With 33 US states reporting a rise in new Covid-19 cases, local officials worry this could be the beginning of the coming surge experts have warned about.
President Trump tested negative for coronavirus on consecutive days and is “not infectious to others,” the White House physician said.
Johnson & Johnson is pausing the advanced clinical trial of its experimental coronavirus vaccine because of an unexplained illness in one of the volunteers.
The UK government has been accused of ignoring advice from its own scientists to consider a short lockdown three weeks ago.
Our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic has moved here.
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Pfizer to start testing its vaccine in kids as young as 12
From CNN's Maggie Fox
Drugmaker Pfizer has plans to start testing its experimental coronavirus vaccine in children as young as 12, and parents have already expressed interest in enrolling their kids, the researcher leading the trial told CNN Tuesday.
It will be the first coronavirus vaccine trial to include children in the United States.
A team at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital will begin vaccinating teenagers aged 16 and 17 this week, and will move to enroll 12-to 15-year-olds later, said Dr. Robert Frenck, director of the Vaccine Research Center at the hospital.
The company confirmed on its website it has approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to enroll children as young as 12 in its trial.
Long Island venue fined $12,000 for "super spreader" party linked to nearly 40 cases
From CNN’s Lauren del Valle
Miller Place Inn in Long Island, New York.
Source: News 12 Long Island
A party venue in Long Island has been slapped with $12,000 in Covid-19 violation fines after 37 cases were traced back to a birthday party held there.
The Suffolk County Department of Health Services traced a cluster back to “a Sweet 16 super-spreader event” at the Miller Place Inn on September 25, according to a news release from the department.
The 81-person guest list, including 49 students and 32 adults, violated New York state executive orders limiting non-essential gatherings to 50 people or less than 50% capacity.
Some 29 guests at the party contracted the coronavirus. Seven household members and one close contact of attendees have also tested positive.
A total of 270 individuals are now under quarantine in connection to the event, the release said.
Schools affected: Eight schools have reported positive cases in connection to the party, and 35 schools have at least one student who has been affected by the event, according to the release. It was not immediately clear how those 35 schools were affected.
CNN has reached out to the venue for comment.
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Small family gatherings are spreading Covid-19, CDC director says
From CNN’s Betsy Klein
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield appears at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on September 16.
Andrew Harnik/Pool/AP
Small family gatherings are becoming a growing source of coronavirus spread in the United States, health officials told the nation’s governors Tuesday.
“And particularly with Thanksgiving coming up, we think it’s really important to stress the vigilance of these continued mitigation steps in the household setting,” Redfield said.
Things will worsen as winter months approach, Redfield and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told governors on the call.
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Labor secretary's wife, who was at Rose Garden event, tests positive for coronavirus
From CNN's Kaitlan Collins
The Labor Department announced on Tuesday night that Secretary Eugene Scalia’s wife, Trish, has tested positive for coronavirus.
The news release said that Eugene Scalia has tested negative so far but will work from home “for the time being.”
Both Eugene and Trish Scalia attended the Rose Garden event on September 26 where President Donald Trump announced Judge Amy Coney Barrett was his pick to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. They were seated in the second row, directly behind first lady Melania Trump and next to former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway – both of whom would later test positive for Covid-19.
China's Qingdao city tests more than 5.6 million people and finds no new cases so far
From Eric Cheung in Hong Kong
This photo taken on October 12 shows a health worker taking a swab from a middle school student to be tested for Covid-19, as part of a mass testing program following a new coronavirus outbreak in Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong province.
AFP/Getty Images
China’s Qingdao city has tested more than 5.6 million people as of Tuesday night amid a citywide testing program, the Qingdao Municipal Health Commission said in a statement.
As of 8:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday, the city has collected a total of 5,603,804 nucleic acid samples. More than two million test results have been returned, and no new positive cases were reported, the commission added.
Qingdao city, located in northeastern China, announced on Monday that it would conduct a mass testing program over five days, after 12 cases were reported over the weekend. The city has a population of nine million.
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US government invests more than $400 million in new, quick coronavirus test
From CNN's Betsy Klein and Maggie Fox
The federal government said Tuesday it was investing close to half a billion dollars in a cartridge-based on-the-spot coronavirus test that it said would help “dramatically” expand its supply of tests by next spring.
Cue Health’s quick polymerase chain reaction or PCR test takes about 20 minutes to find the genetic material of the coronavirus – the so-called gold standard of testing. Being able to deploy it for point-of-care use should speed up testing – something that has held up control of the spread of the virus across the US.
The Health and Human Services Department and Department of Defense said they were investing $481 million in Cue to help it produce more tests.
“This partnership with HHS and DOD will allow Cue to expand its industrial base and increase domestic production to 100,000 COVID-19 test kits per day by March 2021, and demonstrate this capacity through the delivery of six million COVID-19 tests and 30,000 instruments to the U.S. Government to support the domestic COVID-19 pandemic response,” HHS said in a statement.
Dr. Brett Giroir, who heads testing efforts for the federal government’s coronavirus task force, told governors in a call Tuesday the tests were used to help the National Basketball Association control the spread of coronavirus and continue play.
“We will not have tens of thousands of these for a period of many weeks. We will have 8,000 — the first delivery in four weeks,” he added. “And we want to work selectively with a few states and a few programs to test these out in the wild, to understand how they will best complement the current ecosystem that has the antigen test up front and the big laboratory tests in the back.”
The Food and Drug Administration gave the test emergency use authorization in June.
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Global coronavirus cases surpass 38 million
From CNN's Sugam Pokharel
At least 38,006,121 cases of Covid-19 have so far been recorded globally as of 6:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.
The global death toll stands at 1,083,875.
The United States leads with the most known Covid-19 infections and deaths worldwide.
There are at least 7,850,829 cases and 215,775 deaths from the disease in the country, according to Johns Hopkins count.
The US, India and Brazil together account for more than half of the world’s coronavirus cases, the figures show.
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Fauci says Covid-19 vaccine development "on a really good track"
From CNN’s Betsy Klein
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said Tuesday that current efforts toward Covid-19 vaccine development are “on a really good track” despite news that a second vaccine was put on hold this week.
“A couple of the vaccines are very close to getting some sort of information,” Fauci said during a call with the nation’s governors Tuesday afternoon, according to audio of the call obtained by CNN.
Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, mentioned vaccines being tested by Moderna and Pfizer. “We’re getting to the point where we’re almost being able to look at the first look at the data, which is a predetermined thing done by the data and safety monitoring board,” he said.
The NIAID is helping sponsor some of the coronavirus vaccine trials.
“By November or December, at least in one or more of these trials, we’ll have an answer early on so we can start distributing to those groups who have the highest need,” Fauci said.
Fauci told the governors not to be concerned by the two vaccines in clinical trials that have been placed on hold in recent weeks pending further investigation. AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine trial is on hold in the US and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine was paused Monday because of an illnesses in a volunteer.
“Many very good vaccines in the course of their testing have actually been put temporarily on hold,” he assured the governors.
Some more context: Fauci’s comments and participation on the task force governors call come hours after President Trump revived efforts to publicly undermine him, tweeting that Fauci’s pitching arm — a reference to his poor first pitch at Nationals Park — is “far more accurate than his prognostications.”
