GENEVA — The World Health Organization director-general says the U.N. agency is “extremely concerned” by a surge of coronavirus cases particularly in Europe and North America, saying health workers and systems are “being pushed to the breaking point.”
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also expressed hope about the “encouraging news” about COVID-19 vaccines and said he remained “cautiously optimistic” that new tools to fight the pandemic could emerge in the coming months.
Tedros spoke to reporters at a regular briefing at WHO headquarters, after returning to the premises after a two-week self-quarantine as a precaution after coming into contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19. He said he never had any symptoms.
Above all, the WHO chief expressed concern about health care workers in many countries who have been struggling amid surging case counts that have filled hospital beds and led at times for hospital authorities to airlift COVID-19 patients to other health facilities.
Tedros said he did not undergo a COVID-19 test, saying it was not required under WHO protocols because he was not showing any symptoms.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
— More good news about a second COVID-19 candidate vaccine as Moderna says its shots appears to be 94.5% effective, according to preliminary data
— President-elect Joe Biden seeks information on US vaccine plans as Trump stalls handoff
— The European Commission says it has agreed to buy up to 405 million doses of an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by the German bio-tech company CureVac
— Amnesty International says Belgium violated the human rights of nursing home patients by not taking infected elderly patients to the hospital for treatment
— Many African students are missing out on the new term in school as the pandemic impoverishes families
— British PM Boris Johnson is self-quarantining at the start of a crucial week for his government that includes discussions over a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union
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Follow AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota’s Democratic senators are calling on Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka to resign from his leadership post after Senate Republicans failed to notify their Democratic colleagues and others of a potential COVID-19 outbreak among GOP ranks.
Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent called on Gazelka to step down Sunday, hours after he disclosed that he tested positive for COVID-19. Kent said that under Gazelka’s leadership, Republicans “engaged in high-risk behaviors” and have made excuses instead of being accountable.
Gazelka did not immediately return a message seeking comment Monday. In a statement Sunday, he said he has been in quarantine since he began experiencing symptoms Nov. 9. He said the “blaming and shaming” of a positive COVID-19 test has to stop.
Kent’s call for Gazelka to resign comes after reports that two other GOP senators tested positive for COVID-19. There have been reports of in-person meetings, and Fox 9 reported that Republicans also held a dinner party Nov. 5 that drew more than 100 attendees. Republican senators and staffers were told of the diagnoses last Tuesday, but the memo wasn’t shared with Senate Democrats.
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COLUMBIA, S.C. — With Thanksgiving and Christmas on the horizon, South Carolina health officials are pushing people to get tested for COVID-19 before gathering for the holidays, urging masks to be worn when not eating and celebrating outside if possible.
But so far, health officials aren’t forcefully suggesting people skip holiday celebrations.
The state Department of Health and Environmental Control encouraged residents in a statement Monday to avoid indoor gatherings and maintain their commitment to activities that reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Since the coronavirus pandemic started, South Carolina leaders have placed more emphasis on personal responsibility, like encouraging people to wear masks, than government edicts like mask requirements.
The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in the state is over 1,400 for the first time since that long summer surge finally started to abate in early August.
Hospitals aren’t filled and an increase in deaths has not immediately followed, but the noticeable spike in cases is only about a week old.
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JACKSON, Mich. — A Michigan congressman said Monday he has tested positive for COVID-19.
Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg said his symptoms were mild.
“It has been more than a week since I have attended a public event,” Walberg said. “In conjunction with health officials, my office and I are in the process of reaching out to individuals I had contact with before my self-isolation began.”
Walberg was reelected to a seventh term in the 7th District, which stretches from suburban Lansing to southern Michigan. He defeated Democrat Gretchen Driskell for a third time.
Walberg is the second House member from Michigan to disclose a coronavirus infection. Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga said he had it in October.
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MILAN — The number of new coronavirus cases in Italy narrowed on Monday to 27,354, in keeping with weekend dips reflecting lower testing numbers, but the infection rate remained a stubborn 18%.
Italy is still struggling to contain a second surge, with more than half of the country on partial lockdown.
Another 504 people died in the last 24 hours, according to Health Ministry figures, bringing the pandemic total of known deaths to 45,733, second in Europe behind Britain. Hospital admissions rose by nearly 500 while another 70 people were in intensive care.
Nationwide, more than half of the hospital beds were dedicated to COVID care, a level deemed critical by the government. The rates were highest in the north, where the health care system is generally more advanced.
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GENEVA — The World Health Organization said preliminary results announced by the pharmaceutical Moderna on Monday that its experimental COVID-19 vaccine may be more than 90% effective is “quite encouraging” but that more data are still needed.
At a press briefing in Geneva, WHO chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said “we need to wait and see what the final efficacy and the safety profile of this vaccine will be,” after participants in the vaccine trial have been followed for at least two months.
Swaminathan said WHO and its partners in the COVAX initiative, which aims to buy COVID-19 vaccines for poor countries, is currently in negotiations with several drugmakers, which she did not name.
Swaminathan said recent vaccine results were promising and added the U.N. agency and regulators still needed more details to determine if such vaccines should be rolled out broadly. She noted that further results from other companies are expected in the coming weeks.
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TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says he will be reducing indoor and outdoor gathering limits because of the COVID-19 resurgence.
The Democrat told MSNBC on Monday that he will order indoor gatherings to fall from 25 to 10 and outdoor get-togethers from 500 to 150 people. The new indoor limit goes into effect Nov 17, while the outdoor level kicks in Nov. 23.
The lower levels come just before Thanksgiving and ahead of the winter holidays.
New Jersey’s coronavirus levels have been spiking, which Murphy has said amounts to a “second wave.”
The average increase over the first seven days of this month reached roughly 2,135, up from about 590 cases a day in early October. According to the state Health Department, the average caseload increase for the first week of September was nearly 340 cases.
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LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she has the authority to issue a second stay-at-home order to curb spiking coronavirus infections if necessary.
Whitmer also called “incredibly reckless" a comment by President Donald Trump's science adviser Scott Atlas who urged people to “rise up” against Michigan’s latest restrictions. Atlas later tweeted that he “NEVER” would endorse or incite violence.
The Democratic governor spoke a day after announcing limits amid a surge of COVID-19 cases that has led to increased hospitalizations and deaths. She has urged the public to “double down” with precautions to avoid a shelter-in-place order like what was instituted in the spring.
Under the new restrictions that start Wednesday, Michigan high schools and colleges must halt in-person classes, restaurants must stop indoor dining and entertainment businesses must close for three weeks. Gathering sizes also will be tightened.
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STOCKHOLM — Sweden has placed a nationwide limit of eight people for all gatherings in an effort to bring down coronavirus infections. The limit takes effect Nov. 24 and will last for four weeks.
Prime Minister Stefan Lofven on Monday urged fellow Swedes to cancel plans and stay at home because a ban is needed now more than ever to curb a record number of coronavirus infections in recent weeks that are burdening the country’s health care system.
Sweden had opted for a different - and much debated - approach to handling the pandemic by keeping large sections of society open.
But Lofven told a news conference that the situation will get worse and appealed to Swedes to “do your duty” and “take responsibility to stop the spread” of COVID-19.
The Swedish government said last week that it would impose a nationwide, 10:00 pm ban on the sale of alcohol in bars, restaurants and night clubs as of Nov. 20.
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WASHINGTON — The United States’ top infectious disease expert says news from Moderna that its COVID-19 vaccine candidate is 94.5% effective “is really quite impressive.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told NBC’s “Today” on Monday that Moderna’s finding, along with similar results from Pfizer last week for its vaccine, “is something that foretells an impact on this outbreak.”
“So now we have two vaccines that are really quite effective, so I think this is a really strong step forward to where we want to be about getting control with this outbreak,” Fauci said.
Asked about the timeline for vaccinating people, Fauci projected that by the end of December, there will be doses available for people at high risk from the coronavirus.
Fauci said the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have different platforms than other vaccines now in the pipeline. But he said the other vaccine platforms are using the “spike protein” of the coronavirus which has been researched very intensively, giving him hope that more than two of these vaccines will also be effective.
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A second COVID-19 candidate vaccine is offering more good news about prospects to beat back the spread of the virus. Amid a coronavirus surge in the U.S. and around the world, Moderna said Monday its shots provide strong protection against the disease.
Moderna said its vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective, according to preliminary data from the company’s still ongoing study. A week ago, competitor Pfizer Inc. announced its own COVID-19 vaccine appeared similarly effective — news that puts both companies on track to seek permission within weeks for emergency use in the U.S.
Dr. Stephen Hoge, Moderna’s president, welcomed the “really important milestone” but said having similar results from two different companies is what’s most reassuring.
If the Food and Drug Administration allows emergency use of Moderna’s or Pfizer’s candidates, there will be limited, rationed supplies before the end of the year. Both require people to get two shots, several weeks apart.
Moderna expects to have about 20 million doses, earmarked for the U.S., by the end of 2020. Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech expect to have about 50 million doses globally by year’s end.
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BRUSSELS — The European Commission says it has sealed an agreement to buy up to 405 million doses of an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by the German bio-tech company CureVac.
The European Union’s executive arm said Monday that it’s also close to clinching a deal with U.S. firm Modena, whose COVID-19 vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective, according to its preliminary data.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday that her services will authorize the contract with CureVac on Tuesday on behalf of the 27 EU countries.
She says that “if the vaccine has proven safe and effective against COVID-19, every (EU) member state will receive the vaccine at the same time on a pro rata basis and under the same conditions.”
It’s the fifth such contract with a potential vaccine supplier and comes after the commission signed a deal last week to secure up to 300 million doses of BioNTech and Pfizer’s experimental vaccine.
Von der Leyen says the commission has already concluded exploratory talks with Moderna and that it's hoped that the contract will be finalized soon.
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