October 28 coronavirus news

Health officials in China's far-western Xinjiang region reported 183 Covid-19 infections after completing a mass testing program on Tuesday.

Of that total, only 22 exhibited symptoms, while 161 remain asymptomatic.

Authorities completed a mass testing program of 4.74 million people in the city of Kashgar in days, the Xinjiang Health Commission said in a statement.

The program was launched after a single asymptomatic case was identified over the weekend.

Xinjiang’s Health Commission said that patient is a 17-year-old girl who lives in a village in Kashgar, who has neither a fever nor cough, but tested positive for Covid-19. 

Europe is edging closer to the brink as numerous countries report record new daily Covid-19 cases and its leaders take drastic steps to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Fears are also rising over the potential for hospitals to be overwhelmed as admissions surge and more patients enter intensive care, in a stark reminder of the scenes from the first peak in the spring.

Here's how the second wave is battering Europe today:

For millions of Americans, the economic effects of the pandemic have been devastating, resulting in job loss, food insecurity or threat of eviction.

But for many of those who are still employed -- or who have a spouse who still is -- it has changed how they use their money. Some have cut expenses and increased savings, paid off debt, or donated more to help those in need. Others have spent more on impulse purchases, made big life moves or postponed them.

CNN Business asked readers how the pandemic has changed their spending and saving habits. Here's what some of them had to say.

Out of work, using up savings

Paul Grim described himself and his wife, Michelle, as "more savers than spenders" before the pandemic struck.

Then Grim was laid off from his IT job. His wife, who is still working, has reduced her 401(k) contributions to free up some cash.

Slashing expenses, saving more

Sarah Way reworked her family budget when her part-time job in California was cut back to one day a week and her husband's employer temporarily cut his pay in half. Travel, dinners out and commuting expenses were eliminated by default because of the pandemic. But she went even deeper.

Read the full story here:

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We asked how the pandemic changed your money habits. Here's what you said

London Heathrow has lost the title of Europe's busiest airport to Charles de Gaulle in Paris and is downgrading its forecasts for passenger numbers this year and next as the outlook for aviation deteriorates further.

In the first nine months of the year, Charles de Gaulle welcomed 19.27 million passengers, compared with 18.97 million at Heathrow, 17.6 million at Amsterdam's Schiphol and 16.16 million at Frankfurt International, according to Heathrow.

The airport now expects to see just 22.6 million passengers this year, down from 81 million in 2019. It has also slashed by two fifths its forecast for next year, predicting just 37.1 million passengers from a June forecast of 62.8 million.

Read the full story here:

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London Heathrow loses its crown to Paris as passenger numbers plummet

Older Americans are better than younger adults at following the recommendations from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, according to a new survey.

This discrepancy could explain why Covid-19 infections started to rise in younger people starting in June, according to the team at the Data Foundation, a nonprofit think tank that conducted the survey. 

Most Americans say they're doing what they should, the researchers reported in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Face coverings: Use of masks went up from an average of 78% in April to 83% in May, and reached 89% in June, the survey of 6,500 US adults aged 18 and above showed.

The percentage of older adults who reported wearing a mask was up to 14 percentage points higher, depending on the month, than those in the youngest age group.

Other behaviors: Hand-washing, physical distancing and avoiding public or crowded places dipped slightly or remained unchanged on average over time.

For example, the survey found that the use of hand-washing dipped from an average of 93% in April to 91% in May, and reached 89% in June.

Read the full story here:

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Seniors are better at pandemic safety than young adults, CDC finds

Poland reported a record number of daily coronavirus cases, with 18,820 new infections on Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Health. 

The country also reported a record number of deaths, with 236 deaths on Wednesday, according to the latest government data. 

It brings the total coronavirus cases number in Poland to 299,049 and the death toll to 4,849.

Belgium reported a record 689 coronavirus hospital admissions on Tuesday, up from the previous high of 629 in March, according to the latest data from the Belgian health authority Sciensano.

On average, 421 Covid-19 patients were admitted to hospital daily over the past two weeks.

As of Tuesday, 5,554 coronavirus patients are in hospital, with 991 patients in intensive care, according to the latest health authority figures. 

Belgium has recorded 347,289 total coronavirus cases and 11,038 deaths, according to government data. The country has a 7-day average of 13,858 new daily coronavirus cases. 

Sciensano noted that figures from the past seven days are subject to revision as there is a lag in receiving data from some regions and provinces.

The fall surge in the United States has ushered in daunting rates of Covid-19 spread, with 29 US states reporting at least one record high day of new cases since October began, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The record spread has brought the national total to more than 8.7 million infections and 226,723 deaths. And with this spike holding the potential to be the worst yet, experts warn that the impact of the virus will likely get worse.

The United States added 73,240 new cases Tuesday, and a record peak of more than 83,000 cases was reported on Friday.

The rise in cases has been closely followed by an increase in coronavirus deaths.

This month, 11 states reported their highest single day of new deaths since the pandemic began. And though researchers are racing toward a vaccine, health experts have cautioned that the public needs to take the virus seriously in the meantime. 

Under the current conditions, more than 2,000 people are predicted to die of the virus daily by January 1, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

Read the full story here:

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More than half of US states reported their highest day of coronavirus cases this month

The Czech Republic reported a record 15,663 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday -- up more than 400 on the previous record set last Friday, according to data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Health. 

That means the country, which has a population of 10.65 million, has recorded more new daily coronavirus cases than Germany, which has a population nearly eight times the size at 83.1 million. 

The Czech Republic death toll now stands at 2,547, according to the ministry.

Despite new measures taken by the Czech government last week, the numbers of Covid-19 infections are growing. There are now 6,191 patients in hospital, 893 of them in a serious condition. 

The government announced that students will not be returning to schools on Monday, November 2, as planned and that it will ask the Parliament to extend the state of emergency by one month, until December 3.