November 10 coronavirus news

By Zamira Rahim, Stephanie Halasz, Ben Westcott, Steve George, Emma Reynolds, CNN

Updated 0504 GMT (1304 HKT) November 11, 2020
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6:39 p.m. ET, November 10, 2020

70% of Covid-19 outbreaks linked to private gatherings, bars and restaurants, says Minnesota governor

From CNN's Kay Jones and Gregory Lemos  

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced new restrictions in the state to help fight "a significant surge of coronavirus cases."
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced new restrictions in the state to help fight "a significant surge of coronavirus cases." Credit: WCCO

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said that more than 70% of the state's outbreaks between June and November were linked to weddings, private social gatherings, and late nights at bars and restaurants. 

His comments came as he announced new restrictions across the state in a news conference Tuesday to help fight "a significant surge of coronavirus cases."

The new restrictions include:

  • Social gatherings indoors or outdoors will be restricted to 10 people
  • Gatherings limited to three households or fewer
  • A phased approach for wedding, funeral and similar receptions, leading to a 25-person cap in December
  • Receptions and similar events cannot take place between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m.
  • Bars and restaurants will be at 50% capacity or no more than 150 total
  • Counter service will be closed for seating
  • The restrictions go into place at 10 p.m. Friday local time

Walz said three of the most significant sources of Minnesota's Covid outbreaks were:

  • Social gatherings
  • Celebrations and receptions
  • Bars and restaurants
“Most young people are taking great precautions to protect themselves and their community,” Walz said during the news conference. “Most bars and restaurants have done a great job responding to the pandemic and keeping their customers and employees safe. But this virus is spreading like wildfire, and every gathering place is now more dangerous than it was a month ago.”

Walz said that there would be no change to religious services, saying that data has not shown a connection between services and the increased outbreaks. 

Minnesota reported 4,904 new cases Tuesday and 23 new deaths. It has a positivity rate above 10% and 2,698 people have died in total, with more than half of those deaths being in long-term care facilities.  

6:24 p.m. ET, November 10, 2020

Vaccine could be available to average Americans by April, says Fauci

From CNN's Shelby Lin Erdman and Naomi Thomas

CNN
CNN

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has predicted average Americans will be able to get vaccinated by April.

He told CNN's Jake Tapper on Tuesday that ordinary families could have access to a vaccine within the first quarter next year.

“We have a lot of people in this country who may not want to get vaccinated right away,” Fauci said. “That's why we were talking that it might take well into the second and third quarter to finally get people to be convinced to get vaccinated.”

He said that many may be persuaded by Pfizer's announcement on Monday that its Covid-19 vaccine is more than 90% effective, according to early data.

“I believe the incentive to get vaccinated will be greatly enhanced by the degree of efficacy. When you hear something is 90 to 95% effective, it makes it much more likely that someone would want to get vaccinated,” he said.

US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in an interview on NBC’s Today earlier Tuesday that he anticipated being able to vaccinate most vulnerable Americans by the end of December and all Americans by the end of March to early April. 

“The timeline is Pfizer will be producing and delivering to us approximately 20 million doses of vaccine each month, starting at the end of this month in November,” he said, adding that Moderna is also already producing its vaccine candidate. 

6:08 p.m. ET, November 10, 2020

Utah, Illinois and Montana break coronavirus records

From CNN’s Konstantin Toropin and Amanda Watts

Salt Lake County Health Department public health nurses look on during coronavirus testing outside the Salt Lake County Health Department in Salt Lake City on Friday, October 23.
Salt Lake County Health Department public health nurses look on during coronavirus testing outside the Salt Lake County Health Department in Salt Lake City on Friday, October 23. Rick Bowmer/AP/FILE

Utah, Illinois and Montana all broke records on Tuesday as cases in the United States top 10.2 million and deaths exceed 239,000.

Illinois reported its highest number of new Covid-19 cases with 12,623 infections, plus 79 more deaths, its Department of Public Health said in a statement on Tuesday. 

It is the fifth state in the US to surpass 500,000 cumulative Covid-19 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University, with 511,183 confirmed.

Utah hit record highs for its seven-day case average and test positivity percentage, according to its data dashboard. 

The state's new case average, which has been climbing since the start of October, hit 2,554. The percentage of positive tests hit 21.86% after climbing since October 11, where it had been holding steady at approximately 14%.

