November 3 coronavirus news

The Wisconsin Badgers raise their helmets prior to kickoff on November 24th, 2018 at the Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, WI.

The University of Wisconsin has canceled its second football game due to a rising number of Covid-19 cases within the program. 

The game against Purdue University, which was due to take place Saturday, will not be rescheduled.

The school said that five more members of the football program – three student-athletes and two staff members – have tested positive since October 31. This increases the total number of active cases within the team to 27 – 15 players and 12 staffers. 

All 27 positive tests have come since October 24. The Badgers have indefinitely paused team activities since October 28, canceling a scheduled game against Nebraska on October 31.

The Wisconsin team’s next scheduled game is Saturday, November 14, at the University of Michigan.

The Badgers remain 1-0 for the 2020 season and are ranked 10th nationally.

Arizona’s number of hospitalizations for Covid-19 patients has climbed to its highest level since August, according to the state’s health department. 

The latest report shows that 956 patients are hospitalized with the virus, with 227 of those in intensive care. The total number of patients hospitalized as of Tuesday morning is the highest in the state since August 25, when 967 patients were in the hospital, according to the dashboard. 

The state’s dashboard shows that 15% of the state’s ICU beds are available while the inpatient adult bed availability stands at 16%. 

The state reports 1,679 new Covid-19 cases, taking the total number of cases to 249,818, the dashboard shows.

Arizona Department of Health Services is reporting 38 new deaths due to the virus, bringing the total number of deaths to 6,020.

People wait in a line to get tested for COVID-19 at an urgent care clinic in Newark, New Jersey on October 26.

New Jersey reported 1,832 new cases of Covid-19 and 18 new deaths Tuesday, according to its Covid-19 dashboard.

It has reported more than 1,000 coronavirus cases a day for the past two weeks, the state’s Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said in a news conference Monday. 

The state has now reported a total of 242,825 cases and 14,582 confirmed deaths.

There are 1,113 people hospitalized due to Covid-19 in New Jersey. Of those currently in the hospital, 216 are in intensive care units and 78 are on ventilators. 

Pennsylvania reported its highest daily increase of Covid-19 cases to date on election day, according to its health department. 

The state added 2,875 new cases as of midnight, bringing the statewide total to 214,871, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said in a press release.

This is the 29th time the state has reported more than 1,000 new cases of the virus in a day. 

There were 32 additional deaths reported, bringing the total to 8,885, the health department said.

Health Secretary Rachel Levine yesterday emphasized that in-person voting remains safe, and recommended that voters bring a “Covid kit” – a mask, a pen, and hand sanitizer – to the polls. She said any voter under quarantine should contact Pennsylvania’s Department of State to make voting arrangements. 

Maine had its highest single-day jump in Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, according to the state’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The state had 127 new cases on Monday – beating the previous record of 103, which was set on Friday – according to Maine CDC spokesman Robert Long.

Maine has responded by lowering indoor gathering limits and postponing bar re-openings, among other restrictions, the governor added.

The state’s seven-day positivity rate doubled over the past week to 1.06%, according to Mills.

Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services reported five new hospitalizations due to Covid-19, with 29 people hospitalized in total.

A tester prepares to administer a swab test at a drive-in COVID-19 testing site in Federal Heights, Colorado, on October 27.

Colorado’s health department released a new public health order on Monday intended to clarify and streamline guidance, according to a news release. 

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CPDHE) has been communicating the severity and risk of Covid-19 in the state through both a color-coded dial and numbered “Safer at Home” levels.

Now the two systems will be combined and the numbers removed. The change is “intended to be more easily understood by Coloradans already accustomed to … color-coded warning systems,” according to the guidelines.

The state designates color codes by county, according to the CPDHE website. 

The new guidelines:

The guidelines, which go into effect at midnight on Tuesday, also designate pre-schools and K-12 schools as “Critical Businesses.” 

Dubai leader Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid al-Maktoum receives a dose of what is thought to be a coronavirus vaccine that is currently in clinical trials.

The Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has been given a coronavirus vaccine shot, according to state media.

Al-Maktoum shared a photograph on Twitter, showing him receiving the shot from a medical worker. It is not clear which vaccination shot he was given.