Fauci’s recommendations and assessments have largely been in line with public health experts throughout the coronavirus pandemic but not aligned with what the President perceives his political interests to be.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar also reminded the governors of an upcoming deadline for states to provide the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with a vaccine distribution plan.
“We want you to be in close touch with your CDC liaison throughout this process as you approach the deadline for submitting a vaccine distribution plan to CDC, this Friday, October 16,” Azar said.
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New Mexico tightens Covid-19 restrictions as cases rise
From CNN’s Andy Rose
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is announcing a partial rollback of the state’s economic reopening, as coronavirus numbers increase rapidly.
Starting on Friday, bars and restaurants that serve alcohol will have to close by 10:00 p.m local time and mass gatherings will be limited to only five people.
Hotel occupancy is being reduced from 75% of normal capacity to 60%, and only after the business completes a state training program on avoiding virus spread. Hotels that are not certified by that program will only be allowed to serve 25% of their regular capacity.
New Mexico reported 488 new Covid-19 cases on Oct. 9, the state’s largest single-day total.
The governor’s office says the state has not met its benchmark goals for reopening in several weeks.
“Absent an improvement in those data, the state of New Mexico will once again restrict indoor dining service and significantly roll back maximum occupancy allowances at other retail and dining establishments,” the office said in a statement.
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University of Florida is pausing football activities after uptick in Covid-19 positive tests
From CNN's Kevin Dotson
The Florida Gators take the field to face the Texas A&M Aggies on October 10, at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.
Tim Casey/Collegiate Images/Getty Images/FILE
After announcing five new Covid-19 positive tests within the football team earlier on Tuesday, the University of Florida has paused team activities, according to a statement from Athletics Director Scott Stricklin.
Stricklin said the decision was made out of an abundance of caution.
Stricklin said in his statement that he has had conversations with Southeastern Conference leaders as well as Texas A&M, who Florida played last week, and LSU, who Florida is scheduled to play this Saturday. Stricklin added that head coach Dan Mullen has been in communication with the football players and their families.
At a news conference Monday, Mullen told reporters, “I think if you look at what we’ve been able to do, the safety precautions we have that our players have followed, our coaches follow, our staff follows, you know, I think we’re a model of safety of what we’ve been doing during this time period. So I’m really proud of how we’ve handled everything and how safe we’ve been with everything we’re doing and all the precautions we’ve had in place during this time.”
Stricklin said the situation will be re-evaluated by UF Health and the athletic department’s sports medicine staff on Wednesday.
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Utah governor says state is experiencing "one of the worst outbreaks in the country"
From CNN's Jenn Selva
Pool
Utah is experiencing “one of the worst outbreaks in the country” and has announced a new three-tier Covid-19 monitoring system for counties, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said Tuesday.
Gov. Herbert said during a news conference Utah has seen infection rates and case counts skyrocket over the past month to the highest they’ve been, with new cases hovering around 1,000 per day since Oct.4.
Gov. Herbert also tweeted, “The new system is based on the Transmission Index, which calculates the level of COVID-19 transmission in each county by analyzing three data points - percent positivity of tests, cases per 100,000, and hospital capacity.”
Counties will be placed on a low, moderate, or high transmission level which will determine things like when masks are required to be worn, and how large of a group can gather.
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World's top golfer Dustin Johnson tests positive for Covid-19
From CNN's Kevin Dotson
Dustin Johnson plays his shot from the second tee during the third round of the U.S. Open Championship on September 19, at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York.
Jamie Squire/Getty Images/FILE
American golfer Dustin Johnson, who sits atop the World Golf Rankings, has tested positive for Covid-19, according to a statement from the PGA Tour. As a result, Johnson has withdrawn from this week’s tournament in Las Vegas.
Johnson won the PGA Tour’s season-long $15 million FedEx Cup title in September after winning the Tour Championship event at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. He last competed at the US Open in September, where he finished in sixth place.
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Wisconsin governor says they have to get virus under control to prevent overwhelming the health care system
From CNN's Kay Jones
Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said today that they have to get the virus under control in the state to prevent the health care system from being overwhelmed.
Evers said the state reached a “grim milestone” of over 150,000 positive cases over the weekend and that hospitalizations have nearly tripled over the past month.
The Wisconsin Department of Health says that there is a total of 155,471 confirmed cases of Covid-19, up 3,279 from yesterday. There are 34 new deaths being reported today, for a total of 1508 deaths since the pandemic began.
During Tuesday’s news conference, Evers said they need a huge, united statewide effort, which includes elected officials, to combat the virus. He said that the state legislature hasn’t met for 180 days but that they have tried to “thwart every state effort to keep Wisconsinites health and safe.”
He said he is inviting Republican leaders in the state to meet and is hopeful they will put their feedback and plans on the table so they can “urgently address the challenges of our state.” He is encouraging residents to reach out to their legislators to find out if they support the mask mandate and the public health emergency.
On Monday, Evers sent a letter to the speaker and the majority leader asking for their thoughts and feedback to the public health emergency. Evers said in today’s news conference that he has yet to hear back from them.
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University of Florida football team reports 5 new Covid-19 cases
From CNN's Kevin Dotson
Florida Gators helmet sit on December 29, 2018, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
John Adams/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images
The University of Florida has released an updated number of Covid-19 positive tests among its football student-athletes, which indicate that the football team has had five new positive tests over the past week.
The total number of positive tests the team has seen in the month of October now stands at six
The Florida Gators, who are ranked number 10 in the nation, are scheduled to play the defending national champion Louisiana State University Tigers on Saturday at home in Gainesville, Florida.
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Virginia governor says about 65 staffers quarantining after he tested positive for Covid-19
From CNN’s Konstantin Toropin
Pool
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said that “some 65 staff” members had to quarantine after he and his wife tested positive for Covid-19, he said today at a press conference.
“To my knowledge, those 65 staff members all tested negative,” Northam added. “No one tested positive.”
Northam called the result “a testament to wearing these masks.”
Northam added that both he and his wife “have been cleared by health officials to leave isolation and go back to work” since it has been several days since their last symptoms.
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Eli Lilly pauses trial of its monoclonal antibody to treat Covid-19 for safety reasons
From CNN's Maggie Fox
A researcher tests possible COVID-19 antibodies in a laboratory in Indianapolis in May.
David Morrison/Eli Lilly/AP
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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Here's the latest coronavirus update from Florida
From CNN's Melissa Alonso
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.
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New York Philharmonic cancels its entire season for the first time in its history
From CNN's Javi Morgado
A woman pushes a cart outside Lincoln Center and the New York Philharmonic on April 16 in New York City.
Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images
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.
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All Netherlands bars and restaurants must close, prime minister says
From CNN’s Mick Krever
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte speaks during a press conference in The Hague, Netherlands, on October 13.
Bart Maat/ANP/AFP/Getty Images
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:
All restaurants and bars must close as of 10 p.m. Wednesday, including for outside dining, except for takeout.
No alcohol or soft drug retail sales will be allowed between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m.
No carrying or consumption of alcohol or soft drugs in any public space is allowed between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m.
All non-life-sustaining retail stores must close by 8 p.m.
Face coverings must be worn in all indoor public spaces.
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.
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Testing supply shortages are "disconcerting," Fauci says
From CNN’s Lauren Mascarenhas
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.”
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Philadelphia Eagles will allow 7,500 people to attend Sunday's game
From CNN's Dan Kamal
Lincoln Financial Field is seen on September 20 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Rob Carr/Getty Images
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.
