October 10 coronavirus news

By Ben Westcott, Brett McKeehan, Tara John, Fernando Alfonso III and Amir Vera, CNN

Updated 8:07 a.m. ET, October 11, 2020

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2:34 a.m. ET, October 10, 2020

US reports more than 57,000 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours

There were 57,420 new coronavirus infections reported in the US over the past 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally -- bringing the country's total to at least 7,663,293.

Johns Hopkins University also recorded 990 more coronavirus-related deaths in the US on Friday, meaning at least 213,752 people have died from the virus there since the pandemic began.

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

For regular updates, follow CNN’s map, which uses JHU data to refresh every 15 mins:

Tracking Covid-19 cases in the US

https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/health/coronavirus-us-maps-and-case

1:55 a.m. ET, October 10, 2020

Trump credits swift treatment for his Covid-19 recovery

From CNN's Shelby Lin Erdman and Maggie Fox

President Donald Trump says rapid coronavirus treatment was the key to his quick recovery from Covid-19,.

"I think the secret for me was I got there very early," Trump told Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel during a pre-taped segment that aired Friday night.

Trump announced he tested positive for coronavirus early Friday last week. That night, he was taken by helicopter to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for treatment.

"I think going in early is a big factor in my case," Trump said.

The President received an immediate dose of an experimental monoclonal antibody therapy at the White House, then was treated with a course of the infused antiviral medication remdesivir, and the steroid dexamethasone during his hospital stay.

He was also given supplemental oxygen, White House physician Dr. Sean Conley said.

Trump was released from Walter Reed Monday afternoon.

Read more here:

Trump credits swift treatment for his Covid-19 recovery

1:08 a.m. ET, October 10, 2020

Bars and pubs are closing as Europe battles coronavirus surge. Experts question if it will work.

From CNN's Laura Smith-Spark and Nadine Schmidt

With Europe now reporting more daily coronavirus cases than the United States, Brazil and India, according to World Health Organization figures, many governments are closing down pubs and bars or limiting their opening hours in the hope of avoiding wider lockdowns.

It's bad news for drinkers, from Brussels to Paris to Edinburgh, and will bring more pain for the embattled hospitality sector. But will the strategy work?

Global health expert Peter Drobac, director of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School, told CNN that governments across Europe were trying to find a balance between imposing restrictions on social interactions and keeping businesses alive.

Bars, nightclubs and restaurants are "an obvious candidate" for closures given what is known about transmission of the virus, he said.

Read more here:

Bars and pubs are closing as Europe battles coronavirus surge. Experts question if it will work

By Laura Smith-Spark and Nadine Schmidt, CNN

1:09 a.m. ET, October 10, 2020

NFL coaches could be penalized 15 yards for talking to game officials while not wearing a mask, memo says

From CNN Sport's Jill Martin

An official game ball at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 29, 2019. Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

The NFL sent a memo Friday to team chief executives, presidents, general managers, head coaches and athletic trainers, warning them to keep face coverings on when interacting with game officials on the field. If they don’t, they could be penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The memo, which CNN obtained from a league source, was written by NFL senior vice president of officiating administration Perry Fewell.

“We have seen multiple occasions where head coaches have removed their masks to communicate with game officials during games,” the memo states. “Doing so creates unnecessary, increased risk for the game official, the head coach, and others, and is inconsistent with the requirement that face coverings be worn at all times."

In the memo, Fewell called for all officials to be vigilant in their efforts to comply with face covering and physical distancing requirements.

“Consistent with all other individuals on the sideline, game officials are entitled to your respect as they perform their job duties during the pandemic," the memo said.
"Failure to adhere to the NFL-NFLPA COVID-19-related protocols will result in accountability measures being imposed against offending individuals and/or clubs, including fines, suspensions of persons involved, and/or the forfeiture of a draft choice(s)."

1:09 a.m. ET, October 10, 2020

Trump praises doctors and scientists over coronavirus progress

From CNN Health’s Shelby Lin Erdman

US President Donald Trump gestures outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on October 5. Chris Kleponis/Polaris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

US President Donald Trump has credited doctors and scientists for doing an "incredible" job against the coronavirus in a short period of time.

“I have such great respect for the doctors and lab scientists, the people that work on this,” Trump said in an interview that aired on Fox News Friday night. “They're doing incredibly well.”

Trump has often disregarded the guidance of his own scientists and federal public health agencies as the pandemic ravaged parts of the US.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of Trump’s coronavirus task force, said Friday that a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House two weeks ago was a “superspreader” event.

Trump admitted during the Fox interview he may have caught the virus at a White House event, but he doesn’t know for sure.

“The respect for the doctors and for the technicians and for the scientists is incredible because I've seen what they've done and it’s incredible, the job that they've done in a short period of time,” Trump said.
“Over a six-month period the job that they've done is incredible and you'll see that very soon with the medicines and with the vaccines.”

Trump was diagnosed with Covid-19 last week and seemed to make a speedy recovery after a round of treatments, including an experimental monoclonal antibody therapy, the antiviral medication remdesivir, and the steroid dexamethasone.

11:56 p.m. ET, October 9, 2020

China is doubling down in the global push for a coronavirus vaccine

From CNN's Nectar Gan

The global push to develop a coronavirus vaccine is gathering pace, but much to the likely frustration of US President Donald Trump, caution exercised by American drug makers and regulators has put China out in front ... for now.

Moderna, a leading coronavirus vaccine maker, said this month it will not be ready to apply for emergency use authorization until at least November 25. Meanwhile, the US-based trial sites of another frontrunner, AstraZeneca, have placed testing on hold after a participant in Britain developed a serious illness last month, further undermining Trump's hopes that a vaccine would be ready in time for Election Day on November 3.

The stringent US safety protocols have shifted the so-called vaccine race in China's favor, where -- for better or worse -- political will holds a much larger sway over state, commercial and individual actions, potentially bending rules or norms as needed.

China's leader Xi Jinping has repeatedly urged the country's scientists to accelerate the research and development of coronavirus vaccines. Chinese drug makers have also been told to treat their work as an "important political task" -- and they are doing everything they can to follow that directive.

While the successful development of a vaccine would not preclude other countries from continuing to pursue their own research, China has placed special emphasis on being first.

Read more here:

China doubles down in push for coronavirus vaccine

11:56 p.m. ET, October 9, 2020

Report details failures and lessons from coronavirus pandemic response

From CNN Health's Andrea Diaz

A new report from the Council on Foreign Relations says that while pandemic threats are inevitable, the US and global response failures that contributed to the spread of coronavirus are not.

The report, released this week, was compiled by a 22-member task force led by Sylvia M. Burwell, the US Health and Human Services secretary during the Obama administration, and Frances Fragos Townsend, who led the US Homeland Security Council during the Bush administration.

It says the US and other governments failed to adequately invest in prevention, detection and response capabilities to protect populations. There was an “illusion — but not the reality — of preparedness,” the report says, and while the World Health Organization had the expertise to lead a global response, “it is beleaguered, overstretched, and underfunded.”

The US response, the report says, was “deeply flawed” and too slow. Health systems were underfunded, and leaders — including President Donald Trump — failed to communicate clearly or defend public health leaders.

"The United States testifies to the consequences of a failure in political leadership," Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in the report.

The task force recommended improvements in US and global pandemic responses by encouraging officials to:

Deliver clear, science-driven communications on public health matters;
Create a nationwide US strategy and capacity for testing, tracing, and isolation;
Adopt policies to improve the resilience of global supply chains for essential medicines and equipment; and
Establish a global framework to ensure the equitable allocation of vaccines.

11:56 p.m. ET, October 9, 2020

US FDA issues warning to herbal medicine companies offering Covid-19 products

From CNN Health’s Leanna Faulk

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warning letters to two herbal medicine companies telling them to stop trying to sell products which they allege are effective against the coronavirus.

Colorado-based Prairie Dawn Herbs was warned after the FDA investigated its website and social media sites and learned the company was selling products it claimed could protect the immune system and combat symptoms of Covid-19, the FDA said in a news release Friday.

“Based on our review, this product is an unapproved new drug under section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,” the agency wrote in a warning letter it sent the company Wednesday. “Furthermore, this product is a misbranded drug."

The FDA cited a monthly newsletter posted to the company’s website offering 20% off several herbal products (Chest Tea, Echinacea Tincture, Mentholated Salve, Eucalyptus Oil, Thieves Oil and Echinacea Glycerite) for the duration of the outbreak “due to the continued threat of COVID-19.”

The FDA also warned Griffo Botanicals for selling herbal tincture products it said could treat symptoms of Covid-19.

There are no FDA-approved products to prevent or treat coronavirus. One antiviral drug, remdesivir, has emergency use authorization for treatment but must be used in a hospital under physician supervision.

The FDA says that until the companies took corrective action, they would be on a list of firms and websites that have received warning letters from the FDA “concerning the sale or distribution of COVID-19 related products.”

As of Friday afternoon, the COVID-19 Special was still available for purchase on the Prairie Dawn Herbs website. There was no mention of Covid-19 treatments on the Griffo Botanicals website.

11:56 p.m. ET, October 9, 2020

Florida's Covid-19 situation will be like a "house on fire" within weeks, infectious disease expert says

From CNN's Shelby Lin Erdman

Florida will be “like a house on fire” in a matter of weeks because the state has dropped coronavirus precautions, and President Donald Trump probably should not hold a rally there right now, infectious disease specialist Mike Osterholm said Friday.

“Florida is ripe for another large outbreak,” Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Friday. “What they've done is opened up everything as if nothing had ever happened there and you and I could be talking probably in eight to 10 weeks, and I will likely bet that Florida will be a house on fire. “

Trump, who has been battling Covid-19 for the past week, is heading to Florida Monday for a campaign rally.

Osterholm said it’s probably not a good idea to hold a rally in the state right now, even if it’s held outside. The state has reported 2,900 new infections in the past day, according to Johns Hopkins University.

“The challenge we have is helping the American people understand if you bring people together, even when they're outdoors, it's less risk of transmission being close together outdoors, but it's surely not zero," he said.

Trump is also planning an outdoor gathering at the White House Saturday and said he’ll address the crowd from a balcony.

Osterholm said attending that event isn’t a good idea either.

“I wouldn't go right now because I think the White House itself has a fair number of infections," he said.

Trump was released from hospital Monday and other administration staffers are still battling the virus.