Country, Other	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths
World	47,313,868	+472,997	1,211,054
USA	9,567,543	+88,905	236,997
India	8,266,914	+37,592	123,139
Brazil	5,554,206	+8,501	160,272
Russia	1,655,038	+18,257	28,473
France	1,466,433	+52,518	37,435
Spain	1,313,087	+18,340	36,257
Argentina	1,183,131	+9,598	31,623
Colombia	1,093,256	+9,935	31,670
UK	1,053,864	+18,950	46,853
Mexico	929,392	+4,430	91,895
Peru	906,545	+1,634	34,585
Italy	731,588	+22,253	39,059
South Africa	727,595	+772	19,465
Iran	628,780	+8,289	35,738
Germany	560,586	+16,240	10,734
Chile	513,188	+1,324	14,302
Iraq	478,701	+3,413	11,017
Belgium	441,018	+11,789	11,737
Indonesia	415,402	+2,618	14,044
Bangladesh	410,988	+1,736	5,966
Ukraine	402,194	+6,754	7,375
Poland	395,480	+15,578	5,875
Philippines	385,400	+2,298	7,269
Turkey	379,775	+2,302	10,402
Netherlands	368,147	+8,286	7,463
Czechia	350,896	+9,252	3,654
Saudi Arabia	348,037	+381	5,437
Pakistan	335,093	+1,123	6,835
Israel	315,636	+693	2,580
Romania	250,704	+4,041	7,153
Canada	240,263	+3,422	10,208
Morocco	225,070	+2,526	3,826
Nepal	176,500	+2,933	984
Ecuador	169,562	+368	12,692
Portugal	146,847	+2,506	2,590
Bolivia	141,833	+76	8,731
UAE	135,141	+1,234	497
Panama	134,915	+579	2,720
Qatar	132,917	+197	232
Dominican	127,591	+259	2,250
Kuwait	127,293	+759	786
Oman	116,152	+418	1,256
Austria	114,016	+4,135	1,159
Kazakhstan	112,860	+442	1,857
Costa Rica	111,257	+540	1,404
Egypt	107,925	+189	6,291
Japan	101,813	+667	1,774
Belarus	100,400	+941	989
Honduras	98,212	+808	2,675
Ethiopia	96,942	+359	1,489
Armenia	93,448	+1,194	1,391
Venezuela	92,705	+380	806
China	86,021	+24	4,634
Lebanon	83,697	+1,080	652
Hungary	82,780	+3,581	1,889
Bahrain	82,133	+210	322
Jordan	81,743	+5,877	913
Moldova	76,777	+195	1,818
Uzbekistan	67,254	+153	571
Paraguay	64,156	+425	1,429
Nigeria	63,036	+72	1,147
Libya	62,907	+862	880
Ireland	62,750	+748	1,917
Tunisia	61,906	+791	1,381
Slovakia	61,829	+1,883	219
Kyrgyzstan	59,879	+436	1,155
Algeria	58,574	+302	1,980
Singapore	58,020	+1	28
Azerbaijan	57,040	+596	753
Kenya	56,601	+724	1,027
Bulgaria	56,496	+2,427	1,349
Palestine	54,775	+715	493
Myanmar	54,607	+1,202	1,282
Croatia	52,660	+1,165	594
Serbia	49,205	+802	833
Denmark	48,241	+942	724
Ghana	48,200	+76	320
Georgia	42,579	+1,852	342
Greece	42,080	+1,151	642
Slovenia	36,206	+557	388
Malaysia	33,339	+834	251
North Macedonia	32,997	+561	1,025
Australia	27,602	+7	907
S. Korea	26,732	+97	468
Albania	21,523	+321	527
Norway	21,339	+704	282
Ivory Coast	20,753	+37	126
Montenegro	19,210	+496	320
Luxembourg	19,101	+319	160
Lithuania	16,556	+837	170
Zambia	16,543	+63	349
Finland	16,400	+109	359
Senegal	15,637	+7	325
Sudan	13,866	+47	837
Mozambique	13,130	+142	94
Namibia	13,012	+24	133
Uganda	12,971	+228	114
Maldives	11,737	+36	38
DRC	11,395	+22	308
Angola	11,228	+193	289
Tajikistan	11,096	+42	82
Jamaica	9,257	+126	210
Zimbabwe	8,389	+15	245
Suriname	5,212	+2	111
Cyprus	4,760	+197	27
Aruba	4,524	+5	38
Thailand	3,787	+3	59

 

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

 

 

 

New Delhi ends five straight days of more than 5,000 new Covid-19 cases

From Esha Mitra in New Delhi

 

A health worker collects a sample for Covid-19 testing at Ambedkar Nagar, in New Delhi, on November 1. Amal KS/Hindustan Times/Getty Images

New Delhi reported 4,001 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, authorities said -- breaking a five-day streak of 5,000-plus daily cases in the Indian capital.

Nearly 400,000 people in New Delhi have been diagnosed with the virus. Some 356,459 have recovered, while 6,604 have died, according to government figures.

Authorities have been concerned that New Delhi's healthcare infrastructure might be overwhelmed if seasonal pollution in the autumn and winter exacerbates the effects of the pandemic.

The situation is already dire. More than 40% of hospital beds in the city are occupied and nearly 70% of ventilators are in use. 

The air quality was designated "very poor" for the 10 consecutive days ending Sunday, but improved slightly Monday.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Monday that to limit pollution, the government will bar new manufacturing operations from setting up shop in New Delhi's industrial area.  

A decline nationwide: Cases across India appear to be on the decline. Authorities reported another 38,310 infections Tuesday -- about half the number of daily new cases that were being reported in September.

Certain businesses like malls, movie theaters and gyms have reopened provided they adhere to social distancing restrictions.

India has reported more than 8.2 million cases of Covid-19 since the pandemic began. At least 123,000 people have died, according to the country's Health Ministry.

 

Retrieved from: https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-11-03-20-intl/index.html

 

 

Africa must prepare for second COVID wave, disease control group says

By Reuters and Eoin McSweeney

 

NairobiCovid-19 cases are accelerating in some parts of Africa and governments should step up preparations for a second wave, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.

Over the past four week, cases have increased by 45% per week on average in Kenya, by 19% in Democratic Republic of Congo and by 8% in Egypt, the African Union-run organization's head John Nkengasong said.

"The time to prepare for a second wave is truly now," he said, urging governments "not to get into prevention fatigue mode."

The continent of 1.3 billion people has so far managed better than widely expected in terms of containing the epidemic, with a lower percentage of deaths than other regions, partly due to strict lockdown measures imposed in March.

There have been 41,776 deaths among the 1.74 million people reported infected with the virus, according to a Reuters tally based on official data as of Thursday morning.

Beginning in August, many governments eased restrictions, however, and a trend of decreasing cases has flattened, Matshidiso Moeti, Africa director for the WHO said in an online press conference on Thursday.

In Kenya, the government allowed bars to reopen on September 28 and cut the nightly curfew by two hours. Schools partially reopened on October 12.

Some easing was justified to help economies in the region to start recovering, Moeti said. However, "we will need to be dealing with some of these upticks. What is important is to contain them."

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday announced a November 4 summit to review the surge in infections, and urged Kenyans to wear face masks properly and practice social distancing to avoid "losing hard-fought for ground" in the fight against the disease.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari warned Thursday that his country's economy was "too fragile" to bear another lockdown.

"Looking at the trends in the other countries, we must do all we can to avert a second wave of Covid-19 in Nigeria," he said in a tweet. "We must make sure that our cases, which have gone down, do not rise again."

In the World Health Organization's situation update for the region on October 21, it encouraged member states to "observe all precautionary measures diligently and comprehensively."

 

Retrieved from: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/30/africa/africa-second-covid-wave-intl/index.html

 

 

 

Pregnant women are more likely to die from the coronavirus, though risk remains small

By William Wan

November 2, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. GMT+1

 

A CDC study finds that pregnant women are more likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit after being diagnosed with covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, than women who are not pregnant. (Charles Krupa/AP)

The data — the most comprehensive U.S. accounting to date of how the virus affects pregnant women — shows that pregnant women are almost three times more likely to be admitted to intensive care units, and more than three times more likely to be put on a ventilator. The findings echo previous studies linking pregnancy to increased risk for severe illness.

The overall risk to pregnant women remains small because they tend to be younger and healthy, according to the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Out of 19,600 pregnant women studied, 33 died — a 0.2 percent death rate. For women who are not pregnant, the death rate was 0.1 percent, the report said.

The CDC study also reinforced findings about the disparate path of the pandemic in the United States, with Black, Hispanic and Asian women at greater peril from the virus.

The increased risk to pregnant women should serve as a warning to those who are expecting a baby to be especially vigilant against infection, experts said.

“Some people think that because if you’re young and healthy, you’ll be okay, and pandemic fatigue is setting in. But the fact is at my practice, we’ve seen women who are pregnant on ventilators. It affects the mother, the delivery and the baby,” said David Jaspan, chair of the obstetrics and gynecology department at the Einstein Healthcare Network in Philadelphia, who was not involved in the study.

“We have no predictive ability how this will impact you, so the best advice we can offer is prevention,” Jaspan said. “Wear a mask. Social distance. Stay away from people who may be infected.”

Catch up on the biggest developments in the pandemic at the end of the day with our free coronavirus newsletter

Some pregnant women may not be getting diagnosed until later in their illness because the virus shares some common symptoms with pregnancy — fatigue, nausea and vomiting.

“We want patients to not make the assumption that what they’re feeling is just from pregnancy. Keep up your appointments,” Jaspan said. “Give us a chance to evaluate and ensure you’re okay.”

The report draws on data the CDC collected from hospitals throughout the country. It found that 1.1 percent of pregnant women were admitted to an ICU after being diagnosed with covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, compared with 0.4 percent of women who were not pregnant. The rate requiring ventilation was 0.3 percent for pregnant women and 0.1 percent for other women.

Researchers believe the increased risk may be attributable to physiological changes that occur with pregnancy, such as increased heart rate and oxygen consumption, decreased lung capacity and shifts in the body’s immune system.

One notable finding of the report was on racial disparities.

While Black women made up only 14 percent of those included in the study, they represented 37 percent of deaths recorded. Pregnant Asian women also saw a disproportionate risk of severe illness. Hispanic women had a higher risk of being infected and a higher risk of dying than White women.

The CDC also released data Monday showing that pregnant women infected with the virus were more likely to have preterm births. Among 3,912 births, 12.9 percent were preterm, compared with 10.2 percent among the general U.S. population in 2019.

Taken together, the findings could have implications for whether pregnant women are given a vaccine when one becomes widely available, said Denise Jamieson, chair of the gynecology and obstetrics department at Emory University. Any decision on a vaccine would have to take into account safety concerns for the fetus and mother.

“But given what this shows about the increased risk experienced by pregnant women, it suggests you may not want to deny them the chance to be vaccinated,” Jamieson said.

Many pregnant women are already taking robust measures to try to avoid getting infected, Jamieson said. But she and other doctors say they have seen an extraordinary number testing positive — but without having symptoms.

“I’ve had patients who quit their jobs to better quarantine themselves, but their partner still has to work outside the home to earn a wage. It just shows how difficult it is to protect yourself from this virus,” she said. “But as this data shows, it’s more important than ever that they protect themselves from getting covid.”

 

Retrieved from:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/11/02/covid-pregnant-women-death/

 

 

 

Italy's coronavirus strategy is 'wasting time', says scientific advisor

By Angela Giuffrida

 

A scientific advisor to Italy’s health ministry has warned the government is “wasting time” amid political wrangling over further coronavirus restrictions.

Italy is working towards measures that could include a national 9pm curfew, a ban on inter-regional travel and the closure of shopping malls at weekends.

But scientists have for weeks been urging the government to take tougher action, such as imposing local lockdowns, as infections escalate and hospitals come under strain.

Walter Ricciardi, the health ministry adviser, told the Guardian:

Like in other European countries, politicians haven’t had the courage to make prompt decisions at the right time.

Now, with every hour that passes we are moving even further towards a national lockdown. Time is being wasted.

Addressing parliament on Monday, prime minister Giuseppe Conte said the proposed new rules, which are expected to include the closure of museums, needed to be enforced by Wednesday as the pandemic is “racing inexorably” across Europe and deteriorating in Italy.

He said intensive care capacity would be at risk in 15 of Italy’s 20 regions within a month, and that the country was heading towards a ‘scenario 4’ situation, at which point a complete lockdown would be needed.

However, he has so far stopped short of ordering another national lockdown, leaving it up to regional leaders to impose one in areas badly affected, such as Lombardy in the north and Campania in the south.

But this has provoked a battle as regional governors shy away from making unpopular decisions amid growing protest against restrictions.

Ricciardi last week came under fire for suggesting that Milan and Naples be put under lockdown as it was possible to contract Covid-19 in either of the densely-populated cities just by walking into a bar.

Italy’s daily infection tally fell below 30,000 on Sunday after reaching a record 31,758 on Saturday. However, over 30,000 fewer swab tests were carried out. There were 208 more fatalities recorded on Sunday.

