October 7 coronavirus news

California Sen. Kamala Harris delivered a swift condemnation of the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic during the opening of Wednesday’s vice presidential debate, noting that some 210,000 people have died and more than 7.5 million people have contracted the disease.

“The American people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country,” Harris said, arguing that frontline workers had been treated like “sacrificial workers” and that Trump had repeatedly minimized the seriousness of the virus, while discouraging people from wearing masks.

“Today they still don’t have a plan. Well, Joe Biden does,” Harris said. ” We need to save our country” she said, adding that the current administration had forfeited its right to a second term through its mishandling of the pandemic.”

Read more here:

Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence participate in the vice presidential debate moderated by Washington Bureau Chief for USA Today Susan Page (C) at the University of Utah on October 7, 2020 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Related article Pence and Harris meet for vice presidential debate as administration is gripped by Covid-19

In a personal letter, a lauded former US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director wrote to current CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield to say that the agency’s reputation was “tarnished” during the coronavirus pandemic response and that Redfield had a “short window to change things.”

The letter was first reported and posted by USA Today on Tuesday.

“The White House has had no hesitation to blame and disgrace CDC, you and state governors,” Dr. William Foege wrote in the letter USA Today posted. “They will blame you for the disaster. In six months, they have caused CDC to go from gold to tarnished brass.”

Foege is a lauded epidemiologist who led the CDC during the Carter and Reagan administrations. He is a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient and is credited with devising the global strategy that led to the eradication of smallpox in the late 1970s. 

“I kept hoping that the White House task force would see what they’re doing isn’t working and would change, but this is going to go down as one of the worst responses to a pandemic,” Foege told ABC News Wednesday.
In his letter to Redfield, Foege wrote: “You could upfront, acknowledge the tragedy of responding poorly, apologize for what has happened and your role in acquiescing, set a course for how CDC would now lead the country if there was no political interference … Don’t shy away from the fact this has been an unacceptable toll on our country. It is a slaughter and not just a political dispute.”
“When they fire you, this will be a multi-week story and you can hold your head high. That will take exceptional courage on your part,” Foege wrote. “I can’t tell you what to do except to revisit your religious beliefs and ask yourself what is right.” 

Foege has not responded to CNN’s request for comment. A CDC spokesman said the agency was looking into the letter and planned to respond. 

The number of coronavirus cases across the globe surpassed 36 million on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

At least 36,026,644 people globally are known to have been diagnosed with coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University’s data.

The United States, India, and Brazil are the top three worst-hit countries with the highest coronavirus cases in the world. The United States is leading with at least 7,544,612 confirmed coronavirus cases, while in India the confirmed cases are at least 6,757,131. Brazil reported at least 5,000,694 cases on Wednesday. 

The total number of people who are known to have died from coronavirus is at least 1,054,153, according to Johns Hopkins.

Gen. Gary L. Thomas, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, has tested positive for Covid-19, the Marine Corps said in a statement Wednesday. 

As CNN reported, Thomas had had been in self-quarantine since Tuesday after being notified he had been in close contact with a person who later tested positive for the virus.

“In accordance with established Marine Corps COVID policies, General Thomas will continue to quarantine at home. He is experiencing mild symptoms, but otherwise is feeling well. Since April, the Marine Corps has been following CDC and DoD guidelines for temperature testing, social distancing to the greatest extent possible, and the wearing of masks when social distancing is not possible. The Marine Corps remains operationally ready to answer the Nation’s call,” the statement said.

CNN reported yesterday Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, and several members of the Pentagon’s senior leadership, including Thomas, were quarantining after a top Coast Guard official tested positive for coronavirus.

As President Trump’s top military adviser, Milley maintains a full classified communications suite in his house, and nobody in that group has tested positive at this point beside Thomas. 

The chief of staff of the US Air Force, Charles Brown, the chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday and the chief of Space Operations, Gen. John Raymond, also are all working from home, according to several officials.

Additional officials who were also working from alternate locations or from home include: Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. James McConville, chief of staff of the Army; Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard; Gen. Paul Nakasone, US Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency.

“We are aware of General Thomas’ positive test for COVID-19. At this time we have no additional senior leader positive test results to report. We will continue to follow CDC guidance for self-quarantining and contact tracing,” Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement Wednesday.

Brazil’s health ministry reported 31,553 new cases Wednesday from Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases to 5,000,694. 

The health ministry also reported 734 new confirmed coronavirus fatalities, bringing the total number of deaths to 148,228. 

Brazil has the world’s third highest coronavirus cases after the US and India and the world’s second highest death toll after the US, according to Johns Hopkins University’s data.

In an unprecedented move, the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday published an editorial written by its editors condemning the Trump administration for its response to the Covid-19 pandemic — and calling for the current leadership in the United States to be voted out of office.

“We rarely publish editorials signed by all the editors,” said Dr. Eric Rubin, editor-in-chief of the medical journal and an author of the new editorial.

The editorial, which Rubin said was drafted in August, details how the United States leads the world in Covid-19 cases and deaths. So far, more than 7.5 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with Covid-19 and more than 211,000 people have died of the disease.

“This crisis has produced a test of leadership. With no good options to combat a novel pathogen, countries were forced to make hard choices about how to respond. Here in the United States, our leaders have failed that test. They have taken a crisis and turned it into a tragedy,” the editorial says. 

“Anyone else who recklessly squandered lives and money in this way would be suffering legal consequences. Our leaders have largely claimed immunity for their actions. But this election gives us the power to render judgment,” the editorial says.

“When it comes to the response to the largest public health crisis of our time, our current political leaders have demonstrated that they are dangerously incompetent. We should not abet them and enable the deaths of thousands more Americans by allowing them to keep their jobs.”

The New England Journal of Medicine began publishing in 1812. There have been only four previous editorials collectively signed by its editors in the recent past.

Watch more:

Video Ad Feedback

69a028ad-768b-4b2c-b736-90ae77914963.mp4

01:35 - Source: cnn

Trials by jury will be allowed to resume in Georgia, according to a release from the Supreme Court of Georgia. 

The state halted all jury trials five months ago due to the pandemic.  

“We have put into place rigorous safety protocols for grand jury proceedings and jury trials because we understand that the public must have confidence to come and serve on juries. It is paramount to all our judges that our citizens realize that their safety has been thoroughly considered,” Chief Justice Harold D. Melton said in a news release from the court.   

The chief justice intends to issue the order Saturday that will allow courts to resume jury trials, according to the release.  The order will require courts to follow safety guidelines.

“At the beginning of this emergency, we all hoped, and maybe even assumed, that this pandemic would come to a relatively quick end,” Melton said. The delay of trials has made it “difficult for everybody involved in our justice system – litigants, victims, witnesses, lawyers, judges, and jurors. We must move forward,” he added 

While the court will allow trials to resume, they will not actually start right away since potential jurors will need to be summoned. In September, the Georgia Supreme Court allowed local courts to resume grand jury proceedings as longs as they could be “done safely and in compliance with public health guidance based on local conditions,” the chief justice said at the time. 

Georgia is home to more than 10 million people, according to the US Census. More than 7,000 have died and nearly 325,000 have been infected with Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University. 

Wisconsin set a record for the number of new Covid-19 hospitalizations on Wednesday, with 141 patients, Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary-Designee Andrea Palmer said during a news conference. 

The state reported a total of 2,319 new cases of Covid-19 and 16 additional deaths, Palmer said. 

Fifty five of the 72 counties in the state meet the threshold of “very high disease activity level,” an increase of 10 counties last week, Palmer said. The rest of the counties are at a high disease activity level. 

“Wisconsin as a whole is also at a very high disease activity level,” Palmer added. 

The state has reported a total of 138,698 coronavirus cases to date and 1,415 total deaths. 

To note: These were released by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

A staff member in California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this week, according to a statement released by his office. This person had not interacted with Newsom or with staff that surrounds him on a regular basis.

Newsom has been tested on multiple occasions and the results have been negative, he said in a press conference Wednesday. The last time Newsom was tested was in mid-September when President Trump visited the state as wildfires raged. Newsom said earlier in the week that he “would have the responsibility, and you would have the right to know” should he test positive for the virus. “That would be forthcoming,” he said.

A second state employee at a different state agency who shares workspace with some members of the governor’s office also tested positive.

“In this instance as well, the individual had not interacted with the Governor or staff that routinely interacts with the Governor. Their employer has initiated the state’s COVID-19 protocols for state agencies as well,” the statement reads. 

Both individuals work in the broader governor’s office at the Capitol, Newsom said in a press conference Wednesday. Newsom’s office declined to disclose the exact office location, citing privacy laws. 

Contact tracing is currently underway.

Canada’s public health officials are warning people to stay home as much as possible saying the next few weeks will be “critical” to the country’s efforts to contain the virus.  

Public Health Agency of Canada says national daily case counts continue to increase steeply with an average of about two thousand new cases every day for the past week. Government statistics indicate that’s a 40% rise in the last week alone. 

Hospitalizations and deaths continue to creep upward as well with more than 600 Covid-19 patients currently in hospitals, and an average of about 18 deaths reported daily. 

More than 80% of new infections are from Ontario and Quebec with 60% of cases detected in people under 40.

The province of Quebec is of particular concern with urban hotspots in Montreal and Quebec City. Dine-in restaurants and bars were closed in those cities last week as new daily cases continue to climb. 

Quebec reported 1,364 new cases of the virus on Tuesday alone, the highest daily case total since the pandemic began. That prompted a blunt warning to young people in Quebec to take the virus seriously and stay home. 

“The young people that are not respecting the rule, they will have an impact on the system.” said Christian Dube, Quebec’s health minister during a press conference in Quebec City Tuesday, adding, “Don’t take the risk, please don’t test the hospital system. They’re already nurses, the doctors, what they are asking you, what they are asking Quebecers, please stay home.”

More on this: Earlier this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned Canadians to stay home even for the Thanksgiving holiday next week, saying if Canada can once again flatten the curve that the country can “turn things around for Christmas.” 

“We are going in the wrong direction now, which is why it is so important for Canadians to do what is necessary, to wear a mask, to keep your distance, to understand that each of us has the power to end this by the choices we make,” said Trudeau during a press conference Monday. 

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has announced that he tested negative for Covid-19, according to a statement posted on Twitter today.

A staffer who works in the Nevada governor’s office at the capitol in Carson City tested positive on Tuesday. The governor’s office did not name the worker, but noted that they had not been in close contact with Sisolak in weeks.

Sisolak said he was tested “out of an abundance of caution” and that his office continues “to wish our team member a full and quick recovery.”

Today’s statement noted that Sisolak is scheduled to return to Carson City next week but “travel is on hold for the time being.”