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Increasing coronavirus test positivity might mean a resurgence of cases is soon to come, Fauci says
From CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, testifies during a US Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing in Washington, DC, on September 23.
Graeme Jennings/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
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.
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26 schools in Michigan report new outbreaks of Covid-19
From CNN's Annie Grayer
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.
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.
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NFL says 8 players and 7 team personnel have tested positive for Covid-19
From CNN's Kevin Dotson
A close up an NFL football logo on a goalpost is seen during an NFL football game on October 11 in Landover, Maryland.
Daniel Kucin Jr./AP
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.
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18 employees at USPS processing center in Las Vegas test positive for coronavirus
From CNN's Jennifer Selva
Eighteen employees from a United States Postal Service processing center in Las Vegas have tested positive for coronavirus since Sept. 26, USPS spokesperson Rod Spurgeon tells CNN. There are 775 employees that work at the facility.
Spurgeon said they’re continuing with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s protocols, such as social distancing, mask wearing and sanitizing, but there has been no “operational impact” at the center.
The condition of the employees who tested positive will be kept confidential, according to Spurgeon.
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First person in Mexico tests positive for both Covid-19 and influenza
From Ana Cucalón, Jaide Garcia and Krupskaia Alís
A patient in Mexico tested positive for Covid-19 and influenza, José Luis Alomía, the health ministry’s director of epidemiology, confirmed Sunday.
This is the first case in the country where a patient has tested positive for both viruses simultaneously.
Alomía, speaking during a nightly briefing in Mexico City, reported that the 54-year-old patient has a history of autoimmune disease, cancer, obesity and chronic lung disease.
Health authorities confirmed the patient remains hospitalized and in stable condition.
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More than 215,000 people have died from coronavirus in the US
From CNN’s Virginia Langmaid
A funeral home director applies makeup for a man who died of COVID-19 before his funeral at Ray Williams Funeral Home on August 12 in Tampa, Florida.
Octavio Jones/Getty Images
There are at least 7,817,863 cases of coronavirus in the US and at least 215,355 people have died from the virus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
So far today, Johns Hopkins has recorded 13,664 new cases and 270 reported deaths.
The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
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University of Delaware suspends 19 student-athletes for Covid-19 violations
From CNN's Artemis Moshtaghian and Elizabeth Stuart
Nineteen student-athletes from the swimming and diving teams at the University of Delaware were sanctioned and suspended after violating the school’s Covid-19 protocol, the university confirmed on Tuesday.
According to a statement from a university spokesperson, the suspensions were issued after a “large indoor social gathering hosted on September 26, 2020 at an off campus residence.”
The school said all student-athletes who attended the gathering were quarantined and tested for Covid-19, all tested negative.
The latest numbers: The University of Delaware has reported at least 361 cases of Covid-19 since Aug. 30, according to the school’s online Covid dashboard. The university’s protocol includes a surveillance testing pool where groups are tested twice per week.
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Facebook says it will stop allowing ads that discourage vaccines
From CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan
A Facebook logo is seen displayed on a smartphone on July 13.
Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images
Facebook announced on Tuesday that it will no longer allow ads that discourage people from getting vaccinated.
“Ads that advocate for or against legislation or government policies around vaccines – including a COVID-19 vaccine – are still allowed,” the company wrote.
Facebook also said it will be rolling out the ad ban in the coming days.
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New York City test positivity rate is 1.90%, mayor says
From CNN's Sheena Jones
A medical worker takes a nasal swab sample to test for COVID-19 at the Brooklyn Health Medical Alliance urgent care pop up testing site on October 8 in New York City.
Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images
The test positivity rate across New York City is 1.90%, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.
The mayor did not immediately specify if this test positivity rate included the hotspot areas across the city.
As of October 11, there were 520 confirmed Covid-19 cases across the city, according to de Blasio.
At least 59 people were admitted to NYC Heath and Hospitals for Covid-19, according to data collected on October 11, the mayor said.
NOTE: These numbers were released by the city of New York and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.
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US Army Chief of Staff back to work after quarantining
From Ryan Browne
US Army Chief of Staff General James C McConville attends the opening ceremony of the Indo-Pacific Army Chiefs Conference meeting in Bangkok on September 9, 2019.
Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images
After self-quarantining for several days the US Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville has returned to work.
“I’ve been screened and tested multiple times,” McConville told reporters at the Pentagon Tuesday, adding “I’ve been cleared by the docs to come back in.”
McConville and other members of the Joint Chiefs, except the commandant of the Marine Corps, self-quarantined after attending a meeting attended by the Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard who tested positive for coronavirus.
The assistant commandant of the Marine Corps subsequently tested positive for the coronavirus.
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Senate majority leader will bring up bill to restart small business loan program next week
From CNN's Phil Mattingly
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell arrives at the Hart Senate Building on Capitol Hill on September 24 in Washington, DC.
Liz Lynch/Getty Images
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, in a statement Tuesday, announced Senate Republicans will attempt to move forward on a targeted bill to restart the small business loan program that served as a centerpiece of the coronavirus relief efforts when the Senate returns to session next week.
The effort is likely to be blocked – Democratic leaders have repeatedly rejected piecemeal approaches to the next relief effort, including a roughly $300 billion Senate GOP relief bill, which Democrats voted unanimously against last month. Instead, they have insisted on a broad, comprehensive response to the twin economic and public health issues facing the country.
Those negotiations, however, have remained at a stalemate for months. While President Donald Trump offered a momentary boost to the prospects of an agreement last week when he called for a “big” deal and proposed a $1.8 trillion offer, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has rejected the effort and the talks are once again stuck without a clear path forward.
Pelosi, in a letter to her House Democratic colleagues Tuesday, listed off a myriad of significant issues with the latest Trump administration proposal.
“Significant changes must be made to remedy the Trump proposal’s deficiencies,” Pelosi wrote to her colleagues.
The Senate GOP move, which aides have said was under discussion for several days, follows a request to lawmakers from Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to pass a bill restarting the small business loan program, known as the Paycheck Protection Program. The program came to an end with roughly $130 billion in funds unspent.
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Mayor de Blasio says testing numbers across New York City schools are "very encouraging"
From CNN's Sheena Jones
NYC Media
Covid-19 testing numbers in New York City Public Schools are “very encouraging,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.
Out of 1,751 tests conducted across 56 schools in New York City on Friday, only one person tested positive, the mayor said.
For Friday there was a 0.6% test positivity rate, the mayor said.
The mayor went on to remind parents to sign their child’s testing consent form and send it to school or complete the form online.
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New York City is seeing a "leveling off" in Covid-19 cluster areas in Brooklyn and Queens, the mayor says
From CNN's Sheena Jones
People walk past closed stores in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, New York City, on October 9.
Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday the city is beginning to see a “leveling off” in the red zone cluster areas across Brooklyn and Queens.
The mayor said the city is days into the restrictions imposed in the red zone and “we are seeing some results.”
“This is the week we can start changing the tide in those fundamental areas,” the mayor said.
Very robust enforcement has begun and will deepen across those areas, de Blasio added.
There were at least $150K in fines and over 100 summonses given out in the red, orange and yellow zone areas over the weekend, the mayor said.
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Johnson & Johnson learned of “unexplained illness” in Phase 3 coronavirus trial on Sunday
From CNN'S Wes Bruer
A single-dose COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Johnson & Johnson is seen in September.
