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COVID-19 news update Sep/29
source:WTMF 2020-09-29 [Medicine]

 

 

 

 

Country,
Other

Total
Cases

New
Cases

Total
Deaths

World

33,543,810

+230,643

1,006,134

USA

7,361,611

+37,418

209,808

India

6,143,019

+69,671

96,351

Brazil

4,748,327

+16,018

142,161

Russia

1,159,573

+8,135

20,385

Colombia

818,203

+5,147

25,641

Peru

808,714

+3,412

32,324

Spain

748,266

+2,425

31,411

Mexico

730,317

+3,886

76,430

Argentina

723,132

+11,807

16,113

South Africa

671,669

+903

16,586

France

542,639

+4,070

31,808

Chile

459,671

+1,770

12,698

Iran

449,960

+3,512

25,779

UK

439,013

+4,044

42,001

Bangladesh

360,555

+1,407

5,193

Iraq

353,566

+4,116

9,052

Saudi Arabia

333,648

+455

4,712

Turkey

315,845

+1,412

8,062

Italy

311,364

+1,494

35,851

Pakistan

310,841

+566

6,466

Philippines

307,288

+3,073

5,381

Germany

288,618

+2,280

9,545

Indonesia

278,722

+3,509

10,473

Israel

233,265

+2,239

1,507

Ukraine

201,305

+2,671

3,996

Canada

155,301

+2,176

9,278

Ecuador

134,965

+218

11,280

Bolivia

133,901

+309

7,858

Qatar

125,311

+227

214

Romania

123,944

+1,271

4,748

Morocco

119,107

+1,422

2,113

Netherlands

114,540

+2,914

6,380

Belgium

114,179

+1,376

9,980

Dominican

111,666

+280

2,098

Panama

111,277

+722

2,348

Kazakhstan

107,775

+52

1,699

Kuwait

103,981

+437

605

Egypt

102,955

+115

5,901

Oman

98,057

+607

924

UAE

92,095

+626

413

Guatemala

90,263

+171

3,234

Poland

88,636

+1,306

2,447

China

85,372

+21

4,634

Japan

82,131

+441

1,548

Belarus

77,946

+337

822

Honduras

75,109

+561

2,289

Nepal

74,745

+1,351

481

Portugal

74,029

+425

1,957

Ethiopia

73,944

+612

1,177

Costa Rica

73,714

+935

861

Venezuela

73,528

+837

614

Bahrain

69,848

+487

245

Czechia

65,883

+1,286

618

Nigeria

58,460

+136

1,111

Singapore

57,715

+15

27

Uzbekistan

55,776

+456

460

Algeria

51,213

+146

1,719

Moldova

51,194

+319

1,301

Armenia

49,574

+174

957

Ghana

46,444

+57

299

Kyrgyzstan

46,355

+104

1,064

Austria

43,432

+556

790

Azerbaijan

40,061

+38

588

Paraguay

39,432

+748

818

Palestine

39,121

+418

299

Kenya

38,168

+53

700

Lebanon

37,272

+1,018

351

Ireland

35,377

+387

1,802

Serbia

33,414

+30

748

Libya

33,213

+849

527

El Salvador

28,897

+267

836

Denmark

27,072

+435

649

Australia

27,044

+4

875

Hungary

24,716

+702

749

S. Korea

23,661

+50

406

Cameroon

20,838

+103

418

Bulgaria

20,271

+216

807

Ivory Coast

19,641

+12

120

Greece

17,707

+263

383

North Macedonia

17,674

+45

729

Madagascar

16,348

+63

229

Croatia

16,245

+48

272

Senegal

14,919

+10

309

Zambia

14,660

+19

332

Norway

13,788

+90

274

Albania

13,391

+132

380

Myanmar

11,631

+897

256

Namibia

11,121

+88

121

Malaysia

11,034

+115

134

DRC

10,624

+12

271

Montenegro

10,441

+128

163

Maldives

10,157

+59

34

French Guiana

9,895

+32

65

Finland

9,743

+61

345

Tajikistan

9,685

+39

75

Slovakia

9,343

+265

44

Jordan

9,226

+734

51

Luxembourg

8,376

+19

124

Zimbabwe

7,816

+4

228

Uganda

7,777

+247

75

Jamaica

6,170

+153

93

Malawi

5,770

+2

179

Georgia

5,552

+298

32

Cuba

5,483

+26

122

Eswatini

5,452

+21

108

Djibouti

5,410

+1

61

Slovenia

5,388

+39

149

Hong Kong

5,076

+10

105

Suriname

4,836

+1

102

Rwanda

4,832

+12

29

Angola

4,797

+79

176

Lithuania

4,499

+114

92

Trinidad and Tobago

4,386

+24

72

Syria

4,102

+30

194

Réunion

3,882

+197

14

Aruba

3,872

+28

25

Thailand

3,545

+22

59

Cyprus

1,713

+17

22

 

Retrieved from:  https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

 

 

 

WHO announces agreement to make rapid Covid-19 tests available to low and middle income countries

From CNN’s Amanda Watts

 

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, speaks during a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, on September 28. WHO

The World Health Organization announced an agreement to make rapid Covid-19 tests available to lower and middle income countries across the world.

