Country, Other	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths
World	41,967,587	+478,065	1,142,167
USA	8,661,651	+74,301	228,381
India	7,759,640	+54,482	117,336
Brazil	5,332,634	+31,985	155,962
Russia	1,463,306	+15,971	25,242
Spain	1,090,521	+20,986	34,521
Argentina	1,053,650	+16,325	27,957
France	999,043	+41,622	34,210
Colombia	990,270	+8,570	29,636
Peru	879,876	+2,991	33,984
Mexico	867,559	+6,845	87,415
UK	810,467	+21,242	44,347
South Africa	710,515	+2,156	18,843
Iran	550,757	+5,471	31,650
Chile	497,131	+1,494	13,792
Italy	465,726	+16,079	36,968
Iraq	442,164	+3,899	10,465
Germany	403,874	+12,519	10,044
Bangladesh	394,827	+1,696	5,747
Indonesia	377,541	+4,432	12,959
Philippines	363,888	+1,664	6,783
Turkey	355,528	+2,102	9,584
Saudi Arabia	343,774	+401	5,250
Pakistan	325,480	+736	6,702
Ukraine	322,879	+7,053	6,043
Israel	308,247	+912	2,319
Netherlands	262,405	+9,271	6,919
Belgium	253,386	+13,227	10,539
Czechia	223,065	+14,150	1,845
Poland	214,686	+12,107	4,019
Canada	209,148	+3,194	9,862
Romania	196,004	+4,902	6,163
Morocco	186,731	+4,151	3,132
Ecuador	156,451	+826	12,500
Nepal	148,509	+3,637	812
Bolivia	140,228	+191	8,558
Qatar	130,462	+252	228
Panama	127,227	+792	2,612
Dominican	122,873	+475	2,212
UAE	120,710	+1,578	474
Kuwait	119,420	+889	730
Oman	111,837	+353	1,147
Kazakhstan	109,907	+141	1,796
Portugal	109,541	+3,270	2,245
Egypt	106,060	+177	6,166
Guatemala	103,172	+757	3,580
Costa Rica	100,616	+1,191	1,251
Japan	94,524	+591	1,685
Ethiopia	91,693	+575	1,396
Honduras	91,078	+846	2,596
Belarus	90,380	+738	945
Venezuela	88,416	+381	759
China	85,729	+14	4,634
Bahrain	79,211	+304	308
Austria	71,844	+2,435	941
Armenia	70,836	+2,306	1,131
Moldova	69,568	+777	1,641
Lebanon	67,027	+1,450	552
Uzbekistan	64,439	+429	540
Nigeria	61,805	+138	1,127
Singapore	57,941	+8	28
Paraguay	57,526	+707	1,262
Algeria	55,357	+276	1,888
Ireland	54,476	+1,054	1,871
Kyrgyzstan	54,006	+547	1,122
Libya	52,620	+995	768
Hungary	52,212	+2,032	1,305
Palestine	49,134	+506	435
Ghana	47,538	+77	312
Azerbaijan	47,418	+825	648
Kenya	47,212	+1,068	870
Jordan	46,441	+2,821	481
Myanmar	41,008	+1,312	1,005
Denmark	37,763	+760	694
Serbia	37,536	+416	783
Slovakia	35,330	+1,728	115
Bulgaria	34,930	+1,595	1,064
El Salvador	32,262	+142	936
Croatia	29,850	+1,563	406
Greece	28,216	+882	549
Australia	27,466	+22	905
S. Korea	25,543	+119	453
North Macedonia	25,473	+637	874
Malaysia	23,804	+847	204
Georgia	22,803	+1,595	178
Ivory Coast	20,390	+27	121
Albania	18,250	+302	465
Slovenia	17,646	+1,663	211
Norway	17,234	+270	279
Montenegro	16,259	+190	253
Zambia	16,035	+35	346
Senegal	15,508	+24	321
Finland	14,255	+184	355
Namibia	12,460	+54	133
Luxembourg	12,333	+595	140
Guinea	11,635	+36	71
Mozambique	11,559	+228	81
Maldives	11,358	+42	37
DRC	11,097	+31	304
Uganda	11,041	+108	98
Tajikistan	10,653	+40	81
French Guiana	10,342	+47	69
Lithuania	8,663	+424	125
Jamaica	8,600	+155	179
Angola	8,582	+244	260
Zimbabwe	8,242	+27	236
Bahamas	6,135	+84	130
Botswana	5,923	+314	21
Malawi	5,874	+10	183
Eswatini	5,814	+9	116
Syria	5,267	+43	260
Suriname	5,154	+4	109
Aruba	4,389	+20	36
Thailand	3,719	+10	59
Cyprus	3,154	+188	25

 

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

 

 

 

People with Down syndrome have 10 times the risk of death from Covid-19 as those without, study finds

From CNN Health’s Shelby Lin Erdman

 

People with Down syndrome have 10 times the risk of dying from Covid-19 compared to those without the disability, a team of researchers reported Thursday.  

They also found a four-fold increased risk of coronavirus-related hospitalizations for those with Down syndrome, “a group that is not currently strategically protected,” according to the report in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

“This was after adjustment for cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases and care home residence, which our results suggest explained some but not all of the increased risk,” the researchers wrote.

Their analysis involved more than 8 million adults who were part of a coronavirus risk assessment project sponsored by the British government. Of the 8.26 million people in the tracking study, 4,053 had Down syndrome. Of those, 68 people with the disability died and 40% were killed by Covid-19. Seventeen died of pneumonia or pneumonitis and 35% died of other causes.

Those numbers compare with more than 41,000 people without Down syndrome who died, but just 20% died from the coronavirus, 14% from pneumonia or pneumonitis and 65% died of other causes.

Down syndrome is not included in any guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the UK’s health ministry as a condition that would put people at increased risk for Covid-19. 

“However it is associated with immune dysfunction, congenital heart failure, and pulmonary pathology and, given its prevalence, may be a relevant albeit unconfirmed risk factor for severe Covid-19,” researchers concluded.

Down syndrome is the most common genetic condition diagnosed in the United States every year, according to the CDC, with more than 6,000 babies born with the disability every year. Down syndrome occurs in one in every 700 babies.

 

 

The pandemic is causing "unacceptable" shortages in US drug supplies, report says

From CNN's Shelby Lin Erdman

 

 

Bottles of pills sit on shelves at Rock Canyon Pharmacy in Provo, Utah, on May 20. George Frey/AFP/Getty Images

The coronavirus pandemic is causing "unacceptable" shortages of US drug supplies in the United States, according to a report from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota.

The report says shortages have limited 29 of 40 drugs critical for treating Covid-19 patients, including propofol, albuterol, midazolam, hydroxychloroquine, fentanyl, azithromycin and morphine, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. The FDA, which has more stringent criteria for shortages, show 18 of 40 are on the Drug Shortage list.

Another 67 out of 156 critical acute drugs -- including diazepam, phenobarbital, lidocaine and acetaminophen -- are in short supply, the report said.

"Drug shortages can be a matter of life and death, and some shortages mean that a life-saving drug is not available to U.S. patients at any price," the authors wrote.

"The urgency with the drug shortage supply issue is related directly to the major increase in COVID-19 cases that we will experience in the coming months," Michael Osterholm, the director of CIDRAP, said in a news release.

"This, in turn, will dramatically increase the need for specific COVID-19 treatment drugs, while at the same, COVID-19 is having a major impact on two of the three key drug manufacturing areas of the world, India and Italy," Osterholm added.

 

Retrieved from: https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-10-23-20-intl/index.html

 

 

India is facing a double health threat this winter: pollution and the pandemic

By Jessie Yeung, Esha Mitra and Vedika Sud, CNN

 

Former president Barack Obama speaks at a drive-in rally for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in Philadelphia on Wednesday. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

 

New Delhi (CNN)A familiar scene is taking place in northern India. Vast fields burn, flames engulfing bare stalks of already-harvested crops. Billowing smoke travels across state borders. In towns and cities, the air is thick with yellow haze.

