October 28 coronavirus news

By Nectar Gan, Adam Renton, Emma Reynolds, Ed Upright, Vasco Cotovio, Meg Wagner and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 12:00 a.m. ET, October 29, 2020
18 Posts
Sort byDropdown arrow
5:52 a.m. ET, October 28, 2020

Why deaths aren't rising as fast in Covid-19's second wave, despite big spikes in new infections

From CNN's Ivana Kottasová

Europe is drowning in the second wave of the coronavirus epidemic. Infection rates are skyrocketing across the continent. Governments are imposing strict lockdowns. Economies are shutting down again. But there is a glimmer of hope: The virus, while still deadly, appears to be killing fewer people on average.

Recent case and fatality figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control show that while recorded Covid-19 cases are spiking in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany and other European countries, deaths are not rising at the same rate.

"The fatality rate has declined, in the UK, we can see it going down from around June to a low point in August," said Jason Oke, a senior statistician at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences. "Our current estimate is that the infection fatality rate is going up a little bit, but it hasn't come up to anywhere near where we were and that's unlikely to change dramatically unless we see a really surprising increase in the numbers of deaths."

Oke has been tracking Covid-19 fatality rates along with his colleague Carl Heneghan of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine and health economist Daniel Howdon. Their research shows that, at the end of June, the fatality rate was just below 3% in the UK. By August, it had dropped as low as about 0.5%. It now stands at roughly 0.75%. 

We think it's probably driven a lot by age, but also other factors, like treatment," Oke said.

The lower death rate isn't unique to Europe. In New York, the death rate for those hospitalized with coronavirus-related illnesses has also dropped since earlier this year, according to a study by a team of researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine.

Read the full story here:

5:46 a.m. ET, October 28, 2020

Germany reports record new daily cases as Merkel mulls fresh measures

From CNN's Claudia Otto and Fred Pleitgen in Berlin

Germany has reported a record 14,964 new daily coronavirus infections in 24 hours, the country’s disease control agency, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), said Wednesday. 

That number breaks last Saturday's record of 14,714 cases, which was higher than usual because RKI updated their data to include cases from several days before. Germany's total coronavirus case count now stands at 449,275

The death toll rose by 85 to 10,098, the RKI data showed. 

The German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine said the number of patients in intensive care rose exponentially, to five times higher than a week ago at 1,470

Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to discuss further measures to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country on Wednesday afternoon in a meeting with the leaders of Germany's 16 states. 

5:04 a.m. ET, October 28, 2020

Justin Turner testing positive "speaks to what all of us are going through in 2020"

From CNN's Jillian Martin

Justin Turner #10 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 in Game Six to win the 2020 MLB World Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on October 27.
Justin Turner #10 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 in Game Six to win the 2020 MLB World Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on October 27. Tom Pennington/Getty Images

It's uncertain if the Los Angeles Dodgers will be able to fly home or have to go into quarantine after third baseman Justin Turner tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Andrew Friedman, the team's president of baseball operations.

“Not sure yet,” Friedman told reporters. “We’re going back tonight (to the hotel) and we’re going to all take tests and figure out what the results are from that and then go from there.”

The Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 in Game 6 to win the best-of-seven series four games to two and claim the World Series in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday. Turner was removed during the game, but later returned to the field to celebrate with his teammates and the World Series trophy. 

“I found out about it in the seventh inning,” Friedman said, answering a question about Turner testing positive. “It was extremely surreal and obviously my mind was somewhere else and then had to quickly adjust to what was happening. Obviously incredibly unfortunate but kind of speaks to what all of us are going through in 2020.
“And then the postgame, you know, I think having a mask on and staying socially distant, he wanted to come out and take a picture with the trophy -- which I can’t state strongly enough how big of a role he’s played in the success of this organization," he said.
“But I think for him just being a free agent not knowing how the future is going to play out, I don’t think there was anyone that was going to stop him from going out. From at least my perspective and not watching it super closely with everything going on, but I think he was mindful of other people, especially other people that he hadn’t already been in contact with.”
4:33 a.m. ET, October 28, 2020

South Africa's President Ramaphosa begins Covid-19 self-quarantine

From CNN’s Brent Swails in Johannesburg

In this handout photo, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks in Pretoria, South Africa, on June 17.
In this handout photo, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks in Pretoria, South Africa, on June 17. /Sipa USA

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has gone into quarantine after a guest at a dinner he attended at the weekend tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to the presidential office. 

Ramaphosa's office released a statement on Wednesday saying that the “the President attended a fundraising dinner of the Adopt-a-School Foundation” on Saturday.

One of the dinner guests showed Covid-19 symptoms the following day and received a positive result on Tuesday, according to the statement.

“The President is showing no symptoms at this time and will, in line with COVID-19 health advice, be tested should symptoms manifest,” the statement said. “The President will perform his duties remotely and will observe the guidelines that apply to self-quarantine.”

South Africa has reported a total of 717,851 coronavirus cases and 19,053 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. The country's daily new cases peaked in July, with multiple days reporting more than 10,000 new infections, but have dropped since August.

3:48 a.m. ET, October 28, 2020

India says local festivals account for many recent Covid-19 infections, but lower numbers are encouraging

From CNN's Manveena Suri in New Delhi

Nearly half of the coronavirus cases reported in India on Tuesday were from five states where people had been celebrating local festivals, according to the Indian Health Ministry.

The Hindu festival Navaratri, or "Nine Nights," took place from October 17-25, culminating in the 10th day -- Dushera. The annual event marks the onset of a new harvest season and is followed by Diwali, the festival of lights, on November 14.

