October 10 coronavirus news

President Donald Trump’s doctor on Saturday said he’s met criteria from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to leave isolation. Those criteria don’t generally require a negative test for coronavirus. 

Here’s why:

People can continue to test positive even though they’re no longer infectious

Research has shown that PCR tests can still pick up pieces of genetic material from the virus long after someone has recovered. But these people aren’t likely to be infectious 10 to 20 days after symptoms began, according to the CDC.

To figure that out, scientists have taken samples from coronavirus patients and tried to infect living cells. Even though PCR tests can come back positive, patients don’t tend to be infectious after that 10 to 20 day window has passed, research has found.

Think of it this way: A PCR test is looking for the blueprint of the virus – its “genome” – and not the virus itself. In fact, the test is just looking for fragments of that blueprint. It’s like a recipe for chocolate cake; finding the recipe in someone’s kitchen doesn’t mean you’ll find a cake.

Why might Trump not need to isolate for 20 days?

For patients with severe Covid-19, the CDC says up to 20 days of isolation “may be warranted.” But the agency’s recommendations only require that at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared.

“Consider consultation with infection control experts,” the CDC’s recommendations say. The President’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, released a memo Saturday that referenced “advanced diagnostic tests” and stated “there is no longer evidence of actively replicating virus” from Trump.

Still, the letter didn’t fully describe those advanced diagnostic tests or their exact findings. Conley also didn’t disclose other vital signs from the President, such as his current oxygen levels – leaving many questions about Trump’s current condition unanswered.

Read more about Trump’s coronavirus status here:

President Donald Trump removes his face mask to speak from the Blue Room Balcony of the White House to a crowd of supporters, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Related article Trump has met CDC criteria to end isolation and is cleared to return to an active schedule by his physician

A former acting director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said he’s not surprised to see opinion polls showing the public don’t trust the federal agency’s Covid-19 information.

“It’s understandable when you see instance after instance of political interference in CDC’s work,” Dr. Richard Besser told CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta Saturday during a Coronavirus: Facts and Fears town hall.

A tweet from a viewer, responding to the question of trust in the CDC, was also read aloud.

“I feel the integrity of the CDC has been compromised by the scoffing, lackadaisical attitude of the current administration. Under any other administration, yes, absolutely. Now, no,” the tweet read.

Besser, who pointed out that thousands of CDC scientists continue to do “great work,” said he thinks the trust can be regained.

“If there was an approach going forward where CDC was allowed to lead, where it was clear that there was a firewall between the work CDC was doing and the political level, that would be attainable,” he said.

Politics is “part and parcel of public health,” former CDC Director Dr. Jeffrey Koplan said Saturday during CNN’s town hall, Coronavirus: Facts and Fears.

“There has to be interplay and partnership between a receptive and intelligent political group, and the science of public health,” Koplan said. “We get our budgets appropriated from Congress. The states do and communities do.”

Koplan said he believes this pandemic will serve as a wake-up call for politicians and public health officials.

This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses.

Coronavirus infections in the United States are much higher than the 7.6 million recorded so far by Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project, according to Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Almost certainly there have actually been more than 40 million people infected by this virus in the US,” Frieden said Saturday during CNN’s town hall.

“And that’s why there have been well over 200,000 deaths,” Frieden said. “The death rate is a fact and it’s a tragedy and we need not to get hardened to the reality that these are health care workers, these are mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters, and it’s going on every day.”

Frieden also predicted that with the current surge in cases across the country, as many as 20,000 more people could die from the virus by the end of the month.

Frieden said the most important thing anyone can do is to follow the science and the public health guidelines for mitigating the spread.

“That’s why we all have to recognize that we’re in this together. There’s only one enemy, and that’s the virus,” he said.

The White House administration needs to regain the trust of the American people when it comes to the development of a coronavirus vaccine through transparency, Dr. Julie Gerberding, an infectious disease expert who now is an executive vice president at Merck & Co Inc., told CNN today during its global coronavirus town hall.

Gerberding added: “Science is on our side.”

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A health worker wearing a protective mask works in a lab during Pfizer's clinical trials for a Covid-19 vaccine at Research Centers of America in Hollywood, Florida, on Wednesday, September 9.

Dr. David Satcher, a former director of the US Centers for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who served as surgeon general under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, said he hopes that a Covid-19 vaccine “can make a difference.”

Where development of a Covid-19 vaccine stands now: Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate begins Phase 3 trials in the United States on Sept. 23. Trials for the single-dose vaccine will include up to 60,000 adult participants at nearly 215 sites in the US and internationally.

Phase 3 trials will begin immediately, with the first participants receiving doses on Wednesday, Johnson & Johnson Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Paul Stoffels said on a call with reporters. The vaccine candidate was developed by Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.

