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October 22 coronavirus news

By Joshua Berlinger, Adam Renton, Tara John and Ed Upright, CNN

Updated 12:00 a.m. ET, October 23, 2020

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7:34 p.m. ET, October 22, 2020

Montana reports highest single-day number of new Covid-19 cases

From CNN's Gisela Crespo

Charlotte Skinner, an Emergency Room nurse at St. Peter's Health, speaks at a Covid-19 press call hosted by Gov. Steve Bullock at the State Capitol, Tuesday, Oct. 20. Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP

Montana reported Thursday 932 new Covid-19 cases, the highest number of daily new cases since the pandemic began, according to state data.

The previous record for daily new cases, 734, was reported on Oct. 14.

"The numbers have gone up exponentially and it's very concerning," said state medical officer Dr. Greg Holzman during a news conference in Billings.

Holzman added officials are also concerned about hospitals amid the increase in cases.

"A lot of the hospitals are more stressed than they usually are at this time of [the] year and that puts more panic into us, knowing that we're now going into cold and flu season, which is the typical time of the year that hospitals see more people coming through," Holzman said.

Montana has reported 25,640 coronavirus cases to date and 278 total deaths.

To note: These numbers were released by the Montana Department of Health & Human Services and the state's library and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

5:40 p.m. ET, October 22, 2020

White House coronavirus task force reports warn of "deterioration" in Sun Belt, Midwest and Northern states

From CNN's Betsy Klein

CNN has obtained 22 state reports from the White House coronavirus task force this week. The reports show, as CNN has reported all week, a cumulative worsening of cases across the country.

The task force is warning of surging cases in the Sun Belt, Midwest and Northern states in several reports:

“This time series also shows early signs of deterioration in the Sun Belt and continued deterioration in the Midwest and across the Northern States,” reports for multiple states say, recommending “strong mitigation efforts” including “mask wearing, physical distancing, hand hygiene, avoiding crowds in public and social gatherings in private.”

New this week: the reports now show charts with hospital admission data. Next week, the reports say, there will be personal protective equipment data.

There are at least 31 states in the task force-defined “red zone” for cases.

Here are some state-specific findings:

Vermont, still in the yellow zone, is the state with the lowest new case rate in the nation. There was a cluster of cases “among participants of recreational hockey and broomball leagues.” There is “cause for concern given the recent uptick in the state,” the task force warned, calling for increasing “public education about social distancing.”
North Dakota has the highest rate of new cases in the country. “There is no substantial improvement in North Dakota. There must be increased mitigation,” the report said.
The task force is sounding the alarm on “early deterioration” in gains against the virus in Alabama and said it “must be addressed aggressively as the spread is very broad based in rural and urban areas.”
In Louisiana, there is “very early evidence of increasing test positivity and cases.”
In Ohio, there is “significant reemergence of community spread.”
In Illinois, there is “high and worsening transmission affecting the entire state” after “sharp” increases in cases and test positivity over the last week.
Delaware, the task force said, “remains vulnerable” and is “at an important inflection point,” calling on the state to increase social distancing until cases decline.
There is concern in Utah, which has the sixth highest case rate, about large gatherings: “Super-spreader events are still likely in areas where social distancing isn’t practiced and use of face coverings is low; impose or recommend restriction on the size of public or social gatherings to limit the ongoing possibility of such events.”
Colorado, the state’s task force report said, is “at a critical juncture” that will depend on “increased observation of social distancing mitigation measures.”
California and Maryland, meanwhile, won praise from the task force for “strong success with the gradated series of mitigation measures” and a “well-developed, gradated set of social distancing measures,” respectively.

4:24 p.m. ET, October 22, 2020

Remdesivir receives FDA approval to treat hospitalized Covid-19 patients

From CNN's Maggie Fox

A bottle containing the drug Remdesivir is held by a health worker at the Institute of Infectology of Kenezy Gyula Teaching Hospital of the University of Debrecen in Debrecen, Hungary, on October 15. Zsolt Czegledi/MTI/AP

The antiviral remdesvir has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients hospitalized with Covid-19, Gilead Sciences announced Thursday.

The drug, sold under the brand name Veklury, has been used under emergency use authorization (EUA) in the US. It is the first drug to be approved in the US for treating Covid-19.

“In the United States, Veklury is indicated for adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older and weighing at least 40 kg) for the treatment of Covid-19 requiring hospitalization,” the company said in a statement. “Veklury should only be administered in a hospital or in a healthcare setting capable of providing acute care comparable to inpatient hospital care.”

Some context: Earlier this month, a World Health Organization-sponsored global study found remdesivir did not help patients survive or even recover faster, but a US study found the infused drug shortened recovery time for some patients by about a third.

4:36 p.m. ET, October 22, 2020

Emergency approval of a Covid-19 vaccine won't stop or undermine clinical trials, FDA official says

From CNN's Jacqueline Howard

If one of the experimental coronavirus vaccines gets emergency use authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration, clinical trials examining the safety and efficacy of that vaccine will continue as planned, a senior FDA official said Thursday.

The FDA has said it would consider EUA for coronavirus vaccines in the works – a quicker route to getting one distributed than full approval would be. But that would mean beginning vaccination of the populace before clinical trials have finished. Some people have worried that would mean the clinical trials would end before all the data was collected.

Dr. Doran Fink, deputy director of the FDA’s division of vaccines and related products applications, said that won’t happen. Companies still will have to continue their formal clinical trials to get full licensing approval, Fink told a meeting of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.

"Continuation of placebo-controlled follow up after emergency use authorization will be important, and may actually be critical to ensure that additional safety and effectiveness data are accrued to support submission of a licensure application as soon as possible following an emergency use authorization," Fink said.

The FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research does not consider the authorization of a vaccine as reason to "unblind" ongoing trials and offer the vaccine to volunteers who received a placebo, Fink said.

“CBER does not consider issuance of an EUA for a Covid-19 vaccine, in and of itself, as grounds to unblind ongoing clinical trials and offer vaccine to placebo recipients,” Fink said.

4:14 p.m. ET, October 22, 2020

Mississippi health official: White, maskless people causing uptick in Covid-19 cases

From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury

Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs CNN

Dr. Thomas Dobbs, a Mississippi state health official, said that while the state's Black communities were hit hard during the beginning of the pandemic, since the summer and fall, that trend has shifted to impact the state's White population.

"Now it's over 60% of new cases are in Caucasians and the deaths are mirroring that also," Dobbs told CNN's Brianna Keilar.

Dobbs suggested that the shift may be attributed to the African American population taking social distancing and mask measures more seriously.

"It may well be that we found a pretty receptive audience in the African American community and it may well be because they were hit so hard and have personal experience, but we're not having the same success we've seen with other segments of the population," Dobbs said.

"Nothing's perfect, but the message seems have hit more fertile ground, right now, in the Black community," he added.

Watch the full interview:

4:33 p.m. ET, October 22, 2020

These are all the places reporting a new daily record of Covid-19 cases

From CNN's Melissa Mahtani

People wearing face masks are seen in downtown Porto, Portugal on October 21. Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images

Coronavirus cases continue to soar in both Europe and the United States.

There are currently at least 8,354,300 cases of Covid-19 in the US and at least 222,416 people have died from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally of cases.

Spain reported another new daily record of Covid-19 cases on Thursday, after surpassing the grim milestone of one million coronavirus cases on Wednesday. Numbers across the continent continue to rise.

Today, many states and countries around the world reported a record high in the daily number of Covid-19 cases counted. Here's a look at some of them.

Europe:

Spain reported a record 20,986 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday evening, the highest daily increase since the pandemic started. The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country is now 1,026,281.
France reported a new record for daily coronavirus infections, with 41,622 new cases in the past 24 hours, according to numbers released by the French Health Agency. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in France to just under one million, currently at 999,043 cases.
Italy reported another daily record with 16,079 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours — up from yesterday's record of 15,199 new cases, according to Italy's health ministry.
Portugal reported a record 3,270 new Covid-19 infections on Thursday, the highest daily increase since the pandemic first reached the country.
Germany reported a record 11,287 new cases on Thursday, also the highest rise since the start of the pandemic.
The Netherlands recorded 9,283 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, marking a new daily record, according to data released Thursday by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).

US:

Oklahoma recorded 1,628 new cases — the highest daily total of new cases since the pandemic began. A total of 112,483 cases have been reported in Oklahoma so far, according to the state's dashboard.
Ohio reported 2,425 new Covid-19 cases, the highest number of daily new cases since the pandemic began. The state's previous record was reported yesterday, with 2,366 new cases.
Florida reported its highest daily increase of Covid-19 cases in two months, with 5,557 new cases.
Wisconsin had recorded its deadliest day in coronavirus deaths, Gov. Tony Evers said. Health officials said the addition of 48 new deaths underscores the severity of the pandemic in Wisconsin. The total number of deaths from the virus in Wisconsin now stands at 1,703.

2:56 p.m. ET, October 22, 2020

Coronavirus cases are rising in Oklahoma

From CNN's Kay Jones

More than 1,600 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Oklahoma, according to the state's Department of Health.

The department recorded 1,628 new cases — the highest daily total of new cases since the pandemic began. A total of 112,483 cases have been reported in Oklahoma so far, according to the state's dashboard.

At least 11 new deaths were reported, bringing the total to 1,221.

Hospitalizations have steadily increased over the past seven days, according to the dashboard. The department said 991 patients with Covid-19 are currently hospitalized statewide.

Note: These numbers were released by Oklahoma's public health agency and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database, drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

2:51 p.m. ET, October 22, 2020

Spain reports more than 20,000 new coronavirus cases

From CNN’s Claudia Rebaza

People walk past a restaurant closed due to sharpest resurgences of the new coronavirus in Barcelona, Spain on October 22. Emilio Morenatti/AP

Spain’s health ministry reported a record 20,986 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday evening, the highest daily increase since the pandemic started.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country is now 1,026,281. Spain surpassed 1 million cases on Wednesday.

The country’s death toll now stands at 34,521, with 155 new fatalities recorded today.

During a news conference Thursday evening, Fernando Simón, the director of the Spanish Center for Health Emergencies, admitted the evolution of the pandemic is not favorable.

“We don’t know what will happen in the next few days, but yes we are going upwards,” Simón said.

Spain's Health Minister Salvador Illa told reporters his country is facing difficult weeks ahead.

“There is a lot of concern, we have very tough weeks ahead,” he warned.

“A second wave is a reality now," the minister added.

Illa also announced that Spain’s central government and the 17 regional governments have agreed on a document containing the main criteria for a joint response to a second wave of the pandemic.

2:43 p.m. ET, October 22, 2020

Utah governor warns hospitals filling up as Covid-19 cases continue to spread

From CNN's Melissa Alonso

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said hospitals are "starting to fill up" in the state as Covid-19 cases continue to spread.

He said 20% of the patients currently in intensive care units are Covid-19 patients. Herbert warned that ICUs are becoming crowded.

"I would hope that people will take this seriously and do the best they can," the governor said.

Dr. Angela Dunn, state epidemiologist, said the state's health care system "is at capacity."

"I don't know what to do anymore," Dunn said during the briefing.

"I'm really not trying to scare anyone, I'm just trying to inform you of what's going on and give you the facts," she said.

Watch: