Europe
The World Health Organization is “not expecting to see widespread vaccination [for coronavirus] until the middle of next year,” spokesperson Margaret Harris told reporters in Geneva Friday.
The Czech Republic has set a new daily record for the second day in a row for new coronavirus infections. The central European country recorded 680 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, surpassing Wednesday’s record of 650, according to the Ministry of Health. People will be required to wear protective masks in shops and shopping centres in the Czech capital Prague under moves announced on Friday following a rise in coronavirus cases. Prague chief public health officer Zdenka Jagrova said that under the new restrictions, which come into effect on 9th September, bars and clubs in Prague will have to close by midnight.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned the coronavirus is spreading again, as her government struggles to balance protecting health with the need to kickstart the economy.
The UK has recorded 1,940 new coronavirus cases, the highest since 30th May, health officials have said.
France registered 7,157 new cases over 24 hours, the third time in a week that it’s reported more than 7,000 new cases. French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer has said 22 schools were closed in France due to cases of COVID-19.
Italy registered 1,397 new coronavirus cases on Thursday. There were 10 additional deaths from the virus, according to data on the Health Ministry’s website. Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is suffering a slight lung infection after coming down with coronavirus, but his condition is not worrying, his personal doctor Alberto Zangrillo has said.
Spain recorded 3,607 new cases in the past 24 hours, compared with 3,663 on Wednesday, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
U.S. and Canada
Another 1.4 million jobs were added to the US economy in August, as the jobs recovery continued to slow.
Authorization of a COVID-19 vaccine by 1st November when U.S. health officials have told states to be prepared to distribute shots is “extremely unlikely but not impossible,” Moncef Slaoui, chief scientific adviser to Operation Warp Speed told NPR’s All Things Considered on Thursday.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said malls and casinos can open 9th September if they have enhanced air filtration systems. Casino occupancy will be limited to 25%, while malls must keep occupancy to 50%, he said Wednesday.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday mocked Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for wearing a face mask even as the US continues to lead the world in coronavirus cases, with more than 6 million infections.
A model often cited by top health officials dramatically raised its projections for US COVID-19 deaths Friday morning, predicting over 410,000 deaths by 1st January which would mean another 224,000 Americans lost in just the next four months.
More young people are getting infected with the coronavirus at higher numbers. Experts fear that will only grow as many colleges and schools reopen. In August alone, for example, nearly 7,000 people between ages 18-24 tested positive for COVID-19 in Missouri, Gov. Mike Parson said. About 30% of the new cases in the state are among that age group.
In meetings focused on vaccine development throughout the spring and summer, President Trump has consistently pressed officials to speed up their timeline for developing a vaccine, administration officials said, saying the President appeared intent on being able to deliver at least the solid promise of an effective vaccine by the time he faces reelection.
The Transportation Security Administration said it screened nearly 878,000 people yesterday, the highest daily level reached to date since the coronavirus pandemic battered air travel.
Moncef Slaoui, the chief adviser to Operation Warp Speed, said in an interview with Science that he would resign from his role if there was undue interference in the COVID-19 vaccine effort.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is urging all residents not to let their guards down and to follow all public health guidelines over the Labor Day weekend.
Indiana University Bloomington is now recommending that all students living in sorority and fraternity houses reevaluate their living situations due to the quickly increasing spread of coronavirus in those environments.
Florida reported 637,013 cases, up 0.6% from a day earlier, in line with the average increase in the previous seven days. Deaths reached 11,650, an increase of 149, or 1.3%.
Arizona reported 1,091 new cases, the biggest one-day tally since 13th August. The 0.5% spike, bringing the state’s total cases to 203,953. Deaths rose by 65 for a total of 5,130.
Hawaii experienced a 3.9% increase in the number of cases from the same time yesterday, bringing the total to 8,991, according to the Johns Hopkins and Bloomberg News data.
Central and Latin America
President Jair Bolsonaro has said he won’t approve a COVID-19 vaccine for the public until after the country’s health surveillance agency (ANVISA) gives a second opinion.
Peru will be joining phase three clinical trials for the experimental vaccine against COVID-19 from the University of Oxford and biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday.
