July 29 coronavirus news

By Nectar Gan, Adam Renton, Melissa Macaya, Meg Wagner and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 12:40 p.m. ET, July 30, 2020
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2:26 a.m. ET, July 29, 2020

Monkey study indicates good news for Moderna's experimental coronavirus vaccine

From CNN's Maggie Fox

A view of Moderna headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 8.
A view of Moderna headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 8. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

A study done in monkeys suggests Moderna’s experimental coronavirus vaccine might protect against severe disease and reduce the risk of passing the virus along to others.

Moderna started advanced, Phase 3 testing of its experimental vaccine in humans in the United States on Monday -- the fastest advancement ever of a new vaccine in the US. But the quick vaccine development process means the vaccine was not tested extensively in animals before moving on to people.

A team at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which helped develop the vaccine, tested it in rhesus macaque monkeys. Then they infected the monkeys with the virus -- an experiment that would be difficult, ethically, to do in human.

Monkey tests: While the monkeys did become infected, the vaccine appeared to interfere with the spread of the virus in the animals, the NIAID team reported in The New England Journal of Medicine.

“Remarkably, after two days, no replicating virus was detectable in the lungs of seven out of eight of the macaques in both vaccinated groups, while all eight placebo-injected animals continued to have replicating virus in the lung,” the NIAID researchers said in a statement.

None of the monkeys that got the higher dose of vaccine had virus in their noses, either. That would suggest the vaccine might prevent the spread of the virus, even if people do get infected.

“This is the first time an experimental COVID-19 vaccine tested in nonhuman primates has been shown to produce such rapid viral control in the upper airway, the investigators note,” the researchers said.

“A COVID-19 vaccine that reduces viral replication in the lungs would limit disease in the individual, while reducing shedding in the upper airway would potentially lessen transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and consequently reduce the spread of disease,” they added.

The researchers note that it’s not at all clear that monkeys respond to the virus in the same way that people do. But they noted that the virus appears to replicate in the noses of the monkeys in much the same way as it does in people.

Also reassuring: One worry was that the vaccine might make the body overreact to a true infection later on, a response known as vaccine-associated enhanced respiratory disease. This didn’t happen in the monkeys, the researchers said.

2:46 a.m. ET, July 29, 2020

India's coronavirus cases surpass 1.5 million

From CNN's Esha Mitra in New Delhi

Health workers collect swab samples of people from inside a new Covid-19 testing kiosk in Kolkata, India, on Monday, July 28.
Health workers collect swab samples of people from inside a new Covid-19 testing kiosk in Kolkata, India, on Monday, July 28. Jit Chattopadhyay/Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Images

India's total number of coronavirus cases surged past 1.5 million on Wednesday, according to the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

India hit a million cases of coronavirus on July 17, six months after its first infection was discovered on January 30. Since then, it took just 12 days to record another half a million cases.

As of Wednesday, India has reported a total of 1,531,669 cases -- the third highest in the world, after the United States and Brazil. The total includes 34,193 deaths.

The country had conducted 17,743,740 coronavirus tests as of July 28. It currently has 509,447 active Covid-19 cases.

Recovered patients: Some 988,029 people have recovered from the virus, according to the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 

In India, patients with mild and moderate symptoms are considered no longer active after 10 days of symptom onset if they meet certain conditions. A test to confirm that they no longer have the virus is not required. Severe cases can only be discharged after one negative coronavirus test.

8:34 a.m. ET, July 29, 2020

US reports more than 61,000 new Covid-19 cases as death toll nears 150,000

From CNN's Joe Sutton in Atlanta

At least 61,660 new coronavirus infections and 1,244 virus-related deaths were confirmed in the United States on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

The US' cumulative case count now stands at 4,351,997, including 149,256 fatalities, according to JHU.

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

CNN is tracking US coronavirus cases here:

1:12 a.m. ET, July 29, 2020

Japan records highest daily spike of coronavirus cases

From CNN's Yoko Wakatsuki in Tokyo

Japan's Ministry of Health recorded 981 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday -- the highest daily increase in the country since the pandemic began.

Previously, the country's highest daily spike was 966 cases, recorded on July 23.

The total number of infections reported in Japan now stands at 32,613, with 1,014 deaths.

Osaka and Aichi prefectures recorded their own highest daily infections on Tuesday. Osaka recorded 155 cases while Aichi confirmed 110 infections.

CNN is tracking worldwide coronavirus cases here:

12:46 a.m. ET, July 29, 2020

Trump administration was slow to recognize Covid-19 threat from Europe, CDC director admits

From CNN's Shelby Lin Erdman

The United States was slow in recognizing the coronavirus threat from Europe, Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, admitted for the first time Tuesday in an interview with ABC News.

"The introduction from Europe happened before we realized what was happening," Redfield said. "By the time we realized (the) Europe threat and shut down travel to Europe, there was probably already two or three weeks of 60,000 people coming back every day from Europe," he added.
"That's where the large seeding came in the Unites States."

The US restricted travel from China on February 2 and from Europe on March 13, but by March 8, Covid-19 was already circulating among the community in New York City and, by March 15, community transmission of the virus was already widespread, a recent analysis from the CDC found.

By the time the Trump administration banned travelers from Europe, the virus was already spreading in New York City, according to the report. Testing was also limited at the start of the epidemic there, allowing people with undetected cases to spread the virus.

Read the full story:

12:08 a.m. ET, July 29, 2020

Vietnam reports 8 more Covid-19 cases in Da Nang

From CNN's Isaac Yee 

A security officer sets up barricades in Da Nang, Vietnam, on Tuesday, July 28.
A security officer sets up barricades in Da Nang, Vietnam, on Tuesday, July 28. Trinh Quoc Dung/VNA via AP

Vietnam has confirmed eight new Covid-19 infections in the resort city of Da Nang, according to Chinhphu, the official government newspaper.

The new cases bring the total number of confirmed cases in Vietnam to 446, while the death toll remains at zero. Da Nang has recorded 29 new infections over the past five days.

Over 16,000 people who are either close contacts of confirmed cases in Da Nang or have entered “pandemic hit areas” have been placed under medical surveillance. Among them, 12,996 people have been placed in centralized quarantine camps, Chinhphu reported. 

On Monday, 80,000 tourists were ordered to leave Da Nang, after a new outbreak hit the city following around 100 days of no local transmissions. 

12:08 a.m. ET, July 29, 2020

Australia’s Victoria state confirms 295 new coronavirus cases

From CNN's Isaac Yee

Ambulances are seen lined up the Epping Gardens Aged Care Home on July 29, in Melbourne.
Ambulances are seen lined up the Epping Gardens Aged Care Home on July 29, in Melbourne. Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

The Australian state of Victoria recorded 295 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, state Premier Daniel Andrews said on Wednesday.

Victoria also recorded nine new coronavirus deaths, bringing the statewide death toll to 92. The 295 new cases bring the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 9,304.

“If you are sick, you must get tested,” said Premier Andrews, who also urged people who are showing symptoms to stay home and get tested. He added that “this is largely a second wave fueled by outbreaks in workplaces.”

Andrews also announced that 18,077 people were tested on Tuesday, bringing the total number of tests conducted in Victoria to 1,554,705.

Victoria police said they fined 103 individuals who breached the chief health officer's directions over the past 24 hours, including three people fined for gathering to celebrate a birthday. 

Victoria’s new numbers come as the state of Queensland announced it would close its borders to Greater Sydney starting on Saturday in order to curb the spread of the virus. New South Wales, the state Sydney is located in, reported 19 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday.

12:07 a.m. ET, July 29, 2020

China reports more than 100 new coronavirus cases for first time since April

From CNN's Isaac Yee in Hong Kong

A Uyghur man is tested at a temperature checkpoint on June 29, in Kuqa, a city in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.
A Uyghur man is tested at a temperature checkpoint on June 29, in Kuqa, a city in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.  David Liu/Getty Images

China recorded 101 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the highest single-day increase since early April, according to numbers released by the National Health Commission on Wednesday.

Among the new cases, 98 were locally transmitted, including 89 in the far western region of Xinjiang where a fresh outbreak has emerged this month. One local infection was also found in Beijing, and the remaining local cases were found in Liaoning.

On Tuesday, China also recorded a further 27 asymptomatic infections, which are not included in the tally of confirmed cases. 

This is the first time China has reported more than 100 new infections in a single day since April 12, when the country reported 108 new cases -- most of which were imported.

It is the third consecutive day China has reported the highest daily spike in local infections since early March.

12:07 a.m. ET, July 29, 2020

Mexico surpasses 400,000 coronavirus cases

From CNN's Karol Suarez in Mexico City

Pharmaceutical biochemists process Covd-19 tests at a laboratory at the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosi (UASLP) Research Center in Health Sciences and Biomedicine in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, on Friday, July 24.
Pharmaceutical biochemists process Covd-19 tests at a laboratory at the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosi (UASLP) Research Center in Health Sciences and Biomedicine in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, on Friday, July 24. Mauricio Palos/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Mexico surpassed 400,000 coronavirus cases Tuesday after its health ministry recorded 7,208 new cases.  

The country has now reported a total of 402,697 confirmed cases of Covid-19.

The ministry also added 854 new fatalities from coronavirus Tuesday, bringing Mexico's death toll to 44,876.