September 17 coronavirus news | CNN

September 17 coronavirus news

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College students' lives curtailed due to coronavirus
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What you need to know

  • Vaccine timeline: Even if a vaccine for Covid-19 was released now, it would take six to nine months for enough people to receive it to create immunity, the US CDC director said.
  • Global toll: Worldwide coronavirus cases have surpassed 30 million, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally. The US, India and Brazil together account for more than 50% of the world’s Covid-19 cases.
  • New restrictions in Europe: Wales locked down one of its biggest regions, and France closed more than 80 schools after a jump in Covid-19 cases. Madrid announced new restrictions following an uptick in infections.

Our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic has moved here.

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More than a quarter of young adults with coronavirus developed pneumonia, study finds

More than a quarter of young adults infected with coronavirus have developed pneumonia, a study by South Korean researchers has found.

Their study of 315 patients aged 18 to 39 at six hospitals in February and March found 26% of them had pneumonia. In South Korea, everyone who tested positive for coronavirus, even those with no symptoms, were hospitalized early in the pandemic.  

Of the patients with pneumonia, 23% still had abnormal chest x-rays 10 days after their first diagnosis, the researchers said. And one patient who did not have symptoms at first later developed pneumonia.

While young adults are less likely than older people to develop severe coronavirus symptoms, the researchers said their findings show the infection can be serious even in healthy young adults.

More than half of coronavirus patients have persistent fatigue, study finds

Medical staff at a Covid-19 testing center at Keadeen Hotel following the spate of outbreaks in Kildare, Ireland.

More than half of coronavirus patients suffer persistent fatigue, no matter how sick they were, a team of researchers in Ireland has found.

According to their study of 128 former Covid-19 patients, 52% of respondents said they still suffered fatigue 10 weeks after they were clinically recovered.

It didn’t matter if the patients had been admitted to the hospital, needed oxygen or needed critical care treatment, the team at Trinity College in Dublin said in a summary written for next week’s meeting of the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Conference on Coronavirus Disease.

Just over half the patients studied were admitted to the hospital.

Crown Prince of Bahrain receives injection as part of phase 3 Covid-19 vaccine trials

Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa stands at attention upon his arrival for a meeting with Italy's prime minister on February 3, in Rome.

Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa has received a coronavirus vaccine injection as part of the phase 3 trials underway in the country, according to state media.

Sinopharm, a Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical company, launched a phase 3 trial of its coronavirus vaccine in the United Arab Emirates in June in partnership with G42.

Al-Khalifa is among 6,000 volunteers participating in the trials “selected from those who meet the required medical criteria,” according to the report.

“I was privileged to stand together with our vaccine volunteers, each one of them determined to play their part in working to protect others, not just at home in our Kingdom, but right across the globe,” al-Khalifa was quoted as saying.

"Women are bearing the brunt of the Covid crisis," UN official says

Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of UNFPA, speaks during a news conference on April 10, in Berlin, Germany.

The United Nations estimates that millions of women and girls are “bearing the brunt” of the Covid-19 pandemic due to increases in cases of violence, disruptions in sexual and reproductive health services, income disruptions and stress faced by frontline workers.

At the beginning of the pandemic, UNPF projected that six months of interruptions in family planning supplies could lead to 47 million women in developing countries being unable to use modern contraceptives, “thereby leading to 7 million unintended pregnancies,” Kanem said.

Rising domestic violence: Some shelters for women affected by violence also have been shuttered. UNFPA projections estimate 31 million additional cases of violence against women and girls during a period of six months. Rates of femicide – the gender-based murder of a woman or girl by a man – have doubled in certain countries, according to Kanem. 

“UNFPA sees gender-based violence as a crisis within the bigger crisis of the pandemic,” Kanem said. “I’m sorry to tell you that in far too many places, those predictions have absolutely become a reality.”

On the front lines: Additionally, “women are bearing the brunt of the Covid crisis in more ways than one because women are on the frontlines of the crisis. The heroes that we are celebrating, 70% of these human beings are female, and that’s true across the health and social service workforce globally,” Kanem said.

“These are the people who are more likely to lose their source of income and less likely to be covered by social protection measures,” Kanem said, adding that the pandemic had laid bare “the very severe and systemic inequality that was under the tip of the iceberg.”

Covid-19 pandemic may have plunged 150 million children into poverty, report says

This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. 

The Covid-19 pandemic appears to have led to a 15% increase in the number of children around the world living in poverty, according to a new report from UNICEF, the United Nations’ Children’s Fund, and the nonprofit Save the Children. 

The organizations noted on Thursday that this rise in poverty represents an additional 150 million children not having adequate access to education, housing, nutrition, health services, sanitation or water – making the global number of children in poverty now nearly 1.2 billion. 

The report is based on data from almost 80 countries. 

Safety concerns: Additionally, poverty can have a significant impact on the wellbeing and safety of women and children.

“We shouldn’t rush to think that only poor people face gender-based violence. That has been disproven over and over. But what is true is the availability of services, and the availability of space,” Dr. Natalia Kanem, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund, told reporters during a virtual meeting hosted by the UN Foundation on Thursday.

“Sometimes the situation turns volatile, because we’re all cooped in there together,” Kanem said. “The idea of a woman being in a stressful situation – she may have lost her employment, her partner, whatever. The children too can be victimized by that type of a situation. That’s the real worry.”

Global coronavirus cases surpass 30 million  

A doctor from the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians in Saxony holds a corona virus test in her hands at Dresden International Airport in Germany on Thursday, September 17.

At least 30,003,378 cases of Covid-19 have now been recorded globally, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally of cases Thursday. 

The bleak milestone comes nine months after initial cases were first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in mid-December, before continuing to spread across the globe.  

The world recorded 1 million cases more than three months later, on April 2. The tally hit 10 million cases on June 28 and took just twelve weeks to triple the figure. 

The global death toll stands at 943,203. 

Grim distinction: The United States leads with the most Covid-19 infections and deaths worldwide. There are at least 6,669,322 cases and 197,554 deaths from the disease in the country, according to the university’s count.

The US, India and Brazil together account for over 50% of the world’s coronavirus cases, the university’s figures show. 

Here's what the US Surgeon General says we have learned from the pandemic so far

Vice Admiral Jerome Adams, the U.S. Surgeon General, arrives to tour the new federally funded COVID-19 testing site at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium on July 23 in Miami.

There have been more than 6 million cases of Covid-19 in the United States as states work to get infections under control and pharmaceutical companies race to find a vaccine.

But, US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said the country can aim to get the virus under control now — even before a vaccine is approved.

“Look at New York City. They’ve gone from worst in the world to a less than 1% positivity rate for several weeks, ongoing,” he said during an event hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

Adams said the country has seen more medical advances in the past eight months than in the last decade.

 “I’m hopeful that with what we’ve learned about the virus, with the resources we have in place, and with the prospect of a vaccine on the horizon, plus drugs like remdesivir, convalescent plasma already available, that we’re getting a handle on this virus,” he said.

The surgeon general noted that he hopes the country can drive down hospitalizations and deaths through basic public health measures.

Here’s what else he said the virus has taught us:

This flu season is going to be important: A surge in flu and Covid-19 cases at once could overwhelm health care system capacity, Adams said, adding that this period of time provides an opportunity to instill vaccine education and confidence in communities.

“We need to understand that, number one, the biggest predictor of who’s going to get the Covid vaccine is going to be, I think, who gets the flu vaccine,” Adams said. “It’s an opportunity to prime the pump and have that conversation.”

Adams noted that flu symptoms are similar to Covid-19 symptoms, making it hard to tell the two apart. 

“Every flu positive that is a Covid false alarm has the potential to disrupt your workplace,” he said.

Adams said employers can make sure people have access to the flu vaccine and encourage them to get it.

The pandemic has “exploited” health disparities: Adams said people of color have been hit harder by the Covid-19 pandemic, pointing to higher hospitalization rates for Hispanic people, American Indians and Alaskan Natives, and African Americans compared to people who are White.

Adams said structural conditions contribute to the disparities.

“Social distancing and teleworking are critical to preventing spread of coronavirus, yet only one in five African Americans and one in six Hispanic Americans have a job that allows him to work from home,” said Adams. 

“We know people of color are more likely to live in densely packed urban areas, and in multi-generational homes. They’re also more likely to use public transportation. Combined, these and other factors create a greater risk for spread of a highly contagious disease like COVID-19,” he added.

Trump and CDC director are not in "substantial" disagreement over vaccine timeline, Fauci says

There’s no substantial disagreement between President Trump and the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the timeline for a coronavirus vaccine, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday.

Fauci said Trump and CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield were “essentially” right Wednesday when they each gave what seemed like a different timeline for a potential coronavirus vaccine said Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Redfield told a Senate hearing that it would likely be the second or third quarter of next year – that means late spring or summer – before widespread vaccination could be underway in the US. Asked about this during a news conference later in the day, Trump said Redfield “made a mistake” and was “confused.” He said a vaccine will be available soon, possibly as early as next month.