Stubble burning, the practice of intentionally setting fire to cultivated fields to prepare the land for its next crop, is one of the chief drivers of India's so-called annual pollution season, which begins each winter.

It is especially bad in cities like the capital New Delhi, where smog from the burning crop fields, vehicular emissions, power plants, construction sites, and smoke from Diwali firecrackers combine to create a toxic cloud that lingers until spring.

Authorities have been trying for years to combat this serious public health risk -- but there's a new urgency this year, with fears that pollution could compound the danger of Covid-19.

The coronavirus outbreak in India has infected nearly 7.6 million people and killed more than 115,000, according to the country's Health Ministry. India went into a months-long nationwide total lockdown in an attempt to contain the virus -- but with little success. Presently, India has the second highest number of infections globally, after the United States, and the third highest number of deaths.

Experts and politicians now worry that the arrival of pollution season could pose a double threat, putting people at higher risk of severe infection, while increasing the strain on public health services.

"The combination of air pollution along with Covid-19, and especially as this is going to happen during the winter months, is something we need to be really concerned about and take adequate measures, so that we don't let a huge spike occur in the number of cases," said Dr. Randeep Guleria, director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

 

Retrieved from: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/21/asia/india-pollution-covid-intl-hnk-scn-wellness/index.html

 

 

 

Europeans face more curfews, restrictions as virus surges

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

Italy's three largest cities face new curfews as regional authorities try to slow the spread of COVID-19 where it first struck hard in Europe, most of whose countries are now imposing, or mulling, new restrictions to cope with rapidly rising caseloads.

A midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew in Lazio, which includes Rome, begins on Friday and lasts for 30 days, under an order signed by regional governor Nicola Zingaretti. 

The governor of Campania, the southern region which includes densely populated Naples, on Thursday ordered residents to stay at home from 11 p.m. to shortly before dawn starting the next day. A similar curfew in Lombardy, where infections are particularly surging in its main city, Milan, will go into effect Thursday night.

The Czech Republic's government on Thursday re-imposed exactly the same heavy restrictions it slapped on citizens in the spring - and which Prime Minister Andrej Babis had repeatedly said would not be repeated. Babis apologized for the huge impact the restrictions will have on everyday life but said if they were not taken "our health system would collapse between Nov 7-11."

The measures include limits on free movement and the closure of many stores, shopping malls and hotels, until at least Nov 3.

Meanwhile, Poland Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki suggested that, starting Saturday, he would like all of Poland to be placed under the highest level of restrictions short of a full lockdown. That would include mandatory use of masks in all open public spaces, limits on the number of people allowed in shops and public transport, and closing gyms and swimming pools.

Spain is mulling new restrictions including possible curfews.  

 

 

Spain reaches 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

Medical residents take part on a protest against their working conditions during a strike in Barcelona, Spain, on October 20, 2020

Spain this week became the first country in western Europe to record more than 1 million confirmed infections, as it struggles to contain a resurgence of the new coronavirus.

After being brought under control during a nationwide lockdown in the spring, the virus started spreading again a couple of months after restrictions were lifted and people started to move around and socialize again. By September, hospitals in Madrid were once again beginning to fill up as Spain recorded the highest numbers of new infections in the 27-country European Union. 

Confirmed cases rose beyond the 1 million mark on Wednesday, when nearly 17,000 new infections were added. 

Experts say the real number is probably much higher because insufficient testing, asymptomatic cases and other issues impede authorities from capturing the true scale of the outbreak.

Like elsewhere in Europe, the resurgence has prompted authorities to impose restrictions on travel and social gatherings. Curfews are being considered in some of the most affected areas, including the capital, Madrid. The northern region of Navarra has prohibited non-essential travel from and to the region.

 

 

 

Slovenia and Croatia set new case records

 

Slovenia's confirmed coronavirus cases have soared to another daily record of 1,663, and the country has reported the deaths of five more people with COVID-19. Neighboring Croatia also set a new daily record on Thursday with 1,563 new cases and 13 deaths, most of them in the capital, Zagreb.