“We wish everyone safety and great health, and we are proud of our teams who have worked relentlessly to make the vaccine available in the UAE,” said al-Maktoum on Twitter.

In June, the UAE and China announced the launch of Phase 3 clinical trials for a Covid-19 vaccine developed by China’s state-owned Sinopharm pharmaceutical company. According to UAE state media in June, 31,000 volunteers took the vaccine.

The United Arab Emirates has approved the Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use for frontline workers, according to the country’s health minister.

“Studies show that the vaccine is efficient and safe and showed a positive response in generating antibodies,” Minister of Health and Prevention Abdul Rahman al-Owais said in September. 

The UAE Ministry of Health reported 1,008 new coronavirus cases and six deaths on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases there to 136,149, and the death toll to 503.

Healthcare workers transfer a COVID-19 patient in a biocontainment stretcher at the emergency room of San Filippo Neri Hospital on October 29 in Rome, Italy.

Italy could run out of intensive care unit beds by the end of November, if Covid-19 cases continue to increase at the current rate, the President of the Italian Association of Doctors, Filippo Anelli, said on Monday.

Italian doctors are concerned that “this second wave is not a storm, but a tsunami that could overwhelm the health system,” said Anelli, adding that doctors are asking the government to implement more aggressive anti-coronavirus measures. 

According to the doctors’ association, 184 of the country’s doctors have died since the start of the pandemic.

Italy has recorded a total of 731,588 coronavirus cases and 39,059 deaths, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.

There are at least 9,297,353 cases of Covid-19 in the US, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

According to JHU, at least 231,599 people have died of coronavirus in the country to date.

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

The US has the highest Covid-19 case count in the world.

CNN is tracking the spread of coronavirus across the US here:

New York City’s seven-day average of new coronavirus cases is “cause for concern,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Tuesday.

The city recorded 605 new cases on a seven-day average.

“We are watching that very carefully,” de Blasio said. “Some of that again is because of a lot more testing, but it’s still cause for concern.”

The daily number of people admitted to hospital with Covid-19 in New York City is at 83.

Meanwhile, the percentage of people who tested positive for Covid-19 across the city is “clearly aberrant” at 0.38%, Mayor de Blasio said. 

“We’ve seen that from time to time when surprisingly low number of test results have come in for the day. That can vary by day, that number will change and go upwards as more test results come in,” said de Blasio, adding that the truest number is the 7-day rolling average, which is at 1.59%.

New York – once the epicenter of the pandemic as the largest and densest city in the US – began gradually reopening in June. 

In total, New York City has recorded 256,881 coronavirus cases, 19,355 confirmed deaths and 4,662 “probable deaths” related to Covid-19, according to figures released Monday by the city’s public health agency.

Intensive care units in the Belgian capital, Brussels, hit maximum capacity on Monday night, meaning all new patients will have to be sent to hospitals in other parts of the country for treatment, the city’s health inspectorate has announced.

There are 1,302 patients in intensive care units across Belgium – a record high. The previous high was during the first wave of coronavirus in the spring, when Belgium reported 1,285 patients in intensive care on April 8.

There are currently 7,231 patients with Covid-19 in hospitals across Belgium – also a record high.

An average of 586 people have been admitted to hospital each day over the past two weeks.

In the city of Brussels alone there are 1,175 people in hospital with Covid-19 – 188 of whom are receiving intensive care.

Three coronavirus patients were transferred from Liege in Belgium to German hospitals in Munster and Bonn earlier on Tuesday, the spokesperson for the German Presidency of the EU said on social media. 

Meanwhile, Switzerland’s intensive care units could reach capacity in five days, Virginie Massere, the country’s head of infection control, warned Tuesday

Massere was speaking after hospitalizations in the country doubled over the past week, according to data from the Swiss Federal Office for Public Health.

There are currently 363 people in intensive care in Switzerland, meaning 45% of the country’s ICU beds are full, according to Masserey.

Over the weekend Switzerland recorded 21,926 new cases of coronavirus, according to the Federal Office for Public Health. A further 6,126 new cases were recorded Tuesday.

Masserey said Switzerland was witnessing a “small slowdown in the number of cases” but that it was still too early to see the results of new coronavirus restrictions announced by the government on October 28.