Almost 19,000 people are in hospital with Covid-19 across Italy, of whom 1,939 are in intensive care. Italian media reported in October that the government would evaluate another national lockdown if intensive care admissions eclipsed a 2,300 threshold.

Doctors’ associations across the country have also warned of severe shortages of health workers to deal with the pandemic’s second wave.

“The problem with the second wave isn’t so much intensive care right now,” added Ricciardi.

“The problem is general hospital wards are filling up [to the point] where we won’t be able to hospitalise anymore people. And over time this will affect intensive care. Then there is the issue of doctors and nurses becoming infected, further weakening the system.”

 

 

Summary

 

Here are the key developments from the last few hours:

· China reports 49 new cases. China reported 49 new Covid-19 cases for 2 November, up from 24 a day earlier, the national health authority reported on Tuesday. The National Health Commission said in a statement 44 of the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas.

· Panama president self-isolating. Panama’s President Laurentino Cortizo has began self-isolating after a close coworker tested positive for the coronavirus, the presidency said on Monday, without revealing the name or position of the person who was infected. Cortizo has taken two coronavirus tests, which were both negative, but will continue isolating “until he repeats the tests in a few days”, the presidency said on Twitter.

· Canada announced new requirements for travellers on Monday, and fines of up to $1,000 for those who do not comply.

· New Zealanders coming home for Christmas warned quarantine hotels may be full. New Zealand’s quarantine hotels are approaching capacity as the military warns there may not be room to house Kiwis planning to return home for Christmas.

· WHO warns it’s ‘not too late’ to take critical action. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that a recent spike in Covid-19 cases in some countries in Europe and North America presented leaders with a “critical moment for action”. “This is another critical moment for action,” he said. “Another critical moment for leaders to step up. And another critical moment for people to come together for a common purpose. Seize the opportunity, it’s not too late.”

· France reported a record 52,518 new Covid-19 on Monday and the number of people hospitalised with the disease rose by more than a 1,000 for the fourth time in eight days, as the pandemic showing no signs of abating despite a new lockdown.

· Portugal considering state of emergency to tackle Covid-19.Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he is pondering declaring a state of emergency as a preventive measure to fight the spread of the coronavirus at a time when infections are soaring.

· Italy’s coronavirus strategy is ‘wasting time’, says scientific advisor. Italy is working towards measures that could include a national 9pm curfew, a ban on inter-regional travel and the closure of shopping malls at weekends.

· Slovakia carries out Covid mass testing of two-thirds of population. Two-thirds of Slovakia’s population of 5.4 million people were tested for coronavirus over the weekend as part of a programme aimed at making it one of the first countries to test its entire population.

· Germany begins ‘light lockdown’. Germany goes into “lockdown light” mode today, as the country’s disease control agency recorded 12,097 new confirmed Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours. Bars, cinemas, theatres, museums, fitness studios and swimming pools will remain closed from today, while cafes and restaurants are allowed to offer takeaway food only. Meetings in public are restricted to two households and no more than 10 people. Unlike during the first lockdown in the spring, schools and nurseries will stay open.

· Coronavirus infections fall for third day straight in the Netherlands. The number of new coronavirus infections in the Netherlands rose by nearly 8,300 over the past 24 hours, the slowest pace in roughly two weeks.

· Iran reports record high Covid death toll as travel bans go into force. Iran reported a record 440 Covid deaths in the past 24 hours, pushing the country’s death toll to 35,738 as a ban on travel in and out of major cities came into force.

· Donald Trump tries to stoke fears of Covid lockdown under Joe Biden. In the final hours before election day, one of Trump’s closing messages to Americans was an exaggerated threat: that a Joe Biden presidency will result in a national Covid-19 lockdown. Speaking in Iowa on Sunday, the president said the election was a “choice between a deadly Biden lockdown … or a safe vaccine that ends the pandemic”.

· The European Union (EU) has agreed to provide Mozambique with 100 million euros ($116.30 million) in coronavirus-related aid. The EU cut off direct budget support to Mozambique in 2016 after the country revealed the existence of hefty state-guaranteed loans that it had not previously disclosed.

· T-cell Covid immunity ‘present in adults six months after first infection’. Cellular (T-cell) immunity against the virus that causes Covid-19 is likely to be present within most adults six months after primary infection, with levels considerably higher in patients with symptoms, a study suggests.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/nov/03/coronavirus-live-news-france-sees-record-new-cases-who-warns-its-not-too-late-to-take-critical-action?page=with:block-5fa0f3a68f08d174d511290f#block-5fa0f3a68f08d174d511290f