in reserve so they would be available as second shots, for those who already had received their first dose.

However, available doses were already shipped out in December — meaning nothing was being held in reserve or stockpiled, the Post said, citing state and federal officials who were briefed on distribution plans.

Second shots will still be given to those who received a first dose, because states continue to receive their regular shipments, the Post said. But local and state health officials now may have to off on their plans to increase eligibility for vaccines because allocations will not increase as expected, the report said.

"If true, this is extremely disturbing, and puts our plans to expand eligibility at grave risk," Oregon health Director Patrick Allen wrote in a letter Thursday to Azar.

In a turn of events on Friday, Azar announced his resignation as head of HHS, citing the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol and how President Donald Trump's slow response to condemn it have "tarnished" the reputation of his administration and the accomplishments of Operation Warp Speed.

Azar's resignation will be effective on Inauguration Day, the same day he would have left office without resigning.

"The attacks on the Capitol were an assault on our Democracy and the tradition of peaceful transitions of power that the United States of America first brought to the world," Azar said in his statement. "I Implore you to continue to condemn unequivocally any form of violence, to demand that no one attempt to disrupt the inaugural activities in Washington or elsewhere and to continue to support unreservedly the peaceful and orderly transition of power on January 20, 2021."

Meanwhile, despite reports of limited supply and no reserves, President-elect Joe Biden on Friday said getting 100 million shots into Americans' arms in his first 100 days in office is only the beginning of his coronavirus plan.

"You have my word: We will manage the hell out of this operation," Biden said. But he also underscored a need for Congress to approve more money and for people to keep following basic precautions, such as wearing masks, avoiding gatherings and frequently washing their hands.

Biden's Friday address came as the worldwide coronavirus death toll surpassed 2 million. More than 391,000 of those deaths have been in the United States alone.

• Biden's Virus Plan: 100 Million Shots Is Only The Beginning

Newest Numbers

At least 3,732 deaths and 218,057 new cases of coronavirus were reported in the United States on Saturday, according to a Washington Post database. The Post's reporting shows that over the past week, new daily cases fell 7 percent, new daily reported deaths rose 13.9 percent and coronavirus-related hospitalizations are down 3.5 percent.

Currently, more than 126,139 people are hospitalized with a coronavirus-related illness in the United States, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

As of Sunday, 46 states and Puerto Rico remained above the positive testing rate recommended by the World Health Organization to safely reopen. Only North Dakota, Vermont, Hawaii, Alaska and the District of Columbia are currently below that rate. To safely reopen, the WHO recommends states remain at 5 percent or lower for at least 14 days.

As of Sunday morning, the United States had reported more than 23.7 million cases and more than 395,800 deaths from COVID-19-related illnesses, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Stay up to date on the latest coronavirus news via The New York Times or The Washington Post.

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