China and Hong Kong
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health in Hong Kong has announced that as of today, the CHP was investigating 12 additional confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), taking the number of cases to 4,851 in Hong Kong so far (comprising 4 850 confirmed cases and one probable case).
Elsewhere in the world
Iraq reported at least 5,036 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest daily number of infections recorded since the beginning of the pandemic, the country’s Ministry of Public Health said.
Turkey has extended by two months a layoff ban it introduced to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Surging coronavirus cases in Ankara are stretching hospitals to the limit and Turkish authorities need to impose a fresh lockdown to bring the virus under control, doctors in the Turkish capital say. The city is now the epicentre of Turkey’s COVID-19 outbreak, the government announced this week, and although authorities say there is no plan for a lockdown as yet officials privately say new measures may be needed soon.
A COVID-19 vaccine developed and tested in Russia generated neutralizing antibodies in dozens of study subjects, and while the vaccine often caused side effects such as fever, those side effects were mostly mild, according to data published Friday in the medical journal The Lancet. The first peer-reviewed results of Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials of Russia’s coronavirus vaccine, which is named Sputnik-V, have been published in the medical journal The Lancet on Friday.
South Korea is extending its strict social distancing measures for the greater Seoul Metropolitan area for one more week until 13th September, the country’s Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said in a briefing today.
An Israeli cabinet subcommittee has voted to impose a lockdown on 30 towns and neighborhoods that are suffering from the highest coronavirus infections rates, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported.
India reported 83,341 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, another highest daily increase for the country, according to the Indian Health Ministry.
New Zealand reported its first COVID-19 death in more than three months on Friday, according to its health ministry. New Zealand will remain at Alert Level 2 until 16th September to reduce the risk of coronavirus spread, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced in a press conference Friday.
Japan’s government said it would bear the cost of providing coronavirus vaccines to the populace, as it aims for a comprehensive inoculation against the pandemic.
Thailand detected its first locally transmitted COVID-19 case since late May, snapping a streak of 100 days without community infection.
Australian authorities have added 53 deaths at nursing homes from earlier this year to the country’s coronavirus death toll.
Singapore reported 40 new COVID-19 cases as of noon on Friday, including three imported infections.
The World Health Organization is “not expecting to see widespread vaccination [for coronavirus] until the middle of next year,” spokesperson Margaret Harris told reporters in Geneva Friday.
The Czech Republic has set a new daily record for the second day in a row for new coronavirus infections. The central European country recorded 680 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, surpassing Wednesday’s record of 650, according to the Ministry of Health. People will be required to wear protective masks in shops and shopping centres in the Czech capital Prague under moves announced on Friday following a rise in coronavirus cases. Prague chief public health officer Zdenka Jagrova said that under the new restrictions, which come into effect on 9th September, bars and clubs in Prague will have to close by midnight.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned the coronavirus is spreading again, as her government struggles to balance protecting health with the need to kickstart the economy.
The UK has recorded 1,940 new coronavirus cases, the highest since 30th May, health officials have said.
France registered 7,157 new cases over 24 hours, the third time in a week that it’s reported more than 7,000 new cases. French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer has said 22 schools were closed in France due to cases of COVID-19.
Italy registered 1,397 new coronavirus cases on Thursday. There were 10 additional deaths from the virus, according to data on the Health Ministry’s website. Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is suffering a slight lung infection after coming down with coronavirus, but his condition is not worrying, his personal doctor Alberto Zangrillo has said.
Spain recorded 3,607 new cases in the past 24 hours, compared with 3,663 on Wednesday, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
U.S. and Canada
Another 1.4 million jobs were added to the US economy in August, as the jobs recovery continued to slow.
Authorization of a COVID-19 vaccine by 1st November when U.S. health officials have told states to be prepared to distribute shots is “extremely unlikely but not impossible,” Moncef Slaoui, chief scientific adviser to Operation Warp Speed told NPR’s All Things Considered on Thursday.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said malls and casinos can open 9th September if they have enhanced air filtration systems. Casino occupancy will be limited to 25%, while malls must keep occupancy to 50%, he said Wednesday.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday mocked Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for wearing a face mask even as the US continues to lead the world in coronavirus cases, with more than 6 million infections.
