July 6 coronavirus news

By Jessie Yeung, Steve George, Tara John, Melissa Macaya, Meg Wagner and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 11:10 a.m. ET, July 7, 2020

25 Posts

Sort by

9:13 a.m. ET, July 6, 2020

Covid-19 antibody drug moves into phase 3 trials, 2,000 US patients expected to enroll

From CNN Health’s Naomi Thomas

Late stage clinical trials of REGN-COV2, a combination antibody treatment for Covid-19 from Regeneron, have begun, according to a news release from the company today.

The phase three trials will be evaluating the ability of the drug to prevent infection among uninfected people who have had close contact to an infected person, such as a patient’s housemate.

The prevention trial is happening at around 100 sites and is expected to include 2,000 US patients.

The drug has also moved into the phase two/three portion of two trials testing its ability to treat hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients with Covid-19. These trials will involve 1,850 hospitalized patients and 1,050 non-hospitalized patients, and they are expected to be conducted at 150 sites in the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Chile.

The trials are being jointly run with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

"We are running simultaneous adaptive trials in order to move as quickly as possible to provide a potential solution to prevent and treat COVID-19 infections, even in the midst of an ongoing global pandemic," Dr. George D. Yancopoulos, co-founder, president and chief scientific officer of Regeneron, said. "We are pleased to collaborate with NIAID to study REGN-COV2 in our quest to further prevent the spread of the virus with an anti-viral antibody cocktail that could be available much sooner than a vaccine."

WATCH:

8:11 a.m. ET, July 6, 2020

Masks and social distancing to be part of 2020 Hajj season

From CNN’s Nada AlTaher in Abu Dhabi

A handful of worshippers are seen praying at the Ka’aba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque complex in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on June 23. Stringer/AFP/Getty Images

Pilgrims seeking to perform Hajj this year will have to wear masks and observe social distancing rules at all times, under measures imposed by Saudi Arabia, state media reported Monday.

Last month, Saudi Arabia announced that only 1,000 pilgrims would be allowed to perform the Muslim ritual journey to Mecca this year, because of the coronavirus pandemic. The 2020 Hajj season will not be open to international pilgrims.

Under the restrictions, pilgrims must remain at least 1.5 meters apart, including during the ritual circling of the Ka'aba known as tawaf. Crowding and pushing will be prohibited, Saudi’s official news agency (SPA) said.

The kingdom is barring entry to holy sites including Mina, Mozdalefah and Arafat to those without a permit some 10 days before Hajj officially begins and until the Hajj season ends on August 2, according to SPA.

Congregational prayers will be performed while worshippers wear masks and practice social distancing; a contrast to how these prayers are normally carried out in accordance with Islamic rites.

It will be forbidden to touch or kiss the Ka'aba, or its Black Stone, which Islam teaches is part of an original structure built by the Prophet Abraham.

Health checks will be carried out at bus stops, places of residence, and other vital areas, with medical teams available on stand-by around the clock, SPA said.

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia reported 3,580 new cases of coronavirus and 58 deaths in 24 hours, bringing its total number to 209,509 cases and its death toll to 1,916.

7:58 a.m. ET, July 6, 2020

Spain's coronavirus antibodies study adds evidence against herd immunity

From CNN's Al Goodman

Spain's large-scale coronavirus study indicates that just 5% of its population has developed antibodies, strengthening evidence that a so-called herd immunity to Covid-19 is "unachievable," medical journal the Lancet reported on Monday.

The findings show that 95% of Spain's population remains susceptible to the virus.

Herd immunity is achieved when enough of a population has become infected with a virus or bacteria -- or vaccinated against it -- to stop its circulation.

The European Center for Disease Control told CNN that Spain's research, on a nationwide representative sample of more than 61,000 participants, appears to be the largest study to date among a dozen serological studies on the coronavirus undertaken by European nations.

It adds to the findings of an antibody study involving 2,766 participants in Geneva, Switzerland, published in the Lancet on June 11.

There have been similar studies in China and the United States, and "the key finding from these representative cohorts is that most of the population appears to have remained unexposed" to Covid-19, "even in areas with widespread virus circulation," said a Lancet commentary published along with Spain's findings.

"In light of these findings, any proposed approach to achieve herd immunity through natural infection is not only highly unethical, but also unachievable," said the Lancet's commentary authors, Isabella Eckerle, head of the Geneva Centre for Emerging Viral Diseases, and Benjamin Meyer, a virologist at the University of Geneva.

Doctors are uncertain whether having antibodies to the coronavirus means someone cannot be infected again. It's not clear how long or how well antibodies protect people from the virus.

Spain's peer-reviewed study began in April while the nation remained on a strict lockdown, and was conducted by leading government research and epidemiological agencies.

Read the rest of the article here:

Spain's coronavirus antibodies study adds evidence against herd immunity

8:08 a.m. ET, July 6, 2020

Peru surpasses 300,000 coronavirus cases

From CNN's Claudia Rebaza and Tim Lister in London, Maija Ehlinger in Atlanta, and Ingrid Formanek in Spain

Health professionals are seen in the hall of the Intensive Care Unit of the Alberto Sabogal Sologuren Hospital, in Lima, Peru, on July 2. Ernesto Benavides/AFP/Getty Images

Peru's Ministry of Health reported 3,635 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the country's total to 302,718.

More than half of Peru's cases have been reported in the capital Lima, with 165,307 coronavirus cases to date. The Ministry of Health also confirmed 11,302 hospitalizations and 10,589 deaths across the country.

Over the past week, Peru has had a daily average of 3,328 Covid-19 infections and 183 deaths. The daily numbers have not shown much variation in the past two weeks.

The director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr Carissa Etienne, said last week that Peru is expected to see a peak in infections "at some point in August."

Peru is the second hardest-hit country by Covid-19 in Latin America -- behind Brazil, which has reported more than 1,600,000 total cases.

7:15 a.m. ET, July 6, 2020

Coronavirus lockdowns could cause 1 million extra deaths from other diseases, experts warn

From CNN's Meera Senthilingam

Air passengers wearing protective suits at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata, India on July 6. Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images

As health services around the world continue to focus resources on ending the coronavirus pandemic, they threaten to derail decades of hard-won progress tackling diseases like HIV and tuberculosis, according to a new report by the International AIDS Society.

The society plans to raise its concerns during the 23rd International AIDS conference, which began Monday.

"The social distancing efforts and lockdowns to control the spread of it [coronavirus], have disrupted HIV prevention and treatment programs and put vital HIV research on hold," said Dr. Anton Pozniak, president of the International AIDS Society, last week.

A survey released in June by the NGO Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria found that across 106 of the countries it works in, 85% had reported disruptions to their HIV services, 78% to tuberculosis services, and 73% to malaria services. Nearly 20% reported severe disruptions for all three diseases.

Models by the World Health Organization, Stop TB partnership and Imperial College London have predicted that such disruptions could lead to more than 1 million extra deaths across these three diseases.

For example, recent models commissioned by the World Health Organization and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated that a six-month disruption to services in sub-Saharan Africa alone could lead to an extra 500,000 deaths from AIDS-related illnesses in 2021. This is on top of a likely 470,000 deaths that would have occurred, based on 2018 numbers.

Read more here:

Ending the coronavirus pandemic could cause over 1 million extra deaths from other diseases, experts warn

6:43 a.m. ET, July 6, 2020

UK government announces nearly $2 billion emergency arts support fund

From Sharon Braithwaite in London

A member of staff wearing a protective face mask patrols a room inside the National Gallery in London on July 4, as the gallery prepares to reopen on July 8, following the easing of restrictions imposed during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

UK cultural and heritage organizations will receive a £1.57 billion ($1.96 billion) support package "to help weather the impact of coronavirus," the government announced late Sunday.