Cheryl Gerber/Courtesy of Johnson & Johnson via AP
Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday that it learned of the “unexplained illness,” which caused it to pause its Phase 3 coronavirus vaccine trial in the US, on Sunday and immediately informed the Data and Safety Monitoring Board, or 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.
Mammen said the company has “very little information right now” regarding the illness which paused the trial, but said that the DSMB has submitted a number of specific questions for them to answer.
As of Tuesday morning, the trial remains blinded, meaning that participants and those administering the vaccine candidates are unaware if they are receiving the vaccine or a placebo. Mammen added that the DSMB has the ability to unblind the study in order to investigate the unexplained illness if necessary.
Johnson & Johnson announced the clinical trial pause on Monday, making it the second Phase 3 coronavirus vaccine trial to be paused.
AstraZeneca’s vaccine trial was paused last month because of an a neurological complication in a volunteer in the UK. While the trial resumed there and in other countries, it remains paused in the United States while the US Food and Drug Administration investigated.
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Soccer superstar Ronaldo tests positive for coronavirus
From CNN’s Vasco Cotovio
Portugal's forward Cristiano Ronaldo warms up before a friendly football match between Portugal and Spain at the Jose Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon on October 7.
Carlos Costa/AFP/Getty Images
Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive for coronavirus, the Portuguese Football Federation said in a statement Tuesday.
“Following the positive case, the remaining players underwent new tests this Tuesday morning, all with negative results, and are available to [coach] Fernando Santos for this afternoon’s training session, at the Cidade do Futebol.”
“The game, part of the qualification phase of the League of Nations, is scheduled for Wednesday, at 19:45, in Alvalade,” the statement said.
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London mayor says tougher restrictions are “inevitable” in the coming days
From CNN's Amy Cassidy
The Mayor of London said it was “inevitable” the UK’s capital would meet the threshold for tougher coronavirus restrictions in the coming days.
Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, Sadiq Khan said:
Like most of England, London is currently on “medium” alert – the lowest level of the government’s new three-tier system announced Monday – meaning bars and restaurants are still open until 10 p.m. and up to six people from different households can meet indoors.
The mayor is calling for the capital to be moved into the second tier “high” alert level, which would ban people from socializing with other households indoors.
He added it should cover the whole city because people frequently travel between boroughs to work and study.
The Liverpool City Region is currently the only part of England in the third tier and is on “very high” alert, with bars and pubs closed. This area is situated in the northwest of the country, which has the highest infection rate of 1,741 per 100,000 people.
The current rate of infection in London is 695 per 100,000 people, according to government data.
The UK’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer on Monday voiced “great concern” that the virus was spreading to southern parts of the country.
Hear from London residents on how police are enforcing Covid-19 rules:
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Stocks open mixed
From CNN’s Anneken Tappe
People walk by the New York Stock Exchange in lower Manhattan on October 2 in New York City.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
The US stock market was mixed at Tuesday’s opening bell in New York, with only the Nasdaq Composite starting the day in the green.
Tech stocks are in focus again as Apple is set to reveal its latest iPhone and Amazon’s Prime Day kicked off.
Earnings season is upon us as America’s big banks reported third quarter results this morning. This – along with stimulus hopes, the election and the path of the pandemic – will keep investors on their toes for the coming weeks.
Here’s where things opened:
The Dow opened 0.3%, or 80 points, lower.
The S&P 500 inched 0.1% lower.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2%.
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Pelosi to House Democrats on stimulus: "Significant changes must be made to remedy Trump proposal’s deficiencies"
From CNN's Phil Mattingly
Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi speaks during the Weekly News Conference on Capitol Hill on October 8 in Washington, DC.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in a letter to House Democrats Tuesday morning, detailed a series of major differences between Democrats and the Trump Administration in their stimulus negotiation – underscoring that the two sides are nowhere near an agreement.
Pelosi laid out eight key areas where tangible differences exist between the two sides, the issues largely mirror the splits that have existed between them for more than three months.
Pelosi also made clear that those eight areas “are not exhaustive of our many outstanding concerns.”
“Significant changes must be made to remedy the Trump proposal’s deficiencies,” Pelosi wrote to her colleagues.
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Florida first grader tests positive for Covid-19
From CNN's Melissa Alonso
A Broward County first grader tested positive for Covid-19 after attending the first day of school on Friday, according to Pembroke Pines spokeswoman Marianne Wohlert.
The first day of face-to-face instruction on school campuses for Broward students was Friday.
The child attended Pembroke Pines Charter Elementary West campus, which is overseen by the city of Pembroke Pines, Wohlert said.
On Saturday “the parents notified the school” of the confirmed Covid-19 results, Wohlert told CNN.
The charter school follows Broward County Schools policies and procedures regarding confirmed covid cases and the entire school was notified of the positive results, according to Wohlert.
For our international readers: Broward Country is located in southeastern Florida and is the second most populous county in the state. First grade is the first year after kindergarten in the US, so students average about 6 to 7-years old, although we don’t know exactly how old this particular student is.
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Delta warns investors: "It may be two years or more" for air travel to recover from the pandemic
From CNN’s Chris Isidore
Travelers wait for flights as Delta Air Lines planes sit at gates at the Salt Lake City International Airport in Salt Lake City, Utah, on September 15.
George Frey/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Delta Air Lines posted more massive losses in the third quarter, warning investors “it may be two years or more” for demand for air travel to return to normal.
The airline posted a $2.1 billion operating loss in the third quarter, excluding special items – like charges for buyout packages for employees who voluntarily left the company and early retirement of aircraft. Including those items, its net loss topped $5 billion for the second consecutive period.
The third-quarter loss was larger than forecast by Wall Street analysts, and Delta shares fell 3% in premarket trading on the news.
Analysts expect total losses among US airlines to top $10 billion for the last quarter, as the pandemic continues to fuel a huge drop in demand. Delta is the first US airline to report results for the quarter.
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Argentina tops 900,000 Covid-19 cases as schools reopen in parts of the country
From CNN’s Tatiana Arias
Health workers transport a COVID-19 patient on a stretcher at a hospital in Mar del Plata, Argentina, on October 10.
Natacha Pisarenko/AP
Schools are reopening in parts of Argentina, with measures in place to limit the spread of the pandemic, even as coronavirus cases in the country top 900,000.
The nation’s largest province, Buenos Aires, is planning a return to school on Tuesday, with at least 24 of its districts resuming in-person classes, according to a statement published Monday on the country’s state-news agency, Telam.
In the capital city itself – considered medium risk for Covid-19 contagion – “non-scholar, educational activities such as artistic, recreational [ones]” will go ahead “with a maximum of 10 people, including the teacher,” according to Telam’s statement.
The Governor of Buenos Aires province, Axel Kicillof, has announced a “significant reduction” in cases, but authorities have tightened restrictions in 18 other regions of the country for another two weeks, in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.
Argentina’s health authorities reported 9,524 new coronavirus infections late Monday, bringing the country’s Covid-19 case count to 903,730.
Additionally, 318 new virus-related deaths were reported, taking the country’s death toll to 24,186, according to the Ministry of Health.
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"Something must be done this week," says Germany’s Bavarian state premier
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt in Berlin
Bavarian state premier Markus Söder speaks at a press conference following a cabinet meeting of the Bavarian State Government on October 13.