Dr. Deborah Birx sounded an alarming note about the state of the coronavirus in an internal White House report, warning that the US was entering its “most deadly phase” yet, one that requires “much more aggressive action,” according to The Washington Post.

The dire warning from Birx, a member of the White House’s coronavirus task force, is at odds with public comments made by President Donald Trump in the closing days of the presidential election campaign. Trump is falsely claiming that the US is “turning the corner” on the pandemic, while pressuring Democratic governors to open their states despite surging cases nationwide.

In her report, Birx calls for “much more aggressive action from messaging, to testing, to surging personnel around the country before the crisis point,” the Post reported. She notes that the country will see more than 100,000 new cases a day this week, according to the Post.

Read more:

Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx listens as US President Donald Trump speaks during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC on April 20, 2020. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Washington Post: Birx disputes Trump in calling for 'much more aggressive action' to combat pandemic

A health worker tests a teacher for COVID-19 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Tuesday, October 13.

Argentina expects to buy 25 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine between December and January, President Alberto Fernández has announced on Twitter. 

Fernández previously appointed two government officials to travel to Russia to learn more about the vaccine’s progress, and to check that all the right steps are followed in order to “ensure that it is properly registered,” the president added in a series of tweets.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which has funded the vaccine’s production, has announced deals to supply hundreds of millions of doses of Sputnik-V to countries around the world.

The CEO of RDIF, Kirill Dmitriev, said on Monday that the vaccine supplies for Argentina “will be produced by RDIF partners in India, Korea, China and a number of other countries that are setting up a production of the Russian vaccine,” according to a statement.

In October, Dmitriev announced that RDIF expected to begin sending shipments to Latin America in December.

Argentina reported 9,598 new Covid-19 infections on Monday evening, bringing the country’s total case count to 1,183,131. Its death toll reached 31,623 on Monday, according to the Health Ministry.

The country has the third-highest number of confirmed cases in Latin America, following Brazil and Colombia, according to John Hopkins University data.

It’s Election Day in the United States and the nation’s 7-day average of new daily coronavirus cases is at a peak – 83,806 – according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.

Several battleground states are seeing their highest averages of new cases, according to Johns Hopkins University. Hospitalizations are surging across many swing states, data from The Covid Tracking Project shows.

Here is a quick look at how each key battleground state is dealing with Covid-19:   

Arizona  

Arizona is averaging 1,311 new Covid-19 cases a day. New cases are up 30% from last week, according to Johns Hopkins University, and hospitalizations are surging, according to The Covid Tracking Project. Arizona is averaging 884 hospitalizations a day, up 7.5% from last week. Arizona has no statewide mask mandate in place.   

Florida

Florida is averaging 4,293 new Covid-19 cases a day. New cases are up 19% from last week, according to Johns Hopkins University. Florida has now averaged more than 1,000 new daily cases for 150 days in a row, since June 6. The state has the third highest cumulative case count and the fourth highest death count in the nation, according to JHU. Florida has no statewide mask mandate.       

Michigan

Michigan is at a peak for new cases, reporting roughly 3,522 new infections a day over the last seven days – up 59% from last week. Hospitalizations across the state are nowhere near their height back in April, but they have surpassed 1,000 a day since mid-October, according to The Covid Tracking Project. On Monday, 1,966 people across the state were being treated in hospital for coronavirus – the highest number since May. Michigan requires face masks to be worn in public places statewide.    

North Carolina

North Carolina has reported roughly 2,327 new cases a day over the past seven days – up 12% from last week. Hospitalizations average 1,176 patients a day, according to The Covid Tracking Project. The state’s governor says North Carolina will remain in Phase 3 of reopening as cases and hospitalizations rise. North Carolina requires face masks to be worn in public places statewide.       

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is averaging 2,285 new coronavirus cases a day, according to JHU. This is the highest new daily cases ever been – up 24% from last week. Hospitalizations have been sharply increasing across the state since the end of September, according to The Covid Tracking Project. The state is averaging 1,245 current hospitalizations – up 19% from last week. Pennsylvania requires face masks to be worn in public places statewide.       

