October 11 coronavirus news

The United States reported 54,639 new Covid-19 cases and 618 additional virus-related deaths on Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

There are at least 7,717,932 cases in the US, whereat least 214,370 people have died from coronavirus. 

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

A recent uptick in coronavirus cases across the US has some emergency physicians fearing it could represent the start of a second wave.

On Friday, US health officials reported 57,420 new cases -- the highest number reported in a day in almost two months, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. On August 14, there were 64,601 new cases.

Saturday's caseload marks the forth consecutive day of 50,000+ reported cases in the US, according to Johns Hopkins.

CNN is tracking the US cases:

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Tracking Covid-19 cases in the US

While much of the world scrambles to prevent new coronavirus cases from stalling the fragile recovery from recession, China's economy is hitting its stride again and will end the year more influential than ever. 

The world's second largest economy was the only major world power to avoid a recession this year as Covid-19 forced lockdowns and crippled businesses. China's GDP is expected to grow 1.6% this year, while the global economy as a whole will contract 5.2%, according to summer projections from the World Bank.

China built its relatively quick recovery through several measures, including stringent lockdown and population tracking policies intended to contain the virus. The government also set aside hundreds of billions of dollars for major infrastructure projects, and offered cash incentives to stimulate spending among its populace. The payoff has been evident, as tourism and spending rebounded during last week's busy Golden Week holiday period.

By the end of the year, China's share of global GDP is likely to rise by about 1.1 percentage points, according to a CNN Business calculation using World Bank data. That's more than triple the share it gained in 2019. By contrast, the United States and Europe will see their shares dip slightly.

All told, China's economy is expected to be worth about $14.6 trillion by the end of 2020, roughly equivalent to 17.5% of global GDP.

Read the full analysis:

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Analysis: China is winning the global economic recovery

President Donald Trump has been cleared to return to an active schedule, according to a new memo from his physician, Dr. Sean Conley, released Saturday night.

Read the text of the letter below:

October 10, 2020

Memorandum for: Kayleigh McEnany

Assistant to the President and White House press secretary

From: Sean P. Conley, DO, FACEP

Physician to the President

Commander, U.S. Navy

Subject: Saturday Health Update on President Donald J. Trump

I release the following information with the permission of President Donald J. Trump.

This evening I am happy to report that in addition to the President meeting CDC criteria for the safe discontinuation of isolation, this morning's COVID PCR sample demonstrates, by currently recognized standards, he is no longer considered a transmission risk to others. Now at day 10 from symptom onset, fever-free for well over 24 hours and all symptoms improved, the assortment of advanced diagnostic tests obtained reveal there is no longer evidence of actively replicating virus. In addition, sequential testing throughout his illness has demonstrated decreasing viral loads that correlate with increasing cycle threshold times, as well as decreasing and now undetectable subgenomic mRNA.

Moving forward, I will continue to monitor him clinically as he returns to an active schedule.

Read more here:

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Read: Letter from Trump's physician clearing him to return to public schedule after coronavirus diagnosis

Authorities in the Brazilian city of Belem have shut down a department store after massive crowds flocked there Saturday, violating the country's Covid-19 rules. 

Videos showed hundreds of shoppers crammed at the entrance of a Havan department store, as it opened, disregarding the social distancing measures. Some were seen not wearing a mask. 

Luciano Hang, the owner of the Havan department store chain and a vocal supporter of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, was at the scene as the chain celebrated the opening of its 150th store. Hang posted several videos on his official Instagram page which showed him inside the shop waving at the enormous crowd and banging on the glass to energize the throngs of excited people. 

A few hours later, local police closed the store and asked the manager to explain why he had not complied with the World Health Organization's social distancing measures, according to CNN affiliate CNN Brasil. 

Para is one of the worst-hit Brazilian states with nearly 240,000 infections recorded so far, according to the National Council of Health Departments (CONASS). 

Brazil on Saturday surpassed 150,000 coronavirus-related deaths, becoming only the second country after the United States to reach the grim mark. 

CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta Saturday hosted a Coronavirus: Facts and Fears town hall on Saturday with former directors of the US Centers for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health experts.

Here are the highlights:

US Covid-19 cases expected to surge: The US could record nearly 400,000 coronavirus-related deaths by February 1, according to Dr. Chris Murray, a researcher behind an influential coronavirus model from the University of Washington. Daily deaths will likely peak in the middle of January, he said.

40 million people could be infected in US: Coronavirus infections in the US are likely much higher than the 7.6 million recorded so far by Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project, said Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the US CDC. “Almost certainly, there have actually been more than 40 million people infected by this virus in the US."

20,000 people could die by end of the month: Dr. Frieden also predicted that with the current surge in cases, another 20,000 people in the US could die from the virus by the end of the month. “From the infections that have already occurred, we will see something like 20,000 deaths by the end of the month -- additional deaths,” he said.