A model often cited by top health officials dramatically raised its projections for US COVID-19 deaths Friday morning, predicting over 410,000 deaths by 1st January which would mean another 224,000 Americans lost in just the next four months.
More young people are getting infected with the coronavirus at higher numbers. Experts fear that will only grow as many colleges and schools reopen. In August alone, for example, nearly 7,000 people between ages 18-24 tested positive for COVID-19 in Missouri, Gov. Mike Parson said. About 30% of the new cases in the state are among that age group.
In meetings focused on vaccine development throughout the spring and summer, President Trump has consistently pressed officials to speed up their timeline for developing a vaccine, administration officials said, saying the President appeared intent on being able to deliver at least the solid promise of an effective vaccine by the time he faces reelection.
The Transportation Security Administration said it screened nearly 878,000 people yesterday, the highest daily level reached to date since the coronavirus pandemic battered air travel.
Moncef Slaoui, the chief adviser to Operation Warp Speed, said in an interview with Science that he would resign from his role if there was undue interference in the COVID-19 vaccine effort.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is urging all residents not to let their guards down and to follow all public health guidelines over the Labor Day weekend.
Indiana University Bloomington is now recommending that all students living in sorority and fraternity houses reevaluate their living situations due to the quickly increasing spread of coronavirus in those environments.
Florida reported 637,013 cases, up 0.6% from a day earlier, in line with the average increase in the previous seven days. Deaths reached 11,650, an increase of 149, or 1.3%.
Arizona reported 1,091 new cases, the biggest one-day tally since 13th August. The 0.5% spike, bringing the state’s total cases to 203,953. Deaths rose by 65 for a total of 5,130.
Hawaii experienced a 3.9% increase in the number of cases from the same time yesterday, bringing the total to 8,991, according to the Johns Hopkins and Bloomberg News data.
Central and Latin America
President Jair Bolsonaro has said he won’t approve a COVID-19 vaccine for the public until after the country’s health surveillance agency (ANVISA) gives a second opinion.
Peru will be joining phase three clinical trials for the experimental vaccine against COVID-19 from the University of Oxford and biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday.
China and Hong Kong
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health in Hong Kong has announced that as of today, the CHP was investigating 12 additional confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), taking the number of cases to 4,851 in Hong Kong so far (comprising 4 850 confirmed cases and one probable case).
Elsewhere in the world
Iraq reported at least 5,036 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest daily number of infections recorded since the beginning of the pandemic, the country’s Ministry of Public Health said.
Turkey has extended by two months a layoff ban it introduced to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Surging coronavirus cases in Ankara are stretching hospitals to the limit and Turkish authorities need to impose a fresh lockdown to bring the virus under control, doctors in the Turkish capital say. The city is now the epicentre of Turkey’s COVID-19 outbreak, the government announced this week, and although authorities say there is no plan for a lockdown as yet officials privately say new measures may be needed soon.
A COVID-19 vaccine developed and tested in Russia generated neutralizing antibodies in dozens of study subjects, and while the vaccine often caused side effects such as fever, those side effects were mostly mild, according to data published Friday in the medical journal The Lancet. The first peer-reviewed results of Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials of Russia’s coronavirus vaccine, which is named Sputnik-V, have been published in the medical journal The Lancet on Friday.
South Korea is extending its strict social distancing measures for the greater Seoul Metropolitan area for one more week until 13th September, the country’s Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said in a briefing today.
An Israeli cabinet subcommittee has voted to impose a lockdown on 30 towns and neighborhoods that are suffering from the highest coronavirus infections rates, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported.
India reported 83,341 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, another highest daily increase for the country, according to the Indian Health Ministry.
New Zealand reported its first COVID-19 death in more than three months on Friday, according to its health ministry. New Zealand will remain at Alert Level 2 until 16th September to reduce the risk of coronavirus spread, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced in a press conference Friday.
Japan’s government said it would bear the cost of providing coronavirus vaccines to the populace, as it aims for a comprehensive inoculation against the pandemic.
Thailand detected its first locally transmitted COVID-19 case since late May, snapping a streak of 100 days without community infection.
Australian authorities have added 53 deaths at nursing homes from earlier this year to the country’s coronavirus death toll.
Singapore reported 40 new COVID-19 cases as of noon on Friday, including three imported infections.