Britain's museums, galleries, theatres, independent cinemas, heritage sites and music venues have been closed since the end of March, when the country's lockdown began.

The emergency fund will help cultural and heritage institutions "stay afloat while their doors are closed. Funding to restart paused projects will also help support employment, including freelancers working in these sectors," the government said.

"The UK's cultural industry is the beating heart of this country," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
"This money will help safeguard the sector for future generations, ensuring arts groups and venues across the UK can stay afloat and support their staff whilst their doors remain closed and curtains remain down."

8:08 a.m. ET, July 6, 2020

Jackson Health System in Miami reports 83% increase in Covid-19 patients in two weeks

From CNN's Rosa Flores and Sara Weisfeldt

Jackson Health System has seen an 83 percent increase in Covid-19 patients over the past two weeks, according to data posted by the hospital system on Twitter.

On June 21, Jackson Health reported 182 Covid-19 patients. By Sunday, they were reporting 333.

Jackson Health System is a nonprofit academic medical system.

The state of Florida does not release the total number of daily Covid-19 patients in the state.

WATCH CONTACT TRACING FAILURE IN FLORIDA:

6:27 a.m. ET, July 6, 2020

Africa's battle against Covid-19 will be won or lost here

From CNN's David McKenzie and Brent Swails

Before the pandemic, when tourists flocked to South Africa's Cape Town, they often ignored Khayelitsha township.

Crammed with more than half a million people, between the winelands and beaches of this international destination, it is now the center of attention.

High-density areas like Khayelitsha are being closely watched because doctors say that places like this are where the battle against Covid-19 on the African continent will be won or lost.

"Nobody knew what the Covid epidemic would mean for South Africa. We had seen Covid rip through Europe, we saw what it was doing in the United States and everyone was terrified of what that would mean in South Africa," says Dr. Claire Keene, a medical coordinator for the NGO Doctors Without Borders.

We are being faced with so much failure with Covid. We have used the time well, but we were always going to question whether we used it enough," she says.

The numbers: South Africa is far and away the hardest-hit country on the continent. Its confirmed case count is approaching 200,000, and rising fast.

Western Cape is in the middle of the peak of its coronavirus surge. With more than 69,000 Covid-19 cases and 2,066 deaths, according to July 5 government figures, it is the country's worst-affected province.

Read the full story here:

Africa's battle against Covid-19 will be won or lost here

8:10 a.m. ET, July 6, 2020

Hospitalizations and ventilator use rise in Florida's Miami-Dade County

From CNN's Rosa Flores and Sara Weisfeldt

Morris Copeland of the Strategic Urban Response to Guideline Education (SURGE) group, center, passes out coronavirus prevention kits to team members, for distribution to residents living in COVID-19 hotspots in Miami, on July 1. Lynne Sladky/AP

Miami-Dade County has seen a staggering increase in the number of Covid-19 patients being hospitalized (88%), in the number of ICU beds being used (114%) and in the use of ventilators (119%) over the past 13 days, according to the latest data released by Miami-Dade County Government.

It also reported a 26% Covid-19 positivity rate on Sunday, according to data released by the mayor’s office. The positivity rate is tracked daily by the county.

The goal is to not exceed a positivity rate of 10%, according to the Miami-Dade Mayor’s office, but the county has exceeded the 10% mark for the past 14 days. Its current 14-day average is 22%.

The state of Florida does not release the number of current Covid-19 patients in the state.

The state only releases the number of available hospital beds, which is currently 15,291 (26%). As for ICU beds available in Florida, the state reports there are currently 1,310 available, which is 22 percent.

Here is a breakdown of the hospitalization data released by Miami-Dade County Government:

Covid-19 Patients:

6/23: 818

7/5: 1,538

Patients in ICU beds:

6/23: 155

7/5: 331

Patients on Ventilators:

6/23: 75

7/5: 164