Johnson & Johnson is now the fourth company to begin large-scale clinical trials for a Covid-19 vaccine in the United States, behind Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca.

While the other vaccine candidates require two doses, Johnson & Johnson’s candidate will be studied as a single-dose vaccine, which should expedite results, said Stoffels.

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The true number of coronavirus deaths in the United States is well over 250,000, former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said Saturday during CNN’s town hall.

Frieden, who served as CDC director under President Barack Obama, said a lot of the confusion about Covid-19 mortality rates is the result of the way fatalities are listed on death certificates.

“If you die from cancer, and you also have diabetes, you still died from cancer,” Frieden explained. “If you died from Covid, and you also had diabetes, you died from Covid.”

“Covid does affect older people much, much more than younger people, and many older people have lots of other health problems, so that ends up on the death certificate,” Frieden said.

“The best way to look at this is actually a statistic called ‘excess mortality’ – deaths above baseline – and that’s actually quite a bit higher,” he said. “The true total of this, which includes Covid and Covid-associated (deaths), is well over a quarter of a million deaths in the US so far.”

Frieden said there are typically three types of deaths that result from coronavirus.

“People who died from Covid, and were diagnosed with it; people who died from Covid, but weren’t diagnosed with it because there wasn’t testing, it wasn’t suspected, they died at home; and people who’ve died because of the disruption that Covid causes,” Frieden said.

An additional 20,000 Covid-19 deaths by the end of the month are “inevitable,” according to a former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“From the infections that have already occurred, we will see something like 20,000 deaths by the end of the month – additional deaths,” Dr. Tom Frieden said Saturday, during CNN’s Coronavirus: Facts and Fears town hall.

“Anytime we ignore, minimize or underestimate this virus, we do so at our peril and the peril of people whose lives depend on us,” Frieden said. “If you look around the world, the parts of the world – and even the parts of the US – that have been guided by public health and have supported public health have done better,” he said.

Fellow former CDC Director Dr. Richard Besser noted that projections aren’t set in stone.

“What we do matters. And if we follow the lead of public health, if we follow the lead of CDC and do the things that are working around the globe, in terms of wearing masks and social distancing and washing hands and investigating cases – ensuring people have what they need to isolate and quarantine – that we can have a very different trajectory and we can get this in control,” Besser said.

As of Saturday night, more than 214,000 Americans have died of Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.

People in the United States should “absolutely” be afraid of the coronavirus, despite President Trump’s assertion that Americans shouldn’t let it dominate their lives, said Dr. Jeffrey Koplan, a former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“There are 210,000 people who’ve passed away, who hopefully needn’t have in different circumstances,” Koplan said during CNN’s Coronavirus: Facts and Fears town hall Saturday.

Circumstances conducive to saving lives include listening to public health experts and embracing public health measures.

“But if your bosses – if the people up the chain of command aren’t supporting you, if the people up the chain of command are spreading false information, belittling important news and actions that need to be taken – it doesn’t work,” said Koplan, who is vice president of the Emory Global Health Institute.

Koplan said changing course is “doable.”

“We can do something about it. We can start right now, and should have. And in some parts of the country, the appropriate things are being done. But … when your leadership is working against you in this virus, the virus has an ally that makes it a pretty strong contender for further destruction.”

President Donald Trump removes his face mask to speak from the Blue Room Balcony of the White House to a crowd of supporters, Saturday, October 10.

President Donald Trump has been cleared to return to an active schedule, according to a new memo from his physician, Dr. Sean Conley, released Saturday night.

The memo says Trump has met criteria from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to end isolation but does not say whether the President has received a negative coronavirus test since first testing positive for the virus.

However, that is not a criteria for clearing isolation, according to the CDC.

Conley writes that Trump is 10 days from the onset of symptoms, has been fever-free for “well over 24 hours” and after diagnostic tests, “there is no longer evidence of actively replicating virus.” 

Questions remain: Conley did not fully explain what “advanced diagnostic tests” the President received. For example, he did not disclose whether so-called viral culture was performed. That’s the process by which scientists try to infect living cells to see whether active virus is present.

President’s schedule: Trump held his first public event Saturday since his diagnosis, delivering a speech to supporters at the White House. He is scheduled to hold at least three in-person rallies this week, beginning Monday in Florida. Conley says he will continue to monitor Trump “as he returns to an active schedule.”

Last negative test: It’s important to note we still don’t know when the President last tested negative before his positive test last week, which would offer insight into when he was contagious and how much so.

Members of the Wisconsin National Guard test residents for the coronavirus COVID-19 at a temporary test facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on October 9. Wisconsin currently has one of the highest positivity rates for COVID-19 in the nation.

