November 8 coronavirus news

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the United States government's top infectious disease expert, said lingering Covid-19 symptoms last much longer than those from other viral syndromes like influenza.

Between 25% and 35% of Covid-19 patients have lingering symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle aches, sleep disturbances and “brain fog.”

It's unclear exactly how long symptoms can last, as the virus was discovered less than a year ago, but Fauci said symptoms have been observed for months after an initial infection.

"A proud moment for the medical profession:" Fauci also said medical professionals should be proud of the work they've done in the past several months, as they have been “really putting their lives and their safety at risk” by continually taking care of people who have a disease that is highly transmissible and has the potential to kill.

Why the death rate is going down: Fauci said the United States' Covid-19 death rate has been declining in recent months because due to three factors: “age, experience and better drugs.”

There are also now treatments that can help people, like dexamethasone and remdesivir, Fauci said.

The fact that younger people are now getting infected -- but not dying -- is also a factor bringing the death rate down, he said. However, Fauci noted that college kids are going back to school, getting infected and then "infecting people in the community"

"They’re the ones that are sort of driving the infection,” he said.

The Australian state of Victoria will lift even more Covid-19 restrictions as the virus there appears to be under control.

Starting at 11:59 p.m. Sunday:

Australia's former epicenter: In early August, Victoria was recording hundreds of cases per day, leading state authorities to implement the type of strict anti-epidemic measures that governments in Western Europe and the United States have been hesitant to enact out of fear of damaging the economy. This included placing Melbourne residents under a strict seven-week lockdown and barring nearly all trips outdoors.

Though the decision to lockdown Melbourne was unpopular with some people, by late September, cases had declined to low double-digits, allowing the government to begin lifting restrictions.

Some 24,957 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past 24 hours in the UK, the government said Saturday, and 413 died of the virus, a toll which continues to rise.

10,274 patients have been admitted to hospital in the last 7 days, and 2,333 have died.

England entered a second national lockdown on Thursday, and passed the grim milestone of one million coronavirus cases on October 31.

The strict lockdown has shut pubs, restaurants and non-essential businesses, including hair salons and gyms. Schools, universities and playgrounds will stay open.

Earlier today, the UK banned travelers arriving from Denmark because after the country reported a widespread outbreak of a new variant of the virus which causes Covid-19 in mink farms.

Joe Biden plans to announce a 12-person coronavirus task force on Monday, two sources with knowledge told CNN.

The task force will be headed by three co-chairs: Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler and Yale University’s Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith.

The announcement, which will come just days after Biden was declared the winner in the presidential election, signals how seriously he plans to focus on the pandemic from the outset of his transition.

Biden is not expected to announce cabinet nominations for weeks and may wait until control of the Senate is clear, the sources said. Biden has potential people in mind for most every top position, but the announcement of the task force underscores the priority he intends to place on that challenge.

France's overall coronavirus death toll surpassed 40,000 on Saturday.

The country's total death toll now stands at 40,169 after 306 new deaths were registered in a 24-hour period, according to the French Public Health Agency. France has the world's seventh highest coronavirus fatality count, according to official data from Johns Hopkins University, but that is still only a fraction of the death toll seen in the worst-hit countries: the United States and Brazil. 

This grim milestone comes after France had two consecutive days of record new daily coronavirus cases, with more than 60,000 new coronavirus cases announced on Friday alone. The French Public Health Agency has not yet specified the daily case count for Saturday to reflect the previous 24 hours.

As Europe experiences its second wave of coronavirus cases with winter approaching, French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that his country needs to live with the virus in the longterm.

"When I listen to the scientists, and the Scientific Council, we foresee [living with the virus] at best until next summer," Macron said, speaking during a visit to a health center.

Election workers risked their health this year to staff polling and ballot counting centers amid the coronavirus pandemic. Now, more than two dozen are self-quarantining after being potentially exposed to other workers who recently tested positive for the virus.

The reported cases underscore lingering concerns about the impact of in-person voting amid a troubling spike in the severity of the pandemic. The fall surge has seen some of the highest days of newly reported Covid-19 cases in the US. On Election Day alone, the US reported about 85,200 cases.

Democrats and public health officials advocated for mail-in ballots in the run-up to the election, urging voters to avoid polling centers to reduce risk of spreading the virus.

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Election workers risked their health during pandemic. Now dozens are self-quarantining.