January 24 coronavirus news

By Jenni Marsh, Joshua Berlinger and Rob Picheta, CNN

Updated 12:00 a.m. ET, January 25, 2021
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11:59 p.m. ET, January 23, 2021

The UK has the "highest death rate" in the world

From CNN’s Haley Brink and Rob Picheta

The United Kingdom currently tops the global list of highest deaths per 100,000 residents, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

The country reported its highest ever single day death toll on Wednesday with 1,820 daily new deaths reported, and has been averaging about 1,240 daily new deaths over the last seven days.

Country-by-country comparisons are imperfect, given that they rely on data from each individual nation.

But the UK's recorded death toll, from a population of 66 million, far outweighs the record tolls in other major countries, including the US, on a per capita basis.

So far the United Kingdom has tallied 96,166 total deaths since the pandemic began. 

Countries with the highest deaths per capita

  1. United Kingdom: 142.53
  2. Czech Republic: 140.91
  3. Italy: 139.34
  4. United States: 125.35
  5. Spain: 117.80

12:35 a.m. ET, January 24, 2021

Biden administration has set a "strikingly different" tone on pandemic response, Fauci says

From CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas

Dr. Anthony Fauci arrives for an event with President Joe Biden at the White House on January 21.
Dr. Anthony Fauci arrives for an event with President Joe Biden at the White House on January 21. Alex Brandon/AP

The Biden administration has set a “strikingly different” tone on coronavirus pandemic response than the Trump administration, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Saturday.

During an MSNBC interview, Fauci said that after meeting with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, it’s clear to him that “science will rule, and science will speak,” when it comes to coronavirus response.

Serving under the Trump administration, Fauci said he was often in the uncomfortable position of having to contradict Trump’s misinformation about Covid-19.

“I had to do it, because I felt that the only way that I could maintain, not only my own credibility, but the credibility of the scientific enterprise, was to speak the truth all the time,” he said. 

“There was the constant pressure that sometimes the truth would be upsetting to some people,” including Trump and those around him, said Fauci. 

He added that political appointees on the White House coronavirus task force were in an “even more difficult situation.”