The US could record nearly 400,000 coronavirus-related deaths by February 1, according to Dr. Chris Murray, a researcher behind an influential coronavirus model from the University of Washington.

Daily deaths will likely peak in the middle of January, Murray said during CNN’s global coronavirus town hall tonight.

Murray urged people to wear masks to mitigate the transmission of the virus.

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Coronavirus victims buried in Taruman Park Cemetery in Amazonas, Brazil on October 3.

Brazil on Saturday reported 559 new deaths from Covid-19, raising the country’s total fatalities to 150,198, according to the National Council of Health Departments.

After the United States, Brazil is now the second country in the world to reach 150,000 deaths, attributed by critics to the country’s haphazard response to the outbreak, personified in President Jair Bolsonaro’s leadership.

The actual death toll is believed to be much higher because of low Covid-19 testing capacity in some parts of the country.

The council also reported 26,749 new cases of the virus on Saturday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 5.08 million.

In terms of total cases, Brazil is ranked third worldwide, after the US and India, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally of cases.

While pregnant women generally experience mild coronavirus symptoms, they can persist for two months or more for 1 in 4 women, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Researchers from the University of California San Francisco and UCLA looked at 594 women across the US who tested positive for Covid-19 while pregnant. They found that 40% of the women still had symptoms by week four, and 25% experienced symptoms for eight weeks or longer.

The most common symptoms among the women were cough, sore throat, body aches and fever, and symptoms were most prevalent in the first three weeks. The median length of symptoms was 37 days. The vast majority of participants – 95% – were not hospitalized.

The participants were enrolled in the study between March 22 and July 10 of this year. More than half of the women had contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 or had symptoms. About 30% of the women were health care workers, and 60% were White.

The researchers acknowledged that their findings may not generalize to the larger population. They noted that availability, timing and accuracy of testing may have impacted the results.

People wearing face masks as a preventive measure walk around a market in Kathmandu, Nepal, on October 9. As the Dashain festival season approaches, markets in the Nepalese capital are getting busy and crowded.

Nepal recorded 5,008 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the country’s highest daily increase in new infections, taking the national tally to 105,684, according to its health ministry.

The tiny South Asian nation has seen a surge in new Covid-19 infections recently, with its total number of cases doubling in only four weeks, according to the ministry.

The ministry announced 14 new coronavirus-related deaths, raising the total deaths to 614.

The capital, Kathmandu, is the worst-hit area so far, accounting for nearly a third of the country’s total infections, according to health ministry data.

Meanwhile, Nepalese Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Yogesh Bhattarai tested positive for the virus on Saturday, according to his official Facebook page.

Dr. Megan Ranney

Emergency physicians across the US are beginning to see an uptick in severe coronavirus cases, prompting fears that the second wave of the virus is coming, according to Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency medicine physician with Brown University in Rhode Island.

“We are all seeing increasing numbers of Covid-19 patients who are coming into our ER’s, who are getting really sick, requiring hospitalization and even intensive care,” Ranney told CNN’s Erica Hill.

She noted the spike in cases which occurred among younger people about a month ago is now spreading within communities.

 Ranney emphasized that there is still no cure for the virus.

 “We’re quite fearful for what we are heading into,” she said.

A customer drinks a coffee on a cafe terrace on October 9 in Lyon after the city was placed on maximum coronavirus alert. Four French cities including Lyon are placed on maximum coronavirus alert, joining Paris and other metropolises where bars have been shuttered in an increasingly urgent bid to brake a fast-accelerating outbreak of Covid-19.

France recorded 26,896 new cases of coronavirus Saturday, setting a new record for daily reported infections since the start of the pandemic, according to data from the French Health Ministry.

Saturday’s record was an increase of 6,557 more cases than the day before when the previous record was set with 20,339 cases.

The rise in infections takes the total of reported infections in the country to 718,873.

An additional 54 deaths were reported by the ministry on Saturday, bringing the total of fatalities to 32,684.  

An outbreak of coronavirus cases in Anchorage, Alaska, are being tied to a youth hockey tournament held on Oct. 2-3.

The exact number of cases tied to the event has not yet been determined, as contact tracing continues, but Anchorage Public Health Director Heather Harris says up to 300 attendees are being asked to isolate or quarantine as a result of their potential exposure.

“All teams that have participated in the tournament have been quarantined since Tuesday, Oct. 6 and have been advised to get tested for the virus,” according to a post on the Anchorage Hockey Association’s website.

The three-day event, the Termination Dust Invitational, hosted players, coaches, and fans at two separate sites. Organizers had mitigation plans in place and kept a contact log of participants, Harris said.

“It is just a continual reminder about how pervasive Covid is and how it can strike anyone at any time,” Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz said in a news conference Friday.

Alaska has confirmed 9,182 coronavirus cases to date, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

President Trump, in his first public event since he was diagnosed with coronavirus, gave a brief campaign style speech from the balcony of the White House where he attacked Joe Biden and focused on his law and order messaging.

Though members of the audience were mostly Black Americans — members of a group known as “BLEXIT” that was founded by conservative firebrand Candace Owens to encourage African Americans to leave the Democratic Party — the lines of Trump’s speech seemed aimed at White suburbanites who are not sympathetic to the Black Lives Matter movement.

“If the left gains power, they will launch a nationwide crusade against law enforcement,” Trump said.

Some context: Just as the US sees an upward trend in hospitalization rates, Trump invited some 2,000 people for the speech from a White House balcony, in just the latest sign that his staff and doctors are acquiescing to his desires rather than following public health guidelines and common sense.

The large gathering follows Trump’s acknowledgment during a televised interview with Fox News Friday that he may have contracted the virus at one of the recent events at the White House. It’s unknown whether he’s still contagious, but Trump gave an incomprehensible answer about his latest coronavirus test results Friday.

US President Donald Trump speaks publicly for the first time since testing positive for Covid-19 from the South Portico of the White House on October 10.

The White House said attendance at today’s event is expected to be less than a thousand people, according to reporters at the scene.

Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere told the White House press pool that President Trump’s speech is expected to last roughly 30 minutes.

“This is an official event,” not a campaign event, and no campaign staff is involved, Deere said.

“The campaign is not involved in this,” he said.

More details: CNN took video of the line to get onto White House grounds for the event.

There was a large group of people seen wearing blue shirts associated with “Blexit,” a group founded by conservative commentator Candace Owens. Some people were not wearing masks as they waited in line.

The latest forecast of an influential coronavirus model projects 394,693 total US coronavirus deaths by February 1.

That’s about 181,000 additional lives lost beyond the current US death toll of 213,860, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The model, from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington School of Medicine, projects that daily deaths in the US will peak at about 2,300 in mid-January. For comparison, Friday’s US death toll was 990, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The new projections are based off of current conditions. If US social distancing mandates are eased, the model projects 502,852 coronavirus-related deaths by February 1.

Masks make a difference. If 95% of people in the US wore masks, the model projects that 79,000 fewer lives would be lost by February 1, and daily deaths would peak at less than 1,400. 

Greater context: Globally, the model predicts that 2,488,346 people will die from coronavirus by February 1. The model shows that if 95% of people around the world wore masks, more than three-quarters of a million lives would be saved by that date.

Hawaiian Airlines is cutting inter-island flights and cargo service, citing low travel demand and quarantine restrictions, the airline announced in a news release. 

‘Ohana by Hawaiian offers multiple flights each day from Honolulu to Molokai and Lanai and is operated by third party Empire Airlines. That service will be suspended starting Nov. 1, along with cargo service between the islands.

Hawaii had implemented a 14-day quarantine for travelers to the Aloha State, but recently announced a revision that will allow visitors to provide a negative Covid-19 test within 72-hours of traveling.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, and US President Donald Trump.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Trump on Saturday discussed ongoing efforts by their countries to manage the coronavirus pandemic.

People take pictures of the White House on October 8.

As President Trump hosts supporters at the White House for his first public event since testing positive for coronavirus, the Democratic National Committee War Room is planning a spectacle of its own.

From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., a mobile billboard is expected to roam the streets around the White House to call attention to the Trump administration’s coronavirus response, and how, per the DNC War Room, Trump is “still putting lives at risk.”

The billboard truck is expected to feature a screen with rotating pandemic statistics, including 7.7 million coronavirus cases in the US, 213,000 US deaths, 657,000 children infected, 400,000 businesses closed for good, and 40 million Americans at risk of being evicted by the end of the year.

And the truck will play audio of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who told CBS News Radio in an interview this week, “We had a superspreader event in the White House.”

“Even after the White House has been turned into a hotspot in this pandemic, Trump still hasn’t learned his lesson or started listening to his own public health experts,” DNC War Room spokesperson Lily Adams said in a statement. “Instead, he is doubling down with another potential superspreader event today and a return to rallies next week.”

Alyssa Farah, White House communications director, speaks with reporters on October 10 at the White House.

White House communications director Alyssa Farah said that today’s event at the White House, the first public event for President Trump since his coronavirus diagnosis, will be brief and comply with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

She did not elaborate as to what type of screening those who attend the event would be subject to.

A source with knowledge of the planning says attendees must bring masks and will be subject to temperature checks.

More details: Farah also said that once Trump is cleared by the doctors he will resume campaigning. Trump’s campaign has already announced a rally in Florida for Monday night, but the White House has not yet said if Trump has tested negative for the coronavirus since his infection.

There was no update on the President’s health from his doctor Sean Conley on Friday. Farah said the White House will make it public knowledge when Trump does get cleared to travel.

Farah also said that the President wants to participate in another debate with Joe Biden despite next weeks debate getting canceled.

“The President is eager to get in front of the American people side to side with Joe Biden and make the case for his record and how it just stacks up much better for the American people so we’re gonna look for another opportunity to do that,” Farah said in an interview on Fox this morning.

“We’re gonna push to do something and whether it’s through the debate commission or other avenues, you can rest assured the American people will hear from Donald Trump,” she added.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie attends a news conference at the White House on September 27.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie tweeted that he has been released from the hospital after testing positive for Covid-19

Christie checked himself into a hospital on Oct. 3 as a precautionary measure after testing positive.

At the time, Christie, who suffers from asthma, said in consultation with his doctor he decided it was best to be monitored in the hospital.

Read the tweet:

Johns Hopkins University (JHU) reported 57,420 new positive cases in the United States on Friday.

The tally is the third consecutive day the US has seen more than 50,000 reported daily cases. Here are the figures:

The last time the US reported more than 50,000 cases for three consecutive days was in mid-August, according to data from the university.

Worrying trends are being recorded across the US. At least 22 states reported more than 1,000 new cases on Thursday. And the country’s daily case count average — now more than 46,000 — has surged by 12% since the previous week.

Florida, which over the summer became the country’s hotspot, is now “ripe for another large outbreak,” an infectious disease expert told CNN. Late last month, the state cleared the way for bars and restaurants to fully reopen and this week reported more than 6,000 cases over a two day-period.

Read more here:

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - OCTOBER 09: Members of the Wisconsin National Guard test residents for the coronavirus COVID-19 at a temporary test facility set up in the parking lot of the UMOS corporate headquarters on October 09, 2020 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Wisconsin currently has one of the highest positivity rates for COVID-19 in the nation. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Related article Several regions sound alarm as US reports most Covid-19 daily cases in nearly 2 months

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during the 75th Worker's Party celebration in Pyongyang. This image comes from Korean Central TV footage, which aired on October 10.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un spoke to a large, mask-less crowd in Pyongyang saying he was thankful for the country not having a single coronavirus victim. 

He hoped South Korea will overcome the coronavirus situation and that the two sides can “hold hands together,” Kim said.

The North Korean leader entered the parade without a mask, kissing children who gave him flowers. There appeared to be no social distancing among the crowd, who were not wearing masks either.

Read more:

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends an emergency Politburo meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea Saturday, July 25, 2020. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

Related article Coronavirus outbreak in North Korea poses threat to Kim Jong Un

One of the Giro d’Italia’s pre-race favorites, Britain’s Simon Yates, has withdrawn from the famous cycle race after testing positive for coronavirus.

The 28-year-old, who rides for the Mitchelton-Scott team, began to show mild symptoms after Friday’s seventh stage and was subsequently tested.

Yates, who won the Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain) in 2018, was taken by ambulance to begin a period of quarantine.

The three-week Giro was moved from its traditional slot in May due to the pandemic and it follows the delayed Tour de France in a reshuffled cycling calendar.

Yates is the first rider to test positive in the Giro which is due to finish in Milan on October 25.

The news comes hard on the heels of the cancellation of the Paris-Roubaix one-day classic next month due to coronavirus spikes in northern France.

People wear face coverings as they walk through the city center in Manchester, England on October 8.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said the UK government’s measures to reduce the spread of Covid-19 “are not working,” adding that “the public is in danger of losing faith in existing measures – demonstrated by infection rates spiralling out of control because at times the messaging has been inconsistent.”

The BMA recommends wearing mandatory face masks in all offices and work environments as well as in all outdoor settings where two-meter distancing isn’t possible. 

It also suggests modifying the current “rule of six,” with the rule that only two (exclusive) households can meet (and those should not exceed 6 people) – ideally outdoors, rather than indoors.”

The UK recorded 13,864 new coronavirus cases on Friday and 87 deaths.

A health care worker treats a coronavirus patient at the City Clinical Hospital Number 52 in Moscow on October 8.

Russia reported 12,846 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, a new record-high daily increase in cases since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the country’s coronavirus response center.

The previous record was set on Friday, when 12,126 cases were reported that day.

The total number of officially reported coronavirus cases in Russia as of October 10 is 1,285,084.

Russia has had the fourth greatest number of coronavirus cases across the world, behind the US, India and Brazil, according to Johns Hopkins University. It ranks 13th for overall deaths, the JHU data shows.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recorded 350,000 new cases in a single day on Friday – the highest daily total since the pandemic began.

Europe is now reporting more daily infections than the United States, Brazil, and India – the countries that have been driving the global case count for months. Here’s the latest:

Germany: Germany reported another bump in numbers on Saturday, with 4,721 more coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total to 319,381.

There were also 15 more deaths, bringing the total to 9,604, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s public health institute.

UK: Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce new coronavirus restrictions on Monday as the government tries to curb a surge in new cases. The UK recorded 13,864 new cases on Friday, which is lower than the previous 24 hours. But there has been a sharp upward trend in recent weeks.

Czech Republic: The country recorded another big jump in coronavirus cases Friday with 8,618 new cases, according to the ministry of health. That’s 3,224 more than Thursday’s figure. 

A total of 31,321 new cases were recorded in the country in the past week. Although the largest increase was recorded in the capital, Prague, almost all Czech regions are reporting record numbers. According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the Czech Republic remains the worst-stricken country per capita in Europe.

France: Health officials in Lille, northern France, are urging local hospitals to start cancelling surgeries, fearing a bottleneck in intensive care affecting the elderly after a rise in new Covid cases. France recorded 20,339 new cases of the virus on Friday, the highest daily total since the outbreak began.

Health officials in Lille, northern France, are urging local hospitals to start cancelling surgeries, fearing a bottleneck in intensive care affecting the elderly after a rise in new Covid cases.

The city is showing high rates of the virus, with an incidence rate of 308 for every 100,000 inhabitants, data shows.

Among people over 65 years of age, the incidence rate is 273 for every 100,000 people. The positivity rate for coronavirus tests is 15% among that age group, while the regional average of the general population is 10.40%, according to the region’s health authority.

Bars in Lille will be closed from Saturday for at least two weeks. France recorded 20,339 new cases of the virus on Friday, the highest daily total since the outbreak began.

The positivity rate for the country stands at 10.4%. It was only 5.4% just three weeks ago.

Boris Johnson wears a face mask as he visits Tollgate Medical Centre in Beckton on July 24, 2020 in London.

It’s been another week of difficult headlines for Boris Johnson. Once again, serious questions are being asked of Britain’s Prime Minister and his administration’s approach to handling the Covid-19 pandemic and, more broadly, the style of government.

Things kicked off with Johnson being criticized for sending mixed messages in a BBC interview on Sunday, in which he warned that coronavirus restrictions could last until 2021, but also that he needed to get the economy moving. Arguably sending a vague message for a public unsure of what to do as the virus spreads exponentially, he said, “What we want people to do is behave fearlessly but with common sense.”

Things got worse, as the government was forced to admit that 16,000 confirmed cases went unreported due to a technical glitch.

Cases are rising in universities just weeks after students returned to campuses: more than 1,000 students at Newcastle University tested positive for Covid-19 over an eight-day period, along with another 770 cases at the University of Northumbria, while three universities in north England have stopped face-to-face teaching.

Concerns about the rise in cases and the testing system were not helped by a cabinet minister having to admit on Wednesday that the country is experiencing supply chain issues with a pharmaceutical company that supplies tests to the UK.

And Johnson is under fire from all sides for his approach to introducing further restrictions across the country. Criticism ranges from decisions on local restrictions being taken in central government by the PM and his close team – without consulting local leaders – to curfews not being backed by scientific evidence.

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LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 05: Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks to a member of staff as he visits the headquarters of Octopus Energy on October 05, 2020 in London, England. The prime minister and Chancellor of Exchequer Rishi Sunak visited the British "tech unicorn" - a startup company valued at more than USD$1 billion - to promote the company's plan to create 1,000 new technology jobs across sites in London, Brighton, Warwick and Leicester, and a new tech hub in Manchester. (Photo by Leon Neal - WPA Pool /Getty Images)

Related article Analysis: Fear sets in that Boris Johnson's Brexit government is ill equipped to handle a pandemic

Just as the US reported its highest number of daily Covid-19 infections in nearly two months, several experts offered grim outlooks if Americans don’t take the right precautions.

Florida, which over the summer became the country’s coronavirus hotspot, is “ripe for another large outbreak,” an infectious disease expert told CNN.

Late last month, the state cleared the way for bars and restaurants to fully reopen – and this week reported more than 6,000 cases over a two day-period.

White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx also cautioned Friday of “early suggestions” of alarming trends in the Northeast, urging residents to take action and help prevent the spread before the virus takes off again.

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MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - OCTOBER 09: Members of the Wisconsin National Guard test residents for the coronavirus COVID-19 at a temporary test facility set up in the parking lot of the UMOS corporate headquarters on October 09, 2020 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Wisconsin currently has one of the highest positivity rates for COVID-19 in the nation. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Related article Several regions sound alarm as US reports most Covid-19 daily cases in nearly 2 months

There were 57,420 new coronavirus infections reported in the US over the past 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally – bringing the country’s total to at least 7,663,293.