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is averaging 4,464 new cases a day – up 15% from last week, according to JHU data. Deaths across the state are also at their highest since the pandemic began, with an average of 37 deaths a day over the last seven days. Hospitalizations in the state are also the highest they have been since the start of the pandemic – a seven-day average of 1,478 patients, up 19% from last week. Wisconsin requires face masks to be worn in public places statewide. 

Track Covid-19 cases in the US here:

Hungary is considering tightening its Covid-19 restrictions, after the country reported a record 3,989 cases and 84 deaths in the past 24 hours. 

Ministers are weighing up the prospect of reintroducing the same lockdown measures as those in place during the first wave of the virus.

The government is closely watching Austria’s response to the virus, according to a statement on its website. Austria entered a second, partial lockdown on Tuesday.

Hungary’s family affairs minister Katalin Novák said the similarities between the neighboring countries mean the government expects the epidemiological situation in both to be similar, adding that circumstances are expected become “more dramatic” in Hungary in the coming days.

Hungary, which has a population of 9.7 million, has 358.3 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people as of Monday, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. 

Hospitality businesses, universities and cultural venues such as libraries and theatres are currently open across Hungary. Masks are mandatory in public places, and visits to care homes are banned. 

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen postponed a parliamentary question time session on Tuesday after Nick Hækkerup, the country’s justice minister, developed coronavirus symptoms, her spokesperson told CNN.

Hækkerup has been self-isolating since Monday with symptoms and is waiting for test results, his press officer told CNN Tuesday, adding that several members of the Danish parliament, known as the Folketing, had recently tested positive for the virus.

Frederiksen and other ministers who have come into contact with Hækkerup will work virtually until his test result is available.

Football teams Ajax and Dynamo Kiev have been hit by a number of positive Covid-19 cases ahead of their respective Champions League matches.

Ajax announced on Monday that 11 of its players had tested positive before the side’s tie against Danish side FC Midtjylland on Tuesday.

As a result, the Dutch club will travel to Denmark with just 17 players for its third game in Group D.

Under UEFA rules, Ajax must play the game if 13 or more first-team players are available.

Read more:

AMSTERDAM/NETHERLANDS - April 25, 2018:The field of Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam

Related article Squads of both Ajax and Dynamo Kiev hit by multiple positive Covid-19 tests ahead of Champions League games

Iranians walk past a vendor selling face coverings at a bazaar in Tehran on October 31, as the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic spreads across the country.

Iran broke another daily coronavirus record on Tuesday as 8,932 new infections were reported – surpassing the previous day’s record of 8,293 cases. 

The country also recorded 422 Covid-19 related deaths on Tuesday, bringing its death toll to 36,160, according to a Health Ministry spokesperson.

On Monday, Iran recorded 440 deaths – the highest number since the outbreak began.

Iran is the worst-hit country in the Middle East, with a total of 637,712 coronavirus cases.

In mid-October, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said the country was going through its third wave of the pandemic. 

Marco Permunian helps Americans acquire Italian passports. Business has never been better, the entrepreneur says.

A charged political atmosphere in the United States and the country’s coronavirus response has contributed to a surge of interest among Americans who want to claim Italian citizenship, according to Permunian, the founder of Italian Citizenship Assistance (ICA).

Permunian, whose clientele is 95% American, says requests for his service have increased by up to 400%, compared to last year, as the coronavirus pandemic exploded in the United States. That comes on top of increased interest following the divisive 2016 US election.

Read more:

Italian passport

Related article This entrepreneur helps Americans get Italian passports. Business has boomed during the pandemic

Hong Kong will require travelers from any country, except mainland China, to quarantine in a hotel for 14 days upon arrival there.

The new measures will go into effect on November 13, “and remain until further notice,” the government said in a statement on Tuesday.

Travelers in transit through Hong Kong will be exempt from these measures.

Hotel quarantine previously only applied to travelers from specified high-risk countries.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong’s Department of Health reported nine new confirmed Covid-19 cases, bringing its total to 5,346.

“Among the newly-reported cases announced, six had a travel history during the incubation period,” the government statement added.

Twenty-three passengers on an Air India flight from New Delhi to Wuhan have tested positive for Covid-19, Hubei Province’s Health Commission said Tuesday.

The flight, AI1314, flew from New Delhi to Wuhan on October 30, according to Flight Radar.

