November 6 coronavirus news

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Friday it issued the first emergency use authorization (EUA) for a blood test that can detect neutralizing antibodies from a past coronavirus infection.

The agency said the cPass SARS-CoV-2 Neutralization Antibody Detection Kit made by GenScript USA Inc. specifically detects this type of antibody, which has been shown in labs to decrease the coronavirus’ infection of cells. The test is intended to be used to identify people with an adaptive immune response to the coronavirus, according to the authorization.

"There are still many unknowns about what the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies may tell us about potential immunity, but today's authorization gives us another tool to evaluate those antibodies as we continue to research and study this virus," Dr. Tim Stenzel, director of the Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health in the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement.

The agency noted it has issued EUAs to more than 50 antibody tests, but those tests don’t specifically detect antibodies that decrease the infection of cells. Antibody tests should not be used to diagnose an active coronavirus infection, since they don’t detect the virus itself, the agency said.

Italy registered a new daily record of Covid-19 cases and deaths on Friday since its second wave, data from the Health Ministry showed.

37,809 new daily coronavirus cases and 446 deaths have been reported in the country in the last 24 hours. These are the highest numbers since late March.

Its overall death toll is now 40,638. 

The hardest hit region is still Lombardy, with 9,934 new daily cases, followed by the neighboring Piedmont region with 4,878 new cases, and the southern region of Campania (+4,508).

The NFL is punishing the Las Vegas Raiders again for not adhering to Covid-19 league protocol, a source with knowledge of the penalties confirmed to CNN. Yahoo was the first to report the news.

The Raiders have been fined $500,000, head coach Jon Gruden has been fined $150,000, and the team will lose a sixth-round draft pick.

Some of the violations include Gruden not consistently wearing a mask, players attending a large indoor gathering and the team allowing an unauthorized person into the locker room following a game.

The Raiders are the first team to lose a draft pick for violating Covid-19 protocol.

CNN has reached out to the Raiders for comment but has yet to hear back. CNN has also reached out to the league.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were also fined for violating coronavirus protocal in their last game against the Ravens on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Bengals announced Friday that two players have tested positive for Covid-19. The team did not identify the players.

The Bengals are currently on their bye week, during which time all players will be tested daily. The team says that players have not been in the team facility since Wednesday and will not return until next week.

The Bengals next game is November 15 on the road at the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Belgium may have reached “the peak of the second wave,” Head of Viral Diseases at the Belgian Health Authority Professor Steven Van Gucht said on Friday.

Speaking at the daily coronavirus briefing, he said, “This may mark the peak of the second wave. The number of infections continues to fall slightly, and hospital admissions appear to be decreasing slightly for the first time.”

He added that “the number of deaths is still very high, but here too we see the pace slowing down slightly.”

Professor Van Gucht also warned that “despite this decrease, the number of infections is still very high. The infection rate in Belgium is still among the highest in Europe, together with Czechia.”

Data from the Belgian Health Authority, Sciensano, shows that on October 27 the number of new cases reported reached a peak of 22,171. Since then, the number of new cases has consistently fallen with the latest consolidated data showing 13,345 new cases reported on Tuesday, November 2.

On average in the last week, 13,213 new cases were reported each day, compared to the previous week when there were 16,067 new cases reported each day.

Since the beginning of the pandemic Belgium has recorded 479,341 cases of coronavirus and 12,520 deaths. 

To allow for delays in receiving data from the regions, it takes four days for figures from the Belgian Health Authority to be finalized.

Poland has witnessed its deadliest day since the coronavirus pandemic began, with a further 445 deaths reported by its health ministry on Friday.

The country also reported 27,086 new Covid-19 cases -- only 57 fewer than Thursday’s record-high. The total number of confirmed infections in Poland stands at 493,765 and the total death toll at 7,287. 

As infections rise across Europe this week, Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced further restrictions that will go into effect from Saturday, including remote learning for younger children, cultural institutions closing, stores reducing capacity and hotels only opening for business trips.

"A step beyond the measures that we are announcing today is only a national quarantine, that is, a total lockdown," said Morawiecki.

Tighter restrictions on movement will be extended for another two weeks in more than 30 districts in and around the Spanish capital of Madrid, in an effort to combat a rise in coronavirus cases.

The restrictions essentially isolate areas and neighborhoods with 500 cases per 100,000 people over a 14-day period, the Community of Madrid said Friday. The lockdown measures were imposed on 32 districts on October 26, and a further three districts this week. Some 835,000 people are affected by the measures in total.

A further six districts in the Madrid area will be added to the list of restricted areas from next Monday.

As Spain battles a second wave of infections, the government in the southern region of Andalucia has warned it may also introduce stricter measures this weekend. A nationwide curfew came into force in Spain on October 26.

According to the latest figures, Spain has had a total of 1,306,316 coronavirus cases, with 21,908 new infections registered on Thursday. The country's death toll is 38,486, with 368 deaths recorded Thursday. 

China suspended entry to visitors from nine countries due to a 45% rise in the number of imported cases in October. This posed a risk to "China's hard-won pandemic prevention," according to the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday. 

So far, China has restricted non-Chinese nationals from Italy, Russia, India, the UK, France, the Philippines, Belgium, Ukraine and Bangladesh. 

Wang added that the measures had been imposed to "maintain China's hard-won pandemic prevention and control achievements" and to "minimize the risk of cross-infection of people who come to China during their trip."

The country has reported a total of 86,151 confirmed cases and 4,634 deaths since the pandemic began, according to the latest data from China's National Health Commission.

In the first five days of November – as the United States has been focused on its presidential election – 20 states have already reported at least one record high day of new Covid-19 cases during the month, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The states are: Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah and West Virginia.

In October, 31 states reported at least one record high day of new cases during the entire month.

Following a week marked by high case numbers, the entire country set a grim new Covid-19 record on Thursday – surpassing 120,000 infections in a single day. It was the second day in a row the US reported more than 100,000 infections.

Health experts had warned weeks ago that the nation's daily cases would reach six digits, but those alarming figures hit sooner than expected. And Covid-19's death toll could reach 266,000 by the end of November, according to an ensemble forecast published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CNN is tracking Covid-19 cases in the US here:

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Tracking Covid-19 cases in the US

The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej, was admitted to hospital on Wednesday, after he tested positive for Covid-19, according to a statement by the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Irinej, 90, “was admitted to hospital for medical supervision and control,” and “is generally feeling well, asymptomatic and without fever,” the statement read.

According to CNN affiliate N1 Serbia, his body was in an open casket during the service before being interred in the crypt of the church. A large crowd gathered in front of the church, with few of the mourners and none of the priests wearing masks, according to N1.

Serbia has reported 55,676 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, with 861 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health on Thursday. Montenegro has reported 21,533 cases, with 328 deaths, according to data published Thursday by the country’s Institute of Public Health.