"During the festival, cases have risen in Kerala, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi," Rajesh Bhushan, secretary to the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said at a news conference on Tuesday. 

Case for optimism? Despite the rise in cases in the five states, government-led think member VK Paul said that many people had followed Covid-19 guidelines during Navaratri, and given an overall fall in infections over the previous 24 hours, he was hopeful.

"We saw that during the festival season Indians listened to the Prime Minister and followed guidelines; this is a huge deal," Paul said.

Latest numbers: On Tuesday, India reported 36,470 new cases in the previous 24 hours, the lowest single-day rise since July 17. 

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday announced that it would not reimpose restrictions, while malls, restaurants, gyms, movie theatres, schools and other educational institutions will remain open with guidelines for social distancing in place. 

As of Wednesday, India has reported a total of 7,990,322 Covid-19 cases, including 120,010 deaths.

2:59 a.m. ET, October 28, 2020

Seoul to ramp up coronavirus measures ahead of Halloween

From CNN's Jake Kwon and Gawon Bae in Seoul

South Korea's capital, Seoul, will ramp up Covid-19 control measures ahead of Halloween to prevent cluster infections, a health official said on Wednesday.

In May, more than 250 cases were linked to nightlife venues in Seoul, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, causing authorities to temporarily shutter all clubs and bars shortly after.

The city is now taking precautions ahead of the holiday weekend. Park Yoo-mi, the city's director of public health, said it will conduct inspections on more than 150 businesses like clubs and bars from October 28 to November 3.

Businesses in violation of the city's Covid-19 measures will be banned for two weeks, Park said.

Though not an official holiday, Halloween has gained popularity among young people in South Korea in recent years, with many using the occasion to party in nightclubs.

South Korea reported 96 local cases in the past 24 hours, of which 61 were found in the Seoul metropolitan area. South Korea's total number of confirmed cases now stands at 26,146, with 461 deaths.

2:24 a.m. ET, October 28, 2020

US reports more than 73,000 new Covid-19 cases

From CNN's Joe Sutton

The United States reported 73,240 new Covid-19 cases and 985 deaths on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The nationwide totals now stand at 8,778,680 confirmed Covid-19 infections and at least 226,711 virus-related fatalities.

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

CNN is tracking the US cases:

3:31 a.m. ET, October 28, 2020

It might not be clear whether Covid-19 vaccines work until after they're already being used, experts warn

From CNN’s Shelby Lin Erdman

A health worker injects a woman during clinical trials for a Covid-19 vaccine at Research Centers of America in Hollywood, Florida, on September 9.
A health worker injects a woman during clinical trials for a Covid-19 vaccine at Research Centers of America in Hollywood, Florida, on September 9. Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg/Getty Images

It might not become clear which Covid-19 vaccines work best -- or whether they work at all -- until after they’ve already been authorized and are being given to many people, a team of experts said Tuesday.

With 44 vaccines in clinical trials -- meaning they are being tested in people -- it will be difficult to tell which ones are the most effective in preventing disease, said the experts led by Dr. Susanne Hodgson of Oxford University’s Jenner Institute.

People may expect the vaccines will at least protect against severe infection. “However, protection against severe disease and death is difficult to assess in phase 3 clinical trials due to the unfeasibly large numbers of participants required,” the experts wrote in a review in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.
“Instead, data to address this end point might be available only from large phase 4 trials or epidemiological studies done after widespread deployment of a vaccine.”

So called Phase 4 trials are usually studies done after regulators approve a vaccine.

Prevention of severe infections: Vaccine developers said at first, people may have to make do with a vaccine that prevents detectable infection, and hope that also means it is preventing severe infections.

“Only a small proportion of individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop severe disease, which means an extremely large number of volunteers is needed in a clinical trial for there to be enough cases to get a reliable measure of vaccine efficacy,” study co-author Kate Emary, a researcher at the University of Oxford, said in a statement. 

“This means that it is likely that we will only know if a vaccine protects against severe disease once it has been deployed and given to a large population,” she added.

Human challenge trials: The team is also urging caution in the use of data provided by controlled human infection studies or challenge trials now underway in Britain. “It is unclear if results from these studies, which are likely to only include young volunteers, will predict vaccine efficacy in older adults,” they wrote.

The researchers are urging vaccine makers to commit to a long-term follow-up of volunteers in Covid-19 vaccine trials because it’s “important, both to evaluate efficacy against severe disease and mortality, and to ensure ongoing evaluation of vaccine safety.” 

Four vaccines under development in the US are in the most advanced, Phase 3 clinical trials.

1:44 a.m. ET, October 28, 2020

Coronavirus second wave hits Pakistan

From CNN’s Sophia Saifi in Islamabad

Pakistan’s health ministry has announced that the country is now experiencing its second wave of Covid-19 infections. 

Special assistant to the Prime Minister on health, Dr. Faisal Sultan, said at a news conference on Tuesday that he was concerned by the “rate of positivity which increased to 2 and a half percent,” and by the fact that the number of new daily cases has jumped to a range of 700 to 750 per day.  

Sultan announced that stricter restrictions and fines will be imposed in the coming days to ensure the public complies with safety procedures previously outlined by the government. Newer, data-based lockdowns would be implemented in neighborhoods hardest hit by the virus, he added.

He said the country “has reached a point where serious decisions have to be made in order to clamp down on the growth of the virus.”

According to the Health Ministry, there are currently 11,627 active cases of coronavirus in Pakistan. In the past 24 hours, 825 new cases and 14 deaths were recorded.