Of the 23 new cases, 19 were asymptomatic, according to the health commission’s statement.

The four symptomatic patients were sent to hospital and the asymptomatic group are under quarantine.

The health commission added that 254 “close contacts” of those who tested positive are also under quarantine measures.

India’s Embassy in Beijing said in a statement on Monday that the Indian government would assist stranded nationals abroad, but did not specify whether its effort was linked to the AI1314 cases.

India has been hit hard by the spread of Covid-19. The country has reported more than 8.2 million cases in total – the second highest tally worldwide, behind the US.

Lockdowns are multiplying throughout Europe as Covid-19 cases rise exponentially, threatening to push health services across the continent to breaking point.

Fearing all of its intensive care beds could be full by mid-November, France implemented nationwide restrictions at the end of October – as did Belgium and Ireland. Germany’s softer, so-called “lockdown light,” restrictions began on Monday, and Austria is following suit on Tuesday.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called for a second lockdown to begin in England later this week, while record daily increases of coronavirus infections in Italy appear to foreshadow another round of severe restrictions there.

As countries attempt to beat back the virus before the Christmas holiday season, experts are calling on European governments to rethink their pandemic approach, fix its blind spots, and prevent another spiraling rise in illness next year, which could further derail economies in the process.

Read more:

MUNICH, GERMANY - OCTOBER 31: Empty chairs and tables stand outside a restaurant in front of the opera house where wearing masks is mandatory during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic on October 31, 2020 in Munich, Germany. The German government recently announced that effective this coming Monday, November 2, all restaurants, bars, cultural venues, cinemas, fitness studios and sports halls must close for four weeks in an effort to rein in the skyrocketing growth in the number of daily infections that recently reached 18,000. Stores, schools and day care centers will remain open. (Photo by Andreas Gebert/Getty Images)

Related article What European leaders need to get right during second wave of lockdowns

Millions of Americans are heading to the polls today to exercise their right to vote – but standing in a slow-moving queue at a polling center raises your risk of catching Covid-19, especially when there is no guarantee that the people around you will be wearing masks.

A CNN investigation found most states with mask mandates won’t force voters to cover their faces while they cast their ballots.

Nor will people isolating due to a positive test for Covid-19 – or quarantining because they have been exposed – be precluded “from exercising their right to vote,” a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson told CNN on Monday.

Here’s your cheat sheet for a safer voting experience:

Read more:

Poll worker Alice Machinist (right) assists a voter during early in-person general election voting Wednesday at the Newton Free Library, in Newton, Mass.

Related article 10 tips for voting safely in person through Election Day

Soaring coronavirus case counts around the United States are impacting children at “unprecedented levels,” according to new numbers released Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children’s Hospital Association, which are tracking data reported by state health departments.

There were 61,000 new cases in children during the last week of October, “which is larger than any previous week in the pandemic,” the AAP said in a statement.

From the onset of the pandemic through October 29, more than 853,000 children in the US have tested positive for Covid-19, the AAP said, including nearly 200,000 new cases during the month of October.

Yet these numbers are likely an undercount, the AAP said. Because symptoms in children are often mild and can look like common colds or viruses, many children go untested.

Typical symptoms of Covid-19 in both children and adults include a fever of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, a dry cough, difficulty breathing, headaches, digestive issues, body aches and fatigue, runny nose, sore throat and sneezing.

However, early research has suggested children may not get fever, cough or shortness of breath as often as adults.

Fever and cough were found in 56% and 54% of children in one study, compared to 71% and 80% of adults, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Shortness of breath was found in only 13% of pediatric patients, compared to 43% of adults. Sore throat, headache, muscle pain, fatigue and diarrhea were also less commonly reported in children.

Read more:

An attendant talks to a person waiting in their car at a coronavirus testing site at October 31 in El Paso, Texas.

Related article Cases of Covid-19 in children spike, with 61,000 in 1 week

The UK is to test all residents and workers in Liverpool for Covid-19.

Everyone in the city, in England’s north west, will be tested from Friday – regardless of whether they have symptoms – the UK government said Tuesday.

Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson said the mass testing effort would “help to quickly identify people who have the virus and reduce transmission substantially.”