Peter Kneffel/picture alliance/Getty Images
Bavarian state premier Markus Söder is warning that Germany could “lose control of the coronavirus” pandemic, urging “something must be done this week,” ahead of a key meeting between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of Germany’s federal states.
He said European countries including Spain, France, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands were already struggling to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
Warning that “the autumnal coronavirus is no weaker or less dangerous than the coronavirus in March and April,” he added “we don’t want a second national lockdown” but said “serious conversations” were needed to avoid that situation.
Last week, Chancellor Merkel urged German citizens to stick to the country’s coronavirus restrictions and warned that tougher restrictions may have to be imposed in the coming days.
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JPMorgan posts surprise profit gain as bank withstands economic turmoil of pandemic
From CNN’s Matt Egan
A person approaches the entrance to JPMorgan Chase & Co. headquarters in New York, on September 21.
Michael Nagle/Bloomberg/Getty Images
JPMorgan Chase unexpectedly grew its bottom line last quarter, as the bank’s Wall Street business and its Main Street arm withstood turmoil in the global economy.
The US’s largest bank blew away expectations by reporting a profit of $9.4 billion during the third quarter, up 4% from the year before. Per-share profit jumped to $2.92, easily topping estimates.
JPMorgan’s big beat was driven by strong trading and investment banking performance, as well as far fewer credit losses than feared.
CEO Jamie Dimon said the bank decided in the third quarter to maintain its credit reserves at $34 billion, “given significant economic uncertainty and a broad range of potential outcomes.”
JPMorgan’s revenue dipped 11%, but that also was better than feared.
The pandemic has slammed the banking industry: JPMorgan has lost about a quarter of its value so far this year and its $308 billion market valuation is now dwarfed by those of Tesla and Nvidia, but JPMorgan has weathered the storm better than some of its rivals.
Citigroup’s share price is down more than 40% on the year and the bank recently announced the surprise retirement of CEO Michael Corbat.
Wells Fargo has lost more than half of its value this year, and the money-losing bank recently cut its dividend for the first time since the Great Recession.
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Boris Johnson splits from scientific advisers he once placed front and center of pandemic response
Analysis from CNN's Luke McGee
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, right, looks on as Chief Medical Officer for England, Chris Whitty speaks during a virtual briefing outlining new Covid-19 rules, at Downing Street in London, on October 12.
His Chief Medical Officer on Monday night poured a bucket of cold water over his latest plans to tackle a worrying upturn in the spread of coronavirus in the UK.
And on Tuesday he faced further criticism, after it emerged that his top scientific advisers recommended a significantly tougher package of measures three weeks ago.
Johnson, it seems, is trapped by his bitterly divided Conservative Party – faced down by the hawks, such as finance minister Rishi Sunak, who want to keep the economy as open as possible and doves, who think tough measures now would be better in the longer run.
His attempts to walk that tricky line were evident in a news conference on Monday evening.
Instead of introducing a short, sharp “circuit breaker” lockdown, advocated by experts who want to disrupt the current rate of transmission immediately and buy the country time before a difficult winter, Johnson outlined a three-tiered system of lockdown measures, to be applied locally according to the number of reported cases in a given area.
Even the top tier of these restrictions is a far cry from the hard UK lockdown in March. Children will still attend schools, restaurants will remain open and it will be up to local authorities to decide whether other parts of the hospitality sector close.
It was clear that some of Johnson’s senior scientific and medical advisers were not convinced.
Standing next to the Prime Minister was his Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty, who said he was “not confident” that even the restrictions envisaged for highest tier “would be enough to get on top” of the virus spread.
In Colorado, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said Covid-19 cases were rising at a “concerning rate,” and warned new restrictions could be needed, with the city’s seven-day average daily case rates as “high right now as they were at the height of the pandemic back in May.”
Officials across the country are warning of similar patterns.
Kentucky’s governor said recently the state is seeing a third major escalation in infections.
And in Wisconsin, a field hospital is opening this week in response to a surge in Covid-19 patients – days after the state reported record-high numbers of Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and daily deaths.
The US is now averaging more than 49,000 new infections daily – up 14% from the previous week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Last week, the nation recorded more than 50,000 new cases for at least four days in a row. The last time that happened was in early August.
That doesn’t have to mean another lockdown, the infectious disease expert has previously said, but means more people heeding to safety guidelines like wearing masks and social distancing.
Otherwise, the US could be in for a devastating winter. Researchers from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation project that more than 135,000 Americans could die within the next three months.
Iowa reported 100,451 coronavirus cases across the state on Monday, hitting the 100,000 mark 218 days after the state reported its first cases in March, according to numbers released by the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH).
To date, the state has reported 1,481 coronavirus related deaths, according to IDPH.
Iowa’s uptick in coronavirus cases stems from the outbreaks seen in the spring as clusters of Covid-19 cases popped up in nursing homes and at meatpacking plants, Dr. Ravi Vemuri, director of infection prevention at MercyOne Des Moines, told CNN affiliate KCCI.
The same story is unfolding in Iowa as in many battlegrounds: Independents, women and seniors appear to be turning away from Trump, amid dissatisfaction over his handling of coronavirus and his broader conduct in office.
Cases on the rise in Austrian capital, months after outbreak at country's ski resorts
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt in Berlin
A health worker takes a sample for a Covid-19 test in Vienna, Austria, on September 23.
Georg Hochmuth/APA/Getty Images
The Austrian capital, Vienna, has recorded 306 new infections within the past 24 hours.
Austria reported 1,028 new infections on Tuesday, bringing its total to 57,324, according to the country’s public health authority, the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES).
Authorities there say 611 Covid-19 patients are being treated in hospital, 107 of whom are in intensive care units. Austria’s death toll stands at 861, the tally shows.
Last week, Austria recorded 1,209 new cases in 24 hours – its highest daily increase since the outbreak began, surpassing the record set in March when the initial wave of infections was at its peak. The country has seen a gradual rise in daily coronavirus infections since late June.
An Austrian expert commission on Monday criticized the country’s Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, for what they said was his government’s poor handling of the crisis.
Crowds of people potentially infected with Covid-19 were allowed to leave the resorts of Ischgl and St. Anton in March – helping to spread the virus across Europe – before officials announced quarantine measures.
Ronald Rohrer, head of the panel appointed by the province of Tyrol to look into Austria’s handling of the outbreak, told reporters this was “a wrong decision, from an epidemiological perspective.”
Kurz announced a quarantine on March 13, but his government had not informed the local authorities which had to implement the measures, the commission found.
The Austrian Chancellor said foreign tourists would be allowed to leave, but according to the commission, this led to a panicked rush instead of an orderly departure.
In September, Kurz said that the country’s upcoming ski season would go ahead, but that apres-ski parties will be banned to try and curb the spread of coronavirus.
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European countries agree to "traffic light" virus reporting and travel measures
From CNN's James Frater
Travelers queue to take coronavirus tests at Duesseldorf airport in Germany on October 13.
Roberto Pfeil/picture alliance/Getty Images
European Union countries have agreed to a set of criteria to make the reporting of coronavirus cases and travel restrictions easier to understand.
The EU hopes they will make travel more predictable, and help prevent further disruption caused by the pandemic.
The recommendations adopted Tuesday include a new weekly “traffic light” map that will be published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) showing countries’ different epidemiological situations.
The three categories for countries are:
Red: High risk – quarantine on arrival/take a test (some countries may require a negative test in advance)
Orange: Medium risk – quarantine on arrival/take a test (some countries may require a negative test in advance)
Green: Low risk – no restrictions when traveling to another part of the EU.
The categories will be based on a clear set of comparable data from each country.
The new guidelines also set out how much notice should be given when travel restrictions are to be applied when a country moves from one category to another.
A member state intending to apply restrictions should inform the affected country and the European Commission at least 48 hours in advance. Members of the public and businesses should then be given clear, comprehensive and timely information at least 24 hours before new restrictions come into place.
The recommendations are not legally binding, and the decision whether to implement them remains up to each member state.
These European countries are seeing rises in Covid-19 cases:
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Swiss firm aims to launch Covid-19 antigen lab tests by end of year
From CNNs Nadine Schmidt in Berlin
Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche plans to launch a Covid-19 antigen test to support high-volumetesting for laboratories by end of 2020, according to a news release from the company on Tuesday.
Roche also agreed to obtain an emergency tax approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.
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Covid continues to spread in France as government considers new measures
From CNNs Pierre Bairin in Paris
Medical personnel work on October 12 in a sports arena, which was converted into a screening center to test people for Covid-19, in Lyon, France.
Jean-Philippe Kziazek/AFP/Getty Images
France’s Covid positivity rate – the percentage of tests that come back positive – is continuing to rise and has now reached 12.8%, the country’s health authority said on Monday evening.
The rate, a key indicator of how fast the virus is spreading, now stands at more than double what it was a month ago – 5.4% on September 12.
As of Monday night, 1,539 Covid patients were in intensive care in French hospitals. The last time the country had more than 1,500 Covid patients in the ICU was May 27, when the tally reached 1,501.
Paris: The capital is faring worse that the rest of the country, with an incidence rate of 413.2 cases per 100,000 in the city versus a national average of 166, according to the Paris region health authority.
More than 40% of ICU beds in the Paris region are occupied by Covid patients, well above the 30% threshold used to decide when areas or cities should be placed in the “maximum alert” category.
The Defense Council – a meeting of key ministers chaired by President Emmanuel Macron – is due to meet later Tuesday to discuss the next measures to be taken to slow the spread of the virus.
Government ministers have reiterated that all measures should be considered while the circulation of the virus continues to increase, including curfews and localized lockdowns.
President Macron is expected to give a primetime television interview on Wednesday evening local time.
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El Salvador is in second wave of Covid-19 amid "national outbreak," its president says
From CNN’s Tatiana Arias in Atlanta
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele speaks during a press conference in San Salvador, El Salvador, on September 24.
Marvin Recinos/AFP/Getty Images
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele said a second wave of coronavirus was sweeping the country, describing it as a “national outbreak” in a tweet early on Tuesday.
Cases of Covid-19 in El Salvador reached a peak on August 9, when the country reported a record number of 449 new daily cases.
As of Tuesday, El Salvador has recorded 30,480 cases of coronavirus and 899 virus-related deaths, according to official data.
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Russia reports another record-high daily increase in coronavirus cases
From CNN’s Mary Ilyushina in Moscow
A medical worker disinfects a colleague after escorting a patient by ambulance to a hospital for COVID-19 patients in St.Petersburg, Russia, on October 1.
Dmitri Lovetsky/AP
Russia reported 13,868 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday – another record-high daily increase, according to data from the country’s coronavirus response center.
Moscow is the worst affected city with 4,618 new cases – also a record-high daily increase.
The total number of coronavirus cases in Russia as of October 13 is 1,326,178.
Russian officials have previously indicated that growing numbers might “require additional action” from the government, but so far haven’t clarified whether they will reinstate measures similar to those imposed in the spring, when the country was officially reporting 10,000-12,000 cases a day.
Anna Popova, the head of Russia’s health and consumer rights agency Rospotrebnadzor, said Tuesday the regulator sees “no sense” in shutting down the economy.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said Friday that this week would be “crucial” in any decisions to impose stricter coronavirus restrictions.
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Physically, but not socially distant: How to reach out in the time of Covid
From CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Amanda Sealy
“Social distance.” It’s a phrase that’s become a mantra of the pandemic. We see the signs everywhere telling us to stay six feet apart, emphasizing the need for physical separation. While this is an important message to help keep us all safe, the phrase has it all wrong. We don’t need to be socially distant. Physically apart, yes, but that social connection is exactly what we all need during this pandemic.
On September 25, 2000, when Hines was 19 years old, he walked to the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and as he stared down into the water, he waited for someone, anyone to offer a kind word or even a friendly glance. That never happened. Hines jumped.
Hines says even though we may not be able to physically reach out, put our hand on someone’s shoulder, we can still offer those moments of support that could change the trajectory of someone’s life.
“We have got to think of the people in our lives that don’t have someone physically next to them to, to hold on to,” he said. “And we’ve got to be the people to make that phone call and make it on a regular basis.”
Here are ways Hines says we can all make sure we stay in this together:
Peru opens Machu Picchu for a single tourist after a nearly 7-month wait
From CNN's Lilit Marcus
Like many travelers around the world, Jesse Takayama found his dream trip thwarted by the spread of Covid-19. But after an unexpected seven-month stay in Peru, he is finally crossing “visit Machu Picchu” off of his bucket list.
Takayama, a native of Osaka, Japan, arrived in the Peruvian town of Aguas Calientes on March 14. He already had his entry ticket and permit to enter the UNESCO World Heritage site on March 16.
Then, the Peruvian government opted to close the site – and Takayama was stranded.
Since then, Takayama has become a local in Aguas Calientes, where he has been renting an apartment for the past seven months. However, as he started to run out of money, it looked like Takayama would have to head back home without ever having used his Machu Picchu ticket.
Enter Andean Roots Peru, a local tour company. With help from the national Ministry of Culture, Takayama was given special permission to enter Machu Picchu – and to have the normally crowded site nearly all to himself. He was accompanied by two photographers who documented the experience.
“The Japanese citizen has entered together with our head of the park so that he can do this before returning to his country,” Peru’s Minister of Culture Alejandro Neyra told reporters.
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A "second wave" of mental health devastation due to Covid-19 is imminent, experts say
From CNN's Naomi Thomas and Sam Romano
While the world struggles to manage the initial waves of death and disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, there is mounting evidence accumulating that “a second wave” linked to rising rates of mental health and substance use disorders could be building, according to an article published Monday in the medical journal JAMA.
“A second wave of devastation is imminent, attributable to mental health consequences of Covid-19,” wrote authors Dr. Naomi Simon, Dr. Glenn Saxe and Dr. Charles Marmar, all from New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine.
“The magnitude of this second wave is likely to overwhelm the already frayed mental health system, leading to access problems, particularly for the most vulnerable persons.”
This second mental health wave, the researchers suggested, will bring further challenges, such as increased deaths from suicide and drug overdoses, and will have a disproportionate effect on the same groups that the first wave did: Black and Hispanic people, older adults, lower socioeconomic groups and health care workers.
Of central concern, the authorswrote, is “the transformation of normal grief and distress into prolonged grief and major depressive disorder and symptoms of posttraumatic health disorder.”