During a Monday news conference, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general said, “a substantial proportion of this rapid tests — 120 million — will be made available to low and middle income countries. These tests provide reliable results in approximately 15 to 30 minutes, rather than hours or days, at a lower price, with less sophisticated equipment.” 

Tedros said these “vital” tests will help expand testing in remote areas, “that do not have lab facilities or enough trained health workers to carry out PCR tests.”  

Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund said, “Being able to deploy quality antigen RDTs, rapid diagnostic tests, will be a significant step forward in enabling countries to contain and combat Covid-19.”  

The tests are “not a silver bullet,” Sands said. “But hugely valuable as a complement to PCR tests.”  

“Although they're a bit less accurate — they're much faster, cheaper, and don't require a lab,” he explained. 

Sands said these tests will help low and middle income countries to “close the dramatic gap in testing between rich and poor countries.” 

“Right now, high-income countries are conducting 292 tests per day per 100,000 people. For upper middle income countries, that number is 77. For lower middle income countries, 61, and from low income countries, 14,” Sands said, though he did not expand on where that data originates. 

 

 

Kenya extends Covid-19 curfew and eases other restrictions

From CNN's Bethlehem Feleke in Nairobi 

 

Charles Otieno and Jackline Adhiambo exchange rings during their wedding in Nairobi, Kenya, on Friday. The wedding, attended by just a few relatives, lasted for only 15 minutes because of coronavirus restrictions. Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images

Kenya will extend its nightly Covid-19 curfew for another 60 days with shortened hours from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. local time, but bars and the sale of alcohol in ordinary eateries will be permitted effective Tuesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a televised address on Monday. 

"The Covid positivity rate has fallen from 13% in June, 7% in August and is now at 4.4% in September," President Kenyatta said. 

The size of public gatherings for weddings and funerals will also be allowed to increase. 

"The possibility of a second wave is real," President Kenyatta said as he urged Kenyans to maintain caution and continue preventative measures in this "new normal."

The nationwide curfew was previously from 9 p.m. — 4 a.m. local time.

 

 

Angela Merkel will meet with German state leaders today to discuss tougher Covid-19 restrictions

From CNN's Stephanie Halasz

 

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives at the Bundestag for the meeting of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in Berlin, on September 28. Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to meet top ministers from the country’s 16 federal states today to discuss additional nationwide measures to curb rising coronavirus numbers.

Merkel will meet with the state ministers at 2 p.m. (8 a.m. ET) Tuesday via video conference behind closed doors. She will hold a news conference with the Bavarian prime minister and the Hamburg mayor afterwards to discuss results.

On the table: new limits of up to 25 people for private gatherings nationwide, according to the draft of a government paper obtained by CNN affiliate NTV and widely reported in German media.

Also to be discussed are fines if restaurant or bar visitors register wrong information for the track and trace system.

Meanwhile, bars in hard-hit areas may see a ban on alcohol sales, NTV said.

Warning system: Bavaria's prime minister had previously suggested an early-warning system for areas with a stark increase of the virus, a so-called traffic-light system. While this is not explicitly on the table, according to NTV, a nationwide warning strategy will be discussed.

So-called temperature ambulances for quick Covid 19 testing will be discussed for nationwide rollout. German Health Minister Jens Spahn has previously said he wants to introduce them.

Numbers: The Robert Koch Institute -- Germany's agency for disease control and prevention -- recorded an additional 475 coronavirus cases Tuesday, bringing the national total to 285,332. A total of 9,460 people have died as a result of the virus in Germany.

 

 

Trump announces plan to deploy 150 million Covid rapid tests previously touted

From CNN's Maegan Vazquez

 

US President Donald Trump formally announced a plan on Monday to disperse the 150 million rapid coronavirus tests first promoted by the White House in August.

The White House originally billed the deal to obtain tests, which are made by Abbott Laboratories, as a potential game-changer to battle the coronavirus pandemic. But without detailed federal guidance on how to distribute the tests, states and cities remained divided, and some of them stifled, on how to best to use those types of rapid tests and others for the testing technique known as "screening" -- which involves routinely testing people whether or not they have symptoms.

Announcing the distribution plan Monday afternoon in the White House Rose Garden, Trump claimed the testing effort would "allow every state on a very regular basis test every teacher who needs it."

"I'm pleased to report we're announcing our plan to distribute 150 million Abbott point of care tests in the coming weeks," Trump said in the Rose Garden on Monday.

Of course, many schools across the country have already been opened for weeks without comprehensive testing access amid the Trump administration's ongoing push to reopen schools and businesses despite the ongoing pandemic.

And the plan marks a pivot by the Trump administration and by the President, who has repeatedly and inaccurately claimed that more coronavirus testing in the US would lead to more coronavirus cases.