Fauci did not see a big conflict.

Fauci also addressed Trump’s claim that a Covid-19 vaccine would be available next month.

“What the President was saying is that it is entirely conceivable that we will have an answer by October,” he said. “My projection is that it would likely be November or December. We don’t know. We’re just going to have to wait to see.”

Read the latest on the race for a coronavirus vaccine here.

Could you get more stimulus money? Here's the latest on the debate over a second round of federal aid.

Congress has been trying to agree on a new federal stimulus plan to help Americans during the pandemic.

Here’s what we know and where things stand:

  • House Democrats passed a sweeping new Covid-19 stimulus bill in May with a price tag expected to be more than $3 trillion. The legislation would provide funding for state and local governments, coronavirus testing, and a new round of direct payments.
  • Senate Republicans – not wanting to spend that much – announced a $1 trillion proposal in July, which included a $400 cut in enhanced unemployment benefits. That plan never came to the floor for a vote following opposition within the GOP. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and GOP senators spent the month of August in private discussions trying to find unity behind a plan roughly half the size of their last proposal.
  • Since then, Democrats have offered to drop their top-line demand to $2.2 trillion, but the White House and Senate Republicans have rejected that. Instead, Senate Republicans attempted unsuccessfully to pass a scaled-back, roughly $500 billion proposal last week, a measure that Democrats blocked. The narrower Senate bill offered $300 per week in federal unemployment insurance through December 27, and did not include money for a second round of direct stimulus checks to Americans. The Senate legislation would’ve allowed some small businesses to apply for a second loan under the Paycheck Protection Program.
  • This week a bipartisan group of House members on Tuesday announced a $2 trillion proposal. It is meant to jump-start talks between leaders of both parties and the White House.

The timeline: With fewer than two months until the election, the odds for a massive stimulus compromise sooner than that is very unlikely.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell put it this way: “I wish I could tell you we were going to get another package but it doesn’t look that good right now.”

With reporting from CNN’s Alex Rogers, Phil Mattingly, Clare Foran and Manu Raju

More than 197,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the US

There are at least 6,650,570 cases of coronavirus in the US and at least 197,244 people have died from the virus in the country, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally of cases.

So far on Thursday, Johns Hopkins has reported 20,519 new cases and 481 reported deaths.

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

What you need to know today about the race for a coronavirus vaccine

A health worker in Hollywood, Florida, injects someone during clinical trials for a Covid-19 vaccine on September 9.

There’s been a lot of news lately about a possible coronavirus vaccine, as researchers around the world continue their work.

If you’re just reading in now, here’s what we know about the race for a potential vaccine:

  • Vaccine concerns persist: Only 51% of Americans surveyed now say they would get a coronavirus vaccine, a 21 point drop from May, the Pew Research Center said Thursday. The survey found that 51% will “definitely or probably” get a Covid-19 vaccine if available today, down from 72% in May. 
  • It could be mid-2021 before the US sees vaccine results… Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a Senate hearing yesterday that the American public could expect to start seeing results from widespread coronavirus vaccination in the second or third quarter of 2021. Even if a vaccine for Covid-19 was released today, it would take six to nine months for enough people to receive it to create immunity, he said.
  • …But Trump disputes that timeline: Later in the day, the President told reporters Redfield was “confused” when he said that. “I think he made a mistake when he said that. It’s just incorrect information,” Trump said.
  • Vaccine efficiency depends on how many people get it: If not enough Americans get a Covid-19 vaccine whenever it becomes available, it won’t help reduce the spread of the deadly virus, Dr. Anthony Fauci said. Even a third of Americans getting vaccinated against the coronavirus won’t be enough, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said.
  • Wealthy countries have already bought up the expected vaccine: For when a vaccine does arrive, rich nations including the United States, Britain and Japan have already bought up more than half the expected supply. That’s about 51% of available vaccines for about 13% of the world’s population.

Canada's new positive Covid-19 cases double in less than a month as officials ramp up restrictions

People line up to be tested for Covid-19 at a testing center in Toronto on Sunday, September 13.

Despite widespread mask-wearing and testing, Canada is seeing a rising Covid-19 case count with leaders imposing new restrictions on social gatherings. 

New positive Covid-19 cases have doubled in Canada in less than a month with 952 cases reported Wednesday. While this represents about a quarter of new cases, per capita, reported by the US Wednesday, the doubling trend over the past month is a “cause for concern,” according to public health officials. 

The vast majority of cases are in people under the age of 40 and although hospitalizations remain low, Canadian officials have started imposing new restrictions in recent days. 

According to government data, Canada’s positivity rate remains low at 1.4%, however, less than a month ago the positivity rate was at just 1%. 

How the government is responding: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday his government is stepping up with millions more in funding for provinces to combat the virus with more testing and contact tracing. 

On Thursday, the province of Ontario announced new restrictions on social gatherings in the Toronto area and Ottawa, the nation’s capital. 

Private, social gatherings in those regions will now be restricted to 10 people indoors, 25 outdoors although the restrictions do now apply to places like bars and restaurants, movie theaters, gyms and notably schools. 

Public health officials say those businesses and venues have not been associated with a dramatic increase in cases. Rather, it’s private parties and gatherings with friends and family which have led to the rise in cases. 

Ontario will now impose some of the most severe fines in North America for offenders with a $7,500 minimum fine for the host and jail time a possibility. 

“This is to send a message for the reckless, careless people who want to hold these parties and put their neighbors and community in jeopardy, so just follow the rules,” said Ford adding, “They must be a few fries short of a happy meal, these people.”

Other impacted areas: The province of Quebec is also coping with a rise in cases, especially in Montreal. Public health officials say there is no definitive evidence of a second wave just yet but that the trend is worrying. 

Quebec has been imposing new but moderate restrictions in recent days, like banning karaoke, responsible for one of the worst outbreaks in the province in recent weeks. But health officials say they are still reluctant to go further with new restrictions at this point. 

“We have to have some stability in the data through time to be able to have an adequate appreciation of things because if you react to a peak and the next day it goes back down, you will have over reacted, it’s like using a cannon to kill a fly,” said Dr. Horacio Arruda, Quebec’s director of public health, during a news conference Thursday. 

CDC forecast now projects up to 218,000 total US coronavirus-related deaths by Oct. 10

An ensemble forecast published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now projects there will be 207,000 to 218,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States by Oct. 10.

Unlike some individual models, the CDC’s ensemble forecast only offers projections a few weeks into the future. The previous ensemble forecast, published Sept. 10, projected up to 217,000 coronavirus deaths by Oct. 3.

At least 197,244 people have already died from Covid-19 in the United States, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Here's how US schools and colleges are responding to the pandemic

University of Idaho students line up for a Covid-19 test on Wednesday, August 13, outside the Student Recreation Center in Moscow, Idaho.

Schools and universities are coping with augmented learning styles as Covid-19 infections continue to be reported on campuses around the US.

Here’s the latest on schools and universities around the country:

  • New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio delayed in-person openings at K-5 and K-8 schools until Sept. 29.
  • Since move-in started at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in late August, more than 2,000 students have tested positive for Covid-19, CNN reported. The campus positivity rate is right around 10%.
  • Baltimore City Public Schools are struggling with virtual class attendance after the first week of school, schools CEO Sonja Santelises said Wednesday in an interview.
  • Almost 30 teenagers have to quarantine after a child was sent to Attleboro High School in Massachusetts despite knowing they were positive with Covid-19, according to Attleboro Public Schools and the town’s mayor.

Baltimore schools are struggling with virtual attendance during the pandemic

Baltimore City Public Schools are struggling with virtual class attendance after the first week of school, Schools CEO Sonja Santelises said Wednesday in an interview with non-affiliate WYPR Baltimore Public Radio. 

Andre Riley, a Baltimore City Public Schools spokesperson, told CNN that since students were able to virtually attend classes without logging on, the 65% figure may not be accurate. He said that, going forward, all students would be required to log on in order to attend class. 

Santelises said that unexpected shipping delays meant the district was still waiting on at least 10,000 devices to ensure all students had access to virtual classes.

“We know that there are families at each school that are still awaiting the arrival of devices,” she said. “We’re hoping by the end of September we’ll be caught up.”

The district lists its enrollment at 79,187 students citywide.

CNN is seeking additional clarity on the district’s attendance policy and implementation.

WATCH:

How New York City is trying to speed up Covid-19 test results

A sign directs people to a Covid-19 testing site on September 14 in the Brooklyn borough of New York.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the launch of the “Pandemic Response Lab” — also known as PRL — which will be dedicated to speeding up the return rate of Covid-19 tests for NYC Health and Hospitals.

The lab will be dedicated to processing tests within 24 to 48 hours and will process approximately 20,000 tests per day by November.