The statement added that “the contact tracing effort is underway” and that all the staff who came into contact with the confirmed positive team member “transitioned to work from home status on Monday.”

The National Football League and Players Association announced Wednesday that 11 NFL players and 15 staff members tested positive for Covid-19 for the week ending Oct. 3.

Since Aug. 1, the league has reported that out of 370,000 tests administered through Oct. 3, 84 people have resulted positive – that include 31 players and 53 other personnel.  

While appearing on the NFL Network on Wednesday, the NFL’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, was asked about the possibility of the league pausing the season since Covid-19 cases have already forced games to be postponed and team facilities to close.

“We’ve said all along every option is on the table. We’ve never taken any option off the table, which includes…some type of pause or reset or any other kind of alternative arrangements,” Sills said.

So far, the NFL has postponed two games this season due to positive Covid-19 tests. 

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi tested positive for Covid-19, Grandi said in a post to Twitter from Geneva on Thursday.

“I am engaging with UNHCR’s Executive Committee from home as I have to isolate after testing positive to COVID19,” Grandi said in the tweet. 

“I only have mild symptoms and hope to recover soon,” Grandi added.

Here’s his tweet:

There have been at least 7,519,846 cases of coronavirus in the US and at least 211,343 people have died from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally of cases in the country.

So far today, Johns Hopkins has reported 20,505 new cases and 457 reported deaths.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

Lebanon reported 1,459 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, the highest daily number of infections recorded since the beginning of the pandemic, the country’s Ministry of Public Health said.

The latest number of recorded cases brings the country’s total case count to 48,377. 

There were also nine new deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, raising the national death toll to 433, the ministry says.

Lebanon has recently witnessed a surge of Covid-19 cases. This comes as the country is suffering from an economic collapse and dealing with the aftermath of the port blast on August 4th, that ripped through the capital killing nearly 200 people, wounding around 6,000 people and displacing about 300,000 people.

Dr. Mike Ryan, the World Health Organization’s executive director of Health Emergencies Programme, urged sick people and their contacts to stay at home in order to stop the spread of Covid-19.

“If people who were sick stayed at home, and were supported in doing that, and if their contacts stayed at home, and were supported in doing that, we could break the back of this disease,” Ryan said during a social media Q&A on Wednesday.   
“And we keep avoiding that elephant in the room” he added.

“We do know these huge, long, long-term lockdowns are not in that sense the best solution,” he said, adding that countries sometimes “face no choice.” 

The lockdowns have consequences he said, “but this is not a no-consequence effort, we need to find that balance … between stopping this disease, giving us the time to develop the measures we need to save lives,” Ryan said.

 “Life is never like that – it’s not binary, right and wrong, and left and right and, good and bad,” he said. “We need to take a pill and get real here. It’s not either-or, it’s both.” 

Nobody wants lockdowns, he said. 

“Do you think I like this? Do you think we want this? No.” 

There have been at least 7,506,743 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 211,108 people have died since the pandemic began, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

So far today, Johns Hopkins has reported at least 5,779 new cases and 222 deaths.

Hours after announcing new Covid-19 related restrictions for the Belgian capital, nearly all members of the Brussels regional government will have to quarantine after an official tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday. 

Sven Gatz, the finance minister in the Brussels-Capital regional government, is “showing mild symptoms of the virus and will be quarantined for two weeks,” his spokesperson Eva Vanhengel said in a statement. He “continues to work digitally and remotely” she added.

Gatz’s positive result triggers quarantine measures for all officials and employees who he has been in contact with. This includes six of the eight members of the regional government who attended a weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers with him last week. 

This also includes Minister-President Rudi Vervoort who just held a press conference to announce a range of stricter measures for the capital to help fight a resurgence of the virus.

The UK government is moving ahead with plans to reduce the self-isolation period for international travelers, the country’s Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says.

At the moment, arrivals from many countries are required to self-isolate for 14 days when they enter the UK.

“Following agreement from medical experts, we are moving ahead with the next step to reduce the travel quarantine period by launching the Global Travel Taskforce to open up international travel & boost our businesses,” Shapps said on Twitter on Wednesday. “The taskforce will implement a testing regime to reduce the self-isolation period, along with a wide range of other measures to enable travel whilst keeping coronavirus rates down.”

Shapps hasn’t yet provided any detail about the length of the new self-isolation period or when it will take effect.

Italy has recorded at least 3,678 new coronavirus cases – the largest daily increase in more than five months.

According to data from Italy’s Health Ministry, there have now been at least 333,940 cases since the outbreak began. 

The last time there was a larger daily increase than today was on April 16, when 3,786 cases were reported. However, authorities are now processing twice as many coronavirus tests.

New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore has tested positive for Covid-19, according to ESPN and NFL Network, citing league sources.

The Patriots tell CNN that the team has canceled Wednesday’s practice, and players are meeting virtually as an added precaution.

New England’s last game against the Kansas City Chiefs — originally scheduled for this past Sunday — was rescheduled to Monday following positive Covid-19 tests on both teams, including quarterback Cam Newton.

Gilmore, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, had three total tackles in the team’s 26-10 loss.

CNN has reached out to the NFL for comment.

The Patriots are scheduled to play at home against the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

With a city-wide positivity rate just over 4%, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is pausing the school reopening plan. 

Phase three was set to begin on Oct. 15 and will now be pushed back to Oct. 22. That means kindergarten students through third grade students will not begin in-person learning as planned.

Grades four through eight and the high school start dates for in-person learning will be determined at a later date.

Special needs students will be able to return to in-person learning starting tomorrow.

“This decision is based on the guidance of our public health experts and in consultation with state officials in public health and education. It is consistent with our decision to prioritize our highest needs students in this plan,” Walsh said on his verified twitter account.

Walsh addressed residents in a news conference along with superintendent Brenda Cassellius Wednesday.

Iceland is introducing new restrictions in the capital Reykjavík and nearby areas amid a surge in Covid-19 cases across the country, the country’s Ministry of Health has announced.

From Wednesday, any activities or services that requires close physical contact, including hair dressers and beauty parlors, are required to close.

Swimming pools and gyms are also being closed, restaurants will be required to close by 9 p.m., and face masks will now be compulsory in shops where the two-meter social distancing rule cannot be observed.

The new rules will be in effect until October 19, the Icelandic Ministry of Health says.

On Monday, the Icelandic government introduced a 20-person gathering restriction and ordered the closure of fitness centers, bars, night-clubs and gaming establishments nationwide until October 19.

Iceland has seen a significant jump in domestic infections in the past two weeks, with 99 new infections confirmed on Tuesday and 87 confirmed on Wednesday. Of particular concern for the health authorities has been the number of people diagnosed with Covid-19 but not in quarantine. Since June 15, only 52% of those who tested positive were already in quarantine, according to data from the Ministry of Health.

There are currently 18 people hospitalized and 4 in intensive care due to Covid-19.

Speaking to the press on Monday, Chief Police Superintendent Víðir Reynisson stressed how important it is for people who become infected to inform the disease tracing team who they’ve been around and where they’ve been. “There is only one way to approach this and that’s through solidarity,” he added

Iceland has had a total of 3,172 confirmed cases and 10 deaths since the pandemic began. The record for new infections was reached on March 24 with 106 confirmed cases for a total population of 364,134.

An Indonesian man escaped from quarantine in South Korea by digging a hole underneath a wall of the government quarantine facility one day before he was due to be released, a South Korean health official said in a press briefing on Wednesday.

“There was a case of an Indonesian national escaping his [quarantine] facility in Seoul. He escaped the facility by digging a hole next to a temporary wall on the lobby floor of the government facility building on Oct 4,” Son Young-rae said. 

Son said that the man entered South Korea on a sailor visa and began his quarantine on September 21. He was due to be released on October 5. His Covid-19 result at the time of entry tested negative, and he did not show any abnormal symptoms of coronavirus, Son said.

The South Korean police are currently looking for this person by analyzing security-camera footage.

Son added that additional security cameras have been installed at the quarantine facility after the incident, and more forces have been dispatched.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says while the state of Georgia has made great progress in protecting lives from the coronavirus, he is urging all Georgians to continue to protect themselves during the fall and winter seasons. 

During a press conference on Wednesday, both Kemp and Georgia Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey said it is more important than ever this year to get a flu shot.

Toomey said they don’t know what the presence of influenza could do to a person infected with Covid-19.

Children, the elderly and everyone in between are at risk, Toomey said. “We encourage everyone six months of age and older to get a flu shot.” Toomey said. 

Kemp is encouraging all Georgians to wear a mask, watch their distance, wash their hands, and follow guidance from public health officials during the fall and winter seasons. 

Jordan will impose a strict two-day lockdown every Friday and Saturday “until further notice,” as coronavirus cases start reaching “unprecedented” levels, the government said on Tuesday. 

Schools in the country have been suspended and on Wednesday, the Jordanian military will be deployed across the country to help impose the upcoming curfew.

The country was initially commended for its efforts in combating the spread of coronavirus, however over the past week, Jordan has recorded its highest numbers since the beginning of the pandemic with cases breaking 1,800 daily infections on Monday. 

The government’s Minister of State for Media Affairs Amjad Adaileh said that the virus is also starting to put pressure on the country’s medical system, which has so far been able to withstand the number of infections, he told reporters on Tuesday. 

“The increase in the number of cases to this extent constitutes a great pressure on our health system, which is still able - thank God - to absorb this level of injuries,” he added. 

The Jordanian government decided against imposing a total lockdown throughout the week to avoid the “difficult” effects it may have on the economy, however, it will continue imposing the two-day weekend lockdowns over the next few weeks.

“This is what we did not hope for, and we constantly warned of it, as it now necessitates making difficult decisions,” Adaileh said. 

Cases began re-surging in August after the virus was largely contained under strict lockdown measures that began in March. The government has since announced what it calls a “new wave” of the pandemic.  

More than a thousand people have been infected with Covid-19 after a huge virus outbreak at a garment factory in Sri Lanka’s Western Province, says the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva.

In a statement on state-run Sri Lanka News Agency, Silva said that at least 190 new cases had been detected today and linked to Brandix, one of the country’s leading apparel export firms.

This brings the total number so far to 1,022 infections. 

According to a wire published on Sri Lanka’s News Agency, all of the employees of the Brandix factory in the town of Minuwangoda have been ordered to report to police stations in 14 designated areas, before 4 p.m. local time on Wednesday.

A police curfew has been imposed “in the Gampaha Police area, Ja-Ela and Kandana Police areas in the Negombo Division with immediate effect,” Silva said.

