October 7 coronavirus news

Vice President Mike Pence listens as Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks during the vice presidential debate in Kingsbury Hall at the University of Utah on October 7.

California Sen. Kamala Harris delivered a swift condemnation of the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic during the opening of Wednesday’s vice presidential debate, noting that some 210,000 people have died and more than 7.5 million people have contracted the disease.

“The American people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country,” Harris said, arguing that frontline workers had been treated like “sacrificial workers” and that Trump had repeatedly minimized the seriousness of the virus, while discouraging people from wearing masks.

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Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence participate in the vice presidential debate moderated by Washington Bureau Chief for USA Today Susan Page (C) at the University of Utah on October 7, 2020 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Related article Pence and Harris meet for vice presidential debate as administration is gripped by Covid-19

Physician and epidemiologist William Foege listens before being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama at the White House on Tuesday, May 29, 2012.

In a personal letter, a lauded former US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director wrote to current CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield to say that the agency’s reputation was “tarnished” during the coronavirus pandemic response and that Redfield had a “short window to change things.”

The letter was first reported and posted by USA Today on Tuesday.

Foege is a lauded epidemiologist who led the CDC during the Carter and Reagan administrations. He is a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient and is credited with devising the global strategy that led to the eradication of smallpox in the late 1970s. 

Foege has not responded to CNN’s request for comment. A CDC spokesman said the agency was looking into the letter and planned to respond. 

A health worker conducts a coronavirus test at a covered court in Metro Manila, Philippines, on October 6.

The number of coronavirus cases across the globe surpassed 36 million on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

At least 36,026,644 people globally are known to have been diagnosed with coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University’s data.

The United States, India, and Brazil are the top three worst-hit countries with the highest coronavirus cases in the world. The United States is leading with at least 7,544,612 confirmed coronavirus cases, while in India the confirmed cases are at least 6,757,131. Brazil reported at least 5,000,694 cases on Wednesday. 

The total number of people who are known to have died from coronavirus is at least 1,054,153, according to Johns Hopkins.

Official Photo of the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Gary L. Thomas.

Gen. Gary L. Thomas, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, has tested positive for Covid-19, the Marine Corps said in a statement Wednesday. 

As CNN reported, Thomas had had been in self-quarantine since Tuesday after being notified he had been in close contact with a person who later tested positive for the virus.

CNN reported yesterday Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, and several members of the Pentagon’s senior leadership, including Thomas, were quarantining after a top Coast Guard official tested positive for coronavirus.

As President Trump’s top military adviser, Milley maintains a full classified communications suite in his house, and nobody in that group has tested positive at this point beside Thomas. 

The chief of staff of the US Air Force, Charles Brown, the chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday and the chief of Space Operations, Gen. John Raymond, also are all working from home, according to several officials.

Additional officials who were also working from alternate locations or from home include: Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. James McConville, chief of staff of the Army; Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard; Gen. Paul Nakasone, US Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency.

“We are aware of General Thomas’ positive test for COVID-19. At this time we have no additional senior leader positive test results to report. We will continue to follow CDC guidance for self-quarantining and contact tracing,” Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement Wednesday.

Workers disinfect a walkway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday, October 4.

Brazil’s health ministry reported 31,553 new cases Wednesday from Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases to 5,000,694. 

The health ministry also reported 734 new confirmed coronavirus fatalities, bringing the total number of deaths to 148,228. 

Brazil has the world’s third highest coronavirus cases after the US and India and the world’s second highest death toll after the US, according to Johns Hopkins University’s data.

President Trump speaks during a coronavirus task force press briefing in April.

In an unprecedented move, the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday published an editorial written by its editors condemning the Trump administration for its response to the Covid-19 pandemic — and calling for the current leadership in the United States to be voted out of office.

“We rarely publish editorials signed by all the editors,” said Dr. Eric Rubin, editor-in-chief of the medical journal and an author of the new editorial.

The editorial, which Rubin said was drafted in August, details how the United States leads the world in Covid-19 cases and deaths. So far, more than 7.5 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with Covid-19 and more than 211,000 people have died of the disease.

“Anyone else who recklessly squandered lives and money in this way would be suffering legal consequences. Our leaders have largely claimed immunity for their actions. But this election gives us the power to render judgment,” the editorial says.

“When it comes to the response to the largest public health crisis of our time, our current political leaders have demonstrated that they are dangerously incompetent. We should not abet them and enable the deaths of thousands more Americans by allowing them to keep their jobs.”

The New England Journal of Medicine began publishing in 1812. There have been only four previous editorials collectively signed by its editors in the recent past.

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Trials by jury will be allowed to resume in Georgia, according to a release from the Supreme Court of Georgia. 

The state halted all jury trials five months ago due to the pandemic.  