Johns Hopkins University also recorded 990 more coronavirus-related deaths in the US on Friday, meaning at least 213,752 people have died from the virus there since the pandemic began. 

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

For regular updates, follow CNN’s map, which uses JHU data to refresh every 15 mins:

https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/health/coronavirus-us-maps-and-case

President Donald Trump says rapid coronavirus treatment was the key to his quick recovery from Covid-19,.

“I think the secret for me was I got there very early,”  Trump told Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel during a pre-taped segment that aired Friday night.

Trump announced he tested positive for coronavirus early Friday last week. That night, he was taken by helicopter to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for treatment.

“I think going in early is a big factor in my case,” Trump said.

The President received an immediate dose of an experimental monoclonal antibody therapy at the White House, then was treated with a course of the infused antiviral medication remdesivir, and the steroid dexamethasone during his hospital stay.

He was also given supplemental oxygen, White House physician Dr. Sean Conley said.

Trump was released from Walter Reed Monday afternoon.

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Traffic flows past a billboard featuring an image of US President Donald Trump, wishing him a speedy recovery during his battle with coronavirus Covid-19, near the international airport at Pristina on October 7, 2020. - Trump spent three days at The Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre, where he was treated for coronavirus. Still being treated with a powerful cocktail of drugs for the coronavirus after three nights in the hospital, he was scrambling to get his reelection campaign back on track ahead of November 3 election day -- just four weeks away. (Photo by Armend NIMANI / AFP) (Photo by ARMEND NIMANI/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Trump credits swift treatment for his Covid-19 recovery

With Europe now reporting more daily coronavirus cases than the United States, Brazil and India, according to World Health Organization figures, many governments are closing down pubs and bars or limiting their opening hours in the hope of avoiding wider lockdowns.

It’s bad news for drinkers, from Brussels to Paris to Edinburgh, and will bring more pain for the embattled hospitality sector. But will the strategy work?

Global health expert Peter Drobac, director of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School, told CNN that governments across Europe were trying to find a balance between imposing restrictions on social interactions and keeping businesses alive.

Bars, nightclubs and restaurants are “an obvious candidate” for closures given what is known about transmission of the virus, he said.

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Illustration picture shows the terrace of a bar being prepared for closing time, at the Parvis de Saint-Gilles / Sint-Gillis Voorplein in Brussels, in the evening of Wednesday 07 October 2020, as bars and cafes will be closed for a month from Tomorrow on. The Brussels region introduced stricter measures to reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19, as contamination numbers are spiking. BELGA PHOTO HATIM KAGHAT (Photo by HATIM KAGHAT/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Bars and pubs are closing as Europe battles coronavirus surge. Experts question if it will work

An official game ball at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 29, 2019.

The NFL sent a memo Friday to team chief executives, presidents, general managers, head coaches and athletic trainers, warning them to keep face coverings on when interacting with game officials on the field. If they don’t, they could be penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The memo, which CNN obtained from a league source, was written by NFL senior vice president of officiating administration Perry Fewell.

In the memo, Fewell called for all officials to be vigilant in their efforts to comply with face covering and physical distancing requirements.

US President Donald Trump gestures outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on October 5.

US President Donald Trump has credited doctors and scientists for doing an “incredible” job against the coronavirus in a short period of time.

Trump has often disregarded the guidance of his own scientists and federal public health agencies as the pandemic ravaged parts of the US.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of Trump’s coronavirus task force, said Friday that a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House two weeks ago was a “superspreader” event.

Trump admitted during the Fox interview he may have caught the virus at a White House event, but he doesn’t know for sure.

Trump was diagnosed with Covid-19 last week and seemed to make a speedy recovery after a round of treatments, including an experimental monoclonal antibody therapy, the antiviral medication remdesivir, and the steroid dexamethasone. 

The global push to develop a coronavirus vaccine is gathering pace, but much to the likely frustration of US President Donald Trump, caution exercised by American drug makers and regulators has put China out in front … for now.

Moderna, a leading coronavirus vaccine maker, said this month it will not be ready to apply for emergency use authorization until at least November 25. Meanwhile, the US-based trial sites of another frontrunner, AstraZeneca, have placed testing on hold after a participant in Britain developed a serious illness last month, further undermining Trump’s hopes that a vaccine would be ready in time for Election Day on November 3.

The stringent US safety protocols have shifted the so-called vaccine race in China’s favor, where – for better or worse – political will holds a much larger sway over state, commercial and individual actions, potentially bending rules or norms as needed.