The outbreak is the highest tally in Sri Lanka which had all but stamped out community transmission of the virus until Monday, when the first case was reported. Following the announcement, on Tuesday, the government banned public gatherings including religious events.

Acting Police Chief Chandana Wickremeratne said in a statement on Tuesday that transport services will not operate in affected areas northeast of Sri Lanka, which have been placed under indefinite curfew. 

The areas include the towns of Minuwangoda, near the international airport in Negombo, the coconut growing area of Minuwangoda, and the adjoining town of Veyangoda.

This is the first time since April 30 indefinite curfews have been imposed.

The wealth of the world’s billionaires reached a new record high in the middle of the pandemic as a rebound in tech stocks boosted the fortunes of the global elite. 

Billionaire wealth increased to $10.2 trillion at the end of July, up from a previous peak of $8.9 trillion in 2017, according to a report from Swiss bank UBS and PwC. The total number of billionaires has increased by 31 to 2,189 since 2017.

Some billionaires are getting richer much faster than others, however. The pandemic has accelerated a growing divergence in wealth between innovators in technology, healthcare and industry, and entrepreneurs in areas such as entertainment, financial services and real estate, the report said.

That contrasts with most of the past decade “when steady growth and buoyant asset prices lifted billionaire wealth in all sectors,” it added. Now, billionaires “on the wrong side” of technological and social trends are becoming relatively less wealthy.

The report comes amid rising concerns that the pandemic is only going to deepen economic inequalities, including in areas such as income, education and healthcare.

Read more findings from the report here:

FILE: Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive officer of Amazon.com Inc., listens during an Economic Club of Washington discussion in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, the worlds richest person, and his wife MacKenzie are divorcing after 25 years. Bezos, 54, is worth $137 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the worlds 500 wealthiest people. The couple met when they both worked at hedge fund D.E. Shaw, and they married in 1993. He founded Amazon a year later. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Related article Billionaire wealth hits new peak as pandemic rages

President Donald Trump keeps downplaying the coronavirus even after it killed more than 1 million people around the world and left him hospitalized for three days. He has now claimed Covid-19 is “in most populations far less lethal!!!” than the flu. That’s not true. Here are the facts.

In just eight months, Covid-19 has killed more Americans than the flu did during the last five flu seasons combined. 

The novel coronavirus is also much more contagious than the flu. While research shows that someone with the flu infects an average of about 1.28 other people, someone with Covid-19 infects an average of about 2 to 3 other people when mitigation efforts such as stay-at-home orders or masks are not in place.

On top of that, the coronavirus can be spread for many days without symptoms. The incubation period for the flu is much shorter, meaning people are likely to start feeling sick earlier and avoid contact with others. 

There’s also a vaccine available for the flu and experts say the number of flu deaths could be drastically reduced if more people got flu shots. 

Even Facebook has pushed back against the claim by removing a post from Trump about the flu, but it’s unlikely that will have any effect on the President’s approach. His advice to not let the coronavirus “dominate your life” has left loved ones of Covid-19 victims furious. The post was hidden by Twitter for violating its rules about “spreading misleading and potentially harmful information related to COVID-19.”

“It not only has dominated the lives of the people we’ve lost. It’s dominated the families of those people. It’s dominated, and it still does, the hospital, the health heroes that were working every day to save my husband, the doctors, and nurses … it’s insulting,” Amanda Kloots, wife of Broadway star Nick Cordero, told CNN. Cordero fought the virus for 95 days and died. Cordero and Kloots have a 1-year-old son together.

The city of Frankfurt, Germany has introduced a slew of new social distancing measures and public health restrictions, including an alcohol ban and a curfew, to contain a surge in new coronavirus cases.

Alcohol will no longer be consumed in public spaces, and a curfew will be enforced from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m.

Gatherings in public and rented spaces will be limited to 25 people, and only 10 will be allowed to meet in private.

Masks will be mandatory in malls, major shopping streets and at religious ceremonies. Authorities are also considering making them mandatory in upper schools after the autumn holiday.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wants to get Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine for Covid-19, according to Russian state media.

The vaccine, developed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya Institute, was approved by Russia in August before it underwent late-stage trials, raising concerns about its safety and efficacy.

In an interview with state-run news agency RIA Novosti, Assad said he would discuss a deal with Russian authorities so the vaccine could be sold to the Syrian market. Russia’s sovereign wealth fund (RDIF), which has funded the vaccine production, has already announced deals with Mexico, India and Brazil.

Asked if he would personally get vaccinated, Assad said: “Of course in these circumstances, anyone would love to be vaccinated against this dangerous virus.”

The pandemic has reached crisis levels in government-controlled parts of Syria, where health workers and facilities have been overwhelmed by a surge of cases in recent weeks. Ill-equipped hospitals are overflowing with Covid-19 patients who are waiting for others to die so they can be put on ventilators that could save their lives, medics there say.

In September, CNN spoke to three doctors in Damascus and Aleppo on the condition of anonymity, for fear of retribution from a government that tightly controls information.

“Patients are literally waiting for other patients to die so they can be on a ventilator with people using contacts to pressure hospitals to move their loved ones up on the ventilator waiting list,” an Aleppo doctor using the name Ihsan told CNN last month.

CNN contacted the Syrian ministry of health with a list of questions about the ongoing Covid-19 crisis in the country at the time the report was published, but did not receive a response.