“The City has drastically improved turnaround times for COVID-19 tests, with over 80% of tests coming back within 72 hours or less, according to new metrics,” it added.

The new lab will also create 150 new jobs.

Some European countries are reporting coronavirus spikes

A woman walks in downtown Lisbon, Portugal, on Tuesday, September 15.

The World Health Organization has warned that a “very serious situation” is unfolding in Europe, as “alarming rates of transmission” of the coronavirus surge across the continent.

Weekly cases are now exceeding those reported in March — when the pandemic first peaked, WHO Regional Director Hans Kluge said during a news conference on Thursday.

Here’s a look at some of the European countries reporting increases in coronavirus cases recently:

  • Portugal reported 770 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, the highest daily increase since April 10. The country’s health authorities also reported 10 deaths, the highest single-day death toll from Covid-19 since July 9.
  • The number of people testing positive for Covid-19 in England has risen by 167% since the end of August, the national public health body reported today. Positive cases have been rising since the start of July and are now double the number recorded when the country’s Test and Trace initiative launched on May 28. 
  • On Saturday, France recorded more than 10,000 new cases of coronavirus for the first time since the start of the pandemic. 
  • At least 1,210 Covid-19 cases were recorded in Italy on Sunday — the highest figure since May 12, according to government data. That spike came after 1,071 cases were recorded Saturday.

Trump contradicted the CDC director on masks and vaccines. He isn't considering resigning, official says.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield appears at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Wednesday in Washington.

Despite President Trump appearing to undermine him on the issues of masks and vaccine timing, Dr. Robert Redfield has given no indications that he might resign — or has even considered resigning — as the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a federal health official close to the situation tells CNN.

The official said Redfield is “taking it in stride” and focused on the work at hand, a day after Trump’s comments at the briefing.

What this is all about: Redfield said in a Senate hearing yesterday that the American public could expect to start seeing results from widespread coronavirus vaccination in the second or third quarter of 2021. Even if a vaccine for Covid-19 was released today, it would take six to nine months for enough people to receive it to create immunity, he said.

Later in the day, the President told reporters Redfield was “confused” when he said that. “I think he made a mistake when he said that. It’s just incorrect information,” Trump said.

Redfield also said masks may be a more effective protection against coronavirus than any potential vaccine that the President can’t stop hyping. “”I might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against Covid than when I take a Covid vaccine, because the immunogenicity may be 70%. And if I don’t get an immune response, the vaccine is not going to protect me. This face mask will,” he said.

Later, the President said Redfield’s comments were incorrect and that Redfield may have misunderstood the question.

“Maybe he misunderstood it,” Trump said, later adding, “As far as the masks are concerned, I hope that the vaccine is going to be a lot more beneficial than the masks.”

John King reports:

Mumbai police bans people from traveling across the city as Covid-19 cases mount

People spend time outside on the Arabian Sea coast in Mumbai, on Thursday, September 17.

Mumbai’s police department issued fresh orders today prohibiting movement of people across the city as Covid-19 continues to spread.  

What the order does: The order prohibits any movement in containment zones – sections of the city which are considered hotspots – except for essential activities. For the rest of the city, certain exemptions to the latest order will be in place. A list issued by the state government gives exemption to certain operations, including government offices, service providers, banks, ports and essential service providers. 

The order will go into effect by midnight local time on Friday and will continue until the end of September. It will be applicable to the city of Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra state. 

Maharashtra has recorded more than 1.1 million cases, including 30,883 deaths since the start of the pandemic. 

New York City mayor delays in-person learning for most students

A classroom at Yung Wing School P.S. 124 in New York is pictured on September 8.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio delayed K-5 and K-8 school’s in-person openings until Sept. 29.

The mayor also delayed middle and high schools’ in-person learning until Oct. 1.

Meanwhile, 3-K, Pre-K and District 75 schools, which serve special education kids, will open for in person learning as planned on Sept. 21.

The decision came in coordination with teacher union leaders.

READ MORE

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Federal government details plans to distribute free Covid-19 vaccines
Biden: ‘We can’t allow politics to interfere with the vaccine in any way’
More than half of businesses that closed during the pandemic won’t reopen

READ MORE

A 9-year-old who’s been battling coronavirus for 6 months says the illness is a big deal
Federal government details plans to distribute free Covid-19 vaccines
Biden: ‘We can’t allow politics to interfere with the vaccine in any way’
More than half of businesses that closed during the pandemic won’t reopen