Authorities in both countries have warned that if the infection rates continue to climb at their current pace, hospitals could run out of unoccupied beds.

Several general hospitals in Croatia have already been turned into facilities treating only COVID-19 patients and are preparing tents to accommodate more people.

Confirmed infections now constitute over 25% of all virus tests in Slovenia, well above the 5% threshold recommended by the World Health Organization.

Health officials have called on the Slovenian government to introduce stricter measures to combat the virus spread, including a complete lockdown of the small Alpine state of 2 million people.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/covid-19-latest-news-2020-10-22/

 

 

 

Australia to lift cap on citizens returning as thousands left stranded

 

Australia will slightly lift the cap on the number of citizens and permanent residents allowed to return each week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, as local Covid-19 cases slow to single digits, Reuters reports.
Australia has since July capped the number of locals allowed to return home each week in an attempt to reduce the threat of spreading Covid-19 once they enter a mandatory 14-day quarantine in hotels.
Morrison said the current cap will rise to 5,865 people in November, an increase of 290, after Western Australia and Queensland states said they would accommodate more locals.
The increase comes amid heightened pressure on Morrison’s government to help some 26,000 Australians that registered their intention to come home.
“The most effective way to get Australians home is to increase these caps,” Morrison told reporters in Canberra.
Many, however, have struggled to secure a plane ticket and raise the several thousand dollars needed to pay for hotel quarantine when they arrive back in Australia.
Looking to offer more support, Morrison’s government earlier this month struck a deal with the Northern Territory government to allow up to 500 people each fortnight to return. These are outside the weekly cap, with the first plane landing on Friday.

 

 

Summary

 

Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

My name is Helen Sullivan, you can find me on Twitter here and I’ll be bringing you the latest global Covid news – as well as an coronavirus-related moments in the final presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, which starts in about three hours’ time.

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug to treat Covid-19: remdesivir, an antiviral medicine given through an IV for patients needing hospitalization.

The drug, which California-based Gilead Sciences Inc is calling Veklury, cut the time to recovery from 15 days to 10 on average in a large study led by the US National Institutes of Health.

Meanwhile French health authorities reported another 41,622 confirmed Covid-19 cases over 24 hours on Thursday, an all-time daily high that was published shortly after the government announced a broad extension of the curfew put in place a week ago in Paris and other major cities.

· Trump tests negative for virus pre-debate. The White House chief of staff says president Donald Trump has tested negative for the coronavirus ahead of Thursday night’s second and final presidential debate.

· EU’s flagship Covid-19 recovery cash will come late -diplomat. States hit hardest by the pandemic will have to wait longer for €750bn meant to help restart their economies, a senior diplomat said, as a fresh rise in infections shuts down business on the continent again.

· Supermarkets in Wales to sell only essentials during lockdown. They will not be allowed to sell items such as clothing and hardware during the Covid-19 firebreak lockdown, first minister Mark Drakeford said, to ensure a “level playing field” as many retailers will be forced to shut.

· Greece will impose a curfew in areas most affected by Covid-19, including Athens. The prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said movement would be banned from Saturday between 12.30am and 5am in locations deemed high-risk.

· The Canary Islands, the Maldives, Denmark and Mykonos were added to England’s travel corridor list. Travellers from those destinations will no longer need to self-isolate for 14 days from 4am on Sunday 25 October. The opposite is true for travellers arriving from Liechtenstein, which was removed from the list.

· France extended a night-time curfew to more regions, affecting two-thirds of the French population. The prime minister Jean Castex said the 9pm-6am curfew would be extended to 38 departments and some overseas territories for six weeks, starting from midnight on Friday.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/oct/23/coronavirus-live-news-remdesivir-approved-as-covid-treatment-by-us-fda-france-sees-record-new-cases?page=with:block-5f9200ef8f086891532b6d48#block-5f9200ef8f086891532b6d48