Covid-19 patients now fill 40% of all intensive care unit beds in the Paris region, which is struggling to contain a widening outbreak of the virus, according to a spokesperson for the city’s health authority. That’s a 10% jump in 10 days.

In an effort to suppress the city’s surging infection rates, the French government raised Paris’ coronavirus alert level to maximum on Tuesday, closing cafés, bars, gyms and swimming pools for two weeks.

There are currently 2,393 people being treated for the coronavirus in Paris hospitals, 449 of whom are in intensive care – approximately double the numbers from two weeks ago.

If hospital admissions continue at that pace, about 1,000 patients could be in intensive care by the end of October, according to calculations from the Paris public hospital group (AP-HP) and published by the Paris region health authority. 

As of Tuesday night, there were 1,426 patients being treated in intensive care across France. That compares with only 420 patients a month ago. 

Some US state leaders have sprung into action to help curb the spread of Covid-19 as half of the states in the country report an uptick in new cases.

Wisconsin: The state issued an emergency order Tuesday limiting public gatherings to no more than 25% of a room or building’s total occupancy, the governor’s office said.

Evers’ response follows grave milestones for his state: Wisconsin reported its highest daily cases, highest death toll and record-high hospitalizations in the past days.

Kentucky: Gov. Andy Beshear says the state is seeing the third major escalation of Covid-19 cases, and authorities there have been instructed to step up mask enforcement.

“I have seen some things floating around about how we can’t enforce this because it’s an executive order,” the governor said. “They have the force of law (under) Kentucky statute.”

New York: Officials have reported several clusters of Covid-19 cases and the governor laid out a new plan this week on how the affected communities will move forward.

Areas where clusters are occurring will have to close schools and essential businesses except for take-out dining, limit gatherings at houses of worship to 25% with a maximum of 10 people and prohibit mass gatherings, the governor said.

The announcements are the first sign of tightening restrictions across the country as the US approaches a season experts have warned will be challenging – and deadly.

Read the full story:

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 03: Health worker Hannah Kwon explains to a individual in car, on how to use oral swabs at a drive-thru COVID-19 test site established by Councilman Herb Wesson in collaboration with Kheir Clinic at his district office on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Related article Half of US states are reporting increased Covid-19 cases and some leaders push new measures

The scene at the Great Wall of China this past week would have been unthinkable just months ago.

Photos of the tourist attraction in Beijing last weekend show massive crowds crammed along the winding wall, pressed together in close quarters and squeezing past each other through narrow doorways. Most are wearing face masks – but a number of people, including young children, pulled their masks down to their chin, and a few seem to have foregone masks entirely.

It’s Golden Week – an eight-day national holiday, one of China’s busiest annual travel periods, and a major test for the country as it emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.

China’s official reported virus numbers have stayed low since the spring. There have been a few flare-ups, including a cluster in Beijing in June, but these were met with immediate lockdown measures and mass testing, and the outbreaks were contained within a few weeks.

With close to zero local transmissions, people flocked to bus stations, airports and transit hubs to travel around the country for the holiday, which kicked off on October 1. Local authorities competed to attract tourists, with provincial and municipal governments issuing travel vouchers and tourist attractions offering free or discounted tickets.

The Great Wall has geared up for the rush of tourists as well. The most popular section of the wall – the Badaling section – reopened at the end of March, albeit with new restrictions like requiring visitors to reserve tickets in advance.

Read the full story and see more photos here:

BEIJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 04: Chinese tourists crowd in a bottleneck as they move slowly on a section of the Great Wall at Badaling after tickets sold out during the 'Golden Week' holiday on October 4, 2020 in Beijing, China. Officials are expecting the Golden Week holiday to boost China's consumer economy as people were encouraged to use the 8-day break to travel and spend. Tourist sites including the Great Wall were packed, with tickets selling out most days given pandemic restrictions and capacity capped at 75%.

Related article What pandemic? Crowds swarm the Great Wall of China as travel surges during holiday week

Remember sitting down at a restaurant and unwrapping silver utensils folded elegantly in a white cloth napkin? Yeah, me neither.

Since March 22 when the stay-at-home order all but shut down New York City and state – following similar orders in Washington state and California – restaurants and bars were shut down and later open only for takeout or delivery.

New York City without restaurants is – or was – unfathomable. When I moved here from California, the main reason outside of career ambitions was the food.

The best restaurants in the country are here, the best chefs, the most international cuisines.

I would eat like a queen at Pasha, an old favorite Turkish restaurant on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I would hop on the F train from Brooklyn through Manhattan to Queens for delicious Indian curries at Jackson Diner.

I’d head up to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx and shop at Italian markets and stuff myself on cannoli from Marrone and celebrate at bacchanalian Italian feasts at Puglia, an century-old establishment in Little Italy where resident crooner, Jorge Buccio, would lead cheerful diners in “The Napkin Song.”

Then there’s all the fine dining: Le Bernardin remains my No. 1 favorite New York City restaurant and securing reservations there for myself, friends and colleagues brought such a sense of victory, I can barely describe it. Think of it as winning a gold medal, but you know, with an email confirmation from Resy.

So here we are, one week after restaurants in New York City reopened at 25% capacity. I’ve been eating outdoors since July – not often – but enough to keep my restaurant-related madness in check. But now it was time to go back to some semblance of reality.

Read the full story:

The scene inside Keens, the famed NYC steakhouse, after reopening for indoor dining.