True number of coronavirus deaths in the US over 250,000: Frieden suggested the true number of coronavirus deaths in the US is well over 250,000. He said a lot of the confusion about Covid-19 mortality rates was the result of the way fatalities are listed on death certificates.

Hope over vaccine: Dr. David Satcher, a former director of the CDC, said he hopes a Covid-19 vaccine "can make a difference." He said: "I don't think that we are at the point of no return ... We're pursuing some important things as it relates to new vaccines. There's a lot of hope there, that we can come up with a vaccine that can make a difference."

Transparency is key for vaccines: If the government wants more Americans to take a coronavirus vaccine when one becomes available, it will have to start telling the truth and being consistent, said Dr. Julie Gerberding. “It is about regaining trust, and trust depends first and foremost on telling the truth, even when it's hard,” she said.

President Donald Trump’s doctor on Saturday said he’s met criteria from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to leave isolation. Those criteria don’t generally require a negative test for coronavirus. 

Here’s why:

People can continue to test positive even though they’re no longer infectious

Research has shown that PCR tests can still pick up pieces of genetic material from the virus long after someone has recovered. But these people aren’t likely to be infectious 10 to 20 days after symptoms began, according to the CDC.

To figure that out, scientists have taken samples from coronavirus patients and tried to infect living cells. Even though PCR tests can come back positive, patients don’t tend to be infectious after that 10 to 20 day window has passed, research has found.

Think of it this way: A PCR test is looking for the blueprint of the virus -- its “genome” -- and not the virus itself. In fact, the test is just looking for fragments of that blueprint. It’s like a recipe for chocolate cake; finding the recipe in someone’s kitchen doesn’t mean you’ll find a cake.

Why might Trump not need to isolate for 20 days?

For patients with severe Covid-19, the CDC says up to 20 days of isolation “may be warranted.” But the agency’s recommendations only require that at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared.

“Consider consultation with infection control experts,” the CDC’s recommendations say. The President’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, released a memo Saturday that referenced “advanced diagnostic tests” and stated “there is no longer evidence of actively replicating virus” from Trump.

Still, the letter didn’t fully describe those advanced diagnostic tests or their exact findings. Conley also didn’t disclose other vital signs from the President, such as his current oxygen levels -- leaving many questions about Trump’s current condition unanswered.

Read more about Trump's coronavirus status here:

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Trump has met CDC criteria to end isolation and is cleared to return to an active schedule by his physician

President Donald Trump has been cleared to return to an active schedule, according to a new memo from his physician, Dr. Sean Conley, released Saturday night.

The memo says Trump has met criteria from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to end isolation but does not say whether the President has received a negative coronavirus test since first testing positive for the virus.

However, that is not a criteria for clearing isolation, according to the CDC.

Conley writes that Trump is 10 days from the onset of symptoms, has been fever-free for “well over 24 hours” and after diagnostic tests, “there is no longer evidence of actively replicating virus.” 

Questions remain: Conley did not fully explain what “advanced diagnostic tests” the President received. For example, he did not disclose whether so-called viral culture was performed. That’s the process by which scientists try to infect living cells to see whether active virus is present.

President's schedule: Trump held his first public event Saturday since his diagnosis, delivering a speech to supporters at the White House. He is scheduled to hold at least three in-person rallies this week, beginning Monday in Florida. Conley says he will continue to monitor Trump “as he returns to an active schedule.”

Last negative test: It’s important to note we still don’t know when the President last tested negative before his positive test last week, which would offer insight into when he was contagious and how much so.

Brazil on Saturday reported 559 new deaths from Covid-19, raising the country's total fatalities to 150,198, according to the National Council of Health Departments.

After the United States, Brazil is now the second country in the world to reach 150,000 deaths, attributed by critics to the country's haphazard response to the outbreak, personified in President Jair Bolsonaro's leadership.

The actual death toll is believed to be much higher because of low Covid-19 testing capacity in some parts of the country.

The council also reported 26,749 new cases of the virus on Saturday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 5.08 million.

In terms of total cases, Brazil is ranked third worldwide, after the US and India, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally of cases.

While pregnant women generally experience mild coronavirus symptoms, they can persist for two months or more for 1 in 4 women, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Researchers from the University of California San Francisco and UCLA looked at 594 women across the US who tested positive for Covid-19 while pregnant. They found that 40% of the women still had symptoms by week four, and 25% experienced symptoms for eight weeks or longer.

The most common symptoms among the women were cough, sore throat, body aches and fever, and symptoms were most prevalent in the first three weeks. The median length of symptoms was 37 days. The vast majority of participants – 95% – were not hospitalized.

The participants were enrolled in the study between March 22 and July 10 of this year. More than half of the women had contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 or had symptoms. About 30% of the women were health care workers, and 60% were White.

The researchers acknowledged that their findings may not generalize to the larger population. They noted that availability, timing and accuracy of testing may have impacted the results.