 

Retrieved from: https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-09-29-20-intl/index.html

 

 

 

Infection rate among teens double that of young children, new CDC analysis shows

By Antonia Farzan

 

 

Students arrive for classes in the Bronx earlier this month. (John Minchillo/AP)

 

The coronavirus infection rate among teenagers is roughly twice that of younger students, according to a new analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that could further complicate the debate over reopening schools.

Between March and mid-September, more than 275,000 covid-19 cases were reported in school-aged children, according to the agency’s data. By far the largest share — roughly 63 percent — were found in adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17.

Adolescents similarly had an average weekly incidence rate of 37.4 cases for every 100,000 children. Among younger children who ranged in age from 5 to 11, the average was 19 cases.

As schools grapple with thorny questions of how and when to reopen, many officials have opted for a one-size-fits all approach that treats first-graders the same as 10th-graders. But the CDC’s findings bolster the theory that teenagers have a higher risk factor than younger students, who appear less likely to become infected and transmit the virus.

The analysis, published Monday in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, does offer some important caveats. The statistics were collected during a period when most students were not attending in-person classes, meaning that there is no guarantee that the disparities between age groups will look the same after several months back in the classroom.

The researchers also point out that relying on testing data has limitations, since people displaying coronavirus symptoms often receive first priority for tests, and asymptomatic cases appear to be common among children. That could mean that infection rates among both groups are being underestimated — and, most crucially, that teenagers are more likely to test positive since they’re more likely to display symptoms in the first place.

Rather than draw any sweeping conclusions from the data, the CDC researchers instead repeat the recommendation that schools “should implement multiple concurrent preventive strategies and adjust mitigation depending on local levels of transmission.”

 

 

More than 200 Indian travelers barred from flights to Dubai over unreliable covid-19 test results

By Paul Schemm

Passenger aircraft, operated by Emirates, stand beside the terminal building at Dubai International Airport May 18, 2020. (Christopher Pike/Bloomberg)

 

DUBAI — More than 200 passengers were stopped from boarding their flights from two Indian cities to Dubai after their covid-19 test results were deemed invalid, local media reported Tuesday, citing airport authorities.

The incidents highlight a persistent problem with credible test results for people traveling from India to Dubai. At one point, authorities in the United Arab Emirates banned Air India Express flights because several of the carrier’s passengers tested positive on arrival.

The passengers not permitted to fly had test results from labs that UAE authorities had deemed not valid and on Monday, Air India Express tweeted out a list of labs that weren’t recognized. Dubai has singled out the Pure Health-approved laboratories as being an acceptable source for the covid-19 test needed to enter the country.

According to the Khaleej Times, 117 passengers from Kerala’s Kannur airport were not allowed to board while another 100 were kept off their flights in Kozhikode International Airport.

One of the blacklisted labs said its letterhead and credentials had been forged to produce the fraudulent test results. Millions of Indians work in the UAE and there is a constant flow of flights between the two countries. Since the pandemic, a negative covid-19 test result is required to return to the UAE.

On Sept. 17, Air India Express said it had received a notice of suspension for two weeks from Dubai airport authorities after two passengers on different flights were found to be carrying covid-19. The ban was later shortened to just 24 hours.

The airline also had its flights to Hong Kong banned between Aug. 18 and 31 after 14 of its passengers tested positive in Hong Kong after arrival.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/09/29/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/

 

 

 

Summary

· Rapid Covid-19 tests are about to be rolled out across the world, the WHO announced. The move could potentially save many thousands of lives and slow the spread of the pandemic in both poor and rich countries.

· Official death toll probably an underestimate – WHO official. The official global toll of deaths from Covid-19 probably underestimates the true total – suggesting it could be over a million already, Dr Mike Ryan, the WHO’s top emergencies expert, said.

· New York’s positive Covid-19 test rate inches up as cases climb in other states. The percentage of Covid-19 tests taken in New York state that have come back positive has inched up to 1.5%, a worrisome trend for the former centre of the US epidemic. The rate’s uptick comes as 27 other states recorded increases in the number of cases for two straight weeks.

· Dutch advise masks in shops as virus surges. The Dutch government has tightened some of Europe’s most relaxed coronavirus rules after a surge in cases, ordering bars to shut early and recommending people wear masks in shops.

· Spanish government to do ‘whatever it takes’ to curb Madrid surge. Spain’s government has warned the Madrid authorities of drastic measures if the region fails to move decisively to slow the spread of coronavirus infections.

· France’s new Covid-19 cases slow down, but hospitalisations up. France’s increase of new Covid-19 cases sharply decelerated on Monday, as is always the case on Mondays given there are fewer tests conducted on Sundays, but hospitalisations and deaths linked to the disease shot up again.

· Lockdown tightened in north-east England as Covid-19 infections rise. Nearly 2 million people in north-east England face being fined up to £6,400 if they mix with other households indoors in a significant extension of the government’s lockdown powers.

· Children have significantly less chance of catching Covid than adults – analysis. Children have 44% lower odds of catching Covid-19 than adults, according to an analysis led by the president of Britain’s Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/sep/28/coronavirus-live-news-global-deaths-near-1m-as-india-poised-to-pass-6m-cases