UK government accused of ignoring scientists' advice to lock down 3 weeks ago
From CNN’s Nic Robertson
The UK government is accused of ignoring its own scientists, who three weeks ago suggested considering a so-called “circuit-breaker,” a short lockdown to bring coronavirus incidence levels down.
The group also warned that other measures would be required if schools stayed open.
Its recommended actions included the circuit-breaker lockdown, widespread work-from-home practices, and the closure of bars, restaurants, gyms and other personal services.
This document wasn’t published until after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson laid out new coronavirus regulations in parliament on Monday.
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Analysis: South Korea mandates mask-wearing, while face coverings remain controversial in West
Analysis from CNN's James Griffiths
People gather after getting off the train at the Seoul railway station in Seoul, South Korea, on September 29.
Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
South Korea is introducing a new policy requiring the wearing of face masks at all crowded facilities, on public transport and at demonstrations, even as the number of local infections shrinks.
The East Asian nation is only the latest in the region to introduce a mask mandate, a sign of how vital face coverings have been found to be in controlling infections and preventing future outbreaks. And many in Asia watched in shock as Western governments did not encourage mask wearing and in some cases did the opposite.
The initial confusion over masks in much of the West helped prevent mass adoption to the extent that even now, face coverings are still used inconsistently in many countries. The supposed “debate” over the effectiveness of masks, which did not reflect the largely settled science on the matter, also created space for conspiracies and disinformation, with covering one’s face becoming an issue of freedom for some people.
In the US, the country worst hit by the pandemic, masks are especially contentious. At a large rally held by President Donald Trump in Florida Monday, few could be seen wearing masks, as is the norm at most of his events. Observers have warned that a planned tour by the US leader, who is only just recovering from his own bout of coronavirus, could well turn into a series of “super spreader” events.
Germany reports more than 24,500 cases in one week -- its highest weekly count since April
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt in Berlin
A medical assistant takes a throat swab sample from a man through the window of a medical practice for a coronavirus test in Berlin, Germany, on October 12.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Germany has reported 24,584 new coronavirus cases in the past seven days – the highest weekly count since April, according to the country’s center for disease control, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
Tuesday alone saw 4,122 new infections.
To put it into perspective, Germany reported 16,283 new cases the previous week.
This past week, the country’s infection rate reached 29.5 cases per 100,000 residents. There are currently 35 regions in Germany that exceed the threshold of 50 new infections per 100,000 residents within seven days.
The country’s total now stands at 329,453 cases and 9,634 related deaths. More than 279,000 people have recovered, and 40,495 patients remain active cases, the RKI said.
Government response: German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to meet with the country’s 16 state premiers on Wednesday to discuss and unveil new coronavirus measures.
Germany’s armed forces also said in a tweet on Monday that 1,400 soldiers per day have now been deployed to support municipalities and districts in coronavirus contract tracing.
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US reports more than 41,000 new Covid-19 cases
A medical worker administers a rapid Covid-19 test in Oakland, California, on October 12.
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The United States reported 41,653 new Covid-19 infections and 317 virus-related fatalities on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
That raises the country’s total to at least 7,804,197cases and 215,085deaths.
The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
See our live tracker of US cases:
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Analysis: Eric Trump may not *get* the whole Covid-19 vaccine thing
Analysis from CNN's Chris Cillizza
Eric Trump speaks at a campaign rally for his father, President Donald Trump, in Monroe, North Carolina, on October 8.
Nell Redmond/AP
Eric Trump, son of President Donald Trump, is not a doctor. Or an infectious disease expert, And it shows.
Here’s Eric Trump discussing his father’s recovery from Covid-19 during an appearance on ABCs “This Week” on Sunday with host Jonathan Karl (bolding is mine):
Eric Trump: “Yes. Listen, that first day he got hit hard, first day Friday. And I can tell you as son, it’s never fun watching your father fly off to Walter Reed on Marine One, right? I mean, that’s something that – it’s a day that no son wants to, again, remember. It’s – that’s no fun to watch.
“But I’m telling you I spoke to him three times that next Saturday. The guy sounded 100%. It was amazing. It actually probably goes to speak to how good some of these vaccines that are being created are and what my father’s done on the vaccine front, no one could have done. No one could have done.
“I mean, literally, Biden was calling my father xenophobic for shutting down America from travel to China – I mean, and the virus came from China. My father, literally, started day one creating this vaccine. He worked to push this vaccine. And now my father just took it. And you see how well he got over it –
Jonathan Karl: Wait, wait. Can you –
Trump: – an inspiration. I think – as Americans, Jon, we should be very proud of that.
Karl: Can you clarify that? You said your father just took a vaccine?
Trump: Meaning when he was in Walter Reed, the medicines that he was taking.
Karl: The therapeutics?
Trump: – he felt horrible. And on Saturday – again, I spoke to the man three times on Saturday and he sounded tremendous. And I think it goes to show the power of medicine in this country and how far that we’ve come on Covid in the last six, seven months.
Holy cow! There’s a vaccine for Covid-19? This is great news!
Or, well, no. See, either Eric Trump let the biggest cat out of the bag ever – that the President was given a “vaccine” for Covid-19 – or he is simply confused about the difference between medicines designed to help mitigate the course of the virus and an actual vaccine.
Fans attend a MLB game for the first time since spring training
From CNN's Jill Martin
Atlanta Braves fans and Los Angeles Dodgers fans cheer during batting practice before Game 1 for the best-of-seven National League Championship Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on October 12.
Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS/Sipa USA
Fans attended a Major League Baseball (MLB) game on Monday night for the first time since March, when the league shut down spring training due to the pandemic.
It was previously announced that MLB would make approximately 11,500 tickets available for each game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, the site for the National League Championship Series (NLCS) and the World Series.
And the fans came on Monday, for the start of the NLCS between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers – making this the first 2020 playoff game with fans in the stands. No fans were allowed during the 2020 regular season.
They were treated to a good game: The teams were tied at 1-1 in the top of the ninth inning when Austin Riley, on a 1-2 pitch, blasted a solo home run 448 feet to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. Atlanta would go on to win 5-1.
“We haven’t heard anything other than fake crowd noise,” Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman said to reporters after the game.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series will be Tuesday.
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Analysis: Trump mocks virus as he launches potential superspreader sprint to win reelection
Analysis from CNN's Stephen Collinson
President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Sanford, Florida, on October 12.
Zack Wittman/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Donald Trump on Monday launched a three-week quest to save his presidency, behaving as though the pandemic that has killed 215,000 Americans was already a memory in front of a packed-in crowd – even amid chilling new warnings about the resurgent virus.
In his first rally since his own bout with Covid-19, Trump painted a deeply dishonest picture of the nation’s battle with the disease, mocked Joe Biden over social distancing and vowed victory on November 3 as he began a frantic push to Election Day, marked by multiple rallies a day that could act as superspreader events.
While some supporters at the rally wore masks behind Trump in the camera shot, many people in the big, outdoor crowd did not.
Medical experts expressed despair at Trump’s decision to gather huge crowds during a worsening pandemic, ahead of a swing that Trump aides said Monday would involve multiple rallies each day in the coming weeks.
“I promise you, the virus is there, whether it is an indoor event or an outdoor event in these large gatherings,” said Dr. William Schaffner, professor of health policy and preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University. “Some of those people will become sick, they will spread it to others when they get home and they will become sick. These are accelerator events that promote the distribution of the virus.”
