The latest on the coronavirus pandemic

By Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton, Zamira Rahim, Vasco Cotovio, Melissa Macaya and Meg Wagner, CNN

Updated 1:52 a.m. ET, October 31, 2020
2 Posts
Sort byDropdown arrow
9:55 p.m. ET, October 29, 2020

US will cross 100,000 daily Covid-19 infections "at some point" in next couple of weeks, former FDA head says

From CNN's Andrea Diaz

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, said he believes the United States will cross the 100,000 cases per day threshold sometime in the next couple of weeks -- or maybe even this week.

"We'll cross 100,000 infections at some point in the next couple of weeks, probably. We might do it this week, if all the states report on time," Gottlieb said. "We have to see if states like Florida and Texas actually report on Friday and Saturday, because we might get above 100,000 this week."

Gottlieb added that this is due to the public's behavior and lack of caution. 

"The reality is that I think we're not going to start to see a slowdown in the pandemic until you see consumer behavior change, and until you see mobility data start to decline. That's been the lesson of the past surges in the virus," Gottlieb said. 

9:23 p.m. ET, October 29, 2020

Europe tried a scalpel on the second wave. Now it's going back to the sledgehammer

From CNN's Ivana Kottasová

Europe's whack-a-mole strategy of imposing local lockdowns to squash the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic didn't work. Now it's time to pull out the big guns.

Germany and France both announced new four-week national lockdowns on Wednesday night. They followed the Czech Republic and Ireland, which put country-wide restrictions in place earlier this month. Spain and the United Kingdom could be next.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the local measures imposed on a number of major cities including Paris over the past few weeks were "not working anymore" and that a national lockdown was needed. Under the new rules, people will only be allowed to leave their homes to go to work or school, for a medical appointment, to care for a relative, to do essential shopping and to exercise. Non-essential businesses, restaurants and bars will be closed. Like in the spring, they will need a certificate to venture outside.

Macron's speech came just hours after Germany also gave up on local lockdowns, announcing a nationwide stay-at-home order starting next Monday after regional restrictions in major cities including Frankfurt, Berlin and Stuttgart and a partial lockdown in the state of Bavaria failed to slow down the spread of the virus.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said people residing in Germany are advised to stay home, avoid travel and "keep their contacts to an absolute minimum." Social contacts will be limited to two households in public.

Read the full story: