November 10 coronavirus news

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:

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds told reporters Tuesday that capacity was "at risk" in the state's healthcare system following a surge in Covid-19 cases. 

Reynolds said there have been more than 21,000 new cases in the past week and the percentage of people testing positive is more than 19%, with 1,131 patients in hospital. 

While there are surge plans in place and there are still beds available, the governor said staffing had become "increasingly challenging." 

She said 42% of new cases were among 14 to 18-year-olds.  

Reynolds said she had signed a proclamation, which goes into effect Tuesday at midnight, extending the public health emergency for 30 days and imposing new restrictions.

The restrictions:

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday that he hopes US President Trump is not planning to fire him.

Trump recently suggested that he might fire Fauci after the election. Asked by MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell whether he is concerned that the President may pressure the National Institutes of Health director to fire him, Fauci said, “I hope not.”

He said that would not help with the common goal: “No matter who you are, regardless of what administration, we all want this pandemic to end.”

He said he attended a “good meeting” of the White House coronavirus task force on Monday and was now “focusing like a laser beam on the job I have of ending this epidemic and really preserving the health and the welfare of the American public.”

He said the Pfizer vaccine, along with continued public health measures, has the potential to end the pandemic.

If the vaccine is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use, Fauci said he believes doses will be available for “highest priority” people by December. 

He said he hoped that a vaccine will be given to everyone who wants and needs it “after a reasonable period of time.”

Fauci said that “a vaccine that has this potential, this together with the continuation of the public health measures, really should get us out of this very difficult situation we're into.”

He said he trusted Pfizer and the FDA to make the right decision.

Fauci said Eli Lilly's antibody treatment was an “important first step in the development and distribution of interventions that are given early in the course of disease.”

“We need more of those interventions that prevent people from going in the hospital,” Fauci added.

US Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned that cases were rising across the country on Tuesday -- but he said the news about a potential vaccine showed the “finish line is in sight.”

Adams, who spoke in South Dakota on Tuesday, said that “unfortunately we know right now the cases are going up across the nation -- they're rising particularly quickly here in South Dakota.” 

Adams said it “seems like it's been going on for forever.”

“Our intention, our hope, that we will start injecting people with vaccinations, before the end of this year, before the end of 2020,” he added. 

The mask debate: Despite South Dakota not having a statewide mask mandate, residents should do the right thing and wear a mask, Adams said.  

“You don't have a mask mandate here,” he said. “But what I would say to the people of South Dakota is, you really shouldn't need a mandate to do the right thing for your community, for your family, and for your friends.”

“There's been a lot of politics around the wearing of masks. As many of you know, even I have changed my position on masks, but that's because the science has changed.”  

He said that masks were “one of the most effective tools we have” in preventing asymptomatic spread of coronavirus.

Pennsylvania again broke its record for new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours, reporting an additional 4,361 in a news release Tuesday. 

The state also added 62 new deaths, according to the department of health release. Pennsylvania has now reported 238,657 cases and 9,086 deaths.

There are 1,827 coronavirus patients in state hospitals, with 393 of them in intensive care. 

Behind the numbers: Mask-wearing is mandatory in Pennsylvania outside the home. The state has seen significant increases in the number of Covid-19 cases among younger age groups, particularly 19 to 24-year-olds, according to the department.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf commended President-elect Joe Biden and his coronavirus task force in a statement Tuesday.

The governor praised Biden for “the team he has put together to lead the country out of this very difficult period,” which Wolf said included some of the country's most respected public health experts, including two Philadelphia-area physicians.

“We need leadership that is consistent and committed to ending this pandemic, to saving lives and livelihoods, and to making decisions based on facts and science,” Wolf said.

A lower dose of Eli Lilly’s monoclonal antibody treatment will work just fine to help coronavirus patients, a top government official said Tuesday.

Dr. Janet Woodcock said she was confident that the dose to be distributed to Covid-19 patients will be enough to help them.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave an emergency use authorization (EUA) for a 700 milligram dose -- the lowest dose given to patients in a trial used as the basis for the EUA.

The results of the trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in October, showed that patients on all doses were less likely to need hospital treatment and had fewer symptoms than patients given placebos. But it also showed patients given a middle dose of 2,800 mg cleared the virus more quickly than those given higher or lower doses.

Woodcock, a former top FDA official who is now therapeutics lead for Operation Warp Speed, said that did not matter.

She told a news conference that the dose level was the FDA’s decision, but said that the study showed that patients had fewer hospitalizations at every level.

The goal with these treatments is to stop the progression of the disease, Woodcock said. Intervening early with monoclonal antibodies should keep patients out of hospital. 

The US government anticipates “challenges” in distributing Eli Lilly and Company’s cutting-edge Covid-19 monoclonal antibody therapy bamlanivimab, Dr. Janet Woodcock, therapeutics lead for Operation Warp Speed, said Tuesday. 

The therapy was given emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration on Monday.

The drug doesn’t come in pill form but requires an IV infusion over an hour, with another hour needed afterwards to observe the patient for poor reactions. The government requires it to be given to patients in settings where they can be monitored and emergency drugs are available.

Woodcock said Lilly and HHS have been making plans to help set up infusion centers and that distribution will require multiple different solutions.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar said that distribution will begin this week and the treatment will be free of charge.

The US government has a contract for 300,000 doses of the therapy through December with the option to purchase another 650,000 through next June. There are 80,000 doses currently available, Azar said.

How the treatment will be allocated: A HHS Public Health Emergency dashboard shows where the first shipments are going. States with the most confirmed Covid-19 patients, and those with the most hospitalized patients, will be given priority.  

Bamlanivimab will be allocated in two phases, Dr. John Redd of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday. 

In phase one, states and territories will allocate the antibody treatment to hospitals and hospital-affiliated locations, Redd said. Phase two will include more outpatient sites. 

The treatment will also be allocated in phase one to the Department of Defense, the Veterans Health Administration, the Indian Health Service, the Bureau of Prison and the Department of State.