October 13 coronavirus news

Drugmaker Eli Lilly said Tuesday it was pausing its trial of a combination antibody treatment for coronavirus for safety reasons. 

Usually, clinical trials are paused because a volunteer has suffered a side effect or become ill, but the company did not say what happened.

“Safety is of the upmost importance to Lilly,” a spokesperson told CNN by email.

It said the trial’s Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), an independent group of medical experts who monitor clinical trials, had recommended the pause.

“The trial, evaluating Lilly’s investigational neutralizing antibody as a treatment for COVID-19 in hospitalized patients, is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Lilly is supportive of the decision by the independent DSMB to cautiously ensure the safety of the patients participating in this study,” the company said in the statement.

Lilly is testing a combination of two lab-engineered immune system proteins called monoclonal antibodies to treat severely ill patients with coronavirus. It is similar to the treatment made by Regeneron that was given to President Trump earlier this month.

The news comes after drugmaker Johnson & Johnson announced that it learned of an “unexplained illness” in one of the volunteers which caused it to pause its Phase 3 coronavirus vaccine trial in the US on Sunday, and immediately informed the DSMB, which monitors clinical trial developments.

The drugmaker said it did not know whether the volunteer who became ill had received the vaccine or placebo.

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Florida health officials reported 2,725 new cases of Covid-19 and 119 deaths on Tuesday, according to the Florida Department of Health.      

This marks the ninth day in October that the health department has reported at least 2,200 new cases in a single day, CNN's tally shows.  

The state now has a total of 738,749 coronavirus cases, the department's data shows.       

The Florida death toll now stands at 15,531, the department's data shows.   

Note: These numbers were released by Florida’s public health agency, and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

For the first time in the 178-year history of the New York Philharmonic, the symphony orchestra is canceling its entire season, citing mandatory state and city government health regulations during the pandemic.

The cancelation will last until at least June 13, 2021.

There will be no live, indoor concerts as the organization had hoped, according to a statement from President and CEO Deborah Borda that cited “deep regret” for the cancelation.

The statement continued: “But the Philharmonic didn’t survive and indeed flourish for nearly two centuries by giving up, so we won’t now! We are energetically working to bring you and all New Yorkers live music experiences with NY Phil Bandwagon, which I’m delighted to report will resume by popular demand in the spring.”

NY Phil Bandwagon is a series of free, pop-up concerts at announced locations around New York City. 

Additionally, the organization is developing an expanded live-streaming series for the winter, if allowed by Covid-19 restrictions, and hopes to announce that soon, according to the statement.  

The New York Philharmonic’s 2021-22 season will be announced in the spring of 2021.   

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday announced a series of additional measures in an effort to contain skyrocketing coronavirus infections.

Here are some of those new measures:

Asked whether his leadership was to blame, and if Dutch citizens had acted so much worse than their neighbors in France and Germany, Rutte said, “I have said before that I don’t venture into sociological comparisons. I am prime minister in this country.”

What we know: Coronavirus infections in the Netherlands rose 60% over the seven-day period ending Monday compared to the previous week-long period, according to the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment.

The nation's leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said that shortages of testing supplies are disconcerting, and speak to the disconnect between the information that he receives and the experiences of those who are working on the ground. 

The suppliers for these materials – such as the chemical reagents needed to process the tests – have said there should not be shortages, Fauci said at an event hosted by the College of American Pathologists.

“That's a bit of the disconnect that I get concerned about when centrally, we think that things are going well, and yet when you talk to people on the ground and in the trenches … you find that still there are problems.”

The Philadelphia Eagles announced they will welcome fans to Lincoln Financial Field for the first time this season for their game vs. the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

Occupancy will be limited to 7,500 people, which includes players, coaches, team and stadium personnel, media and fans. The total seating capacity at Lincoln Financial Field is over 65,000.

In making the announcement Tuesday, Eagles president Don Smolenski said, “We have been working very closely with state and local officials, public health experts and the National Football League on a number of scenarios to safely bring Eagles fans back to Lincoln Financial Field. After many thoughtful and active discussions, we are thrilled to announce that the fan experience will return to Lincoln Financial Field this Sunday.”

Fans attending games at Lincoln Financial Field will have to wear masks at all times, other than when actively eating or drinking, which will be allowed in seats only. Fans will also be required to maintain six feet of distance from other fans and stadium staff at all times. The team has established personalized seating pods for proper social distancing and limited fan-to-fan contact.

Social gatherings or tailgating at the sports complex in which Lincoln Financial Field is located are not permitted for the entirety of the 2020 season.

Increasing coronavirus test positivity in various regions of the country might mean that a resurgence of cases is soon to come, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, said Tuesday.

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he’s observed a trend in various regions of the country – particularly the Midwest, the upper Northwest and the states above the Sunbelt.

“We’re seeing an uptick in what's called test positivity – namely, the percentage of tests that you do in a community surveillance that turn out to be positive,” Fauci said at an event hosted by the College of American Pathologists. “You'd like to see them less than 3%, optimally 1% or less.” 

Fauci said that test positivity is a good indicator of what’s to come.

At least 26 schools in Michigan are reporting outbreaks of Covid-19 totaling 116 new cases, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday.

This is in addition to the 5,151 Covid-19 cases already reported from outbreaks in 81 schools. Michigan includes K-12 and colleges among its count.

The department defines an outbreak as “two or more Covid-19 cases who may have shared exposure on school grounds and are form different households.”

Michigan schools have a choice of specifying if the cases are from students, staff or both so these numbers are not all a direct comparison.

Of the 26 schools to report new outbreaks, 7 are from preschool through elementary schools, 7 are from middle schools, 6 are from high schools and 6 are from college. Kalamazoo reported the highest number of new cases, with a total of 21, which includes both students and staff.

Of the 81 ongoing school outbreaks, 17 are from pre-school through elementary schools, 7 are from middle schools, 26 are from high schools, 30 are from colleges, and one is from a graduate school. Michigan State University has the most cumulative cases at 1,531, which includes both students and staff.

The data is updated on Mondays by 3 p.m.

Note: These numbers were released by Michigan's HHS Dept. and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

The National Football League and NFL Players Association confirmed that eight players and seven staffers tested positive for coronavirus between Oct. 4 and Oct. 10.

This brings the NFL’s total number of positive cases to 39 players and 60 other personnel since Covid-19 monitoring testing began Aug. 1.