Related article My first indoor dinner since Covid-19 hit

More than 35 million people around the world have tested positive for the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

And even if that figure is an enormous undercount of the people who have had the disease – as the World Health Organization and other experts say it is – it means tens of millions of people have had the disease and then been able to leave isolation.

Some people are back to normal health within weeks. But for others, issues persist for months or cause damage that might lead to other health issues in the future.

Here’s what we know now about recovering from Covid-19:

Read the full story:

Related article What we know about what it's like to recover from Covid-19 and its long-term effects

Germany reported 2,828 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday – the highest number of daily infections since April 18, according to the country’s center for disease control, the Robert Koch institute. 

The country has now recorded more than 306,000 coronavirus cases, including at least 9,562 deaths.

Germany’s infections peaked between the end of March and start of April, when authorities recorded more than 6,000 cases a day.

The confirmed daily cases fell significantly, although reported infections have been rising again in the country since the end of July.

CNN is tracking worldwide Covid-19 cases:

A defiant President Donald Trump is chasing his own political goals while ignoring the human and economic toll of the pandemic, with his super spreader White House in chaos and top Pentagon generals in quarantine.

With uncertainty still clouding official bulletins of the President’s condition as he battles Covid-19, there is increasing bewilderment in Washington at some of his tone deaf and erratic moves since leaving the hospital on Monday.

Trump suddenly blew up congressional negotiations on a Covid-19 economic rescue package. And in a fresh assault on public health strategies needed to quell a now-accelerating pandemic, Trump claimed falsely that it was no worse than the flu, as he portrays himself as a hero leader who conquered the virus.

By reinforcing his denial of a national emergency that has killed more than 210,000 Americans, Trump is adopting a high-risk strategy that potentially offends bereaved relatives of those who died from the disease and almost everyone else who has seen their lives, schooling and family life shattered. By squelching economic rescue talks, he leaves himself open to charges of indifference to the plight of millions of Americans thrown out of work during the pandemic and who relied on now expired federal unemployment benefits.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden seized on the sense that the Trump White House is running off the rails to pledge to restore national unity and to lead the nation out of the pandemic, following in Abraham Lincoln’s footsteps in warning America was again a “house divided” on the battlefield at Gettysburg, the scene of the Civil War’s bloodiest clash.

Trump’s latest attempts to downplay the virus — even as he is on a regimen of strong and experimental drugs to fight his own infection – are sure to be a centerpiece of Wednesday night’s debate between Vice President Mike Pence and the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Sen. Kamala Harris of California.

Read the full analysis:

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 05: U.S. President Donald Trump stands on the Truman Balcony after returning to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on October 05, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump spent three days hospitalized for coronavirus. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Related article Trump's erratic behavior ignores worsening pandemic and its victims

The United States recorded at least 43,562 new coronavirus infections and 705 virus-related deaths on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The nationwide totals now stand at 7,500,964 cases, including at least 210,886 deaths, per JHU’s tally.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

CNN is tracking the US cases:

A man has escaped coronavirus quarantine in South Korea by digging a hole underneath a temporary wall at a government facility in Seoul, according to health authorities.

Health official Son Young-rae said Wednesday that the man, an Indonesian sailor, entered the country on a seafarers’ visa and began his quarantine on September 21.

He was due to be released on October 5, but dug his way out of the facility the day before.

According to Son, the man’s Covid-19 test result was negative when he entered the country and he didn’t show any symptoms of coronavirus.

Police are still searching for the man and analyzing CCTV footage. Since the incident, additional CCTV cameras have been installed at the quarantine facility and more police officers have been dispatched to the center, Son said.

Foreigners who arrive in South Korea must quarantine at a state facility for 14 days unless they are residents of the country.

The situation in South Korea: On Wednesday, authorities reported 114 new coronavirus infections nationwide, of which 94 cases were locally transmitted and 20 imported.

The total number of confirmed cases for the country stands at 24,353, including 425 deaths.

South Korea is experiencing a fresh wave of cases, prompting authorities to restrict gatherings.

Millions of Americans are still out of work. Many small businesses and major airlines are struggling to stay afloat. And states are still contending with massive budget gaps.

But none of them – nor others in need of relief from the coronavirus pandemic – will receive assistance from the federal government anytime soon, now that President Donald Trump has ordered a halt to negotiations with the Democratic-led House of Representatives.

The two sides never got very close in their efforts to pass another major economic rescue package, though talks had been continuing. The House last week released a $2.2 trillion version of the $3 trillion relief bill it had passed in May, while the White House was looking at a package in the $1.5 trillion range.

Another round of federal stimulus funding was seen as vital to propping up the nation’s economy at a time when the recovery is weakening. Prior rescue packages provided much-needed money to stabilize Americans who lost their jobs and businesses that lost their customers amid the pandemic.

Just hours before Trump’s announcement, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated his calls for more fiscal stimulus, saying that “the risks of overdoing it seem, for now, to be smaller” than not providing more help.

“The expansion is still far from complete,” Powell said Tuesday at the National Association for Business Economics annual meeting. “Too little support would lead to a weak recovery, creating unnecessary hardships for households and businesses … Even if policy actions ultimately prove to be greater than needed, they will not go to waste.”

Here’s what was under consideration:

Read the full story:

People wearing protective masks walk by a going out of business sign on the Upper West Side as the city continues Phase 4 of re-opening following restrictions imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus on September 27, 2020 in New York City.