“We have put into place rigorous safety protocols for grand jury proceedings and jury trials because we understand that the public must have confidence to come and serve on juries. It is paramount to all our judges that our citizens realize that their safety has been thoroughly considered,” Chief Justice Harold D. Melton said in a news release from the court.   

The chief justice intends to issue the order Saturday that will allow courts to resume jury trials, according to the release.  The order will require courts to follow safety guidelines.

While the court will allow trials to resume, they will not actually start right away since potential jurors will need to be summoned. In September, the Georgia Supreme Court allowed local courts to resume grand jury proceedings as longs as they could be “done safely and in compliance with public health guidance based on local conditions,” the chief justice said at the time. 

Georgia is home to more than 10 million people, according to the US Census. More than 7,000 have died and nearly 325,000 have been infected with Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University. 

Wisconsin set a record for the number of new Covid-19 hospitalizations on Wednesday, with 141 patients, Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary-Designee Andrea Palmer said during a news conference. 

The state reported a total of 2,319 new cases of Covid-19 and 16 additional deaths, Palmer said. 

Fifty five of the 72 counties in the state meet the threshold of “very high disease activity level,” an increase of 10 counties last week, Palmer said. The rest of the counties are at a high disease activity level. 

“Wisconsin as a whole is also at a very high disease activity level,” Palmer added. 

The state has reported a total of 138,698 coronavirus cases to date and 1,415 total deaths. 

To note: These were released by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signing a bill into law on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, in Sacramento, Calif. 

A staff member in California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this week, according to a statement released by his office. This person had not interacted with Newsom or with staff that surrounds him on a regular basis.

Newsom has been tested on multiple occasions and the results have been negative, he said in a press conference Wednesday. The last time Newsom was tested was in mid-September when President Trump visited the state as wildfires raged. Newsom said earlier in the week that he “would have the responsibility, and you would have the right to know” should he test positive for the virus. “That would be forthcoming,” he said.

A second state employee at a different state agency who shares workspace with some members of the governor’s office also tested positive.

“In this instance as well, the individual had not interacted with the Governor or staff that routinely interacts with the Governor. Their employer has initiated the state’s COVID-19 protocols for state agencies as well,” the statement reads. 

Both individuals work in the broader governor’s office at the Capitol, Newsom said in a press conference Wednesday. Newsom’s office declined to disclose the exact office location, citing privacy laws. 

Contact tracing is currently underway.

A woman wearing a face mask walks past a store with a notice of mandatory mask requirement at CF Toronto Eaton Center in Toronto, Canada, on Oct. 6, 2020. 

Canada’s public health officials are warning people to stay home as much as possible saying the next few weeks will be “critical” to the country’s efforts to contain the virus.  

Public Health Agency of Canada says national daily case counts continue to increase steeply with an average of about two thousand new cases every day for the past week. Government statistics indicate that’s a 40% rise in the last week alone. 

Hospitalizations and deaths continue to creep upward as well with more than 600 Covid-19 patients currently in hospitals, and an average of about 18 deaths reported daily. 

More than 80% of new infections are from Ontario and Quebec with 60% of cases detected in people under 40.

The province of Quebec is of particular concern with urban hotspots in Montreal and Quebec City. Dine-in restaurants and bars were closed in those cities last week as new daily cases continue to climb. 

Quebec reported 1,364 new cases of the virus on Tuesday alone, the highest daily case total since the pandemic began. That prompted a blunt warning to young people in Quebec to take the virus seriously and stay home. 

More on this: Earlier this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned Canadians to stay home even for the Thanksgiving holiday next week, saying if Canada can once again flatten the curve that the country can “turn things around for Christmas.” 

“We are going in the wrong direction now, which is why it is so important for Canadians to do what is necessary, to wear a mask, to keep your distance, to understand that each of us has the power to end this by the choices we make,” said Trudeau during a press conference Monday. 

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak speaks during a voter mobilization drive-in event at UNLV on October 2, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has announced that he tested negative for Covid-19, according to a statement posted on Twitter today.

A staffer who works in the Nevada governor’s office at the capitol in Carson City tested positive on Tuesday. The governor’s office did not name the worker, but noted that they had not been in close contact with Sisolak in weeks.

Sisolak said he was tested “out of an abundance of caution” and that his office continues “to wish our team member a full and quick recovery.”

Today’s statement noted that Sisolak is scheduled to return to Carson City next week but “travel is on hold for the time being.”

The statement added that “the contact tracing effort is underway” and that all the staff who came into contact with the confirmed positive team member “transitioned to work from home status on Monday.”

A general view of the Philadelphia Eagles playing against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on October 04, 2020 in Santa Clara, California.

The National Football League and Players Association announced Wednesday that 11 NFL players and 15 staff members tested positive for Covid-19 for the week ending Oct. 3.

Since Aug. 1, the league has reported that out of 370,000 tests administered through Oct. 3, 84 people have resulted positive – that include 31 players and 53 other personnel.  

While appearing on the NFL Network on Wednesday, the NFL’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, was asked about the possibility of the league pausing the season since Covid-19 cases have already forced games to be postponed and team facilities to close.

So far, the NFL has postponed two games this season due to positive Covid-19 tests. 

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi tested positive for Covid-19, Grandi said in a post to Twitter from Geneva on Thursday.

“I am engaging with UNHCR’s Executive Committee from home as I have to isolate after testing positive to COVID19,” Grandi said in the tweet. 

“I only have mild symptoms and hope to recover soon,” Grandi added.

Here’s his tweet:

Empty chairs are on display to represent the 200,000 lives lost due to COVID-19 at the National Covid-19 Remembrance, on the ellipse behind the White House in Washington, DC on October 4, 2020. 

There have been at least 7,519,846 cases of coronavirus in the US and at least 211,343 people have died from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally of cases in the country.

So far today, Johns Hopkins has reported 20,505 new cases and 457 reported deaths.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

A man being tested for COVID-19 by a medical worker, south of Beirut, Lebanon on Oct. 4, 2020. 

Lebanon reported 1,459 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, the highest daily number of infections recorded since the beginning of the pandemic, the country’s Ministry of Public Health said.

The latest number of recorded cases brings the country’s total case count to 48,377. 

There were also nine new deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, raising the national death toll to 433, the ministry says.

Lebanon has recently witnessed a surge of Covid-19 cases. This comes as the country is suffering from an economic collapse and dealing with the aftermath of the port blast on August 4th, that ripped through the capital killing nearly 200 people, wounding around 6,000 people and displacing about 300,000 people.

World Health Organization (WHO) Health Emergencies Program Director Michael Ryan pictured during a daily press briefing on COVID-19 in March 2020.

Dr. Mike Ryan, the World Health Organization’s executive director of Health Emergencies Programme, urged sick people and their contacts to stay at home in order to stop the spread of Covid-19.

“We do know these huge, long, long-term lockdowns are not in that sense the best solution,” he said, adding that countries sometimes “face no choice.” 

The lockdowns have consequences he said, “but this is not a no-consequence effort, we need to find that balance … between stopping this disease, giving us the time to develop the measures we need to save lives,” Ryan said.

 “Life is never like that – it’s not binary, right and wrong, and left and right and, good and bad,” he said. “We need to take a pill and get real here. It’s not either-or, it’s both.” 

Nobody wants lockdowns, he said. 

“Do you think I like this? Do you think we want this? No.” 

Naeha Quasba reacts as she holds a picture of her father, Ramasha Quasba, who died from coronavirus as she stands near empty chairs on display to represent the 200,000 lives lost due to COVID-19 at the National COVID-19 Remembrance, on the ellipse behind the White House in Washington, DC, on October 4, 2020. 

There have been at least 7,506,743 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 211,108 people have died since the pandemic began, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

So far today, Johns Hopkins has reported at least 5,779 new cases and 222 deaths.

Brussels region Minister for Finance Sven Gatz pictured during a presentation on Tuesday 07 July 2020. 

Hours after announcing new Covid-19 related restrictions for the Belgian capital, nearly all members of the Brussels regional government will have to quarantine after an official tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday. 

Sven Gatz, the finance minister in the Brussels-Capital regional government, is “showing mild symptoms of the virus and will be quarantined for two weeks,” his spokesperson Eva Vanhengel said in a statement. He “continues to work digitally and remotely” she added.

Gatz’s positive result triggers quarantine measures for all officials and employees who he has been in contact with. This includes six of the eight members of the regional government who attended a weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers with him last week. 

This also includes Minister-President Rudi Vervoort who just held a press conference to announce a range of stricter measures for the capital to help fight a resurgence of the virus.

A traveler exits Heathrow Airport Terminal 2 on August 22, 2020 in London, England.

The UK government is moving ahead with plans to reduce the self-isolation period for international travelers, the country’s Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says.

At the moment, arrivals from many countries are required to self-isolate for 14 days when they enter the UK.

Shapps hasn’t yet provided any detail about the length of the new self-isolation period or when it will take effect.

People in Rome spend time outside on October 6.

Italy has recorded at least 3,678 new coronavirus cases – the largest daily increase in more than five months.

According to data from Italy’s Health Ministry, there have now been at least 333,940 cases since the outbreak began. 

The last time there was a larger daily increase than today was on April 16, when 3,786 cases were reported. However, authorities are now processing twice as many coronavirus tests.