By Joshua Berlinger, Adam Renton, Angela Dewan, Melissa Mahtani and Meg Wagner, CNN
From CNN’s Rebekah Riess and John Murgatroyd
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order today, extending current Covid-19 restrictions with minimal changes.
The new executive order will take effect on Oct. 16 at 12 a.m. local time and runs through Oct. 31 at 11:59 p.m.
Georgia’s public health emergency remains in place until Nov. 9, according to the governor’s office.
From CNN's Annie Grayer
Philadelphia public schools will begin phasing back in-person learning starting Nov. 30.
Superintendent William Hite announced Wednesday that students in grades pre-kindergarten through second grade can resume in-person learning through a hybrid model on Nov. 30. The current plan will allow for students to learn in-person two days a week.
Families of pre-K through second-grade students will be able to choose if they want to enroll their student in the hybrid model, or remain in virtual learning.
The plan further delays in-person learning for the remainder of the student body.
Ninth graders and students participating in a Career and Technical Education are not slotted to resume in-person student learning until late January or early February.
From CNN's Elizabeth Cohen
Vaccine maker Moderna could possibly finish enrolling their 30,000-person study next week and could have its first data analysis next month, according to company spokesperson Ray Jordan.
The projections are yet another indication that a vaccine will not be on the market by Election Day.
Moderna was the first company to begin its Phase 3 clinical trial, injecting its first study subject on July 27. Half of the study participants are receiving the vaccine and half are receiving a placebo, which is a shot of saline that does nothing. Participants receive two shots spaced 28 days apart.
The company will have its first data analysis when 53 study subjects become ill with Covid-19. At that point, a monitoring board will look at whether those study subjects received the vaccine or the placebo, and then assess if the vaccine prevented Covid-19.
“We’re still anticipating the 53 cases to potentially emerge sometime in November,” Jordan told CNN.
President Trump has repeatedly said a vaccine could be ready by Election Day. However, even if the 53 cases emerged on Nov. 1, that wouldn’t be nearly enough time for the data to be reviewed by Nov. 3. Also, vaccine experts say it’s unlikely that the vaccine would show effectiveness so early in the trial.
Also, last week the US Food and Drug Administration made clear that they wanted to see two months of follow-up data after volunteers get their second doses, which would also make it impossible for the FDA to give an emergency use authorization for a vaccine by Nov. 3.
From CNN's Claudia Dominguez
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine reported a record number of new coronavirus cases for a second day in a row during a news conference on Thursday.
A record 2,039 new coronavirus cases were reported on Wednesday.
“Today we are reporting another record 2,178 new coronavirus cases,” DeWine said. “This is in stark contrast to not too long ago. Sept. 20, a month ago, we had 762 cases.”
The governor also reported a sharp rise in hospitalizations.
“Yesterday we had 1,042 hospitalizations, so it basically doubled in a short period of time,” he said.
More data: Ohio currently has a 5.4% positivity rate, DeWine said.
“The percentage of tests coming back positive has doubled,” DeWine said. “We would expect to see some more cases but we have to look at is positivity, we would instead of that we’re seeing a very, very significant increase.”
On Thursday, 13 Ohio counties were added as “high incidence counties," bringing the total number of high incidence counties to 52, according to the governor. DeWine stressed that now 63% of the population is now living in high incidence, high level spread counties where there are more than 100 cases per 100,000 residents. Ten million Ohioans currently live in a community with high risk transmission, DeWine said.
“There is a red tide flowing all over the state of Ohio and virtually everyone in Ohio is living in a high incidence, high rate of spread area,” DeWine said.
The governor said there were no plans to implement another lockdown and stressed that Ohioans should follow the Covid-19 guidelines such as wearing masks, washing hands, and avoiding large gatherings.
There is currently an order in place to limit indoor gatherings, but not any gatherings at private homes.
From CNN's Sebastian Shukla
A curfew will take effect in the Paris region and nine cities across France from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. starting Saturday, French Prime Minister Jean Castex said Thursday.
“This means that at 9 p.m., everyone should be at home and that, with some exceptions, all places, businesses or public services open to the public will be closed. These rules must of course be applied with common sense,” Castex said.
The curfew will impact these cities:
People working, traveling for health reasons, catching a train or a plane after 9 p.m. or meeting people who need help or who need health care will be allowed to travel during the curfew as long as they have proof. Just like the lockdown earlier this year, people will need to fill out a certificate declaring their movement. People will be allowed to walk their pets after 9 p.m., Castex said.
Interior minister Gerald Darmanin said a 12,000-strong police force will enforce the curfew and people breaking the curfew will be fined 135 euros (roughly $157) the first time and up to 3,750 euros (roughly $4,387) and three months in jail for the third violation.
From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury
Mark Schultz, a bar owner from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, started feeling ill the same day that President Trump revealed he tested positive for the coronavirus, Schultz was then hospitalized, where he experienced serious coronavirus symptoms, including struggling to breathe.
Schultz kept a video diary of his experience and at one point said, "I'm hanging in there. This really sucks... I don't know if I'm going to make it. I can't breathe."
He is still experiencing symptoms and said some days are better than others.
Schultz said President Trump, who has been downplaying the severity of the pandemic, doesn't want to hear from people like him.
"He's a narcissist. Donald Trump is all about himself. He's not about for us. He's about Donald Trump. So let's just move past that. Let's just concentrate on this virus. We got to listen to Dr. Fauci. We got to listen to Dr. Richard Besser, Dr. Birx, science. Science is what's going to get us out of this," Schultz told CNN's Brianna Keilar.
Schultz's message to the American public is this: "We all got to take this thing very seriously…We've got to step up as a team. We're the United States of America, not the divided states of America.”
Watch more:
From CNN's Aqeel Najim and Maria Fleet
Iraq’s Ministry of Health reported 3,587 new confirmed coronavirus cases Thursday, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 416,801.
The seven-day average of new cases has been trending down for the past two weeks, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The health ministry also reported 65 Covid-related fatalities on Thursday, bringing the total death toll from the virus in Iraq to 10,086.
From CNN's Homero De La Fuente
The American Athletic Conference (AAC) announced Thursday that the football game between No. 8-ranked Cincinnati and Tulsa has been postponed due to positive Covid-19 cases at Cincinnati.
The game, originally scheduled for Saturday, has been rescheduled to Saturday, Dec. 5 at H.A. Chapman Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
"We are disappointed we will be unable to play Tulsa Saturday,” said Cincinnati director of athletics John Cunningham. “We knew this season was going to require a lot of patience and flexibility and disruptions were likely to happen. The health and safety of student-athletes, coaches and staff is always our primary focus and we appreciated the outstanding work and continued dedicated of our medical staff throughout the pandemic."
Tulsa’s football team has only played two games this season following Covid-19-related postponements and cancellations.
"I'm disappointed, first, for our football student-athletes and coaches, and obviously for our staff who has prepared so diligently, our campus and the City of Tulsa. This TU Homecoming game was a great opportunity to showcase our football program, the community and the American Athletic Conference against the nation's No. 8 team," said Tulsa's Director of Athletics Rick Dickson. "As the university, the conference and the NCAA have said throughout this pandemic, the health and safety of our student-athletes are at the forefront of all decisions."
You can read the full statement here.
From CNN’s Lauren Kent
Travelers entering the United Kingdom from Italy will have to self-isolate starting on Sunday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced Thursday.
In a tweet, he said both the Vatican and San Marino will also drop off the UK’s “Travel Corridor,” a list of countries considered safe enough for travelers to visit without self-isolating on entry to the UK.
He also announced the UK would add the Greek island of Crete to the Travel Corridor, meaning people entering the UK from anywhere in Greece will not have to self-isolate.