Liverpool has some of the highest infection rates in Britain. Weekly cases currently stand at 410.4 per 100,000, as of October 25, according to government data.

The region was the first to be placed in the “very high” tier of the country’s Covid-19 alert system.

Missed targets, technical glitches and unreported cases have plagued the British government’s attempts to build a functional Test and Trace system. The mass testing scheme is the first of its kind in the country.

Minsters previously encouraged only those with symptoms to come forward for a test, so as not to overwhelm the system.

England looks set to enter a new national lockdown on Thursday, as cases across the country surge.

Medical staff members treat a patient suffering from Covid-19 at the United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC), in Houston, on October 31.

As Americans head to the voting booths Tuesday, the devastating Covid-19 pandemic looms large. It is surging across the US yet again, setting grim records and forecast to take tens of thousands more lives across the country in the coming months.

Experts have warned this bout of the virus will be the worst one yet – and alarming trends are already pointing in that direction.

In just one month, the country’s seven-day case average jumped by more than 97%. Last week, the US reported 99,321 new cases – the highest single day number of infections recorded for any country. And at least 31 states set daily infection records last month.

Hospitalizations are also surging, with the number of patients nationwide rising by more than 10,000 in just two weeks, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project. Hospitals in some parts of the country have hit their “breaking point.”

Hospital officials in El Paso, Texas, are preparing to open the city’s civic center as an overflow medical facility and add a fourth mobile morgue.

And when hospitalizations climb, deaths are likely to follow, doctors have warned.

More than 231,500 people have died in the US and researchers from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation project that a total of about 399,163 American lives could be lost by February 1, 2021.

The numbers will likely get worse before they get better and officials worry the upcoming holidays – and the gatherings that will come with them – will further fuel an already rampant spread into the winter months.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Public health measures touted by experts for months – including face masks, social distancing and regular hand washing – can help hold the virus down.

Read more:

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 22: An RN hands off a coronavirus sample to medical assistant Bettie Cleveland at a COVID-19 testing site set up by Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center at Prince Hall Grand Lodge in Grove Hall in Boston's Dorchester on Oct. 22, 2020. Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center set up mobile testing to help their community members who were disproportionally affected by COVID-19, the neighborhoods of Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan have seen some of the highest incident rates of the Coronavirus in Boston. In July of 2020 they began to administer tests in the city at various locations. The Grove Hall location is available for walk up testing every Thursday at the Prince Hall Grand Lodge from 10:00am - 3:00 PM. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Related article Americans head to polls amid harrowing Covid-19 surge that has nearly doubled the US 7-day case average in a month

Police in the Australian state of Victoria arrested 404 people who participated in a protest against lockdowns in Melbourne on Tuesday – more than a week after the state began lifting stringent anti-epidemic measures that had been in place for months.

Protesters occupied the state capital’s central business district and called the virus, which has killed 907 Australians and more than 1.2 million people worldwide, a hoax.

In footage tweeted by CNN affiliate 9 News Melbourne, some shouted: “Shame on you, fake news!” at journalists and called for state Premier Daniel Andrews to step down.

The video also showed police deploying what appeared to be pepper spray at the crowd.

Melbourne was the epicenter of Australia’s coronavirus epidemic this summer, with Andrews declaring a “state of disaster” at one stage to stem an outbreak that saw as many as 725 people in Victoria test positive for the virus in a single day.

As cases began skyrocketing, Andrews enacted the type of strict anti-epidemic measures that critics worry could damage the economy and trample on civil liberties.

But from a public health standpoint, Andrews’ decision appeared to have worked. While cases in Europe and the United States are surging, on Sunday Australia didn’t register a single new Covid-19 infection for the first time since June.

Tuesday saw Victoria report no new cases for the fourth day in a row.

A new normal: Andrews’ government began relaxing anti-epidemic measures last week. Melbourne residents can now leave their homes, and most businesses in the state can reopen.

Some restrictions remain in place, however, including a 25-kilometer (15-mile) limit on travel and an internal border between Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne. Public gatherings are limited to 10 people.

A church in Northern California has been ordered by a court to stop holding large indoor gatherings in violation of public health orders created to stop the spread of Covid-19.