This weekend, Utah Governor Gary Herbert issued a declaration of a state of emergency and statewide mask mandate. Utah has reported 137,385 Covid-19 cases in total.

Montana announced 1,101 new Covid-19 cases Tuesday -- a record high for the state since the pandemic began, its data dashboard shows.

The state’s previous record daily record of 1,013 new cases was set on November 5, according to data from Johns Hopkins.

The Montana Department of Health said the state has had 41,151 Covid-19 cases and 462 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

5:52 p.m. ET, November 10, 2020

Virginia Governor "concerned" over rise in Covid-19 cases

CNN’s Nakia McNabb

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam warned the Pfizer vaccine was 'not a magic bullet.'
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam warned the Pfizer vaccine was 'not a magic bullet.' Credit: Pool

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam said he was concerned over the rise in Covid-19 cases heading into the holiday season, particularly in the southwest of the state.

Northam said the state positivity rate was 6.2%, with 1,435 new cases, while southwest Virginia was seeing 9% of tests coming back positive.

“We continue to be concerned about southwest Virginia, which has rising cases, community spread and fewer hospitals than other regions of our state,” said the governor.

Northam said the state's Department of Health was focusing a communications campaign in that region to emphasize the importance of avoiding indoor gatherings, washing hands and adhering to Virginia’s face covering mandate.

He announced that Virginia has signed contracts with three labs to participate in the state’s new One Lab network -- a system that will allow the state to increase testing capacity by an extra 7,000 tests per day by the end of the year.

Northam said the Pfizer vaccine was good news but “not a magic bullet." 

“Any approved vaccination will still take months to distribute. Virginia, like other states has spent months already preparing plans for how to equitably distribute a vaccination. When a vaccine is ready, one that is safe and effective, we will be ready in Virginia,” added the governor.
5:40 p.m. ET, November 10, 2020

Humans began virus back-and-forth on mink farms, Dutch study shows

From CNN Health’s Maggie Fox

Workers wearing personal protective equipment prepare to clean and disinfect a mink company  in Ospel, Netherlands, on July 10.
Workers wearing personal protective equipment prepare to clean and disinfect a mink company in Ospel, Netherlands, on July 10. Robin Utrecht/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images/FILE

Humans carried coronavirus onto mink farms in the Netherlands, starting a viral back and forth that ended up with 68% of fur farm workers and their associates infected, researchers reported Tuesday.

They said it was “imperative” that the fur trade should not fuel further spread of the virus into the human population, noting that densely packed conditions on such farms are ripe for amplifying the virus in ways that could help it mutate.

A team in the Netherlands ran whole genome analyses of virus samples taken from animals and people on 16 mink farms in the country -- looking at the full genetic sequence of the virus for clues about where it may have come from, how it spread and whether it was mutating.

“We conclude that the virus was initially introduced from humans and has since evolved, most likely reflecting widespread circulation among mink in the beginning of the infection period several weeks prior to detection,” the team wrote in their report, published in the journal Science.

“Despite enhanced biosecurity, early warning surveillance and immediate culling of infected farms, transmission occurred between mink farms in three big transmission clusters with unknown modes of transmission. Sixty-eight percent of the tested mink farm residents, employees and/or contacts had evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection,” they added.

People infected the animals, and the animals infected people, they found. The virus has not yet spread from the farms into the wider community and no troubling mutations have turned up so far, they added.

Danish authorities have seen spread on mink farms and mutations that are not necessarily harmful, but whose significance is not yet fully understood.

“It is imperative that fur production and trading sector should not become a reservoir for future spillover of SARS-CoV-2 to humans,” the Dutch researchers wrote.

5:25 p.m. ET, November 10, 2020

Italy records highest one-day rise in coronavirus deaths since April, with 580 fatalities

From CNN's Livia Borghese in Rome

Medical staffers stand by an ambulance at a triage checkpoint set up to ease the pressure on hospital emergency wards following the surge in Covid-19 case numbers, in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday.
Medical staffers stand by an ambulance at a triage checkpoint set up to ease the pressure on hospital emergency wards following the surge in Covid-19 case numbers, in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday. Credit: Antonio Calanni/AP

Italy recorded its highest number of daily coronavirus deaths since April 14, with 580 fatalities reported Tuesday, according to the latest Italian Health Ministry data. That brings the country's death toll to 43,233.

It also recorded a further 35,098 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to nearly one million cases, with 995,463 positive infections since the pandemic began. 

The country has 2,971 coronavirus patients in intensive care -- an increase of 122 compared to the previous day. 

Hospitals at risk: Intensive care unit (ICU) capacity is one of the parameters the Italian Health Ministry considers when declaring regions "red zones" or "orange zones" -- meaning they face tighter restrictions. Hospitals should not exceed 30% of their ICU capacity.

President of the National Health Council Franco Locatelli said during a weekly Covid-19 update that two regions -- Lombardy and Umbria -- have surpassed the 30% threshold of ICU capacity and the regions of Tuscany and Valle d’Aosta are at 29% capacity.

Virologist Giorgio Palù of Padua University said in a TV interview on Tuesday that, as Europe's second wave continues and ICUs are pushed to their limits, anesthetists are required to make difficult choices.

"Anesthetists, resuscitations, those that are on the field, are already obliged to take painful choices: who are they going to intubate and who not,” Palù said. 

The head of Italy's National Institute of Health Silvio Brusaferro, said on Tuesday that the transmission rate was "stable." Brusaferro said the epidemic curve was still growing but at a slower rate, as a result of the government's successful restrictive measures.

5:10 p.m. ET, November 10, 2020

Appeals court denies religious institutions' plea to halt restrictions on gatherings in New York state

From CNN’s Sonia Moghe

A federal appeals court on Monday denied Catholic and Jewish houses of worship’s request to halt the enforcement of New York State restrictions on gatherings due to the Covid-19 pandemic while it considered appeals cases related to the matter.  

Eight separate appeals were filed against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who issued an executive order to limit the spread of the coronavirus, which has caused more than 25,000 deaths in the state. 

The Jewish and Catholic institutions challenged the order that limits non-essential gatherings based on the severity of the outbreak in each area.

“Red zone rules:

  • Non-essential gatherings must cancel
  • Non-essential businesses must close
  • Schools must restrict in-person learning

The executive order allows houses of worship to hold services but only at 25% capacity, for a maximum of 10 people. The plaintiffs claim the executive order violates the “Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment,” the appeals court decision states. CNN has reached out to both sets of plaintiffs for comment.

The panel of judges denied the motion for an injunction while an appeal is pending in the case filed by Agudath Israel. The panel also denied the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn’s request for an injunction.

The ruling acknowledged that the executive order “burdens” the plaintiffs’ religious practices, but that the order has “greater or equal impact on schools, restaurants, and comparable secular public gatherings.” The panel said that the order treats the religious institutions “on par with or more favorably” than the secular gatherings.

The decision does not address the plaintiffs’ overall appeals cases -- only their requests to halt the restrictions while the appeals cases are considered. Arguments in the cases may be heard as early as the week of December 14, according to the ruling. 

 

4:55 p.m. ET, November 10, 2020

NFL testing window reveals a jump in Covid-19 cases

From CNN's David Close

Simon Cooper/PA Wire/AP/FILE
Simon Cooper/PA Wire/AP/FILE

The National Football League and NFL Players Association report 15 players have tested positive for Covid-19 during the latest round of league-wide testing.

The previous testing window reported just eight players testing positive for the virus. There was also a significant increase in coronavirus cases among team staff members with 41 positive tests -- up from 17 during the previous monitoring period. 

The background: The NFL’s latest monitoring window ran from November 1-7 with 42,978 tests administered to 7,922 players and personnel. Since testing began on August 1, a total of 78 players and 140 personnel have tested positive for the virus. 

4:40 p.m. ET, November 10, 2020

Trudeau pledges $61 million Covid aid to Manitoba First Nations as Canada faces "very concerning spike"

From CNN’s Evan Simko-Bednarski

CTV Network
CTV Network

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that the government is providing $61 million to support First Nations' efforts to fight Covid-19 in Manitoba as the country faces “a resurgence” of infection.

We are in the middle of a very concerning spike right now," he said.

The Manitoba First Nations funding “will support public health measures, food security, and other surge-capacity needs,” Trudeau said.

He called on provincial and territorial governments to take steps to limit the spread, including shutdowns of businesses. 

Trudeau added that he had spoken by phone with US President-Elect Joe Biden on Monday, and that the two had talked primarily about Covid-19.