Fresh Covid-19 vaccine reports are on the horizon, with drugmakers including Pfizer Inc. expecting to obtain more trial data as early as this week. The updates are eagerly awaited as the pandemic accelerates, with US infections hitting a new record high.
US cases surpassed 11 million on Sunday after increasing by more than 1 million in a week, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. Covid-19 has claimed more than 246,000 lives in the US, which has the most deaths of any country.
California reported 10,968 new cases on Sunday, a three-month high. Along with Saturday’s 9,875 infections, this makes it the worst weekend in months after the state surpassed 1 million cases last week. The number of deaths, at 35, however, brings the 14-day average to the lowest level since April.
Cases in Florida rose the most since July, when the last virus surge peaked. Sunday’s 10,105 reported infections compare with a seven-day trailing average of 5,900. Hospitalizations have risen by a third, to more than 3,000, since the beginning of October but are nowhere near the summer peak of almost 10,000.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer imposed a three-week partial lockdown in the state starting Wednesday, closing in-person dining at restaurants, limiting bars and temporarily closing high schools. Retailers and gyms are among the services that can stay open with reduced capacity, said state health department head Robert Gordon, who’s a member of President-elect Joe Biden’s broader transition team.
Nations across the globe moved toward tougher measures, though two of US President-elect Joe Biden’s advisers said they oppose a nationwide lockdown. Michigan announced a three-week partial lockdown, with the governor urging residents to refrain from Thanksgiving gatherings.
Hong Kong is tightening social-distancing rules after a rise in locally transmitted cases, while Austria plans mass testing of its entire population.
Key developments:
Germany eyes tougher measures: Reuters
Germany is considering additional measures including limiting gatherings and completely halting private parties until Christmas to limit the spread of coronavirus, Reuters reported, citing a draft document it has seen.
Under new measures, people from one household will be allowed to meet with two people from another household, down from a maximum of 10 people from two households now. Measures include mandatory mask wearing for school students.
Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said over the weekend that Germany will have to live with “considerable restrictions” against the spread of the coronavirus for at least the next four to five months.
South Korea has most cases in 11 weeks
South Korea reported 223 new cases in 24 hours, up from 208 a day earlier, according to data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The number is the biggest increase in 11 weeks.
South Australia hit by growing cluster
South Australia state is battling a growing number of Covid-19 infections, with 17 cases now linked to a family cluster in the capital, Adelaide.
“It is a very, very dangerous situation we’re in,” state Premier Steven Marshall said on Monday. He said his government would consider tougher social-distancing restrictions if necessary, adding “we will do whatever it takes to get on top of this cluster.”
The state’s Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said the cases were linked to a “medi-hotel” where one of the infected people worked, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. Such facilities are used by incoming travelers and local residents who can’t safely quarantine at home.
UK’s Johnson isolates after Covid contact
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will self-isolate after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19, his spokesman said.
Johnson, 56, is well, isn’t showing symptoms and “will carry on working from Downing Street,” the spokesman said in a statement on Sunday.
Johnson met with members of Parliament at 10 Downing Street on Thursday and one of them, Lee Anderson, later tested positive. The prime minister overcame a bout of Covid-19 in late March and April that had him in intensive care for three nights.
France infections decline
France reported 27,228 new coronavirus cases on Sunday. The seven-day average, which smooths out fluctuations in the data, shrank by 5.5 percent to 27,786, showing a continued decline over the past week. Deaths rose by 302 to 44,548 since the beginning of the pandemic.
The pressure on France’s intensive-care wards has been stabilizing in the last days, as seriously ill patients now occupy 96.5 percent of the country’s initial I.C.U. capacity, French health authorities reported. That rate rose sharply in the last weeks to reach 96.6 percent on Thursday.
Italy infections slow
Italy reported 33,979 new coronavirus cases and 546 new deaths on Sunday as regions including Florence and Naples adapted to new restrictions, including closed shops and restaurants. Cases remain close to recent highs but have declined from a record 40,902 cases on Friday.
Sporadic protests erupted in cities including Rome and Turin against the measures taken by the government.
Image credits: Colter Peterson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP