October 7 coronavirus news

The United States could see as many as 400,000 deaths from the coronavirus this winter if Americans don't follow public health mitigation guidelines, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned on Tuesday.

Fauci had warned in the spring that if the US did not follow the guidance, 200,000 Americans could die from the deadly virus. “And sadly, we have 210,000 deaths now,” he said during a discussion with American University students.

Fauci encouraged everyone to take simple steps such as wearing masks, social distancing, frequent hand washing and doing as much outside instead of inside as possible.

President Donald Trump has ordered his negotiators to halt talks over a new stimulus package, after the two sides have struggled for months to reach a deal, a stunning move that puts an end to last-ditch efforts for a major economic relief package as millions are reeling from the coronavirus crisis.

Trump's message stunned lawmakers -- especially since Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had been trading proposals and negotiating for days in the hopes of narrowing their differences, though they were still far apart in their talks.

The decision to pull the plug on the talks is a major blow to Americans still struggling with the fallout from the once-in-a century pandemic and endangers an economic recovery that for months was driven by the initial $2.2 trillion stimulus passed by Congress in the spring. With that money largely spent and gone, economists -- including Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in a renewed plea for action Tuesday -- have warned more support is imperative in the months ahead.

The timing of Trump's sudden move perplexed even Republicans since there was little downside politically to allowing the talks to continue to play out. Now, they fear, that Trump's decision will make it easier for Democrats to pit the blame squarely on the White House for the collapse of the talks as many voters are eager for more relief from Washington.

Read the full story:

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The World Health Organization's Europe director has called for action against Covid-19 "fatigue," warning that apathy concerning the virus has reached high levels in some cases.

"Based on aggregated survey data from countries across the Region, we can see, not surprisingly, that fatigue among those surveyed is increasing," Hans Kluge said in a statement Tuesday.

Kluge said that "these levels of fatigue are to be expected" during such a protracted public health emergency, where citizens have made "huge sacrifices."

"Although we are all weary, I believe it is possible to reinvigorate and revive efforts to tackle the evolving COVID-19 challenges that we face," he said.

Europe can take action: Kluge said European countries can reverse this trend and tackle the spread of Covid-19 by taking "the pulse of the community regularly" and "meeting the needs of citizens in new, innovative ways."

"From understanding the behavioral needs of young people returning to university, to the emotional toll isolation has taken in elderly care homes, policy must be driven by the growing body of evidence we have on people’s behaviours and on fatigue."

Once again, misleading comparisons between the flu and Covid-19 caught widespread attention across the internet.

That's not true. Covid-19 is more lethal than the seasonal flu.

Coronavirus

The flu

And in just eight months, Covid-19 has killed more people than the flu did during the last five flu seasons combined.

As for Trump's claim that the flu kills "sometimes over 100,000" people a year, CDC data from 1976 to 2007 and from 2010 until now show that's not even close.

Read more about why Covid-19 is more dangerous than the flu -- and why extra precautions are needed:

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More people have died from Covid-19 than in the past 5 flu seasons combined