October 20 coronavirus news

A vaccine scientist warns that the next four to five months could be the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, as more than half of states report a rise in new infections.

“The key is now hanging on now for the next four or five months, where we're going to enter what may be the worst period during this epidemic. As bad as it's been, it's about to get worse,” Peter Hotez said on CNN’s “New Day.”

Hotez, the dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, recommends creating a “unit” with friends or family members for the next few months.

Make sure you aren’t alone during this time, and consider having access to mental health counseling as well, he said. 

“People are going to feel abandoned; they're going to feel on their own. This is going to be one of the darkest chapters in modern American history, and get ready for it, but just remember it will get better,” he said. 

Watch:

Yesterday saw a major rise in case numbers for the US, with at least 58,387 new cases reported on Monday. 

This was the highest number of cases reported on a Monday since July 20, which was during the peak of the summer wave, and was 40% higher than last Monday’s total

Why Mondays matter: Monday is traditionally one of the lowest reporting days of the week, even though it can often contain unreported cases from the weekend.

More than 400,000 new coronavirus cases have been reported in the US over the past 7 days – the highest weekly total since Aug. 4.

Meanwhile across the country, at least 31 states are reporting more new cases than the previous week, according to Johns Hopkins data. Only one state – Hawaii – is trending in the right direction.

 Here's a look at where cases are rising:

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, accusing him of adopting a controversial declaration that advocates for herd immunity.

He said it would lead to more hospitalizations and deaths.

While the state’s case level remains stable, Gelber said he is concerned about not being able to enforce mandatory mask orders and curfews for bars. He said he also worries about visitors to his city spreading Covid-19 to their home states. 

“We are trying to literally protect our residents from their government at this point, because we can't even impose a requirement that people get citations for not wearing a mask. And that's become a real problem, because I worry about the uptick becoming a surge,” Gelber said.

Watch:

As the Republic of Ireland prepares for some of the most stringent lockdown measures in Europe, the country's postal service says it will deliver letters, cards, and packages to nursing and care homes for free. 

Ireland’s An Post says the initiative "is about reaching out with compassion, staying connected and sending love to each other."

Visits to long term residential care facilities will be suspended under the country's new coronavirus restrictions, with exceptions made for those in critical and compassionate circumstances.

Customers in Ireland who want to send cards, letters or parcels to care home residents just need to write FREEPOST where they would normally affix a stamp, and then send the items through mailboxes or at the post office as usual, An Post says. 

Ireland’s new restrictions: Under the level 5 lockdown, which come into effect at midnight on Wednesday for 6 weeks:

But unlike during the level 5 lockdown implemented earlier in the pandemic, schools and childcare services will remain open. 

Ireland's Taoiseach, or prime minister, Micheál Martin said Monday that the decision to keep schools open was a necessity: "We cannot, and will not, allow our children and young people's futures to be another victim of this disease."

Ireland recorded 7,495 new cases and 26 deaths last week, a considerable jump in cases from the week before, when 4,510 cases and 17 deaths were recorded.  

On Monday, the total number of cases recorded in the country since the start of the pandemic surpassed 50,000 and the death toll was 1,852, according to the health department.

The United States is unlikely to have a Covid-19 vaccine authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration before late November at the earliest, according to Dr. Francis Collins, director of the US National Institutes of Health.

"These will be vaccines that are tested with the most rigorous standards for safety and efficacy," Collins said. "If we get to the point by sometime, maybe the end of this year, where one or more of those is judged to be safe and effective, it will be because it's safe and effective."

The White House Coronavirus Task Force still meets at least once a week with the Vice President to discuss issues such as "the worsening of the pandemic in the middle of the country," Collins added.

Dr. Scott Atlas, who has made controversial comments about mask-wearing recently, serves as the White House coronavirus adviser.

After Donald Trump's attack on Dr Anthony Fauci, Collins said the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was "probably the most highly respected infectious disease expert in the world," adding: "I have great confidence in him."

Collins also warned that the US "never got over the first wave" of the virus that hit New York particularly hard, saying "we never really drove the cases down to the baseline."

He said this was because the US had not succeeded in introducing "really effective public health measures" such as mask-wearing, social distancing and handwashing, adding that his family will not be gathering for Thanksgiving this year.

The Czech Republic has gone back to square one in its battle against Covid-19, reinstating a strict mask mandate that was in place in the spring, and which the government lifted over the summer, believing it had the epidemic under control.

The country's Heath Minister Roman Prymula announced Monday that masks will now be compulsory in all urban areas and in cars. Previously, they were only mandatory indoors and on public transport, including at outdoor stations.

There are few exceptions to the rules, with face coverings not mandatory when a person is exercising, or when they can keep a two-meter distance from people who are not from the same household. If someone is in a car on their own or with other members of their household, they don't have to wear a mask. Children under the age of two are also exempt.

The Czechs were among the first in the world to adopt strict mask rules during the first wave of the pandemic and, coupled with the country's decision to impose a strict lockdown relatively early, it was effective in sparing the country the worst ravages of Covid-19. 

But the Czech Republic appears to have become a victim of its own success. After easing restrictions over the summer, it is currently reporting more new Covid-19 cases per million people than any major country in the world.

Read the full story here:

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Czech Republic is reinstating its strict face mask rules

Russia reported another daily record of 16,319 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, according to the country’s coronavirus response center. 

The center reported 269 deaths in the past 24 hours, and added that the current growth rate in the infections is 1.2%. 

It said the number of new cases in Moscow -- Russia's most affected city -- had decreased slightly, falling below 5,000 for the first time in days. 

The total number of reported coronavirus cases in Russia as of October 20 is 1,431,635. It has reported 24,635 deaths, although the real figure is likely to be higher, due to the way the country calculates deaths, and reports of high excess mortality this year.

How many times do you touch the cabin in an airplane when you fly? How about the airport? How many times do the people working there touch your belongings?

The answer, as a rule, is "quite a lot."

But airlines, airports and the wider aviation industry want it to be "quite a bit less" in future. 

"Touchless travel" comprises a fairly wide collection of changes to the environment around us, from hands-free flushing in airport and airplane lavatories to automated scan-and-board gates, controlling your inflight entertainment system from your phone or tablet, and more.

It includes not just touch-free but also "less-touch" and "fewer-touch" travel.

Some of this, such as infrared sensing faucets, is automated -- but some of it is redesigning physical parts of the experience, such as doors or trash cans you can open with your feet.

Read the full story here:

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What's next for no-touch air travel?

By John Walton, CNN

The UK's first rapid pre-flight Covid-19 testing facilities launched at London's Heathrow airport on Tuesday.

The test "costs £80 ($104) and aims to provide departing passengers with their results in around 60 minutes," airport service providers Collinson and Swissport announced in a statement on Tuesday. 

The new facilities, located at terminals 2 and 5, will initially supply Oxford LAMP rapid Covid-19 tests for passengers traveling to destinations that require pre-departure tests as part of local government requirements, including Hong Kong and Italy, the statement says.

The facilities "will seek to add other tests, including Antigen, as global governments continue to accept a wider variety of testing methods as an alternative to travel restrictions and quarantines," the statement adds.

Airlines British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific will offer the testing to passengers. The testing facilities will initially be open for four weeks, monitoring passenger and airline demand, according to the statement.