Pandemic worsens across the US as we count down to Election Day
From CNN's Virginia Langmaid
Just three weeks out from Election Day, the Covid-19 pandemic is making its feared fall comeback across the US – and influenza season has not even kicked in yet.
Health officials have worried the virus would take hold again as Americans returned to school and as pandemic fatigue encouraged cities, counties and states to loosen restrictions.
Now it’s happening – and the West, Midwest, and South in particular have seen numbers going in the wrong direction.
Denver is reporting an “alarming” increase in coronavirus cases; Montana has counted as many cases in 11 days as it reported in the first five months of the pandemic; North Dakota has broken hospitalization records for three days in a row and Arkansas has broken them for five days straight; Wisconsin consistently reports one of the country’s highest weekly average positivity rates; and Georgia has averaged more than 1,000 new cases per day – every single day – for 114 days.
But the city is paying for it, he said. “During the week of October 3, our seven-day average of hospitalizations was at 126. Today, just a week later, the average is 174 – a 37% increase. We are at a fork in the road.”
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South Korea reports more than 100 new Covid-19 cases after easing social distancing measures
From CNN's Yoonjung Seo in Seoul
A woman wearing a face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus walks near the social distancing signs at a park in Seoul, South Korea, on October 6.
Lee Jin-man/AP
South Korea reported 102 new Covid-19 cases and one new death in the past 24 hours, authorities said on Tuesday, after the country announced the easing of social distancing measures.
Of the new cases, 69 are locally transmitted and 33 are imported, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
The new figures raise the country’s total to 24,805 confirmed cases and 434 virus-related deaths.
This is the first time South Korea reported more than 100 new cases in six days and since easing its social distancing measures on Monday.
On Monday, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo announced social distancing restrictions would be eased to Level 1, the lowest level.
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Analysis: The West is being left behind as it squanders Covid-19 lessons from Asia-Pacific
Analysis from CNN's Tara John
A pedestrian walks near a street sign reminding members of the public to adhere to social distancing guidelines in Liverpool, England, on October 12.
Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images
While the Asia-Pacific region treads water until a coronavirus vaccine is found, the West’s biggest economies are drowning as a second wave firmly establishes itself in Europe.
Europe is now reporting more daily infections than the United States, Brazil, or India – the countries that have been driving the global case count for months – as public apathy grows towards coronavirus guidelines. Several countries are seeing infection rates spiral again after a summer lull that saw measures to contain the virus and travel restrictions relaxed.
In the United Kingdom, for example, questions are being asked about whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to lift the country’s lockdown in June was premature. Northern England’s current high rates of Covid-19 are down to the fact that infections “never dropped as far in the summer as they did in the south,” Jonathan Van-Tam, Britain’s deputy chief medical officer, told a press conference on Monday.
It is just the latest problem to beset Britain’s slapdash pandemic response. There are now more patients in hospital with Covid-19 in England than there were in March, when a nationwide lockdown was imposed, according to Johnson and health officials.
France and the Netherlands broke their own records over the weekend, reporting the highest numbers of confirmed Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic.
In the US, there were more new positive cases in the White House on October 2 than in the whole of Taiwan, after President Donald Trump became the second G7 leader (after Johnson) to test positive for Covid-19. Despite his illness, Trump has continued to downplay the severity of the virus andpotentially endanger the health of those around him, holding a campaign rally on Monday.
Chinese city hit by fresh outbreak is testing all residents for Covid-19. No new cases have been found so far
From CNN's Eric Cheung in Hong Kong
The city of Qingdao in eastern China has tested more than 3.07 million people for Covid-19 since the weekend, when 12 locally transmitted cases were reported, according to the city’s information office.
No new cases have been identified by the citywide testing program from the more than 1.1 million samples already returned, the information office said in its statement on Tuesday.
Containing an outbreak: The 12 cases – split evenly between symptomatic and asymptomatic cases – were all linked to the Qingdao Chest Hospital, which had been treating imported infections. The cluster prompted a mass testing program of the city’s 9 million residents, which began on Monday.
Some 130 testing stations have been set up in Shinan district, the city’s center of political and business activity.
Authorities said the specific source of infection is still under investigation.
Johnson & Johnson pauses Covid-19 vaccine trial after "unexplained illness"
From CNN's Maggie Fox
In this undated photo provided by Johnson & Johnson in September, a woman receives an injection during phase 3 testing for the Janssen Pharmaceutical-Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the United States.
Johnson & Johnson/AP/FILE
Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson said Monday it was pausing the advanced clinical trial of its experimental coronavirus vaccine because of an unexplained illness in one of the volunteers.
ENSEMBLE is the name of the study.
“Adverse events – illnesses, accidents, etc. – even those that are serious, are an expected part of any clinical study, especially large studies,” said the statement.
It’s the second Phase 3 coronavirus vaccine trial to be paused. AstraZeneca’s vaccine trial was paused last month because of an a neurological complication in a volunteer in the UK. While the trial resumed there and in other countries, it remains paused in the United States while the US Food and Drug Administration investigates.
Trump's doctor says the President has tested negative on consecutive days
From CNN's Betsy Klein
White House physician Sean Conley gives an update on the condition of President Donald Trump, at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on October 3.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
White House physician Sean Conley said Monday President Donald Trump has tested negative for Covid-19 on consecutive days, as the President heads to a crowded campaign rally in Florida.
That additional data, Conley said, included “viral load, subgenomic RNA and PCR cycle threshold measurements, as well as ongoing assessment of viral culture data.”
PCR suggests a polymerase chain reaction test, which looks for any evidence of the virus, although Conley did not say clearly what type of test was run.
It is also unclear on which consecutive days Trump tested negative – and the Abbott BinaxNOW test might not be completely accurate. It’s only been validated in people within the first seven days of symptom onset. Trump, who first announced he tested positive on Thursday, October 1, is more than 10 days out, and the US Food and Drug Administration has said it does not know how accurate the test is at that point.
The White House still has not revealed the last time Trump tested negative prior to his positive diagnosis, offering varying justifications for withholding that information.
Trump is “not infectious to others,” Conley added.
Fauci says Trump campaign should take down ad featuring him
From CNN's Paul LeBlanc
Dr. Anthony Fauci,Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases testifies during a US Senate hearing to examine Covid-19, in Washington, DC, on September 23.
Graeme Jennings/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday that the Trump campaign should take down the political advertisement that he’s featured in, calling his presence in the spot “really unfortunate and really disappointing.”
Fauci’s latest comments come one day after he told CNN he did not consent to being featured in the Trump team’s new advertisement and that his words were taken out of context.
The Trump campaign released the new ad last week after the President was discharged from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center following treatment for Covid-19. The 30-second ad, which is airing in Michigan, touts Trump’s personal experience with the virus and uses a quote from Fauci in an attempt to make it appear as if he is praising Trump’s response.
US sees 20% more deaths than expected this year, most due to Covid-19, research finds
From CNN's Naomi Thomas and Lauren Mascarenhas
During the coronavirus pandemic so far, there were 20% more deaths than would normally be expected from March 1 through August 1 in the United States – with Covid-19 officially accounting for about two-thirds of them, according to new research published Monday in the medical journal JAMA.
The researchers analyzed death data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the US Census Bureau. Overall, there were 1,336,561 deaths in the United States between March 1 and August 1, 2020, the study found – marking a 20% increase compared with what would normally be expected.