Related article Trump halted stimulus talks. Here's what it means for you

The US Food and Drug Administration made clear Tuesday it will want to see two months of follow-up data after volunteers get their second dose of vaccine as part of clinical trials testing potential coronavirus vaccines.

That would make it difficult, if not impossible, for any vaccine maker to apply for emergency use authorization by Election Day, as President Donald Trump has suggested, or by the end of October, as the CEO of Pfizer has hinted.

The agency posted new guidance for manufacturers that says they need to provide at least two months of follow-up safety data after vaccinating volunteers before even asking the FDA to consider giving emergency use authorization (EUA) for a vaccine.

It made similar suggestions in documents for an October 22 meeting that has long been scheduled for vaccine advisers to meet and discuss requirements for either emergency use authorization or a full biologics license application for any potential coronavirus vaccine.

Read the full story:

Vaccine Trials

Related article FDA wants two months of safety data before considering Covid-19 vaccine

The ousted director of the office involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine has now resigned from his post at the National Institutes of Health, charging that the Trump administration “ignores scientific expertise, overrules public health guidance and disrespects career scientists.”

Rick Bright filed an extensive whistleblower complaint this spring, alleging that his early warnings about the coronavirus were ignored and that his caution at hydroxychloroquine led to his removal.

He is now exiting the federal government altogether after being “sidelined” at NIH, his attorneys said in a pointed statement released on Tuesday.

“Although not allowed at NIH to utilize his expertise in vaccines or therapeutics, Dr. Bright developed a plan to implement a robust national testing infrastructure, which emphasized the critical need to provide screening tests for asymptomatic individuals and to provide services to underserved populations disproportionately impacted by COVID-19,” Bright’s attorneys, Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, said in a statement.

Bright’s exit caps a tumultuous few months since he was ousted from his role leading the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and reassigned to a narrower role at NIH.

Read the full story:

Related article Ex-pandemic preparedness chief resigns from federal government

The United States could see as many as 400,000 deaths from the coronavirus this winter if Americans don’t follow public health mitigation guidelines, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned on Tuesday.

Fauci had warned in the spring that if the US did not follow the guidance, 200,000 Americans could die from the deadly virus. “And sadly, we have 210,000 deaths now,” he said during a discussion with American University students.

“The models tell us that if we do not do the kinds of things that we’re talking about in the cold of the fall and the winter, we could have from 300,000 to 400,000 deaths. That would be just so tragic, if that happens.”

Fauci encouraged everyone to take simple steps such as wearing masks, social distancing, frequent hand washing and doing as much outside instead of inside as possible.

President Donald Trump has ordered his negotiators to halt talks over a new stimulus package, after the two sides have struggled for months to reach a deal, a stunning move that puts an end to last-ditch efforts for a major economic relief package as millions are reeling from the coronavirus crisis.

“I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business,” Trump wrote in a series of tweets Tuesday afternoon.

Trump’s message stunned lawmakers – especially since Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had been trading proposals and negotiating for days in the hopes of narrowing their differences, though they were still far apart in their talks.

The decision to pull the plug on the talks is a major blow to Americans still struggling with the fallout from the once-in-a century pandemic and endangers an economic recovery that for months was driven by the initial $2.2 trillion stimulus passed by Congress in the spring. With that money largely spent and gone, economists – including Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in a renewed plea for action Tuesday – have warned more support is imperative in the months ahead.

The timing of Trump’s sudden move perplexed even Republicans since there was little downside politically to allowing the talks to continue to play out. Now, they fear, that Trump’s decision will make it easier for Democrats to pit the blame squarely on the White House for the collapse of the talks as many voters are eager for more relief from Washington.

Read the full story:

Trump Pelosi split

Related article Trump calls for stimulus negotiations to stop until after Election Day

The World Health Organization’s Europe director has called for action against Covid-19 “fatigue,” warning that apathy concerning the virus has reached high levels in some cases.

“Based on aggregated survey data from countries across the Region, we can see, not surprisingly, that fatigue among those surveyed is increasing,” Hans Kluge said in a statement Tuesday.

Kluge said that “these levels of fatigue are to be expected” during such a protracted public health emergency, where citizens have made “huge sacrifices.”

“Although we are all weary, I believe it is possible to reinvigorate and revive efforts to tackle the evolving COVID-19 challenges that we face,” he said.

Europe can take action: Kluge said European countries can reverse this trend and tackle the spread of Covid-19 by taking “the pulse of the community regularly” and “meeting the needs of citizens in new, innovative ways.”

“From understanding the behavioral needs of young people returning to university, to the emotional toll isolation has taken in elderly care homes, policy must be driven by the growing body of evidence we have on people’s behaviours and on fatigue.”

Once again, misleading comparisons between the flu and Covid-19 caught widespread attention across the internet.

“Flu season is coming up! Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu,” President Donald Trump tweeted. “Are we going to close down our Country? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!”

That’s not true. Covid-19 is more lethal than the seasonal flu.

Coronavirus

The flu

And in just eight months, Covid-19 has killed more people than the flu did during the last five flu seasons combined.

As for Trump’s claim that the flu kills “sometimes over 100,000” people a year, CDC data from 1976 to 2007 and from 2010 until now show that’s not even close.

Read more about why Covid-19 is more dangerous than the flu – and why extra precautions are needed:

This transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19. isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. Credit: NIAID-RML

Related article More people have died from Covid-19 than in the past 5 flu seasons combined