China’s leader Xi Jinping has repeatedly urged the country’s scientists to accelerate the research and development of coronavirus vaccines. Chinese drug makers have also been told to treat their work as an “important political task” – and they are doing everything they can to follow that directive.

While the successful development of a vaccine would not preclude other countries from continuing to pursue their own research, China has placed special emphasis on being first.

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BEIJING, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 24: A technician works in a lab at Sinovac Biotech where the company is producing their potential COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac during a media tour on September 24, 2020 in Beijing, China. Sinovacs inactivated vaccine candidate, called CoronaVac, is among a number of companies in the global race to control the coronavirus pandemic. The company is running Phase 3 human trials in four countries and ramping up production to 300 million doses per year at a new manufacturing facility south of Beijing. A lack of domestic coronavirus cases in China has meant that companies developing vaccines have shifted their focus overseas to conduct trials to gather the volume of data necessary to win regulatory approvals. When Chinas government launched an emergency use program in July to vaccinate groups of essential workers, Sinovacs chief executive says the company supplied tens of thousands of doses, even as trials are still underway. About 90% of Sinovacs employees have chosen to receive injections of CoronaVac, which is one of eight Chinese vaccine candidates in human trials. The company is also seeking approval to begin clinical trials with teenagers and children as young as age 3.(Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Related article China doubles down in push for coronavirus vaccine

A new report from the Council on Foreign Relations says that while pandemic threats are inevitable, the US and global response failures that contributed to the spread of coronavirus are not.

The report, released this week, was compiled by a 22-member task force led by Sylvia M. Burwell, the US Health and Human Services secretary during the Obama administration, and Frances Fragos Townsend, who led the US Homeland Security Council during the Bush administration.

It says the US and other governments failed to adequately invest in prevention, detection and response capabilities to protect populations. There was an “illusion — but not the reality — of preparedness,” the report says, and while the World Health Organization had the expertise to lead a global response, “it is beleaguered, overstretched, and underfunded.” 

The US response, the report says, was “deeply flawed” and too slow. Health systems were underfunded, and leaders — including President Donald Trump — failed to communicate clearly or defend public health leaders.

The task force recommended improvements in US and global pandemic responses by encouraging officials to:

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warning letters to two herbal medicine companies telling them to stop trying to sell products which they allege are effective against the coronavirus.

Colorado-based Prairie Dawn Herbs was warned after the FDA investigated its website and social media sites and learned the company was selling products it claimed could protect the immune system and combat symptoms of Covid-19, the FDA said in a news release Friday.

The FDA cited a monthly newsletter posted to the company’s website offering 20% off several herbal products (Chest Tea, Echinacea Tincture, Mentholated Salve, Eucalyptus Oil, Thieves Oil and Echinacea Glycerite) for the duration of the outbreak “due to the continued threat of COVID-19.” 

The FDA also warned Griffo Botanicals for selling herbal tincture products it said could treat symptoms of Covid-19.

There are no FDA-approved products to prevent or treat coronavirus. One antiviral drug, remdesivir, has emergency use authorization for treatment but must be used in a hospital under physician supervision.

The FDA says that until the companies took corrective action, they would be on a list of firms and websites that have received warning letters from the FDA “concerning the sale or distribution of COVID-19 related products.” 

As of Friday afternoon, the COVID-19 Special was still available for purchase on the Prairie Dawn Herbs website. There was no mention of Covid-19 treatments on the Griffo Botanicals website.

Florida will be “like a house on fire” in a matter of weeks because the state has dropped coronavirus precautions, and President Donald Trump probably should not hold a rally there right now, infectious disease specialist Mike Osterholm said Friday. 

Trump, who has been battling Covid-19 for the past week, is heading to Florida Monday for a campaign rally. 

Osterholm said it’s probably not a good idea to hold a rally in the state right now, even if it’s held outside. The state has reported 2,900 new infections in the past day, according to Johns Hopkins University.

“The challenge we have is helping the American people understand if you bring people together, even when they’re outdoors, it’s less risk of transmission being close together outdoors, but it’s surely not zero,” he said.

Trump is also planning an outdoor gathering at the White House Saturday and said he’ll address the crowd from a balcony.

Osterholm said attending that event isn’t a good idea either.

“I wouldn’t go right now because I think the White House itself has a fair number of infections,” he said.

Trump was released from hospital Monday and other administration staffers are still battling the virus.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce new coronavirus restrictions on Monday as the government tries to curb a surge in new cases. 

A Downing Street spokesperson said the details will be outlined in a statement to the House of Commons.

The UK recorded 13,864 new cases on Friday, which is lower than the previous 24 hours. But there has been a sharp upward trend in recent weeks.

Large parts of the UK are already under local lockdowns.