The virus stunts the economy. Again.

The Labor Department reported a loss of 140,000 jobs in December — the first net decline in payrolls since April and was a discouraging reversal to a once promising recovery.

Why has job growth suffered? Blame the resurgent pandemic.

As cases surged this fall, state and local officials reimposed restrictions on businesses like restaurants and hotels, and consumers pulled back on spending. It’s a strong sign that the economy won’t fully recover until the pandemic is under control.

Despite the gloomy report, my colleague Neil Irwin, who covers the economy, argued that there is an opportunity for 2021 “to be the year of a remarkable bounce-back.”

With the Democrats in control of Congress and the presidency, there’s a greater chance for a fiscal stimulus; non-hospitality sectors — like construction and real estate — are improving; and the prospect of widespread vaccination could lead to a boom in leisure activity later this year.
Resurgences

In the U.S., the list of states that have identified the dangerous new coronavirus variant is growing. Texas, Connecticut and Pennsylvania confirmed their first cases, joining California, Colorado, Georgia, Florida and New York.
Israel will tighten its current lockdown as health experts believe the new highly transmissible variant of the virus has fueled a rising infection rate.
Brisbane, Australia’s third-biggest city, is heading into a three-day lockdown after reporting its first case of a highly transmissible coronavirus variant from a person who had not recently traveled.
In New York City, which is seeing a surge in cases, the police commissioner, Dermot F. Shea, tested positive for the coronavirus.

Here’s a roundup of restrictions in all 50 states.
What else we’re following

The F.D.A. approved three new rapid at-home test kits.
The British government is encouraging health care providers to use two arthritis drugs to treat severely sick Covid-19 patients, after the release of promising data from a clinical trial.
Britain also granted emergency approval to the coronavirus vaccine developed by Moderna, making it the third shot approved for use there.
In New York, the fear of violating the strict eligibility rules has left vaccine doses languishing in freezers for weeks, with some unused doses being thrown out.
Indonesia’s influential council of Muslim clerics announced that a coronavirus vaccine made by the Chinese company Sinovac was acceptable under Islamic law, removing a potential obstacle to its use, Reuters reports.
Pfizer and BioNTech said that their vaccine was effective against one of the mutations present in the new contagious variants identified in Britain and South Africa.
The wealthy are trying to jump the line in the vaccine rollout, though they probably won’t have much success.
The New York Times