The Santa Clara County Superior Court issued a temporary restraining order Monday prohibiting the Calvary Chapel in San Jose from holding large indoor gatherings after the church was repeatedly cited by county officials for violating Covid-19 restrictions and accruing more than $350,000 in fines.

Calvary Chapel hosted indoor gatherings with as many as 600 people, posing the threat of a superspreader event, the court said.

Despite repeated warnings and fines, Calvary Chapel has been holding in-person services since May without the use of masks or social distancing, county officials said.

Under the county health orders, indoor gatherings are limited to 100 people and masks and social distancing must be followed.

California has the second highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases out of any state in the country, with more than 940,000 cases confirmed as of Monday night, according to Johns Hopkins University Covid-19 data. In Santa Clara County, where San Jose is located, JHU data shows 25,277 confirmed cases.

Read more:

The Santa Clara County Superior Court has issued a temporary restraining order banning Calvary Chapel in San Jose from holding large gatherings.

Related article A court has ordered a Northern California church to stop holding large indoor services in defiance of Covid-19 restrictions

There were another 84,089 Covid-19 cases in the United States on Monday, according to numbers compiled by Johns Hopkins University, as well as at least 557 related deaths.

Since the pandemic began, 9,291,064 patients have been identified in the US. At least 231,552 people have died in the country after contracting the virus.

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

Track US cases here:

A health worker collects a sample for Covid-19 testing at Ambedkar Nagar, in New Delhi, on November 1.

New Delhi reported 4,001 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, authorities said – breaking a five-day streak of 5,000-plus daily cases in the Indian capital.

Nearly 400,000 people in New Delhi have been diagnosed with the virus. Some 356,459 have recovered, while 6,604 have died, according to government figures.

Authorities have been concerned that New Delhi’s healthcare infrastructure might be overwhelmed if seasonal pollution in the autumn and winter exacerbates the effects of the pandemic.

The situation is already dire. More than 40% of hospital beds in the city are occupied and nearly 70% of ventilators are in use. 

The air quality was designated “very poor” for the 10 consecutive days ending Sunday, but improved slightly Monday.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Monday that to limit pollution, the government will bar new manufacturing operations from setting up shop in New Delhi’s industrial area.  

A decline nationwide: Cases across India appear to be on the decline. Authorities reported another 38,310 infections Tuesday – about half the number of daily new cases that were being reported in September.

Certain businesses like malls, movie theaters and gyms have reopened provided they adhere to social distancing restrictions.

India has reported more than 8.2 million cases of Covid-19 since the pandemic began. At least 123,000 people have died, according to the country’s Health Ministry.

Pregnant women infected with the coronavirus are more likely to become severely ill and die from Covid-19, and they’re at increased risk for premature delivery, according to a pair of reports released Monday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Although the overall risk of severe illness or death remains low, CDC researchers found that pregnant women with coronavirus are more likely to need intensive care, ventilation and heart and lung support than non-pregnant women with the virus.

A separate report found that the rate of preterm birth, when a baby is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy, is 12.9% among women with coronavirus, compared to 10.2% among the general population.

The new research adds to a growing body of evidence that pregnant women are at increased risk when it comes to coronavirus, said Dr. Denise Jamieson, chair of the gynecology and obstetrics department at Emory University School of Medicine.

“It also demonstrates that their infants are at risk, even if their infants are not infected, they may be affected,” Jamieson noted on a call with reporters Monday.

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President Donald Trump listens as National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks during a Coronavirus Task Force press briefing in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 30.

United States President Donald Trump suggested to a Florida crowd Monday night he may fire Dr. Anthony Fauci after the election, escalating his feud with the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases and providing a window into a potential post-November 3 administration purge.

Speaking after midnight following a full day of campaigning, the President was complaining about news media coverage of Covid-19 when the crowd broke out into a “Fire Fauci” chant.

Later, Trump claimed Fauci is “a nice guy but he’s been wrong a lot.” Trump has previously claimed Fauci opposed mask wearing earlier in the pandemic, though at the time the administration was concerned about supply levels of medical grade equipment.

Most of the crowd in Florida was not wearing masks; Trump has proceeded with rallies in states with rampant coronavirus outbreaks, believing his message of reopening will resonate with voters.

