The race against the virus that causes COVID-19 has taken a new turn: Mutations are rapidly popping up, and the longer it takes to vaccinate people, the more likely it is that a variant that can elude current tests, treatments and vaccines could emerge.

BEIJING (AP) — China was dealing with coronavirus outbreaks across its frigid northeast on Tuesday, prompting additional lockdowns and travel bans ahead of next month’s Lunar New Year holiday.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Amazonian city of Manaus in Brazil began administering vaccines against the coronavirus, providing a ray of hope for the rainforest’s biggest city whose health system is collapsing amid an increase in infections and dwindling oxygen supplies.

Highlands County’s COVID-19 numbers have been better, but they’ve also been worse. When the Florida Department of Health released the COVID-19 report on Tuesday, the positivity rate in Highlands was up as were the new cases. Testing was down from the previous day.

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization chief on Monday lambasted drugmakers’ profits and vaccine inequalities, saying it’s “not right” that younger, healthier adults in wealthy countries get vaccinated against COVID-19 before older people or health care workers in poorer countries and c…

ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte on Monday acknowledged errors in fighting the unprecedented pandemic, but in a speech aimed at preserving his second mandate, he told lawmakers his government can “hold its head high.”

COVID-19 numbers looked a little better with the release of Monday’s data by the Florida Department of Health. There were 8,002 new cases in the state, while Highlands County saw an increase of 27 cases.

Highlands County saw an additional 31 cases of COVID-19, according to Sunday’s report from the Florida Department of Health. Of the new cases, 30 of them were residents and there was one new non-resident case. The county has now seen 5,864 cases, with 5,804 of those cases being residents.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment aid soared last week to 965,000, the most since late August and a sign that the resurgent virus has likely escalated layoffs.

SEBRING – Highlands County saw a mixed bag as the COVID-19 reports were released on Saturday by the Florida Department of Health. New cases were down but deaths were up, while the positivity rate was about half of the previous day. However, testing was slightly down from the previous day.

As vaccinations continue across the U.S., some companies are offering financial incentives to encourage their workers to get the shots.

Online supporters of President Donald Trump are scattering to smaller social media platforms, fleeing what they say is unfair treatment by Facebook, Twitter and other big tech firms looking to squelch misinformation and threats of violence.

Highlands County numbers are on the move once again but not in the right direction. Florida Department of Health’s daily COVID-19 report did not bring the news the county’s residents wanted to read on Friday. The county’s cases and positivity rate rose significantly and one more person died …

ATLANTA (AP) — The coronavirus vaccines have been rolled out unevenly across the U.S., but four states in the Deep South have had particularly dismal inoculation rates that have alarmed health experts and frustrated residents.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden has picked a former Food and Drug commissioner to lead vaccine science in his drive to put 100 million shots into the arms of Americans in his administration’s first 100 days and stem the COVID-19 pandemic.

SAO PAULO (AP) — Hospital staff and relatives of COVID-19 patients rushed to provide facilities with oxygen tanks just flown into the Amazon rainforest’s biggest city as doctors chose which patients would breathe amid dwindling stocks and an effort to airlift some of them to other states.

MIAMI (AP) — Miami’s mayor wants to reserve doses of the COVID-19 vaccine only for those who live inside the city limits under a policy he’s calling “Miami First.”

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — A coronavirus action plan being unveiled by President-elect Joe Biden centers on a mass vaccination campaign and closer coordination among all levels of government.

WUHAN, China (AP) — A global team of researchers arrived Thursday in the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic was first detected to conduct a politically sensitive investigation into its origins amid uncertainty about whether Beijing might try to prevent embarrassing discoveries.

Germany has too many loopholes in its coronavirus lockdown rules, the head of the country’s disease control agency said as figures published Thursday showed the highest number of daily deaths since the start of the pandemic.

SEBRING — Highlands County saw its coronavirus-related numbers go up across the board on Thursday when the Florida Department of Health released its daily COVID-19 reports. Thankfully, the numbers did not show a major spike but an increase, nonetheless.

SEBRING — The first Parking Lot Prayer event in Highlands County started just as a lockdown order last year required people to limit their outings to essential trips.

BEIRUT (AP) — It was a choice between containing a spiraling virus outbreak and resuscitating a dying economy in a country that has been in steady financial and economic meltdown over the past year. Authorities in Lebanon chose the latter.

SEBRING — Highlands County had a much better day in regards to its COVID-19 reports released by the Florida Department of Health on Wednesday. New cases and the daily positivity rate were down dramatically from Tuesday and there were no new deaths.

PHOENIX (AP) — As the U.S. goes through the most lethal phase of the coronavirus outbreak yet, governors and local officials in hard-hit parts of the country are showing little willingness to impose any new restrictions on businesses to stop the spread.

BERGSCHENHOEK, Netherlands (AP) — Residents of a Dutch town filed into a sports hall Wednesday to take part in the country’s first mass coronavirus testing program, which aims to find out more about the spread of a new more transmissible coronavirus variant.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan expanded a coronavirus state of emergency for seven more prefectures Wednesday, affecting more than half the population amid a surge in infections across the country.

After three straight days with lower numbers, Highlands County made a turn for the worst, with the release of Tuesday’s COVID-19 numbers by the Florida Department of Health. The county saw an increase of 75 cases, raising the overall total of cases to 5,632. Fifty-nine of those cases have be…

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia has declared a coronavirus emergency that will suspend Parliament at least until August and halt any bids to seek a general election, but critics charged it was a political move by embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to stay in power.

MEISSEN, Germany (AP) — The caskets are stacked three high in the Meissen crematorium’s somber memorial hall, piled up in empty offices and stored in hallways. Many are sealed with plastic wrapping, others are labeled “infection risk,” “urgent” or simply “COVID.”

LAKE PLACID — Before the invocation was given or the Pledge of Allegiance was said at Monday evening’s regular Town Council meeting, Mayor John Holbrook made a statement about the current COVID-19 situation and the public meeting.

MADRID (AP) — The Spanish capital of Madrid was still trying to get back on its feet Monday after a 50-year record snowfall that paralyzed large parts of central Spain and was hampering the delivery of coronavirus vaccines.

BEIJING (AP) — Experts from the World Health Organization are due to arrive in China this week for a long-anticipated investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, the government said Monday.

SEBRING — Registration started up again Monday for seniors 65 and older to get their first round of COVID-19 vaccinations from the county.