Trump’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak remains the backdrop of this year’s election. At another point on Sunday, Trump lambasted his rival Joe Biden by claiming he wanted to “follow science.”

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U.S. President Donald Trump is flanked by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases while speaking about coronavirus vaccine development in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 15, 2020 in Washington, DC.

Related article Trump suggests he might fire Fauci after election

A medical staff member conducts a demonstration to test for the Covid-19 coronavirus at the testing centre of Narita Airport in Narita on November 2.

Japan recorded 490 new coronavirus cases Monday, the country’s Health Ministry announced today, marking the first time Japan reported fewer than 500 cases since October 26.

Monday’s cases bring the total number of Covid-19 cases in Japan to 102,993. As of Monday, 93,383 of those people have recovered, but 163 coronavirus patients remain in a serious condition, the health ministry said. 

The ministry’s data shows the number of daily infections in Japan has been hovering below a thousand per day since around August 21, when it reported 1,036 cases.

Japan’s nationwide total includes 87 new Covid-19 cases detected in the capital Tokyo Monday, raising the city’s total to 31,293. This is the first time the capital recorded fewer than 100 daily cases since October 19.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice prepares for a debate with Democratic challenger, Kanawha County Commissioner Ben Salango in Morgantown, West Virginia, on Tuesday, October 13.

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice says the state’s Covid-19 infection rate is spreading at a high rate, with 5,557 active cases and 254 people currently hospitalized.

Justice pointed to pandemic fatigue as a major reason why the virus continues to spread in the state, adding that most people are abiding by CDC health guidelines but not all.

West Virginia reported seven additional deaths over the weekend, bringing the state’s total deaths to 458. The governor says there are 95 confirmed cases in public schools, 15 outbreaks in churches and 47 cases at long-term care facilities.

The Australian state of Victoria has recorded its fourth day in a row with zero cases, according to the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, bringing the week-long daily average of new infections to just 1.9.

It’s a stark contrast to the situation in Victoria – and its capital city Melbourne – just a few months ago, when more than 700 people a day were being diagnosed with the virus in a rapidly spreading local epidemic.

But after a strict lockdown which saw a nightly curfew put in place and limits on public gatherings, the number of new infections plunged. Restrictions in Melbourne have now been relaxed.

On Saturday, Australia registered its first day with no coronavirus cases anywhere in the country since June.

In tweeting his thanks to all Australians for working to bring down the infection rate, Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned the threat was not over yet.

“We’ve seen here, and are seeing again overseas, how quickly this virus spreads, so please stay COVIDSafe,” he said on his official Twitter.

In this February file photo, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon addresses a joint session of the Wyoming Legislature in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon will self-quarantine for up to two weeks because of possible exposure to the coronavirus, his office has said.

While a rapid test given to the governor came back negative, they are still awaiting the results of a secondary test, the statement added.

Nevada governor’s office emptied again: Meanwhile, a staffer for Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak has tested positive for Covid-19 and is experiencing symptoms, according to a press release Monday from the governor’s office.

The statement says the governor is not quarantining at this time because he was not found to be a “close contact” of the infected worker. Sisolak also has tested negative for the coronavirus for two consecutive weeks, according to his office.

The statement says all staff members who worked out of the capitol office will work from home as a precaution. It’s the second time the governor’s office in Carson City has had to take that step during the pandemic. A staffer at the governor’s capitol office also tested positive on October 6.

Nationwide, the US pandemic has gone from bad to worse.

The US just set a record for the highest seven-day average of daily new cases: 81,336 as of Sunday. That’s the first time the number has ever topped 80,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

And once again, increases in new cases are far exceeding new testing. Over the past week, new cases have increased 18%, according to Johns Hopkins. But the number of new tests performed has gone up only 4.29%, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

Wen said that as the scale of the US epidemic increased, governments might have “no other choice but to implement these measures that no one wants, like shutdowns.”

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HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 31: A medical staff member grabs a hand of a patient to reposition the bed in the COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) at the United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC) on October 31, 2020 in Houston, Texas. According to reports, Texas has reached over 916,000 cases, including over 18,000 deaths. (Photo by Go Nakamura/Getty Images)

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